Sigh . . . . .

Well, lately I have been totally neglecting my blog. I have been sooooo busy. I just had 20 people over for Thanksgiving and was scurrying like a mad woman to get my laundry room re-do done in time. Which I did. I will be posting pictures very soon. I just quit drinking coffee for 3 days and today is the last day of the experiment. Bedtime has been so much better for Little Buddy and nap time has been alot better too. Though he refused to take one today. Now that it's 3:42 pm, he must now stay up til at least 7 pm. That's the way we roll. It began a little over a month ago with this sleeping bit. Issues, issues, issues. It became impossible to put him down for a nap AND to bed at night. He was so tired and so was I. Very frustrating. I finally decided that most likely the coffee that I had begun to drink again after not since I gave birth to Littler Buddy was creating problems for Little Buddy's sleep. His naps became later and later and then he would wake up at 5 and 6 pm screaming and kicking for up to 30 minutes. It was horrible. So a few days ago I called my LC again and asked her if she thought it could be the coffee. She told me to do this little experiment for a minimum of 3 days so that most of the caffeine was out of my and Little Buddies system. I noticed results the very first night. Then more the second day. He is also not crying out and squirming all over his bed either. I was so happy to have my beloved coffee back to charge me up and help me through my days. Looks as though I will be saying goodbye to coffee again til Little Buddy weans unless I have conceived by that time in which case I will not be drinking it at all during my pregnancy like last time. Boo!

Anyway, I have not been able to blog like I like to and have not had much time to myself for much else due to the fact that my husband has been working all kinds of overtime and side jobs possible so we can have plenty of money for Christmas. I am very fortunate to have a husband who busts his ass to provide so that I can stay home and we can have all the things we need and a few things we want too. Thank you God.

Now my husband has a three day weekend and he had a string of residential burglaries last night and didn't get to sleep til 2 am so is now napping. Today is a wash. Tomorrow however we will be taking LB to hang out with grandpa and head to a movie. Ahhhhh, time alone. So precious and rare. So important the longer we have been together and the older that Little Buddy gets. I don't need fancy hairdos, manicured nails, girls night out, expensive clothes, wonderful furniture and electronics, etc. BUT . . . . . I DO NEED a night out with my husband once in awhile to see a movie or grab a bite together.

My scale is my worst enemy. I have through much of this time been working my ass off caring for a non napping, crabby Little Buddy and prepping the house and food for Thanksgiving, and re-doing the laundry room. So, without my husband around I have completely neglected going to the gym much of the time. Now I have gotten back into the swing of things. BUT, the horrid scale shows me that I have eaten too much over the holiday and need to keep myself more active especially in this cold weather when much of the time we are stuck inside. Tried to bring Little Buddy to the day care at the gym yesterday which went OK for a bit then he just stood around the caretaker all sad and crying. Enough of that. Some days, I do feel a little trapped into being inactive and fat when it seems like everything fights me when I try to invest in myself and being active. Blagh!!!

Anywho, I will be posting my laundry room pictures very soon. As I type, Little Buddy is pulling at my arm and saying, "Ma Ma!" "Ma Ma!" Ma Ma!"

Keeping my eyes on all your blogs meanwhile. How is everybody? I see a few of you also haven't been blogging as much. How's it going?

Check out this bizarre collectors Barbie I found at Walmart last night. Ha! Thinking it may give little girls nightmares, don't you? Love the doll though. I am a huge Hitchcock fan.

Almost forgot, any movie recommendations? Haven't read the book but I checked the trailer for Twilight and wasn't impressed. Comments, comments?

"Moh!"

So the other night I had my son on the changing table and I was talking to him while I was changing his diaper. We go over all the things on or near the face and have for months. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheek, hair, ear, etc. Lately, he has been into the eyebrow. Maybe he just likes how the word sounds. Then he started pointing at my moles. It took me a minute to realize what he was pointing at. To tell you the truth, unless I'm looking in the mirror, I often forget they're there. Then I said, "That's a mole." Then he immediately pointed at the other moles on my face and said, "Moh!" I died laughing. It was so cute. I just hugged him and laughed. There is this overwhelming feeling of love at times that I cannot put into words or explain. This was one of those times.

Thank God he was not pointing out the dimples on my butt . . . . . . . .

My Blog Is Loved?

Gulp, I can't hardly believe it. It seems like only yesterday that I wrote my very first post. Now, my blog has grown and changed and been with me through the good times and the bad. That sweet blogger pal of mine Stacy from Squirrel Chatter awarded me with an, "I Love Your Blog" award. I am stunned and extremely thankful. My very first blog award. All my hard work and commenting and caring for others blogs and feelings was not in vein. Now all I have to do is pick 7 bloggers to pass the award on to from here. Right back at you Stacy!!!

1. Goose Juice
2. In Blue Ink
3. Living On A Whim
4. Red Pens & Diapers
5. Wylie Mom
6. PanHandler
7. A Sense Of Humor Is Essential

Part of accepting this award is:

• Displaying the award.
• Linking back to the person who gave it to you.
• Paying it forward & nominating 7 blogs.
• Leaving comments on their blogs telling them they’ve received one. Enjoying the award.

Mothers Of Little Boys Work From Son Up Til Son Down

I love this sign. I want to buy it. Check out all that's fabulous and handmade on Etsy if you haven't already.

Camera Phone

Val's Big Idea

So, after living in our house for 4 years now we have remodeled every square inch of it, except the laundry room. Even the garage got new insulation and drywall at one point. I am completely nuts. I decided that we are going to re-do the laundry room before we have 20 people over for Thanksgiving. I know nuts! This will be a lower budget type re-do because after all it is only the laundry room, BUT I hate having to look at it all the time because it is directly connected to our kitchen and the door is open 99% of the time. Have a look at the current beauty of it. I personally love the gold floor tiles that have partially been ripped up. I have been patching cracks in the popcorn ceiling this week and am done with that. Now I have been working on small wall patch's too. Some larger areas will have to be sanded near where the circuit breaker was replaced and the wall was butchered. Basically, this whole re-do will mean patch and paint walls, popcorn ceilings, trim, and remove old peel & stick floor tiles and put down new ones. The whole thing shouldn't be too bad. My biggest obstacles will be the washer and dryer in the way AND the wall sanding without blasting our home/lungs with plaster dust, which gets EVERYWHERE! These are all the before pictures. Feel free to enjoy and comment, and yes, I already know that I am nuts!

Thumbs Down: Biokleen

I gave this natural automatic dish powder a try a few months back and am still trying to get through it. It left a film on everything and whitish water on the tops of everything. Yuck! It smells really nice though like grapefruit and orange. Chlorine & phosphate free with natural oxygen bleach. I purchased the 32 oz. size which cleans 64 loads because it is super concentrated. I keep trying to add it to the other stuff I normally use so I don't waste but use it up. I just do not feel comfortable using anything that leaves film on it where mouths and food will go. Even though it's safer than the toxic stuff, it's still not OK to eat it or the residue for that matter. Sorry Biokleen. Anyone out there have any other suggestions for safe automatic dish powder that doesn't leave a film or white water on the tops of the glasses, etc. (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg for a tiny box)?