Tell All Tuesday 11/30/10

• My items arrived in the mail yesterday from my big Old Navy/Gap purchase. So excited about them- minus the fact that I was excited to order new clothes for me and when they arrived and I tried them on, I was disappointed. I should rephrase- I only bought two things for myself. One I liked- the other- i felt frumpy. That will be returned immediately!
• I love Craigslist. We just put on there our Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo, the deluxe play mat and gym and our bouncer. Last night we sold the jumperoo and the playmat. Just need to sell the bouncer and I can start listing other items. It's nice to get some of the clutter out of our home. We're done having children, so no point in hanging on to them. Nice feeling to get rid of them, but kind of sad with the finality of a chapter closing.
• Owen is talking up a storm- all of a sudden. Full conversations on the phone, full songs in the backseat.... I'm so proud of him. it's so fun to sing and have him sing along- minus the fact that we are constantly singing- "rain rain, go away"- even on sunny days! He also seems to be learning a lot at daycare. I always thought because I am not a stay at home mom that my children would be delayed a bit because I can't work with them. I dont worry about it anymore- he's catching up just fine. He knows certain colors- red, orange, yellow, purple, green, black. We're working on the others. He counts to 12. He sings the abc's... we're getting there!
• Have I mentioned that I'm still working on the art project? yep- it's seriously never-ending.
• The bar is coming along in the basement. Cabinets up, granite and sink ordered. I'm so excited to get this project finished. And- I even got Sean to hang some of our Crate & Barrel artwork that I purchased- last September (as in a year ago).
• I love Pink. I dont know if I have mentioned that one or not in my little tell all tuesday posts, but I seriously love her new song. I start singing obnoxiously (and I'm sure way off-key) whenever it comes on.
• I didnt do a menu for the week. Feeling slightly unmotivated. We did pizza Sunday, tacos Monday and tonight is spaghetti and meatsauce...I guess I'm winging the rest of the week. Maybe lots of chicken dishes since our Sam's club run included stocking up.
• I think I have our holiday cards picked out... I have it narrowed down to five different ones. Just waiting for my code from shutterfly to place my order- and I guess to make a list to make sure I'm ordering exactly how many I need.

Ornament Exchange

This sounds fun!!! I am going to take part! Stop on over to Karen's Blog or Shannon's Blog to participate!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

I can't believe it's Monday! I remember leaving work on Wednesday and being so excited for a 4 day weekend and feeling like I would have a ton of time off.... how is it that these days just fly? I left work on Wednesday at about 3:45, came home and grabbed Sean and the babies (Hunter didnt want to hang with us) and we rushed to Sam's Club to pick up our peanut oil for the turkey. So- as everyone was out at the bars for the biggest night out of the year, we were at Sam's Club and then home.

Thanksgiving morning, we woke up to pouring rain. Why did we not think to check the weather report? So- we quickly logged on to weather.com and saw that it was supposed to rain all day. I can't deep fry a turkey in the rain so I sent Sean to the store to buy chicken broth so I could cook the turkey in the oven. Thank goodness it's really easy to make and it wasn't my first rodeo! So- I prepared the turkey breast and it went from this

to this

It was very low-key this year. We only had my parents over, so didn't totally overdo it with food. My mom made stuffing and candied sweet potatoes and I did the turkey, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. My plate looked like this- yum!

Looking at my plate- how proud am I for portion control? As we were enjoying our food, we realized we forgot the dinner rolls in the freezer. Oh well.  Think Quinlin enjoyed her meal?

Owen was happy too. Notice both Quinlin and Owen enjoyed Thanksgiving festivities in their jammies. I didnt even put make up on- pure relaxation!

For dessert, Hunter made his strawberry cream pie. He was so excited to be able to contribute and made two of them- one for us and one to take to his dad's Thanksgiving feast with that side of the family.



Hunter got picked up at 4pm and spent the weekend with his dad's side. He texted us that night while eating his dinner with them that they had dinner rolls. Thanks Hunter! Sean's sister stopped over on her way home from their parents house and we hung out for a little bit. And that was it!

Friday was a day of cleaning and organizing around the house. I was not about to brave the crowds shopping. No urge at all- though I'm hoping to do a little something for cyber Monday. We had our bar top measured for the granite that morning and really did nothing the rest of the day. Saturday was another day of nothingness- though I did put some items on Craigslist so am hoping to get some bites- and then I got a text from my friend Kelli looking to see if I wanted to do something that night. Of course I did. We ended up planning a low key night with our friends Megan and Melanie and went to Champps (horrible service and my fantastic burger that I raved about here was pretty disappointing) and then to see Love and Other Drugs. 

It was really good!!! Full of nakedness that I wasn't prepared for (I almost felt like I was watching Skinamax) but it was a great story and Jake Gyllenhall was pretty edible. I never was a huge Jake Gyllenhall fan but I'll tell you what, I am now a fan... He actually is coming out with a movie (early next year called the Source Code that looks really good)

I got home about 12:45am and Quinlin was quick to wake up Sunday morning fussing about 5:45am. This is why I dont stay out late anymore. She put herself back to sleep and we got up about 7:45. I got an email from my boss so had to run into work briefly Sunday morning while Sean cleaned the house for the babysitter (isnt it sad when you need to clean for the sitter?). It actually was one of Owen and Quinlin's teachers from daycare and her first time over so we did want the house to look nice. She came over and off we went to the Browns game. We were in a suite but the weather was sunny and not as cold as I thought it would be- but still glad to be inside. We won the game 24-23 but barely. We got home about 5pm and Hunter came home shortly after. It was nice to have him back- nice to have all of my children together again. 





Crib Transition- Progress

Well- we made progress last night! Owen, who has been sleeping on the floor has now upgraded to sleeping on his crib mattress on the floor instead of straight on the floor (aka folded comforter that acted like his bed). It's the little things and milestones, right? I'll take it. At least I dont feel like a hillbilly as much. So- he happily laid in bed, never got up and woke up in a great mood after a good night's sleep! We were going to rush out and finally get his full size bed this weekend but now think this may have bought us a little bit of time. Between finishing the bar and thinking we needed to get a bed, I kept seeing our fun money slowly disappear. So- we will see, but the urgency isn't quite there!

Excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I'm hoping work will do an early dismissal but I haven't heard anything so I think I am here until 5pm. The daycare closes early so Sean just has to make sure he gets the kids. Owen was healthy to go today which was good. Hunter spent the night at Michael's last night, so he wasn't around this morning even if I needed him to take care of Owen.

After work I think we are going to venture to Sam's Club and Babies R Us. Need to stock up on the peanut oil for our deep fried turkey and diapers and wipes. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! In case I don't post over the next few days, wishing my little group of readers a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Holiday Cards-Shutterfly Photo Cards!!!

Now that we received the proofs to our holiday photo shoot, I need to start thinking about finding a card to put them on! I was browsing online and found some great layouts at Shutterfly. I am considering many different options- but would like to have a layout to include one family photo, one picture of each individual child and maybe a group shot of all the kids. Too many photos you think? What do you think of these layouts? I think these are my favorite so far:

Simple and classic I think....Now to decide what photos to use!

I purchased Shutterfly thank you cards for our wedding and loved the way they turned out. So- I was browsing around and saw they have so many other product options as well! Photo books, calendars- home decor! Really- home decor? I never knew!

How cool is this?

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/wall-decals?c=50060&p=4064

I cant wait to have Owen's sports room have a wall decal of him. How fun is that? And- I could always use something like this to  showcase our photos:

http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor/mounted-wall-art

Possibilities are endless! This is almost too fun! Check out http://www.shutterfly.com/ today!

(they are running a cool promotion for bloggers... check it out)

Tell All Tuesday

• Owen is sick...again. The poor kid cannot catch a break. Can catch colds, but not a break. Luckily my parents are over watching him for the day. Too bad I didn't live a bit closer to them. I feel bad that they have to drive 45 minutes to help us out of jams.
• Then the question becomes, if Owen can't go to school tomorrow, is it wrong to ask Hunter to watch him for the day? He's home from school anyway for Thanksgiving break and it would maybe only be for 5 hours or so because Sean would get home early... hmmm.
• I got the proofs back of our holiday photos. I love them- no clue how I am going to decide!
• We started shopping for the holidays for Hunter. I'm so excited for him to open some of his gifts! I even managed to buy myself a few sweaters. I was so excited to get a 40% off coupon code for Gap and Old Navy. Total Score!
• I feel bad that I do not plan on buying much for Quinlin. She'll be spoiled by her grandparents and aunts and uncle so I feel like she's too young anyway to really understand.
• I am afraid of puke. When Owen gets sick, I instantly think he's going to throw up and leave the parenting to Sean. I feel like a horrible mom that I am not as comforting... though- when I know he isn't going to throw up- I am the most comforting person for him.

Weekend Recap/ Menu Planning Monday

We had a very low-key weekend. Friday, I picked the babies up from school and went home and picked up Sean, Hunter and his friend Michael and we decided to go o McDonald's for dinner (so much for my menu last week). I hadn't set anything out to cook and with Hunter's buddy over, we thought it would be fun. So we drove up there so Owen could experience the McDonalds playland. Do you think he liked it?

He loved every second of it! So did Hunter (though he's probably too cool to admit it). Quinlin too- you could just imagine her little legs kicking with delight. I know she wanted to get out and play- but no way! We came home and instantly threw them into the tub to try and disinfect them!

Saturday was a crazy morning. Our contractor came over at 8:30am. Sean's parents (yes- both as his dad was released from the hospital on Friday) came over about 9:00am and our photographer, Colleen, came over at 11:30am. Sean's folks didnt stay long- maybe an hour- and as soon as they left, I kept trying to get Owen in camera mode. We practiced saying cheese, wearing a santa hat. I bribed him with candy so he would wear his sweater (good stuff- I should add bribing to my Mom of the Year post). All in all, the pictures, I hope, turned out great- and no- we weren't naked as I once feared because I couldn't find outfits. I kept it simple- we didn't need to color coordinate- just look nice. So- that's what we did. My parents came over during the end of the photo shoot to pick up Hunter for the weekend. They took him to Billy Elliot (play) and then to the new Harry Potter movie. Sean ended up making two trips to Home Depot and I think, one trip to Lowe's for materials that the contractor needed. He became very stressed about the whole thing- the money the bar was costing, the time it was taking, having to bring Owen with him... so we stayed in the remainder of the day.

Sunday morning we went to my parent's house for brunch and to deliver our queen mattress that used to be in our guest room. Three kids in a four bedroom house eliminated our guest room and we had hopes of building a guest room in the basement so saved the mattress. Well- that theory didn't work as the box spring wouldn't make it down the stairs and into the tight turn to the room that would have become a bedroom. So- off to my parents house it went. We left there and rushed home to watch the football game (not sure why we were rushing since we had dvr'd it and could listen on the radio). The game was frustrating... and my fantasy team faired no better. so- losing day all around.

So- nothing crazy and exciting... you know you're getting old when you no longer have the fun, crazy stories from a weekend and are in bed by 9:30.

On to the week. With a short week, I haven't put too much thought into our menu. Our menu planning monday, inspired by Org Junkie:

Sunday- baked chicken breasts with broccoli
Monday- Vidalia Onion Roast hoagie sandwiches with horseradish and a side of cauliflower
Tuesday- bbq chicken and roasted potatoes
Wednesday- tacos
Thursday- Thanksgiving! We're having fried turkey, sweet potatoes and stuffing (thanks mom), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls and Hunter is making a strawberry cream pie courtesy of what he learned in home ec class.
Friday- leftovers
Saturday- burgers and hot dogs

Hopefully I will do a little better sticking to this menu than last week!

Haircut!

In preperation for our holiday pictures tomorrow, Sean finally took Owen to get his haircut! It was getting pretty shaggy- as seen here:

So- he picked him up from school and off they went. The finished product:

He looks so cute- and old. It's amazing that with every haircut, they seem to age. I miss the little curls he used to have prior to getting his haircut. To be reminiscent...

Look how young he looks? This was last Christmas.

me and my boys:

So glad it's Friday! Looking forward to the weekend. Sean's dad gets to come home today so we'll see how that directs our weekend. We've left things loose for the most part. We have the contractor coming tomorrow to build the frame of the bar and of course the family pictures that at this point, we'll all be naked for because the outfit situation isn't coming together. Other than that, I hope to relax!

Mom of the Year

Inspired by an email conversation with my friend Karen this morning, I decided to do a mom of the year post- some of the things that I have done lately to inspire winning this award!

• Mom of the year- At my work, we get served breakfast, lunch and dinner if we work late enough. Yesterday, in addition to what they were serving for lunch, they had a soft pretzel, pb&j sandwiches and rice krispie treats. They also had cake to celebrate the November birthdays. I grabbed everything- everything with the intention of bringing it to Owen and Quinlin's doctors appointments to help calm them down after their flu shots. Well- I didnt really like what I had grabbed for lunch (the shrimp was good but the flank steak had a spice to it) so I ate the sandwich. I then got hungry in the afternoon and ate the cake. I was still a good mom- I had the krispie treat- until about 3pm when I ate that too. So- no treats for Owen.
• Mom of the year- we're planning for our family pictures on Saturday. I have been so consumed with what the babies were going to wear, what I was going to wear, I didnt give any thought to what Hunter was going to wear. The kid is growing like a weed too- I can't imagine any of his nice sweaters will fit him that he wore last year. How did I forget Hunter? And- I better try on Quinlin's dress- or her outfit goes out the window too.
• Mom of the year- Quinlin still doesn't own a single pair of shoes.
• Mom of the year- Are you wondering how the crib transition has been going? Owen prefers to sleep on the floor. So- we tuck him in on his makeshift bed- aka folded comforter on the floor- and that's where he goes to sleep. Even if we put him in his crib, he crawls out and sleeps on the floor.
• Mom of the year- on weekends, I count down the hours until naptime.

My Muscle Man

As I have mentioned before, Sean and Hunter have been working out.... well- they were- we've been a little sidetracked with Sean's dad so they need to get back into a routine a bit better. Owen wants to do everthing they do- including working out. We were hanging out in the basement one day and Owen disappeared. We found him- in our little gym...

showing off his muscles- just like daddy

both arms!



Tell All Tuesday

• I am so thankful for my parents and in-laws. Between the two of them, my kids have been watched, my laundry has been done and my house has been cleaned. The stress of having the situation happening with Sean's father has left us constantly running around and the house has fallen apart. It was so nice when I came home after work to a clean home. Thank you moms!
• Hunter starts basketball for his rec league on Thursday. I'm excited for him- I think he got on the team he wanted with one of his really good friends.
• Still working on the big project at work. I took a class about artsystem tracking and it seems totally overwhelming. We'll see how it goes. I am hesitant to use it though until I have everything done in the project. Then- I think it will be such a great addition.
• I entered Quinlin in a cutest kids contest through facebook. If you want to vote (please vote), all you have to do is log into facebook and become a fan of Colleen Reed Photography. Go to the Cutest Kids Contest and "like" photo 16. (Thank you!!!)
• Owen went to sleep in his crib but crawled out overnight and slept on the floor. He prefers it for some reason.
• My fantasy football team won again- woot woot! We are on a roll winning 4 in a row. I'll take it but wish my fave NFL team would be doing better!
• I have a neverending to-do list... even with my clean house- there is so much to get done.
• I have family photos on Saturday for my holiday cards- can't find an outfit and Sean thinks I shouldn't spend the money when I have a closet full of clothes. I guess, in the long run, people won't be looking at us anyway- more looking at the kids.
• Cool giveaway on facebook... A Wedding Wish. She's offering up a $50 gift card to a store of your choice! Check her out!
• My menu planning already has failed as we ended up getting take out yesterday since Sean's mom was over seeing the kids. Hopefully my thawed out chicken will still be good today? yikes!

Weekend Recap

We had a pretty good weekend. I stayed in on Friday night and attempted to get some cleaning done in the house. Fail... I can't clean with three children. I think it's impossible. I need a cleaning lady...

Saturday we had a contractor over to work on the cabinets in the basement bar. Those got installed and look great. Owen loved him too- he kept wanting to be down there to help. The contractors name was Walter and everytime I heard Owen, I thought he wanted water, but no, he wanted to go help Walter. Sean's family came over that afternoon which was nice, but the visit was too short. I love seeing my kids with their cousin!

We went out Saturday night for some Mexican and bowling. Had a great time out- there was 12 of us- so the competition was feirce between the guys!

On Sunday we went to the football game. Lost in overtime but it was such a great game. Hunter has really been into it this year, so its been nice taking him to more games now that he really enjoys it. We came home and my kids were terrors. Owen didnt nap on Saturday or Sunday (I knew he wouldnt) and when Quinlin would need something, he would decide he needed something too. I couldn't wait until bedtime!

In other news, Hunter didnt make the basketball team. He got cut for his ball handling. Pretty positive though- the coach liked his hustle and his shooting. He wasnt disappointed- he knew he wasn't going to make it. I love that about him. He has such great self-esteem. Owen attempted potty training again- and earned a sucker (yay Owen)! Quinlin learned to pull herself up and stand in the crib. All she wants to do now is stand. Chuck (BIL) was holding her on Saturday and she even managed to stand a bit on her own (maybe about 4 seconds). It will be nice when she's walking- though I'm sure I'll be eating those words in no time. I have to watch her like a hawk- pulling everything out of her mouth. She even put a golf ball in her mouth the other day. Then I caught Owen playing under the sink and he had a dishwashing capsule in his mouth. Do my kids think I'm not feeding them? Maybe I need to stay on top of my menu planning!

So- Menu Planning Monday- courtesy of Org Junkie!

Sunday- leftovers
Monday- Chicken Piccatta and pasta
Tuesday- Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday- Chinese Chicken and Rice
Thursday- Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Friday- Baked Chicken and vegetables
Saturday- maybe we'll order out... by this time, I may be tired of cooking!

Quinlin- 10 Months Old

Where has the time gone???? Quinlin is 10 months old (as of yesterday). 9 months brought a whole lot of changes and you have been amazing!

• You have been healthy (knock on wood) so I don't have an accurate weight, but my guess is you're about 22 pounds.
• You are still in size 3 diapers
• You are wearing mostly size 12 month clothing. All of the pajamas are 12 month and most of your clothes are... though- we somehow manage to get your 6-9 month jeans up those adorable chunky thighs!
• You love to eat! Now that you have discovered table food, you could care less about baby food. You like your independence and love the ability to feed yourself. The daycare always compliments on how much you love your food and what a good eater you are (which explains those chunky thighs)
• You are only drinking 3 bottles a day. You now have a totally different food routine. You wake up at 6:30am for school and drink 5 oz, eat breakfast about 8:30am at school consisting of a banana (usually) and cheerios. You eat lunch at 11:30am, get a snack and bottle about 4pm and then dinner at 6:00 or 6:30pm.
• You love to sleep. Bed time has been pushed up to about 7 or 7:30pm- which makes me sad, but you play so hard during the day that you're usually ready for sleep.
• You love bathtime. Now with your new big girl moves, bath time is harder as you just want to climb out and stand up.
• You love stealing Owen's toys but do not like it when he takes them back. Sibling rivalry at its best!
• You finally have started real crawling, as opposed to the army crawling, though still fall back on it from time to time.
• I get such joys driving you and Owen to school in the mornings and listening to you "speak" to each other. You blow rasberries at each other and laugh and laugh. Or you take your socks off and Owen tells on you.

I cant believe in only 2 months, you'll already be a year old! I'm going to have to start looking at the calendar to plan your first birthday party! I love you baby girl!

The Crib Transition- Days 4 and 5

Well... not even back to square one. We put him back to bed on Wednesday night and he didnt want to go in his crib. He pointed to the floor where we still had a comforter and pillow and wanted to sleep down there. So- Sean tucked him in nicely and he didnt budge... we scooped him up again about 9:45 and put him in the crib. We're thinking now that maybe we'll skip the toddler bed and go straight to the full size... we just haven't bought a full size mattress yet. So- then the other question comes to play of what do we do in the meantime? do we continue to let him fall asleep on the floor? Do we move the extra queen mattress that we have in our house to his room and let him start sleeping on that? and- if we do that- will he be able to go from a queen to a full eventually? Yikes! I did not have a hard time like this when Hunter transitioned to a bed...

Thursday night was the same... after running up and down the hall for a bit, he finally got settled to go to sleep... on the floor. So- I let him fall asleep and again put him back in his bed about 10:00pm (at 9:30 he was still awake, but on the floor).

we'll see how this weekend goes- I'm wondering about naptimes the most!

Owen- The Crib transition- Day 3

As Monday night didn't go too well, we decided we would go back to the crib for night 3. We realized he was scared of his comfort zone being taken apart, so we wanted to make life go "back to normal" for him.

One happy camper!!!



Or so we thought... He instantly climbed out of bed and layed on the floor. We had a comforter on the floor and a pillow in case he had fallen out of bed. Well- that is where he wanted to be. So- we let him fall asleep on the floor and I scooped him up and put him in his crib about 9:45pm. 

The crib transition

So- the first night, as posted before, did not go well. Owen was constantly up and down the hallway and did not want to go to bed. This is my good sleeper- the one who loves bedtime- the one who when little would wave to you basically saying "i'm done- get me to sleep" and we would carry him off to bed. This is my good sleeper who now I would say, "Ok- Owen. 5 more minutes and then time to say night night." 5 minutes would pass and off to bed he went. Sound machine on- lights out- it had always worked like a charm.

So- Sunday night was the first night- ending in the crib being backward to the wall.

Monday night, we thought we would try this again. So- we did the whole 5 minutes to bedtime routine and brought Owen to bed. Bed, switched back to normal, but still with the front removed. Owen ran around down the hallway a few times and we finally got him settled in bed. He cried and would lay there (realizing he could get out if he wanted to) but would just cry and cry. Sean and I took turns getting him settled, talking to him, rubbing his back. Poor little thing was so tired too. I came to the realization that he was "scared" of his bed. This was his comfort zone and to not have the front on it was really throwing him off. I dont think he is ready to move yet to his big boy bed. So- we ended the night back to square one... with the bed turned and facing the wall. Owen went in it and fell asleep within minutes.

Owen- Look what we can do

Another eventful thing happened to us this weekend...

The day finally came. We have been hoping that it wouldnt get here and we could keep him contained for as long as possible. But- he did it. I was watching the football game on Sunday and Owen would not nap... he kept calling for me, kept throwing things out of his bed, kept spitting- all the things to get my attention so he could keep playing. I left him in there for about an hour and a half hoping that he would finally go to sleep. I was watching the game and Hunter was on the computer and we both heard a drawer close and then Owen say "mommy?". We looked at each other and both went to the hallway. There was Owen standing with a shirt. I couldn't believe it.

So- we had to start converting the crib.

Sean looks thrilled doesn't he?

Owen loved helping...

 Quinlin thought she was helping too. She just sat there and looked cute.

 Then she saw Winnie the Pooh and tried to eat him.

 Owen did not know what to make of his new bed..

 We tried to put the bumpers on it still, but he wanted nothing to do with it.

 Our finished product...

After running up and down the hall for about 30 minutes, our finished product turned into this:

We'll see how this "transition" and experiment goes...Updates to follow.





Weekend Recap

We had quite an eventful weekend... all of which concluded with me not getting anything accomplished. Everything I planned to do, did not get done with the exception of about 7 loads of laundry- though I still need to put it all away so i dont feel like the task is completed. I didn't do any cleaning, any organizing. I didn't get around to any of the items I'm hoping to sell.

On Saturday we did some food shopping and then just kind of hung around the house. Hunter had his buddy Michael sleep over and Quinlin was extra fussy so we were in bed early. On Sunday, I went to see my parents and do a little shopping. Owen tore my parents house apart. He really is such a cutie- such a curious little thing. My mom and I took the babies to Target and I was able to start on my holiday list and that was about it. On my way home, I had a call from my MIL telling me that my FIL was supposed to be back at my BIL's house but they hadn't heard from him. I told her I would keep my eyes and ears open for him in case he came by, but didnt think anything of it. By 6pm, everyone was worried. They had filed a missing persons report and my BIL was already out driving around trying to find him. By 8pm, Sean was getting really worried too. He ventured out to drive around town as well- driving through my FIL's old neighborhood, looking for any sign of him. Nothing. We really were thinking the worst (with his history which I won't get into here). At about 10:30pm, we got a call that he had been found- about 2 hours south of us after getting picked up by the highway patrol for going the wrong way on a 4 lane highway. Thank god he didn't hurt anyone or himself. Sean, his sister and mother all drove down to pick him up and they got back to my inlaws at about 3:00am. It definitely was a scary night that has seemed to have opened the doors to some other issues.... hopefully between us, we can figure out what happened, get some answers, and prevent anything like this from happening again. :(

I'm Coming Out of Hiding

I am admitting to my "real" friends and family I have a little blog.... I better run back to old posts and make sure I didn't talk badly of anyone. LOL. Just kidding. Welcome to my blog if you're reading it for the first time. Nothing exciting to share today- it's Friday (woot woot) and I am excited for the weekend. Oh wait- Hunter almost got a 4.0 for his first quarter in 8th grade. I am so proud of him... the one class he got a B in, you ask? Home Ec.... I guess it could be worse. But, when I was in school, Home Ec was an easy A class. That's ok though- the classes that really mattered he did well in. And- he's to the point where I can't help him with his homework because it's HARD. So- kudos to him! We'll see if he can keep up the good grades this quarter! He's already telling me he won't get all A's as this quarter he's taking Art. As long as he tries, that's all I can ask.

Not a whole lot planned for the weekend. Staying in this weekend to catch up on cleaning and try to put together baby stuff that we will be selling on ebay/craigslist. Sad to get rid of things, but nice to not hang on to things we no longer need. Other than that, hopefully we'll finally watch Clash of the Titans. We've had this netflix movie for 3 weeks now and I keep saying we're going to watch it and never do. Sean will go to the football game on Sunday so I will head out to my parents I think with the kids.

Have a great Friday!

TV Talk

I didn't really enjoy 16 and Pregnant this week... I found myself feeling really sorry for the girl. I found the show to be more "staged" and "forced" conversations for the camera. I found the guy to be immature and irresponsible. Very disappointing. Instead of finding it to be good tv this week, I found it to be more of a true look into a poor girl falling for a stupid guy and being left to raise the baby alone. Thank goodness for her parents.

What else have I been watching?
Desperate Housewives- I am still watching after all these years. Sean thinks its stupid, but it is a show I can't miss
Glee- was disappointed it was a re-run this week. Looking forward to next week and the Bon Jovi song! (I love Bon Jovi)
Grey's Anatomy- I thought last week's episode was really good. The documentary crew following the doctors around for a tv show. I thought it really tied everything together nicely from the shooting at the hospital to where they are today.
America's Next Top Model- I'm an episode behind but am liking this season. Not sure who I like the most. Jane maybe? and the blonde with the gap in her teeth- I like her. The tall girl is so awkward, but does take great photos.
The Challenge- always entertaining- both the actual challenges and the social aspect
The Simpsons- Owen is obsessed so this is on in our house all the time. I remember liking it when  I was in 7th grade (I think) and can't believe it's still on tv now. Great humor...he doesn't get it but loves it.
Dancing with the Stars- I liked Audrina... disappointed she is gone. This is #2 go-to show for Owen if he cant watch Simpsons, he asks to watch Dancing. I think Jennifer Grey is my favorite out of all who are left. Why is Bristol still in?
Modern Family- we love this show. It's nice because we watch as a family together every Wednesday night. Cam is by far, my favorite.
Survivor- we're an episode behind- but this is another one that we all watch together. I was disappointed that Jerry Jones got voted out so early in the season. I'm sure CBS was disappointed too.
Life Unexpected- I have like 6 of these shows DVR'd. I really like it but need a "me" day so I can catch up.
Oprah- I dvr this one for the few and far between good episodes. I would have thought being her last season, the episodes would be stronger. I watched Portia De Rossi's episode this week. Very touching as she talked about being a lesbian and having eating disorders... I felt bad when she brought up being a lesbian to her mother and the right things to say and the wrong things to say. Of course, you always want what is best for your children to have the happiest life possible, but I wouldn't turn my back or make my children feel less worthy, if they chose to have a different lifestyle.

I think those are my go-to shows at the moment... I really only get to watch one show a night but I cherish that time.

My Big Girl

This crazy smile... I miss her. This post will be entirely devoted to Quinlin as she now likes to go to bed around 7pm so I don't get to spend as much time with her during the week as I want. It makes me sad. So- a little post all about her...and how big she is getting. This weekend, we said good-bye to the infant carrier. She was starting to exceed the weight limit and was just too heavy to carry around anymore in it. This makes me sad too...I really am done having a baby...she'll be a toddler before I know it.

 We installed the convertible car seat this weekend. I really love this seat. It's the same one Owen has and I couldn't pass up a good deal. They have been sitting brand new and boxed in our basement since June, so it was finally time to get them in the cars! She's a little unsure of it...

I tried to get a picture of Owen (oops this is a post about Quinlin) and Quinlin together in the backseat. I kind of cut-off her head a little bit. 

Owen was all about smiling for the camera until he realized how bright the flash is when it's dark outside.

Now she looks a little happier...

There's my boys big brown eyes!

We also had to lower Quinlin's crib this weekend too. Baby girl realized how to pull herself up and start eating the crib. So- the crib has been lowered and the teething cover has been removed from Owen's crib and placed on Quinlin's. Let's just hope Owen doesn't decide to start biting his crib again!