Project 365: Week 3

Told you I would get to this sooner or later!

Sunday, January 16th

 Haeden is an avid reader, you guys.

Monday, January 17th



 Practicing his downward dog pose.

Tuesday, January 18th

 Will trade smiles for cookies!

Wednesday, January 19th

 Drumming on the hamper.

Thursday, January 20th

 Blocks in Haeden's room.

Friday, January 23rd

Red-shouldered hawk on the light post outside Mom's house. She's afraid they'll eat the dog. hehe

 Saturday, January 22nd

Napping in the dining room?! Hey, if it works...

*** I may or may not have cheated this week and taken more pictures on certain days and forgotten to take some on others. You'll never really know...

Craftastic Weekend

Last weekend was not very exciting. In fact, for the most part, it was downright boring. I had hoped to get out of the house and maybe go to the zoo, but it was wasn’t ideal weather and my older stepson was playing catch up all weekend with his school work. I’m not kidding, he pretty much ate, slept, showered and did homework. It wasn’t fun for any of us

The only good thing about such an uneventful weekend is that, Mama? she gets stuff done. I did the usual weekend cleaning, a little extra organizing and even had time for crafting! Since Haeden is pretty much constantly all up in my grill, I can only craft when he is sleeping. I made the most of that time this weekend and finally finished up my first cross-stitch project. I am in love with these and can’t wait to get to the craft store sometime this week to stock up on more thread so that I can get on with the next project.

I also broke out the felt and tried out a couple of new flower designs. The flatter flower is so darn quick and easy that I made three of them. I had seen a similar design on etsy and figured I could make it myself with my stepson’s trusty circle template. These flowers are pretty much self-explanatory. The second flower I made into a pin and am wearing it today. I’ve already gotten several compliments and I have to confess, I love being able to tell people that I made it myself!

For the second type, I'm including directions (sorry, no photos).

1. Cut out 6 flower shapes approx 3 inches in diameter. You will also need to cut out circular piece for the back and two leaves (optional).

2. Take each flower and place a dot of glue in the middle and fold over. Then place another dot of glue in the middle and fold over once more.

3.Arrange four of these on the felt circle so that the straight edges are touching. Then you will glue the remaining two in the middle so that they are sticking straight up/ one resting on each side of the flower. This makes sense when you are actually in the moment, I promise.

4. If you decide to use a flimsier type of fabric you could push the two top layers down and glue a pretty bead or button to the middle to give it a little extra flair. You can then either glue to a pin back, alligator clip or headband.

And lastly, I finally found the time to create the subway art inspired print all about our little family. It was simple and fun and I promise to post a picture of it later this week! Also, still to come is last week’s Project 365 photos!

Project 365: Week 2

Ummm, yeah. So I fell behind on this project on only week 2, but only with the blogging part. This is a lot more time consuming than I expected and I'm not too keen on spending my week nights on the computer. I have, however, kept up with the actual picture taking and will try and post week 3 in the next day or two so that I can catch up with the rest of the world. Aaaand here we go:

Sunday, January 9th

I am sure you will be seeing more of these shots. Haeden has made it a habit to fall asleep during lunch time on the weekends. I need to post video of this, too, because it's pretty damn funny.

 Monday, January 10th

Our little copycat gets some lappy time with Daddy. Terrible quality, but a sweet moment to capture either way.

 Tuesday, January 11th

 Mommy time at the salon. I decided to go back to my natural color, though this is admittedly quite a bit darker. Almost two weeks later, it is already several shades lighter.

Wednesday, January 12th

 On the way home/ to get $5 pizza with his brothers. He's always happy to ride in the Envoy with his big brothers, but I had to jump out of the car (yeah, it's drive-thru pizza. don't judge!) to get this shot. That smile is so worth it.

Thursday, January 13th

Around these parts, cash for gold is big right now. And so is having someone stand outside your business waving around a big sign to try and entice potential customers. Apparently these guys couldn't afford a dancing hobo, so they went with a mannequin instead.

 Friday, January 14th

A shot of Hubby's collection of old bottles.

Saturday, January 15th

 Shopping with Nana. I bought him these slippers to try and buy myself a few more minutes until the MELTDOWN that was about to occur. It was more like a few more seconds.

21 Months

I don’t think I was ever really aware of the swift passage of time before I became a parent. Days often felt like months and now it seems as though time is slipping through my fingers. The date nights and girl time have just about come to a screeching halt and yet, somehow, the pace of life has quickened. Work days are often spent thinking about my baby toddler baby and how I’d much rather be spending the time snuggling or playing “buttball” (football) with him. And then, when the work day finally comes to an end, the majority of the evening is spent cooking, cleaning and bathing with a little mischief and laughter sprinkled in. Also, a lot of “NOOOOOOing and DON’T TOUCHing!”

I would prefer the opposite. Lots of mischief and laughter and little bits of cooking, cleaning, bathing, and working sprinkled in throughout the day (or week). Ahhh, yes. I can dream, can’t I? The lottery is 96M and I’ve got a ticket, people!!

Well, all that just to say that Haeden turned 21 months-old on Monday*. In just three short ones he will be 2, you guys! Thinking about it makes my pulse quicken and my palms sweat. He really is at such a fun age and I’m sure that 2 will be great as well (when he’s not throwing himself on the floor or slapping me in the face), but I can’t help but notice how my heart aches just a little when I go through his baby pictures or see a pregnant lady waddling by. I don’t miss the sleepless nights, but I definitely feel the emotion well up inside when I think about the way I felt the first time they placed him in my arms. I don’t know if I’m ever going to experience that again and I’m struggling to be okay with that.
But in the mean time, life with Haeden is a whirlwind. This is what he’s been up to over the last month or two.

• As mentioned, he refers to football as buttball. And socks as cocks. Toddlers are comedic gold.
• Loves his new guitar (thanks Uncle Chris and Aunt Megan) and anytime he sees someone on TV with it, he grabs it out of his toy bin and mimics them… head bopping, foot tapping, bootie shaking. It’s priceless.
• If he calls you and you ignore him, he deals with this by simply getting louder and louder. Or, if you’re holding him, he grabs your face and turns your head so that you are facing him, also while yelling “Maaaaaaama!”
• Still loves to jump and now he’s added a little jiu-jitsu kick, too.
• Sings and hums to himself in the car or when he wants me to sing “bringing home a baby bumble bee”.
• Loves to wear hats! If you’re wearing one around him, he’s going to want to wear it. Oma has been whipping them up so that he has several crocheted ones to choose from! I think he needs a baseball cap, too!
• Favorite books are “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” (or anything by Eric Carle) and a Sesame Street foam book with inserts that he can pull out and chew on. Also, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” which he just refers to as BOOM!
• When he’s sleepy, he rests his forehead against mine. It is the sweetest thing!
• And speaking of sweet, still gives hugs and kisses like it’s nobody’s business. Even the babysitter gushes over all the lovin’ he gives.
• Loves bath time, bubbles and brushing his teeth! (enjoying this while it lasts)
• Inherited his mama’s sweet tooth. And dada’s love of snacking.

That will just about do it for now! I don’t want you end up with a toothache (get it? cause he’s so sweet! haha!)**.

*Happy Birthday to Auntie Robyn, too! Boop Boopy do!

** God, I’m corny.

The State of Things

When I made the resolution to take on more house projects this year I wasn't actually asking for water leaks under the driveway (hello $350 JEA bill/ tip-off), a smashed fence or dents and holes in the sunroom’s roof due to falling trees from the bank-owned house next door. I don’t know what the Universe is thinking, but this isn’t the best start to 2011, folks.

Almost two weeks ago we came home after work and noticed some tire tracks in the yard next door. It looked like a truck had driven through their yard and then parked in between our two houses. It was fairly dark and we had a car full of kids plus dinner, so Hubby didn’t investigate until the following day. His findings did not exactly please me.

It appears as though someone was hired to remove a dead tree from the back yard next door. We have no idea who, of course, but in the process of doing so they apparently had a large part of the tree fall onto our fence, completely smashing it, and onto the roof of our sunroom. The roof was littered with debris and is now sporting several dents and a large gash, which obviously means it’s going to leak like a sieve. We were under the impression that it is illegal to destroy someone’s property and then walk away without leaving any contact information or anything, but when Hubby tried to file a police report they told him it wasn’t their problem and that it was up to us to contact our homeowner’s insurance to have it fixed. That doesn’t sound right to me, but who are we to argue with the police?

We think we have figured out who the bank is that owns the property (the house is in foreclosure) but they, of course, are not returning our calls. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to have to march myself into one of the local branches and make a scene. I can’t decide if I should cry or yell. Which do you think is more effective?

And now, because that isn’t enough stress, we probably have a leak. Under our driveway?! I didn’t even know these things happened. Hubby went to pay our electric/water bill yesterday and the amount was around $200 more than usual. We were expecting it to be high since it has been unusually cold this winter, but that was pretty insane. After looking over the statement a little more, he realized we were being charged for 16000 gallons of water when we usually average around 4000. When he called to see if there may have been a mistake, they told us it was probably a leak. We hoped and prayed it was just a toilet. Hubby could fix that with a trip to Home Depot. But, as luck would have it, it seems to be more complicated than that. Much, much more.

We learned this morning that JEA covers to the meter and our homeowner’s covers anything from the house. It looks as though, if the leak is where we think it is, we’re on our own. Hubby is looking for a plumber as I type.

Goodbye savings, hello ramen!


P.S.
I am still holding onto the hope that Hubby is wrong and everything will turn out juuuuust fine!

Migraine Monday

Today is Monday. It’s Monday and I have a migraine at work. Can we say Double Whammy?! It’s also storming outside and that generally makes me feel like I should be at home in bed. Or cuddled up on the couch with a blanket, watching a movie while Haeden plays quietly on the floor. Whaaaat? I can dream, can’t I?

I don’t know about you, but when I am in pain my tolerance level is, like, zero. Possibly even below that. Well, I decided to work on a rather remedial task to try and avoid staring at the computer (it doesn’t help with the head or the nausea). I broke out that left-over stack of paper from Friday and decided to get to work on hole-punching and separating it into binders. Yes, I know my job is exciting. Try not to be jealous.

Anyway, this should have been easy, right? A nice way to pass the time until lunch, or better yet, until I can take the next pain pill. But instead, the hole punch, which is probably older than I am, was jamming every two seconds and I couldn’t get the middle punch to go into the down position. This meant it was only punching two holes instead of three. Madness, I tell you. I huffed and I puffed and I threatened to throw it out the window. This did nothing of course. It continued to taunt me, one good punch every three or four tries and then right back to top and bottom punches only. I was thisclose to losing it. Seriously. I could feel the heat rising up through my body.

Thankfully, I managed to finish without bursting into tears. Hesper 1, Migraine/3-Hole Punch tag team 0. Now excuse me while I go and puke into my wastebasket.

Project 365 - Week 1

So far, so good. I really hope I can keep up with this because I think it's going to be a lot of fun to look back on. So, without further ado, week one:

Sunday, January 2nd

Dinner and the last Jags game of the season at Wild Wing Cafe. Haeden busies himself with crayons. Check out his intense concentration. They serve not only as a entertainment, but also as an appetizer. Yum!

Monday, January 3rd

Bathing beauty. Again with he concentration face. I promise he has a bath toy down there...

Tuesday, January 4th

Steak. It's what's for dinner.

Wednesday, January 5th

View from the front door. A rather gloomy day.

Thursday, January 6th

Dinner at Grandma Ellie's. It consisted mostly of ketchup.

Friday, January 7th

Hole punch project from Hell.

Saturday, January 8th

Bike ride to Aunt Steph's house!

I've really enjoyed this so far and hope I can keep it up (that's what he said... sorry, I couldn't help myself).

Project 365

Have you guys heard of the 365 project? Basically, you take a photo every day in order to document a year in your life. Yeah, even though I'm married to a photographer, I feel like I don't have nearly enough pictures of my little man, much less life in general. And what better way to develop my own (obviously lacking) photography skills, eh?! I'm totally pumped to give this a shot!

I know that the handful of you who read this on a regular basis don't have a blog of your own, but I think this is a great opportunity for you to start! No need to worry about blog material or how often you need to post. Just grab a camera and snap/shoot/click away! If you plan to join me, please leave me a comment so that I can make sure to follow your adventures!

I'm probably going to post my weekly photos every Sunday, but I figured I would go ahead and post a shot from the first day of what I hope to be a very, very good year! Oh, and I pinky swear that Haeden won't be the subject of every.single. shot. I'll try to shoot for more like 90%. ha!

 Here's Haeden mimicking his big brother's. He really wanted the PS3 controller, and that would have been more accurate, but he had to settle for the TV remote instead. As you can see, it's a tough life...

Haeden's World: Potty Time!

A little over a month ago, we decided to introduce Haeden to the potty. We by no means wanted to push the issue at such a young age, but he was already showing a few signs that he might be ready. Here are a few I pulled from the Baby Center website:

Can sit down quietly in one position for two to five minutes. BAHAHAHA, Yeah, right! His Dad can't even do this one!Can pull his pants up and down. Not quite.
Dislikes the feeling of wearing a wet or dirty diaper. Usually true when he poos. He says, "I poo poo!" and then runs to the changing table.
Shows interest in others' bathroom habits. You mean is no one ever able to go to the bathroom in peace? That would be a yes!
Gives a physical or verbal sign when he's having a bowel movement such as grunting, squatting, or telling you. Check!
Demonstrates a desire for independence. Independence from us, yes. From his binky and bear, no...
Takes pride in his accomplishments. Does, "I DID IT! I DID IT!" count? I think so, yes.
Is in a generally cooperative stage, not a negative or contrary one. As long as there are no bikes around...
Can follow simple instructions, such as "go get the toy." Yes, but usually I'm asking him to put it away!
Understands the value of putting things where they belong. Value? Suuuure.
Has words for urine and stool. Almost. He refers to both of them as "poo poo", such as "I poo poo! I poo poo!" or "Dada poo poo?"

So, as you can see, he was meeting most of the criteria. I was feeling pretty good about the possibility of him catching onto this pretty quickly, or at least showing interest. Like every other mom out there, I like to think my kid's a genius.

These photos might suggest otherwise...

He's thinking, "What's this? A chair? A toy?"

Wait! I know....

Maybe you play with it like this?

This is fun!

I  can use it as a hat!

Or we can play peek-a-boo!

Hey, this is close! Now we just gotta get him to pull down his pants and use it! ha!

A New Year's Resolution... Or Three

We rang in the new year by, uh, sleeping. I wish I could say that was the first time that's happened, but it's not. If we don't have friends over or aren't out partying, I don't really see the point in staying up and watching TV until the ball drops. I know I'm going to be up by 7am the next morning, anyway, so why bother? Usually Hubby stays up and then wakes me up for the countdown. I watch bleary eyed until it's time for my New Year's kiss and then fall right back asleep. Isn't my life exciting? Don't be jealous!

I have the same resolutions this year as most everyone else. I want to save a little more money, work on updating the house (hence the saving money part), and lose a few pounds. Hubby and I go back on the South Beach diet tomorrow, so I've been stuffing my face with chocolate and cookies all weekend long. Starting the diet tomorrow means less eating out which will in turn mean less spending and more saving. And that will mean more money to fix up the house! I've have it all figured out, my friends. Now, I just have to stick to it. I think I can. I think I can (toot! toot!)

You should also know that with a few grunts and "yeah's" my little man made a New Year's resolution of his very own. He wants to be a big boy and sleep in an actual bed now. No more crib for him cause that stuff is for babies! Duh! We've been talking about making the switch for about a month now but I really liked the fact that when I put him to bed, the only protesting he could do was in the form of crying and throwing his binky, stuffed animals and blanket out of the crib. Moving him into a bed meant he could actually get out of bed and get into... everything! Oy vey.

We had to rearrange the room a bit and really buckle down on the child-proofing, but I think it's going to work out well. We had a little hiccup yesterday as he refused to nap in it, but when it came time to go to bed at night he followed his regular routine and jumped right in. He even slept through the night without incidence and just woke up from today's nap a few minutes ago. No problemo! We do keep a baby gate up during the night just to ensure there is no sneaking out at night. He certainly has a mischievous side to him, so who knows what he'd be into if given the chance!

And now I get to do what I love most, shop for bedding! Too bad I have champagne taste (Dwell Studio) on a beer budget (Walmart).