Watching Him Sleep...

As a Mama to a busy toddler, there are days where I want to check out. I want to go to my room, shut (and lock) the door, stick my fingers in my ears and go, "lalala I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALA!".

On the days that are particularly stressful or busy, I'm eager for Bubbalu's bedtime, eager for a break, and eager for some peace and quiet.

But.

Only a hour or two goes by, and I'm missing him. I just NEED to see him again. I tiptoe quietly into his room and just watch him sleep. Hey, it's about the only time that I can actually study his face because he's actually still.


I love my Bubbalu...

A

Barnes & Naked...

Bubbalu got naked at Barnes & Noble.

My Mom, sister, Bubbalu and I were hanging out at UVillage here in Seattle on lovely sunny Monday afternoon. We had our yummy Starbucks iced drinks in hand and were wandering around window shopping and having a good time. It was actually sunny. I KNOW!

Anyways, we headed over to Gap to check out the spring/summer clothing options for toddler boys. I was trying to find some cute brown sandals that would work for Bubbalu.

Lately he has had some claustrophobia of the feet. Basically, his feet get all hot and sweaty. Nice. I feel sorry for him, and being that I live in flip flops all spring and summer long, I CAN'T force him to have stifled toes.

These are my favorites:


And these :


And these were ADORABLE :


HOWEVER. We are having some major shoe problems over here. Bubbalu has ugly toes and feet. I say that lovingly. I have rather normal feet, the OTHER half of me has less than appealing feet. Bubbalu's toes are all scrunched up and jumbled like too many sardines smashed in a too small tin. Or a huge litter of piglets vying for their mama's milk.

THIS little piggie went to Uvillage, THIS little piggie went to Gap, THIS little piggie had Starbucks, and THIS little piggie had none...and THIS little piggie cried,"Why am I so ugly!?" all the way home.

I could not get the aforementioned cute flip flops between Bubbalu's scrunched toes. He was very willing to sit and let me try though. Very happy indeed.

While I had him in my lap, forcing flip flops between the ugly scrunched toes, I smelled something a little off. If you're a Mama, you do the very subtle 'pull back the waistband of the pants and take a whiff' thing.

I wish I hadn't done that.

So, off to the bathrooms at Gap...which didn't have a baby changing table. NO, I am NOT going to change him on the public bathroom floor, thank you.

We headed over to Barnes & Noble and went up the elevator to the family friendly bathroom. I assessed the destruction, and it was impressive. Remember those 'poop up the back' instances of babyhood? I thought I was done with those!

So, pull out the diapers and wipe. Yep, I said WIPE. As in single, not plural. I had a huge poop up the back to clean with one measly wipe.

That's why Bubbalu got a wet paper towel sponge bath in the bathroom at Barnes & Noble. Good thing my Mom and sister were there with me, cause I don't think it would have been as funny by myself.

Barnes & Noble, I apologize for the stench in the upstairs bathroom. And, thank you for keeping your paper towels well stocked. I am hoping to avoid this situation in the future, but I'm not making any promises.

Anyone else have this happen before?

A

Letter to Sarah Jessica Parker...

Dear Sarah Jessica Parker :

I have enjoyed perusing your new stylish clothing line on the website, Bitten, and have been very impressed with the style and affordability of the clothing shown. I have even gone so far as to visit the nearest Steve & Barry’s, the store that exclusively sells your clothing line, in order to try on and purchase many pieces of your line.

I am writing to inform you that I was unable to find any of the previously mentioned cute articles of clothing (that I had dibs on) I wanted to purchase (HOUNDS TOOTH COAT!). My lovely sister could not even find the cute white coat.

We DID, however, find some cute black dresses to try on. And just so you know, REAL women have curves.

I really want to like your clothing line and be a repeat customer. Is there any way you could ship the Hounds tooth coat and brown tee directly to my house? And maybe the white coat to my sister, because I like her and all.

Thank you for your timely consideration in this matter,

A

Mama, I Want THIS For Breakfast!!!

Actually, Bubbalu hates pancakes and waffles. Well, THIS week he hates pancakes and waffles. It changes frequently. Maybe I should try french toast?

Life with a toddler...

A

Squashalisciousness...

In an effort to increase freezer space, I am trying to use up some frozen butternut squash packages that I had on hand for baby food.

I looked for a quick recipe using the Birds Eye website (the brand of frozen squash I have).

Here's what I found:

Butternut Squash Soup

Prep time: 1-2 mins
Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients-
1-12oz box Birds Eye® Frozen Select Cooked Winter Squash
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp chopped chives
1 cup Parmesan croutons

Instructions-
Combine the squash with the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for several minutes, until the squash thaws, about 10 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Serve sprinkled with chives and croutons.

Did you see that!? Because it is only 12 MINUTES total prep/cook time, we are attempting Butternut Squash Soup for dinner. It's on the stove as I am typing, and will be transported to the crock pot, being that it's only 3:45.

*Mkay, so it is now after dinner, and the soup was nice and thick and yummy. I doubled the recipe, added parsley for looks and nixed the croutons for poor mans garlic bread ( toast with butter and garlic salt). We got two thumbs up from the husband too! I DO suggest not having it as the main course, unless you eat like a bird. We are not delicate waifs, and will be needing some staying power. Not sure what that will be yet...

Anyways, enjoy your squashaliscious soup, and let me know if you have fun variations...

A

Favorite Find Friday : Community Wide Garage Sales

Oh yes, we are going to get our thrifty on this weekend!

Tomorrow, I am heading up north a bit to attack a large community wide garage sale extravaganza. I am embarrassingly excited. My always-up-for-a-garage-sale thrifty sister and my thrifty mentor and original Queen Bee of the art of Garaging, my Mother, are driving down from their part of the world to experience the community wide garage sale phenomenon with me. Last year at this phenom there were over 170 participating garage sales! 170!! I know!

Here is what is on my garage sale wish list:

• Board Books - Who doesn't love a good board book!?

( I don't know about fellow Mama's, but why do I feel Bubbalu only has 10 books that we read over and over and OVER?! I know he has a big stack of books, but I get sick of them! But hey, nobody ever said literacy is a bad thing. Also, Bubbalu has developed a disturbing habit of eating his books. I DO feed him...really!! Guess he needs more fiber? Most of his board books have nice Bubbalu-mouth-sized chunks missing from the edges. Do any other Mama's have this kid eating books problem? I keep grabbing the book away from him, "Bubbalu, that is NOT FOOD!!". So, we need some uneaten board books. )

Mkay, got a little distracted there, but here's the rest of the list...

• Toddler Boy clothes - Bubbalu shot up in height these last few months (45% to 75% over 3 months...hmmm, maybe it was all the books he was eating?) and we are close to being out of clothes. I'll probably be looking for cute, 'OK to get messy' playclothes. No, not like the curtain play clothes from Sound of Music; shorts, T's and such.
  


• Sandbox/outdoor toys - I am guessing when we (hopefully) buy our first house later this summer I will want outside toys for Bubbalu to play with.

I especially want one of these:

• Vintage ceramic cake stand - I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for these. I would really like a few in different colors/heights.

Here is an example:

• Vintage Cutco knives - Anyone else sell them during college to make ends meet? My hubby did, sorta. We LUV Cutco knives, they are the best.



• Old big frames - to repaint and frame whatever I feel like. Usually fabric. I'll show you sometime. It's a cheap and beautiful way to freshen up a wall.



• Ammo Boxes - Cause Hubby and my Papa are BIG-TIME geocachers.



• Some new underwear for me - Joking. Please, if you thought I was serious, get some help. I REALLY don't understand how some Garagers think that selling/buying old used underwear is OK. It is just...ewww.

That is all I can think of right now, I'll list more as I think of em. I hope to do a 'look what I got!' post after all the craziness of tomorrow is over...

Now, go get your thrifty on!

A

Coming To You LIVE From Work...

Relax, it's OK, I didn't abandon any laboring or delivering Mama's K? Sheesh, ya think I'm that cold-hearted? I'm on a legit break.

So, I'll sit here and type and occasionally stuff my mouth with my neatly tupperware packaged meal of bayou cajun chicken, peas and baked potato.

I've been disgruntled about the weather lately. How bout you? Ever since my cruising ( yes, plural) I've been itching for some good ole sunlight. We live in the glorious Pacific Northwest, resplendent with natural beauty and accompanied by rain. I am feeling ready for some summer. I've updated the summer wardrobe, and I am ready for days of flip-flops, sunscreen and kiddie pools.

But who am I kidding? We've still got plenty of months left of dreariness and rain. I think I'm gonna need these cuteso boots to get through the rainy dreariness for a few more months.

( insert HINT HINT NUDGE NUDGE)

Whatddyall do to keep the rainy season blahs away? I'm up for suggestions.

That, and I'm out of break time, so this post is ending.

Epidurals, pitocin, magnesium and monitoring, here I come...


A

Leona Lewis Love...

Can I just say how excited I was when they announced Leona Lewis to sing 'Bleeding Love' on American Idol tonight!!!

Don't know the song? Well, you should, because you're listening to it right now. At least, it should have loaded by now. I've had that particular song as my bloggy song this week, and was super thrilled to see her perform live.

That girls got some skillz. Mad skillz!

You now have permission to buy her album and mail it to me :)

Whatddyall think about Carly going home? I was very surprised. I just didn't think it was her time to go.

Time for me to go to bed, sweet dreams bloggy land...

A

When Strolling Down Memory Lane Beware Of The Potholes...

Hi!

I'm cute!

Please take care of me and LUV me forever and ever!

Mkay?

This is Bubbalu one year ago, give or take a few days.

We were still moving into our "new" apartment (which we have since moved out of). Wish someone would have told me I was going to move again in 8 months, I might not have unpacked.

Or painted.

One or four rooms.

But whatever. Not that I'm sick of moving one or two times in eight months...

OK, so last year at this time I was:

• taking care of my cute Bubbalu, who was still rather colicky and had breastfeeding issues


• unpacking the moving boxes


• training for my first 10k


• finally losing the baby weight (OK, we all know what "baby weight" means, right? It's not baby weight, it's chocolate milk, Cheetos and Oreo mint blizzard weight, K? )


• enjoying being a SAHMama

That's all I can really remember right now. All I know is that I was feeling overwhelmed and tired, but blessed.

Here is evidence of my blessedness:

I'm still smiling.

What were you all doing this time last year?

A

Dibs On This One Too!!

Uber cuteness for $8.98!



A

Dibs...

I called it first.



Can I just say, I have dibs on this coat from the new Sarah Jessica Parker line BITTEN.

First of all, it would look great with my Jeans Of Perfection Svelteness :



Second of all, I would wear my brown fantabulous fake flats with the ensemble:



Third of all, I would wear this shirt under the coat :



And lastly, because you can't beat the price.

• the Houndstooth Coat costs $8.98


• the sleeveless ruffle shirt costs $8.98

I KNOW!!! Those are NOT typos. They are each under nine bucks.

So, once again, I called dibs. If you are NOT related to me and do NOT live in the Puget Sound, feel free to purchase them. The BITTEN line is sold at Steve & Barry's.

And now, to quote Megs, "get your shop on girl!"

A

Pretty Woman

Did anyone else catch Pretty Woman on TBS Sunday night? Lance had NEVER seen it, so we watched it. When this song came on, I sang with gusto :



And just for the record, Lance did NOT sing.

Ahh, Roxette, I was only 9 when this song came out, but I LOVE it.

A

The Hubby Meme

Ms. DiaperDiaries tagged me again for this Hubby Meme. Enjoy!

How long did you date? We dated for 3 years.

How old is he? 27, and a whole 2ish weeks younger than I am.

Who eats more? I HOPE he does, because if I do, that's pretty embarrassing.

Who said “I love you” first? He did :)

Who is taller? Him, by about a foot. Ok, not quite a foot, but close.

Who sings better? Uh, I asked him this question, and he REFUSED to answer me. So, either he thinks he does and doesn't want to hurt my feelings, or he is afraid of what it might do to my ego if he says I sing better. So. We are leaving this one unanswered :)

Who is smarter? Uh, DUH!

Whose temper is worse? I plead the fifth.....

Who does the laundry? I do most of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? K, if you are standing at the foot of the bed, I sleep on the right. If you are laying in the bed on your back, Lance sleeps on the right. If you are laying in the bed on your stomach, I sleep on the right. Clear as mud?

Who pays the bills? Bills? We have bills?

Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time, but he can hold his own in there.

Who drives when you are together? He does, although I tell him what to do :)

Who is more stubborn? He is.

Who kissed who first? He ASKED me if he could kiss me, so I would say he did, but with permission.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I am.

Whose parents do you see the most? I would say it is really equal. Helps that they live within a 1/2 mile of each other. But, I go on vacation with his family the most (yep, without him).

Who proposed? He did, at sunset, overlooking the Grand Canyon...Awwwww.

Who is more sensitive? I am.

Who has more friends? Uh, do bloggyland friends count? Even so, then I would STILL say him.

Who has more siblings? He does, four to two.

Who wears the pants in the family? He does, but I DO have a rockin pair of jeans.

I hereby tag whomever wants to do this one...mostly because if I tag any more family and friends, they might disown me...

A

Butterflies...

Kristen over at We Are THAT Family distributed this lovely award to her commenters for a truly inspired post. She captured some of the reasons why so many Mamas blog. Perspective, sense of community, new relationships, renewed compassion...I could go on and on.



I know many of my family and friends wonder why I spend time blogging and emailing people that I've never really met, you know, in real life. It's my little thing I guess. I can't put my finger down on what drives me to blog.

A close friend said to me yesterday, "WHERE do you find the time to do that?!". I don't find the time, I MAKE time. Most Mamas that I know have a very real sense of time. We are the queens of efficiency, the masters of multi-tasking, the enforcers of order in the midst of chaos.

What do you do with your time? It is a precious commodity. Are you needlessly wasting it?

A

Favorite Find Friday: Franklin School Bus

We have a VERY popular toy around our house. I bought it at a garage sale last summer for $2.00, then took it home and cloroxed the snot out of it. It's been used nonstop since Bubbalu turned eleven months old.

Now presenting....the Franklin School bus :

On the dash are buttons in the shape of Franklin's friends who profess their love of school and learning.

"I want to learn about shapes."

"School time in FUN TIME.

...and my personal favorite:

"I love lunchtime!"

Amen little Franklin friend. Lunchtime was MY favorite part of school as well. Who cares about colors and shapes? Give me the FOOD.

Our Franklin School Bus has seen better days. My Bubbalu has an affinity for sticker peeling, and Franklin is looking naked in some areas, as evidenced by this picture :



Actually, that picture isn't too bad. Since it was taken last week he has removed 3 more stickers from the opposite side.

There is one button that plays the 'Wheels On the Bus' song. If you don't know that song, just wait until you have a kid. You'll know all 37 verses by heart. Really, I'm not kidding.

STILL need to hear it? Click Here.

The song button is Bubbalu's favorite one.

Sometimes, our Franklin School Bus gets LOST. Yep, LOST. We can't find him for HOURS at a time. It is a tragedy. We do manage to find other things to play with, but when we finally "find" the missing Franklin School Bus, happiness and smiles abound.

At least from one of us, that is.

A

Excerpts from Bubbalu's Instruction Book...

He likes to scratch his butt. Why am I telling you this? Just saying, diaper changing may be a challenge, is all.

I strip him down after dinner to nothing to “air out” before his bath. He has become increasingly interested in peeing on the carpet. Not the linoleum, the carpet. Just beware. Also, there was a first “dancing in the poop” incident last week that I would rather just forget about. Luckily it was on the linoleum. Once again, beware.

He really likes his yogurt, and will not stop eating it unless you stop feeding him. He’s puked it up before because he is overfull. Lesson learned.

He is fascinated with electrical outlets. He is NOT allowed to play with them, take out the white child protective plug, etc. He WILL try to do this.

He is also fascinated with TV’s, VCR’s, DVD players, etc (what kid isn’t?). I try to block him from them, and don’t allow him to play with them. Remotes are fine according to your discretion. Some of your settings may be changed after he’s done playing with them.

Watch little toy cars around him as he tries to remove and eat the wheels. Actually, watch his mouth for he tries to eat EVERYTHING. Jewelry, buttons, wallboard, dirt, small toys, paper, electrical plug covers, potpourri, etc. Basically, anything that fits in his mouth, he WILL try to eat.

He’s been a daredevil lately, and has started climbing things. Just keep an eye on him as he has been testing heights and climbing ability. He also tends to throw himself down slides without regard to someone catching him. Just so you know.

Know that he LOVES his Grandparents, Aunties and Uncles, and cousins, and you are making memories for a lifetime that he won’t forget!

Thank you again, all of you who watched Bubbalu for us while we off gallivanting around.

A

WallyWorld Wonders...

How bout a cute WallyWorld outfit for $43.84 ?

• Shirt for $9.92


• Shorts for $9.00


• Shoes for $14.92


• Handbag (a recurring fave) for $10.00

Now, go out and get your Spring on...

A

Got Odwalla?

Mama, I LIKE this drink!

Anyone tried the Superfood drink? It's yummy in my tummy. Whoops, forgot that you are probably older than 2. I mean, it's nummers in my tummers.

Heh, I can't stop.

I need an intervention.

A

Linketyloo Meme..

Hola Mi Amigos y amigas!

I'm back home from the second cruise tanned, rested, and a few pounds heavier. Rock on! More to come from that trip but...

I just got tagged by Ms. BeautifulCraziness for a Links Meme. Here we go again....

THE LINKS MEME

Just copy paste THIS and everything below up until my Five links:
I thought it would be cool to have a meme where we post links. We can post up to five. Then we tell five more people to share their links. If we all share who tagged us, our links are sure to be seen! They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever you want…
There are Five Rules:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.
2. Only FIVE links.
3. MUST tell 5 people.
4. A link back to the person who tagged you


My Five Links:

1. Wholesomebabyfood : A great resource for making and freezing baby food, it has foods listed according to age and food group, as well as recipes, tips and hints on making your own baby food. I was on this site daily when Bubbalu was 6 months - 1yr.
2. Born to Sign : K, so Bubbalu does ONE sign at 16 months (all done) but I STILL think this site is cool. You don't have to go out and buy a signing book, just look it up here, and they give you the gesture and the suggested use.
3. Dafont : A resource for free down loadable fonts. Hello! Did you hear me?It's FREE. Incredibly fun for scrapbooking titles.
4. Tacky Christmas Yards : One of my all time favorite sites, especially around the holidays. I have a thing about nice looking Christmas trees....
5. Wikipedia : If you don't already know what this is... consider it your new best friend. I use it frequently so that I don't look or sound stupid in the rare instance that I talk to another adult.
6. And a bonus, for all you nice folks... MeeplePeople : If you know what meeple people are...contact me so we can set up a smack down.

So there are my five (*ahem* six ) fun linkety sites for you to enjoy.

Who next? Well, I HAVE to tag my sister blogger buddies: BrownEyedGirl , Megs and LifeWithLaura , then we'll also add in YourFavoriteBarista, HeathersHouse and BecomingMe for more fun.

P.S. Echoing Ms. BeautifulCraziness, I would also like to tell my family and friends who read my blog, let me KNOW what your thoughts are, your reactions and your stories as well! I never know who reads my blog until someone tells me in, you know, real life. I would love to hear from you, so leave a little love in the comments place right beneath the post. You DON'T have to have a blog to comment, just click on anonymous and sign your name in the post.

Lovetoyouall...

A

Blogging Afloat...

Yep, I'm blogging live from the Cruise ship...isn't technology amazing!?

Having an awesome time and will regale you with tales of adventure upon my return on saturday evening.

How many haters will I make if I say I laid in the sun all day? Hmmm...

K, gotta run because this is costing me $0.55 a minute..yeowch!

Loveyafolks!

A

Live From Ft. Lauderdale...

Coming to you live from the Internet access desk in the Ft. Lauderdale...(I'm not telling you the name )... hotel lobby.

Can I just say, red eye flights ARE.NOT.FUN.

My problem with the almost no sleep for 24 hours thing may have been compounded by the 4 hours of sleep the night before. That, and waking up at 5:30 AM to get to a stressful eight hour work day in the Antepartum unit.

But. I am on vacation, and having a blast so far! We spent the afternoon at the beach getting tan (red), reading, and sleeping. We went out to eat at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (can you believe I've NEVER been there to eat? I KNOW!) then worked off some calories racing the length of the pool. I surprisingly even won a few times.

My 4th grade swim education resulted in a official-ish looking document, signed and dated, that proclaimed me a Minnow...I was ticked...I wanted to be a Shark. Lance was the BEST Shark in 4th grade, guess I just couldn't keep up.

So, I plan to be sleeping-in tomorrow, and then getting on the cruise ship.

What're all you nice folks up to?

A

I'm Off.....Again....

Before I go on my second cruise in 2 weeks, I want to give a shout-out to my NEWLY ENGAGED little brother Shane and his beautiful fiance Joanie!


Aren't they SO adorable?

We LOVE you guys and are SO EXCITED for you!

(As if the all caps didn't clue you in already.)

A

Cruise Collage...Part Five and Finale!

We had a few more days of cruising to get back to LA. We baked in the sun and wind, ate a bunch, worked out because we like to torture ourselves on vacation, and savored our last days of freedom.

On our ship monkeys ran amok...

...and sunned by the pool.

This monkey looks pretty cute to me! I think I'll take him home with me!

Mrs. Monkey is smiling because she is excited to get home to...

...her sweet little man.

Her Bubbalu.

We had an amazing time, huge thank yous to the Grandparents for taking care of our sweet Bubbalu.

A

Cruise Collage...part 4

Hey Shorty, it's your birthday...really, it was my birthday! We were docked at Puerto Vallarta, but we were tired of touristy things and spent a grand total of 58 minutes in an internet cafe located right at the Marina. Sad, huh?

So, back onto the ship....

This is my coffee and I on my b-day morning, starting the day out right.

Luv birds on our bed when we returned from breakfast...

My toes once again, showing the pool area.

Here I am, doing what I wanted to do on my birthday : Bake, Read and Rest.


Lance participating in the poolside ring toss....

..he lost to the little kid sitting on the left.

We got spiffed up for dinner again...


and liked how each other looked!


I have SUCH a sweet husband...

Happy birthday to me.

A

Cruise Collage...part 3

Well, this day is easy. Our next port of call was Mazatlan. This is the ONLY picture I took while there:



What can I say? I was enthralled with all the non-prescription medication available. I probably stood there for about 10 minutes reading labels, saying to Lance ,"you can get THIS here?". I didn't get anything because:

1. I'm not sick.
2. I don't have any conditions requiring meds.
3. I'm not quite sure I trust the quality of Mexican meds.
4. I would rather have bought the "coach" purse I saw in the market, but didn't want to shell out the 35 bucks.

Oh wait, my HUSBAND didn't want me to buy the purse. He said I already HAD a purse. Silly man, hasn't he learned anything from these last (almost) 8 years of marriage?

So, we got back on the ship and baked in the sun all day...

Basically, a perfect day.

A

Cruise Collage...Part 2

Ahhh, Cabo, you are my friend...

We got off our ship...

and went on a short tendered ride to the harbor.

Check out the rock formations and the secluded beach!


Here I am in all my "HELLO I AM A TOURIST!" glory. Snorkel gear pack, camera case, and lanyard. Hello Mrs. Nerdy. At least I wasn't wearing a fanny pack...


From the harbor we hopped on a short boat taxi to aforementioned beach. It is called Lovers Beach. Uh huh, because we love each other, we got to go.


Hey! It's Mr. Nerdy!

You can see our ship in the background.

Mr. Nerdy trying to set up a camera shot on his geocaching hike.
Nice shot of the Pacific side of Lovers beach.

There you go! Got the shot.

That's my man!

We are happy, tanned, and relaxed.


These are our feet. I always take pictures of my feet when I travel. Notice Mr. Nerdy's sandals? Super cute, huh? BLECH. He would NOT go for the Reef flip flops despite much encouragement from Mrs. Nerdy.


Nice self snapshot...except my head looks about 3 times the size of Mr. Nerdy's head...and the coastline doesn't look quite level. Give me a break, we were on a rocking boat!


The picture is kinda blurry, but you can just make out the signature red and blue COSTCO stripes on the building. This tickled me to no end that there is a Costco at this lovely Mexican destination.


Back on board for more food and fun...


Where I apparently clapped with delight after my scrumptious meal.

Either that, or I am practicing my pose for my new modeling gig.

What? A new modeling gig? Oh wait, I just made that up in my head...

A