So much

Life has been pretty busy lately. I can't even imagine what it would be like if I was working full time. Well, I DID work full time for a couple weeks when I was doing Census work and my YMCA job. I've been neglecting my blog...big surprise. I'm still reading everyone else's blogs, I just don't comment as frequently and I, obviously, haven't been posting on mine.

So, what has kept me so busy?? Let's see...

I finished my work w/ the U.S. Census. Let's just say it was an experience. The pay was crap, but probably pretty good for these parts. I was supposed to knock on every single door and give a little spiel about why I was standing on their property. I got to the point where I knocked as softly as humanly possible so that I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I did meet some nice and friendly people...including one lady who grew up in San Luis Obispo (I had my Cal Poly Engineering sweatshirt on)...we ended up talking for an hour and they showed me how they make wine and I even left with a bottle of wine. I was technically (as far as YOU know) off the clock when I accepted the bottle of wine. Ha! =)

We had a surprise 65th birthday party for my MIL, and we even got my SIL to fly in from TX for it...she had a terrible ride in, was diverted to another city, and got here 4 hours late...but she finally got here. And we had a BLAST at the party...MIL was VERY surprised!



I'm still working for the YMCA as a group exercise coordinator, and I finally taught my own class this week. I'm just subbing for one of my instructors who's busy for the summer. It was a lot of fun, even though I had to yell b/c I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out how to work the mic.

I met w/ 3 friends and our gaggle of boys (7 boys between the 4 of us + 2 girls) yesterday. We're making our own Mom's Day Out program for the fall. We'll pair up and watch ALL the kids (probably only 5 at a time) one day a week, so that every other week we have a day to ourselves. My mom gave me the idea, she did this with a friend when we were kids. I'm so excited! We'll start in August.

Mom and I are taking the boy and heading to Dallas next week. We'll stay with our next door neighbor from YEARS ago. I'm so excited to see her and her boys! It's been a couple years since I've hung out with her. And it will be so nice to get out of Dodge (er, Wichita) for a few days. When we get back then I only have a week and a half until we head south to OKC for our annual family reunion and a small family vacation. Again, woo hoo! Different scenery...even if OK isn't that different from KS.

AND, one more trip (so far) coming up this summer -- a very LONG drive to Indy to visit my sister and her family. That will be a longer trip and I'm looking forward to relaxing, seeing a new Buddy baby, and maybe seeing some other friends I haven't seen in way too long.

All that, and my boy is 14 months old today. So crazy! He is growing (size 5 shoes now!) and changing every day. He says Mama, car, uh oh, Dada, up, and a bunch of other stuff I can't understand. He climbs over and under stuff, tries to climb out of the bathtub, and practices getting on an off his car toy like it's a motorcycle. He goes crazy when his daddy comes home, and he LOVES to play with the RC Hummers w/ The Colonel. He is ALL boy, he never stops moving, but he still snuggles and gives his mama kisses. I love him more and more every day - and somehow that's possible. =) He loves to be outside and swinging in the park is a favorite. He finally started noticing the animals at the zoo. Oh, and I totally see his daddy's personality in him. He's wild and fun and animated when he's at home or with someone he loves and knows well. But he clams up and just watches when he's in a big group of kids. SO The Colonel!

We head to the pediatrician on Monday for his 14 month check and all of his shots. This is the round I'm nervous about...the one that some thing causes Autism. Pray for Lil Major and for Mama on Monday! No complications...no side effects...all is well...healthy baby boy!

Got Milk?

My 13 Month Old!

I'm pretty sure that my boy just turned ONE yesterday...so how is it possible that he's 13 months old today??? Time just flies!

Jenn posted super cute video of her daughter walking for the first time, and it made me realize that I'd never even taken any video of Lil Major walking. So, I had to fix that. He started taking steps at about 11 months, but he didn't really start walking more than crawling until a couple weeks ago. Now, he obviously prefers walking to crawling. My little boy is growing up...already!

Treats at my Door

My good bloggy friend Jody made my day today!! I can't remember how Jody and I "met." It may have been through another blogger friend, who I also can't remember how we met. But, as we've gotten to know each other through facebook and reading each other's blogs, we've come to realize that we have a lot in common - politics, faith, and a love for Ireland which includes a love for Bulmers, aka Magners (a YUMMY Irish cider).

So, when Jody recently spent some time on the East coast where you can actually buy Magners, I licked my lips and thought how I would LOVE some of that for myself. And you know what she did??? She carted some all the way home to middle America, AND THEN she sent some to me!! What a friend! A friend who I've been longing to meet in person, but it just hasn't happened yet. Some day...some day!

Playing Catch Up

Time just flies by. I can't keep up with what day it is or what I need to do. I totally spaced on Bible study last night, and didn't make it at all. And that was after I spent an hour crashing to finish my study that I hadn't kept up with all week.

Why am I so busy??

Well, because I went from being a stay at home mom to a mom with 2 part time jobs (where one is full time if I want it)...and I have a one year old running all over the place, too. And I want to go to the zoo and to the gym and out for coffee with the girls and I have a pair of pants in my car that need to be exchanged at the mall, but I can't seem to make it to the mall EVER. And my house is a disaster and my fully stocked pantry is starting to dwindle and it's GORGEOUS outside, but I haven't much noticed.

Oh, and the kicker?? My Bible study is all about how to make sure your priorities are right...guess I shouldn't have skipped out last night. =)

So, what are my jobs? I went through training recently to become an aerobics instructor, and at the end of that training, I heard about a job opening at the downtown YMCA as the group exercise coordinator. It's a position that I always thought sounded fun, but it came up at the perfect time. It requires organization and management and passion - all things that I definitely have. It pays crap, it's at the only branch in town that doesn't have child care, and it's a 20 minute drive from town, and it's definitely challenging...but I think it's going to be fun. It's supposed to be 10 hours/week, but with phone calls and emails from home, it's a lot more than that.

The second job is a top secret government agent. =) That's partly true, actually. I'm working for the census bureau to prepare for next year's census. Mom and I are both doing it. It's a temporary job for 8 weeks, and then we may be rehired for further assignments in a few months. You can work up to 40 hours/week, but they want you to work at least 30. I'm struggling to get in 20 hours. I'm wondering why I thought I could do both of these. Poor Lil Major is spending lots of time in his stroller walking around neighborhoods with me. He likes it for the most part b/c the weather has been so nice.

So, I'm working and working and working some more. I'm NOT getting to the zoo or to the swings at the park or to the mall to return my pants or to my bathroom to scrub the scum away. And the thought has passed through my mind that if I was still working as an engineer, I'd be working 40 hours/week and making about 4 times as much. Of course, my schedule is completely my own and I make it up as I go. I suppose it's only temporary.

As a reward for listening to me rant and rave, here are some pictures of my super cute boy. First up is Lil Major in his (or at least Mommy's) favorite shirt that his little friend gave him. Thanks Shell and Baby!!


We LOVE the "Cow" Poly socks!

This smile is for you, Baby!

We had a nice Easter, although it was freezing cold and raining. There were no egg hunts or big Easter baskets. Just some candy and strawberry shortcake. The Colonel bbq'd chicken for us in the cold and rain, and we just hung out. But, I did get some cute pictures of my boy...



My child has curly hair like his daddy. But it only shows up when his hair is wet, so i had to document...after I ruffled it up to stand straight up!



Now that spring is here (FINALLY!), The Colonel has been forced to break out the lawnmower again. So, the other day we introduced Lil Major to it...







After all that work, it was time for a relaxing swing...


We're enjoying any time we get to play, and I'm so enjoying watching my little man grow and change and learn. I'm so thankful for my time with him!

Celebrating Turning One

Last Sunday, on Palm Sunday, Lil Major turned ONE whole year old. Somehow the last year has flown by. It's gone by so fast that I have to look at pictures to remind myself how little he used to be. In some ways, he still looks exactly like he did as a newborn, I think. Some of his facial expressions are the same, and there are a whole slew of new ones.

We had a small family party on Sunday afternoon. In all my good-mama-wisdom, I chose to have the party start at 3pm. I figured we'd get a good nap in before all the festivities. Well, when the boy didn't sleep well, and the in-laws were late...well, things didn't go exactly as planned.

We started out by watching the LONG video I made. I could watch it every day. It's so fun to see how much he's changed over the last year. Anyway, there's a link to it on my FB in one of my notes if you want to see it.

Then we let the boy have a go at his cake. My mom and I (well, mostly my mom) made a super cute giraffe cake for us to eat.


Rerun thought the cake was for him...don't worry, there were no more traces of dog drool by the time we were done...

See the picture of our inspiration cake? Mom did AWESOME!!

I tried out this girl I found on craigslist to make a small cake just for Lil Major. She sent me a bunch of really cute photos of cakes she'd made. I guess it turned out ok, but my perfectionist self thought it could have been a bit better for just a round cake. Oh well. It didn't turn out to matter much b/c the boy was starting to melt down by then (we hadn't even done presents yet!), and he didn't eat much of it. A little anti-climatic if you ask me!



We rushed on to presents while my mom cut the big cake to serve. The kiddo got some great stuff! Puzzles and a towel and toys and blocks and a mini bench and a zoo membership and SUPER COOL Cal Poly clothes (thanks Shell!!) and the cutest polo shirt ever (thanks Agnes!) and a huge stuffed alligator.





We had a fun day, although it didn't seem quite real to me. How is it possible that I have a one year old? A toddler? A little boy with a wonderful personality, whose eyes light up when Mommy or Daddy walk into the room...God is so good, and I'm so thankful for my little man. I'm so excited to see what this next year brings.

After all of the excitement, Lil Major decided it was time for night night and marched himself back to the bathroom for his bath and snuggle time with Mommy. night night!

One Year Later

I've been a bad blogger. I didn't intend to, but most of my readers (except for you Jillian) are my FB friends now, and it just seems so much easier to update FB than my blog. Poor blog.

But, this week my blog deserves some updates. It was one year ago today that the journey to Lil Major's birth jumped into high gear. I'd been home from my trip to CA for about a week or so, and my body decided that it was DONE being pregnant. I headed to the hospital for a blood pressure check, and I didn't leave for FIVE WHOLE DAYS, and when I left, I had a HUGE part of my heart in my arms...in the form of my adorable son, Lil Major.

Wow! So much can happen in a year, and it goes by so fast. I've been working on a video of the boy's first year. When Jenn told me Julianne's video was 13 minutes, I was SURE that mine would be much shorter. I didn't have THAT much to show. Well, Jenn, I got ya beat...16 freakin' minutes!! And that was cutting it down!! I don't think I'll post it on my blog, but I'll put it on my FB (Jillian - I'll email you a link to it), and if you want to gush and goo over my cute boy for 16 minutes, have at it. I won't be (too) offended if you choose not to spend your 16 minutes that way. But, I can tell you...I'll be watching it over and over and over again from now to eternity!

I will be the mom of a one year old, an official toddler I guess, in just 2 more days. We've got the party planed (just some family), we'll make the cake tomorrow, I've got gifts to wrap. All that stuff is fine...but it hasn't hit me yet. That he's going be a whole year old. That he's walking around and talking and recognizing words and GROWING UP.

I never imagined I could love him so much, or that having him would make me love his Daddy more. People try to tell you about it, but you just don't get it until it's YOU going through it. Oh how my life is different, and I love (almost) every bit of the change. Ok, so getting woken up multiple times in the night isn't so fun, but I still love to cuddle with the monster.

Our weekend will be full, and I may shed a few tears, but I think I'll spend most of my time celebrating my little boy!

Provoking Question

So, as I was driving to the vet this afternoon (the VERY long way since google maps was WAY wrong) with my two precious puppies in their crate in the back of my car, I started thinking. I thought about how horrible it would be if I was rear ended with the dogs back there. Would they be ok? Would their crate be demolished?

And then I wondered what I would do first after an accident like that. Would I jump out and check on the driver of the other car? Or would I climb into the backseat to check on my darlings...the dogs, that is.

And I can tell you FOR SURE that I would check on my dogs first. They're part of my family, I've loved them for 7 years, and I have no clue who the yay-hoo is in the car behind me who just messed everything up.

What would you do?

Cupcakes

As if I need another distraction or bullet point on my TO DO list. But, I've found another obsession...besides deal shopping...in recent days. Do you guys read Pioneer Woman?? If you don't, you're SO missing out. I LOVE her blog! And recently she had a contest for people to come to her ranch (to the Lodge which has just been redone) in OK to watch another awesome blogger (who's I've just discovered), Bakerella, make cake pops and cupcakes. Do you know that OK is JUST DOWN THE ROAD from me??? I signed up immediately...but I didn't win. Luckily, there will be more contests coming soon, and I will definitely be signing up for those, too!

Anyway, Bakerella (who posted all about her trip to the Ranch here) makes these AMAZING cupcakes and cake pops...and maybe, just maybe, I could actually do it, too. And I do have a little boy with a birthday coming up, and birthdays every year...and I love to bake.

Of course, it's Lent, so I can't EAT anything that I bake right now. But, that's probably a good thing.

Yesterday, Mom and I were wandering around Sam's Club. I had 2 things on my list to buy. Which is bad, because I walked out with about 5 items. And one of them was this:

It is FULL of amazing looking cupcakes. They seem to be VERY time consuming, but totally doable by a normal average baker, like me. Check this out!!

Yes, they're all cupcakes. And I wish I could take some artistic looking picture of my book, but I'm not so talented in that area, either. What AM I talented in?? Oh, deal shopping. Ok, pity party over.

Here's a cupcake that looks EXACTLY like my dog. How cool is that??

And here's one that has ME written all over it. I will definitely be making this set.


I really had no idea you could do so much w/ cupcakes...but I'm going to be trying to learn in the coming months!

Is there a 12 step program for this???

I'm totally addicted! Totally! I wait anxiously for the paper on Wednesday morning so I can scour the Dillon's ad for deals. And don't get me started on the Sunday paper. Do you know what gems are in there?? The Walgreen's ad is a diamond in the rough. Ok, enough with the stupid cliches. But, seriously, there are deals to be found out there.

I used to hate Walgreens. The selection seemed small, I could never find the advertised products, and it just seemed more expensive. I reserved my trips there for last minute items that I just had to have and it was the closest store around. AND THEN. I learned how to shop there. How to use the weekly ad as well as the Easy Saver book, rebates, manufacturer's coupons...and I started saving money, big time!!

Here's my latest find. All of the items in the picture below SHOULD have been purchased with NO out of pocket money. But, I screwed up (hey, I'm still learning, too) and whipped out my credit card to pay for one item before I remembered I had a WG gift card. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Check out the photo, and then I'll give you the rundown.


Ignore the half eaten Zone bar, I got hungry on the way home. =)

Ok, let me start off by telling you that I had a gift card to Walgreens with $26+ on it -- that gift card is from rebates at Walgreens using the Easy Saver booklet you can find in the store. If you redeem the rebates on a WG gift card instead of a check, you get a 10% bonus.

I purchased the above in 2 transactions. The reason for that is because I got Register Rewards (RR) on the first transaction, which is just like cash, that you can use on your very next transaction...and I wanted to use it before I forgot I had it.

Transaction #1:
Gillette Fusion Gamer Razor - on sale for $8.99 and I used a $4.00 off coupon from the paper, THEN I got a $4 RR to use on transaction #2. Note: this is where I screwed up and used my credit card for the $5.56 total - I SHOULD have used my gift card.

Transaction #2:
4 Zone Bars - on sale 2 for $3, so $6 total. I had a coupon for buy one get THREE free = $1.59 (seems like it should be $1.50, but it's the way the "2 for" deal rang up. Go get that coupon HERE!!

Huggies Natural Care Wipes (216 ct) - on sale for $6 and I used a $5 off coupon I found on coupons.com (not sure if it's still available, but go look anyway!) There's a special at WG this week that if you spend $25 on huggies products (BEFORE COUPONS), you get a $10 RR - I decided not to do it.


Crest Pro-Health toothpaste - on sale for $2.49 and I had a $1 off manufacturer coupon pluse I got a $1 RR, so the total was $0.49. (I should have done this in the first transaction so I could use the $1 RR on this trans)


Aquafresh toothpaste - on sale for $0.99 with a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad PLUS I had a $0.75 off coupon. Total was $0.24.

Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste - regular price $3.49 and I used a $2.50 store coupon from Easy Saver book plus a $1.50 manufacturer's coupon from the March All You magazine. Total was a MONEY MAKER! That's right...I made $0.51 on this deal.

I also purchased those bra things, y'know, so your straps don't show. My mom wanted them. They were on sale for $9.99, and I had no coupons for them.

I used the $4 RR from my first transaction, so the total was $10.03. This time I remembered my gift card, so there was NO out of pocket. plus, I got the $1 RR from the Crest to use on my next visit to the store. If I wouldn't have bought the bra things, I would have had to throw something else in my basket (gum, candy, whatever) or else my total would have been negative! Crazy, eh??

AND (yes, there's more), while I was there, I transferred a prescription so when I pick it up this afternoon, I'll use this coupon and get a $25 gift card. Not bad, huh?

It's a little daunting and frustrated when you first start, but it's SO worth it. And of course, I have 3 different brands of toothpaste that we didn't always buy before, but they'll work just fine!

$12 Deal

One of my favorite deal blogs tipped me off to some sales at Target that worked great with some online coupons.

I got 6 pounds of beef (steaks and roast) and 30 snack sized applesauce containers for $12. Not bad, eh?

Seriously??

It's been a week since I last posted?? Seriously?? I really do make an effort to post more regularly than that. Of course, if you're on Facebook, you see much more of me these days.

Anyway, it has been a full week. Until yesterday afternoon, I was ready to pull my hair out. The boy is teething...again...and he's fussy...all the time...unless I hold him. It's not a full out scream, it's just some whining. I know I'm being paid back for how whiny I am...er, was.

But, yesterday, I saw the little culprit that has been causing us so much grief. Tooth #7 made an appearance on the bottom of Lil Major's mouth. And then it was 80 degrees yesterday (I'm afraid it's just a tease, I don't think spring is here to stay, yet!), so we bee-lined it to the zoo with Mema and Papa. And because I figured it was the first of many trips (Mema and Papa bought us a membership for Lil Major's upcoming birthday), I didn't take any photos.

It was so much fun to walk around and enjoy the sunshine and watch the people...I mean, animals. Although there were some interesting people out yesterday, too. I should have taken photos of them!

In addition to all of this, the boy turned 11 months old yesterday! I can NOT believe it. 11 months ago I was getting ready for my trip to CA, thinking that I had WEEKS until he would show up...when I really only had a few. So crazy! I'm working on a small family party for his big day - which happens to fall on Palm Sunday this year, and a video/slideshow (thanks to the help from Jenn) of his first year.

We've been seeing a lot of Daddy this week. He forgot his cell phone one day and then he forgot his mp3 player yesterday (he sits at a desk all day and NEEDS his talk radio/podcasts to get him through), so we've been taking his stuff to him in the morning. For the first time, I saw where he has worked for the last 2 years. He showed us around and showed off his "offspring," as he calls the boy. I think Daddy really enjoyed it, so I teased him last night about what he was going to forget today. =) I'm LOVING our family time together.

Our church had a STAGE night this week - it was a chance to show off your talents and hobbies. We thought it was a great idea and expected to see the auditorium packed with all kinds of stuff. Well, there was ONE great display. The Colonel took his portable train set. I've talked about his hobby a little before, but since the boy was born, The Colonel made another train display that can be taken apart and fit in the back of the Hummer. It was the hit of the night! A lot of our friends were there with their kids, and most of them had seen the train before, so they were excited to have another up close shot. Here are a few pictures. The first one didn't turn out well, but I'm posting it so you can see the signs that The Colonel made.



One more thing happened this week, something BIG. Something that we've been waiting for for a while. Something that I'm scared and excited and unsure about.

Lil Major started walking!!! Walking, I say. Unassisted, upright, walking on his own!

Now, he didn't just get up and run across the room like his cousin did, but he did take 4 steps to walk from me to Papa. And he's done that several times since. But, usually just if we encourage him. He knows that he can crawl MUCH faster than he can walk, so he usually drops down to his knees and crawls away. Here's my attempt to capture his mad new skills. I was a little too close, but I promise you, he took 3 steps from Daddy to me without our help. =) My boy is growing up!