Brandon's Puppy

Fun Times Ahead

I'm actually going to enjoy my kiddies on Halloween this year. For the last four years, I couldn't enjoy the evening with Brandon because I was in school. No matter how I tried to coordinate when I registered for classes each semester, I always end up in class on Oct. 31. Thankfully, that's not a problem anymore. I'm done with school, and I get to hang out with my boys all night long tonight. And I'm getting off from work early today to boot! Matty has his 9-month well check visit at 3PM, then we're headed to the party early to help Viv set up.
Another fine reason why I'm glad I graduated already!! =)

Getting Back in the Loop

SarahK mentioned wanting to see Wicked a couple of days ago. I looked online and discovered that the show is coming to my area next March, and I looked for tickets online. I was hoping to find something reasonably priced, but all I could find were the expensive seats. I wish I'd known when they show was announced, or when they went on sale. I would have probably had better luck with the tickets.
I'm so out of it. Before hubby and I got married and started a family, we'd go to events all the time: concerts, sporting events, comedy clubs. Now we're completely out of the loop. I know that money is part of it, we'd rather use our money on things for the kids or the house than entertainment outings, but we don't even hear about events anymore. I need to sign up for some of those event alerts. At least we'd know about any concerts or shows coming up, and if finances permit and sitters are available, hubby and I can schedule some much-needed "grown-up" time.

What are your plans?

Weather permitting, we will be heading to our friend Vivian's house for her annual Halloween party at 6PM. The festivities include crafts, games, and trick or treating. Around 8PM, we will then head to Claudia's house for her fabulous haunted house (the kiddies will stay outside, or in the car with hubby if it's raining). I expect to be back home by 9PM. Then I will bathe the boys and put them to bed.
What are you doing this Halloween night?

Happy Halloween!!

Little Hero

Had you heard about the little girl in Colorado that used the OnStar button on her mother's car to call for help when her mother blacked out? I just heard about it today, even though it's something that occured in February. What astounds me is that the little girl knew exactly what the OnStar button was for because she overheard the salesperson at the car dealership explaining the feature. This is just another fine example of what sponges young children are. This observation saved not only her mother's life, but her own life and her little brother's as well. Amazing, isn't it?!

Pictures

of our trip now on Flickr.

Select a Candidate

A friend of mine sent me the link to this quiz last week, and it's pretty interesting. It pairs you up with a presidential candidate that most matches your views on several factors, including the war in Iraq, immigration, healthcare and Social Security, abortion, and the death penalty. Check it out!

Brandonisms and Well Wishes

I found it funny that WB decided to post her own Brandonisms over the weekend. My son really is a character. You can read her post here. And while you're over there, send her some feel-good vibes. It seems she has a stomach bug and is feeling icky.

5.11 Tactical

I was trying to help a friend of mine with a search for some tactical gear for a gift for her significant other, and came across this blog: 5.11 Tactical. They highlight the best tactical gear, featuring products from LA Police Gear. It took me a while to figure out that 5.11 Tactical was the brand name of the products, not the name of some sort of military tactic. It really is true that you learn something new every day.

3/4 of the way through infanthood

The little guy is 9 months old today. With the holidays coming up, his 1st birthday will be here in a flash. It really is a bittersweet experience watching him grow. I want him to stay a baby for much longer, but it is fascinating to observe him learning about and exploring the world around him. Just yesterday he got into a bit of a predicament under our barstools, and you could tell by the look on his face he was analyzing how he got there, and how he was going to get out. He's a ball of deliciousness, and we couldn't be luckier.

Happy 9 months, my gordito!

Almost forgot

All that throwing up on Saturday? It was teething! Matty sprouted his 3rd tooth today, upper left incisor. Just in time for his 9-month birthday tomorrow. =)

Pereiraville, Part 1

I intend on catching up on some sleep tonight after the crazy weekend we had, so this story will be told in two parts, some today and some tomorrow. We left Miami on Saturday afternoon, at 4PM. We had hoped to leave earlier, but Matty threw up right before I was going to feed him lunch (around 2) and we were waiting it out. He tolerated some water, so we considered it a fluke and began our journey. We stopped at the Ft. Pierce/Port St. Lucie service plaza for a late lunch, and I attempted to fed Matty an early dinner. Bad idea. The two jars of food came out almost immediately after they went in. We hesitated for just a moment if we should keep going, but Matty was in good spirits. He had no other symptoms, and he's had a swollen gum for about a week so we chalked it up to teething and continued on our way to Central Florida. We arrived at Pereiraville at approximately 9PM. It seems that our lovely hosts are very punctual people. The party was slated to begin at 7PM, and by the time we arrived, the hosts and the guests were all partially inebriated. This leads me to believe that the party began on schedule. I was glad to finally meet wb's cousin J (and her husband), and several of wb and sherlock's friends, who I've heard so much about.

It should be noted that we were the only ones not in costume. I have previously posted about hubby's grand dislike of costumes, so I knew he wouldn't dress up. I had pulled a costume out of storage that I thought of wearing, but when I tried it on I noticed it had an odd stain, probably from the humidity in our storage room, and ditched the idea before leaving home. I did take the boys' costumes and put Brandon's on during the party, but didn't put Matty's because it's borrowed and I didn't want it to be on the receiving end of a sicky-baby accident. Speaking of sicky-baby accidents, there were no more. Matty had a bottle around 10:30, which he tolerated well, and calmly slept through the night.
Not long after our arrival the karaoke began. The Pereira's are serious karaoke-ers. They have over 2000 songs on file, and they are listed in binders so that their guests can browse through their catalog. As much as we were encouraged, we did not participate. Hubby is a party pooper, and I'm just too shy to sing in front of strangers. Heck, I don't even sing in the shower, let alone in a room full of people! But we had a great time watching them all perform. Even Brandon and Matty were into it, and wb tried to play some Disney songs to encourage Brandon to sing. It didn't work.
Wb and sherlock kicked everybody out by midnight so that we could get a few good hours of sleep before we headed off to Busch Gardens on Sunday. We tried to sleep well, but it didn't happen. wb and sherlock were gracious enough to let us sleep in RTY's room, which we had to remodel a bit to fit our inflatable mattress and Matty's playpen. Brandon slept in RTY's bed, his first time in a twin bed, and he fell out of three times! Twice we felt him slipping onto the inflatable mattress and put him back on the bed, but one time he fell all the way down, rolled off the inflatable, and ended up under RTY's bed. He ended up getting stuck under the bed and got frantic when he couldn't get himself out. We didn't want to wake up Matty, but we had no choice and had to turn on the lights. In retrospect it's a pretty funny scenario, but the room was pitch black and it was the middle of the night, and I was on the verge of getting frantic myself. But after that scenario we all went back to sleep until Matty woke up hungry around 6:45AM.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 2 at Pereiraville. Hubby is waiting for me to hop in the shower so we can go to sleep.
Good night!

p.s. I loaded the pictures onto flickr, but they are currently set to "private" as I still have to add captions. I'll let you all know when they are ready for viewing.

While We Were Gone

The Dolphins lost against the New York Giants. What is up with the 'fins this year???
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series! Way to go, Sox!
Both my nephews got sick, with Mikey in the hospital with pneumonia .He's better now, thank God.

A quick thought before I get on with my workday

As we were driving home from Tampa yesterday afternoon, I mentioned to hubby that it’s a real shame we haven’t taken the time to visit other places in the state besides Tampa and Orlando. We really should schedule a vacation that does not include theme parks, and drive through the state getting to know places like Naples, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and St. Augustine. I recently heard about a cool event in St. Augustine called Uptown Saturday Night. They have what I would call a street party. The event spans several streets featuring live music, train tours, book readings and signings, art exhibits, and all sorts of St. Augustine shopping: rare books, antiques, and even authentic Spanish treasure. Oh, and each participating shop features wine and refreshments to add to the atmosphere. If there’s one place I can think of to go antique shopping, it’s St. Augustine. You all know how I feel about shopping! And Brandon would LOVE that train tour. It sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?
It’s the last Saturday of every month, from 5PM until 9PM. It seems we just missed it, since the last one was this past Saturday. The next one is November 24th. That’s Thanksgiving weekend, which would be perfect for us to drive up for the long weekend if that weren't hubby's scheduled weekend to work. =(

I should have just called in sick today

I got in to work a short while ago. I knew it was going to be a rough day, but it's been just a bit rougher than expected. We snoozed the alarm clock three times and were rushing to leave the house. I left 15 minutes later than usual, and as a result dealt with more traffic congestion than I'm used to. I was just a couple of miles from the sitter's house when hubby calls me that I have his keys in my purse. Doh. I told him to leave for work and I'd turn around to lock the house. I left Matty, went back home, locked the door and drove to hubby's job to drop off his keys, then finally headed to work.
I'll recap our crazy weekend later. In the meantime, you can see pictures and read wb's take on it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. I'll be back later.

Out for the weekend

Thanks to my profits from paid posting, we are headed to Pereiraville for the weekend! YAY! We're heading out around 2PM, once hubby gets home from work.We should be there just in time for the start of their annual Halloween party. Then tomorrow we're headed to Busch Gardens. We'll be back tomorrow night. Keep the place clean, and don't have any wild parties while we're gone, 'k?

(oh, and don't tell wb and sherlock. We've got a little surprise for them.)

A little about LED lights

Now that Halloween is almost upon us, the Christmas sections at retailers are getting bigger and bigger. In fact, this morning when I went to the store I couldn’t find the Fall decorative aisle. The candy aisle was there, so was the costume aisle, but the aisle with all the cute home décor stuff for Fall? Gone! Christmas has taken over. The big things like artificial trees, outdoor decorations and wrapping paper aren’t out yet, but the boxes of twinkly lights are everywhere. I noticed that LED Christmas lights are abundant this year. Makes sense, with the current “go Green” movement in full force. I read somewhere that if 20% of American homes switched to LED Christmas lights during the average holiday season, that switch would save over 400 gigawatt hours of electricity. That’s a pretty big deal for such a small change, I think.
And now I have passed on this small tidbit on to you, and you can say you learned something new today.

EOAS, Week 17

Here we are again, another installment of Evolution of a Scrapper. This week features Brandon and Beka waiting for the New Year (2005), and Brandon's 2nd birthday party. The pages are self-explanatory so I won't be captioning them this week. I will say that I was quite creative with the birthday party. At the time Brandon was hooked on Toy Story 2, so we had a Woody's Round-up party. We played a variety of party games, and I tried to relate them to the movie. The kids played Hot Potato using a Mr. Potato Head doll as the hot potato. I hid a bucket of army men all over and the kids had to find them. There were a couple more, but I don't remember them right now. Enjoy the pages!

Can men have blonde moments too?

I made a quick visit to Walmart this morning before heading into work. I was next in line to pay, in front of me was a man purchasing a few items. One of them was a 12-pack of toilet paper, which was not bagged by the cashier because it doesn't fit in the standard size shopping bags. The man looked outside, saw that it had started to lightly rain (just a drizzle), and asked the lady for two extra bags to cover the toilet paper so that "it won't get wet". I wonder how long it was before he realized that the paper comes wrapped in plastic and won't get wet!
D'oh!!

Greeting Cards Scholarship Contest

As soon as I heard about the 1st Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest, I thought of my former supervisor and friend Yvonne. She has such an amazing ability to create greeting cards that I would frequently tell her that she should be working for a greeting card company. Unfortunately, the contest is only open to high school and college students, deeming her ineligible. The Gallery Collection is sponsoring the contest, and will award the winner a $10,000 scholarship. I'm sure you've heard of them, they are one of the top publishers of business Christmas cards, personal Christmas cards, and all occasion cards in the country.
It’s a snap to enter this Christmas cards scholarship contest. Those eligible simply fill out the entry form and submit their greeting card design by January 15, 2008. The submission can consist of an original design, graphic or photography, and needs to be horizontal, measuring 5½"x 7 ⅞". It should be a pretty easy process for those creative types.
I know several parents with eligible children, and I’ve forwarded on the contest information. What parent wouldn’t love their child to win a $10,000 scholarship? In fact, it’s not just the parents, but the kids too. I had to pay my own way through college, and I would have been elated to win a contest just by coming up with a creative greeting card!

Enemy, thy name is Time

I like all kinds of music, but one of my absolute favorite genres is Freestyle. You might remember me mentioning this kind of music before. There are a lot of great songs, one of them being "Take Me in Your Arms" by Li'l Suzy. Hard to believe, but she was just 12 years old when she recorded that song. Li'l Suzy is all grown up, and is expecting her first baby. She's 28 now, and that's kind of surreal to me. I mean, yes, everyone grows up and moves on, but I still listen to that kind of music, it's still played locally on the radio from time to time. You kind of imagine that the songs and artists are frozen in time. Kind of like running into someone you haven't seen since middle school or high school. You remember them a certain way, and it's a total surprise how they look, what they've done, and where they are in their life.
Oh, yeah, and the killer? I feel old! Those songs were released almost twenty years ago!

For wRitErsbLock

There's a "cold" front coming in. It's 74 degrees over here. I wonder if it will be cool this weekend? That would be nice, wouldn't it?! =)

California

The winds have died down in Southern California, but fires are still threatening lives and homes. Most of my blogging Cali friends have posted, and all are okay. My prayers go out to everyone over there. May you all remain safe and out of harm's way. I hope this is the beginning of the end, and that it ends much sooner than later.

Trying our luck

About a year ago, hubby got hooked on playing casino games online. He thought up what he thought was an awesome strategy for roulette, and decided to test out his theory. He had hopes that if it worked, we could head over to the local casino one day and try it out. He won a few times, and he’d put his “winnings” back into play and try again. This went on for a while, until there was one time when he lost big. Thank goodness he was playing for fun and not with real money.
Sometimes I wonder if we would have had any luck with his strategy. It’s a big risk to gamble, but it would have been so awesome to win some big jackpot. Then again, hubby tends to have streaks of bad luck, so I think we’d better stick to playing for fun. If he gets the urge to play again, I’ll just redirect him to a few online casino sites and he can get that urge out of his system.

A couple of things checked off the "To Do" list

In spite of my slow morning, I did actually get some things done today. Besides work-related stuff, I was able to make those phone calls I needed to make, one of which is to one of the local parrishes to set up Matty's Baptism. We have to attend a preparation class in two weeks, and then we can pick the date. I've really slacked on this one. I want to have him Baptized before he turns 1, and I know I'm cutting it real close.
The other call I made was for an appointment for Brandon's very first visit to the dentist. This will take place in about two weeks as well, and I'm a quite anxious about it. I fear that he'll freak out. He normally behaves very well at the pediatrician's office, but this is different. I'm going to start mentally preparing him for the visit, explaining what the dentist is going to look for and what he's going to do. Other than that, all I can do is hope that he doesn't panic. I'd like to hear how you handled it. Did your kid(s) freak out? What did you tell them to ease their worries?

Fawning over free stuff

Last Thursday, my employer held the annual benefits fair. I’d been looking forward to it all month, not just because I can ask questions about the plans available, but I can get a bunch of promotional products from the different companies to take home to Brandon. Each table had at least one thing, ranging from pens to keychains, but my favorite was the sling backpack from the medical insurance carrier. It’s a perfect little bag to have in the car for the boys’ toys. I still have to sort through all the goodies I got last week; they are all still sitting on my kitchen counter in a plastic bag. I’m trying to keep it there as a reminder to go online (from home, so I can discuss with hubby) and make my benefits selections before the deadline next week. So far it’s not working. Maybe reading this blog entry later on tonight will jog my memory.

Much ado about nothing

We had an office meeting this morning, and that threw my day off completely. It's almost 1PM, and I haven't done a thing. I haven't blogged, I've hardly worked, and I haven't made a couple of phone calls I need to make for some I need to resolve. And, it's lunchtime and I haven't eaten yet.
I really need to get on the ball, but I just can't find the motivation to do so. It's one of those "blah" days.
How's your Wednesday going?

Wishful thinking

I got home about an hour ago. I'm almost done making dinner, hubby is bathing Brandon, and I've got washed one load of laundry, and am about to fold another one. Still to do: Feed and bathe Matty, eat, and take a shower. I might be pushing my luck, but it looks like I just might get to scrap a bit tonight...

Shopping Saves Money. Really, It Does!

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? I haven’t. I’ve gotten so lazy about it, not to mention my shopping is limited this year. For the very first time, I’m going to have to strictly stick to our budget. That’s why I think I’m going to do most of my shopping online, and I’ll definitely be using some of the coupons on couponchief.com. My list is relatively short, it’s mostly kids and two adults for the gift exchange hubby and I participate in with our group of friends. Looks like they’ve got great deals at KBToys.comfor the little ones, and I’ll save money with the adults too using the Bestbuy.com offers. I love shopping in person, but knowing I’ll be saving money with my gift-giving makes online shopping just as satisfying.

Food for Thought

(cross-posted at Babalu)

I read this article, and all I could do was stare at my computer screen. It seems unbelievable to me that some people still believe that lifting the embargo and allowing travel to Cuba will help the Cuban people and suddenly put food on their tables and money in their pockets. The ignorance is overwhelming.

“Clarion farmer and Iowa Corn Promotion board member Deb Keller said allowing U.S. tourists to visit would give Cubans more dollars to buy ag products.”

Power's out

I don't think I've mentioned that Brandon's school has been without power since Friday morning. From what the director told me, there was some sort of accident with the transformer for the shopping center (it's one of those ground transformers, those big green boxes). It got knocked out of place, I'm not sure if a truck hit it or something. The power company finally replaced it yesterday, and the electrician for the building did whatever he had to do, but we found out this morning when hubby dropped off Brandon that they didn't get a permit for whatever they did. Now they have to wait for the county to come inspect everything.
The director speculates that power should be back by the end of the week, but you know how these things go. The good thing is, the kids are having a blast! They are "surviving" on lots of water and fruit punch and popsicles to stay hydrated. They have been playing in the playground and watching movies, and they ordered pizza for lunch yesterday. I'm sure the teachers are trying to incorporate some sort of structured lessons, but Brandon has been having so much fun with the new activities that he hasn't mentioned anything else. And tomorrow they are bringing out the water slide used during their summer camp. I bet the kids want this blackout to last forever!

Dental Distress

My poor friend K. Her weekend was wonderful, what with having her bridal shower and all, but she started off this week on a bad note, with a terrible tooth ache. She couldn’t even call me yesterday to tell me she wasn’t going to work, it hurt so bad (we call each other every morning during our commute to the office). They way she tells it today, she woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain, she says it felt like a knife was continuously being stabbed into her tooth and gum-line. She couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night, and rushed to the dentist as soon as she could yesterday morning. Apparently she lost a filling and hurt herself eating potato chips on Sunday while watching TV with her hubby-to-be.
I wish I had remembered to tell her about Dentemp OS when she called me. It’s a temporary dental repair product which would have eased her pain instantly. It's quick and easy, and she could had have breakfast before heading to the dentist, since it sets after just 30 minutes. Oh, and another good thing, it fully complies with FDA regulations for oral care.
I don't remember ever having a major tooth ache or losing a filling, but I've heard that it's second in pain level only to giving birth. Well, I've gone through that twice, so I can sympathize with anyone who has to deal with dental woes.

Insert Witty Title Here

Well, as luck would have it, I was not able to scrap last night. I did gather my things, but by the time dinner was ready and the boys were bathed, fed and put to bed, it was 9:30. That's in spite of having bathed Brandon as soon as we got home. Somehow he got wet at school in the playground and he was drenched from the waist down. Even his shoes were soaked. I think it was his little evil plan: we bought him new Thomas the train sneakers at Target on Sunday, and I told him he couldn't wear them to school until his current ones were worn out. Wouldn't you know it, he needed to wear his new shoes today because the other ones are still wet. =/
Anyway, let's see if I have better luck tonight, but I doubt it. Hubby needs to go for a haircut after work so I have to man the fort alone until later than usual.

Scrappy Storage

I’ve spent the last twenty minutes trying to get all my scrapping supplies together for my little crop session tonight. I’m slightly irritated by my lack of organization when it comes to my scrapping things and my pictures and albums. I’ve told hubby we need to come up with storage solutions for these things. Right now they are in different places-one part of the kitchen cabinets, on the floor in a corner of the dining room, and the hall closet. Part of the hall closet contains his tools. I think I need to kick his stuff out of there. If we add a shelf or two, and that’s the perfect place for all my craft gear. Now we just need to find his stuff a new home.

I vote for longer weekends!!

I feel like I didn't stop all weekend long. Saturday the boys and I went to my friend K's bridal shower. After that I rushed us home to change clothes and pick up hubby, met up with my sister, and we took the four boys to the pumpkin patch (did you see the pictures on flickr? Aren't they cute?!). After the pumpkin patch, I dropped off hubby and the boys and went to Claudia's birthday party. Oh boy, was that a blast! I'll share some pictures when the other girls pass them on, mine aren't all that great.
Yesterday morning I went to visit a friend/coworker who is in her first trimester and on bedrest (but doing fine, thank G*D). About an hour later went back home, picked up hubby and the boys and we headed to hubby's BFF's house to watch the Dolphins game. After a not-so-pleasant game, we went to get Brandon's hair cut (he's got school pictures tomorrow), then to Target for our weekly staples shopping. Got home, fed and bathed the boys, put away the Target stuff, did the dishes, got a load of laundry done, and by that time it was 10:30PM. Where did my weekend go??
So in an effort to relax I have decided to be a bit irresponsible this evening and do what I want to do, instead of what I need to do: I'm gonna do some scrapping! Hopefully I'll get the kids to bed early and will be able to do a few pages. Besides, this looks like it's going to be a pretty hectic week, and next weekend we'll be MIA, so I've got to get some "me" time in while I've got the chance!

For your viewing pleasure

New pictures from the weekend now on flickr. I'll be back in a little while.
Enjoy!

Teasers until Tomorrow

Please forgive the lack of blogging today. Although I expected yesterday to be my hectic day, and today to be a day of rest and relaxation, that was not the case. I will elaborate tomorrow, but for now, I give you these lovely shots of my two boys. Have a great night!

Stylin' Strollers

Have you heard of Mutsy? Sounds like the name of a cute cartoon character, but it's actually a line of baby products that has been around since the 1930's (under the name Mutsaerts). They include five different models of strollers which, with the except of one model (the 3-wheeled Spider stroller), is interchangeable and grows with your baby. Parts include a bassinet, stroller seat, and a fun seat that bigger kids can "steer" the stroller with. They come in great colors like lime, ocean, orange, and silver/black. But my favorite characteristic is their futuristic design.
I wish I'd heard of this brand sooner. A couple of retailers in town carry the line. I think I might stop by with a couple of pregnant friends to check them out. If I can't get it, at least I can convince them to!

Go, Maura, Go!!!

My sister started her race about an hour ago (PT). If it weren't for the power of the internet, my sister would probably not have reached her goal. Thanks to everyone who donated and wished her well. She'll be back home tomorrow night, and I hope she has some pictures that I can post later.
Go Maura! We're so proud of you!

Busy Bees

It's going to be a slow day around this blog. The boys and I are going to a bridal shower at noon. When we get out of there, we're coming home to change and hopefully headed to the pumpkin patch. Then at 8 I have to magically split in two: my cousin called me that she wants to get together to have dinner at Bonefish Grill for her birthday, and my friend Claudia has her own birthday party going on at her house (I'll figure out how long we'll be where when 8 rolls around).
Somewhere in between, I have to head to Target to get Claudia's birthday present and jars of food for the baby.
Tomorrow will be significantly less hectic, and I will recharge then.

Have a great Saturday, everyone!

She's mental, but we love her anyway

This is my friend Claudia. No, she's not in a mental institution, even if it seems so. That's her living room during Halloween last year. She turned her entire house into the Hyde M. Asylum for Halloween. Look through the pictures and you'll learn a great deal about her: Her immense creativity, her sense of humor, her attention to detail, and best of all what a great friend she is (otherwise, she wouldn't have had a house full of volunteers...er, patients in her asylum). She's crazy and sometimes I wonder if she really should live in a mental institution, but I love her anyway.

Happy Birthday, Claude! =)

Cute Christmas Cards

I’ve been browsing since early this month for our holiday greeting cards and my absolute favorites are from tiny*prints. I heard about this company over a year ago when plans were under way for my baby shower. I didn’t get a chance to use them for the shower or birth announcements, but I would like to order our personalized Christmas cards from them. I thought they were a small online business, but it seems they’ve hit the big time: a bunch of celebrities have used their products for their birth announcements, baby shower invitations and thank you cards.
They have some of the cutest cards I’ve ever seen. Their site allows you to personalize and preview instantly. And they’ve got a nice selection of business holiday greeting cards too.
This is the one I like best. What do you think?

Sicky no more

I've received a few emails asking how Brandon is doing (Thank you!!), and I realized I should give you all a little update. Good news: He's better! YAY! Hubby said he perked up yesterday throughout the day, though he hadn't eaten anything besides toast and Gatorade until I got home from work. Even then, he didn't want to eat the three chicken nuggets we made him. Instead, he had two scoops of vanilla ice cream. When he went to bed he had a mild temperature, 99 degrees, but this morning he woke up his usual self, and very hungry. He had breakfast at home with hubby before heading off to school, and had a second breakfast when he arrived at school.
So far, no one in our house has gotten whatever stomach bug he initially had, but I have felt a slight congestion in my throat the last two mornings. I'm trying to fight it off, let's hope I am successful. We've got a busy week ahead of us, I don't have time to get sick. =/

Getting out of the Rut

For the last few weeks we’ve taken a proactive approach to improving our financial status. Instead of moping, whining and complaining, hubby and I decided to take action and get out of our rut. We have been taking lunch to work every day for almost two months (give or take a day or two). I’ve limited our errands to once a week so that we save on gas. I’ve been cooking just about every night, or at least making enough often so we’ll have leftovers the following day. I only go to my favorite retailer (you all know who that is) once a week, for necessities. Period. And we decided to apply for a loan to pay off my credit cards. Unsecured loans weren’t an option, since our credit is less than stellar (though not poor. We’re somewhere in the middle). We opted to take one of the homeowner loans offered by our financial institution, rather than looking into online loans. Once we consolidate our debt, we are keeping our credit cards for emergencies only. It will feel so good to be debt-free that we won’t be tempted to hike them back up again.
I went last night to fill out the paper work, and they told me we’d hear back either this afternoon or Monday morning. Cross your fingers for us, please.

Some Friday Fun

I got this a few days ago. They are all so true!!

Why, Why, Why

Do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

A year ago tomorrow...

this was me. It seems like just yesterday. While I'm glad I'm no longer wobbling around and gaining weigh by the second, I really don't want my pregnancy to become a distant memory. That would mean that Matty is growing fast, and I'd like to stop that. So if any of you figure out a way to stop time, let me know a.s.a.p. M'kay? Thanks!

Pondering Personalized Pillows

When I first saw an ad for photo pillows, I thought they were a bit weird. I'd feel kind of strange having a full-size photo replica of a family member or friend printed on my linens. But then I realized that these aren’t much different than the New Kids on the Block sheet set I had when I was in my ‘tweens. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I’d kiss my pillowcase good night on occasion as if it really were my favorite member of the band. So now I’ve had a change of heart and realized that it’s weirder to kiss a photo pillowcase of some stranger in a band than a loved one. The more I think about it, I realize that personalized bedding is a great gift idea for little kids. They can take their photo pillow with them to day care. Or, if mommy and daddy have a business trip to go to or go out for some grown-up time, the kids can take their custom comforter with them to grandma’s house. So it’s not just a cute, personalized gift, it’s a security blanket, or pillow (as the case may be), for little ones too.

Brandonism

Me: "Baby, you need to start thinking about five friends from your class you want to invite to your birthday party. We can't invite everybody, so pick your favorite friends, okay?"

B: "I don't have any friends"

Me: "Of course you do!"

B: "No, mommy. I don't have any friends. I have a big family. I want us to be six.
I want a baby sister."

Me: "Oh boy! Let's go tell your dad that". And I carried him to the living room to tell his father, laughing all the way there.

I'd rather be home

The power went out last night in my neighborhood. When we called the power company, they said that the outage had affected 1,844 homes, and they expected to have it back up by 12:15AM (the outage happened around 10PM). They didn't say what happened, but I did hear a number of sirens after the power went out on one of the main streets surrounding our community, so I figure maybe somebody hit a pole or something. Whatever it was, the power was back within an hour.
Brandon went to sleep with no fever, and hadn't thrown up since about 4PM yesterday afternoon. When we woke him this morning to get him dressed to go to my mother-in-law's, he had trouble sitting up in bed and complained that his throat and his belly hurt. He leaned over his bedrail just in time. Poor little guy. =(
So hubby stayed home with him. I checked in just a short while ago and it seems Brandon's stomache is settling. He was sipping some Gatorade and said he was hungry. I told hubby to prepare him some toast and see how that goes.
Looks like it might be over soon. I just hope the rest of us don't get sick, especially the baby.
But between the power thing last night, worrying about Brandon, and feeling a bit under the weather myself (due to girly stuff, not getting sick or anything...I hope) I'd just rather be at home right now.

Helpful Hinting

Thanks to my friend CalTechGirl, I’ve got a new family tradition. I found out last winter that my brother-in-law loves Red Velvet Cake. So every June I will be baking, and he will be getting, a Red Velvet Cake for his birthday. I started the tradition this past summer, and he was so surprised! He loved his present. In fact, from what my sister tells me, he didn’t want to share with anyone. I love it too, but I just don’t make it very often because I do not own an electric mixer. I have to do all my mixing by hand. I love baking, and would probably do more of it if I owned an electric mixer. I am coveting a Hamilton Beach® mixer. Specifically, I long for the Eclectrics® Mixer in Sterling. It would match perfectly in my kitchen with my stainless steel appliances, and I have plenty of counter space, where it can be proudly displayed. Yup, a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer sure would be nice. In the meantime, I guess I shall continue mixing the old fashioned way: with lots of elbow grease.

*Note to hubby: Are you reading this? My birthday is coming up, you know. I have no qualms about getting housewares for my birthday or Christmas. And you're always telling me you never know what to get me. You really need to read this blog more often. M'kay? Thanks!

EOAS, Week 16

I figured I should take advantage that I'm home to post this week's scrapbook pages. I know I say this every week, but there are a couple more of my favorite pages in this batch. I guess I can pretty much admit it: they are all my favorites! Even if some of the layouts aren't that great, the subject matter makes them all awesome. =)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this page! I got the idea from my older sister. She took a similar picture of my nephew when he was a baby. Brandon was very well behaved, in spite having sand up certain places where it shouldn't be.

We have the tendency of leaving our shoes strown about the living room when we take them off, and Brandon took full advantage of that. He would grab them and either play with the laces or put them on and stomp around in them. So cute!!

Chocolate-chip cookie eating baby. Such an adorable mess!

We stuck with the superhero theme for Brandon's second Halloween. He made an awesome Superman, my sister even curled the front of his hair! I was in class and unfortunately couldn't take him Trick or Treating, but he went out with his Nina, grandparents and cousin. I don't think he missed me at all. But that's always how it is when he's near his cousin.

Until next week!

Brandon update

I picked him up from school at about 12:45, and he was laying on his naptime mat, in the corner of the classroom. I carried him to the car, and while his temperature wasn't so bad, he was lethargic, and as soon as I sat him down in his booster chair, he told he had to throw up. I pulled him out of the car just in time. His jeans got dirty so I took off his clothes right there in the parking lot and drove the four blocks home, him in his underwear, and me anxious to get home and get him comfortable. I put him in a bath for about 20 minutes, since I figured if he was throwing up he wouldn't keep down any medication I would give him. That worked, and then we layed on the couch for a while to watch TV. Between then (around 1:30) and now, he's thrown up about three times, but it's been mostly clear liquid, almost bile.
He had taken a nap, almost an hour, and woke up feverish again so I tried some Tylenol. Unfortunately, that went out the same way it went in about half an hour ago. Fortunately, whatever little bit is still in his system is doing the job because his fever went down again.
He'll be staying home with my mother-in-law tomorrow.

Poor little guy. Even though he's old enough to tell me how he feels and what's wrong, and will even tell us when he needs to throw up so we can run to the bathroom or provide a bucket, it still kills me to see him feeling so bad. =(

If it's more than a 24-hour bug, we'll be visiting the doctor tomorrow evening.

Winter Wonderland

My friend K's wedding is 'winter' themed (since it's in mid-December), and she just found the cutest snowflake wedding favors, and at a great price to boot. Practical and whimsical, you can’t go wrong. She says she is super excited as she is going to combine these with votive candles and the tablescape will surely look awesome! She's going around the office telling anyone who'll listen. Is it any wonder I called her "Bridezilla" yesterday?!

Oh, No!

I got a call from Brandon's school about 10 minutes ago. He's got a fever and is feeling a bit down. I noticed this morning he was out of sorts, but I just thought he was tired since he went to bed much later than he should have last night (10PM). I'm heading out of the office at noon to go pick him up, give him some Tylenol, and lay down with him for a while. I hope it's just a mild little thing, not a major virus headed our way.

Still a good day, since I get to leave work early, though the reason is not a pleasant one. I'll keep you posted.

It's open!!

Ikea opened today! In fact, it opened about half an hour ago.
I'll be there in a couple of weekends with my sister. There's no way I would have gone today, even for a free chair. But I'm eagerly awaiting my little trip to Sunrise to scope the store out. Yes, I will be blogging it.

Listen to me now, and believe me later

Inspired by my previous post:

This really is one of my favorite SNL skits. Dana Carvey is hilarious. He's always been one my favorite SNL cast members, from the Church Lady, to Garth from Wayne's World, and who can forget his perfect impersonation of Johnny Carson! Doesn't matter what skit he does, I always enjoy myself watching Dana on SNL reruns.

Pump You Up

One of my favorite all-time Saturday Night Live skits is “Pumping Up with Hans and Franz” featuring Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon. I loved every time they said “I’m Hans. And I’m Franz. And we want to Pump (*clap*) you up!” It’s comes as no surprise to me that the domain www.illpumpyouup.com features weight training and body building advice and articles, bodybuilding supplements, and even customized fitness programs. I’m personally not into that stuff, as is most noticable by my lovely post-pregnancy bulge, but if you are, they are worth checking out. Tell them Hans and Franz sent you. =D

A good day

Looks like it's going to be a good day today. I left the house on time. Matty didn't cry on the way to the sitter's (he doesn't usually cry, but it seems to me that he does the days I'm most frazzled). Traffic wasn't as bad as usual. I got to work on time, and as soon as I got to the elevators, one arrived. No stairs today. YAY! What a pleasant day so far.

Hopefully I didn't just jinx it.

My kingdom for a Dyson

Hubby used to work for a popular major retailer, a very well-known department store that specializes in appliances, tools and all sorts of other stuff. He worked for the major appliance department for almost two years, and during that time I constantly nagged him to use his discount to purchase a Dyson vacuum for us. As most of you know, I’m prone to allergies triggered by dust and dust mites, and I’ve done enough research to know that a vacuum is only as good as its suction. What better way to avoid my allergies than to get the best vacuum on the market? I tried to convince him that it would be for the sake of my health (good strategy, right?) but it didn’t work. He didn’t want to spend that kind of money on a vacuum. He called it a waste, I call it an investment. Well, my jaw nearly dropped when the Dyson Animal was released last year. Not only is it sleeker but it’s lighter than the other models. So when I told him the kind of deal we could get if we purchased it through 1awsomevac.com, he hesitated for just a moment, and I thought he’d “give in” and let me get it. That wasn’t the case, but I’m definitely not giving up on this fight just yet. After all, my health is at stake. ;-)

Is it all of them, or just mine?

I called hubby at 6:30 to see what time he was getting out of work. He told me he should be on his way in a few minutes. I tell him, "good, because I need to go to the bank. See you soon." Fast forward to 7:15, when I call him again to find out where he is. I ask him "where are you?" and he says, "I'm at name-of-place-where-he-used-to-work, why? What's up?". Uh, hello? Didn't I tell you not too long ago I needed to go to the bank?! It's now 7:37 and he's not yet home, though already on his way.
Are all men this absent-minded, or does mine have an extra forgetful gene? Sheesh!!

We *heart* NY!

Brandon keeps asking us when we’re going to “the city”. We made the mistake of mentioning that we might be going to New York City soon, and he talks about it all the time now. He’s just so excited. Ask him if he wants to go to New York City, and he’ll say “yes, I want to go to the city with the statue with the thing in her hand like this”, and he hold up his hand, imitating Lady Liberty’s torch. We’ll drive by downtown Miami, and he’ll say, “this is our city, but I want to go to the other city”.
When we do finally end up going, it’s going to be quite an adventure. Good thing there are plenty of flexible New York tours to choose from. I’m sure we’ll find the perfect fit to accommodate two little guys to keep an eye on and entertain, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law who have never been and will want to see everything, and two big fans of NYC that would love to see it like a “native”. Yikes! I’m looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time!

When you put it this way, I ALMOST prefer my day job! LOL

Got this via email a couple of days ago...I think it's pretty accurate. What do you think?

PARENT: JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging
permanent work in an,
often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends
and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to
primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! &n bsp;
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,
until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a
pack mule
and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat
in case, this time, the screams from
the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges,
such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets
and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings
for clients of a ll ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute,
an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a
half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for
the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and
janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to r emain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills,
so that those in your charge can & ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because
of the assumption that college will help them
become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that
you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered;
this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth
and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Don't knock it until you try it...but let someone else try it first. ;-)

Hubby and I rarely get a chance to go out on the town. When we do, we hardly ever deviate from our usual haunts. It’s not because we don’t like to try new things, but because we don’t want a bad experience to be the highlight (or in this case, lowlight) of our evening. If we do try something new, it’s after hearing rave reviews about it from family and friends. Turns out that there’s a site on the web where we can get recommendations for new places to try and see what a place is like before we go there. So far though, this site specializes in European locations. If you’re interested in say, a particular London restaurant during your visit to that beautiful city, you can log onto Trustedplaces.com and check out the reviews for that establishment. I did notice that they have over 40 reviews for restaurants, bars, and cultural places in New York City. I hope that they add more U.S. cities in the future.
Does anyone know of a similar site for local establishments?

My legs feel like Jello

The elevators in my building are a disaster. I was waiting for almost 10 minutes when I decided to just take the stairs. Five flights later I've realized that I'm definitely out of shape.

Gift to Grow no more?

I am guessing that some of you with little ones use Pampers diapers, and may be aware of the Gifts to Grow program. What you may not be aware of is that according to the site, the program will be ending on March 1, 2008 (at the time of this posting, the page was temporarily unavailable. I'll update tomorrow Link is now working). I was inputting some of my codes earlier today and noticed, and must say I was a bit disappointed. This is the time to redeem your points before all the good stuff is gone. I missed out on the bilingual Elmo doll a couple of weeks back, so I settled for the Dora DVD. I've still got a few points left, but I'm going to try and gather a few more before redeeming my remaining points.

Consider this my PSA for the day. ;-)

What's red and white and wood all over?

The holidays are just around the corner, and inevitably, I will soon be facing the dreaded question: What should we get the boys for Christmas? I love the holidays and the gift giving and receiving, but when it comes to the boys, I’m just not sure what to say. Their playroom is full. I kept most of the toys Brandon used when he was younger since we knew we would be having at least one more child. And of course, as the years have gone by, Brandon received toys and games appropriate for whatever age group, and reflective of whatever phase, he was in. But the one thing I never got Brandon and would love Matty to have is a classic Red Wagon by Radio Flyer. There’s just something about the timelessness of the classic wood toys that appeals to me. So today I saw the Classic Red Car and I fell in love with it. It is just so cute! This little car will be just perfect for Matty by the time Christmas comes around. He’s already cruising, and by then he’ll be steady enough to push it using the bar in the back of the car. And if he's walking, he'll be quick to learn how to use his feet to "pedal" the car. Even Brandon will want to ride it!
I’m definitely adding this to their wish list. =)

Brandonisms

Yesterday afternoon, as we pass a public service aide and two cars pulled over:

B: "Look, a police officer! Police officers, the white trucks- mommy, what's the name of the white trucks?"

Me: "Paremedics"

B: "Police officers, parmedics, and fire fighters are helpers to people and kids"

Me: "Are people and kids the same?"

B: "Yes. They have two legs and two feet, arms, a nose, two eyes, and a head. They are the same."

Can you tell I love these conversations?! =D

About lighting

Hubby and I have two bathrooms, as Brandon likes to say. We have a vanity area with an L-shaped closet and sink, and then another room containing the toilet, shower and another sink. Currently, the bathroom lighting in both rooms needs a serious overhaul. The vanity area has one of those brackets with seven or eight bulbs on them, and the ones on the ends like to take turns burning out. And apparently, one of the hi-hats in the shower has a short circuit or something, it turns on and off when it pleases. I was telling hubby the other day that we should get new fixtures, and this morning he was not pleased that the hi-hat went out in the middle of his shower. According to a bathroom lighting guide I found online, fixtures should be in proportion to the mirror in the bathroom. We have two huge mirrors in both the bathroom and the vanity area, they are the length of the entire wall. I guess we’re stuck with our current lighting situation, since a total remodel of both rooms is not even a consideration right now.

The Game

Hi everybody. Yeah, it took me a while to upload the pictures from Saturday's game. I was the victim of one of my allergy attacks yesterday morning. I took two Benadryl with breakfast (more like brunch since we ate at noon) and slept through the entire Dolphins game. We lost, so I didn't miss much. =/

Here are a few pictures from Saturday's UM game. I can't believe the Orange Bowl will be gone soon. Even though it is falling apart, it's a landmark to a lot of locals who wish it could just be renovated, and enjoyed by future generations. But that is not to be, so I said my goodbyes a couple of days ago. Looks like I wasn't the only one. The OB was packed!
The head honchos with the UM Athletics Department say the tunnel tradition will continue at Dolphin Stadium, where the 'Canes will play next year. I hope so. That's one of my favorite UM traditions.
It was a pretty exciting game, even though we lost. Brandon had an awesome time! It was his first time attending a football game, and I tried my best to explain everything that was going on.
Even though we lost the game, I'm glad we went. I'm happy that Brandon got to see the Orange Bowl, even if twenty years from now he doesn't remember.

Exhausted

Got home not too long ago. Went to my dad's after picking up Matty at my grandparents' house. Spent longer than expected there, but at least both boys ate and were bathed before we headed home. They are both in bed, have been since we got here. I need a shower and sleep.
Pictures tomorrow, and in case you didn't hear, the Canes lost. =(

Good night all!

C-A-N-E-S!!!

We're off to the game.

Go 'Canes!!

No, I am not shopping. Really, I'm not.

Because I am a masochist (and do not feel like working right now), I decided to do a little cyber window shopping for my home. Hubby and I are eagerly awaiting next year's tax return to purchase a few things for our house. We desperately need to purchase an entertainment center for the living room. We also need something for the entryway, it's just so bare. And our backyard is just so blah, it needs something...
Well, I have fallen in love with American Country Home Store. Neither hubby or I are big fans of log furniture or wicker furniture, we prefer the simplicity of cottage furniture, and it looks like I hit the jackpot with this site. I am in love with a sofa table that would look perfect in our entryway, and one of the outdoor bistro sets would bring our backyard to life.Can you tell our tastes lean towards the “country” look? ;-)

I didn't find an adequate entertainment center for the living room, but that's okay because I'd rather not find anything right now anyway. Otherwise I’ll find something perfect and will need to purchase it right away (because too many times in the past I’ve missed out on something we liked and we've kicked ourselves for not jumping on it) and ye old credit card will hike back up again. So I’m getting off the site. Now. It’s for my own good. Right?

Awesome!

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised. The landscaping company contracted by my community not only did the lawn in front of my house, they also trimmed my hedges and cleaned up the green area between my house and our neighbor. I was in shock. It looks so pretty now. It inspired me to sweep the walkway and bring out he autumn decor (something I'd been meaning to do since the 1st of October). It was dark out by the time I finished and so I did not take pictures of it, but I will do so this weekend to share with all of you my beautiful landscape, and my mad decorating skillz. ;-)

Beantown

Hubby and I have been planning a trip to take my mother-in-law to New York for the last two years. For one reason or another, it has not come to fruition. We decided that within a year or two we will make that trip, but it has evolved and is no longer just a trip to New York. We also plan to visit Washington DC and Boston MA. Hubby is a huge history buff, and I’ve always wanted to go to DC and Boston. My mother-in-law has traveled no further than Orlando, so this will be a treat for her as well.
Even though our trip is quite a-ways away, we have been looking up information about the places we are interested in visiting and what we’d like to see while we’re there. We have plenty of information about New York and DC, but needed to do a little research about Boston. I found the perfect site for all the information we’ll need for our visit: Bostonwelcomesyou.com. The Boston calendar of events I found comes quite in handy, since it lists the major events occurring throughout the year. There are also plenty of parks and zoos listed for the kids to enjoy, and I’m sure that we’ll also take one or two of the available sightseeing tours while we’re there.
I really hope this trip becomes a reality. This is one we’ve been looking forward to for a while.

Ikea is here!!!!

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of waiting, the "local" Ikea store opens next week. (local in quotes because it's in the next county over, about a 45 minute drive)
I am so excited! I've never been to an Ikea before, but I know several people who love to shop there, including my little sister and Erica. I did a paper on them for my Business Strategies class last Spring, and was very instantly intrigued. And I've done some window (screen?) shopping on their site. I found a couple of awesome pieces that I'd love to get for my living room in the future.
My little sis and I are headed that way next week. I can't wait!

Nature Calls

I spent my lunch time with my friend K, looking at properties online. She has big hopes of moving to North Carolina by the end of next year, when she's done with her Masters degree. She’s tired of the traffic and congestion of South Florida, and would love to be someplace where she and her family can enjoy nature and live life at a slower pace. She wants to be somewhere that she can see the seasons change and can enjoy things like hiking, skiing, and white water rafting, things you just can’t do here in Florida. She’s mentioned a million times that she wants to be near the mountains, so we were looking at Waynesville and Asheville properties in western North Carolina.
I would love for her to move there. That way we can go visit and do all those things too. =)
The way of life there seems to be so different, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Who wouldn't love to work to live, rather than live to work?

20K!! 19K! (Updated)

I'm six visits away from 20,000 19,000 visitors. I wonder who it will be....

UPDATED: Um...yeah...I messed up. I'm having an "off" day today, so please forgive me. But still, 19K is no small feat. And the lucky visitor seems to have been my friend CTG. Congrats, my friend. What do you win? Why, my undying gratitude and eternal friendship, of course. What's better than that?!

The Pereiras' invitation

I feel violated (but in a good way).

That is all. ;-)

Free Lunch!!

I just got back from a charity event here at work, and I must confess that I pigged out. Over 20 catering vendors associated with our establishment were on-hand to provide free samples for all employees. The event was free, but donations were accepted to benefit the United Way. I had all sorts of stuff: chicken with bowtie pasta, tuna sushi, grilled tuna and salad, paella, Caribbean chicken, pork and moros, and for dessert bite size brownies, a chocolate chip cookie, and a wafer, a marshmallow and a pretzel stick dipped in melted chocolate. My coworkers and I have concluded that this event should happen at least once a month! ;-)

Smorty

A few months back, I was apprehensive about this whole "get paid to blog" thing. I really did not think it would be so easy to blog for money, but it is. Not only has blog advertising earned me money, but it has gotten my creative juices flowing, and I am blogging more than ever. I’ve written more posts in the last two months than the rest of the year combined. Amazing, isn’t it? Yeah, I can’t believe it either.
In order to increase my cash flow, I decided to join Smorty a couple of days ago, and I’m happy to report that they have accepted this modest little blog. I’ve only just joined, but I like some of their features already: the minimum amount for posts is $6.00, they give 72 hours to submit a post, and the pay out approved posts on a weekly basis. This is definitely making that light at the end of the tunnel a little brighter.

How Sad

I just saw this article about a little girl that fell into the Grand Canyon yesterday. That is just so sad. Hubby and I have the Grand Canyon on our "Places We'd Like to Visit" list, but it's stories like this that convince me to wait till the boys are at least 'tweens before we head over there.

Bad Credit? No Problem!

I’ve got a friend who is currently trying to get a decent loan to purchase her first home. Unfortunately, she has had some issues in the past and as a result doesn’t have the best credit. She’s become quite flustered with this whole process and is on the verge of giving up. Well, I stumbled upon BadCreditOffers.com, which specializes in bad credit home loans. I immediately forwarded her the information, and she’s already applied. Hopefully she’ll be able to make her home-ownership dream come true soon. It’s seems so unfair to me that some bad luck can prohibit someone from owning a home. I think this is great, giving people in a bad situation a chance, and guidance, to get back on their feet again.

The one in the middle

Happy Hump Day, all!

For those of you wondering, the stuffed shells I made last night were not half bad. You can sort of tell something is missing, but they were still rather tasty. There was enough left over for both hubby and I to have lunch today, even though he had seconds last night.
Not sure what to make tonight though. We're out of a few staples, so I may have to head to Costco after work for meats and such.
Brandon is at his second field trip right now, as I type this. They went to the Actor's Playhouse to see Fantastic Fable Factory. It is too soon after my promotion to request time off (I'm on a 6-month "probation"), but I'll definitely be joining him next month when they go to the zoo.
Well, enough rambling from me. I've got to get back to work. Be back later!! :-)

Disney Tix Online

Most of you know we LOVE going to Disney. We love practically every aspect of the parks, except for waiting in line. There are lines everywhere: to get your admission tickets, to check any bags or purses, to go through the turnstiles with your tickets, and of course lines for the rides. Good thing two of those can be avoided. Most rides have Fast Passes, so a well-thought-out strategy can get you on most rides with little wait throughout the day. Purchasing Disney World Tickets online before the trip is another way to avoid the lines. I was telling hubby that next time we go (whenever THAT is), we should definitely buy the tickets online ahead of time. That will give us more time to enjoy the park, and less time standing in line with two restless, excited kids.

EOAS, Week 15

Sorry for the minor delay with this latest installment, my peeps. A few of the pictures were blurry, and I kept forgetting to re-take them. Also, I'm going to decrease the pages I post per entry. I'm running out of pages and I want this feature to last just a bit longer (long enough for me to create more pages to share with you!). As always, hope you enjoy them! =D

My uncle and I decided that I would take Brandon over to his house at least once a week for "swimming" lessons. It was more for him to not be scared of the water than anything else. He had a great time hanging out at the pool, and playing with his Great-Uncle every Friday.

I look at these pictures and realize how small Brandon and Beka looked. Look at those chubby cheeks and baby faces. Weren't they adorable? They still are, but they've grown up quite a bit in the last three years.

My little guy is not normal: He loves his fruits and vegetables! This is the first time he tried strawberries, and he devoured them. To this day, they are still one of his favorites! =)

That's it for today. See ya next time!

Soaps Sweepstakes!!

How cool would it be to win a $50,000 College scholarship for your kids, just by watching two soap operas? Unbelievable, right? Well, it’s true. Just watch As The World Turns and/or Guiding Light on three days, November 12th, 14th, and 16th, and answer one simple question: Who spoke the opening line of the show for each day? Answer correctly for all three days, and you're in the running for the $50,000 College Education Sweepstakes, or a 6-month supply of Pampers diapers. I’m definitely going to record the soaps on our DVR and go for this one. It couldn’t be any easier!

Shoot!!

So I'm preparing dinner, baked stuffed shells, and as I'm doing all the prep work I realize we are out of Parmesan cheese, don't have enough Mozarella, and have very little aluminum foil to cover it while it's in the oven. I skipped the Parmesan, combined 1 cup of Mozarella with 1 cup of mild Cheddar we had in the fridge, and covered the baking dish the best I could. Let's see how it turns out...

Mmmm!!!

I wasn't able to bring lunch to work today, so my coworker and I drove over to Wendy's. I just had chicken nuggets, small fries, and a small Frosty. YUM!

Don't look at me that way, I've been bringing lunch to work for over two months. I'm entitled to a treat now and then! =P

Insurance Checklist

It’s open enrollment time here at work, so it’s time to review our insurance coverage. Our insurance premiums went up about $12, but the coverage is a little bit better than last year, and all four of us are covered, so I’m not touching that. I’m also not touching my short term disability benefits. It was quite useful during my maternity leave, and though I don’t expect to use it anytime soon, it’s only a $30 deduction out of every paycheck. That’s a small price to pay for peace of mind in case I have to take an unexpected leave. Our dental options aren’t that great, but it’s better than paying full price for any dental work hubby and I may need, so that’s staying in tact as well. Earlier this year we enrolled in our new, super cheap home insurance policy. My new agent is great, and so is our new coverage, for half the price of our old coverage. While we were at it, we also decided to compare car insurance coverage, and changed that as well. Last thing left for us to do is take out a life insurance policy. Hubby has one through work and so do I, but they aren’t that great so we have plans to get a decent one sometime next year. Now all I have to do is fill out the paperwork, and we’re all set. Documents are due by the end of next week, so I'm ahead of the game this time. =)

Led Zep Rocks!

I don't remember mentioning the special Led Zeppelin reunion concert that will take place on November 26 in London. Hubby and I are so excited about it. Though we can't afford to hop on a plane and fly to London for a concert, we are hoping that it is such a success that the band members decide to do a tour. We are both serious Led Zeppelin fans, and we'll fly anywhere in the US for it, doesn't matter where, but we wouldn't miss it for anything!
So it surprised us to no end that the local classic rock station is celebrating the impending concert and has dubbed this month Zeptober. It has a much better ring to it than Rocktober, doesn't it? Anyway, they have been playing performances by LZ from their recent practice sessions at the BBC every day, as well as the usual recorded singles. I was rocking out last night while making dinner. It was quite a sight.

Brandonism

"Mommy, these pork chops are good. I've never had them before"

"Yes, you have baby. These are the same ones daddy makes in the barbeque"

"No, those are carnita pork chops. These are regular pork chops".

(???!!!)

Ready for Trick or Treating!

Hooray! I get home, and what do I find on my doorstep? An unexpected UPS delivery, the boys' Halloween costumes! While I was expecting the delivery itself, I did not expect it today since it is Columbus Day. Now I can share what their costumes will be for the upcoming holiday. I know the suspense has been killing all of you for the last few days. Here it is:

Brandon will be Nemo, and Matty will be Squirt!

How cute is that?! I have no idea how I convinced Brandon to give up his Thomas the train costume for part of the day (he'll still be wearing it to school), but I did. I can't wait to be surrounded by all that cuteness three weeks from now!

Another work rant

Just because you don't want to pay the fees you owe us does not give you the right to contest our work method and question our actions. The bottom line is, you owe us money. You knew than when you brought the work over to our office for review. Just pay it, and we can all move on and handle more meaningful tasks.

That is all.

Wild about Wireless

I just called my cell phone provider and removed a couple of extra features we had on our phones. We really weren’t using them, and this change should reduce our bills by about $15 between the features and the taxes and fees. We were thinking about changing providers, but when we consider our phone usage and the in-network benefits, it just wasn’t worth it to us. I checked the cell phone plans with our same provider, as well as other providers, and we’ve definitely got the best deal to fit our needs. And of course, we already have the phones and accessories. But I wanted to double-check, so I used the Wireless Wizard from Wirefly and our decision was confirmed. It’s always good to know when you’re getting the most for your money.
Isn’t it funny how something that used to be a luxury is now such a necessity? Honestly, I can’t leave home without my cell phone. If I don’t have it with me, I feel naked. I start to worry how I’ll get help if I get stranded or get in an accident during my commute, or how I’m going to get the traffic report if I don’t have my phone (the radio usually has a delay when it comes to the traffic and accident reports. They hardly ever have updated information). And if you know me, you know that I’m a talker. I do most of my talking on my cell phone. Yes, I know, I shouldn’t talk while driving, it’s distracting, but I do it because sometimes that’s just the best time to catch up with my loved ones. I can’t make social calls from work, and chaos ensues when I get home. My cell phone use during my commute is my life line. And yes, I do it responsibly, I wear a hands-free ear bud. The good thing is that most of my calls are made to people in my network, so we go back to that saving money thing again.
What about you, how attached are you to your cell phone?

Today's accomplishments

- Folded the six or seven loads of laundry I did yesterday that were piled on the sofa, plus two loads of Matty's from Thursday night.
- Reorganized the playroom because Brandon decided he wanted to take out his GeoTrax trains and put away his Thomas trains for a while.
- Vacuumed the playroom and the boys' room.
- Checked out Halloween costume inventory, and moved them from a plastic garbage bag to a tote I purchased yesterday.
- Swept and mopped all tiled areas of the house (dining room, kitchen, hallway, breakfast area).
- Most amazing achievement of all: Loaded the crock pot this morning with a new Banquet frozen food slow-cooker thing I found at the supermarket last week, and dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. YAY!

Weather and stamina permitting tomorrow, I'll be sweeping the front entry to put out the Fall and Halloween things, and cleaning the boys bathroom.

Pumpkin Patch

For all you locals, The Little Farm Pumpkin Patch opens next Saturday. We've gone every year for the last three years, and this year is no exception. Brandon is already asking me when we're going to the pumpkin patch, and if he can ride a horse again. You can find more info here. Let me know if you're headed over there. It's roughly 15 minutes from my house, and we'd love to meet you there!

Cheap Ink!

I was actually about to sit down and do some journaling for the boys’ scrapbook, and I realized that I can’t. My printer has been out of ink for the last two weeks. I’ve been out on errands several times this week, but forgot to include it in the shopping list, and consequently forgot to buy it. So I just told hubby I was going to do a bit of browsing online, maybe I’d find it for a cheaper price. Well, as luck would have it, I did. The ink cartridges I use sell for $18.00 at Supermediastore.com; normally I buy them for about $22.00. They also have cheap Canon toners (as well as every other brand you can imagine), blank CD/DVD’s, USB Flash drives and memory cards, and even ipod accessories. I just ordered a bunch of cartridges for my printer, and I paid with my purchase through PayPal. I'll be back to journaling and printing in no time. =D

The 'Canes were blown away

I was watching the UM/UNC game with hubby, and can I please say: what the H*** is wrong with my team? They were doing great after the half, going from 0 to 20 points in the 3rd quarter, all to screw up and let the Tar Heels win by 13 points. WTF?
We'll be going to next week's game vs. Georgia Tech, and I am seriously hoping that they win. They've already got two losses this season, and if they keep it up, they lose any chances of a decent Bowl game.

Yeah, I know, I don't frequently write about sports. That's because I am rarely able to sit down and watch the games. Today I was, and I almost wish I didn't.

Back it up

As I mentioned last night, I left work early yesterday in order to go buy the furniture for the boys. While most of what I needed to do was done, and my supervisor was more than accepting of my “need” to leave early, there is one task that I needed to get done for Monday that needs to be completed. In the past, If I'd my thumb drive in my purse and, had remembered, could have saved the document and brought it home to finish over the weekend. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I’m going to have to head to work early on Monday to finish it up. Looks like having some sort of online backup service would have come in handy right now. As it is, we save onto a shared drive, but that’s just good within the office. A lot of our staff has the flexibility to work from home, and I'm sure they would love the ease and convenience of iBackup. Now, the hard part: to convince the stingy bosses to invest in it.

Woo hoo!! How lucky am I?!

A friend of mine found out that the Pier 1 Kids store in Ft. Lauderdale still had some stock available. I left work at 2:30 and drove an hour in I-95 traffic (ugh!), and thankfully my trip was successful. I purchased a set of bunk beds, 2 sets of bed rails and a ladder for the boys for:

$57.11!!!!

Amazing, isn't it? I still can't believe it myself. =D
I couldn't find a picture of it online (apparently Pier 1 pulled the entire Kids catalog off the internet), but as soon as we build it, I will post pictures.
I'm so happy! We even got it in the color we wanted, the classic wood tone.
We're not sure yet when we're going to set them up. We were thinking of surprising Brandon for his birthday. He was so looking forward to bunk beds last week, though, I don't think I can wait 3 months...

Dressing hubby up is hard to do

So Halloween is almost here, and I’ve had no luck convincing hubby to dress up this year. Nothing has worked, not even enticing him with Sexy Halloween Costumes. I guess when he said in April that he was never dressing up again, he meant it. I’ve been pretty lucky though, he’s been fairly cooperative in the past, in spite of “hating dressing up” (as he puts it). In 1998, for our friend Claudia’s Halloween party, he dressed up as a knife-wielding priest, and I was a pregnant nun. Not very politically correct, I know, but he was all for it, and we had a lot of fun. Other than that, he’s dressed up as a pirate, the Scream guy, and in 70’s gear a few months back. See? He won’t dress up! It’s so infrequent I can count the times he’s done it with one hand.
Now that we have kids, I’m trying to steer our costumes towards more kid-friendly choices. I have forewarned him that next year, he’ll have to participate. I want us all to dress up like the Wizard of Oz characters. I don’t think I’ll be able to get him into the Tin Man costume, but I could probably convince him to dress up as Scarecrow.
Hopefully your significant other is more cooperative than mine is when it comes to this fun holiday. If they are, you might want to look into getting your costumes at Costume Cauldron. They’ve got all sorts of costumes and accessories, and they even have a “secret” Haunted House backdoor on the website where visitors can get great discounts. How do I know this? Don’t ask, just follow these directions:
Go to the homepage halfway down and click on the comma in the line that reads “our store now has over 14,000 masquerade items for you to choose form!”
Now you can’t say I never gave you anything. ;-)
I already ordered the boys’ costumes for this year, and I’ll share what they are in another post, once they arrive. In the meantime, I want to know: What are you going to dress up as for Halloween this year? Are you and your significant other doing the thematic thing, or is yours as big a party-pooper as mine is?

Oh, no, not another one!

I was logging onto My Space earlier this morning, and was shocked to see advertising for "Saw IV". Uh, is that really necessary, another Saw movie?!

A little bit of controversy on a Friday morning

There's all sorts of controversy on the radio this morning over this story. While I agree that the guidance counselor had no right to put her hands in the child's mouth (napkin or not) to pull out the grill, I take issue with the parent. I understand that how a parent raises their child is their business, but this is similar to allowing your child a tattoo or body piercings at age 10 or 11. What kind of example is this setting? Not to mention it's also a health issue, kids are still developing at this age. It could do permanent damage to his gums and the structure of his mouth.
In my eyes, this is not a fit reward for good grades. Get him a bike, a video game, take him to Disney World for a straight A report card. Don't get the kid grills for his teeth!

What do you think?

Have vacation days, will travel

I just got back from having lunch with my sister, during which she mentioned that she has a week and a half of vacation time during December. She wants to take full advantage of this paid time off, and asked me where I think she ought to go. She wants to go somewhere relaxing, and she loves the water, so I suggested maybe she should go somewhere she hasn't been before. I mentioned that I've seen plenty of cheap holidays to Mexico online, and maybe she should consider a trip to Cancun or Cozumel. Those are the kinds of places where she has the choice to just chill out by the beach and let the hours waste away, or she can do more active things like go on a tours and visit ruins. Either way, I agree that she should take full advantage of her vacation time and travel somewhere. I just wish we could go with her. I could use a vacation!

Felicidades, Abuela

Today is my grandmother's 81st birthday. After reading my uncle's post, I'm left speechless. He has said what I wanted to say, and so much more.

Felicidades, Abuela. Te adoro. Que Dios te bendiga hoy y siempre, y que nos siga bendiciendo con tu presencia en nuestras vidas.

Appropriate

I received this email just now, and thought I'd post it and dedicate it to Helen, Angus, and their new babies. Congratulations again!

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth,
selecting his instruments for propagation
with great care and deliberation.
As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia.
Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who
knows no laughter? That would be cruel."
"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown
in a sea of self-pity and despair.
Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence
so rare and so necessary in a mother.
You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own.
She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."
She has just the right amount of selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"
God nods.
"If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive.
Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect.
She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied.
She will never take for granted a spoken word.
She will never consider a step ordinary.
When her child says momma for the first time,
she will be witness to a miracle and know it.
I will permit her to see clearly the things I see--
ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--
and allow her to rise above them.
She will never be alone.
I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life
because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel,
his pen poised in the air.
God smiles.
"A mirror will suffice."

The Lemonheads

Dear Lemonheads,

Welcome to the world. Your Auntie CTG said a lot of what I wanted to say to you, but I wanted to add a few things.
You have lit up not only your mommy and daddy's lives, and your older sister's and brother's, but the lives of a bunch of people who would love to meet you after this very long journey to get you here. We have seen your mommy go through the tears, the pain, the frustration, and the worries, all for this moment. This very moment when she and your daddy got to meet you and hold you for the very first time. I know what your mommy is feeling right now. It's an overwhelming feeling, almost unbelievable. It's a feeling filled with tremendous love and emotion. There really are no words to describe it, but it's the best feeling in the world.
You two are truly two little miracles. May the rest of your lives be as blessed as the journey that got you here. And please, be nice to your mommy. She's had a rough couple of weeks. ;-)

Love,
Amanda

Not in a bloggy mood

Sorry. Busy day at work, plus the beginnings of a migraine.
Be back later.

Imitation of a Crustacean

Guiltless Indulgence

According to the Starbucks website, a Tall Mocha Frappucino with whipped cream only has 280 calories. A Tall Mocha Frappucino Light, 110 calories. While it is much wiser to drink the Frap Light, now I know that I have little reason to feel guilty if I get a regular Frap with whipped cream. 280 is not so bad.

It's the little things that make me happy. =)

Blue Oval Scholars Design Challenge

Here’s one for my creative readers, and I know most of you are.

The Ford Motor Company Fund sponsors a program called the Ford Blue Oval Scholars. They are looking for a new logo, and have turned to the public for help. They are holding a logo design contest, open to amateur and professional artists ages 16 and older. Each individual can submit up to three entries. The winning logo will be used on the Ford Blue Oval Scholars website as well as all materials related to the program. The top ten entries qualify for prizes.
They include:
First Place: Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium = Retail $1,700
Second Place: $300 for design software of choice
Third Place: $150 for design software of choice
Fourth Place: $50 Music Download Card
Fifth Place: $50 Music Download Card
Sixth Place: $50 Music Download Card
Seventh Place: $50 Music Download Card
Eight Place: $50 Music Download Card
Ninth Place: $50 Music Download Card
Tenth Place: $50 Music Download Card

The logo must meet certain standards, outlined on their website.

Entries must be received by November 1st, and the winner will be announced on December 1st.

I’ve done my part. Now get to it, think up some awesome logo and submit it. I know one of you can win this thing!

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Pictures

I've added a few shots to flickr. Check them out if you're so inclined. They include all the pictures from Petri's stay and some really cute ones of Brandon and Mikey's future rock band. LOL OH, yeah, and Beka hugging Matty and her cute red fingernails. Enjoy!

How Exciting!!

Helen is on her way to the hospital. She's been admitted and has a c-section scheduled for Monday, but the babies could make an appearance before then if things get a bit hairy.
Good luck, Helen. Can't wait to "meet" the Lemonheads! It's been quite a journey for them, and for all of us, and I'm glad the end is just a few days away. Tell them that the blogosphere is rooting for their safe arrival. =)

Real Help

Britney Spears lost custody of her two baby boys yesterday afternoon, and quite frankly I’m not surprised. There are all sorts of reports explaining why, ranging from her suspended California driver’s license to not following court orders to addictions to drugs and alcohol. The reasons don’t matter, I think. The problem is that she, along with most other young Hollywood stars, think that because they are in the entertainment industry, they should not be held accountable for their actions. Uh, no. I don’t think so. Everyone is accountable for their actions, be they rich, poor, short, tall, black, white, whatever.
I really think that if Britney, Paris, Lindsay, and all of them went through a genuine drug and alcohol treatment center, they’d be in much better places right now. Seriously, what kind of rehab are they getting if they can get out of the facility to get manicures and pedicures, meet up with other starlet friends for lunch, or even to go shopping? What is that?
Those that truly have these people’s best interests at heart should refer them to a facility such as The Watershed. They have three locations nationwide, all of them pretty far away from the pull of the limelight. Seems to me that if they can get quality attention, away from the paparazzi, they can perhaps turn their lives around without the distractions that got them there in the first place.

Petri's Journal

Here's what we wrote in Petri's journal last night:

"Brandon and Petri"

The scribbles in the middle of the page are dark rain clouds, and the lines are the rain falling and the drops splattering on the ground.

"It is raining"

"Petri Likes Disney"

He asked me to draw a castle for him to color. He also put the stickers.

"Good Night Petri and Brandon"

He finally understood what I meant by writing on the lines. =)

Saved by the Bell

You know what's funny about traditions? Anyone can adopt them. Take this old Irish tradition for instance: newly engaged couples are given a bell to celebrate their engagement. The purpose of the bell is to put an end to any squabbles, and encourage a happy marriage. In other words, it's a Make-Up Bell. How cute is that?! Sometimes I wish I had a bell to ring to end arguments with my dear hubby.

I'm thinking I might talk to a few co-workers and get one of these fine Handmade Crystal Bells for our newly engaged office mate. I know she'll love it. She's just as....um....passionate as I am. ;-)
If you've got engagement gifts to give, check them out. The bells are very reasonably priced, and they can be personalized. And you can pass on a lovely Irish tradition, too.

Our Overnight Houseguest

Brandon brought home Petri today. Petri is one of two stuffed dinosaurs that belong to his classroom (the other is Bob). Each night, one student brings home either Petri or Bob, along with their respective journals. The student can draw, write, or insert photos of their evening with Petri (or Bob) in the journal. By the end of the school year, the journal is filled with Petri or Bob's adventures with each student. The teacher explained this to the parents during the Open House, and I thought it was such a cute idea. It engages the children and encourages them to write. Right now Petri is in the playroom playing with Brandon and Matty. I'm taking a 10-minute break to write this post, then a PPP post, and I'm all theirs for the night. I'll post a few pictures in the morning.

More Home Improvement Plans*

I'm slightly irritated that I missed the 2-hour season premiere of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" last night. I love watching it, not just for the stories and watching the families light up when they see their new homes (I cry every.single.time.), but also to see the home makeovers. I love the creativity of the designers, and how Ty always does the "secret projects" and incorporates a special sentiment held by the family/parents/whoever into the room. Of course, since we're on our own imaginary remodeling kick, I pay particular attention to the companies that are used on the show. One of the things we'll be able to afford in the somewhat near future are new blinds. The vertical blinds in our house are a nasty light gray (just like everything else!), and they are stained from cigarette smoke. We're not sure if the previous owner smoked, or the tenant she had, but it took us forever to vent the house out when we moved in.
Anyway, I added SelectBlinds.com to my "Home Improvements Favorites" file. We'd love to replace all the window blinds in the house. We've always wanted to get wood blinds, but I've done some reasearch and I've noticed that faux wood blinds are significantly less expensive and look just as good as the real thing. That's a good thing, we can save the difference and use it for whatever other home improvement project I cook up!

* Someday, we will actually get started with our little to-do list. ;-)

So much for being responsible!! (UPDATED)

You may recall that last week I posted about Pier 1 Kids stores closing. Well, while hubby and his BFF were watching the Dolphins/Raiders game, my friend Marilu and I went over to the store in our area. We were shocked when we got there. The store was practically empty. All they had left was kids furniture, there were stacks and stacks of boxes againsts the walls. She was in need of a twin bed for one of her kids, and she bought the frame (headboard and footboard) and bedrails for $46, regular price $399. I saw a set of bunk beds, but wanted to consult with hubby first. Yeah, that was stupid.
We went back two hours later, and someone had bought out every single piece of furniture that was left in the store. They were loading a Uhaul truck right outside the store when we got there.

The set I saw, $76. Regular price, $800!!

I'm going to another location today and seeing if I get lucky. We really don't have the money for this kind of purchase right now, but it's too good a deal to pass up. And I should make it up with the pending payments from paid blogging anyway...
Eric and I agreed that the next time this good a deal presents itself, there's no need to consult. Just do it!

I'll report back later on my findings at the other location. But if I'm unlucky, and any of you are near a Pier 1 Kids store, let me know. I'll tell you which set it is, and I'll figure out a way to get it down here (esp. you Floridians. You're within driving distance).

Cross those fingers for me please!!

UPDATE, 6:40pm: No luck. I went to the two closest stores (the next closest is in Broward county) and they was nothing. One store had only white headboards and footboards in white, and the other wasn't even open today since someone bought all the stock yesterday. They are scheduled to close for good on Friday, so I'll go by throughout the week and see if by chance there's an extra shipment or something coming in. *Expletive!!*

It's Monday

Ugh. Traffic was horrible. My work seems to be never ending. I had a slight disappointment yesterday afternoon (more about that later). I think I need to go back to bed and sleep through Monday.

That is all.

/rant

Wedding Planning

My friend’s wedding is just over 2 months away, and while most of her Wedding planning is under way, there are still a couple of things she has to tend to. She’s got her hands full in the next 2 months, not just with the wedding planning, but her bridal shower is in two weeks, she’s finishing up her last semester of school (she graduates the day before her wedding!), an out-of-town work conference two weeks before the wedding, and she’s house shopping to boot! Needless to say she’s become a bit frazzled and can’t think straight. Being the helpful friend that I am, I informed her about HitWeddings.com, a wedding planning website I stumbled upon not too long ago. She told me she spent the weekend going through the site, and that she found some very helpful stuff. She said the bridal shower games article was great! She even told me not to look it up so I wouldn’t have an advantage at the shower in two weeks. She found some good advice in the Hair and Beauty section. It helped her decide between a veil and tiara, and she got some ideas for her bridal jewelry as well. Oh, and she mentioned the blog was full of good tips, that she bookmarked a few of the posts to read thoroughly when she has some free time (??!!)
I’m glad I was able to help her cross some stuff off her to-do list. I had a hard time planning my wedding and house shopping, but add all those other things she's dealing with, and I probably would have just decided to elope!