Thanks Easter Bunny, BOCK, BOCK!!!

G and I made last minute lunch plans with my BFF at the mall today.  It was so nice to see her and her lovely ladies.  Both are growing so fast, I cannot believe that Miss L will be a year old in just a few days.
On the way to the food court we passed the Easter Bunny so I just knew that I had to have G's picture taken.  I almost didn't do it but went back and am glad I did. 

P.S. The BFF tells me that Miss A wants to marry G.  I'd be one lucky mamma to have G marry a girl like her.  

My husband, the baby whisperer!

After several grueling weeks of listening to G cry while falling asleep for 90% of his bedtimes and naps, Jimbo has discovered the secret to a blissful slumber for our sweet boy. It was so simple, almost too simple, but I think it speaks volumes to the strategy that we will need to employ with him in the future. Simply put, G needed control over when he went to sleep. He didn't like it when we laid him down in the crib and tucked him in. That was us telling him to go to sleep. Based on Jimbo's advice instead of doing that I now simply sit G in the crib, give him his binky, turn on the mobile and aquarium, kiss him goodnight, turn out the light and leave. He usually lays down before I've left the room, but its on his own terms. He's making the decision that he wants to go to sleep. No fuss, no muss, happy baby. It's amazing! It might just be luck, it might be that we're getting into more of a routine each night but I really think he's stubborn and independent just like me and Jimbo and that letting him decide when he wants to lay down is making a difference. I've done this each night this week and for both naps today and its worked like a charm. I hope it keeps up because it kills me to hear him cry!

Squeaky Clean!

We've tried a lot of different options for giving G a bath. The tub in our bathroom is big and deep so it's a back breaker to lean over into it (whose idea was it for me to be a new mom at 37?). The hall bathroom is a good option, but it's kinda hard to fill the cool inflatable tub that my BFF gave me with a regular faucet (note to self, get faucet cover). Neither of these is terrible BUT the utility sink in the laundry room just seems to be MADE for baby baths. No kneeling down , small enough to fill up without paying the ToC our life savings and it has a built in sprayer that is gentle enough to wash the soap out of his hair. As you can see he really hates bath time (<--sarcasm)

Winter Wonderland

It has been unusually snowy in NC this year. I think we've had 4 or 5 different storms pass through. Most of them melt before lunch, but that's besides the point. I thought the creek behind our house was really pretty framed by the snow covered limbs.

My favorite snow "moments" this year:

1) My girlfriend's husband issuing a "french toast warning" on his FB status. I'm totally with him on this. People completely overreact when the weather folks call for snow. And seriously, if I'm going to be stuck in my house for days (even if that was a reality here in NC...ok ONCE in my 37 years was I TRULY unable to leave my house) would those be the three most important things? I'm thinking more along the lines of beans, ground meat and tomatoes. If you ask R he'd say beer, beer and more beer, but he'd eat the chili.

2) Heading out to the store during the worst of the 5 storms this season for ground beef (see #1) and there not being any at the HT (snow + wicked good special). So being the efficient shopper that I was I scanned the ad and noticed that Pepsi products are B2G3 free. Anyone knows me knows that Diet Mountain Dew is my absolute fave. I've switched to the caffeine free version now, but I still love it. So I stocked up. I pulled into the checkout lane and was greeted by the cashier who says "Did you really need Mountain Dew on a day like this?" To which I replied "My husband is from the Dakotas and to them this is just a day"

Proof that I'm the crazy coupon lady

I was at BJs today and saw a lady buying $9 worth of pasta that I knew would cost her $3 at HT since it was B2G3. I couldn't help but say something to her. My DH was so embarrassed. Anyone else find themselves unable to keep the good deals to themselves?

You want me to eat what?

Peas I can handle, sweet potatoes I love, green beans I will tolerate, but avocado? seriously?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I heard Mom and Dad say something about needing a little "couple time" today and then they put me in here. I'm not really sure what that means, but Bracey and I sure are having fun. I'll check ya'll later.

Buds

I'm not quite sure who Grampa love more, but both our furry baby and Grampa's namesake sure love him a lot too!

Happy Boy

G's wild ride

G's first trip to KidsTogether Park was a rousing success. R and I are convinced that G will be stunt man when he grows up. He loves to be flipped around, bounced on the bed and let's not forget when his car seat rolled off the shoe bench when he was about 6 weeks old and he slept through the whole thing! We can't wait for the weather to get warmer so we can spend a lot more time at this awesome park near our house.

I saw a great movie tonight. I'm not sure it will win any awards, but that's generally not important to me. If a movie make me think or cry or laugh it usually gets 2 thumbs up. These days if I can just stay awake through it it goes down on my list of favorites. But this one really got me thinking.

It made me think about how different my life would have been if I'd married my first true love. How hard the time apart was and would have continued to be. Even harder than in college when I at least knew that he was safe. It made me wonder where he is now and if he's safe.

It made me think about my nephew who followed in my father's footsteps and joined the Army. I worried about him growing up wondering how he'd turn out, but he's turned into an amazing young man. It makes me so proud that he's doing so well and seems to found a place where he can thrive.

I cried because I'm a big wuss when it comes to tearjerkers. Seriously, Hallmark commercial make me cry and don't even get me started about watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition while I was pregnant.

All around it was a good movie and you should see it. At the very least add it to your Netflix queue.