2010

I borrowed your picture Mrs. Short - Thanks! =D

It's New Years Eve and I've been thinking about the resolutions I'd like to make (and keep) for 2010. I'm really not one to make resolutions but my friends have all been talking about theirs so I thought I'd join in. The Husband likes to do a "Family Plan" every January 1st which includes personal, financial and social goals for the year. Yes, this includes his goals for me and Little Man as well as himself. He's a giver he is! =D

Here's a list that I've thrown together:

1. Go to the health club at least 4 days a week.....and going to the Spa at the club DOES NOT count as working out. =D

2. Stop going to Starbucks and start having green tea at home. Um...we'll see how long this lasts!

3. Read the newspaper everyday. I read the MSN.Com homepage everyday but that doesn't really count. We get the USA Today and the local community paper so I don't have an excuse not to stay up on current events.

4. Finally read the manual to my camera and cell phone so I know how to work the darn things! Have to get past using the AUTO and Default settings.

5. Make sure to mail a Birthday card to everyone this year. Emailing an eCard the day of the birthday because I forgot to get one in the mail is just lazy.

6. Cook dinner for the family. I do, well, I try, well, I REALLY DO try, just not on a regular basis. It goes in spurts. I'm a spurt cooker. Well, that just sounds weird and kinda gross but you get my point. Goal: No cooking chicken 4 nights out of 7. You can only do chicken so many ways. May actually try to cook fish and pray that the house doesn't end up smelling like a Seattle fish market!

7. Take a trip as a family. We go back home for some holidays and some birthdays every year but the Husband, Little Man and I haven't taken a family trip....just the 3 of us. Well, this is really isn't a resolution....just a goal.

This is all I have so far!

Hope you're successful at keeping any resolutions you decide to make!

A Merry Christmas was had by all!

During our 8 hour road-trip home for the holidays, Little Man treated us to his vocal stylings of a Jingle Bells/Old MacDonald music mix.

Little Man and his cousins Christmas morning

(Couldn't get my video to load! Ergh!)

We enjoyed a white Christmas with 7"-10" of snow!

The Husband picking up Little Man and Uncle J helping a cousin up.

Little Man's first snow angel!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Past..

I was flipping around on the ipooter, looking at old holiday photos and thought I'd post some of Little Man from Christmas past.

Baby's First Christmas

8 Months Old - 2007

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!

Found the Santa suit at Babies-R-Us...the best place to find fun holiday outfits for your baby. You know the ones..the outfits that you see & laugh out loud, but you buy it anyway, take it home and dress up the kid while they squirm but they can't really protest because they can't talk yet, and then the husband gets home and shakes his head, mentally thinking "poor kid" but then laughs himself and agrees with you that the child IS the most adorable thing on the planet. Yeh, those outfits!

1 year 8 months - 2008

First of many "Dapper Little Man" outfits.

I'm all for cute baby blue clothes and such for babies but once the kid can walk, I'm a firm believer that they can be stylish! Only if it's machine washable of course because I'm not crazy!

2 years 8 months - 2009

Sporting a tie and hat this year!

Little Man has ALWAYS liked to wear hats. Guess that comes from getting him started early with ball caps and bucket hats around 3 months of age. I bought this outfit while Little Man was in school hoping that he would like it so I wouldn't have to return it...but he liked it! Actually, he wanted to hang out around the house wearing only the hat, tie and a diaper. He's such a fashion risk-taker. =D

All I Want for Christmas....

The Husband and I took Little Man by the mall to see Santa Claus last week. We've been lucky, he's never cried or screamed when he sees the big guy so we always get a good picture. This year Little Man took his green super bouncy ball to show Santa and told him that he wanted Transformers for Christmas. Now Little Man didn't even know what they were until he saw the toys at his cousins house. Then The Husband thought it would be a great idea for him to see Transformers 2 (because he still needed to see it). Hmmm. Not so much. A lot of heavy editing involved. But even after watching Megan Fox's award winning performance (**cough** she sucks **cough** **cough**) he still wants the toys. =D Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas!

Little Man's first snow! Here is south Texas, it only snows one day out of the year...if that. Last year it snowed at night while Little Man was sleeping and the year before that it snowed while we were out of town! Being from Oklahoma, we're used to getting a GOOD snowfall. The kind that gets you a snow day from school so you can go sledding and make snow angels and snowmen! Since moving down here 5 years ago, the holidays just haven't been the same. This year we have had a nice changing of the leaves and the snow we got today brought some much needed holiday spirit! We also took Little Man to get his picture taken with Santa! (pics to be posted soon).

Trying to catch snowflakes with Daddy

Ahhhh!

Bah Humbug!

I have to honestly say that I'm not quite into the Holiday Spirit...just not feelin' it...not yet anyway. The shopping is done, travel plans have been made and I'd like to get the decorations down from the attic but I'm just not motivated! I'm even running late on taking Little Man's picture for our holiday card! Maybe if I listen to Christmas music non-stop for the next few days, that will help. Oh! And I have the Rudolf nose and antlers that I need to put on my car!!! How festive is that! Ok....maybe feelin' it a little bit. =]

Soapbox time!

A friend of my recently blogged about being opinionated so I thought I'd join in!

I usually keep my opinions to myself, trying to be sweet, not offend anyone, be politically correct (I hate that term by the way).....my mom always told me, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". But I need to VENT! While running errands yesterday, several things got me thinking and some got me irritated! Here's the list:

1. Radio DJ: A radio station I was listening to asked listeners to call in if they had unfinished projects around the house. Apparently there was a poll taken and the average household has at least 15 unfinished projects around the house. Really the DJ's were asking wives to call in and complain on-air about their husbands not getting the projects done. But the male DJ didn't expect all these women to call in and say, "why does society expect women to take care of the cooking, cleaning, laundry & childcare, while the husbands are supposed to do the handy work?". I remember a time, pre-husband, when I mowed my own lawn, painted my own house, rewired a lamp, changed light bulbs (COME ON! HOW HARD IS THIS!) and other projects around the house! Loved It! Well...the male DJ says, "maybe we need to hear some positive reinforcement so we'll be more eager to get these projects done?" [[[[[GASP]]]]]]] OH, NO HE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT!!! We have to stroke the male ego?! We don't have time for that! Being a mom is the most thankless job on the planet! Do we get a "thank you honey, I just love the way you fold my shirts", "I love the way you're taking care of our child" or "I think you're so wonderful for being able to chase a toddler, nurse the baby every 2 hours and clean the house with little or no sleep at all". (((crickets chirping))) Yeh, no thanks there! So that comment from the DJ set off a firestorm of angry calls and I was getting pretty agitated so I just changed the station. stupid guy. I think spouses should divvy up the chores according to what each person likes to do or doesn't mind doing and pay someone to do the rest! =D

**I do have to mention that John does tell me what a great Mom I am and while I was putting Jaden down last night, John emptied the dishwasher for me. I did say "Thank You" and he said "you don't have to thank me". Ahhhh, no ego stroking required in our house! =D

2. Drivers: Female - If you have a dog on your lap, a cell phone on your ear and are applying makeup while driving, GET OFF THE ROAD! I usually have my kid in the car and I really don't want to have perform some lifesaving vehicular maneuver to save our lives!

Male Drivers - If you're in a designer suit, have a Bluetooth (hands-free device) on your ear, possibly running late for a meeting and your car costs more than most people's houses, that DOES NOT give you the right to be a rude driver and cut people off. I'm tempted to catch you at the stoplight and chuck my DECAF Starbucks out the window at you! And that coffee isn't cheap!

3. People using profanity while on the cell phone in a public place: While at the airport, waiting to fly up and see the Grandparents a couple of months ago, Little Man and I had to listen to this woman on her cell phone, apparently trying to fix a situation at work with a co-worker and she was saying, SH*#, HE%% and the big one F&#$! Look around you! You are sharing a public space with people who do not want to listen to your foul mouth! Especially if children are present. Although you may think you sound like you are taking charge, knocking heads and getting things done....You sound like an idiot! Finally took Jaden on a tour of the terminal so his little ears could take a break!

Whew! I feel so much better now for getting that off my chest!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! I hope everyone has a lovely day! =]

What the....?! Noo, Noooo, NOOOOO!

Think Poop, not finger paints.

I know......GROSS!!!

It's official, Little Man is in his "Poop Exploration" phase. 2 weeks ago, I picked Little Man up from Mother's Day Out and he was wearing his "backup" outfit. You know, the one the teacher asks you to pack in case they get REALLY messy during lunchtime or have a diaper malfunction. So I'm thinking, "Must have had pasta today...oh well, I'll Oxy Clean the heck out of it when we get home".

I Wish!

The teacher told me that he had gotten into his diaper during nap time and smeared his poo on himself and his nap mat and then she handed me a trash bag filled with the mess to take home and wash/disinfect/maybe burn?!!! Once we got home, Little Man was watching a video while I was doing laundry and did he did it again! And he's so stealth about it! You don't know what is going on because he's so quiet (maybe that's a clue!) but then he comes to get you because his hands are "Yucky!".

Well, it happened at school again today so I Googled, "How do I keep my toddler from sticking his hands in his diaper?" and found lots of posts on the subject. Apparently this is common for the toddler age group! Ewww! Really?! I think the worst thing I did as a kid was eat Playdoh (salty, in case you're curious) and a dog biscuit (on a dare)!

Some of the solutions that moms posted include duct taping the diaper on the kid (which really isn't practical if you're trying to potty train), a quick cold shower immediately after the diaper diving incident (some Moms said that this was borderline child abuse - maybe), increasing playtime with Playdoh is supposed to help because they're curious about "squishy" stuff and then there is a product that looks like a wetsuit but is really pajamas or an undergarment that apparently the kids can't get in or out of by themselves. I may try the increase playtime with Playdoh method and hope he doesn't want to try and eat it! ***5 minutes after this post...yes, he tried to eat it... (((sigh)))

This picture was taken during what was supposed to be our potty-training marathon weekend. Yeh....that lasted all of 1/2 a day. I made a big production of it all! Showed Little Man the big boy underwear that he would get to wear, the M&M's he would get if he went and how cool is that Potty Time watch?! It's shaped like a potty and beeps every 30 minutes or every hour to remind you to use the potty! WOW! Well...the training was a bust! The PullUps came off, he peed on the towels covering the couch and announced that he "didn't want to use the potty anymore". Friends said not to pressure him and that he would do it in his own time. I hope so!

Little Man playing with his new puzzle I bought for the occasion.

Yes, we use bribes in our house.

Look at my cool watch!

Crazy for you Baby!

Aunt K emailed a funny this morning...... =D

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness. "The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself. I put him there to dry.... How soon can I go home?"

Happy Mental Health Day!

Ohhhh Ohhh Ohhhh, listen to the music.....

Not a whole lot going on so I thought I would post a short playlist for your listening pleasure...Enjoy!

The secret of a long, happy marriage.....

A friend of mine emailed this and I thought it was too funny not to share. Enjoy!

THE SHOEBOX. A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything..They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.' The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness. 'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?' 'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.' A Prayer....... Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him; And Patience for his moods; Because Lord, if I pray for Strength, I'll beat him to death, because I don't have time to crochet. Have an awesome day! *** I LOVE YOU HUSBAND! =D ***