Where does the time go?

It's amazing how fast a month can slip by. Especially when you give 2 weeks of it to a stomach bug. And it's not even really this month that has escaped me, it's my life! Ever since I graduated from Jr. High it seems like time is in super fast motion. And it seems like ever since I've had children it's been bumped up even faster! I feel like it was only last week when I was just driving myself and my friend Brooke up to college for the first time and now WHAMO we each have 2 kids and live miles apart from each other. Sigh.

So much has happened and I've lagged behind in my posting, so I'm going to cheat and just post a little blurb about each picture. Hopefully July will be nice and calm and I can fit in all the stuff I'd like to get done. Yeah sure. And I don't say that at the end of every month......

We stained the concrete on our back patio:

Isabel started napping in her crib!

The kids got to see Grandma Parker!

Just a cool shot I took from our front porch I thought I'd share:

Isabel started rolling over. This is her Elvis look:

James decided he likes salsa!

Isabel went glam to church.

These two are interacting more and more lately. James is super sweet with his sister.

Will the real slim baby please stand up?

And most recently: We had our dear friends Jennifer and Samantha and Jack over. The kids enjoyed running through the sprinkler and playing with toys!

In a word, bleck!

Here's a few pictures from Isabel's first encounter with rice cereal. She was not a fan. I think some of the faces she pulled are priceless! It's not hard to figure out what she was thinking.

On the plus side, we've gotten much better at this. She had almost 1/2 of her serving last night and is getting much better at "chewing." We even had a 10 hr sleep night a couple nights ago! Man is that ever nice!

"Ok, this is new..."

"I'm thinking I'm not a fan of this stuff Mom!"

"I KNOW I'm not a fan of this stuff!!!"

Tag I'm It

Yay my first Tag! Ok, here we go:

3 JOYS
--The smell of a freshly bathed child
--A good downpour! I love thunder and lightning storms!
--Downtime. Though this is rare lately, I love it when the house is quiet and I can light a candle and curl up on the couch.

3 FEARS
--Public Speaking
--Spiders (and moths for some strange reason)
--Enclosed Spaces

3 GOALS
--Pull together our food storage!! (I am going to do this!)
--Get more organized when it comes to "What's for dinner, Mom!?"
--Overhaul my wardrobe. I'm pretty sure the Guess jeans I still have from high school went out of style pretty much when I was in high school

3 CURRENT OBSESSION/COLLECTIONS
--Planning/decorating the office
--Cookie dough. I'll take this in any form (ice cream, straight from the bowl, frozen) I just need it!
--Blogging!!

3 SURPRISES ABOUT ME
--I love a good bargain! And can usually smooze my way into one.
--I'm not a big candy fan. For me it's all about cookies, cakes or pie!
--I love scary books and movies. Halloween is my favorite holiday! ;-)

I tag Erin, Stephanie, Sheyenne, Jennifer, and Christine! You gals now have to post your questionnaire then tag some people.

4 months already??

Isabel had her 4 month check up today. Here are the stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 9 oz. 45%

Height: 26 inches 95%

She's doing great! Blowing raspberries and rolling over! We're going to start her on rice cereal tonight and see if we can't extend her night time sleeping.....

Follow Up

Ok I'm a HUGE fan of Design Star! Anyone else out there watching this season? It's fabulous! I can't believe I have never seen it before. Well, yes I can. What with my previous lack of cable and all. Anyway, it's like the best of my worlds come together - designing and people getting kicked out with high drama. :-)

Also, how many of you have done the impossible and bought your re-usable shopping bags? Huh? Huh??? Aren't they wonderful!!!

New & Improved

After the death bug passed through the house and we were feeling up to going out, my mother-in-law and I went out for new do's. I was so sad when we moved to lose my old stylist. But I got a recommendation for a salon over here (thanks Kelly!) and my stylist did a wonderful job! I went in with NO idea what I wanted and came out totally happy with the results! It's by far one of THE BEST haircuts I have ever had.

And I just love the way a new haircut makes me feel. Confident and un-stoppable! I know a good haircut by how easy it is for me to style it after the first wash. And although I can't ever get them salon perfect (one day I will get a CHI) I can get very close with this cut. She thined it out a ton with a razor and man it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders - literally! I LOVE IT!

Father's Day

This year's theme: stay safe while you jog. Hence, the bright as day jogging shirt from James.

Izzy catching a little 1 on Dad time. She got him some new bike gloves and running socks. After presents were opened, we all headed to the lake. I'm pretty sure James cleared the entire beach of pebbles and sticks. Nothing like the sound of a good rock going "plunk" in the lake.

The Death Bug

Whew. I'm back. And I've survived what had to be THE WORST case of the stomach flu I've ever ever had. And all of us (except for Izzy thank goodness) were lucky enough to have it. Even my Mother-In-Law who was kind enough to come out and help after I got sick. We were like in quarantine for a week and a half!

Every 3 days another one of us would get sick until it had made the rounds. Thankfully, it moved on about as quickly as it appeared. But man - it was rough there for a bit.

SO I have about a zillion blogs in my head that I've been wanting to write. Some of them have left my brain so I'll do my best to post what I have left.

Plastic or Paper? How about Neither!!

Looking for a way to "do your part" and save this beautiful planet? Well listen up people. I have a simple and effective way for you to make a difference. BUY REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS!!!

Now I know what you are saying, because I have said it too. "They are too small, they wouldn't hold my groceries." "They are a gimick for the stores to make a few extra bucks." "I'll buy them next time I'm here." Well stop with the excuses and just get some!

Just look at all the stuff they were able to put into just 2 of my bags:

Start small. Buy two at your next grocery trip. They are like .99 each! And believe me, you will love them! I bought 2 here at our local grocery and they gave me 2 free (a promo because it was Earth Day.) I had a basket full of groceries and thought 'there is no way my stuff will fit in 4 of these bags!' But you know what - it did! And I immediately fell in love with them - and then later kicked myself for being such a slacker and not making the investment YEARS ago.

These things have been around for at least the last couple of years. They are made of a durable poly something or other material and are surprisingly strong! Plus, they have awesome handles! No more plastic bag handle breakage! AND they have a flat bottom so they sit up nicely in your trunk! No more apples rolling all over because you took that turn home too sharp!

Trust me - BUY SOME! You won't regret it. The only trick is remembering to pull them out of the trunk when you're at the store.......... NOT THAT I KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT! hehe

(And for all you non-locals.....you can get these things at Target and Wal Mart. Pick some up and use them anywhere and everywhere you shop!)

Replacement

So I have found my replacement to help get me through to January and season 8 of American Idol. HGTV's Design Star!

We just got cable after our recent move and I have to admit, I've turned into a complete HGTV junkie. I can watch episode after episode of design shows on that channel. And I swear each designer is talking about me when they list what not to do. ;-)

But I digress.......so I haven't actually seen the show before but it sounds promising! Anything that lets me talk back to the TV (like they actually care about my opinions) makes me feel good.

It airs this Sunday at 8pm (central.) I'll let ya know what I think Monday morning.

Ode to Red Dog

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.......

A B C 1 2 3

You know what I realized bothers me? People/toy companies that change the alphabet song. There's a little 10 minute program that comes on the Disney channel where a female singer sings the alphabet song to a group of children on a train. Only, it's not the alphabet song. It's some new hip version.

And this isn't just an isolated case. James has a Baby Einstein alphabet game that plays yet a totally different alphabet song. Hello people! Aren't we just making things way too complicated here? I mean, what's wrong with the classic version?

Infact, ALL of James' alphabet toys have their own version of this song except for a Fisher Price dog that sings the old version we've all come to love. So kuddo's Fisher Price. You got it right.

"Professional" Mom

I keep waiting for it to happen. For me to finally turn into a "professional" Mom. It's been a couple years now since I took on this job and the ease and groove that use to come from my old jobs has yet to hit me. I am in a constant state of rookie!

For example....when am I ever going to leave the house with everything I need again? I am notorious for packing the diaper bag only to find out I have no wipes. Or if I have wipes I have no snacks. Or if I have wipes and snacks I have no sippy cup. Or if I have wipes and snacks and a sippy cup I have no diapers. Rarely do I ever have it all.

Or, for another example...when am I ever going to have a seamless, productive day. Another thing I'm becoming notorious for is being a scatter-brain! I'll start a load of laundry only to be interrupted by a crying child and/or a huge spill and/or a dirty diaper. It's only about 2 hours later when my brain says "hey, weren't you doing laundry" and I enter the utility room to find the washer lid up and my clothes sitting in a tank of cold water.

I just have to laugh at myself! In my old "professional" career days, I could streamline my day so well that my projects were all done by mid-day. And they were done well! And in order of importance. Now ALL my tasks are of the utmost importance. Everything is critical - all day long. And I just can't seem to squeeze everything in and finish everything up.

I know. "Welcome to being a Mom" right? I look at my kids and I know it's all worth it. I love this job and wouldn't have my life any other way. But when can I have my brain back?

Water Baby

At the beginning of this H2O season, I was a little worried that James' love of the water was over. He wasn't that into getting wet and mostly just complained about being cold. I now have come to realize that it just needed to warm up about 10 degrees because the issue has totally reversed.

We don't go a day now without him asking "run to spinklers Mommie." He has completely warmed up to the water bug we got him for his birthday. And his new favorite love - going to the pool. When we first put his life jacket on him there were tears, tears and more tears. But when we put it on him at the pool - the lights went on and cooperation set it.

Cups N Cones

This past Friday I took James and Izzy to Cups and Cones in Steiner Ranch for ward playdate. Apparently they do storytime at 11am there on Tuesdays and Fridays. So not only can you get some delicious ice cream, but you get a story and a few songs to go with it.

I'd never been to this particular ice cream shop but I tell ya - they have a good thing going. I was a tad skeptical when I first heard we were going to an ice cream shop for storytime but this place has it going on! They had 2 train tables set up for kids complete with an entire Thomas the Train set. And if that wasn't enough there were plenty of random toys and books in their play area to amuze any kid. James of course was all about the trains.

He did sit down long enough to eat his chocolate ice cream and hear a story about a turtle and a hippo. It was really cute. He's got such an imagination right now. He was yelling stuff like "oh no turtle watch out - shark" Or "There's a tiger turtle - run!" Our days are usually filled with tiger attacks or shark attacks or bear attacks. Anything that will get the both of us running around the house. :-)

After the songs and stories the kids were set loose with hats and puffy stickers. James had a great time decorating his "Queen Baseball" hat.

Izzy chilled in her SUV and just sorta took it all in. She's recently discovered Red Dog and has eyes only for him. James went through a Red Dog phase where that was his only toy. It's nice to see the old boy out and about again being of good use.

Later that afternoon James decided it would be hilarious to blow a few raspberries on Izzy's exposed tummy. He and I got a huge kick of out that for about 10 minutes. Izzy warmed up to the slobber and soon was giggling along with the rest of us.

Bed Head

Now that's some serious bed head.......