Slacking..

I have been slacking on my posts here lately, it's such a shame. Here's a summary...

Thanksgiving was awesome. We had a Wednesday night Thanksgiving with Husband's Mom's Parents and Thursday with my Mom's family in OKC. The OKC was an awesome trip besides the part where the nap-needing kid couldn't get comfy in his car seat and decided to scream the rest of the way home. Silly boy.

I can't wait until one day when I have gobs of PTO and the ability to take off a few days AROUND the holidays so I can actually enjoy myself and cook and bake and do all of those fun things. This year I am off Christmas Eve Eve but I work Christmas Eve, that Saturday. Which in all actuality, I am not complaining because I am considering myself lucky I am not working on Christmas! I know that one day soon I will have to take my turn and I can deal with it, but BLAH.

Hubby has put up some amazing lights outside our house. They look so awesome. He's been all hardcore about it and even bought an FM transmitter that should be here sometime this week hopefully. He's hoping to time a few of the light strings to songs. We shall see how that goes!

He also has put in his notice at Target. He is so excited to no longer have to work Friday nights. I am excited to have him home but VERRRRY disappointed to lose the 10% discount. That has been nice. So just a few more weeks until I can wave goodbye to that as well!

I'm trying to not get sick. Camden has a snotty nose. Hoping that this winter isn't as brutal as last!

I think little C may EVENTUALLY get another tooth. That'd be cool, and would explain the drooling and gnawing on his fingers.

Kid loves avocado.

I'm tired. I shall remedy this. Heated mattress pad beckons!!

High Five!

{Camden and his cute cousin K}

I hope your Thanksgiving was High Fives all around!!

15 Months

Here is what you are up to this month:

-You are growing faster by the minute. You have the cutest round belly, I think from your perspective you probably can't see your feet. You are wearing 12-18 month pants, some of which are too tight but Daddy still squeezes you in them in the morning. You are wearing mostly 12 month tops, but I bought you a warm winter coat and bought it a size bigger just to be sure. Your shoes are still size 4.

-You are wearing size 4 diapers, and an overnight size 5.

-You are working on growing those teeth still. From a few pictures I took this past month I think there may be more under those gums that are giving you a hard time.

-You say NOOOOO and your little voice is so innocent and sweet when you say it so adamantly. For now it is cute! ;)

-You know that you must stay seated during bath time. Speaking of bath time you LOVE to lay back in the water and submerge the back of your head and body. I hope this means you will be a little fish come next summer.

-You got kicked out of daycare for too high of a fever one day. I am still not sure if I think it was teeth or a virus, who knows. You definitely slept more and had a fever for Halloween and the two days after.

-You were a lion this year for Halloween and boy were you cute!

-When you sign all done it looks like you are turning a faucet on or off.

-You wave bye anytime you are ready to be done with something. You wave at the TV when you are ready to go outside. You wave bye at night when you are ready to bed. That's how we know your signal, we ask if you are ready to go "night night" and you will wave at us, and you go down with a fuss. I remember when I didn't think you would ever go to sleep without causing me trouble!

-You are finicky eater. Big surprise, you are like all the other toddlers out there. I have been able to trick you into getting veggies mixed in with fruits in those little squeeze to-go baby food pouches. They have worked really well when we are out and about and you need a snack. Lately you have been putting away the milk in the morning and evenings. We are talking up to 8 ounces at once. This is fine during the day but at nighttime? Creates a bit of a wet problem.

-You spent this past weekend sick. You threw up Saturday, Sunday and once Monday night after dinner. You are playing fine, no fever. You have these gross sounding burps and and sometimes you're good, other times you're not. I have no idea what's upsetting you, only time will tell!


-You still only say four words. No, More, Go, Uh-oh. You can sign "more" now, as well as all done. Now, when you sign all done you sort of say it. More than anything we understand the "allllll" part. We are working on "Go Pokes" and blowing kisses. You can sign 'please' but you do so by beating on your chest. We'll count it.

-You love being silly with your Daddy, and you Daddy loves to come home and play with you. Building blocks, rocking, playing with the large bouncy ball are all right up your alley.

-You love shutting doors. In the morning you come into the bathroom where I am getting ready and you shut all of the closet doors and the bathroom door.

-We have started a routine of making you put your toys up before bed. You do this at daycare so you caught on rather quickly. Now you will wave at us signaling you are ready for bed, we help you pick up and then you wave as either I or Daddy carries you off to bed. So precious.

-Lately you have been waking up at 530 a.m. like clockwork. Maybe you are thirsty? That's when you are chugging an 8 ouncer, you have never been a big one at drinking a lot in one setting, so who knows.

-You are starting to notice rhythms more. I see you kicking your leg in the car to the music. You sway your head to the Hot Dog Dance when you used to stare seemingly without breathing while the song was on. Sometimes you'll even move those hips of yours. I guess you get your rhythm from your Dad - either not interested in it previously and if it does show up it's hindered. :)

-Besides climbing ladders this month, you have really learned to hoof it. You can bust a move into a run/walk like nobody's business.

You continue to light up our world and we love every minute of it.
xoxo,
Mommy

Get Outta Reader!

If you're reading this in your blog reader, get out and check out my new layout! I did it on the spur of the moment the other night, but then it took all last night a part of the afternoon today, and LOTS of help from Tessa to figure it out.

Yes, I'm a slow kid.

Check it out!!

Thankful

Everyone on facebook this month has been listing a new status every day until Thanksgiving of things they are thankful for. I think this is a great idea but rather than log into facebook daily how about I just type them out here? Okay, good. These are in no particular order, just as I came up with 'em.

1- Thankful for the Almighty God and his blessings and provisions. He is so generous to save us by faith, not from works. We didn't do anything to deserve it but have been given the precious gift. So awesome!

2- For my Mother. She is an amazing, strong woman with a heart for the Lord that others can see radiate through her. I can only hope to aspire to be half the woman she is.

3- For my Father. He always worked hard for the family and at the same time taught me the importance of the dollar, and working for what you want.

4- It's fitting that this day be dedicated to my husband as the 4th is our anniversary! I am thankful for my fantastic husband. He is my perfect partner, and we balance each other out. I am blessed he is in my life, and I like to think the same for him. ;)

5- My extended family. They are so awesome. I love the holidays as it is an excuse to get together and see them. They are really special and I love that we can be apart for so long and when we reunite it is as if no time has passed.

6- For the family I married into. They have been a blessing to me in more ways than one.

7- For an exciting church to attend and raise our kids in. It is a great place, with an exciting and powerful ministry and I look forward to going.

8- A job. In these times I am fortunate to still have my job, and a job that I love. It may be trying and take lots of patience, but I know without a doubt that is what I was called to do.

9- For being allowed the opportunity to become a Mom. It has been an amazing, heart pounding, gut wrenching, exciting experience. And yes, it has been all of those!

10- For the OSU Cowboys. Enough said. 10-0!!

11- For the veterans, including my Granddaddy and my brother. They give up so much to serve our country, Freedom isn't free!

12- Horses and the role they played in my life. Growing up in a barn I learned so much about responsibility, respect, dedication and hard work than I would anywhere else. I look back at the time in my life and reflect on how much fun it was.

13- For chocolate. I am thankful for this all. the. time.

14- For amenities such as a roof over my head, food on the table and a car to drive. Living in this country we have so much - and yet sometimes it is never enough just out of our own greed and desires.

15- For amazing friends. They always have my back, they rush over to help at the drop of a hat, they are a rock. Couldn't do it without them!

16- For my dog. She is awesome, and will forever be my first baby. She may be a fur-baby but she counts. She has been there for me since '03, through college, graduation, multiple jobs and houses. She is my shadow, always by my side. Especially at night, but that's okay in the winter when I need a personal heater.

17- A gym membership. Sounds unimportant, but necessary after number 13. I need that outlet and the exercise to keep me sane.

18- The weather we have been having. It is just lovely lately and I am enjoying being able to get fresh air with my little family after work. As you all know, I have self diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder and I am already not looking forward to being cold, dark and dreary. Because of the complaining I did last winter (the coldest winter for us ever on record) I vowed to not complain about the heat all summer. And? Record heat and all, I did no complaining. So when it gets cold? Watch out!!

19- Music. Just when I can't seem to get motivated at the gym? A good song is needed to get me moving. At church a certain song can really speak to my heart. I love it!

20- Books and blogs. I love to read. I don't have much time to read books these days but I live vicariously through people's online journals.

21- Photography. I am loving this hobby and all that comes with it. My subjects don't ever seem to want to hold still, but between Camden and Pearl I am bound to get one to be a guinea pig! This has been a more than enjoyable creative outlet for me!

22- The daycare Camden is at. They are seriously amazing. They are such loving, compassionate people. They have lesson plans posted weekly with their crafts and theme of the week. He does art 3x a week, sometimes daily. I have conferences to learn how he is progressing and if he is meeting developmental milestones. They provide structure to his routine and are able to reinforce all the things we are learning at home. I am so thankful he was able to get in to the daycare, as the waiting list is usually 50 people long. (I started out on the waiting list at 12 weeks pregnant and he still wasn't invited until AFTER I returned to work. Crazy!!) I know without a doubt, that is where he is supposed to be.

23- For my car. It may not be the newest or shiniest and it may have wood grain circa 1998, but hey - it works. It has a heater and AC and a backseat for Camden. And the best part? No car payment!

24- Phi Mu. It has taught me a lot about people and friends, which ones will stick by you until the end. The same ones that you don't see for years, but when you do see them you just pick right back up where you left off. Also taught me values and the true meaning of being a lady.

I could go on and I'm sure name many, many more, but I'll just do one for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. I do feel really grateful for all of the blessings in my life and know that each difficulty has shaped me into being thankful for these things. The difficulties are what make you appreciate what you have, ya know?

Giveaway Tuesday and a lil DIY

Hey you guys! It's giveaway Tuesday. Go here to check it out!

Too bad I am sewing impaired, or I would make some of those myself! On the plus side, I am not iron impaired and I did make this for Camden for Thanksgiving...

{Sans googly eyes. I forgot to pick those up, I will add those in later!!}

Thank you Pinterest, for the idea!

This was a super easy make, and I did enjoy doing it. I got the fabrics super cheap at JoAnns, and the shirt was on clearance at Target. It was so easy in fact, I may consider making a Christmas one!

I am looking forward to this Thursday, Camden has Thanksgiving luncheon at daycare that family gets to attend. Camden is going to sport his Thanksgiving shirt, and I am so excited!!

Monday, Monday.

i love this kid.


PS - Can't wait for the holidays. I am SO looking forward to seeing family.

Cane Juice

As I mentioned before, the big thing in Australia is to go "shopping" on Thursdays, as that is the one day of the week things don't close early. They even close early on Saturdays! It really teaches you to be motivated to get stuff done on that Thursday.

Some Thursdays and Fridays there are little open air markets that come around for those shoppers. We were walking through Chatswood area on Friday with Missy and we happened upon a cane juice stand.

We started talking to the gentleman here, he was actually from Chicago. He had this fancy machine that he used to squeeze the juice out of the sugar cane and then he put it in a pitcher and it was served up fresh immediately. So cool!

It was fun to watch him put the cane through the machine. He had all of these stats and percentages that explained how much of the actual juice he was extracting from the cane with the machine (I think it was in the upper 70%?) Well, that's beside the point. It was a cool thing to get to watch and experience, and I'm all about trying new things. And the cane juice was fresh, naturally sweet, and enjoyable!!

{Preston ordering his cane juice from the stand. You had three choices. Small, medium or large!}

{looks kinda green, eh?}

{Cheers to cane juice!!}

Funny Things Aussie's Say

While in Australia it was fun to pick up the lingo. It was also interesting to see the similarity in different stores to American stores, and to compare prices. Things there were insanely expensive.

In one store? A can of pop cost three bucks. Yes, THREE dollars. For a can!! That's nuts! A 12 pack of soda? 25 dollars in a corner convenience store. Ouch!

Big W was basically Oz's version of Walmart. It still seems a little expensive, no?

While I was there I also tried this...

It's a really brown. And reaallllly salty.


Here's a compilation of funny things Aussie's say and do that I noted while we were there...

*You don't get pregnant you would say she "fell pregnant".
*It wasn't called lay away, it was called lay by.
*They say "No worries" instead of "Thank You". Or just whenever. And they say it a lot.
*Everyone was called a "mate". They'd say "No worries, Mate".
*McDonalds was called "Maccas".
*Sometimes instead of saying Thanks, they'd say "TA".
*If you say ripper it means good.
*Heaps and Bits means a lot.
*Oatmeal is called porridge.
*They don't call it gas stations they call them "Petrol Stations".
*They say Addidas all weird. It sounds like ADDY-DAS.
*A vacation is a "Holiday".

As for things they do that are odd:

*They don't tip cabs or wait staff. They get paid regular salary, so they get what they get. This reflects directly on the type of service you get. Compared to USA, service in Oz is HORRIBLE. There is no rush, no hurry, and they could really care less if you get what you want or need when you need it, because it doesn't affect them in any way.
*This may be why they suck at this one - they don't put ice in drinks. Very rarely was that ever and option, and Chris HATED it. I think Missy said it's just not as common to have very cold drinks there. I LOVED that, cause I prefer my drinks lukewarm anyway.
*They put beet root on EVERYTHING. On burgers, with breakfast, on ev.ry.thing. it is verrrry popular.
*They also served their french fries, called chips in Oz, with sour cream and chili sauce. This was AMAZING. We should do that here, cause America? You are MISSING OUT.
*Chips sometimes were served with a seasoning called Chicken Salt. Again, AMAZING.
*There are no pennies there. So if your total comes out to be uneven? Tough, you don't get your pennies back. Usually you paid for things as they were listed. If it said 5 dollars on the shelf, when you go to the checkout you would pay 5 dollars.
*The stores there close at 5. All stores except grocery stores. Even on a Saturday. Thursdays, however, is the late shopping day. They are open until 8 on Thursdays so if you have any shopping to do, you plan to get off work early on a weekday or you go on Thursdays!

The fun thing about Oz was their accent. It was nice to be able to understand most everything they said, and to get a kick out of the differences in culture. It was definitely enjoyable, and funny to see how things some of the familiar things can be so different.

Oz: Part 8

The last day in Oz came rather quickly. It seemed like we had just started our vacation and it was time to wrap it up.

{Had to get another round of pictures...it is simply stunning.}

{Preston and Jennie}

On our last day the four of us spent it stopping in at little stores and places to pick up souvenirs we had said we wanted, but waited to get in case we found them elsewhere and for a better price. So we ran all around the town, shopping and spending money! We went back to the QVB to visit a professional photographer for a few (surprisingly cheap for Oz) affordable gorgeous prints of the Opera House and Bridge. Then we did some more shopping back down by Circular Quay and the Opera House. We also went back to Chatswood and Jennie and I picked up our opal rings. Then we ran home, dropped it all off and began the train commute to meet up with Missy and her work pals for a dinner.

We went to a place in Paramatta called the Bavarian Bier Cafe. Here is a picture.

{Looking at this I am sure you are thinking, now, she must be mistaken. That is a picture of a church called Saint Andrews! That's what I thought. It is a restaurant that used to be a church. And it was so quaint and just had a cool feeling walking in. Here are a few inside shots before it got crowded.

{it looks like Boone had too much to drink!!}

{Missy's work buddies - they loved Boone!}

We had good food here, although it didn't compare to our chicken schnitzel with pepper gravy from Gilroy's right around the corner from Missy's. We had a great time with her work people, and before we knew it - it was time to head home and pack up!

{Missy's living room turned hotel room. Her kitchen is also this area as well...}

{Missy's "Bedroom"}

And that's basically your tour of her apartment. It is literally that small. And somehow we crammed five people in and she kept her sanity (for the most part)!

Missy - we had an amazing time visiting and seeing what your life is like in another country. It was so sweet of you to let us all crash at your place and to guide us around the country. You are such a brave person for working so far from home and taking that leap to do so! xoxo

Poor Little Lion...

The cutest lion I ever did see! This was the best photo I took of him in his Halloween costume because we were feverish and went to bed early on Halloween. He spent Wednesday/Thursday at home because of sickness and was back at daycare Friday, acting fine. I had grand plans to put him in his costume this weekend and take some more pictures.

Well, boyfriend decided to get sick AGAIN Friday night. He proceeded to throw up his dinner which was spaghetti and strawberries for dessert. Lemme tell ya, that was pink. And stinky. We were up all night dry heaving and throwing up. Poor thing. We were just barely asleep when the Earthquake hit. That's right! Oklahoma where we are known for our tornadoes, has felt the earth move under our feet more times in the past year than I have in my entire life. (This is the second earthquake of this size in a year!) I think they said it was a 4.7.

Anyway, we spent most of today sleeping, eating crackers, and drinking Pedialyte. Fingers crossed that we are on the mend so we can play in our Halloween costume a little more!

Linking up with the Paper Mama!

Happy 5 Years..

Today is our anniversary. This year marks anniversary number 5 for Husband and I. I am so blessed to have someone who cares for me the way he does, someone who is an exemplary father and a best friend.

{Go Pokes!}

Happy Five Years honey, looking forward to all the ones to come!!

Happy Halloween!

Fashionably late as usual! Little C had a low grade fever Halloween night and then successfully managed to get kicked out of daycare the next day as his fever spiked. I have been running around finding family to watch my little monkey so Husband and I can still work.

Halloween was a blast in our neck of the woods. Our neighborhood gets COVERED in kids. Traffic carries non-stop herds of dressed up little ones. The crazy Halloween guy was out again this year, but he did his yard up different. They set up the fun in their garage this year to make it all easily accessible. I didn't take a close up front shot, but he had it designed where the perimeter of the garage looks like a mausoleum and one of the 'headstones' swings open so that a mummified hand can reach through and scare the kids. This is all set around a homemade coffin that has a real person wrapped like a mummy that reaches over and grabs the kids, and at the same time a huge spider that they set off with a foot pedal jumps up out of the corner. Can we say, SCARY? He set the spider off a few days early while he was explaining it to me, and I was standing halfway down the drive and STILL jumped. (I don't do scary.) They of course don't scare the little ones and they were super sweet folks, even giving Camden a plastic spider to hold on to the other day and inviting us over for a pot of chili on Halloween.

{this was just as the night was starting. Mobs of people were around the rest of the evening..It's a popular place!}

{See the guy in the chair? That's the Halloween guy. He had spiders stuck all over his shirt and face and arms. It looked pretty creepy under the lights..}

The cousins came to trick or treat in our neighborhood and we got started before it got dark. We had Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear, a Ballerina and Camden was a lion.

my precious lion.

We made it halfway around the neighborhood before I sent feverish little C home to go to bed with Daddy. I finished up with the cousins then headed home to hand out candy. Lots of candy. Don't believe me? Here's a blurry pic showing a miniscule amount of what we actually we gave out.

{This is only 3 of the probably 14 bags we had. Seriously.

Last year, I had 326 trick or treaters. I wondered if I was going to break it this year as it seemed to be a little slower initially. We turned on the lights at 630 and my MIL handed out candy for thirty mins while we headed around the 'hood. I ended up running out of candy and having to turn off the light at 830. I had to turn away the kids that had lined up down my sidewalk! The final number was 413. WHEW!

Some of my favorite costumes? The little skunk, the Mickey Mouses, the train conductors and the most creative was the young girl who dressed up as Bethany the Surfer. She had her arm tucked into her shirt and her surf shorts, that's dedication!

Some kids were so pleasant, saying thank you and yes ma'am. At three times during the night I accidentally dropped a piece of candy while passing it out to the swarms of children on my doorstep. Two of the three times the kid standing there reached down and picked it up, handing it back to me or putting it BACK in my bowl. That means there is still the occasionally ornery kid that snatches that extra piece of candy and runs off. :)

One thing I noticed, was that a few kids would arrive on my doorstep holding a white piece of paper. I could only guess what I thought was on the paper, but didn't think anything of it until the same paper blew into my yard the next day.

Two adorable kids showed up on our doorstep about three weeks ago with this picture in color, animatedly describing their cat and asking if we had seen her. My heart sank when I saw the same cat on the flier, and I pictured those two kids sitting at home instead of trick or treating, handing out fliers to try and find their lost kitty. I am so sad for them, I know how hard it can be to lose a cat, after all I lost one when I was younger!

Anyway, if you see Angel in a pink collar with no tail, PLEASE call their family!

Hope everyone else had a fabulous holiday, and I can't WAIT for the next one!!! After all, Thanksgiving is one of my faves!