My First

Hurricane Irene is coming. It's my first hurricane. No, I am not excited about this.
We are far enough inland to not get the worst of it but we will get high winds and rainfall.
I'm thinking worst case, downed trees and loss of power.
So we are preparing for that and hopefully we won't be out of power for too long.
I'll try to post when I can, in case power is out.
We are expected to get it on Sunday.
Say a prayer for all of us in the hurricane zone.

Wee Ooo Wee Ooo

That is the sound coming from my 3 year old on a daily basis. It's actually a European fire engine. And above is a daily scene in our house. There is always a fire somewhere to put out. Right now it's the castle. And it takes all 3 fire trucks.


We've been visiting a local rescue farm for the last 3 weeks.
We get a farm tour. Pet some of the animals, feed the goats, do a craft, have a snack.
The highlights really are the pony ride.

And feeding/holding a guinea pig. They are cute little rodents. Here's Nicholas with cousin Abbey and the guinea pigs.

Slow down already, will you?

I've been meaning to write this post for, well, probably 2 months now. Here it is....finally!
My baby is over 6 months old already! He needs to just stop. Slow down. He's so busy and changing fast.
But I have to say he is such a joy. I call him my little muffin. Because he is a sweet little muffin.
He already has a little sense of humor. And I *LOVE* that my kids know how to laugh and have fun. And have such wonderful personalities. So great!
He is weighing in at 16.5 lbs and 26 inches long. These figures put him in the 25th precentile. He's a little guy compared to others I guess. But he seems like a chunk to me. He's perfect for him. He's into his 6-9 month clothing.
So what's he doing?
Oh my! He is rolling everywhere! Rolling, scooting, squirming. Always trying to get something in his mouth. The play mat is officially out of commission. And he doesn't stay on a blanket anymore either. He's not completely mobile yet but he's getting there.
He's almost sitting up. There's a video at the end if it's working. I say he's a weeble wobble that will fall down.
He's started food. He likes his fruits, not so big on the veggies. He is so interested in what we are eating. He wants the big food. I try to feed him his on his little spoon and I'm lucky to get 2-3 bites in him before he clams up. Will.Not.Open.Mouth. I'd like to say it's cute, but it's not.
He loves loves loves the cup. A real cup. Not a sippy cup. (although he loves that too). He can drink from a cup. I kid you not. I have to get video of his craziness with the cup.
He's just such a little joy.
Okay pictures.

This is a "mural" on his wall above the crib. They are those wall decals. LOVE them. They are all over his room. So fun!

The boys playing with a baby toy. Even Nicholas is entertained. I love it!

What a fun activity cube for a 6 month and 3 year old.

Having fun on the bed.

Look at that smile he gives his brother. He smiles whenever Nicholas comes close. It's love.

For now.

Such a roly poly.

I love this face. How can you not love this face?

He had to make a phone call. I think they weren't home by the look on his face.
Trying food. But the bib tastes better.
With Nana and Papa. Does he look like his Papa or what?


Okay all folks. Thanks for being patient with my lack of blogging and pictures of the kiddos.

Oh here's the video if it works. Hope so. It's cute.

Bite the bullet

I may have to friends.
Join Facebook.
Noooooooo!
I have been holding out. I just don't want that chaos in my life. But,
I can get coupons through it (now I've been using my hubby's account. He never looks at it anyway but it could be embarrassing that he likes Huggies pull ups. Ha!)
Also my moms group wants to use it to communicate. And I like to be in the loop.
So I am still on the fence. But I have a feeling I am falling.....to the dark side.
Don't do it Anniken.

Today's shopping trip

Now that I am extreme couponing, sort of, I feel the need to save money every time I enter a store.
Today I went to CVS to take advantage of two bargains.
I bought 3 Soaftsoap body wash = $9
Pampers Cruisers=$9
2- Huggies newborn diaper packs (for a gift)=$6.24, they were clearances at 75% off

I used
(3) $1 soft-soap coupons
(1) $2 pampers coupon
$14 in ECBs

Total before $25 and change
Total after $5 and change

Score for me!

Also went to stop&Shop for groceries
My big steal:
2 bottles prenatal vitamins=$24
I bought them for $2 total.
They were B1G1 free
I had a $1 coupon plus a doubler coupon
And a $2 coupon printed at checkout so I used that too.
Score!

I also saved $1.50 on Land o Lakes eggs, making them $1.70 a dozen. Not a complete steal but I get so annoyed about how expensive eggs Are. The store brand ( which I expect to be cheap) are $2.29/doz. What? So score on the eggs.

Overall I saved $14 just in coupons. They add up friends.

Got any good savings tips or shopping trips to share? I want to hear.
Leave me a comment.

Should we?

So maybe it's too early to celebrate.
It's been one week since the poop in the closet, hasty decision to potty train.
It is actually going quite well. We have had no accidents since Monday. We have had successful poops on the potty all week.
Yesterday we even left the house in underwear! Wah hoo!
We went to MyGym. I thought this might be a good try because I knew they have the kids seat on the big toilets there.
We went pee right when we got there, it's a half hour a way. Then towards the end of the one hour class he said he had to pee. Yay!
He did fabulous!
He initiates it a lot but I am still encouraging often. I know he gets distracted.
He's wanting to do it by himself more. Pulling down his own pants.
I really can't ask for more than what he is doing.
He still in pull ups for nap and bed. He is not staying dry those times. But I am happy with what he IS doing.
It is actually going better than I envisioned.
I think it still makes me edgy. I am not sure I can totally trust him on his own with it.
But it's only been one week. This is a huge change for him.
Thanks to all of you for your supportive comments. Any mother that has been through this, knows.

Desperate

I am in desperate need of a haircut.
It hasn't been cut since before Alexander was born.
Since I just pull it up in a clip for the hot weather I haven't bothered.
But I really like this style.
What do you think?

Our fault

Mom and dad were slacking this weekend. We were out and on the go so much that we did not stay on top of the potty training.
So it's Monday and I am back on it.
I know I am not supposed to get frustrated with him but it is so hard not to.
I moved the potty from the bathroom to the living room today just to make it more accessible to him and give him a reminder.
Well he peed in his pants 4 tomes this morning.in like an hours time. I swear this kid could go every 15 minutes. He was two steps from the potty and decided to go behind the chair instead. I don't get it.
Later on after lunch, he kept holding his butt.
Nicholas, do you have to poop?
Yeah.
Okay let's get on the potty.
20 minutes later...nope
Again running around holding the butt.
Nicholas, do. You.have. To. Poop?
Yes.
Okay potty.
I left him do his business.
Came back to.......poop in the potty! Hurray!
It's a big victory.
But I know we still need to stay on top of him.

Let's just hope mom can hold on.

Day 3

I feel like it sone step forward, two steps back. But I guess the bright side is we do have some forward steps.

Day 2 actually ended unsuccessfully with a pee and a poop in the underwear.
Day 3 has been not so focused on it. He has gone on the potty but has been in pull ups most of the day. Wee were out for over 3 hours this morning and he stayed dry. Then while eating lunch he said he had to pee. Okay let's go. I wad thinking it might be a stall tactic for eating. But he actually went.
Then we were out in the afternoon and evening and was in a pull up (I am not all about dealing with the mess while out). He did poop and pee in the pull up. But we weren't encouraging him to go and he was busy playing. So thats probably our fault.
Tomorrow is a new day and well try again.

And it begins

So yesterday as I am changing Nicholas he decides to run around naked. Okay. I get it. Kids like to be naked. I get concerned about him peeing on the floor. He's done it before. So I am trying to get a diaper back on him and he's ignoring me and having fun and I'm laughing with him. Then he hides in his closet. We play the "where's Nicholas?" game. He comes running out,
"here I am!"
Then I see it.
Something comes flying off him.
Poop.
Yes, he went into the closet and pooped.
Oh no oh no oh no
I can not believe he did that.

So I am done with the child-led potty training. Waiting until he is ready? Nope.
It's hard core potty training.

So day 2
And it's going well. He was wetting his big boy underwear yesterday but today...nope.
We even left the house for 3 hours. I put a diaper on him for that. And he stayed dry! Even with drinking a whole cup of water and juice.
So little by little.
It is exhausting. I was taking him to go potty every half hour yesterday. I am hoping it lengthens as we go along and he gets it.

Owen and Urban

Went to the Jake Owen and Keith Urban concert on Sunday with my mom.
It was saweeeeeeeeeeettt.
Keith performed for over two hours straight. He really did a great job.
Thanks Mom!

Doing it again

It's been how long since I posted? Yea I am slacking again.
I'll try to get an update out on Alexander soon. He's growing so fast. And I can't stop it.