Wordless Wednesday: Wagon Riding

Stream of Conciousness Sunday: I'm Turning Into My Mother

I have decided that when it comes to all things "I'm turning into my mother," I'm just going to begin embracing them. Not even so much the "turning into my mom" part, as much as the "I'm a grown up - now responsible for two children" part. You see, I used to be cool - at one time I was a concert going, beer swilling, free spirited college gal who probably made $20 last two weeks, and didn't have too many cares. I mean, for three years straight pre-kids I attended a music festival with my younger brother that involved me going without a shower & sleeping in a tent for 5 days... My, how that all can change when you hit THE REAL WORLD.

So, I just have to laugh at myself now when I freak because my phone might have lost all the "sleep logs" I have been keeping for the baby. And I'll still chuckle a bit when talking about a situation in the car & I begin spelling names, or referring to people as "you-know-who," so those big toddler ears in the back don't go & embarrassingly repeat something to others. Last night I had to hold back my surprise when the boy announced mid-board game "OMG, this game is so hard Mom, right?" - they really do listen to everything.

I am a grown up now, one who is "turning into my Mom" - but you know what? She is a great Mom, so I'll embrace it & laugh about it along the way.

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up at All Things Fadra
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Capture the Everyday: My Favorite Home Feature

Boy, Melissa over at Adventuroo must have read my mind with this week's assignment! MY husband & I just completed a serious backyard project - there are LITERALLY blood, sweat & tears that went into this thing - but it has been just perfect timing with this weather!

This combines a few of my favorite things about our fairly new house (moved in last year) - the new patio, the sun porch & the wooded backyard. (Side note - the chairs actually have cushions, but were put away before last night's rain...)

Everyone's Losing Weight & Guess Who's Finding It!

Bean had her 6 month visit this morning, and I had a feeling she was going to come up tiny on the charts - here's where we stand:

Weight: 13 lbs, 14 oz - between 10th-25th percentile

Height: 24 3/4 inches - between 10th-25th percentile

The doctor said to just keep doing what we are doing for now, feeding & schedule wise, and they'll check on her again in a month to see if we need her to gain more weight. I went through the same thing with my son...ugh.

In addition to my daughter being slim, a neighbor commented the other day that our Lab was looking thin & she wondered if he was sick. After taking a second look at the dog, it occurred to me that several people mentioned he was looking thin lately. I took him to the vet yesterday, only to find out he has lost about 17 lbs in 7 months. We switched dog food about that time, and apparently he needs to be eating more of it. At this point they are ruling out any major health problems since he is as healthy & perky seeming as ever - just starving apparently.

And to top it all off, my husband put on a pair of pants this morning that we bought for him just a year or two ago - wouldn't you know it, they were as baggy & loose as ever. Need I say more? I'll just be shuffling back down to the scale, which I keep in the depths of my basement, only to see that it has not moved in weeks from my current weight. Apparently Mama is the only one getting fed around here - sorry folks!

My Friday Frills - Installment 5

Wow! These past two weeks have really flown by, but here we are again at the end of another week. We have been building a flagstone patio this past week, lugging each & every piece of stone into the backyard. There was a stone the other day as big as the hood of my car, so needless to say my arms & back are taking a beating. We are really looking forward to enjoying it this weekend though - we are in the homestretch!! Here is what has made those sore muscles more bearable this week:

1. Baby Portraits: I am fortunate enough to have a few photographer friends that have captured some beautiful shots of my children over the past few years. I have their work hanging all over our house, and truly

enjoy it every day. However, the other day I felt the need to drop into the $9.99 portrait studio for a few shots of the Bean at 6 months. She is so smiley these days, so I felt like the pictures could be pretty cute.

3. Impromptu Dance Parties: With the boy's naps becoming more & more scare these days, it is nice to have a way to get out some of that extra energy at the end of the day. I have been enjoying the workout as well! Our current favorite dance song - Justin Bieber's Never Say Never - don't lie, you know you love it as much as we do ;)

3. A Good Laugh: Do you ever get in one of those moods & just start looking on the Internet for a funny video that has been mentioned by someone and the next thing you know you are looking up every hilarious clip you can think of? My husband & I did this the other night, and ended up watching this video again which I still think is hilarious (big fan of Chris Parnell).

There you have it! Here's to a great weekend!

Capture the Everyday: Your Child's Favorite Toy

Another Thursday to participate in Adventuroo's weekly photo assignment. Today's task was your child's favorite toy. This was easy for us - for Bean, it is the Exersaucer, since it is her latest & greatest discovery and a chance to use her new 6 month old skills.

For the Monkey, it has always been his stuffed animals (well, really his "soft blankie" but I suppose that's not really a toy...) - yes, he does sleep with all of these. They also get to take turns playing a variety of games with him, or participating in everyday activities such as eating breakfast, watching a show or going for a ride in the car. Most of them also have names :)

Want to participate? It's easy - head on over to Adventuroo to link up!

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: It All Goes By So Fast

This is my first time doing this, but I actually had 5 minutes to myself this morning so I thought - what the heck! I love to read all of these, so here goes!

As I sit here typing, I can hear my husband down in the basement with my son, teaching him how to ride his first "big boy bike." Funny story behind the bike, and I'll try to keep it short. Rewind to about 3 years ago, when the boy was roughly 6 months old. Hubby & I went to a bike shop with our bikes, hoping to trade them in for some cash towards new ones. Turns out they weren't as valuable as we thought, and the credit wouldn't go far towards a brand new bike from the bike shop. So, there we stood with our $125 credit, wondering what in the world to get from this bike shop. Then I spotted them - the kids bikes! And wouldn't you know, they were $125.00. I was never planning on spending that much on my child's first bike, but with a credit in hand, we decided to get one for the boy & save it. (Funny side note, as we were making the transaction, my son's pediatrician walks in...I had to explain why we were buying our then 6 month old son a brand new bike for a toddler...)

So, long story short, we have had the bike in an attic or basement for years - and now he is downstairs riding it. It always seemed like it was going to be such a long time before he fit on it. Excuse me while I go wipe a few tears away.

This is my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post hosted byallthingsfadra.com. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it

Capture the Everyday: What's On Your Nightstand

I'm am loving this little weekly challenge from Melissa over at Adventuroo! This week's assignment? Capturing a picture of what lies on your nightstand. Already a sore subject with me - I have no "nightstand," only my dresser, which is next to my side of the bed. I have been wanting a new set of bedroom furniture for about 8 years now, but alas other things always come up. Until then, here are the contents of the "nightstand portion" of my dresser - enjoy!

- a note from my son telling me that he found a penny on the floor of his room & wondered if it could go into his piggy bank (but I'm sure you got all that just from reading the note - you can translate "toddler," right?)

- the Kindle that I gave my husband for his birthday a year ago, which he quickly replaced with the iPad. I was happy to call it my own and am currently reading 'The Help'. Attached to it is the book light I use every night - he can't sleep with the light on, and I am a bit of a night owl

- my iPhone, which I keep handy for when I can't sleep & use to keep up with baby's eating & sleeping schedule

- my baby monitor, which I just keep on for the video screen, no sound. We sleep with our door cracked open, or I would never sleep with that thing so close to my head

- my cup of water

- my "bible" - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, which I refer to quite often, even with #2

- the stack of magazines that I keep telling myself I will read soon - appears I have some serious catching up to do

- the TV & Apple TV remotes

And there you have it! What's on your nightstand? Head on over to Adventuroo to link up!