My Birthday Week

Is next week.

Yes, my Birthday is in 10 days.

I'm a little depressed.

I know, I am young... blah, blah, blah.

I have eye wrinkles, people.... and dark circles.... and a post-prego pouch....

and I am NOT getting any younger....


SO in honor of me feeling sorry for myself.... I am giving something AWAY! Oh yes, a GIVEAWAY!!! :)

So stay tuned. Monday March 2nd.... be here... you won't regret it, I promise! :)

Do YOU feel lucky???

The Things He Says

Sometimes I just crack up at the things Adam says. I love how kids hear something different, than what is actually in a song, a saying, a book, etc. And lately, he's just been on a roll! For example:

Instead of "Annie are you ok?" in the song, Smooth Criminal (yes, we love 80's music!), Adam sings "Matty are you ok?"

In the song, Sweet Dreams, by the Eurythmics, instead of singing "Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree?" he says "Three fish swim in the sea, who am I to disappear?"

Last night, instead of telling Sadie (the dog) to "Run like the wind!" he said "Run FROM the wind!!"

In the show Wonder Pets, they have a little chant at the end that says "But when we work together we've got the right stuff!" he says "But when we work together we've got to be tough!"

Today, when we were playing he almost fell off the bed and instead of saying "PHEW! that was a close one!" he said "Pew! That was a closed one!"

What do your kiddos say that crack you up?

Where have I been?

It's been a crazy week!! So much going on...
We had a playdate on Tuesday, and made cookies.... I also realized that Matty's hair was VERY long and needed to be tamed.

So... we took him for his very FIRST haircut!

We spent some time with Daddy home, this week, because he had some legal issues to take care of.... (nothing big, just a speeding ticket in a small town... never fight those, btw... you will lose, even if you weren't really speeding!)


We had the cousins over, for Nana's (my mom) Birthday! Happy B-day mom!


Why did I even try to get a group shot?

Carli turns one, this week. Do you believe it? She's larger than Matty; it's insane how fast they grow!

AND, look... LOOK who is in this photo! ASHLEY! :) We stole her from college (literally... and surprised my mom! It was so much fun!!) , this weekend. It was an amazing visit! :) I miss her already. Spring break can't come soon enough!



and my best shot of the week... This is Matty, at Cookie Cutters, before his haircut. I love the reflection in the metal!

What's in MY Bag?

A new friend of mine, Kelli, over at Outside My Kitchen Window, tagged me for this little ditty.... and well... it looked like fun! So here we go:
Here are the rules for the tag:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you have today - not last weekend when you and your hubby went out to that fabulous restaurant. No cheating!!!
2. Tell us how much it cost. This is a no-judgment zone -- there will be no ridiculing or eye rolling here. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Now tag some fellow bloggers and link back to this post so people know why you are posting pictures of your bag.

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I really love purses! I own WAY too many... Just ask Andy. I don't spend a lot of money on them; I actually love finding them at thrift stores and see how CHEAP I can get them.

So, here is my purse (see the love I have for my purse? Hearts automatically appear around the purse. amazing.):

My MIL bought me this purse for Christmas. She actually gave me TWO for Christmas and I've been switching between them, since December. This purse is a Relic, and it came from Kohls, and I guarantee she got a really good deal on it! :)

And here's what's inside:


Puffs tissues, Matthew's winter hat, post-it-notes (but no pen? hmm), two sets of keys (car keys and house keys with those cards for every store known to man), lotions, little band-aid holder (I have a three year old; band-aids are VERY important!), hiding behind the pamprin, tic-tacs, tampon, wallet, coupon holder, day planner, lip gloss, sunglasses.

Here's my question. WHY do I have 5 tubes of lipgloss? WHY? And look how they are all different colors? Sad fact- I actually use them all. I really do.

As for the tagging:

If you want to do this, do it! But make sure you tell me you do. This was fun... and scary... and now everyone knows I use Pamprin and tampons. Great. :)

My AMAZING Valentine's Day

I had the best Valentine's Day, ever. My husband is amazing. He deserves Hubby of the YEAR! :)

Just to clarify here, because I feel like he went WAY over the top... We don't spend a lot of money...on anything. I am SO thrifty, I cut coupons, and we horde our money like no tomorrow. ALSO- We didn't buy each other Christmas presents, this past year... and I think that might be WHY he was so extravagant with V-day. ;) Alas- he's amazing and I love him SO much. :)

So, here's what we did:

Friday I get a text message saying "pack a bag for you and I.... I have a surprise for you."

So.... I pack a bag for he and I.... and a bag for the kids (off to Gma and Gpas they go!).

(forgive ALL of the photos- they were taken with my phone)

I get pretty....



We go out to eat...


We get a flat tire (seriously. It always happens to us when we are trying to "vacation" or do something for ourselves...it's crazy)

And we head to a hotel.... Where this was just ONE of the surprises waiting for me....

Along with wine, chocolates, strawberries/chocolate, roses.... movies.... popcorn.... bath soaps... new perfume.... and NO KIDS. Needless to say, I lived in the jacuzzi for most of the time.

It was truly amazing. My husband is truly amazing. I am so blessed!

BUT wait...there's more!!!

So, we get the kids... we bring them home... and one last gift awaits.....

A brand spanking NEW mixer! In RED!!! :)


Needless to say- I am blessed. Not lucky... blessed. My hubby works so hard, day in and day out, to provide for his family. He not only is working over 40 hours a week, but he's also in his masters program. He has allowed me to stay home, to raise our kids, he has supported me, while I go to school. And he thanks me and tells me everyday how hard I work, and how thankful he is for me. He is amazing. He then turns around and spends way too much money, on one weekend, because he saw the need for our togetherness... and sanity! He spoiled me. I am thankful. I am SO thankful for his love and his partnership! :)

Weekly Wrap

Hope everyone had a wonderful week, and I hope everyone has hot dates this weekend for V-day! Here's how our week wrapped up:

1) Is it really Friday? I feel like this week was a blur! Oh- it's the 13th, isn't it? I want to see the new Friday the 13th... I know, it will be dumb and teenagerized (oh, new word!).... I have to see it!

2) My grandma broke her arm, trying to take the trash out, ALONE, when the sidewalks were still icy. We surprised her, on Wednesday, after playgroup and took her a meal and played. It's a memory I am going to hold onto forever. I've not been to the house, but once or twice, since my grandpa passed away, a few years ago. For some reason, I can't go there. There are memories there I wasn't ready to face. I feel like I faced them, on Wednesday, and it was wonderful. I have a new peace within my soul...and that is good!

3) My husband has been spoiling me this week. And I mean SPOILING! :) He isn't so romantic, usually, so for him to be doing anything for V-day is SO special to me. He's made me feel SO loved and appreciated. :) Thanks, babe! (HE EVEN washed my car and vacuumed it out! AH!)

4) There was another Ohio wind storm, this week! Luckily we didn't lose electric and we didn't have any damage (well, we were kind of hoping for some damage...because we want to replace our siding for CHEAP. haha. One can hope, right?)

5) Andy's grammie fell and hurt herself, during the storm, this week. Thankfully, she just bruised her hip, and it wasn't broken! We are thankful!

6) Birthday time is coming up, in my family. The end of February and the beginning of March is a busy B-day time for us! Next week starts my mom's Bday, then my niece Carli (turns ONE! Do you believe it? Me neither!!), then I turn.... an age, then my nephew Clay.... and more... SO many birthdays!

7) I start new classes next week. Two. boo.

8) I've had questions about Adam's school, and people shocked that we picked one so fast. I've been researching and talking to schools since October. I don't really think we chose one too fast. If anything, I probably put WAY too much thought into it. I really feel like we chose the right place. He has an interview in the next couple of weeks, to see if he "gets in." If he does, then we will know it's the right place! right? right.

9) Blogger won't upload photos.. GRR.

10) Have a wonderful weekend!

Registered....

For preschool....
4 days a week.....
3 hours a day......

When did he grow up?

*Edited* This post is perfect for Stacy's Theme Thursday. The theme for the day is "special." This boy is VERY special! :)

BSM: I do not like them, 'Sam I am!'

"I do not like green e.... OREGANO!"


Adam is SO curious. He loves looking in the cupboards and smelling the spices. So one day we went through and smelled every spice I have (literally. And I have a lot of spices!). He decided that oregano was the "smelliest, yuckiest," ever! I disagree...but what do I know? ;)

More BSM? Go see Tracey at her new blog! :)

Matty, Matty, Bo-Batty....

Remember that rhyme? ha ha. I sing it to the kids all of the time; they love it!

Anyway- my baby turns 19 months tomorrow. 19 months! Where does the time go? How do they grow up SO fast? I don't get it.

I took Matty to his 18 month appointment on Friday (yea, I know... a little late... cut me slack; we've been sick and we were snowed in!). Here are the stats:

Weight: 21lbs 10 oz. (5th %tile- yay! he went up 2 %tage points!!)

Height: 31.5 inches (5th %tile)

My child is small. Super small. And I like him that way. :)

We finished his "up to 2 years old" developmental chart at the 15 month appointment, so we didn't get to do that. My kid is a genius, what can I say? hehe.

Ummm... he had a double ear infection... yea... I didn't even know it. I am a horrible mom. I just thought he had a cold. Yes, he was cranky, but he's also getting his eye teeth. So... how was I to know? BOO.

And somehow, he knew, after the appointment, that he was really sick... because life went downhill from there. We had a crappy weekend, of him being VERY whiny and very clingy. He even spiked a fever. Not fun.


Ear infection and all... he's still the cutest 19 month I know!

(At the office on Friday, putting on my lipgloss...on his cheeks...see... GENIUS child!)

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On another note: Andy is going out of town today, for business... and he's TAKING ADAM! AH! I am freaking out a little. But Adam is SO excited, and he thinks he's going to help daddy fix the servers, at daddy's "other work." haha. It's so cute. They'll only be gone a couple of days. But man... I am going to miss my little buddy (and Andy, too, of course). What will I do with only ONE kid? ONE kid that doesn't talk back (yet)!! sigh. Pray for me. :)


How was your weekend?

Weekly Wrap

It's been a crazy week. I'm still semi-sick, so things are slow around here. But we've been having fun. I've not been taking a ton of photos.... I know... bad.

Here's what we've been up to:

1) My daddy's knee is healing up well! I took him the PT this week...with the kids... note to self.... Matty thinks the VERY heavy, weighted balls, are for him to kick around. They are not. He gets very mad. Temper tantrums ALL around.

2) I've been missing Ashley a lot this week. :( It's been 3 weeks, since she left. It's been a long 3 weeks! BUT- look at her beautiful photos, that we had taken, a few weeks ago. We stood out in negative degree weather, in order to get these shots. It was C O L D.



3) When my kids get bored, I give them underwear, in the car...apparently?

4) The groundhog (or Ehog, as Adam calls him) saw his shadow. AGAIN. Does anyone remember a time when he DIDN'T see his shadow? We made a lot of groundhog crafts, on Tuesday. Who knew there were so many groundhog crafts?

5) Adam and I have been into doing crafts/science experiments. We made lava lamps, out of oil, water, food coloring and salt. Very cool.

6) Matthew loves his new big boy bed... but not to sleep in:



7) Andy is going out of town this weekend, and some of next week. :(

8) I need Valentine's Day ideas. Anyone have any?

9) Anyone have any REALLY good dessert recipes, containing dark chocolate? Andy loves dark chocolate! :)

10) Today is Matthew's well check! Let's hope that poor little guy has gained some weight!

Hope your week has been well! :) Have a wonderful weekend!

Heart Smart

Sometimes I just think my little Adam is way too smart.

As I was having a moment of quiet time, this morning, Adam wakes up, and comes skipping into the family room. He is visibly excited about something, so I ask him what he was so happy about.

Our conversation continued:

Adam: Mommy! Do you hear it?

Me: Hear what?

Adam: My heart mommy! Do you hear it?

Me: (trying to get him to elaborate) Well, no. What about it?

Adam: It's Jesus, Mommy! He's walking around in my heart! I. can. hear it!

Me: Oh, the pounding in you heart! It's Jesus?

Adam: Yes, mommy! I hear him, he's REALLY in my heart!

(I think he's been skeptical this whole time. He's REALLY trying to figure out this whole, Jesus is your heart thing we've been telling him about.)

Me: Ohhhh... I am glad you finally heard him!

He then comes over and puts his head on my chest.

Lifts his head.

Puts it on a different part of my chest.

Lifts his head quickly. moves it to the other side of my chest.

again.

and again.

Adam: Mommy. I can't hear Him. He's not in your heart.

OUCH! ha ha ha.

Me: Adam, HE is there. I promise. He must be sleeping.

Whew. He took it.

But how sweet. I love that's he's trying to to logically connect everything we are teaching him, and what he's learning in Sunday School. I love it! :)

and I love this boy!

BSM: My Little Steelers Fans!

We're #1 ! We're #1!


More BSM? Head over to Tracey's for more best shots!

Super Bowl....

This year, I care. Normally I just watch for the commercials... BUT this year....

GO STEELERS!