Cheerios...they're not for everyone...

I always wanted a personal assistant...

Before I became a stay-at-home-mom I had HUGE plans for what my days would be like. I have a three page "to-do" list of closets to clean out, rooms to paint, things to organize, furniture to refinish... etc. Yeah right.

The good thing about being a mom is that I have my own personal assistant. He is every place I go, watching every thing I do... whether I want his help or not.

He plans the meals for the week...

He helps me search for misplaced items...

He helps me wash windows...

He helps me baby-proof... (does this defeat the purpose?)

So, the list keeps growing and nothing ever seems to get done. But I really like my new assistant.

Here we go...

This morning when I went to get my sweet little boy out of his bed...

...he was standing up.

Crap.

Just Doin' My Part...

So, I purchased Wal-Mart's new handy tote bags. Lately I just feel like I should be making a bigger effort to reduce my footprint (I have always wanted to say that... it sounds pretty cheesy). Anyway, seriously though, I have no real need for a bazillion plastic bags lying around my house. And let's just be honest here... I ALWAYS forget to take them back to the store to be recycled. So, I thought... hey... these are only $1 each... how bad could it be. Let me just say I LOVE THEM!!!! Not only is it helping the earth (even if only just a little) but these bad boys hold a TON of stuff. These are all of my groceries in 5 totes:

(by the way... I am not blurring out anything in the second bag... it is produce in a plastic bag)

Look at the capacity on those guys. Wow. Plus they fit ever-so-neatly back into the cart and STAND UP in the back of my car. No more fruits, veggies and diapers flying around the cargo area!

The only real problem is that it takes a little longer to check out... and the young couple behind me waiting to purchase sour gummy worms, Prilosec and condoms seemed to have been in a bit of a hurry. I guess they couldn't wait to eat those gummy worms! But major thanks to the sweet checker-girl that so carefully packed each bag... I really appreciated her attitude and patience.

So, if you have been pondering whether or not they are worth it... let me just say go for it!! They are fantastic!!

And then...when he turned 8 months old...

...we got him a pony.

$4.76

Dozen Easter Eggs - $.07

Easter Grass - $.02

Various Easter Candy - $.19

Shopping at Target after Easter and finding a huge bargain - Priceless

Spring Break

The fam came to visit last week. Here is what we did...

The Cousins

The cousins hung out Thursday playing video games, shuffle board and eating candy.

Then Friday we went to a local play zone...

Jack

Jack head first
Viv and G D (a little red in the face)

Oh yeah, this is what Caden did.

Fun Times!

This morning...

...we didn't have to rush.
...I didn't have to wake him up.
...I didn't have to cram him in his car seat while he protested loudly.
...he didn't have to wait "in line" for someone to feed him his cereal this morning.
...I don't have to sit at my desk feeling like I am wasting time.
...I don't have to deal with any bitter, mean co-workers.
...I won't have to come home drained and in a bad mood.

Why?

Because this is my first official day of being a stay-at-home-mom!

This is how we spent our morning!

(Although, you might notice that the pesky laundry basket has re-entered the picture!)

Special Report...7 months

So today the boy is 7 months old! He still has no hair or teeth, but he is making huge strides in other areas!

He still loves to grab things...including the camera!

He likes to eat chicken.
He loves his dog!

And he has decided to try his hand at crawling...
I realize these pictures really don't do it justice, but he actually pulls his legs up under him and wiggles his hiney. At this point, I had been video taping for a bit. By the time I got out the still camera he was tired.

Really, really tired.
Then he ended the day watching Cops with dad.
Also very tiring.

And sometimes he drinks from a sippy!

I have been leaving a sippy cup on the boy's high chair tray every night while I prepare his food. He usually just plays with it, throwing it from one side to the other... or on the floor. The other day as I was preparing his food I heard a funny slurping noise. I turned around to see this...

Are those not the cutest cheeks you have ever seen? He is pretty proud of himself!

They didn't tell me this in those pregnancy books!

The other day I caught myself looking at a largely pregnant soon-to-be-mommy and thinking how wonderful pregnancy was. When I realized what I was doing I quickly slapped myself back into reality... I am over it now.

Anyway, I was reading over some posts that I did not ever publish and I found this. After reading through it... I slapped myself again for thinking the aforementioned thought. How quickly we forget those miserable post-partum days (or the dark days)!!!

9/10/07

So, I know that I am certainly not a veteran at this motherhood thing...but I have a bone to pick with all my girlfriends out there! I don't think you guys were very honest about the whole becoming-a-mother thing! There are quite a few things that I am discovering that I NEVER read about in those pregnancy books or learned in childbirth classes! For example:

1) How long it takes to be able to comfortably sit again... I guess the answer to this varies a bit...but it takes a while!

2) That your boobs feel like bowling balls that you wish you could remove for showers, sleeping, walking...well, any time other than feeding your newborn.

3) What the hell happened to my stomach for cryin' out loud??? Will it ever look even a little bit like it did before?

4) How long it will be until I can fit into my regular clothes...still waiting on that one! The outcome has everything to do with #3.

5) That I would feel like a failure AT LEAST 4 times a day.

6)That no matter how mentally stable you know that you are pre-baby...you will question your sanity constantly after your little bundle arrives. I am not sure if it is lack of sleep, hormones, or that I am really losing it...but I am waiting for the voices in my head to shut-up!

7) That I would be able to look at my son and wonder when his real parents were coming to get him.



Let me just say... it really does get better! It seems that God has a sneaky way of helping you forget the bad stuff, and longingly remember the good stuff. And there is a lot of good stuff. I was pretty sure, immediately after I had the boy, that he would be an only child. But now, six months later, I can't imagine not doing this all again! I am still wondering about #3... I think my belly button is forever ruined!! But hey, it was worth it!

The Look

Dear Large Man at the Pharmacy,

I understand that you probably had no idea about the kind of day I had today. I know that you have no way of knowing that I started the day with an almost flat tire that I had to air up (only to find out that I really didn't know HOW to air up a tire) and which caused me to be late to work... and you probably didn't know about my frustrating work day, or the fact that I was called to the day care center to get my son who was throwing a fit to end all fits... or that I had just almost been broadsided by a teenage girl that had no idea what the speed limit was or, for that matter, what YIELD means. BUT I would have hoped that you could tell, between my toting a squirmy 6 month old on my hip, wrangling my wallet and keys and a pacifier and trying my dang best to open the dang door... I would have hoped you could muster up just a little bit of gentlemanliness and opened the door for me. I see now that I expected too much and some how lost track of the fact that manners no longer mean anything in today's society since you graciously waited for me to open the door for YOU, what with your empty hands and all. But I did want you to know that you taught me a valuable lesson this evening... okay, two valuable lessons. The first being that I am grateful to have a husband who still believes in chivalry (whom I can always count on to hold open doors... for me or anyone else) and the second being that I will be sure to do everything I can to instill that in my squirmy son.

Thank you again for your thoughtfulness,
Mrs. Little Adventures

Mr. Grabby-Hands and the Valentine's Day That Wasn't

My goal for this week was to take some super cute Valentine's Day pictures and send out some super duper cute cards to celebrate V Day and the fact that the boy is now 6 months old! But the boy has had a fairly high fever all week and has been in NO mood to pose for any pictures. I think he is finally getting back to his old self now, thank goodness, but there has not been much celebrating going on around here. Our Valentine's Day consisted of two tired parents and one grumpy baby... oh the joys of parenting... goodbye romantic evenings... hello poopy diapers. Anyhoo, it is all worth it and we are having fun despite the drama.

This video is one of the funniest snippets of film I have. The boy has become mister grabby hands. I can't carry him out of his room without him grabbing the light switch plate, the wall, the door... pretty much ANYTHING in his reach! He even grabs at things that are no where close to being in reach. His favorite items are the tv remote and the telephone. He can spot the remote in a pile of toys... from a mile away...in the pitch black darkness of night... he really has a gift for finding it. The stupid thing is the most dull shade of gray ever invented... but he can see it, no problem.

Well, Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

My plastic obsession continued...

Well, there is wonderful news at my house on the new baby bottle front! I have finally found some perfect bottles! You see, what happened is I quickly yanked all of the Avent bottles out of my bottle drawer and threw them in a bag on the counter. I decided that I would have to use the Playtex nursers that we used when he was a newborn. The drop-ins are safe-ish...but still weren't the best choice. We would have stuck with those, but the slow flow nipples were too slow and the fast flow nipples were too fast (and they do not make a medium flow silicone nipple). Caden was drowning in milk every time he ate... and he usually wore most of it. Anyway, thus started an even more panicked search for a new, safe bottle. We tried the Nuby, but the nipples were too small, so I wanted to try the Sassy MAM bottles, and after a huge issue with Target online... I decided those were not meant to be. Then the Angel of the Lord shown down his light to me and showed me this...

Okay, so maybe there were no angels involved, but I do seem to recall the faint sound of the Hallelujah Chorus in the background. It was an awe-inspiring moment. I am telling you, I have never been so excited... well, at least not this excited in the past month or so. This is basically the Avent bottle... nipples, caps and rings are all interchangeable... BUT the bottle is made of BPA free plastic! So, when I presented it to my boy he was uncontrollably excited... then he looked at me like "why have you been giving me these other bottles all this time... wicked woman."

So, let me clarify some things about my plastic obsession:

1) One person said to me "well the FDA says Avent bottles are safe, so we will keep using them." I say... seriously? Doesn't the FOOD and DRUG ADMINISTRATION regulate food and drugs and base many of their decisions on how much money they will get from the companies they support? But, don't get me started on the FDA, they have their own issues and I can only handle one obsession at a time.

2) Another person said "Well, you take a risk every time you put your child in the car... are you just not going to drive anymore?" I say...Listen, if I could put my family in a bubble and live that way forever I would. But in reality I think the husband would chafe and that wouldn't be pretty. But seriously, I can't control what happens the moment we step out the door each morning, I can't guarantee that none of us will become ill, get in an accident, or fall down a hole... but if I am aware of a problem that I can control, and there is even a 1% chance that something is harming my family I will prevent it in every way possible. Plus, now that I know about the problem, I can't sit by and pretend that it doesn't exist, that is just not how I roll.

3) This is only my opinion. If you were not yet aware of the dangers of BPA, then now you are do with it what you will. If you think I am crazy... join the club!

What's an avacado?

We're having what?

Should it taste like this?

I don't think I like it.
Nope, don't like it.
I CAN HAVE CEREAL NOW?
I LOVE CEREAL!!!

Where have I been?

I didn't realize until today that it had been such a long time since I posted anything. I thought I would take a few moments to catch you up on the happenings in the Adventure house.

First the Boy:

Well, my tiny little baby thinks he is a big guy. He is dangerously close to sitting up on his own...which is fine...but he is also dangerously close to figuring out how to crawl. He pulls his legs under him and wiggles his bottom. I have tried spanking him, but he doesn't seem to understand the correlation. I am not ready for crawling...seriously guys...I am not ready.

The Husband:

I don't really think that he has been up to anything out of the ordinary. Although he did do a wonderful job of hanging out all day with the kiddo last Saturday so that I could play with my friends at Stampin' and Scrappin' ( ALL DAY- like from 10:00 am until 9:00 pm...and man, we made the cutest Valentine's stuff).

As for Me:

My latest venture is in plastic. Yes, I am obsessed...OBSESSED with plastic. I recently read an article about the dangers of plastics only to discover that my baby's bottles are made from some of the most dangerous plastic out there. It seems that chemicals leach off of the plastics and into the food/fluid you have packaged in them. I am currently searching for a baby bottle alternative and obsessively searching through cabinets and drawers for the "bad stuff". I have added two links one for Safe Mama (my favorite) and Z Recommends...just in case you too would like to jump on the plastic bandwagon!

That is all for now!

Caden Eats Cereal...with a spoon!

The latest development in the Little Adventures household is learning to eat cereal with a spoon ! The boy has taken to it like a champ! I guess he just likes to eat!

In other big news...he has also started sucking his thumb! And sometimes sucking your thumb helps the cereal go down!

And finally...he has also started wearing SHOES!!!

Caden is 5 months today!!!!

This is just a little video (certainly not great quality...and without sound). I just think he is cute! I love to watch his fat little fingers at work!

...I was letting him play with paper...I may not win Mom-of-the-Year!

A Photo Year in Review

Here is a look back at 2007 for my family.