Lifesaver

Thank goodness for this little piece of modern technology.

I tell ya, if this phone weren't good for anything other than watching episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I'd still love it because it makes my trips to the grocery store manageable. (Most of the time.) Alex watched it for our entire outing to the store today, which was good because I was on a mission.

Yesterday I made my list for the Kroger mega cart buster event. I listed what I needed, how many of each, if I had a manufacturers coupon, if that coupon would be doubled, if I had additional coupons loaded to my Kroger card, and I made sure I had every coupon pulled together in an envelope so that I could be as quick as possible at the store.

Helped me rake in $115 in savings. I am well-stocked for a few weeks now. Thank goodness because going to the store is not on my list of favorite things to do. In fact, it's not even remotely close to making that list. That's why I decided to stockpile this week - in order to spare myself the misery of another "full trip" for at least another couple of weeks. (Short trips I don't mind so much; long trips stink.)

Stockpile indeed - that's why my receipt is almost three feet long!

Thank you Kroger mega sale, thank you P&G for the great coupons, and thank you Apple for one of the best inventions ever! We're off to a good start this week! Glad that I can say I have one of my chores checked off the list - woohoo!

Random happenings from our week

My little fire chief has been a busy boy this week.

He got his first play-dough kit from a neighbor friend of ours.

He enjoyed rolling, stamping, smashing. And the occasional tasting, too, of course.

And when he was done with all of that, he enjoyed stacking the stamper blocks and knocking them down.

He's also been working his Mickey and Friends alphabet puzzle. I am amazed to watch him put this thing together. He can put in all 26 pieces by himself. I usually try to sit next to him when he's working it so that I can tell him what each letter is, especially since he's mostly interested in which Disney character is next to each letter. When he's finished the puzzle, we sing the ABC's together a couple of times.

Alex also sported a new hat this week from my dear friend Wendy who I used to work with at The Richards Group. She was my "work mom." And she hooked Alex up with a few Ba-ba treats this week that he's just nuts about.

"Yo. What's up?" This was Alex's attempt at putting the hat on himself. This picture makes me laugh.  

Another happening this week...I bought Baby Boy a couple of outfits. I figure that even though he'll be able to wear most of Alex's clothes, he still needs a few things of his own. =) The one on the left is 3 mos, and the one on the right is 12 months. I love rompers for little boys, so I just couldn't pass these two up.

The other big happening around our house this week is taking place in this room. BIG changes are underway, even as I type.

LOTS more to come on this in the days ahead, so stay tuned...

Happy weekend, all.

Don't you just love Fridays?

I was out running errands today, and everywhere I went I could see "signs of Friday." I think the warm weather (we had temps in the lower 70s today) got people even more anxious for that five o'clock whistle to blow.

I saw the all-American, hard-working man leaving the store with a case of beer. You could tell that he was looking forward to a night of relaxation and good times. Maybe with family? Maybe with friends? I love the idea of getting together with family and friends for a little R&R on a Friday night to unwind after a long week.

I also saw a group of guys hanging out with their motorcycles at the local barber shop. I imagined that they were getting ready for a weekend road trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'm not sure of their story, but I want to believe that they were eager to welcome the weekend with a fun adventure.

People all throughout our neighborhood were on their front porches, slowing down to take in this fabulous Friday evening. One of our neighbors invited us over to their porch while some of our other neighbors joined, too. I love those impromptu get-togethers - spending a few moments connecting with others.

After hanging out with our neighbors, we came home to a little Friday evening celebration of our own. We made homemade pizza. I use that term lightly because it was Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, Ragu sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Nothing fancy; just the kind of ease I was looking for. And Little Man seemed to have a fun time making it.

First the cheese.

Let me explain Jerry's laugh. When he showed Alex how to put on the cheese, he sprinkled it around and said, "ahhhh," in a whisper-like tone. You know, just like how you say it after a refreshing drink of an ice-cold soda. So naturally, Alex followed his lead, sprinkling cheese and saying, "ahhhh." We got such a kick out of his enthusiasm.

Then came the pepperoni.

Once again, the best part of being a sous chef - getting to taste test as you go along. He takes after both his momma and his daddy here. We love to nibble along the way.

And finally, here he is putting the taste-tested pepperoni directly onto the pizza in its half-eaten state.

Yep, that's how we roll around here. Half-eaten pepperoni on our semi-homemade pizza. Still yummy just the same. And the perfect way to start our weekend.

Happy Friday, all. Hope your weekend is full of all your favorite things.

Yea for warm weather!

We had sunshine and temps in the upper 60s today. WOOHOO! Little Man and I took not one, but two trips to the park today.

He climbed through tunnels.

 Checked out the "dinosaur bones."

 Ran across the bridge.

 Watched the quack-quacks from the bridge.

 Kicked back for a little ride in the swing.

 Rode the slides.

 And spotted airplanes.

Little Man was in heaven. His momma was, too. I am so eager for spring. I know we're still a ways away here in Virginia, so we are taking full advantage of every beautiful day that we get.

Daddy's Little Helper

We're training him while he's young. Jerry's counting down the days until this is a reality.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jerry and I have never been much into celebrating Valentine's Day. It's just never seemed that important to us. But we had a blast gearing up for Little Man's Valentine's Day this year.

Last week, Little Man and I worked on some homemade Valentine's that we sent out to his grandparents and great grandparents.

And over the last few weeks I've been collecting small treats here and there to put together for Alex to open on Valentine's morning.

Since I'm a sucker for homemade Valentine's cards, I roped Jerry into joining me to make Alex a thumbprint card of his own.

 Here he is this morning getting ready to open his Valentine surprise.

 And here's Alex looking through all of his goodies.

One of the things we got him was a Mickey Mouse Valentine's shirt (at least it was in the Valentine's section at Walmart) that says Mr. Perfect.

We're sending extra special hugs and kisses out to all of our friends and family back home today. We sure do miss you all!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!! Happy Valentine's Day!

A little light reading

Little Man loves his circulars. He told us he's checking to see if he can find "nu-nah" - that's Jonah, the Veggie Tales movie, which has become a recent favorite around here. He watches it every afternoon after his nap.

What I'd always dreamed about

Last weekend, Jerry and I took Alex to the park to enjoy one of the few days of sunshine we've had lately.

Alex was in heaven. He rode on the swings, climbed up and down the stairs, and even braved the "big boy" slides all by himself.

These pictures bring me such joy. In part because they capture Alex's sweet laughter. But also because I see that Alex has a daddy who LOVES being a part of this little guy's life. I did not have that from my dad when I was growing up. And it is one of the sweetest things I'll ever know - watching Jerry be the kind of dad I always dreamed about.

The Spot

Whenever I've got to put something in or get something out of the oven, I say to Alex, "Go stand in your spot," and he runs over to the doorway near the pantry to stand clear of the oven. Right here he is in "the spot" with his "mih" (that's mitts in Alex speak) waiting for lunch to come out of the oven. 

Baby Bump - 22 Weeks

I've made it through the halfway mark. And other than last week's cold, I've been feeling great.

I love this period of time in the pregnancy. Enough of a bump where people don't have to wonder if I'm pregnant or not, but not so much of one that my back hurts. I can still lean over the tub easily to give Alex his baths. I can still carry him up and down the stairs with ease. I can still lift him into his crib, his car seat and the shopping cart without any problems. Sleeping isn't too much of an issue. These are the good weeks.

I'm trying to enjoy the growing Little Buckaroo while he's still little. Because at the rate we're going, he's going to be kicking pee straight out of my bladder in no time. He's riding so low that I've never felt a kick above my belly button. I've never even felt a kick even remotely close to my belly button. The ultrasound tech assures me he's face down, but I'm not so sure. I don't remember Alex being this low. Ever. I may be wearing Depends by the end of this show. I wonder if they'll fit my pregnant belly. Ha!

Ah, well. The good weeks, right? You bet. I remember what the next few weeks are going to be like. And I remember the delivery aftermath even more vividly. (Oh, how I'm hoping for a better experience this time around!!!!)

A new knitted treasure

Yesterday the postman rang our doorbell, and handed me a package that had this hat and sweater inside.

My aunt made Alex this beautiful Norwegian set. My first thought was, "Oh wow - how gorgeous!" My second thought was, "So glad we'll have another little boy to get to wear all the wonderful treasures that have been handmade for Alex over the last couple of years!"

Between Noni, Great-Granny and Aunt Candy, Alex has the most delicious collection of knitted and handmade treasures you could imagine. I cherish each and every one.