I love the holidays but...

Are they over yet?? We need some news on the job front. I know a few places wanted to wait until after the new year to consider anyone. Is it 2009 yet? I'm not worried just frustrated when Daddy seems to be looking at the same jobs over and over.

Next week he's only working 2 days at Cabela's. So...what are we going to do next week? I just have this feeling that there's a reason he's only working 2 days. I'm not sure why. Is it because he'll get offered a job out of state and we'd need to coordinate moving? Or he'll be offered a job in state and need to start right away and not need the extra stress of the 2nd job.

Whatever it is we'll just wait and see and pray God continues to bless us.

I have eyes

Little Man was sitting on my lap while we were watching The Sound of Music. I needed to wipe my glasses off on my shirt (bad Mommy!) and Little Man started talking about my glasses.

Well while he as talking about my glasses I asked him if he has glasses. He said 'No, I have eyes'.

I wonder if he thinks my eyes are like Scooter's from the Muppets. When I take my glasses off my eyes come with.

Now excuse me while I go add this to his baby book. :)

Wow

I was planning our weekly suppers for the week so we could do our weekly grocery shopping. All we need is; milk, bread, and orange juice. I am very thankful for our Secret Santas. Whoever they are. To provide us with so much food, clothes, and toys for Little Man. We are so blessed and pray God blesses all of them as much as he has blessed us.

I also got a call yesterday from a friend of ours at church who use to watch Little Man (when he was an infant) when we had choir and handbell practice. Her daughters son just had a growth spurt and she had a bunch of 3T clothes and was wondering if we'd like them. We'll take them!

I am just in awe at how God has been there for us. In this post I wrote about Daddy losing his job and how we will get through this and God will provide. Even though I had/have faith that God will get us through this I am still in awe at how he gives us what we need when we need it.

People always comment to me on how strong my faith is. My faith is strong because my God is strong. I have seen his work in my life. When I was sick, when Daddy was sick and in the hospital, during our miscarriages and with him blessing us with Little Man. How can I not trust him? I know he will get us through this. He is getting us through it with all the wonderful friends (and a few people we don't know) giving so generously from the bottom of their hearts. I hope to someday, when we are better financially, to be able to do the same for another family.

To everyone reading this I pray that whatever is going on in your lives that God will get you through it and if you want to help others and can't do it financially do it with your actions. Open a door for that mom holding a screaming baby, help that elderly man carry his groceries to his car. When walking past a stranger say Good morning/evening, it may be the best words they've heard all day.

The day after Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

We sure did! We went to our Christmas Eve song service at church, like we do every year. Before church while shaking our hands our pastor told us that he'd like us to walk over to the school (which is across the parking lot from church) after church. We said OK. We were planning on just walking over to the school. It was cold (I think the temp was around 2 below not sure) but not windy and actually was a very beautiful Christmas Eve night. Our pastor suggested we drive over and he'll meet us there.

So we strapped Little Man in his carseat and drive to the school. Daddy got out and walked into the school. A moment later he and our pastor walk out with about 3 bags each. Then they went back in for more!! Then the pastor went back in and brought out a HUGE present. He said all he knows about all the bags and presents is it's from an anonymous family.

Yep, I'm crying now.

We get home get into our pj's and let Little Man stay up to open more gifts! He got some more clothes (which are 4T so we'll pack those for next year.), books, a horse that neighs flashlight, a couple DVD's, and the big toy was a Play-doh Creativity Center. He LOVES it! Most of the bags were filled with groceries; sugar (brown, white, and powdered), flour, chocolate chips (Daddy's happy I can bake now), cereal, applesauce, some snacks for little man, soup and crackers to name a few. I don't think I've ever seen my cupboard look so full. They also gave us a Cub gift certificate and a gas card.

God has truly blessed us this year and even during this past month. We have the greatest friends and are very thankful for them and the people who have graciously opened their arms to us. We did not expect all this.

As soon as Little Man is up from his nap today we are going to play with the Play-Doh. And I'm sure I'll have a few pictures to post.

Our Christmas Day service was beautiful. The choir, handbells and the singing were wonderful and I was able to hold back the tears and not cry.

It's Christmas

I am very excited for Christmas but I am also stressed out. Not because of Christmas shopping, cooking, and the anxiety that goes with going to my in laws.

No shopping this year, no job. Cooking? I already did my cookie baking and am done. And we're not going to the in laws this year.

I am stressed over the situation I unfortunately can't talk about (but it has to do with my nephew and his safety). I have been crying all day. I cried while I wrapped the few presents we bought Little Man. I have Christmas music on and I'm crying. I pray I can make it through our Christmas Day service without bawling. Daddy and I sing in the choir and play handbells and it would be a sight if I'm bawling up there.

I was trying to put these new pants Little Man got (I'll explain in a bit) and he did NOT want them on. They are camouflage. I asked him why he didn't want to wear them. He said 'They're Kyle's'. Insert a bawling mom here. Whenever we would see Kyle he would be wearing camouflage pants and Little Man didn't want to wear them. I told him he can look like Kyle and wear them, if he wants. He did! And boy is he the cutest in those pants!

Back to how we got the pants. When I left yesterday (to deal with this whole issue) Daddy said a lady showed up asking if we lived here. He said Yes and she said she'd be right back. She went to her vehicle and brought us 6 bags full of clothes, toys, gift cards, a Wells Fargo card with a lot of money on it, some books for Little Man, a stool with Little Man's name on it and a couple of books for Daddy and I. One of those books is Multiple Blessings by Jon and Kate (of Jon and Kate plus 8). I wanted that book but didn't have the money!

We have such wonderful friends (and people we don't know). It truly is amazing how God continues to bless us and blesses us with such wonderful people in our lives.

This and that

Well Christmas is only 5 days away. I can't believe how fast this month has flown. I still need to wrap Little Man's presents. I haven't put them under the tree yet because I don't feel like saying 'Don't touch' 8 million times a day. So his presents will go under the tree Christmas Eve. I'm still undecided on when he'll open them. I would like to have him open one Christmas Eve night and the rest Christmas morning but we need to be at church by 8am to practice for handbells and choir. I'm hoping he wakes up at 6am and heads to the tree and digs in. That would be wonderful! :)

I've been under alot of stress the past couple weeks. I won't be going into details on here (and no it's not about Daddy not having a job). We bought Christmas candy 2 weeks ago and I've been spending my days eating cookies and chocolate, and I can't have chocolate. So far I don't have stomach cramps but that could change. I'm also not sleeping well. Thursday night I was having chest pains so bad I was thisclose on having Daddy take me to the ER. I'm glad I fell asleep because we don't have insurance. I pray that this will all be solved quickly and my nephew is safe. I also wonder if maybe it's a good thing Daddy, Little Man and I are more than likely moving out of state. It seems our friends are better family than family.

Sad, I know.

One week until Christmas!

Don't forget the reason for the season.

One cause

I get emails every once in awhile from Rainbowkids.com about a listed child. One today just tore at my heart strings. He is listed as having special needs and that special needs is a heart condition, specifically a repaired VSD.

That's what I have!! So I am in love.

Well Daddy and I know we want to adopt again. The question is when. We know right now is NOT an option with no job (or health insurance!). But we know in the foreseeable future we want to adopt.

I was looking at our agency's website to check out some of the links on financing adoption. I know we'll go the similar route as we did with Little Man and get a loan that coincides with the adoption credit. Then I saw a link for One Cause. How neat is this?!

OneCause is a nontraditional fundraising program that will help us earn the funds we need through everyday opportunities, such as shopping at hundreds of name-brand merchants online or in stores and catalogs, through purchasing gift certificates, by using the OneCause credit card, or through a variety of other easy programs.

I have posted a link in the top right of my blog for easy reference. Here's what you can do:

1. Become a registered member of OneCause. Simply go to www.onecause.com and register as a OneCause member. This only takes a minute and you'll be on your way to helping us out.

2. Once you have registered, find the "Dues Crediting" field at the bottom of the online registration screen. You will see a field called "Benefiting." Enter our registered email address and your contributions will automatically begin to benefit us.

Our Registered Email address is: beny04 at gmail dot com

3. Begin shopping at hundreds of OneCause merchants online, in stores, and through catalogs. You'll earn a merchant contribution on each purchase, a percentage of which will go toward our adoption credit. Remember to begin all of your online shopping at OneCause so we earn credit!

4. Consider signing up for and using the OneCause Visa card for all of your purchases. On every purchase you make with the card - no matter where you make it - the National Adoption Foundation earns a 1% contribution, part of which goes toward our adoption. To sign up, go to visa.onecause.com or call 1-800-297-1286 and use code 28B8. Once your card arrives, be sure to activate, register your card, and start shopping!

It's that easy! I figured if we shop from here (which by the way they have ALL stores we shop at! Even Cabela's, Kohl's, Walmart, JCPenny, Victoria Secret to name a few) we are on a good start at having some of the money we need out of pocket.

We hope you will join and help us expand our family. Remember your doing your normal shopping just in a different place.

This is what happens...

when you get taller. I was baking cookies and Little Man ran into the cutting board.

Where or Where will we go?

I found out today Daddy has a job interview in Fridley, MN. Sweet! That's only about a half hour from our house AND it's the neighboring city where we grew up. Nice.

Then Daddy told me the interview is in Fridley but job isn't...it's in Fargo, ND. (Insert eyes popping out of the head and jaw falling on the floor.) WHAT?! So that's state #3 we may be moving too. The other two are either Nebraska or Illinois.

So we are prayfully waiting for God to show us where he wants to go and are enjoying Daddy's 'vacation' while we wait.

Little Man is becoming such a Daddy's boy now. He wants Daddy to do this or that. But of course I still get the poopy diapers. Sigh.

Oh, the interview isn't until next Monday. I hope he hears back from the Nebraska interview he had last week soon (and the others).

Mom moments

When I was a little girl I use to 'play house'. You know; cook, have a baby (or 5), pretend to do laundry and everything was hunky dory.

No one tells a little girl how hard it can be to be a mom. The cooking, cleaning, scrubbing, laundry, a crying child, cooking, cleaning, scrubbing, laundry, a crying child. A 'day off' really isn't a day off.

Well today I had the 'perfect' mommy moment I always thought life would be.

Little Man had just woken up from a nap and asked to read his Thomas the Tank Engine book. Fine with me. I had a ton of laundry to put away so I told him to sit on the couch. He lays back on the pillow and reads his book while I folded a huge pile of clothes. Then he helped me put them away. Watching him lay there pointing out each thing in the book and read it to himself was priceless.

I love moments like that.

I guess I was wrong...

I got my haircut today and actually saw a different stylist because mine is on bedrest (She's 9 months pregnant. Due in about 2 weeks.). I've know this stylist for awhile and it was kind of fun to go to someone different. She just loves Little Man and we were talking about pregnancy and she asked how big I got with him. I said actually I didn't he's adopted. She said 'ME TOO!' And hopes to adopt in the future. How cool is that?!

I was telling Little Man today that she is adopted just like him. He started saying 'Adopted?'. I said 'Yeah, your adopted.' He then shook his head no. Oh oh. Hmm... Then he said 'Mommy adopted, Daddy adopted'. I had to tell him that mommy and daddy aren't adopted and he said 'Yes (we are)'. I asked him who adopted us and he points to himself and says 'Me.'

Well! I guess I was wrong. We didn't adopt Little Man. He adopted us. Makes perfect sense to me.

Chaos

I was reading Angie's blog (by the way she is the wife of Todd who is a member of the group Selah). On a side note I suggest you add her blog to your list of blogs to read. She really is a remarkable woman with great strength and faith in our Lord.

She wrote about some Chaos going on in her family. And posted a video I thought was perfect for what Daddy and I are going through. I thought I'd post it here and share it with you all because I know we aren't the only ones with a stumbling block in our lives.

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Life and jobs

Well Daddy had an interview this morning with the president, manager of the department, and HR manager for the job in Omaha. They said they have 3 more people to interview. So we wait... While more employers are getting ahold of Daddy about possible job prospects. All are out of state.

I told Daddy I want to live in a state with all seasons and has some snow. Florida is out of the question and so is Texas. I always thought I'd want to live in Texas but I like my seasons too much. Florida is just way to hot. One job prospect has an office in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I told Daddy that'd be a good place to move. He said that there is no snow and they have heat. I said 'But my (older) sister is there.'

So here we wait and pray. I really don't want to move but if we must, we must. It's just hard knowing where God wants us to go. I have put my trust in God and know he will send us where he wants us and we must be patient.

Speaking of needing snow, we are about to get slammed later today with a bunch of snow. I pray everyone drive safe and all my teacher friends get a snow day tomorrow. ;)

Potty training

Everyone has an opinion about potty training. A lot of people told me you should be able to do it in one day. Well we've been potty training Little Man since he was 20 months old. Only because he informed me he had done a poppy. (This from a little boy who would happily lay in a poopy diaper and not cry. You'd only know if you could smell it.)

A couple weeks ago Little Man went a whole day and only peed in 2 pullups. The rest made it into the potty. Now today, he woke up this morning and said he had to go potty. Nothing unusual there. It is a little after noon and he has kept that pullup dry ALL morning. He gets to wear big boy underwear this afternoon after he wakes up from his nap. He is SO excited.

My fear is tomorrow he's going to wake up and revert back to peeing in his pullup. He knows when his pullup is wet and will tell me and then I'll have him sit on the potty. He's smart he knows he should pee in it but I have a feeling he has better things to do and knows he can pee in his pullup.

Friends

Last week Daddy lost his job. As everyone knows (and is probably living) this economy is awful. I was talking to a friend today and she said there's only one thing to do in a time like this, fold your hands (pray) and trudge on. So true! God will get us through.

God also does another thing. Puts the most wonderful friends in our lives. Someone once told me a friend is someone who you could call up at 2am and say 'I'm stuck' and they would drive across town and pick up you. Or if your having a hard time sit on the phone with you until late into the night even if they have to get up early the next morning.

I always hoped to be that friend. I love my friends. When they are hurt, in trouble, or scared I like to be the shoulder they need.

Well in the past couple weeks we have been shown how awesome our friends are. God has truly blessed us with wonderful people in our lives. The couple that watch Little Man while we have church practice on Monday night gave us a generous gift card to Cub. Their daughter just gave us a generous check. We've had friends offer room in their house for us, names of people to help Daddy find a job, and even suggestions on how to help us and where to go.

It is so overwhelming appreciated. We are SO blessed!

I want to take this moment and thank all my friends out there. I don't even think thank you can express how much you all mean to me. You truly are the greatest. I thank God for you all. Your generosity, your prayers mean the world.

Thank you.

It's my birthday...

And Andy William's birthday...and about 8 other people I know. Happy Birthday to us!

Of course it's not Christmas without Andy Williams.

Enjoy.

Go on...Elf yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Crackers

I noticed today that Little Man had some stuff on his hands. I couldn't figure out what it was so I asked him what was on his hands. He said, 'Crackers'. Um, OK, we haven't had crackers today so I asked where he got the crackers. He said, 'Noni (my mom).'

I couldn't help it, I had to run to the bathroom, to get a towel, and to laugh. Oh the things he says! My mom hasn't been here today but boy was he sticking to his story.

I had to call my mom and tell her and she got a kick out of it.

I gotta write this in his babybook.

Here's another for your enjoyment.

Earlier today Little Man was asking for salad (Pistachio salad). I told him it wasn't supper time yet but he was adament and wanted salad. I told him it wasn't supper and he could have some after supper. Very frustrated he said 'I want salad!' I said 'Not yet' and then he yelled 'But I'm hungry!'

Well in that case...how much do you want? :)

Health Insurance

With God by my side I'm on a mission to get us health insurance. It is very scary knowing that on Dec 1st we won't have insurance. Even more scary when we have a 2 year old boy. I know God provides and he has provided (did I mention Daddy's unemployment and Cabela's covers what he got paid at Precast?). We just need insurance to cover us incase something happens.

I decided to look at individual plans with Health Partners. That's who we had while Jeff worked and I use to work with them when I worked at North Ambulance and TCO. So I'm very familiar with them and how they operate. I found a plan that is only $240 (or so, it's late and I'm drawing a blank on the actual number right now) a month. Oh, Daddy is actually making $200 MORE with unemployment and Cabela's. Hmm...I think God just provided. :) The plan isn't perfect, there's a $4000 deductible. YUCK! But we'll get 3 office visits that are covered at 100%, the deductible will be waived AND if for some reason Daddy hasn't found a job by July Little Man's well check visit (and any shots he may need) will be covered 100% and again the deductible won't be included.

I have one question to ask Health Partners on Monday and maybe by the middle of the month (do to their processing time) we'll have insurance. (insert excited shrieking here) So much better than paying $882 a month for Cobra.

Pray that the plan can be canceled any time (that's my one question) and I can sign us up.

Also pray Daddy starts hearing back from some of the jobs he applied at next week. Some companies have had his resume for almost 3 weeks.

Blessed Thanksgiving

God loves to surprise me everyday. He blesses and continues to bless us even more. Daddy calculated his unemployment and pay at Cabela's and we are actually breaking even (with $100 extra!) from what he was making at Precast. God is awesome! He can concentrate on looking for a job and know we have enough money to put food on the table and pay the bills.

We spent the day at home with just the 3 of us today. It was wonderful. We had church this morning where Daddy and I sang in the choir. Little Man got to sit through the WHOLE service with A and B. They watch him every Monday night when we have handbell and choir practice. He did very well and I didn't hear one peep from him the whole service.

We got home around 10am and I got the cheese and crackers out and put some on a plate for Little Man and stuck him in front of the TV to watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. And of course, he had the annual Thanksgiving Turkey to color that is in the Star Tribune. My sisters (and brother) grew up coloring this turkey every year and I'm excited to pass this tradition onto Little Man.

Daddy and I got the turkey ready to cook and I did my first batch of homemade gravy and mashed potatoes. I had a little problem getting the gravy to thicken but it turned out pretty good.

Oh, around 11am Little Man looked at Daddy and said 'I'm tired'. Daddy told him we'll all take a nap after we have turkey. (Little Man's normal nap is around 11:30am.) At about 12:30pm Little Man said it again and Daddy and I both were ready for a nap too. We ate around 1:30pm and Little Man ate his full of Watergate salad, Applesauce Jello, and Crescent rolls. He wouldn't touch the turkey. He had a few bites of stuffing and mashed potatoes though. He also was having troubles keeping his eyes open. He put his head down a few times during dinner.

We finished eating and Little Man went down for a nap at 2:30. I follwed shortly after (Daddy stayed up looking for more jobs). I was woken up around 5:15pm by a little hand trying to give me a hug.

For supper we had pie and more Applesauce Jello (Little Man's choice).

Today was a great day. We are so blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Faith

You know, God has a reason for everything. We may not understand at the moment why something is happening but there is a reason. We may never even find out the reason why it happened but again, there is a reason.

Daddy came home from work today and said I need to meet him in the garage. I thought he meant me AND Little Man. I quickly had to get Little Man back into his booster seat to eat his kidney beans so I could go back into the cold garage. But I didn't fail to notice the box sitting in the backseat. I thought "Oh No". I went back to the garage and Daddy took me into his arms and had me look in the car. I only needed to see his radio to know he was laid off. He said 3 of them were laid off today and only 2 are left and Bill may have enough work for them until the end of the week. Then he'll be closing down his office.

There's alot of emotions that go through you during a time like this. There are also a few the could go through you; anger, fear, resentment, anxiousness, pity, doubt, confusion, frustration, and sadness.

I on the other hand only have one emotion, well come to think of it, 2 emotions. Faith and Love. Faith that God will lead us through this. Faith that he will keep us in his palm and protect us. Faith that he will provide for us and take care of us. I also have Love. Love for my God, love for my husband and love for my son. Nothing is more important to me than those 3. And yes God is first. God rules in our house and he is number one.

He has blessed us through everything and is blessing us now. I was reamed by Daddy's grandpa a few months back about our finances and he kept asking how we are going to get money. I kept telling him God will provide. He didn't seem to understand that you can't put your trust in earthy things. Your trust belongs in God. Only he can get you through. We've been down this road before and he provided and he WILL do it again.

Right now, Daddy is home and we are going to enjoy our Thanksgiving with him. We are going to shout our thanks to God and know that when one can't look at another we can always look to him.

Slow Fade by Casting Crowns

I love this song. It applies to all aspects of life and our choices we make.

I've been thinking

I've been thinking about this alot lately and after reading a friend's blog (I would link it but it's private, sorry) it really brought it to the surface. My friend mentioned in her blog she sent her quarterly pictures and letter to her daughter's birthmom. In her letter she requested that her daughter's birthmom send pictures of her siblings.

I have been thinking alot about Little Man's sister. We know he has one and she is 5 years older than him. We know she lives in Virginia or somewhere over on that side of the US. (I'll have to relook at our paperwork to make sure I have this right.) Our agency never really dwelled on the fact Little Man has a sibling. They told us he has one, what her name is, and where she lives but they don't know why S didn't ask them (or maybe she did but again why would they turn down another adoption is another question) to adopt Little Man.

We have a semi-open adoption. Actually, it's more like semi-closed. We send letters and pictures to S once a year. We don't hear from her and she actually hasn't contacted our agency in about 2 years. So my question is, Do we have the option (or right?) to have our agency ask her for information on A (Little Man's sister). Would A's family want to know about Little Man? Why didn't they adopt Little Man? Did S not tell them? Did they (possibly with a heavy heart) turn her down? But Marlene, the birth parent counselor, told us that S had opened the phone book when she gave birth to Little Man and that's how she found Bethany. They were pretty much right in the front. So I'm thinking they don't even know about Little Man.

Also, if we contact A's family and they indeed don't know about Little Man, would this ruin what (if any) relationship they may have with S.

I don't know if I should leave this alone and deal with it when he's older or if this is something we should do now.

We pray for S everynight with Little Man and I'm wondering if we should pray for A too.

Not only is there no guidebook to raising kids. There is no adoption book explaining what to do in this situation. Each situation is different but it doesn't make it easy.

Daily routine

'Don't open drawer, Don't open closet, Don't turn on light.' That is what Little Man says pretty much everyday. I think he got the hint. When he goes to bed he should not open his dresser drawers, his closet and turn his light on. So far he goes down for a nap without a problem Yahoo!!

It's at night that we are having problems with. I seriously lose count on how many times he gets out of bed. I walk him back into his room and put him back in bed and not a minute later he is out of bed. This lasts from 40-50 minutes EVERY night. It's getting very old and very frustrating. If you have ideas I'd love to hear them.

Little Man is also still off from the time change. He has been waking up at 5:30-5:45am every morning. Ugh. At least he knows how to turn the light on in the livingroom and will play (mostly) in there while I lay in bed. Although he has to lay in bed with me until daddy goes to work at 6:30am. So it's not like he's running around for an hour and a half while I'm in bed. And no putting him to bed later won't make him sleep in. On Monday nights he doesn't get to bed until around 9pm and he still is up early.

Maybe I should get to bed before 10:30/11pm and I won't be so tired.

Merry Tossmas

What a day!

And it's only noon!! I received an email from Daddy this morning telling me one of his coworkers was laid off (I just heard a 2nd was laid off today too). Great. I was more worried about him talking to the guy, Sam, at this temp agency that has been trying to get ahold of him the past couple weeks. He finally got ahold of him yesterday and Sam said he has two job prospects for him. One in Plymouth, MN and the other in Greenfield (which is only about 20 minutes from our house and is where our church is).

Praise the Lord! He does provide! Come to find out a couple of projects the Plymouth company produced Daddy worked on when he was with a different firm back in 2006. How neat is that?! Sam is suppose to be forwarding a new resume and good word about Daddy to these two companies today so pray we here back soon.

I love how in tough times like this God continues to show his power and provide right when we need him.

Christmas

Little Man and I were going to do some shopping yesterday. Since it's almost Thanksgiving I thought I'd check out 2 of the stations here in the Cities and see if they are playing Christmas music (they play nothing but Christmas music until Christmas Day.). They were! So Little Man and I were rockin' out. I explained to him what kind of music was on. I wasn't sure if he would understand but thought it couldn't hurt.

We went to Target with my mom and walked through the Christmas section and looked at the different lights, wreaths, ornaments and candy. He oohed and aahed over everything. Then we went to Bachmans so my mom could look for this red ornament. (Her other one was broke by me and Little Man. Whoops!) Little Man pointed at all the Christmas tree's and announced 'CHRISTMAS!'

Last night after exchanging a shirt at Cabela's we went out to eat. On the way home we passed a house that had it's Christmas decorations up. I pointed them out to Little Man. We drive some more and Little Man shouts 'Christmas!' and is pointing at another house that has 2 trees decorated. I think he's getting in the Christmas spirit now. :)

I also had an idea that we might have to rent Polar Express next month. I think Little Man will like that movie.

You know it's almost Christmas when...

You order your Christmas cards. I finally got a pretty decent (when I say decent, I mean the picture isn't blurry and Little Man has his eyes open) picture of Little Man today wearing his Christmas outfit. We've tried so many times to get a good picture that he knows this outfit is his Christmas outfit. I decided to put 2 pictures on the card this year. I just love this picture of Little Man outside and wanted to share it. So I added it to the card too (it's actually cropped and just shows his head and shoulders, if you're wondering how it was going to fit on the card).

I uploaded the pictures to Walmart and did delivery to them so I should be able to pick them up next week. I'm SO excited! I normally send my Christmas cards out the weekend after Thanksgiving. Last year I think I was a few weeks 'late'. In my terms at least. I was thinking I was going to be 'late' again this year and I'm not. Go Me!

I am excited for Christmas this year. Little Man is a year older and it's going to be neat watching him experience everything for the first time. See his face when he sees all the decorations, hear the Christmas songs and also hear the Christmas story. With money tight Daddy and I are spending the money we would have used for gifts for eachother on Little Man. He really needs more toys for his age so he'll have a few more toys to open this year. I can't wait to watch him rip open his gifts while wearing his pj's before we head to church.

I also want to do a shout out to my friend Heather who will be having an extra special Christmas this year. She and her husband are leaving right after Thanksgiving to go pick up their son in Russia!!! They will be home for Christmas! What an awesome Christmas they will have!

I just realized

I love winter. I really am not a summer person. I can't sit in the sun as I'll burn (even with SPF 100 layered on my skin). Because of that I hate wearing shorts which show off my pale legs. I do love the long summer nights and the birds singing in the morning. But...

I LOVE winter! I love the cold. How my nose feels in the crisp winter air. Bundling up in a winter jacket, gloves, boots, scarf, and hat. I love driving down a residental street and see smoke coming from fireplaces and rooftops and see steam coming out side of houses and know someone is running their dryer. I love Snow. I love the crunch of it under boots, skis, and sleds. I love the quietness and stillness of the night.

Two years ago Daddy and I took snowboard lessons for our 5 year anniversary. I loved it! (Daddy prefers skis.) I cannot wait to take Little Man out on the slopes and teach him to ski. To enjoy a family weekend skiing and enjoying snow.

I can't believe we almost moved to North Carolina. I am SO glad we are still here in Minnesota. Daddy and I also have talked about moving to Texas. Now I can say that will never happen. I need a state that has snow. I'm thinking Alaska would be a good place to move too.

Getting older and clothes

I am in desperate need for some casual shirts. I have been putting off clothes shopping because I'd rather buy something for Little Man. I've also been putting it off because I'm use to shopping in the Junior section at any store and their clothes are getting more and more slutty. Which makes looking for a simple comfortable top harder to find. I don't want something showing off my chest (or lack there of). I don't want short sleeves because it is winter and I get cold. I'm for comfort not style.

I decided today I better look for some shirts. It's starting to get cold out and I really should nip this in the bud. So Little Man and I went to JC Penney and I wandered in the Junior section trying not to cry out 'ANY ONE HEARD OF COTTON? LONG SLEEVES?' I gave up and started walking past the Petite section and found myself Oohing and Ahhing over the shirts.

I always thought of the Petite Section as the 'Old Lady' section. I always told myself that I would NEVER wear those because I want to wear the stylish top not something some old lady would wear. Now here I am a little less than 2 months away from my 30th birthday and I'm eagerly grabbing shirts (which by the way were by one get one for 99 cents!) to purchase. Does this make me old? (The fact I can't kneel on my knees probably does.) Does this make me one step closer to wearing a sweatshirt with some red robin on it for Christmas? Or some old lady flowers? I truly hope not.

I live for comfort and if that means I must dress 'like an old lady' then I guess I'm old. Hi, my name is Michelle and I'm getting old. Now...where did I put my glasses...

It snowed today!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The shoes

Here are Little Man's new shoes and winter boots.

Big feet!

Daddy, Little Man and I went to Stride Rite today to get Little Man some winter boots. The gal working there wanted to measure his feet since it's been awhile since I bought him some shoes (April). He now wears a size 8 EXTRA wide!! Holy Moly! So he got new shoes too while we were there.

I'll take a picture of his new shoes and boots and post them later but they are the cutest! His shoes have little construction trucks on the one side and his winter boots are black with red lining. They match his jacekt! Now that was an awesome find!

We decided at the last moment to go to Space Aliens Grill & Bar for supper. Come to find out it was Free Pizza Tuesday and $5 tokens for kids. Sweet! So while we were waiting for our food Little Man and Daddy went to the game room to use the tokens. They came back with 240 tickets! Little Man went home with a little Construction Car set that had 4 cars and a motorcycle and 2 finger monsters. It was a fun filled day for all of us.

Now...I'm going to watch the coverage and continue to pray God keeps his hand over our country.

VOTE!

Did ya vote? I did. Go make your voice heard.

Bad Movie

There's a movie theater, CineMagic, here in St Michael right next to 94. We pass it everytime we are going somewhere. Little Man pointed it out a few months ago and Daddy said that it didn't have any good movies for Little Man. In fact he said it had 'Bad movies'. Now everytime Little Man sees the movie theater he says 'Bad Movie!' LOL!!

I really would like to know how bad he thinks that movie theater is. :)

Jesus Love Me

Make a Smilebox greeting

Eczema

As most know Little Man has eczema. The bad stuff is under control but his arms and tops of his legs are very dry and have red bumps. I have talked to his pediatrician about this and he recommended another lotion, Amlactin, to use and to change our detergent and bath soap. So we did. I even read that Omega 3 foods will help with dry skin. Nothing is working. His skin isn't getting better and it's frustrating having to stare at his bright red arms (compared to his pale back, stomach and legs) and remember that his primary doc says there's nothing else we can do. He wouldn't even do allergy testing.

As a mom this frustrates me. There's got to be something that can be done. His lotion isn't helping, the detergent isn't helping. I've tried long baths, short baths. Nothing is working. His hydrocortizone is helping the inside of his elbows but his Amlactin isn't doing a thing for his arms or top of his legs and this is the 2nd lotion we've tried. We are even getting rid of our cats as I read some allergic reactions are dry skin in kids. It's not confirmed but I'll do anything to have Little Man feel better.

So on Dec 12th Little Man will be seeing Dr. Rachel Hub and a resident (to by pass referral issues). I hope they can recommend some more things we can try.

Quiet time

As I was on my way to the bathroom today I realized why is it when I want to go somewhere quiet I go to the bathroom. It's so peaceful and no one will bother you.

When I was working I would go to the bathroom whenever I needed a break. Seriously! Never thought a bunch of stalls could calm a person. That and the hum of the unflattering fluorescent lights.

Now that I stay home with Little Man I find I'm doing the same thing. If he is being too much of a 2 year old and I just need a break I'll go to the bathroom. Breathe a sigh of relief as I know I have a few moments to myself. (As I stare at our hamper that is full and know I should do a couple loads of laundry.) Little Man will knock on the door and I tell him I'm busy and he'll go back to playing. Ah, peace and quiet for a couple more minutes.

And then it's back to normal life. Until the next time...

Sick...again...

Ugh, I am sick again. Can't breathe through my nose, am blowing it every few minutes, and a cough. I actually felt worse on Sunday and Monday. I didn't even get out of my pajama's on Monday. I do feel a bit better today but am tired from all the running around Little Man and I did this morning. Also my cough is wet and I occasionally cough up stuff (TMI, sorry). Although my cough is slowly going away. Now I am hoping Little Man doesn't get this cold. We have been doubling up on our hand washing and if I'm up to it I'll be getting my disinfectant out and disinfect.

Little Man and I went to the grocery store today and he wanted to help me carry in the grocery bags. He is such a great helper! I had to find some light stuff he could carry and found a box of Teddy Grahams. That was not a good idea. He spent more time trying to get the top open than actually putting it away. He is such a good helper and I am hoping he will stay this helpful. (Hey I can dream, right?)

I'm going to cut this post short because I can't keep my eyes open any more.

Perfect Moment

My friend, Lori, has Perfect Moment Monday and she asks readers to write about their perfect moments from the previous week. I was going to post mine and thought it was too funny/sweet not to share here.

Yesterday Little Man and I were sitting in the car waiting for Daddy to come out of work. Like normal I had the radio on and was singing to the songs on the radio. No one Else on Earth by Wynnona Judd came on the radio so I started singing along. I feel the car shaking and was wondering if that was me since I was rocking back and forth trying to dance in my seat. So I stop singing and rocking and the car is still shaking. Now I'm thinking some idiot is sitting on my car not realizing I'm in it.

I turn around to look out the back window and I see Little Man shaking it up in his car seat. Oh how I wish I had my camera! To see this 2 year old in a heavy winter jacket and stocking cap boogeying down, bopping his head and swaying his arms was priceless. It was the cutest sight I've ever seen!

Been MIA

I've been a bit busy. I had the Mom's Club Stop and Shop on Wed which was a lot of fun. The mall it was held at is not a busy mall but I did get some names and a couple shows booked. I also got to meet some wonderful ladies who also own their own business. It was really fun to talk with all of them and hear their stories on why they started their own business.

Then on Thursday morning my sister dropped off her almost 3 year old son for 2 days. Around 3pm on the same day my friend Ann arrived. We were one full house! It was alot of fun watching K and Little Man play. It was also great to have Ann here not only to help out (which was not the reason she was here. We had planned this before we knew about K coming.) but to be able to sit and chat. We stayed up until 2am Thursday and Friday night just talking.

Little Man and I went shopping with my mom yesterday. I called her on the way to her house and she mentioned how my dad is out of town and we could stop by the house. To those of you who know my family this is usually not an option. It has been about 6 1/2 years since I've stepped foot inside the house I grew up in. It was so weird! I kept looking in the cabinets, bedrooms, and closets. I'm sure my mom thought I was snooping. :) It was neat to see Little Man run around where I use to run around and play with my mom. I also found a few sheets of paper we had stuffed in the wall in the basement. It was from July 1987. I couldn't believe it was still there. There was one other sheet but it had cobwebs in the way and there was no way I was sticking my and in there. Yuck! So it'll have to sit there a few more years.

All in all it's been a busy week. I got another cold and am looking forward to this quiet week coming up. I can't believe by next Saturday it'll be November.

Busy Busy

Wow, these past few days have been busy. Little Man had a couple doc appointments yesterday and I got my flu shot (FINALLY!). He had his last orthopedic appointment and his clavicle is healing just fine. Yahoo!

I have the Vendor Show tomorrow and am very excited. I need to pack up a few homewares (I'm not taking all of the ones I bring to shows) so they are ready to go into the car. I also need to pack up some papers and I should be ready to go. This is my first one and I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm wondering if a lot of people will come. It's during the week but it has been advertised pretty good so we'll just have to wait and see. I hope a few of you in MN stop by and enter the drawing for a free homeware.

Oh Brrr!! I just looked at the thermometer and it's only 44 degrees outside. I guess winter is trying to make an entrance. I don't mind it. I'm e

njoying all the fall colors, especially our tree in the front yard. It is a very deep red. Very pretty.

In preparation for winter Little Man and I went to Walmart and got him a new winter jacket and snow pants. I saw a blue one and had him try it on and he was not happy. I asked him if he liked it and he said 'NO!'. I noticed they had 3 other colors, green, tan, and black. I held up the green one and he didn't like that either. I then held up the tan and he seemed to like it until I held up the black one. He pointed to the black one and that's the one we got.  I think he made a good choice. :)

Fall Festival Stop and Shop

If you are in the Minnesota area come and check out the Fall Festival Stop and Shop that is being held Oct 22nd at Colonial Mall in St. Michael. I will be there with a table promoting my business, At Home America.

I will be having a drawing and giving away prizes to anyone who books a show. Come and check it out. Also At Home is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this month and have select homewares at 25% off!!

I hope to see you there!

Help You, Mommy?

I can't tell you how many times I hear those words during the day. When I'm doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom, making supper, or just picking up around the house. Little Man loves to help. His 'job' when I do laundry is putting away Daddy's socks. He LOVES it! Although I have caught him putting Daddy's socks in his (Little Man's) drawer. I even found a little sock in my sock drawer.

When he wakes up in the morning he runs downstairs to grab his cereal box. At lunch he grabs his peanut butter and then the jelly. He HAS to put them away too or the world just wouldn't be right.


I love how he asks to help but sometimes it's easier (like when I'm making supper) if he plays or watches a movie. Today for example, I was having a stressed filled day with calling people and trying to get alot of stuff done. Unfortunately Little Man decided to take a short nap. He wanted to help me make supper but I honestly wasn't in the mood in putting the Teddy Grahams back 200 times. So I popped in Jungle Book and that entertained him while I cooked.

But his helping does come in handy at night when he helps put all his toys away.

Now...if only he can be this helpful when he's a teenager.

Fall

You know Fall is here not when the trees start changing color or that it's starting to get colder, but when it's 7:30am and it's still dark out. I love Fall and don't mind it when it gets dark earlier but I miss the sun shining through my kitchen window at 7am. I miss that I can walk down the stairs and not have to turn the light on to see.

I finally got all my Fall decorations out yesterday and decorated. Here is what my front window looks like. After Halloween I'll be putting up my Thanksgiving window clings.

Check out our front tree. Every year it changes color from the tops down. It's one of the first trees on our block to change color. You can kind of see our neighbors tree is still green.

I was hoping to go for a walk with Little Man today and walk to the park. Unfortunately it's raining. I guess we'll have to go tomorrow.

Why Not?

This is Little Man's favorite phrase. At least it seems it is. When he asks for something and I say NO. He will respond with 'Why Not?'. When I tell him he can't climb his bunk bed, pull the cats tail, stand on the table, touch the stove, play with the vent, his lotion, the garbage, or open the front door where there's some strange guy I don't know standing out there. I will hear 'Why Not?'

I have started to say the phrase 'Because I said so'. I never thought in a million years I would be saying that. But try explaining to a 2 year old that he can get hurt when he throws his dump truck in the air because it can land on his head, 800 times is frustrating. (The dump truck finally landed on his head today. Sigh.)

Only 8 months and 30 days until he turns 3. Tell me it gets easier...

Ugh

I'm trying to get rid of our cats. I love them but not the hair and the extra cleaning. It's just too much for me. Especially seeing all that hair fly around when I'm trying to cook. Blech.

Then I watched the news and heard that the humane society is over run with cats. We are not dropping them off there. For being called The Humane society they aren't very humane. We'll drop them off at Crossroads Animal Shelter in Buffalo, MN. But it got me wondering if they are over run with cats too. Sigh. I don't want them sitting in a cage all day.

If you live in MN and are intersted in adopting two 5 year old male cats or know someone looking to adopt, please let me know! They really are the sweetest and are great with kids.

It's Friday

I started this new blog to be able to write more freely. Now I'm having a brain freeze and can't think of anything to write about.

Little Man said his first prayer by himself yesterday. When I was getting him ready for his bath I said let's pray for Daddy and his decision about Cabela's. So we said a short prayer. Later that night he was sitting on my lap and he bowed his head, folded his hands and said 'Daddy Cabela's. AMEN!' Of course I started crying when he did that.

Right now he's watching Super Why and is singing the Alphabet with Pig. When they ask where a certain letter is he always points it out and makes sure I'm watching. So cute!

I caught him singing yesterday and joined in. Amazingly he didn't stop. When he was sitting on my lap he started singing 'La la la la la' so I started singing 'La la la la la la' to the tune of Jingle Bells (that's the tune Elmo sings to at the end of Elmo's World). Little Man kept singing so I stopped. He looks at me and said 'Mommy keep singing' so I started up again and he kept singing and we did a mini duet. Too cute. I am loving this stage.

Look what I got!

Because I did so well last month with At Home I qualified for some free Homewares.  

I opened one box and look what I found inside!

Another Shout Out

To Jenny at Pink Armchair Designs. She designed this layout for my other blog and I loved/love it. I sent her email letting her know I was no longer using my other blog and will soon be deleting it. I mentioned I started another and would love for her to design another layout but couldn't afford it and I was too much in love with this design.

She being the awesome person she is offered to use this design and cut her rate. How awesome is that?! If you have a blog and want to jazz it up I highly suggest you check out Jenny and have her design something for you. Check out her blog and look at the other blogs she has designed. They are beautiful and stunning.

Thank you again Jenny!

Books

Little Man LOVES books. We'll sit on the floor in his room (he of course will sit in my lap) and read and read. His favorite book is 8 Silly Monkey's. He also likes Just Me and My Dad. He likes the part where the bear eats the fish they just caught. (I hope I didn't just ruin the book for anyone.) And of course his Thomas the Tank Engine books.

It's funny because when we are done reading a book he'll ask for another. He doesn't know the title's of the books but he knows what's in them. He'll ask for the 'sheep book' which is Time for Bed. Or he'll ask for the 'purple book' which is a nursery rhyme book. We could spend an hour in his room reading.

I hope to keep this love of books in him. I love to read and read often so I hope if he sees me reading he'll want to read too. I remember going to the library alot when I was little and being able to pick up books to read for the week and how neat I thought that was. Then being older and reading different authors (anyone remember the Babysitters' Club Series?)

Speaking of books, I just got one in the mail from my friend by Jodi Piccoult, Keeping Faith. I'm going to go read that now while Little Man takes his nap.

Cold

Ugh, this cold is kicking my butt. I just want to lay around and not do anything. I'm glad I can finally breathe through my nose but my ears are still plugged. I now have a lovely, annoying cough. It only took me about an hour to fall asleep last night because I was coughing. Maybe I should have gone to bed at 9pm instead of 11pm.

I rescheduled my flu shot (which was for today) for next Monday. I'm hoping I'm better by then. I'm not looking forward to rescheduling it for a 2nd time.

I have a house that needs to be cleaned. Thoroughly cleaned. I've been neglecting it the past week and boy is it showing it! Maybe I'll get a couple loads of laundry done while Little Man takes his nap.

Well I'm going to lounge on the couch while Little Man watches Super Why.

This is awesome!

I saw this on TV and thought it was too funny not to share (and cool!). I am a MN Wild hockey fan. I saw that they unveiled their first ever mascot, Nordy. Check him out here. He has a mullet!

Gotta love Minnesota. :)

Welcome!

I have decided to start a new blog. Due to some recent events I don't feel comfortable writing on my other blog and feel hindered in what I can and can't say. I shouldn't have to feel that way and didn't want to go private so I've decided to start a new blog.

My other blog is: www.dreambig-jmd.blogspot.com.

This is so weird having to start from square 1. First post. Standard background and no links posted yet. Give me a couple weeks and I'm sure it'll be nice and homey here and it'll feel like I was writing here for years.

I am hoping to get ahold of all my online, blog, and in real life friends and let them know of the change so they can update their blogs. If you want to keep my old blog on yours feel free but I won't be posting there any more. I will have it linked here for awhile so people can refer back to it.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Michelle