Drive By Blogging

Just some useless tidbits from what's going on in my world. **Warning: May need some toothpicks for your eyes :)

· We FINALLY got our new driveway this week. I have taken before and after pics which I will post soon. I just love before and after pics of almost any type. I just stink at remembering to take them. Never imagined that asphalt could make a family this happy :)

· Little Buddy got his new custom made bed from "the grandmas" (grandma B does woodworking for a hobby). It is awesome. Though I am still a bit worried about the vapors from all the stain and polyurethane that we are all breathing in. Really beautiful bed but really strong smelling. Hope this passes soon!

· Trying to start solids with Little Munchkin but I don't think she's ready yet. She keeps pushing it out her mouth. I sure know she wants it though as she is like a hungry baby bird with her mouth open wide for the spoon but out it comes. She must be getting some though as her diapers have certainly changed. Sorry, TMI.

· Not too happy that my least favorite aunt has been showing up these days. I mean, already? At only 4 months PP too. Boo!

· Been having plenty of playdates with friends. Hooray! Feels wonderful to be able to just open the back door and let the kids run wild in the sunshine and fresh air and explore the back yard. Now if I could just get them to stop trampling on my nicer plants. Ooh, and also loving the mom chat :)

· Little Buddy is in the 98th percentile for height AND weight! Wow! Not sure how he got that big? Cop Dad swears it's cause he got over 2 years of breastmilk. I tend to think it's because of all the GMO's and hormones in meat, etc. Oh, and both of us are by no means thin and lanky people (though I wish). He resembles the kindergarteners that walk past our house on their way to and from school in the middle of the day.

· Stressing about potty training. When will he want to to do this? He can do the pee but has no interest cause there are way too many other things going on. Then I am so busy with baby that it's very hard to keep making him sit down every 30 minutes and try. Ugh! I wish I could be a better mom in the potty training area.

· Little Munchkin is now becoming more flexible with being able to go a little longer between naps and being able to not scream and be frantic in a store, car, etc. She's a very easy baby, I cannot complain. I am very excited for her to crawl and sit up and eat solids on a more regular basis. Then we will be a little more free to go to a restaurant or go on a date, etc.

· Dying to work in the yard! The "grandmas" have agreed to come over one of these days and play with the kids while I work in the yard and then I can nurse Little Munchkin and put her down for naps as needed. Cannot wait!

*"grandmas": We have a pair of grandmas (Cop Dad's mom and partner). I think I touched on this wayyyyyyy back when I first started my blog. Two, "together," wink and all. Yes indeedy. Just in case you were wondering. Not my ideal, but it is what it is. They love us and the kids and would do anything to be involved and help out. So . . .

I Had A Mind Once . . . . .

Quote Of The Day (With Picture)

(Taken by MV at Silver Lake 04.14.10, Warrenville, IL)

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. ~John Muir

How Do I Find New Blogs?

I am looking for some new blogs to read and I have no way to find them besides looking at other peoples blog lists. Then I tried blog searches on Google but that doesn't work too well. I like to have a mix of moms and cops wives and crunchy, earthy people, funny people and nature and art lovers. I don't really have that much in common with many sahm's as I am not living in the woods using wool diapers that I knitted myself, I also am not staying at home for any Biblical reason (not that there's anything wrong with that). Like I said, I like a good mix in my list. How does one find all the different bloggers? I have also tried pressing on some of the words on my profile and that doesn't really necessarily bring up what I'm looking for. Any ideas? Oh, and I am very, VERY, down-to-earth so the "Perfect Mommy" blogs are not my thing either. Appreciate any suggestions.

The Woman's Remote

Vintage Humor: Weight & Sex

More Nice Things?

Not sure what I did to deserve such niceness lately but I got yet another gift the other day. This one is from my pal Karen out near Bean Town, MA. Guess she took pity on me after reading my post about missing Samoas from the Girl Scouts this year. I don't have the heart to tell her that I already got a hold of 5 boxes that are long gone. Shh! Don't tell her :) Though she does read this blog so . . . . . . . .

Anyway, what a sweet gesture. She got a hold of a box of Caramel Delights (pretty much the same thing as Samoas but just baked by a different baker), and shipped them with a card all the way to me here in Chicagoland. Thanks KMB!  Miss ya and hope you are doing well!!!

A Funny For Dog Lovers

Why do I think these are so funny? Ugh, and there are a bunch of them in my Youtube favorites. Tee hee!

Very Nice Things

My pal Jen from over at Crickets Eye View brought these to me today as she dropped off my prize for winning her Macro Friday Contest (again). Can you believe it? These weren't even my prize. I won a set of beautifully personalized note cards which I will post soon (but my two shots of them came out very blurry and no amount of sharpening made the blurriness better).

So my whole house smells like fresh flowers, ooh that intoxicating hycathinth! She also picked up a book for mother's from a second hand shop. What a kind soul :)

I met Jen a couple years back when I offered irises on Freecycle. She, like me, is also a nature lover, and gardener and loves to find neat things to do. She is also my neighbor (kinda), who lives just one town over from me. We have kept in touch and even swapped more plants since the irises. Anyway, she has this cool blog which consists mainly of her photography and also books, projects, and thoughts too. She has a contest she runs most weeks on Friday's called Macro Fridays where you have to guess what the pictures are that she has cropped and zoomed in on. It's a blast! I have won three times already. My first two prizes were 8x10 prints of my choice from her blog.

If you love photography and/or possibly trying to guess at what pictures are and dare to try guessing in her Macro Friday Contests, you should stop by her blog! Thanks again Jen!

Live Like We're Dying

Late Birthday Gift

I just received this beautiful Drumm Casserole from my very, very awesome SMIL Leslie. I think she's the bees knees and we have very similar taste in most things. This is made from cast aluminum and can be used to bake casseroles in. It is used and I believe that she found it on Ebay. She has various other aluminum art by Drumm in her house and I am always complimenting it. I think it will be just put in my glass paneled kitchen cabinets for decoration. I love sun faces! Maybe you've seen Drumm art around or own some yourself?