Random Question: If I'm getting Christmas stockings for our family, what do I embroider (if anything) on Joel and my stockings? The girls names will be on there's, but it seems weird to put Joel and Grace on ours, also weird to put Mom/Dad/Mommy/Daddy. So do I go with no embroidery on anyones or just on a the girls? Thanks for your input!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Wordless Wednesday: She's so proud!
Random Question: If I'm getting Christmas stockings for our family, what do I embroider (if anything) on Joel and my stockings? The girls names will be on there's, but it seems weird to put Joel and Grace on ours, also weird to put Mom/Dad/Mommy/Daddy. So do I go with no embroidery on anyones or just on a the girls? Thanks for your input!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Randoms around our house
-We cut cable. I pretty much threw a silent fit about it to myself for about a week where I wanted to lay on the floor and flail (charming image, isn't it). Then I realized what a hold cable had on me and knew there was a problem. I called the next day and cut it. It was totally liberating. The cutting our cable/internet bill by more than 60% didn't hurt either.
-Joel's been wanting to cut cable for years. Years. I think he could go without it forever.
-I really miss HGTV and Food Network (and who am I kidding, Bravo and Lifetime just for Dance Moms). The only other thing I miss is the ability to watch things on demand. We've never had a dvr so I am used to watching everything live anyways.
-Now I just watch stuff on the computer which is definitely not the same as on the tv.
-I'm pretty ready for fall shows to come on.
-UNC Explorer is actually a pretty good channel. So is ION.
-You would think I would be getting all sorts of stuff done without cable. I am getting more done than I was, but the list is still never ending.
-With my new found time during nap time I've started reading again. Its pretty awesome. Lately I've read a few Randy Alcorn books and the Duggar books (thats right, those Duggars). The Duggar books I really loved and they told almost every step they took to being completely debt free. Incredible. and Inspiring. Any suggestions for books?
-Lainie and I were sick this past week/weekend (always on a holiday weekend, isn't it). Joel swooped in as superDad and took over. I slept and slept while he took over Mr. Mom. I don't know what I'd do without him.
-The mosquitos seem to not be as horrible lately. We've been able to go outside without getting constantly swarmed. Its been great. I love fall.
-Speaking of fall, is it too early for me to make party mix?
-I found 6 long, wirey gray hairs last weekend. I haven't colored my hair in about 4 years and it makes me sick to think I'm going to have to start coloring it so I'm not 30 and totally gray. ugh. Let me clarify, should I find 6 more long, wirey gray hairs, I will be coloring my hair (or maybe Joel will).
-Joel cuts my hair now. I've been getting it cut locally and every time i come home, he ends up fixing it (to the tune of cutting inches to repair the rattail damage), so instead of shelling out the $30 and have him fix it, he just cuts it now. He's actually pretty good at it, layers and all. I've had more people ask me where I get my hair cut now than in years, and we both crack up at their faces when I tell them its at Salon JoJo.
-One of my favorite things Ruthie says now is I be eat Mama? She says it all the time. She be eat'n. all the time.
-Another fav is Hold me Mama. All the day long.
-NayNay loves to do the Indian (totally not PC, no clue what else to call it). She thinks its hilarious and would do it continuously for hours I think. Ruthie never had any interest in that.
-I really want sushi this week, weird.
-Ruthie loves to hug (which strangely looks like a choke hold) NayNay. Its really sweet, and slightly scary.
I think random was definitely the right title for this blog post.
-
-Joel's been wanting to cut cable for years. Years. I think he could go without it forever.
-I really miss HGTV and Food Network (and who am I kidding, Bravo and Lifetime just for Dance Moms). The only other thing I miss is the ability to watch things on demand. We've never had a dvr so I am used to watching everything live anyways.
-Now I just watch stuff on the computer which is definitely not the same as on the tv.
-I'm pretty ready for fall shows to come on.
-UNC Explorer is actually a pretty good channel. So is ION.
-You would think I would be getting all sorts of stuff done without cable. I am getting more done than I was, but the list is still never ending.
-With my new found time during nap time I've started reading again. Its pretty awesome. Lately I've read a few Randy Alcorn books and the Duggar books (thats right, those Duggars). The Duggar books I really loved and they told almost every step they took to being completely debt free. Incredible. and Inspiring. Any suggestions for books?
-Lainie and I were sick this past week/weekend (always on a holiday weekend, isn't it). Joel swooped in as superDad and took over. I slept and slept while he took over Mr. Mom. I don't know what I'd do without him.
-The mosquitos seem to not be as horrible lately. We've been able to go outside without getting constantly swarmed. Its been great. I love fall.
-Speaking of fall, is it too early for me to make party mix?
-I found 6 long, wirey gray hairs last weekend. I haven't colored my hair in about 4 years and it makes me sick to think I'm going to have to start coloring it so I'm not 30 and totally gray. ugh. Let me clarify, should I find 6 more long, wirey gray hairs, I will be coloring my hair (or maybe Joel will).
-Joel cuts my hair now. I've been getting it cut locally and every time i come home, he ends up fixing it (to the tune of cutting inches to repair the rattail damage), so instead of shelling out the $30 and have him fix it, he just cuts it now. He's actually pretty good at it, layers and all. I've had more people ask me where I get my hair cut now than in years, and we both crack up at their faces when I tell them its at Salon JoJo.
-One of my favorite things Ruthie says now is I be eat Mama? She says it all the time. She be eat'n. all the time.
-NayNay loves to do the Indian (totally not PC, no clue what else to call it). She thinks its hilarious and would do it continuously for hours I think. Ruthie never had any interest in that.
-Ruthie loves to hug (which strangely looks like a choke hold) NayNay. Its really sweet, and slightly scary.
-
Monday, September 10, 2012
I'm a Yard Sale-er
One of my favorite things is to go yard sale-ing. I have a very hard time buying anything new because I know the steals I can find at yard sales. I've started taking my big girl yard sale-ing with me and we have so much fun.
This past weekend was one of our best days and we found so much good stuff. I've been trying to teach Ruthie to call herself the Negotiator and she's almost got it! Every time we go, she gets 2 quarters to spend and we try and find something for Lainie. This is our loot from last weekend. Each item averaged out to about .10cents.
A few of my favorite things to find at yard sales (with prices I aim for) are:
-kids books-on average I pay about .10cents/book based on the quality
-kids clothes-I try and pay about .25cents/per article of clothing (or less) and I've gotten almost all the girls playclothes at yard sale
-our clothes-depending on the brand/quality I will pay up to $1/item. Lately, I've had really good luck finding Men's Ralph Lauren polo shirts in great condition, for $1 (at a maximum) or less you can't beat it.
-toys-if I can wash and bleach it, I will buy it. Again, I try and limit toys to $1 at a maximum, usually most owners will do 2 toys for a dollar. Last weekend, we were able to get the Little People Noahs Ark and Little people Princess Castle for .50 each.
-Housewares-I don't have as good of luck with these, but occassionally there will be some good things. This past week our pepper grinder bit the dust and I found a matching salt and pepper set for .50cents. I've been on the hunt for plates, but so far haven't had any luck on finding what I like for the price I will pay.
I love finding church yard sales for different causes/mission trips. Most will do fill a bag for $1 or something similar. They don't usually have the personal ties to the items are are just raising money. Usually I get better prices on things, while supporting important causes.
Are there any other good finds I'm missing?
Let me also state, Joel is not a yard-saler. Not even close. He loves that I am, but if you negotiate with someone over a quarter (or any amount), he cringes. Its pretty funny to me. I believe people are selling stuff at yard sales to get it out of their house and hopefully make some money. In general, I think after the yard sale is over, the stuff is getting donated. I'm always going to offer less than they mark it, usually about 50% of what they ask. If they say no, no big deal, but they might say yes (and they usually do) and I've saved some money. It totally embarrasses Joel.
One of the other major ways I've saved money is buying things off Facebook. I'm part of several local yardsale type pages that are similar to Craigslist.
What I like the most about these pages is that unlike Craigslist, you can see exactly who you're buying from and any friends you might have in common with them. The dress above and below are a few of the cute things I've gotten lately (both dresses were about $1 each). I've also met some really nice people who live closeby to me!
I do have to say, my favorite part of yard-sale-ing is one on one time with my big girl!
This past weekend was one of our best days and we found so much good stuff. I've been trying to teach Ruthie to call herself the Negotiator and she's almost got it! Every time we go, she gets 2 quarters to spend and we try and find something for Lainie. This is our loot from last weekend. Each item averaged out to about .10cents.
A few of my favorite things to find at yard sales (with prices I aim for) are:
-kids books-on average I pay about .10cents/book based on the quality
-kids clothes-I try and pay about .25cents/per article of clothing (or less) and I've gotten almost all the girls playclothes at yard sale
-our clothes-depending on the brand/quality I will pay up to $1/item. Lately, I've had really good luck finding Men's Ralph Lauren polo shirts in great condition, for $1 (at a maximum) or less you can't beat it.
-toys-if I can wash and bleach it, I will buy it. Again, I try and limit toys to $1 at a maximum, usually most owners will do 2 toys for a dollar. Last weekend, we were able to get the Little People Noahs Ark and Little people Princess Castle for .50 each.
-Housewares-I don't have as good of luck with these, but occassionally there will be some good things. This past week our pepper grinder bit the dust and I found a matching salt and pepper set for .50cents. I've been on the hunt for plates, but so far haven't had any luck on finding what I like for the price I will pay.
I love finding church yard sales for different causes/mission trips. Most will do fill a bag for $1 or something similar. They don't usually have the personal ties to the items are are just raising money. Usually I get better prices on things, while supporting important causes.
Are there any other good finds I'm missing?
Let me also state, Joel is not a yard-saler. Not even close. He loves that I am, but if you negotiate with someone over a quarter (or any amount), he cringes. Its pretty funny to me. I believe people are selling stuff at yard sales to get it out of their house and hopefully make some money. In general, I think after the yard sale is over, the stuff is getting donated. I'm always going to offer less than they mark it, usually about 50% of what they ask. If they say no, no big deal, but they might say yes (and they usually do) and I've saved some money. It totally embarrasses Joel.
One of the other major ways I've saved money is buying things off Facebook. I'm part of several local yardsale type pages that are similar to Craigslist.
What I like the most about these pages is that unlike Craigslist, you can see exactly who you're buying from and any friends you might have in common with them. The dress above and below are a few of the cute things I've gotten lately (both dresses were about $1 each). I've also met some really nice people who live closeby to me!
I do have to say, my favorite part of yard-sale-ing is one on one time with my big girl!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
My Little Lainie Month 10
I think I'm in denial that my baby is almost a year old. I'm pretty sure of it. To both Joel and I, she is still a tiny little newborn, who just happens to stand, crawl, almost walk, laugh and be a complete joy. Month 10 was a huge one, full of change and growth.
Eating:
Lainie is still eating great. She still loves yogurt, thank goodness. So far she likes both vanilla and strawberry yogurt. She loves puffs and cheerios and baby goldfish if she can get her hands on her sister's. She eats three meals a day around 7am, 11:30am, and 5pm.
We were able to move to a flexible 4 hour nursing schedule and man that changes everything. I remember feeling this way with Ruthie and I love the freedom! She nurses around 7am, 11am, 3:30pm and 7pm.
Thusfar, I've given Lainie all organic food. We don't eat all organic (although I'd like to), but for the girls we try to give them as much organic food as possible.
Size:
She is still so big, but shes starting to stretch more. She's just under 20lbs and long long long (comparison, her sister was 17 pounds). She has only gained about 1/2 a pound this past month.
She is wearing 12-18 month clothes, and still in size 4 diapers.
Nighttime Sleep:
AHHHHHHHallelujah! (thats me singing). My girl can sleep! and she can sleep great! The wall has 100% changed our lives. Our house feels double the size because we can now use our room/bathroom anytime! Lainie now sleeps from about 6:45pm-7am. We both feel like new people, as I'm sure Lainie does also.
Daytime Sleep:
She does great when we're at home. She sleeps from about 8:30am-11am, and 1:30-3:30pm-ish. If we're out in the morning, she sleeps from about 12pm-3/3:30pm.
She doesn't sleep in the carseat (unless we're out almost all day) or the stroller (can't remember that last time), so pretty much her crib/pack n play is where she sleeps.
Mobility:
She is still a speed crawler. I keep thinking she is going to take a step any day now. She stands for about 15-30 seconds at a time and then realizes shes standing and uses her shocks to ease her way slowly down. Its ridiculously controlled. She's trying to go from sitting to standing without holding on, but she's not quite there yet. She cruises all over our house on the furniture.
Eyes:
Just like Daddy.
Paci:
Still in the crib and carseat.
Hair:
Apparently our kids hair grows in the exact same way. Business in the front, party in the back. She loves playing with her hair especially when she's tired. Its really sweet. She also loves playing with my ponytail and yanking hair. She's really strong and its pretty impressive the grip she gets.
Signs/Words:
She loves to watch signs but hasn't done any yet. Ruthie loves to show her more please and all done so I'm thinking she'll start copying those first. We'll see. She says Mama and Dada (although Joel hasn't heard it yet). Its really sweet. She still waves bye bye.
Teeth:
Still the bottom two (comparison, her sister had 8 teeth at month 10, way more than any of her other friends at the time).
Doesn't Love:
-Having anything taken away from her. She's getting quite the spunk, and I love it. She is not going to be the forgotten second child, that is for sure. She makes her presence known and if there is something she wants, she will let you know!
-Having her diaper changed. Thats not entirely true. What she cannot stand is having to lay on her back, she has the alligator roll down!
-The car seat. She does pretty well almost all the time, but there are definite times she's not having it.
-Strangers. Hello stranger anxiety. She doesn't have it as bad as Ruthie did, but every week we drop her in the nursery at church she just wails. It is awful. By the time I get to the window she has usually stopped crying (It doesn't help its right in the middle of her nap), but when we pick her up as soon as she sees us, she remembers the pain and agony of being left and just wails again. It is pitiful.
Loves:
-Almost everything. She is really starting to love Chloe. She likes to pat pat her and Chloe has reinforced her position as the worlds greatest dog, by continually taking it from two girls.
-Ruthie, especially when she jumps in her crib. Lainie tries with everything she's got to jump like Ruthie and does her own little baby bounce. So cute.
-To dance. If you start singing Go Lainie, Go Lainie she starts moving. it is awesome. I love the dancing.
-Grandpa. She was so curious about this man asleep on the couch (after his overnight flight). It was really cute!
-If you pretend you're doing to get her and chase her. She starts squealing and laughing like crazy, crawls as fast as she can, then gives in to the giggles, lays down and cracks up. One of my favorite things in life.
-The ipad, my phone, the monitor. She's pretty much a genius.
-The stairs. She flies up them after Ruthie. She's a definite climber.
-Me. She totally loves me right now and I am soaking it up. I know it won't last, but I love it while it does.
-Anything of Ruthies. Her cups of milk especially (or water). I quit giving Lainie the baby sippy cups and just started giving her the same ones I give Ruthie and she loves them.
They both like to eat each others things. Its incredible how much Ruthie loves a cheerio if its on NayNay's tray!
-Being tickled.
-Peekaboo. I think she might love it more than any other kid ever.
-Being upside, spinning her around, throwing her up in the air. My girl, what can I say?
-Pulling clothes out of the laundry basket. Lucky for her, there seems to always be clean, unfolded clothes in the basket. I'm just trying to keep my girls happy :-).
There really isn't much better in life than seeing my girls love each other. Lainie has added so much to our lives and we are so thankful for her and her sweet smile and laugh.
Lainie is still eating great. She still loves yogurt, thank goodness. So far she likes both vanilla and strawberry yogurt. She loves puffs and cheerios and baby goldfish if she can get her hands on her sister's. She eats three meals a day around 7am, 11:30am, and 5pm.
Thusfar, I've given Lainie all organic food. We don't eat all organic (although I'd like to), but for the girls we try to give them as much organic food as possible.
Size:
She is still so big, but shes starting to stretch more. She's just under 20lbs and long long long (comparison, her sister was 17 pounds). She has only gained about 1/2 a pound this past month.
She is wearing 12-18 month clothes, and still in size 4 diapers.
Nighttime Sleep:
AHHHHHHHallelujah! (thats me singing). My girl can sleep! and she can sleep great! The wall has 100% changed our lives. Our house feels double the size because we can now use our room/bathroom anytime! Lainie now sleeps from about 6:45pm-7am. We both feel like new people, as I'm sure Lainie does also.
Daytime Sleep:
She does great when we're at home. She sleeps from about 8:30am-11am, and 1:30-3:30pm-ish. If we're out in the morning, she sleeps from about 12pm-3/3:30pm.
She doesn't sleep in the carseat (unless we're out almost all day) or the stroller (can't remember that last time), so pretty much her crib/pack n play is where she sleeps.
Mobility:
Just like Daddy.
Still in the crib and carseat.
Hair:
Apparently our kids hair grows in the exact same way. Business in the front, party in the back. She loves playing with her hair especially when she's tired. Its really sweet. She also loves playing with my ponytail and yanking hair. She's really strong and its pretty impressive the grip she gets.
Signs/Words:
She loves to watch signs but hasn't done any yet. Ruthie loves to show her more please and all done so I'm thinking she'll start copying those first. We'll see. She says Mama and Dada (although Joel hasn't heard it yet). Its really sweet. She still waves bye bye.
Still the bottom two (comparison, her sister had 8 teeth at month 10, way more than any of her other friends at the time).
Doesn't Love:
-Having anything taken away from her. She's getting quite the spunk, and I love it. She is not going to be the forgotten second child, that is for sure. She makes her presence known and if there is something she wants, she will let you know!
-Having her diaper changed. Thats not entirely true. What she cannot stand is having to lay on her back, she has the alligator roll down!
-The car seat. She does pretty well almost all the time, but there are definite times she's not having it.
-Strangers. Hello stranger anxiety. She doesn't have it as bad as Ruthie did, but every week we drop her in the nursery at church she just wails. It is awful. By the time I get to the window she has usually stopped crying (It doesn't help its right in the middle of her nap), but when we pick her up as soon as she sees us, she remembers the pain and agony of being left and just wails again. It is pitiful.
Loves:
-Almost everything. She is really starting to love Chloe. She likes to pat pat her and Chloe has reinforced her position as the worlds greatest dog, by continually taking it from two girls.
-Grandpa. She was so curious about this man asleep on the couch (after his overnight flight). It was really cute!
-If you pretend you're doing to get her and chase her. She starts squealing and laughing like crazy, crawls as fast as she can, then gives in to the giggles, lays down and cracks up. One of my favorite things in life.
-The ipad, my phone, the monitor. She's pretty much a genius.
-The stairs. She flies up them after Ruthie. She's a definite climber.
-Me. She totally loves me right now and I am soaking it up. I know it won't last, but I love it while it does.
-Anything of Ruthies. Her cups of milk especially (or water). I quit giving Lainie the baby sippy cups and just started giving her the same ones I give Ruthie and she loves them.
They both like to eat each others things. Its incredible how much Ruthie loves a cheerio if its on NayNay's tray!
-Peekaboo. I think she might love it more than any other kid ever.
-Being upside, spinning her around, throwing her up in the air. My girl, what can I say?
-Pulling clothes out of the laundry basket. Lucky for her, there seems to always be clean, unfolded clothes in the basket. I'm just trying to keep my girls happy :-).
There really isn't much better in life than seeing my girls love each other. Lainie has added so much to our lives and we are so thankful for her and her sweet smile and laugh.
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