Smooth criminals. Or not.

So, I get in my car around 1pm today to run some errands with Baby B. There are some random papers sitting in the driver's seat and my glove compartment is open.

Hmmmm. That's odd.

I phone B at work, ask him why he left it open, to which he replies, "Huh? What?"

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Our cars were broken into last night. Both of them.

Lucky for us, nothing was taken because - gasp - our cars are clean. I've been a stickler about keeping mine clean since it's new, so unless they wanted to take the VW manual, they were out of luck.

However, the thieves were obviously male (and stupid) because there were two Vera bags in the car that I use for toting around Baby B's stuff AND mine and B's car each have a Britax carseat. They could have made out on eBay. Idiots.

Though, I will admit that we both left our cars unlocked. Also idiots.

Isn't that a little creepy though? Our bedroom window overlooks the driveway, so it weirds me out that a complete stranger was rifling through my stuff while I slept right above. B wasn't very happy (I believe he said something to the effect of I will break their legs if I catch them...), and will probably add an additional golfclub to the growing number of tools to use against intruders when he comes to bed tonight. Our collection currently includes an assortment of random golfclubs and a baseball bat. Be warned.

I filed a police report this afternoon, only to find out that this crime took place not only all over my subdivision, but also the one across the street. My neighbors weren't so lucky, losing their wallet, iPod, and sunglasses. Ick.

So, anyway, I guess I'm blessed that I didn't leave my wallet in the diaper bag or center console for once (which I always do), and that the disgustingly dispicable individuals who broke into my car are obviously not schooled in the cost carseats these days.

PS. Baby B loves to eat cookies at his Nanas' house. Both of them, but this happens to be at my mom's.

PSS. My mom had foot surgery last week, so she's been whizzing around in the house on this totally scooterific contraption. Baby B thinks it's pretty sweet. And my sisters and I think it is pretty hilarious. She also broke her wrist in a separate, totally unrelated accident. Wise word to my BFFs: Crocs + hardwood = recipe for a good fall. Love you, mom :D

Neglect

My house needs a bath. It's as simple as that. Someone needs to break out the Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles, throw her hair up in a bandanna, bust out some DMB on the iPod, and CLEAN. I assume that I would be the ideal candidate for this position.

But, my hands are weak from cutting through pages of laminate, my eyes are weary from paging through curriculum, and my mind is burdened with kindergarbage. I mean that in the nicest way. I really do. But I'm just exhausted, having spent ALL DAY (i.e. 8am-5pm) at school without contact with my baby boy. And though I knew he was in the greatest of care, I missed him. A lot.

This single experience reaffirms the fact that I will not work fulltime until Baby B is in school himself because I couldn't handle being away from him for that long. Too long. I missed him and his mess of blonde hair, gap-tooth smile, and the way he's suddenly starting talking with hands - a charming mannerism surely passed on from his mama, whose personal expressive language has left many a friend dizzied when combined with her fast-talking pace. I also missed our daily conversations about Jon & Kate, whether or not juice or milk is a better drinking option, and - of course - the construction equipment in our neighbor's front yard. Instead, I sat at a table meant for people under 3.5 feet tall, adding dividers to a binder, and punching holes in stacks upon stacks of assessments. I was totally watching A Baby Story, or whatever the latest baby-related show is on on TLC at 8:45am too. It's called cable depravity, friends.

But, I did get a lot done. Which is good. Since I'm nearing that Monday deadline rapidly.

When you devote so much of your time to one cause, though, you certainly neglect another. Like household chores. Or making macaroni and cheese lunches. Both of which are important to me and the two men who reside with me in The House of Mess.

Anyway.

As I sit eyeing two pictures that are hanging crookedly on the wall behind the front door, cockeyed from Baby B opening the door too widely during games of hide-n-seek, and scanning the two baskets of clean, unfolded laundry blocking the hallway, I'm thinking that I need to take a school hiatus for a bit. To get my life in order.

Or I need to hire a maid. The first option seeming much more likely. And inexpensive.

Do you have any secrets for keeping it all together?

Tuesday

I'm much too tired for it being 10:51pm. Especially considering I drank a mocha frappacino and a Diet Pepsi within the last two hours. Ugh. I gagged a little typing the word Pepsl;akdjfsd. I can't even bring myself to write it again. I just returned from school where that company that begins with a P has a monopoly on our vending machines. Now, if only I made the rules...

Since my eyes keep crossing, preventing me from typing a more coherent post, you're in for some captioned pics tonight. Of my favorite subject.

This must have been the good part in the book.

Just a little ice cream sandwich shared between boy and man's best friend. You know he totally stuck the licked hand back into his mouth after he shared his snack. And I just sat back and watched because, seriously, did you think that I had time between hand-in-dog-mouth and hand-in-his-mouth to get a wipe. Um, that would be a big fat no. We're lucky that Leland is baby-friendly. If she were on the other side of the fence, though, Baby B would be defending himself from an in-your-face lickfest.

Mmmmmm, vanilla flavored dog slobber. Yuh-mmy.

Apparently, if you just add water, they grow.

M-m-m-might Monday!

What? Another Monday? It's crazy how fast these summer weeks fly by.

Anyhoo, it's time for another Mighty Monday. Where you and I spout off about the things we might have done since last Monday. Shall we begin?

I might be praying for Stellan. Scratch that. I am totally praying for Stellan. Every time that sweet child and his family pop into my mind. For those of you not following, he's being airlifted to Boston.

I might have returned to my home this afternoon to find that when I opened our front door, I was greeted by a wave of poopy diaper smell.

I might have not even located which trash can said poopy diaper is in and moved it outside yet. I am blogging instead. Priorities, people.

I might have a list, 32 items long, that needs to be completed by next Monday. Kindergard-related.

I might attempt to start one thing on the list, which consequently leads to me finding something else to do which was never on the list in the first place. Apparently, these items are on an invisible list that grows exponentially every time I do something on the original list. Did you follow that?

Baby B might have accompanied me on one of my many trips to school over the weekend, where he adopted a set of computer headphones and drug them around by the cord as if it were his pet. He also might have chewed the plug-in. Might I be the kind of parent that would let him do such a thing?

I might be totally excited that CVS is offering Extra Bucks for buying Diet Coke this week. I am so there. My school supply that I keep beneath my desk needs to be replenished. I might go through at least two cokes by 11am when I'm working. I might be Diet Coke-dependant.

I might have been totally obsessed with the Sixteen & Pregnant series on MTV. If I find that I am not alone in my obsession, I might write a follow-up post so that I can write my thoughts and you can write yours. My heart might go out to Catelynn...I might think Farrah's mom is cRaZy...and I might think Gary is pretty stinkin' hilarious. Let me know if you might have watched it too.

Would you be interested in a Mighty Monday MckLinky? If you think you would play along next week, let me know and I'll see what I can do about MckLinking everyone together.

In the meantime, pray for the MckKinneys and the team of doctors that are working with them. Have a Mighty Monday!

He'll only be little once

I was a very girly little girl. Shocked? I didn't think you would be. I played Barbie and babydolls well into my tweens, and adored My Little Ponies and Carebears too. I wore dresses, loathed jeans, and sported the side-pony on multiple occasions with neon colored scrunchies, no less. I also am the oldest of three girls, so there were lots of girl-oriented activities going on.

Thus, this World of the Little Boy is all brand new to me.


And I love it.



We're having construction done in our subdivision currently, and a huge John Deer was unloaded right in front of our house yesterday. Baby B stood and watched, mouth agape, carrying on a conversation with that tractor through our glass front door. And he all but melted my heart. I wanted to promise him a tractor when he turns sixteen and run outside to ask the truck driver if I could possibly swipe the keys for a joyride around our street. Anything to watch Baby B be that happy. Oh, he was just so precious. Is so precious.




Never, in my girly-girl world, would I have thought that oversized construction equipment would bring me such happiness. But, now that Baby B has showed interest in their grand presence, noisy engines, and their ability to dump gravel into a hole (I know, stop. the. world.), I'm am all about some bulldozers. We even walked down the road a bit to watch them in action, Baby B staring in awe, and me glad to experience his amazement firsthand.

Being a parent is so awesome.


And then, there are those sneakly little boy moments that I love and adore too. Take today, for instance, as I stood with my back to the pantry, fixing summer vegetables on the stove. Baby B played behind me, opening and shutting the pantry door and occassionally going inside. Eventually, he emerged with a loaf of bread, handed it to me, and then continued pantry shopping. (I have long-since adopted the philosophy whatever keeps Mr. Busybody occupied is fine in my book as long as it presents little to no risk - i.e. dragging the broom around the house, tasting a leaves, examining an ice cream scoop, etc.). His next item of purchase was an opened bag of peaches. I kid you not - I turned around, stirred the veggies, and by the time I checked on Baby B he was seated on the ugly linoleum, double-fisting peaches, with several hollowed bites taken out of each one. Stinker. With peach juice dribbling down his chin and elbows, I scooped that boy child up and plopped him on the front lawn to finish his sneaky little treat. At least it wasn't chocolate or something. But, eh, oh well if it had been.







So, that was my weekend. Construction equipment and a stickly little peach pulp face. I did quite a bit of kindergardening too. But the other stuff was far better.

Just take a small moment...

...and lift up baby Stellan. We, as a blog community, have helped the MckFamily through this before, and I can tell by the desperation in her posts that they need us again.

Show Us Your Life Friday

Kelly's hosting Show Us Your Life Friday, and today it is wedding dresses. And, yes, I realize that I'm playing really late...but I hadn't really had a good change to blogstalk until right now. At 10:00pm. You know how that goes.

We were married in 2006 and the style of dress that I wore was peaking as a trend. I still love it, but I certainly wouldn't classify this dress as classic, but, well, trendy. However, I totally loved my thick, black ribbon accent that cascaded down the back. It was a beautiful dress, and I sold it on eBay for $400 not even a year later.

Why let it sit stored, unused, IN A BOX, when it could be making another bride just as happy as I was? That was my justification.

Sorry the pics are small. Like Kelly, I didn't get professional digital images either! Doh. I opted for a photobook. Oh well. I have plenty of pics from the main event and several other good ones that my family and friends took. Happy Friday, y'all!

Gluttons for Punishment

Why gluttons for punishment, you ask? Well, for starters, I let Baby B self-feed tonight. And the entree du jour was spaghetti. When you're one-year-old and your hand-eye-coordination rivals that of a blind elephant in an earthquake (of course, then you'd have eye-trunk-coordination, but whatever), eating spaghetti is a slimy mess of noodles and sauce in bodily crevices you didn't even know existed. It is, in fact, possible to get spaghetti in the corners of your eyes, for instance. Who knew?

Further, please note how my son cleverly ate most of his dinner, and left the peas and carrots in a neat little pile on the right hand side of his tray. His spatial awareness is just striking.

So, as if one mess to clean wasn't enough (because it soooo wasn't), I decided that I would continue to enjoy conversation with my husband during dinner by providing Baby B with entertainment of the chocolate variety. Chocolate pudding to be specific.

And it all pretty much went south from there. Literally.

There was pudding running down his arms. Oozing into the top of his diaper. Behind his ears. On his eyelashes. Oh, and there might have been just a little bit on his face.

But it was really fun to watch. And he smelled pretty delicious too.

The making of the mess of the century obviously wasn't the hard part, as spaghetti and pudding probably top the list as two of the most messy foods that a baby could eat without assistance. The clean-up, now that's where things got a little hairy. Er, pudding-y. When I removed that plastic cup from the tight grip of his goopy little hands, the world spiraled into a dark place known to parents as the Vortex of the Tantrum, though it was short-lived as I whisked him immediately out of his chair and into the warm, soapy suds of the bathtub. Baths are apparently the cure for cantankerousness (cantankerosity? cantankerociousness? I don't know, but I just really wanted to use the word cantankerous somewhere.)

After the bath, he immerged a new child, free from chocolate sludge and wormy noodles. Then he waddled around the house in his new jersey, smelling like Dove body wash, and looking far older than his 13-months.

Love, love, love this child. Pudding-y or otherwise.

My husband has hidden talents.

I spend a lot of time on the computer. And, contrary to popular belief (cough, cough, husband), I do a substantial amount of actual school work from our home laptop aside from the amount of blogging/blogstalking that I do. In fact, I wish that educators were afforded a larger tax break so that I could have written my laptop off for 2008 because I use it daily for school-related purposes. The meager $250 write-off doesn't even touch what I spend throughout the school year.

Anyway.

B snapped this picture of me doing what I do every night after Baby B is down, while we're watching whatever station happens to be coming in for the evening. A fairly typical pose. Note the convenient Boppy pillow propped up behind me.

I do have a point to this post beyond professing my love for my HP and posting a pic of me sans makeup, donning a maternity hoodie that I still wear, perusing the internet. That being: my husband was able to take this picture after dissembling the camera and {gasp} fixing it. He's amazing. Just thought you should know.

And now I can return to snapping away at Baby B as he toddles around the house looking for trouble to get in to. Despite the fact that I have a regular old point-and-shoot without fancy lenses or settings, I really missed it while it was out of commission. Thanks, B :D

Good morning.

Baby B was up at 5:30 am this morning. And after repeated attempts to get him to sleep just one more hour, I finally gave up when he sat up and began chucking his paci off of the bed. Little stinker. So we got up, did our morning thing, read some books, and finally settled into breakfast about an hour or so earlier than we normally do our morning nosh. While he dissected ate a banana, I entertained him with an interpretive dance while Ants Marching played on Pandora. He rocked along happily in his seat, smooshing banana with his chubby little hands all the while.

Then he took a bath, and all was good in the world until I had to dry him off, diaper, and clothe him. Anything that involves restriction of any sort seems to be a torturous event these days. Lots of crying and body contortion ensued as I tried to wiggle a tee shirt over his head. This is what happens when you get up AN HOUR AND A HALF before you usually get up. But try telling that to a head strong one-year-old.

But, he's napping now. And it's raining outside. So I'm sipping coffee and contemplating whether or not to clean or do laundry or just kick up my feet and read the newest Jane Green novel, Dune Road - which conveniently arrived at the library after my week-long vacation where I actually had time to read.

Happy Wednesday, all :)

Favs for Tues

So, one of my BFFs, Kate, over at Sugar and Spice is hosting a listy post - and we know how I love my lists - so I thought I'd oblige and list my Fav Movies along with Kate and Co.

• A Little Princess - My sisters and I used to rent this movie pretty much every other week when I was growing up. It was such a lovely, touching story that I didn't mind rewatching it. It also inspired many make-believe games.


• Silence of the Lambs - This freaks me the heck out EVERY time I watch it. ScArY.


• Now and Then - This was another rental that we probably had in our home at least once a month. If only to laugh out loud when Roberta calls Chrissy a fartass during the seance. I mean, that is still funny when I see it. Or type it. I might be LOLing right now :D (I totally just called my sisters to reminisce and give them a good laugh too.)


• Grease - I got chills, they're multiplying. And I'm loooooosin' control...


• Titanic - Like Duet Diva, I can't help but to watch it every time it's on. And I cry every darn time. When B and I were first married, we'd fall asleep every night watching it as we tried to cope without having the luxury of cable once we moved out of our parent's house.


• Sex & the City - My wonderful husband had to accompany me to the theatre to see this one - I was 9 months pregnant. I loved him a little more after it was over, especially since it was a full out chick flick. And I'm pretty pumped that a sequel is in the making.


• Wedding Crashers - Hi.Lar.Ious.


• Father of the Bride - This is another one that I could watch over and over again.


• Father of the Bride II - My mom took my sisters and I to see this one. I was kinda obsessed with the idea of me and my mom being pregnant at the sime time after I saw it. Like, how cool would that be?! Now, I just think it's kinda strange... And I'm sure my mom wouldn't really be up to it, huh mom?


• Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation - We watch this every year on Christmas eve and it never fails to crack me up. Especially because my family had a similar Christmas-tree-picking-out experience.

Now, go and MckLink up on Kate's blog!

Might Monday!

Alas, I did not forget that it is Mighty Monday. I just might have been busy doing other things, like playing superhero to Mr. Walkin Oliver Theplace who tries to climb concrete walls with a single bound...

If you want to play along, just let us know what you might have done since last Monday. We promise not to tell what you might have done :D

I might want to hurl the remote at the television right now since I cannot, for the life of me, get our digital receiver to pick up ABC so that I can watch The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All special. (I honestly believe that this switch to digital cable was sick ploy to get us non-cable buyers to purchase a cable upgrade so that we can actually watch TV. Rrrrrr. Anyone else have this problem?)

I might have to invest in a golfcart for my toddling child since our vacation house was right on the course and he fell in loooooove with this one:

It might be darling to hear him say "goh, goh, goh" as he's looked for the golfcart every morning since we left Michigan.

I also might have to exchange all of Baby B's toys for sticks and rocks and mulch and carboard boxes since that's all he seems to want to play with these days. I might be super pumped that I exceeded our weekly grocery budget by only 57 cents tonight.

I might more super pumped that my sister found a certain famous soccer player jersey that might bear the name of my son across its shoulders.

And it might have been $1. AT A THRIFT STORE! Loves it.

I might think that you're smart enough to figure out with the "B" in Baby B stands for. If you didn't know already.

I might still be nursing Baby B twice a day. And it might be killing me that this part of babydom is coming to an end.

And that might have nothing to do with the fact that it's been the best diet that I've ever been on.

I might be out of things to say.

If you play, comment below and let us know so we can see what you might have done. I might try to hook up a MckLinky next week, but I might be too tired to fool with it right now...

A Mighty P.S.

I might be married to a Champion Cherry Pit Spitter who outspit (outspat?) his competitors (7 other men over the age of 18) by spitting a cherry pit 31 feet out of the Olympic Sized Cherry Pit Spitting Arena. I might be super proud of his superb pit spitting capabilities. Swoon. He is also the former Watermelon Seed Spitting Champion of Batesville, IN circa 1995. Tell me that's not impressive...

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

Hiya! I missed you!

Hi, BFFs! It's me! In the flesh! Real, live blogging at the Babbling Household again!

Did I totally fake you off with my pre-purposed posts, just waiting in the wings to fulfill your need for some babbling while I was away? Oh good, glad you liked them :)

So, we're home. I just finished off a sleeve of whole wheat Ritz with peanut butter that I scooped out from the jar, and B is napping blissfully on the couch. Baby B is at B's parents' place, also napping from what I've heard, so that I can get stuff done. Stuff like sleeping and savagely eating 27 crackers since there is NOTHING to eat in this house. Unless, of course, you like shredded cheese and Oreo Cakesters and whole wheat Ritz with store brand peanut butter.

The trip was great. Different, but great. Different because, well, we have this thing called a baby that made things shockingly, um, different. Like, for instance, those things he takes called naps totally got in the way of prime-time pool hours. And we were sort of tethered to a monitor starting at 8pm every night. Then there is the fact that my child is walking. Not just walking, but WALKING. We're talking walking, people!!! Like unassisted, stable, real-life walking. Everywhere. It was inevitable that he'd reach this milestone. And even more inevitable that he'd reach it while we were on vacation in a house that is made entirely of sharp, pointy objects, hard tile floors, and uncovered wall outlets. So, we spent a lot of time playing defense from a very independent little dude with an offense that rivals that of the Detroit Redwings.

But, when we weren't watching cable (!!!) while Baby B slept, we did have an enjoyable time doing lots of the mights that you read on Monday. Pretty much all of them, as a matter of fact. It was a mighty good trip, and I teared up a bit when we left last night.

Yes, we pulled an all-nighter. Something we'd never done before. We left Northern Michigan around 9pm last night and rolled into home about 5:30am this morning. After approximately 3 hours of sleep in his own bed, Baby B was up and at 'em, while B and I struggled to stay awake, propping our eyelids up with toothpicks to maintain consciousness. Since Baby B slept most of the ten hour trip home, he was more than ready to begin his day at 9am. Which is why he went to play at his Nana's today, while we went back home and slept. Thank you, Nana M!

There's a whole lot more vacation talk to blog about, but I should go be productive by grocery shopping or paying bills or even unloading the car might be a start. However, something tells me I'm not going to fully recover from this vacation for at least another week. And I'm sure you'll get to hear all about it...

I'm at Boonedock's...

It's our last night in Michigan.

Tear : (

Summer is halfway over.

And school begins in 34 days.

Another tear : (

Talk to you soon.

Listy Loo Hoo

Ten Things That I Could NOT Live Without

...excluding any and everything baby-related (because there are too many too list), God, family, & friends...

1. Mascara. If there were one makeup item that I could not do without it is mascara. I use two different mascaras every day. I use Great Lash by Maybeline in Blackest Black, followed by a swipe or two or ten of Rimmel's Sexy Curves. I love them both equally, but have used Great Lash since I first started wearing makeup in high school per my mom's recommendation.

2. Rainbow Sandals. I have had mine since the summer of '05 and they are still going strong in the old-sturdy-shoe-wardrobe-staple kind of way. I wear them as soon as the weather hits a balmy 50 degrees and don't stop until the threat of frost appears in the forecast. Loves them.

3. Garage sales and thrift stores. You know I love me some good deals. Particularly tuck-n-runs. This is when you buy an item that is waaaaay underpriced (and you know it), so you fork over your quarter and hit the road, kicking your heels up as you walk away, doing jumping jacks on the inside out of excitement. (Hellllllo $3 Little Tykes Cozy Coupe!!!)

4. Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Markers. I'm a doodlebug, and these are the perfect tool for doodling on a sheet of notebook paper during a staff meeting. I can't tell you how many college ruled spiral notebooks bore my stamp of approval during my undergrad (i.e. doodling my future married name...my future children's names...Alpha Delta Pi...UK). Doodling helps me learn. I swear.

5. Creative Outlets. Hence, my career, my blog, my journal, doodling, painting, couponing, etc.

6. My wedding rings and my Baby B necklace. I never realize how much security these two inanimate objects provide me until I forget to wear them. I am clawing my neck by the end of the day if I go without the necklace, and rubbing my fingers together when I'm ringless. I probably do this all the time when I'm wearing them, but it is WAY more obvious when I forget.

7. Wristlets. I gave up carrying a purse everywhere the minute I had to lug diapers, wipes, 2nd and 3rd backup outfits, multiple pacis, toys, puffs, and the kitchen sink everywhere I went. Now I just carry a wristlet everywhere because it holds all my imporant cards, cash, phone, and a spare paci without adding any extra weight. Plus, I can clip it to the stroller or grocery cart with ease. Mine also serves as a source of entertainment for Baby B during our trips to the grocery store.

8. Sunglasses. I wear mine everywhere. All the time. Rain or shine. During Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher Day at school this past year, several of my students came in sporting sunglasses perched atop their heads. Of course, they also carried a Diet Coke around all day long which totally cracked me up. Mine double as a headband too, keeping stray bangs out of my face. B gets on me all the time for this habit.

9. Um, my laptop.

And, last, but certainly NOT least...

10. Diet Coke.

Mighty Monday!

This picture might have been taken after our annual Sunday night dinner at the Bluebird Cafe FOUR YEARS AGO in Leland, MI. Eeeh. And, oh my, the blonde hair!

What might you have done this past week? What might you be doing right now? Let's get together in the spirit of Mighty Monday and post things that might have happened. You don't have to admit to anything - pure speculation...

I might be lounging by the sandy shores of Lake Michigan as you read this.

OR

I might be fishing frozen cherries out of the bottom of my icy cold Cherry Lemonade with my sisters at Cherry Republic. Or steeling samples for lunch.

OR

I might be visiting Cavanaugh's for a latte.

OR

I might be strolling the streets of Leland.

OR

I might be spending money on headbands and skirts at Haystacks or on touristy shirts at Bay Wear.

OR

I might be drinking a glass of Leelanau Sands pinot grigio on the back porch of the Giza during daily cocktail hour.

OR

I might be chasing Baby B up and down the stairs of the deck, sparing him from splinters and scratches.

OR

I might be walking hand-in-hand with B through the streets of Glen Arbor.

OR

I might be catching a shuttle back from the beach with my cousins.

OR

I might be eating muesli and yogurt for breakfast in Traverse city.

OR

I might be picking cherries on a local farm.

I might have written this post last Wednesday before I left. I might be missing my BFFs, though I might not miss the reality of life that waits for me when I get home.

Please feel free to celebrate Mighty Monday on your blog too. Make sure you link up here in the comments section so that we can visit your list too :D

I might have taken this picture FOUR YEARS AGO - also in Leland - because I'm an ADPi. I might be the biggest nerd ever. Roooar.

Bootie Head

So, I always see posts about the such-n-such picture in the such-in-such folder. Someone probably tagged me once upon a time for such a post, but I'm really bad at remembering to actually do it. Sorry! So, I chose the 4th pic in my 4th folder. And, OF COURSE, it's a pic of Baby B dating back to November.


As long as I can remember, my parents have referred to any child with something on their head as a bootie head. Hence, my cute little bootie head hanging out in his exersaucer.



He'd rather not have anything to do with that oversized baby occupier anymore and hasn't stood in it in a couple of months. Not only has he outgrown it at this point, but he could probably extricate himself from it rather easily. I can't believe how big he has gotten. This picture makes me smile and makes me sad at the same time. Each milestone is precious, but you can't go back in time to relive any stage :(


Happy Saturday!


PS. Yes, I'm on vacation! I made a couple pre-made posts before I left :D

TTFN!

Leaving tomorrow at 9am!

No time to post pictures or a lengthy rant about how much stuff a two-foot-tall, twenty-three-pound boy child requires for a week away from home. I'm busy, busy, busy!

I will have you know that I finished every last stitch of laundry that existed in this house. Praise Jesus, Amen.

Bye, bye, BFFs! Have a super great week :)

PS. Congrats to Suz & Randall - Baby Jackson was born tonight via c-section! Suz played piano in my wedding and is a fellow ADPi. Baby B, Cowboy, Connor, and Walker welcome him to the Baby Boys of Pi Girls Club - an exclusive faternity of the cutest men around. Baby K's mom kept us updated all day. Somehow, she managed to have a legacy while the rest of us seem to be creating a multitude of dates for her to choose from for Neighbor Bash in 2028 :)

While you were napping...

The inspiration for my project is this book.

I am in kindergarten overdrive right now, determined to get the majority of my room ready by the time we leave for Michigan in t-minus 36 hours. I've been in my classroom a lot this week (thanks to my MIL for keeping Baby B!), and working a lot from home too. Especially while sweet precious is napping. This is the prime time to get things done. So, when I'm not doing laundry, I'm doing project after project after project. From the prep of my literacy centers to classroom decor to cutting out laminated papers. It's all getting done.

Today's activity centered around a new classroom management system I am implementing this year. It's called Bucket Fillers. If you'd like to read about it, click here. The gist of it is this, taken directly from the website:

"Bucket fillers" are those who help without being asked, give hugs and compliments, and generally spread their love and good feelings to others. The simple metaphor of a bucket helps even preschoolers understand the importance of consideration and love, particularly towards those who bully.

"Bucket dippers" rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task or by saying or doing cruel things. The challenging problem of "bullying" or "bucket dipping" usually rears its ugly head in the first few weeks of school. "

Thus, I want a classroom full of Bucket Fillers this year. So, we will begin our year reading the books and becoming Bucket Fillers rather than Bucket Dippers. No one wants to be a dipper now, do they?

So, anyway, my hallway bulletin board will showcase each of my student's names on buckets and I painted a sign mimicking the book to hang out there also. My kids will also paint/color construction paper buckets that we will adorn the hallway with also. I will tie it into KY Core Content using color or name writing or something. Our compliment/reward system will also center around this ideology.

But, back to today's project...I spent two different nap times today painting. I am very professional about painting, you see. I store my paints in uber cool containers made exclusively by Huggies and use only the best supplies, like plastic stuffing bowls and Kroger plastic dishware for my paint palette. I'm so professional that I don't even put down newspaper or an old shower curtain to paint on. I just plop myself down right in the center of our living room floor.

And this is the final project. Drumroll please....

Ta da! I think it turned out VERY cute. I can't wait to hang it up in the hallway and start bucket filling!

Oh Target, how I love thee...

I think we all agree that Target shopping is a conspiracy. It is impossible - I repeat impossible - to leave that store without spending at least $50.

The trip starts out innocent enough: dishwashing liquid, baby wipes, maxi dress. Or maybe you had an hour to kill while you waited for another store to open, as was the case when I ventured to Target this morning.

What made the trip even more, um, dare I say enjoyable? was that I was all. by. myself. I learned quickly that an hour in Target baby-free is basically therapy. How soothing it was to wind my way down every aisle without a military-esque strategy mapped out to avoid potential obstacles (i.e. other shoppers) and maximize the seven and a half minutes I usually have to find eight items before Baby B begins throwing a fit. Or before I'm scanning endcaps for fingerfoods that I can secretly palm to my son without paying for them first. Fellow mommies, you totally know what I'm saying.

So, anyway, another part of Target's conspiracy to make me spend too much money is that little place known as The Dollar Spot. Shoo. That place is laden with GOOD BUYS. Especially for educators who spend waaaaay too much of their own money on classroom goodies. Today's find was aMaZiNg. Tons of Dr. Seuss-related items for ONE DOLLAR. Why they have it out now - though his birthday is in March - is beyond me. Regardless, I stocked up. And called all my educator friends and family to alert them of this deal.

The last tantalizing aspect of Target is the food. A Diet Coke and popcorn for $2???? I. Am. Sold. I'll take twelve just because that is a good darn deal. I could use a drink holder on the cart, but that's only because the popcorn butter on my fingers make a greasy, slippery mess of the coke I'm holding. Just a suggestion.

And, of course the food court and the Dollar Spot are within ten feet of entering the store, so I've usually spent my $50 before I've even made it to the dishwashing liquid, baby wipes, and maxi dresses.

Target is just that good. Or I am just a big ole sucker for a deal...

Mighty Monday!

Because everyone's Monday morning should begin with a picture of a super cute almost-3-year-old in googles that smoosh her eyes down. Tee hee hee. She was really much more excited about wearing them than appears here.

Goodness, is it Monday already?

Then I guess it's time to list the things I might have done since, well, last Monday! If you want to play too, simply make a list of things that you might have done and leave a comment so we can visit your blog and feel a little better about our own list ;)

I might have given in to baby marketing and/or bribery this morning when I snagged some Gerber wagon wheels off of the shelf at Walmart to feed to my sweet precious during his doctor's appointment this morning.

He might have tried to feed a couple soggy wheels to me, which I politely declined.

I might be a little frustrated with Baby B's pediatrician right now, so - being the best advocate for my own child - I might be taking matters into my own hands from this point forward.

I might be too nice sometimes.

I might have finally bought four 12-packs of Diet Coke which are now taking up space on my kitchen floor.

I might be drinking a Coke of the diet variety with my oatmeal this morning.

I might be on the prowl for a maxi-dress that doesn't make me look like an Amazon woman.

I might think Target holds the key to my happiness in the area of maxi-dress buying.

I might have overindulged day after day over the holiday weekend, and am now happy to end the pizza-hamburger-hamburger pattern.

I might be daydreaming about this time next week when I might be poolside letting a cabana boy fetch me ice cold pina coladas while a masseuse tends to my tired tootsies, all while attaining a lovely bronzed tan...

...but reality says that I might be lucky to drink a luke-warm Diet Coke as I try to keep my baby boy from eating sand, while my mother and aunts fondly reminisce about doing the same thing twenty years ago by the same pool.

I might be hoping that today's the day that the mailman puts that million dollar check in my box.

When I just typed check in my box, I might have giggled a little thinking of a Justin Timberlake/Andy Samborg SNL song.

Don't lie, you might have thought it too.

I might be getting off here to go tend to the mound of laundry in my basement. Only a might though.

Happy Monday, BFFs...and please enjoy the many faces of my now, gulp, toddler:

I say banana, you say bah...

Oh, for the love of the bib. How on Earth do you remove mushed-in, squished-in banana from bibs, onesies, highchair straps, your child's eyelashes, etc??????

Baby B is absolutely destroying everything mentioned above. With the exception of the eyelashes. A good bath always does the trick there. Nevertheless, I just don't know what to do short of strippin' him down to his birthday suit to let him nosh on his most favorite fruit. Which is, in fact, bananas. Or bah if you are 1 year and 1 week old.

I pre-treat most everything with a good soak in water, and peel off as much of the mush as I can, but this appears to be a battle that I won't win. So, fellow mommy bloggers and/or BFFs, help a motha out. Please post your best secret for de-bananafying your baby's clothes. And while you're coming up with good ideas, I will finish off half of the super stack of Honey Mustard Pringles that I bought with the intention of taking them on vacation. Ha.

I might just need to complain a little bit.

Hi, Baby B's the name and trouble is my game...

Well, hello there, BFFs.

We leave for vacation in a week. A week from tomorrow at 9am to be precise. We'll be headed north. Waaaay north for our annual trip to Northern Michigan. Last year, due to a new addition to our family, ahem, we weren't able to go. You might remember that I talked about it here. Well, I guess no one really went since the K Crew was cruisin' the Carribbean, though our Staycation - blogged about this time last year - was still meaningful and full of adventure anyway.

Anyway, this pending week long hiatus apparently calls for clean clothes so I'm beginning to do the laundry again. I'm sorry that you have to listen to me talk about laundry so often, but really I just hate to do it. I mean HATE it. Such a waste of my life. Do you think that if I post an ad on Craigslist for a laundry-doer, a nice, non-creepy person might respond and be willing to clean my clothes for free? Just a thought. I guess I could pay them with coffee and good conversation. Or maybe a treasure from my Etsy shop...

Changing subjects, Baby B has recently taken residence in a drawer that's been pulled out from his dresser. If you can even call it a dresser. It's actually a poorly put together ensemble of cheap plywood disguised as a dresser. That's what I get for buying something for $30 at Value City. Literally, the staples are coming loose and it is falling apart inside Baby B's closet. That's why the drawer is sitting in the middle of the floor - because it won't slide back in its plastic grooves. Argh.

Do you see it in the background of this picture? Not that I encourage or want you to judge the cleanliness of this closet, but look at the atrocious mess that that dresser is. Try not to notice all the items shoved haphazardly to the sides of the dresser. Thanks.

I guess I'll need to be yard saleing for something a little more stable here in the near future. Or maybe I'll just restaple the sides back together. Regardless, something needs to be done before Baby B is old enough to loudly protest taking naps in the pack-n-play, but instead wants to take G and his blankets to the dresser drawer.

So, to round out our day, I think we'll go to the grocery store and get my car tags. I know, my life's pretty darn exciting. No, seriously, I long for the day I get to stand around the DMV, stroller in hand, trying to keep Baby B from whining with handfuls of puffs that he'll inevitably throw in the floor. Especially when I get to stand next to the guy who forgot to put on his deo or brush his teeth, and he wants to make small talk about the new Pinto he bought. Well, that's not really ever happened before, but what trip to the DMV isn't complete without such a story? Seriously. It's either that, or you get the lady at the window who apparently didn't realize people skills were involved in this job where you're forced to work with the public for 8 hours a day. All business, doesn't look you in the eye, or even politely acknowledge the darling child perched koala-like on your hip. Okay, these are generalizations, and I apologize, but I think I'd rather be stuck in the house doing laundry all day.

Later alligators.