Thundering Waters

I don't know about you, but after the Holidays I get pretty bummed. Mostly because there isn't much to look forward to until March-ish because of birthdays. January and February usually suck for me. My dear Ashley heard from a friend or coworker about this cabin she and her family had gone to up in Cleveland, GA near Helen. It was a reasonable price, especially with a few people chipping in and not too far and something to do on the MLK Day weekend. Some of us had it off, some didn't but we decided to go for it. And boy are we glad we did! We had a very enjoyable weekend. We all took food up so we could cook breakfast and dinners together, and we basically snacked for lunch. The scenery around the cabin was beautiful. When you walk out of the house to the back deck the Chattahoochee River is literally right there below you. And the river splits over an island across the water from the house and so there were two rapids on each split and then again where it goes together. The Cabin is called Thundering Waters and for a good reason! It was gorgeous! We did some exploring Saturday but after that it started raining so we stayed inside and watched TV, played Wii, did a puzzle, some people read, napped, ate, talked... it was just nice. That's basically all we did the whole weekend. Sunday we went for a walk and that was really nice. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves and plan to go again and again!

My B

I just had to note a few things that Ben is doing right now I find either REALLY cute or REALLY annoying. We'll start with the really annoying first to end on a good note. We'll also see how this goes since he's making me hold him right now while I type.

The first annoying thing is this:
It frustrates me SO bad when he hits himself when he's having a tantrum or when he's in trouble... any suggestions? Part of me thinks I just need to ignore it and maybe he'll stop. But then I don't want him to think he can keep doing it, hurting himself is NOT okay. (Update: we got advice from a friend who said their kid did it and when they acted like they didn't care she stopped... so that's what we'll attempt to do too.)
The tantrums in general suck. But we DO ignore those for the most part. When we do he quits pretty quickly.
Most of these little tantrums are happening at night, when he's tired of course. And he occasionally will fight us to go to sleep lately too. We are thinking of getting him a toddler bed. But we have some time and aren't too stressed about it.

The cute things:
He's talking SO much. In almost whole sentences too. I stayed home today because I've got my usual January ickies and the first thing he said to me when I got him out of the crib was "Momma, nunny, ee-oh's" Which translates to "Momma I'm hungry, I want Cheerios". He likes to "CULLAH" a lot, which means coloring. :) He's actually now coloring next to me and just yelled "yay cullah!". Oh! I have an idea; since we live in such a technological society- I'll just add some MORE video!
My parents taught him to say "OH NO!" and now he says it to almost EVERYTHING, but it's really quite cute.
When he gets a boo-boo or hurt he comes up to me and points the body part that hurts towards my mouth so I can kiss it better. He'll even kiss my boo-boo's better too if I ask.
If he is in his high chair in the kitchen and I'm in a different room, he'll shout out "MAMMA!" just to make sure I'm still around.
He's really good about cleaning up. He likes to wipe his high chair and sing "me-mup" for cleanup. When it's time to get out of the bath, he'll put everything back where he got them from and watches the bubbles or water tornado go down the drain. He'll clean up pretty well when we ask him to put away his toys. He's a very good listener, when he wants to be of course. But then again, don't we ALL have selective hearing?
The kid loves to wear hats. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything he can fit on his head, he calls a hat.Him and Ryan give each other five when they see each other at night. They're so excited to see each other, but to keep it "macho" they high five. Pretty cute.
He LOVES applesauce (he calls them apples). He ate like 3 bowls full this time and had it all over his shirt. When I pulled his shirt off, the applesauce came off the shirt on to his face. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a LONG time! He just sat there looking like he wanted to be bugged he had applesauce in his eyes, but wanted to know what momma and daddy were laughing so hard about!He likes to sit on his beach ball and try and fall off of it. He likes to jump in his crib before he lays down. He says "chh, chh, chh" and then falls on his bum and then gets up and does it all over again. We tell him to get all his jitters out!
He STILL gets the hiccups when he laughs too hard. Sometimes even throws up... which I feel bad about, but I think it's pretty funny.
He keeps us on our toes. He's such a good kid and we are so lucky to have him. We get excited the minute we're done with work to rush to go pick him up. I only wish and hope and pray that I can be at home with him more in the future. It's my goal. I just miss him too much.

Goodnight Sweetheart, well it's time to go... ba-doom, ba-doom

Well, we say goodbye to my beloved parents "Granola" tomorrow... sad face. We have had a good time with them and are VERY grateful for their visit. Sleeping on a sloped, crooked bed and the floor and couch have all been worth it. Ben has enjoyed his Pumpa and Mah-ma SO much. He will miss them so much, and so will we.

Christmas 2009

Well, it's pretty dead at work today and it's unfortunate I'm AT work the week after Christmas but this will actually at least allow me some time to update the blog.

Last week was, of course, busy busy busy! Well, really from Saturday the 19th on it was! We had a party that night at our house and we had a lot of fun, but we spent most of the day cleaning and running and cooking. We had a great group of people come and play games with us, talk eat and enjoy each other's company. There were even other little ones for Ben to play with! Here he is with Addison!

Monday Ben wasn't feeling too good and had thrown up at the daycare. It wasn't a lot, he's just been really congested and it was mostly that stuff. Either way, he had a low grade fever so when we got home I sat and held him and he squirmed out of my arms and down to the floor on a pillow and fell right asleep. He slept there for about an hour and then woke up and we took him to my room on the bed and gave him some apple sauce and some crackers and had him take it easy on my bed. He rested on my bed and played and read books while I cleaned up our room. And then he eventually fell back asleep. I mean it's hard not to, our bed is WONDERFUL.

Tuesday was a crazy day. I had a wedding to take pictures at that night, so Ryan's mom agreed to pick up and watch Ben that night because Ryan usually comes with me to help and/or shoot candids if we happen to have an extra camera. Unfortunately because Ben hadn't been feeling good the day before- right about 4pm I got a call saying we needed to pick him up because he had a fever. The poor little dude. Luckily she was able to go get him and he got lots of Nana & Poppy love and broke his fever while he was sleeping and when we came to pick him up he was a sleepy sweaty little balled up dude! After that, besides a littel cough, he's been feeling fine. I still wonder though when those darn teeth are going to come in! And let me tell you what, I will be SO glad when it's all over with! No one really warned me about the kid getting teething for like almost 2 years! I only thought that was a baby thing! UGH!
My parents flew in from UT on Wednesday night. The flight went well for them and they arrived here safe and sound and even a few minutes early! We went straight home, except for a quick stop at Little Cesar's and ate and visited until we were all too pooped to stay awake anymore. Our plan for Christmas was to do a Collier Christmas on Christmas Eve- with our traditional dinner and other family traditions we've done my growing up years, like reading "The Christmas Whale" and the story of the birth of Christ, and opening up one present. Christmas Day we planned to continue the Collier thing in the morning and then all of us go to The Smith's for the rest of the day and have dinner there and open presents from that side of the family. Well, the plan worked out pretty nicely. Christmas Eve I was lucky enough to get the day off, and that morning we had to run some errands and pick up some extra food and then we went back to the house and mom cooked and dad played with Ben lots and me and Ryan helped and just hung out. Ben has a ball with "Papa" (he can't quite say Grandpa yet) and Grandma. Even in their old age (ha, ha!) they can still run around and play with him. They were both worried he wouldn't really know who they were and be standoffish, but Ben took to my dad right away- even the night we picked them up. It's probably because he was wearing a silly hat and Ben digs hats. :) Anyway, Delinda & Jen had come in to town for the Holiday and came over early evening and we ended up eating at around 7. The food was delicious and perfect. I made Cornbread Sausage stuffing for Ryan, which was delicious. Ryan made the reindeer brownies, mom make the Yorkshire pudding pictured next to the stuffing in the oven below, we had roast beef and potatoes and salad and trifle and everything was just yummy. But because we ate later Delinda and Jen had to go to her parents house right after dinner and Ben was pretty much ready for bed after that- so we didn't get around to reading or opening a present together... which was okay. Just missed. We did get to watch a little of the Nutcracker on TV though, and Ben enjoyed it while dancing with his deflated floaties on. So random!This is my cute nativity set I got for SUPER cheap online! Joseph's staff was broken, but super glue came to the rescue!

Christmas morning we opened gifts of course, this really being the first year Ben understood that when he tore the paper there was a treat inside! We had to show him how to do it and then he got excited when ANYONE opened a present and wanted to help them too. I'm afraid his grandparents spoiled him a little, but isn't that what grandparents are for?
This is how excited Ryan was to get Ramen in his stocking... but hey! That's his favorite flavor!Look, I was tired okay?We plan on taking some of the things he hasn't yet played with and storing them away until a birthday or something like that. One little dude who is perfectly content playing with a pitcher and a wooden spoon does not need 100 Hot Wheels and lots of other toys! We really want him to appreciate and respect his toys and his "things" and not to get too greedy. Anyway, after breakfast and playing some Wii (Ryan got me the Wii Sports Resort game that I was SO excited about) and Kidder (my sister's dog) throwing up LARGE amounts on my carpet and all of us laughing about it and all of us almost gagging.... we went to Ryan's parents house minus Delinda. Ryan's sister Kelly and her family were there, along with Uncle Tony as well. More presents were opened, one of which we gave Ryan's parents that turned out to be a tear jerker for my mother in-law! I found a frame that said "Grandchildren are a blessing" and it had 8- 4x6 frames that surrounded the saying and a couple months ago met up with Ryan's sister and her family and took pictures of all the kids individually and together plus a photo of their whole family together and the one of our little family in Chicago. Their family hasn't had a "family photo" since their first was born so it was good for everyone to have! Here Ben is with his cousins on Ryan's side of the family, and then his sister's family.We ate spaghetti and lasagna, Ben even got to eat at the big kid table this year! And then we enjoyed each others company. Ben blew blow fish face on the door out to porch room which was funny. And we even got a picture of our dude with all of his grandparents! Look how blessed he is!
It was a wonderful Christmas and we are very lucky to have had my parents here this year! What a treat for us! It was the best present I could have gotten and did get, and love them so much for making the sacrifice to come out here. They leave in just a few days so we are relishing the time left with them. There will be more pictures to come from the rest of their visit I'm sure!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010 here we come!

A little giggle...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z2vU8M6CYI

Go To Sleep My Baby...

Today has been weird. It's been super foggy all day. At lunch I went to go get some Christmas shopping done. I went to a shopping center near by that has a Wal-Mart and Cost Plus World Market and Border's and a Post Office so right now the parking lot is, well crowded. So I find a primo spot. And in it, is a lady's shopping cart she's slowly... I mean, SLOWLY unloading and has recognized the fact I'm sitting there in my car staring at her... waiting. She moved the cart, a little. But proceeded to unload her 15-20 bags of stuff out of her cart with out being considerate and maybe moving it closer to her vehicle so I could park and not keep people waiting behind me. I wasn't giving up that spot. There were no others. I called her a poo-head. Driving back to work was like driving in a 3-ring circus. People cutting me off left and right... pulling in front of me and then going like 2 MPH. Or pulling in the lane next to me and then drifting in to mine almost hitting me... all the while going about 2 MPH too. When I got my food from this two story strip mall, a guy from up stairs started talking to me... FROM UPSTAIRS. He was yelling about this crazy weather and he should've stayed in Florida and I'm looking around trying to figure out if it was really ME he was talking to... I tell you what, 'tis the season for the crazies! Sheesh! And to top it off, the already nutty coworker of mine was EXTRA nutty today, on a Monday to say the least. I'm thinking I'll go to bed early tonight!
Lately Ben's been super opposed to going to bed. That's really unlike him. He's still a good sleeper it's just getting him to get in to bed and to go to sleep that's been "challenging"... I mean, as challenging as we make it and as much as he makes it. And it's usually only about a 15 minute stint, so I'm not complaining... it's just an adjustment and new rules to follow. I think, and I don't blame him, he just wants to play!
Last night for Sunday dinner us girls decided we needed to make it a Christmassy feeling night. So we had the lights turned on, we had chili and yummy cornbread, and then we made sugar cookies and used cookie cutters and then decorated them after they baked and cooled down and I made homemade hot chocolate and the guys watch a Christmas movie (and slept). It was so fun! Everything was so yummy, I ate SO much and my stomach hurt after it all! Overall, we had a VERY LAZY weekend, but I'm glad because we needed it. Can you believe Christmas is next week? YIKES! Where does the time go?

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas...

Well, I feel like I've really been horrible lately at updating my blog. Life all of a sudden in the last couple months has become extremely busy. What with my full time job, Scentsy and doing quite a few photo jobs (which I'm so grateful for and love to do) has kept me very busy and otherwise occupied! That on top of being wife and mommy! There just isn't a lot of time to get everything done that I want to. Which is very apparent by the state our house is in! I did manage to get the Christmas decorations up pretty quickly this year, and we got our tree which is very cute if I do say so myself, and the house lights up! I love Christmas! My first Scentsy party went well. It was nice to visit my cousin Laura who I love lots. I'm glad she lives close and that we are close as well. The drive to Knoxville alone was a nice to time to clear my mind a little and Ben and Ryan had fun together. I'm so grateful that Ryan is such a good daddy and loves to hang out with his boy. They have a good time playing and running around the house, chasing Ally and laughing lots.
So, Ben is 3 months away from turning 2! Can you believe it?! He's really starting to become a little boy, but I have to remember he's still really my little baby. He's so smart and learns so quickly. He's very polite and says Please and Thank You and also Excuse Me. Of course they all sound like "peese" "dankdoo" and "que me"! It's pretty cute. He also really loves to watch Sesame Street and lately in the morning has been asking for "meh-mo" (Elmo) to watch when he wakes up. He's getting the bottom canine teeth in right now, maybe even one of the top ones... so he's been gnawing on his fingers a lot. He really loves his "acky" which is his black and white hoodie jacket, he loves to wear the hood and MUST have it zipped up. He says so many words now it's hard to keep track of new ones. He is starting to say 2 word sentences and is getting the rhythm of life down pretty good. Since it's Christmas time, there are lights up all over the neighborhood and he must've heard one of us saying "WOW!" to the lights because every time he sees them he'll either say "ite" or "WOW!" to them. And of course, I'm proud because I love snowmen and he apparently does too. Whenever he sees them he'll say "meh-man". He's a very happy and funny kid. He's got a great little sense of humor, and is VERY obedient. He very rarely isn't in the room with one of us, he doesn't like to be alone. He's been very good about not messing with the tree, but he's touched it to be curious and that's cool. We've been reading his bedtime story on the floor in front of the tree every night and I love it! What else... he's still pretty obsessed with trucks, buses and tractors and points ANY and ALL of them out whenever he sees them. He particularly gets tickled when he gets to see a tractor. They say he's doing really well at school, he behaves perfectly and they've told me that he's a "joy" to have in class! This is me being a proud mommy! He IS such a terrific kid though, I feel very blessed. When I came in to pick him up the other day he quickly pointed out all the pictures on the wall and told me what they were; bear, apple, snowman, elmo, cookie... he's learning so quickly! He loves the song "Nellie the Elephant" and will randomly just sing the "ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!" part in it. He'll tell me when he's got a poop, and come to me and turn around in front of me and say "see? see?". Probably because when I ask if he has a poopy diaper I tell him to let me see. :) He's pretty good at letting us know when he's gone potty. Hopefully that's a good sign of easy potty training? I'm not counting on it, but one can hope! He loves pizza, which he calls "bee-ba". The other night when we got home from work/daycare he was in the kitchen and he pointed to the counter and said "bee-pa?" and I said "no, no pizza tonight" and he said "cakie?" and I said "no, no cookie tonight". He tells us when he wants "bapple" (applesauce) and loves any kind of noodle type thing. Takes after his daddy!
This past weekend, I was able to do two different family photo sessions which were fun. Kids are a challenge to take pictures of and I have got to find my niche with them! But one of them was Ben's buddy Amara from his Kindercare and the came over to our house to do the pictures. Those two are just so much alike and have so much fun together (Amara is the little girl who was born on the same day as Ben and in the same hospital!). When she left we watched them go out to their car and Ben started crying and saying "Mara...no... Mara!". It was so sad, yet so cute! My parents arrive for Christmas in 2 weeks from today! YAY! I'm excited for them to get a chance to come out and visit. I've figured out that I've been very lucky in that just about once a year they are able to come visit. It should be lots of fun. And today is my big brother John's birthday! His last year in his 30's! Sometimes it's so weird to think that we're all getting older. I'm the baby and so most of us are still in our 30's but two of my siblings are in their 40's! Crazy stuff.
Well, let's see... we've got 16 days left until Christmas! YIKES! I need to get some Christmas shopping done! Happy Holidays y'all!

Happy December!

Well, sorry to leave you all on such a sour note and for so long! As usual, life has been a tad bit hectic. Ben started with his new daycare and has been adjusting. He's done well, but I think the whole situation was a little traumatic for him. Last weekend he wasn't feeling so hot, so I took him to the doc and he had an ear infection. My old roommate Jen had been staying with us because she had to be up here for work, and because Ben had a fever, he wasn't allowed to go to daycare Tuesday, so luckily Jen was able to stay here with him that day to watch him for us. We are so lucky to have such great friends. I feel very blessed to have them since I am so far away from family.
Wednesday of last week we headed on our LONG drive to Chicago to visit my sister Delinda for Thanksgiving. We hoped to leave by about 2:30 or 3 that afternoon, but with the way things panned out we didn't get on the road until 4pm and that's an 11 hour drive WITH OUT stops. On top of the ear infection, Ben is also sprouting teeth... somewhere. I think it's his canine teeth in the front, but I'm not a 100% sure. So anyway he was grumpy and tired for the first couple hours. Luckily he fell asleep after Chattanooga and then slept the entire rest of the way there, except for the few stops we made.We made it Chicago at about 4am their time, which means it was 5am our time. We were past the point of exhaustion and then had to find a parking spot and carry our stuff to her place in the COLD WINDY RAIN. We didn't get to fall asleep until 4:45am and then of course Ben woke up right around 2 hours later. That brings us to Thanksgiving. We went to breakfast that morning at the Golden Nugget close to where Delinda and Jen live and had yummy pancakes and other yummy things. A quick stop at The Market and then we went back to their house to start cooking! The area she lives in is really cool! And there you walk everywhere you need to go. So we parked the car and didn't use it until we left to come home. After our morning activities, we cooked the rest of the day and rested and enjoyed each others company. Ben was a little bit of a pill that day, but I think he was still pretty worn out from the ride and not feeling great. And neither was I, I had gotten a little bit of a cold before we left to go there and it just didn't get better. Ryan took him outside for a little while to walk around and get some fresh air while we were cooking. He took this with his phone, this is the street Delinda lives on. So cool! Thanksgiving dinner was DELICIOUS. We had Turkey, Ham, mac and cheese, sweet potato souffle, squash casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and for dessert I made my Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. YUM! That night we took Delinda's dog Kidder for a walk to get out and got to walk near Lake Michigan, she's like 2 blocks away from the water. And it was COOOOOLLLLDDDD but really fun. Ben loves Kidder (now) and so he enjoyed watching her run around and I enjoyed seeing the city from a distance in the dark.Friday we woke up and Delinda took us on the bus to The Art Institute of Chicago Museum. It was SOOOOOO neat! The transit system there is great and clean and very easy. Seriously, you just don't need to drive your car while you're there. So we got to see the building she teaches in and then got to go in the Museum for free and saw Monet and Van Gogh as well as other famous paintings. After we were done there we ate lunch at Benningan's across the street and then walked down the busy streets of Chicago along the Miracle Mile and visited Jen at work at Zara and went in a couple other shops and passed the Macy's Christmas Window displays. Ben fell asleep in his stroller. He was so bundled up his little arms stuck out! He definitely was a trooper! I tell you what, there are some interesting characters on those streets! Lots of people begging for money in all sorts of ways; simply shaking their cup at you or twirling lasso's, the Silver Man, playing drums on old buckets, puppet shoes, really just about anything to get some change. There were people preaching with their megaphones and little sound systems, there were people protesting fur... it was so interesting and exciting! The city in comparison to Atlanta is clean and lively. That night we went to eat at Renaldi's, a pizza joint, and found a threadless store! We were SO excited, I love their stuff and order it online for Ben and Ryan often and it was cool to go in to an actual store, so we got some stuff there. We took a taxi (which was an experience in itself) to the Lincoln Park Zoo and got in for free to the Zoo Lights they had going on there. That was fun, but luckily it was free because we didn't last long. We were all pretty worn out. But we saw lots of pretty lights, and well... just some penguins and a sea lion and that's about it for the animals. Saturday we didn't head out until after Ben's nap, we went back to town and stopped off at Millennium Park and saw some of the sculptures and art pieces there. My favorite was The Cloud Gate (or giant silver jelly bean) and the pavilion there was really cool too. From there we took the bus to the Field Museum where we got in free as well, it pays to have a Professor for a sister! We saw a lot of dead animals there. Ryan and Ben enjoyed it... I liked the dinosaur skeleton Sue. :)the building itself was pretty impressive too... but again, I'm glad it was free! I got some pretty cool shots of the city from the steps though at sun down and the planes flying "Sears Tower". We walked to the bus again and rode down to meet up with Jen for dinner at a pub where I ate YUMMY fish and chips. I could go for that again... anyway, after dinner we walked to see the tree lit up somewhere down there. I was SO pooped by that point, my throat was killing me and I was stressed out about Ben being a little bit of a stinker. BUT I did have fun, and I enjoyed everything we did and saw that night. Ryan was a gem and took good care of me and Ben. I sure love my husband... more than anything in this whole wide world. We ate ice cream and talked that night at the apartment. We left Sunday around noon and made it home 14 hours later! Blah... long drive. But luckily we both had yesterday off, and me again today. So we've rested and now it's back to reality. POOP. I am glad I have Christmas to look forward to. And only 22 days until my parental figures arrive for the festivities! So Chicago was SUPER cool, I wouldn't really want to live there I don't think. But I will love to go back and visit ANY TIME and get to see more of it's coolness. I am grateful for Jen and Delinda putting us up and enduring the whining and crying and all of our crap everywhere. It was such a fun trip and I'm REALLY glad we could do it!
Hopefully we will be able to get our Christmas tree soon and get some decorations up! Being around all the Christmassy stuff in Chicago got me really excited!

When it Rains, it Pours!

I don't like to complain very often, but this week has just plain sucked. Like big time. I don't think it's healthy to recount all the horrible things that happened, but I will be so glad when I have some time off. There have been so many changes, pressures, worries, lack of sleep, more stress, work stress... ugh. We're all worn out. Pretty much tonight we're headed straight to bed when Ben goes down for the night. He had a "trial" day today at the new daycare. I've called about 3-4 times to check on him and she seems to think he's doing alright. No crying, he went to sleep right away at nap time, he was playing outside last time I called, but he has been very observant today and not his usual playful self. Which worries me a little, but hopefully some mommy/daddy time this weekend will help him. Plus he's the type of kid that likes to check out his surroundings first before he feels 100% comfortable. I love that little booger and I hope this isn't messing with his ch'i. :)
Anyway, TGIF. Tomorrow it's sewing than off to Knoxville, then back home first thing Sunday morning then off to church to see if they really are splitting our ward. OH and then off to take pictures of Ryan's sister's kids. Will it ever end?

1 Week and Counting!

As of Tuesday of last week, we started a "Binky Intervention" if you will. The doc has encouraged us to do this since Ben was 18 months and since he's not taking it during the day we figured this might be a good time to try. On a normal day, he wakes up asking for it. We go in his dark room in the morning where he pops up off the bed with his blanky in tow and first thing he says is "Na-na! Na-na!" sometimes he'll even say "pweese?" when he asks for it. He expects it in the car too along with his car blanky. We had one clipped to the seat belt strap of his car seat and have since removed it. The first few nights were difficult for him, technically we started Monday night- or tried to and he freaked out. Ryan cut a slit in the tip of the binky and after that he couldn't keep it in his mouth with out holding it or biting down on it. He'd get mad and throw it on the ground and we kept telling him it was broken and didn't work anymore. But he'd pick it back up and put it in. Tuesday morning I gave it to him in the car because my nerves were on edge already that morning and I gave in... that night when I picked him up and then at bedtime he asked for it. He cried on and off halfheartedly for about a 1/2 hour in his bed. I went in and told him I loved him and rubbed his back and he fell asleep shortly after a short stint of crying. Same thing the next night, only this time Ryan went it and told him he loved him, rubbed his head and Ben stopped crying shortly after that, if not immediately, only after he'd cried for about 15 mins. Each night got better, but every morning he'd pop up off that mattress asking for it! After he'd say "Na-na!?" I'd say "No-no!" and he'd get the picture. So since this has happened, we've realized EVEN MORE what a chatter box he is. He now sings himself to sleep or talks, which is cute- but we have to occasionally remind him of the goal insight, SLEEP! So, since this is our family journal and it's possible that our other kids might be in to binkies like Ben was, I need to remind myself of some tips that seemed to work.

• cut the tip and act as if it was broken to the kid.
• hide them, keep them out of sight!
• DON'T GIVE IN!
• pretend you don't know what one is if they ask (ha, ha! My favorite...)
• when they do ask, find ways to distract them with someone else that is appealing
• cold turkey... that's the only way to do it.
• DON'T GIVE IN!
• tell them they're doing so good, such a big kid with out it and lots of love.
• remove any pictures of the said child with it in their mouth out of sight for a little while so they don't remember. Out of sight, out of mind.
  It's kind of weird that it's in the past. But it kind of feels like it has been for a long time! We are proud of our little fella and with us for sticking through it, especially when there were times we ALMOST gave in. One thing down...This last weekend I started a sewing class with Ashley, Martha and Brittany being taught by Ashley's mother in-law Darlene. I am pretty excited, call me Martha Stewart, whatever... I don't care! We're making PJ's and the ones I'm doing are going to be for the little mister. I got a pattern for me too, but I'll wait. The BIG problem is, I don't have my own sewing machine! Luckily Darlene is letting me use hers while at the class. I am glad to have something to help improve myself, and to learn something new.
  We also had a play date with Ben's old pals from the Kindercare. It was a pretty day and they had fun running around the playground and eating snacks together. They are cute little kids I'll tell ya.Speaking of childcare, unfortunately the home sitting didn't work out. I wont go in to detail, but we believe that it's for the better. There is a daycare near us- literally 5 mins out of our neighborhood, that Ben and I checked out today. I had to take work off to go find somewhere new to take him. It was kind of sprung on us and we weren't prepared with a back up place. I really liked it there, it's open and bright and cheery and there seems to be a lot of good learning with art and music and even potty training and I feel like it's a really good place to be. Even better than the Kindercare we had him at and cheaper too! Not as cheap as we were paying the sitter, but his happiness and health are the most important things to us. I hate to have to introduce him to a new setting, and I hope it doesn't mess with him any- but I am SO grateful the Lord sent us such a easy going and adaptable little dude.I have my first Scentsy party this weekend with my cousin Laura in Knoxville, TN. I am a little nervous and feel a little unprepared- but it will be a good learning experience. She has experience in this sort of thing too so she can give me some good tips. I really hope this grows in to a big thing for me, because even more so after this whole childcare drama this week- I just want to be the one taking care of him. Anyway, same story different day so I'll refrain.
  OH and in other news, we're heading to Chicago to see Delinda and Jen for Thanksgiving. Despite the unhappiness of my in-laws, which I'm really sorry for, I am SO excited! We've never been there and it will be all tight and crammed in the car for a LONG drive and tight and crammed in the apt where they live, but all will be well. I am excited to see her and the sites of the Chi-town and where she has moved her life to. I love my sis, she's one of my best friends! And yes, we are driving! 11-12 hours... ugh, I'm not looking forward to it but we can make it. We've done it before. AND we'll be doing most of our driving at night so hopefully (crossing my fingers) Ben will sleep the majority of the time. And OH MY GOSH! Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away! Which means my friends that Christmas is a month and a half away! ACK! Where does the dang time go?

Happy Halloween!

From our little Skeleton Kid!

I have been really proud of our bargain shopping lately. We have been in need of some items for Ben's new babysitting situation, like a pack n' play to sleep in and a booster chair for him to sit in to eat lunch and have snacks. My mother in-law has been letting use both of hers so we needed to get our own. We have a pack n' play, but it's what we used as a bassinet for Ben when he was born and up until about 2 inches ago he could still fit in. He's outgrown it now and has to sleep diagonally in it if we want him to fit! He deals with it, but it's not nice of us. So back to our bargain shopping, I got him a booster- but it wasn't necessarily a bargain- but we like it and he does too. However, Ryan got a pack n' play from Salvation Army in excellent shape (a little hard to collapse but not because it's broken or anything) for $5.99! On the decorative and not really necessary side of things, I got a really cool glass chicken (sounds crazy and weird and Country which is NOT me but not horrible for other people) at Goodwill for $5.99 as well! Old Navy is having an additional 50% off clearance and I got a nice sweater shirt for $2 people. All of Ben's clothes he's wearing this winter we either got as gifts or I got on clearance or for sale. I haven't paid anything more than $6 for an item of his clothing forever. Well, besides shoes- but those are always a little more pricey, but I still got them on sale.
I also got a "free" gift from Kodak Gallery loaded in to my account that would apply $20 towards my order, plus I got an additional $15 off coupon through my email=$35! SO I got 20 photo Christmas cards (which we all know aren't super cheap), several prints including an 8x10, a porcelain photo ornament, and something else (I can't remember what) all for around $6... just to cover the balance and shipping. We also each signed up for the Chicken Wave on Chick-fil-a's website where you enter to get free stuff. We got free chicken sandwiches! I have been enjoying finding these little loop holes. I still need to find as many coupons as possible on things as I possibly can only to spend like $2 on $100's worth of groceries. That's my goal one day.
Wait a minute... aren't grown ups the only one's that get excited about this kind of stuff?