Maybe the Easter Bunny Will Bring Good Health

Well, the good news is that I am over the bug that was wreaking havoc on my body and have lost those last 5 pounds I have been trying to get off. Now if I can only keep them off until swimsuit season. The bad news is that Will has pinkeye.

I noticed yesterday that he was blinking his eye alot and rubbing & messing with it. This morning when he woke up it was a bit crusty, swollen and pinkish. All the tell-tale signs. And of course, pinkeye decides to make its appearance on a school day! I had a full morning of errands to run, too. We dropped Jack off at school along with flowers for both of the boys' teachers (it is Teacher Appreciation week at school). Will is a notoriously bad errand buddy, so I decided to see how much we could get done together before he totally revolted. And actually, he was a great little shopping buddy...we were able to get through all of my errands, so it wasn't a wasted morning!

This afternoon we went in for Will's doctor's appointment. Yep...pinkeye, eye drops 3x day. Knowing that Will is not the best patient (he completely falls apart when anyone at the dr's office even touches him), I envisioned the administering of the eye drops as a two person job...one person to actually sit on the child while the other puts in the drops. I just completed the first dose, and Will thought the whole thing was pretty funny! Hopefully, the second dose goes just as smoothly. Will has just been full of all kinds of surprises today!

After 24 hrs on the meds, Will should be able to return to being an active member of society, meaning he can go back to school on Thursday, which is important because they have class pictures and their Easter Egg Hunt. And I would hate for him to be missing from the class pic or to miss out on all the egg hunt fun.

Speaking of hunting eggs, I found the cutest Easter egg hunting basket for Will today. We have the Pottery Barn Kids' white wicker baskets with the monogrammed blue gingham liners (oh, you have one too?!?) that the Easter Bunny leaves surprises in, but this is not a good egg hunting basket. I learned the hard way. When Jack was 2, I had him out hunting eggs with this Pottery Barn basket that was as big as he was...poor little thing had to drag that huge, heavy basket around, seriously limiting the amount of loot he could snag. Brought back memories of me hauling my oversized, overpacked luggage through the airport before the wonderful invention of wheeled luggage.

It was then that I learned that you have a nice basket for the Easter Bunny to leave treats in and for a pretty pic on Easter morning. And then you have a fun, light weight basket to take to the egg hunt(s). This is Will's first year to hunt eggs...he wasn't walking last Easter and my rule is: you can't hunt Easter eggs if you can't walk. I am mean that way! So, I was on the lookout for a basket. And while we were in Kroger this morning, I saw this cute firetruck basket.


Perfect! Because we all remember how much Will loves "FIRETRUCK! FIRETRUCK! TRUCK, MOMMY! TRUCK!", don't we? And when you press on the top of the siren, it makes the appropriate firetruck noises while the fire chief shouts some sorta fire-themed Easter message. Awesome! Hopefully, his love of trucks will continue and this basket can last us the next 2 or 3 years.

Say a prayer that the pinkeye doesn't spread to big brother. However if it does, the pediatrician said that although they don't recommend sharing medications between family members, there are enough drops in the bottle for 3 people. And I appreciate that, because she saved me another $20 copay!

P.S. Well, too late! I no sooner hit "publish post" when Jack said "My eye feels itchy!" Yep...2 for 2! So I gave him some drops, while he cried like the drama king that he is, and we all headed straight to the sink to wash our hands. Any bets on when I come down with pinkeye?!?!

CVS Deals

Remember my rookie CVS trip? Well, I am still having fun chasing the free or nearly free deals!

Here are the CVS deals that interested me this week:

Paas Egg decorating kit $1.99 (ECB given Sunday and Monday only)
Earn $1.99 ECB (Limit 2) (after Monday, no ECB given)

Buy any 2 of the following at 2/$5
Earn $1 ECB when you buy 2 (Limit 5)
Shout 22 oz. (0.55/1 coupon this week's paper)
Fantastik 32 oz. ($1/1 coupon this week's paper)
Scrubbing Bubble 16 oz. (0.75/1 coupon this week's paper)
Windex 26 oz. (0.75/1 coupon this week's paper)

Glade Sense & Spray Starter Kit $5.99
Earn $1 ECB ($4/1 coupon this week's paper)


So these were my purchases:

Transaction 1:
2 Paas decorating kits 3.98
=3.98 total
-3.49 ECBs from a previous week
=0.49 (+ tax) cash + earned 3.98 ECB

Transaction 2:
1 Glade starter kit 5.99
2 Fantastik 5.00
=10.99 total
-4.00 (glade coupon from this week's paper)
-1.00 (fantastik coupon from this week's paper)
-1.00 (fantastik coupon from this week's paper)
-3.98 ECBs from previous transaction
=1.01 (+ tax) cash + earned 2 ECB

So this week, I spent 1.50 (+ tax) out of pocket and have 2 ECBs to spend another time!

JPEG of the Week

My brother and my friend

Yuck!

I have been sick since Wednesday night. It started out as a fever and muscle aches. I thought I might have a light case of the flu despite having gotten the flu mist. Thursday, I didn't have a fever but still achiness and nausea. Then today, I have had a GI bug. So who knows what I have?!?! But luckily, I am the only one who has been affected. Hold on while I go knock on wood....

I have been mothering in survival mode. Yesterday, Will was in school until noon and Jack stayed until 2:30. That helped in that I was able to rest during the morning and nap while Will was napping. Last night, the kids had warmed up spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (which is their favorite meal so they were happy) and Brent had 2 egg sandwiches (which he didn't seem to mind having for dinner). Then my wonderful husband went out and got me a chocolate milkshake!

Today, Brent took Jack to school for Donuts with Dad. They had doughnuts and oj, Jack showed Brent his classroom and what they do all day, and Jack gave Brent a picture that he drew of Daddy. And Jack also gave Brent a Q&A that he had done about his daddy. The results: Brent is 46, an accountant, his favorite meal is spaghetti & meatballs, his favorite sport is basketball, he drives a silver Lexus, and Jack and Daddy like to go to Home Depot together....so 2 of 6 isn't bad! Brent said, "Jack, I'm 36 not 46" to which Jack replied, "Yeah, that was a good try by me." Then the Dads and their children went to view their class artwork display which was conveniently located right in the middle of the school's book fair! Whoever thought of that idea is pure genius! Jack came home with two new books as I am sure every other kid did as well; you know those daddies are pushovers!

Will was home with me all morning and as I review our day's activities it only confirms that my winning the Mother of the Year 2009 award was totally justified. Will's breakfast was Lucky Charms, followed by watching Clifford the Big Red Dog and Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse. He did play with his cars & trucks beside me while I laid in bed. Then he had not 1 but 2 Curious George fruit snacks while watching "Monkey George". Then more cars & trucks and a little bit of Elmo on the computer, all while I am still laying in the bed. For lunch, a banana with peanut butter and then nap time (for both of us). So that the school wouldn't call Child Protective Services on me, I finally had to change out of my pajamas to go pick up Jack and on the way home, we stopped by McDonald's for milkshakes. And I am happy to report that we all survived (barely, it was touch and go at the end) until Brent came home bearing dinner!

So my child's brain is mush and his teeth are rotting from all the sugar, but would you expect anything less from Mother of the Year?

Hopefully, I will be on the rebound tomorrow, but at least I have Daddy reinforcement to make sure the children actually leave my bedside this weekend.

Reaping the Rewards of His Work

In his heart, Brent is a gardener; he just masquerades as an attorney during the week because the pay is a smidgen better. But on the weekends, you will find him in our yard from sun up to sun down improving our home's curb appeal. And it has been an amazingly beautiful transformation. Our neighbors are just a tad bit green. And I can brag because the yard is totally his domain...I have a brown thumb, but I do make a pretty good supervisor, make many wonderful suggestions, and provide lots of stimulating conversation. (cough, cough) Yeah, let's just pretend that y'all didn't see Brent rolling his eyes like there's no tomorrow.

We have 2 camellias at the front of our house that were loaded, loaded, loaded with blooms this year.


On the side of our house, we had a bush/shrub that didn't survive the drought. Brent gave it the summer to try to redeem itself, but it didn't, so he dug it up this fall. And replaced it with another camellia....a different variety from the 2 up front (one of my suggestions!). It looks so much better by the garage door than the (dead) bush ever did and is so nice to see when I pull up to the house.


Three years ago, Brent and I spent a weekend at Reynold's Plantation on Lake Oconee. I had never seen a Star Magnolia Tree before but they were everywhere and so delicate looking. I love that the thin naked branches hold these large white and blush pink blooms. So we planted one when we got home. And the first two seasons, there were no blooms. I was beginning to wonder if we planted the right tree. But then I remembered the advice from our neighbor 3 doors down who is a very talented gardener herself. When we first moved in and Brent was getting alot of our perennials established, she said a plant has 3 stages: the first season, it 'sleeps'; the second year, it 'creeps'; and the third year it 'leaps'. And sure enough, this year the tulip tree (as I affectionately call it) leaped! It was full of blooms, some of which were lost to a late freeze, but those that appeared later were lovely and definitely worth the 3 year wait.


Brent's parents went to the Netherlands 2 years ago and had tulips actually from Holland sent to us! How cool is that! Tulips are one of my favorite flowers and these do not disappoint =). Don't you just love the 'curliness' (I am sure that is a word!) of the leaves?!?!


And I don't know what kind of tree this is...didn't we establish that I am not the gardener in this family!...but isn't it beautiful!


And that concludes the Spring Tour of Brent's Gardens. Stay tuned for the Summer Tour. It, too, is quite a show. Brent takes his gardening very seriously!

Because the Suspense Must be Killin' Ya!

Remember when I couldn't decide what shorts to buy for the pirate shirt? Well, I am sure you have just been sitting on pins and needles waiting to know how I solved this mind-boggling problem! The general consensus was that for little boys, khaki goes with everything. Blythe, my sister-in-law and fashion guru, had several good suggestions, including a light blue brushed cotton, orange gingham, or any type of black & white shorts...a check, stripe, or plaid. I searched all of my usual online children's clothing sites and couldn't find any black & white shorts. But I did find a navy ticking stripe at Target that I think will work. When held up against the black shirt, the shorts look gray. And then I have khaki as a backup. I think the striped shorts will work on an active 5 year old boy...don't you?



Aren't these sandals cute?


Another Target find...$19.99 and they had to come home with me! The moral of this story is that I need to stay out of Target. But I think they will spruce up the 'mom uniform' a bit this summer. I would have modeled the shoes for you, but my toes are nekkid right now. Hopefully, I can get that much needed spring pedicure this weekend....I know my feet will thank me!

And I have to tell you that my husband ROCKS!! For my birthday (in February) he said that he would get me a laptop computer, and we got it on Monday =). I have had so much fun setting up my very own computer with all my very own stuff! And if you are wondering what all the excitement is about because 'hey, a little FYI, laptops have been around for at least a decade now'...I know, but sadly, I am not very current in the tech field. No blackberry or IPhone for me; I am still using my basic cellular phone (that is, when I remember to turn it on), although I do consider it an upgrade since it can take pictures (if I only knew how to do that). Maybe you can now appreciate how I feel so trendy! So you just might see me at Starbucks Saturday morning typing away, surfing the Internet, or any number of computer-type activities, because that is what all the cool people do (or did about 5 years ago).

Or so I hear...

New Wheels & Dinosaurs

Saturday morning after we hit Starbucks (just trying to do our part for the economy!), we went on what turned out to be a lengthy search for a scooter for Jack and a "baby" Big Wheel for Will. Jack tried out a neighbor's scooter this week and really liked it, but it was one of those 2 wheel "razor" types and he hadn't quite mastered the balance needed for it. So we thought that a 3 wheel scooter would be a perfect starter to help him improve his balance in preparation for a razor and riding a bike. Toys R Us had these 'cool' Spiderman scooters! And we had a gift certificate from Christmas that we got to use =)! Thanks Uncle Bill, Aunt Marianthe, and Alexis! Jack has enjoyed riding all weekend.

Will loves to ride Jack's Big Wheel but his legs aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals...but that hasn't stopped him one bit, he just pushes it along with his feet! There is a My First Big Wheel, or "baby" Big Wheel, made for the 1-3 year old crowd that is just the right size to learn how to pedal. And this is where the quest began....Toys R Us didn't have it, and each of the 2 Targets that we went to had the Princess My First Big Wheel, but not the red and yellow boy version. I called a 3rd Target and they had 1 left so I hurried over and got it! Who knew that these My First Big Wheels were so popular?!?! Will got the concept of pedaling and actually pedaled some, but when he needed to go fast he would push with his feet. Oh well! Hopefully by summer, he will be pedaling up a storm!

Jack's other weekend activity was setting up an elaborate Dinosaur Museum on our front porch. And really, it was quite impressive for a 5 year old. He had all of his dinosaur figures lined up and he told you the name and special characteristics of each one (and before you are overly impressed, about 50% of the time the names and characteristics were completely Jack-invented. But in Jack's mind, this is just a mere technicality!) Then he had two different sized sticks...the long one was the carnivore's tooth and the shorter one was the herbivore's tooth. He also had different types of vegetation that a herbivore would eat. Next was a display of dinosaur bones (more sticks) and Jack would give you facts about each dinosaur bone and you would have to guess the name of the dinosaur. And since my dinosaur knowledge is limited to about 6 dinosaurs, it made for an interesting lesson. Can I just say that I have learned enough about dinosaurs this weekend to last me a good, long while!

JPEG (s) of the Week

Bathtime Fun

My Little Suitor

After a rainy weekend, we were outside playing yesterday, enjoying the sunshine and perfect temperature. One of my favorite things about spring are the daffodils and hyacinths. I love hyacinths...they are my favorite springtime flower! In our flowerbeds, we have a variety of hyacinths scattered all around. I call it our Easter egg garden because as you are coming up our driveway, it looks like little Easter eggs are just waiting to be hunted.

I wanted to get a few pictures of the beautiful blooms while they were still around.

I am lost in my photography, and after awhile I turn around and see this:


Just look at that sweet face presenting me with a beautiful bouquet! He had been stealthily following behind me picking the flowers! And I think my heart just burst into a million pieces right there!

Poor Daddy....what the deer don't get, Jack does!

Shhh, let's not tell Daddy about this!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

CVS Rookie Scores Some Deals

I've become addicted to blogs. All kinds really, but lately I've been reading some that are into couponing and frugal grocery shopping. And everyone raves about how great CVS and Walgreens are. So I thought I would try my hand at the CVS shopping this week.

A little background on how the CVS card works: First, you get a CVS Extra Care card. It is just like any other grocery store loyalty card...the cashier scans your card and you get a discount on your groceries. The difference in the CVS card is that you don’t get a discount up front, but you get Extra Care Bucks (ECB) following a purchase. The ECBs come in the form of a "coupon" printed at the bottom of your receipt. You can cut it off and keep it and use it just like cash on your next transaction. CVS has deals where certain featured items are worth a certain amount of ECBs or where you buy a certain $ amount of products and you get X ECBs back.

So here is my venture into the world of CVS couponing.
These were the deals that I was interested in from this week's flyer:
>Irish Springs Body Wash $4.99 (get $4.99 ECBs)

>Colgate Max Whitening Toothpaste $2.99 (get $2.99 ECBs)

>Dry Idea Deodorant $2.99 (get $2.00 ECBs)

>Buy $15 of these products, get $5 (ECBs): Quaker instant oatmeal 2/$5, Quaker granola bars 2/$5, Sunchips & Lays Baked 2/$6, True North Nuts 2/$6, Stacy's Pita Chips 2/$6, Tropicana orange juice 2/$6, Aquafina 12 pk 2/$6.

So this is how it went:

Transaction 1:
1 Irish Springs Body Wash 4.99
1 Colgate Toothpaste 2.99
1 Dry Idea Deodorant 2.99
= 10.97 total
- $ 0.50 Irish Springs Body Wash coupon (Sunday's paper)
- $ 0.75 Colgate Toothpaste coupon (Sunday's paper)
- $ 2.00 Dry Idea Deodorant coupon (online source)
= 7.72 cash + earned 9.98 ECBs

Transaction 2:
4 Aquafina 12 pk 12.00
1 Stacy's Pita Chip 3.00
= 15.00 total
-9.98 ECBs (earned from transaction 1)
=5.02 cash + earned 5 ECBs

Now I have 5 ECBs to get me started for next time!

The purchases:












Not bad for a rookie!

Fire up the Grill!

Last weekend, we were grilling out steaks and decided to try a new marinade. It is a bourbon-based marinade, very delicious, and comes highly recommended by two steak-loving guys!

Bourbon Steak Marinade

• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup light oil (light olive/canola/etc.)
• 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbs Teriyaki sauce
• 1 Tbs Soy sauce
• 2 whole garlic cloves - crushed
• 1 Tbs fresh cracked black pepper

We were grilling T-bones, so we put them in a ziplock with the marinade for about 4 hours, turning them every so often. The marinade smells wonderful!

Jack has discovered that he likes to gnaw the meat off the bone of the steak. Must get that from his daddy 'cause his mama is not a fan of eating meat off the bone. I'll have to get a picture of Jack the next time we have steak, because it is so funny to see him tearing into that bone!

All About Mommy

This meme has been going around the internet recently, so I thought it would be fun to play with Jack. You ask your child the questions about you and type exactly what they say. So this is Me according to Jack:

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
I love you!

2. What makes Mommy happy?
when I listen

3. What makes Mommy sad?
when I don't listen

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
by telling me jokes

5. What was Mommy like as a child ?
little

6. How old is Mommy?
I don't know

7. How tall is Mommy?
really tall!

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
read a book

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
she does something she likes

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what would it be for?
what does famous mean?

11. What is Mommy really good at?
reading

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
driving places she doesn't know how to go

13. What does Mommy do for a job?
she stays home with me when Daddy's not around

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
candy

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
because i love you

16. If Mommy was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Bugs Bunny

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
draw together

18. How are you and your Mommy the same?
we are in the same family

19. How are you and your Mommy different?
we don't have the same color eyes

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you?
because she calls me 'baby'

21. What does Mommy like most about Daddy?
because he makes money for the whole family

22. Where is your Mommy's favorite place to go?
Kroger

Target Finds

I was in Target this morning and found some cute shorts for Jack for the spring and summer.

Aren't these patchwork shorts cute?!?! I found them in the Infant/Toddler section ranging in sizes from 12months to 5T. They are the Genuine Kids from OSHKOSH brand, and they are $9.99. Plus they have the adjustable waistband which is wonderful when you are trying to dress a slim boy. The red polo I found in the Boys section. It is the Cherokee brand, regularly $8.99, but on sale for $6.99. Lots of color selections for the shirts. I think both the red and the white look cute!





These fishbones shorts are also cute! They are the Cherokee brand and I found them in the Infant/Toddler section. They are $8.99 and have the adjustable waist, too. The blue shirt is another of the $6.99 polos in the Boys department. Unfortunately, I got the small size (6-7) shirts for Jack and they swallow him. So I'll exchange the red and blue ones for XS (4-5).






Also, in the Boys section next to the solid polos were these fun embroidered polos. I LOVE the black skull and crossbones! I must have picked it up 3 times but all I could picture it with is white shorts, and that is just not practical on a 5 year old boy. So what other color shorts would you suggest? Khaki? If you can give me another suggestion besides white, I am going back to get the skull and crossbones. I just love it =).

I am addicted to the trail mixes that Target has; they are so good as a late afternoon snack to tide you over until dinner. This week (until Saturday) all of Target's Archer Farms brand food items are 15% off. So I picked up my current favorite mix, Chocolate Monkey! It has chocolate covered peanuts, cashews, banana chips, walnuts, dried cherries, and dried pineapple. Just the right combination of nuts & dried fruit, with the added bonus of chocolate!

There is another mix that is good, too...Dark Chocolate Espresso. It has mocha flavored pecans, dark chocolate almonds, hazelnuts, praline almonds, chocolate chips, and dark chocolate covered coffee beans. Not a bad substitute when you have that Starbucks craving! Frankly, I would be happy if the entire bag was chocolate covered almonds and coffee beans =).

So head on over to Target and stock up while you can! And what color shorts? Leave me a comment and solve this dilemma for me!

Fishing with Daddy

We had a wonderful weekend! The weather was absolutely beautiful, so we spent the entire weekend outside enjoying (what I hope is) the beginning of spring. Saturday afternoon, we went fishing at our neighborhood 'lake'.

First we started off with a little cane pole fishing. There was a long pole and a short pole, but of course the long pole was more fun. Probably because it was more weapon-like!






Jack doing what he loves to do best...playing in the water. Doesn't look like he was too traumatized over falling into the creek. Luckily, he stayed dry...






but not clean =)! No, those are not the soles of his shoes...those are his white socks! Dirty, dirty, dirty!








My favorite picture of the afternoon!








Will learning to reel. It was amazing how much patience he had. He would sit and reel and reel and reel. But he got a little irritated when Daddy had to cast. Because the casting does interfere with all of the reeling!





Hey, we caught a little bass! But believe me, with all of the fertilizer run off, this is a catch and release lake! Jack was a tad bit disappointed that we weren't eating fish for dinner that night.









Awwww! I thought this was so sweet. They are both growing up too fast. I'll blink and they will be as tall as Daddy. This little man LOVES his daddy.

JPEG (s) of the Week

Making Art while staying with Gramma and Granddaddy

He Makes Me So Proud

Jack has been taking gymnastics ever since he was 3. We decided to enroll him so that he could continue to improve his gross motors skills, which were a bit behind his peers due to his hypotonia. He started out in a pre-gym class, which was basic tumbling skills. And at 3 years of age, Jack needed work on the basics like jumping, forward roll, balance, etc. And I have said at least a hundred times that gymnastics has been his PT for these 2 1/2 years, but in a much more fun format! Last fall, Ms. Ema said that she thought Jack was ready to move up to the beginners class, which is for 4-6 year olds who have no previous gymnastics experience. So Jack started classes with Ms. Valerie, who is equally as wonderful an instructor as Ms. Ema. And over the last 6 months, I have watched Jack go from being in the lower half of the class abilities-wise (but he was keeping up) to being one of the best in his class. And I was thrilled to see that he appreciated his improvement! Because, truthfully, and it hurts my heart every time I think about it, there aren't going to be too many athletic endeavors that Jack will be one of the very best. So I thought that it was important for him to really enjoy this.

Last Tuesday was the last gymnastics class for the winter session. I was able to take a few pictures (although not the best quality) of Jack practicing some of the skills. Jack has really improved on the bars...I don't think I ever really appreciated the strength that it takes to support oneself on the bars, much less do 'tricks'. And if we are being honest, I am not sure I would have the courage to do most of the skills that they do on the floor, bars or beam. The 3rd pic is Jack doing either a yee-haw, which is a precursor to the handstand, or a cartwheel; I can't remember which. Ms. Valerie would always give Jack lots of "awesomes, excellents, and fantastics" for his yee-haws and cartwheels. And the last pic is of our cute gymnast with his achievement ribbons.

At the end of the class, Ms. Valerie said that she thought Jack was ready for the Novice 1 class, which is for 5-7 year olds with gymnastics experience. She felt that he had improved on the skills they had been working on and was ready to work more independently. The mamma bear in me wanted Jack to stay in the beginner class and enjoy being one of the best in the class. Brent's reaction was to move him up to the novice class, because we need to keep challenging him. And Brent was absolutely right...our goal for Jack is to continue to improve strength, balance, and coordination, which can only happen if he is continually pushed. But I have found this to be the constant struggle for me...wanting to make 'this' all better for him, protecting him from hurt vs. continuing to push, challenge and encourage him to work and improve.

So Jack moved up to Novice. When we got to the class, Jack was a bit hesitant but joined in. This class is going to be challenging...lots of handstands, backward somersaults, and even working on the beginnings of a handspring. A chance to work on upper body strength, for sure! After class, Jack was excited and thought that the Novice class was alot of fun! I was so glad that we decide to move him up and I look forward to watching him continue to improve!

Little Outlaw

He'll kill ya with the cuteness!

Those big brown eyes are deadly weapons, I tell ya!