Being sick in the snow

With all the chaotic running around with Christmas we've all caught a cold. I can handle when I'm sick, it's not fun - but when the kids are sick it breaks my heart. I've been up with Amelia because she's been flemmy and throwing it up, with the barking dog cough. Landen's a trooper and coughing and has a runny nose but doesn't act like anything is wrong with him. So, it's not like we're on our death beds or anything, but it's no fun and I just want to be better so we can really get back to normal.

Here Landen and Amelia are taking a rest from the dreadful cough and snotty nose.

Landen and I ventured out into the snow yesterday morning. I wanted to take him out Friday afternoon when the big wet snow let up, but he didn't wake up from his nap until it was dark. I was bummed because I wanted to build a snowman and the next day the snow was already light and fluffy and wouldn't stick together. We had a good time anyway - for the 1/2 or less we were out there. We made snow angels, went sledding (sort of), pretended to make snow balls, but just ended up picking up snow and throwing it. Then Landen got snow in his face (oops - my fault) and snow in his boots so we came in for some hot chocolate with marshmallows

Here we are - Landen is on his snowmobile sled that I'm pulled and the other he's ready to come in, but grouchy because he didn't really want to come in.

It's all over!

It's been almost a week since my last blog post and we've been on the run pretty much everyday since then. As much as I'm going to miss the Christmas lights, music, tree, the anticipation for Christmas to come, snooping through presents, the goodies and the rest of it, I'm really ready to get back into our regular routine and settle down. Today seems to be a bit back to normal and that's only because we are stuck inside the house with a snow storm happening outside as I write this.

Over all Christmas was really nice. We had Christmas Eve with my family as we usually do. We went for lunch because Mass was at 4:00pm this year. We went to a different Parish then I had been to... very small compared to our church here in town. Amelia was pretty good and Landen was a nightmare - overly tired and extremely irritable. I felt like the entire place had all eyes on us, but my family said it wasn't that bad. Then we went back to my parents house for presents - always a fun time! Christmas day we had our own little Christmas here at our place. Landen wasn't quite into Christmas as I thought he'd be, but it was still a lot of fun. Then we went to Kurt's parents for lunch and more presents. Afterwards to his grandpa's for more food and presents. It was a long couple of days, but a lot of fun.

I made a photo montage below of a few of the Christmas pictures we took. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The last few days since Christmas we've been running here and there for everything that has been going on. There are two birthdays in my family - Emily and my mom. We didn't make it for either, but that's normal. Yesterday we went to RIPS for good ol' chicken with Kurt's family. Grandpa leaves for Texas Sunday for a few months and it's kind of a tradition. Today, we cleaning, laundry, trying to fix the tub (ugh) and relaxing. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

I'm Dreaming of A White Christmas (said in a deep manly tone!) Ha ha

Friday morning my sister Sara came and we baked cookies. It was so much fun! We made scotcheroo's, peanut clusters, chocolate covered pretzels (dark and white), those peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss on top, and Reese's peanut butter cups. Yum, yum, yum! We're planning on taking them to Christmas Eve at my parents house. We've been doing pretty good at staying out of them and just eating the defects if we need a chocolate/sugar fix.

I so enjoy when my sisters come up and visit. Sometimes it's a bit hectic when everyone is around at my parents house, but when it's just a few of us we always have some good talks. With several interruptions from Landen, of course. He's quite the entertainer and is always around for a good laugh. Sara got in trouble by him for touching Amelia's head - she has a soft spot, duh - and he let her know it. =) That was our fun on Friday.

Yesterday we went to Wal-mart to get the basic things we needed to take for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that I had forgotten or was just told we needed to bring. What is it with people waiting until the weekend before Christmas to get their Christmas shopping done? Not the food, the presents - ahh! I seriously would freak out on someone. I'd just grab whatever I saw and get out of there as fast as I could. I was just trying to get through the aisles to get food, without hitting someone while pushing a lop sided, defective cart. How do I always manage to get those carts? And why wouldn't my husband trade me? Yes, we now have to take two carts.. lol! I have Amelia and the cart with the stuff we actually need, Kurt has Landen and the cart with the things we don't really need. Oh.. how things change once you have children!

Now I shall go and finish the laundry, make a peppermint pie, iron clothes for tomorrow, get things around for tomorrow (all the junk we have to take with us), and try to load presents up so Kurt can't take sneaks at his gifts and figure out what they are. =) If I'm not on here again before Christmas. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Book Reading

I've been doing a bit more reading lately then I usually do. I think it has a lot to do with that I don't have anything I have to read at the moment. I finished reading Theology Of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West a couple weeks ago. Same author who wrote Good News about Sex and Marriage. I had a blog post about it awhile back. Anyway, this is an absolute wonderful book. I think I'm going to read all of Christopher Wests books and hopefully go to one of his conferences that he has (someday). I had heard so much about him in the past and I'm so glad that I finally took the time to read these two. Back to to the book. This one really helps explain the Church's teachings on Marriage, Sex and how it all relates with God, Church, the Eucharist and now a days. Maybe nobody hears to read about what books I think are a must read, but if you do care... get this on and Good News about Sex and Marriage. They're great! Happy reading.

Christmas is almost here... lalalala

Only four more days till Christmas! I'm getting more and more excited. He he. Mostly because I got my husband and AWESOME gift and I really, really hope he hasn't figured it out. Grrr! He has a way of just knowing what I got him some how - sneaky little twerp! Maybe it's that I get so excited I slowly start saying things and he eventually is able to figure it out. Oh well! I'm off to watch my VH1 show with the hubby - "100 Greatest songs of the 90's". We've been having some good laughs... nananan the chinese chicken.. ate a drumstick...whatever the rest of the words are.

Swinging Monkeys

Yesterday we met with our friends Rebecca and Ashton for a little Burger King play land fun. Not that this particular Burger King is all that fun, but it's 1/2 way for both of us and something the kids can run do while we visit. Landen was particularly goofy with Ashton. They're very much alike, running, crashing, screaming, swinging like monkeys, pushing, hugging, a few kisses that Ashton was a bit surprised about, but overall it was a great time.

Then we headed to my parents house. Landen got to play in the snow - finally! He had a grand time and when we got home was repeating everything he did outside. Snowballs, sledding, snow angels, running and whatever else. He wore his snow suit for sometime when we got home while doing all the above. Kurt made me laugh because he said Landen looked like the kid from A Christmas Story - I can't put my arms down! and actually got Landen to say that to me while having his arms out. Ha ha!

Anyway, I guess I thought there was more to our fun yesterday. Maybe it was just nice to get out for something exciting instead of sitting home or going out for groceries or something. I don't like to go out in the cold. Brrr! Well I suppose I should head off and finish my long list of yuck to do around here now that Amelia is asleep.

A goofy looking kid

As I was taking a break from my long list of chores to nurse Amelia this morning - Landen comes in and says "mommy look me." Maybe this picture isn't all that funny to some, but he just looked so goofy!

I'll probably be back later to post about all the fun we had yesterday!

Thursday Thirteen - Someone Is Gonna Have a Laugh

Okay, so I had some fun doing the Thursday Thirteen last week. I thought I'd do another one this week! Click on Thursday Thirteens to check out others.

Want this badge?

13 Things I bet some of you didn't know about me!

13. I have an associates degree in Nursing - I could work as a Registered Nurse, if I wanted too. Along those lines - I failed out of nursing school my first semester by 1% point from lack of studying or caring. I didn't pass the NCLEX exam the first time either.

12. I was in a group called "Jungle Boogie" with my pen-pals. All for N'sync and BSB (Backstreet Boys for those of you who don't know) fans. Why am I even admitting this!??! Sarah, you know you loved it! Just call me Andi-Roo Litrell. LoL!

11. I used to work at Wal-Mart. So did my sweet hubby. I only made it a couple of days as a waitress and my mom quit for me. Ha ha! I used to work as a CNA and an old guy put his hand down my shirt while I was in training. Ahh - gross.

10. I have strange toes - my grandma calls them "pixie toes" someone else told me they looked like "monkey toes". Grr! I'm still trying to find where in my family tree these strange little nubs came from. I'm still hoping I don't pass them to my sweet little children.

9. I broke my arm when I was little. How did this happen - all from me thinking I could be some sort of acrobat, biking maniac. Oh and did I mention - the blue horn I got for my birthday? Oh yea, I will never get one of those for my kids. LoL! Lets just say - don't go biking down hills that are too big for you when your first learning a two wheeler & try to honk a blue horn (at a cat) - if you do, you'll end up running into an electric fence and have a broken arm for the summer.

8. I'm scared of the dentist :::drill:::, the dark, and anything I see or think I see after watching shows like Law and Order. I used to run in the house from my parents house at night in fear that a raccoon was going to come out of the barn or shed and get me - yea a raccoon getting me. Hey, at least I wasn't as bad as my sister who would park in the yard. Ha ha!

7. I'm the oldest of ten children, my little brother is 7 and my Landen looks just like him. No my parents are not divorced. Oh, and I was home schooled until college. Fun, Fun!

6. I used to be obsessed with the Chicago Bulls - enough said!

5. I have somewhat of an obsession with coats. I truly could buy a new coat every time I go shopping. Right now I really want a green pea coat - oh I want one so bad.

4. Friendship Books were/are cool! How come I never got back 99% of the ones I sent out? I loved having pen-pals and I traded stickers like crazy. Once we had a pedophile from prison who wanted us to call him "grandpa" and be his pen-pal. My mom being the awesome mom she is turned him in to the police.

3. I had both my babies at home and 100% natural. Amelia was a water birth baby. My mom delivered both my children! At one time I actually said I didn't think I could have children because I wouldn't ever be able to walk afterwards. Not sure what I was thinking when I said that one! Now I wouldn't do it any other way but natural.

2. I went deer hunting with my dad for three years. It was so fun at the time. I actually got a deer my third season. That was the last time I went. Now I leave it up to my hubby, father in law, dad and brother. My sister and I both shot at the same deer, as we were sitting next to each other, several, several times. Straight on, the biggest thing EVER. We missed. Everyone was disappointed in us.

1. I used to think I wanted to be a veterinarian. I had a 4-H cow named Baby (strange name) and literally cried for weeks when my dad finally had to sell him. I raised a baby lamb, who I actually slept with a few times. I had a pig named Wilbur, who I really thought was a runt. I tried to raise three raccoons that were abandoned by their mother - I woke up every two hours to feed them with a syringe - they all died. I had a pot-bellied pig that died on a heating pad while I was trying to save it. Now all we have are fish and I couldn't be happier. =)

Oh Christmas Tree - whhhhaaatttt am I?

I thought I would play along this morning, since I got awaken entirely too early, I'm groggy and not motivated! April had What Kind Of Christmas Tree Are You? on her blog and wanted others to join in. Here I am - A Traditional Tree! I would say that's right. Join in too and leave the link so I can see what you are.

You Are a Traditional Christmas Tree

For a good Christmas, you don't have to re-invent the wheel. You already have traditions, foods, and special things you bring out every year.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Our Ornaments

Jenn had a cute blog idea of posting Christmas ornaments that were sentimental to you and wanted other people to play along. Jenn has had her post up for awhile and Sharon has a great blog sharing her ornaments too. I'm finally getting mine up. I'm not the most sentimental person - truly I'm not. Sometimes I can be about certain things, but I'm the girl who's wedding dress is in a garbage bag in our basement - sad, but true. So I picked out a few of the ornaments I liked and have some meaning.

I like this one because it's the first ornament we got after we were married! My mom and dad got it for us. I like these statue things.
I got this little pregnant bear when I was pregnant with Landen. Her hands are resting on her belly. LoL! I always do that when I'm pregnantThis is our family ornament for this year. Unfortunately they put Landen's name on the girl penguin and Amelia on the boy. Oh well... you have to have humor! It's still cute. We've been getting a family ornament every year so far.

We have a lot of hockey ornaments. This one is my favorite though because I like the marshmallow snowmen! This is Kurt's.

Every year we get the kids an ornament. I thought I would post both Amelia and Landen's first ornament. Actually they have more than one, but these are my favorites. Landen got a tractor this year because he's really into tractors.

I got this ornament the Christmas after we miscarried our baby. I hate to be a spectacle and was almost kind of like - "why did I get this" after I opened it, but I do really like it. Every Christmas when I get this out, he'll be remembered at this time as well.

This is Amelia's baby's first Christmas this year. Kurt's mom always finds the marshmallow snowmen and I just love them. Cute!

So there ya have it folks. A few of our ornaments we have on our Christmas tree. For those of you who haven't played along do. It's fun and I'd like to see what you have. It doesn't take that long to snap a few shots of your ornaments and you can always delete them later.

Chocolate is yum, yum in my tum!

I made my first ever chocolate dipped pretzels Sunday afternoon. They turned out quite yummy! Some are white with sprinkles, some are brown with sprinkles, and the others brown with white drizzled on top. They're addicting so Kurt is going to take them to work tomorrow. I can't control myself with chocolate anymore, so it's better to have a few and give the rest away then sit and literally eat an entire tin of them in one day. =) I also tried some snow covered chocolate balls - ick! I have a feeling they might get tossed - ha ha. Kurt had the ingenious idea of putting marshmallows inside them so they'd taste better, that didn't help, just made them hard and the marshmallow all leaked out. He did come up with a brilliant idea of chocolate covered rasins - yummmmm! Landen and I have them about all eatten already. He he! I'm planning on trying peanut butter cups this week - as soon as I get the ingredients. Yummy!

I finally buzzed Landen's hair. I've been cutting it for along time now, but I thought we would try something more like his dad's hair cut this time. It turned out - okay. I'm not sure how to blend the longer top hair into the buzzed bottom hair. Does anyone know how to do this? It doesn't look bad, but I need to learn how to actually do it correctly for next time. He looks different though! He needed a hair cut really bad before we did this anyway - but before it was just short all over his head.

Before and After

He's such a little trooper when he gets his hair cut. He hates the hair in his face, but for the most part he'll sit in his chair and watch a movie and be really good. Anyway, that was my other task for this weekend. I can't wait for Amelia to have longer hair so she can wear braids or pig tails. I just have to learn to do a french braid - they look cute in little girls hair. =) Mine are always really loose and look like you've slept on it for a few days without doing your hair.

I still want uh hula hoop

Yesterday Kurt and I went and finished our Christmas shopping. My sister Rebecca came up and watched Landen for us so we could get his presents and actually be able to take our time and look around. I have to admit I really missed the little guy. He gave me a hug and kiss when we left and said - "bye mom and dad". He was so happy to spend time with Rebecca - he was actually waiting and waiting for her to get to our house. I'm glad I have someone a truly trust to watch him. I have a hard time leaving him, especially for that long of a time and having us so far away.

We spent our $50 Gordman Bucks. We got more Christmas gifts and a few things that we probably didn't really need. Then we went out to dinner - to Lonestar. I wanted a steak so bad. We got entirely too much food and brought stuff home for lunch today. I couldn't even tell you the last time I've been out to somewhere like that. We usually do the fast places because we have both the kiddo's with us. Amelia was okay at the restaurant. I ended up apologizing to the people that sat around us - however everybody (and I mean everybody) around us said they liked her little crying/cooing and she was adorable. That made me happy that nobody was bothered by me attempting to nurse the squirmier and enjoyed seeing a little one, being a little one. =)

Kurt took half day off of work today. Unfortunately he's been sick most of the day with one of is head aches. I suppose the Netti pot is probably not going to do what I was hoping it to do. Landen and Amelia are already sleeping as well. I guess it's just me an my lonesome to do whatever I want to do. I probably won't be on the rest of the weekend (well who knows) so everyone have a wonderful weekend.

*Maggie, the picture above of Amelia is all for you*

I Won!

I just had to post that I won Donna-Marie's contest for her book - Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine Month Novena for Mothers-To-Be. To see how she picked a winner(s) please click here and then here. As I said before her blog Embracing Motherhood is wonderful and should be visited regularly. Thanks again Donna-Marie, you are a very generous and loving person. I'm sure I'm going to really enjoy this book.

Thursday Thirteen

Usually I don't do the Thursday Thirteens, but I do like reading them. I thought Sharon's was so fun today that I thought I would tag along and do one too. =)

13 Things about My Life from 2007

13. I started my very first blog. I actually didn't even know what a blog was until this year and now I love posting to mine and reading others.

12.I joined my SAHCM (stay at home catholic moms) e-mail group. I've met a lot of great people and learned a lot of things.

11. Remodeled two rooms in our house. Living room and Bedroom.

10. Started the year out three months pregnant.

9. Joined our churches FAMILIA group.

8. Had my three year Anniversary to my wonderful husband Kurt.

7. Overcame my fear of dropping, smothering, or killing my child and started Babywearing. Something I really love now!

6. Tried a new hair cut - shorter than I'm used too. Really scared me to try it, but worth it in the end. I actually got it cut again a couple of weeks ago and went a little shorter! I think it's cute.

5. Seriously started a prayer life.

4. Had a baby girl in July and experienced an awesome water birth at home!

3. Let someone other than Kurt and I actually watch Landen while I wasn't around.

2. Met a ton of great new friends - online and not!

1. Turned 25, watched my hubby turn 27, and my baby boy turn 2!

And become a mother to a girl and boy.

I'm melting, I'm melting

This is my sense of humor. I think this is funny!!!

The flap jack king

We brought the exer-saucer up from the basement this past weekend for Amelia to try out. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about it, but Kurt thought she would like it. She likes it for a few minutes, if someone is playing with her. Landen has been getting a kick out of helping her play with the little toys on it. I still think she's a bit young yet, but once in awhile for something different to do, it's fine! Here she is having a good time.

Then of course I have to mention the tossing pancake king- Landen! We were having pan cakes and Landen gets up from eating, goes into the kitchen, gets a spatula and starts flipping the last pancake we had left. Here's a picture of the pan cake flying near the dishwasher. He had fun, until it started falling apart.

Lets try cloth

So I have really been considering going to cloth diapers. Today was supposed to be the cloth diapering workshop, but with all this ice it was cancelled. The lady from Heiny King was planning on coming for us. Teri has been answering so many questions I have and I have read a lot of what Drea has said about cloth diapers and whatever else I have stumbled over. So here are the diapers I think I like the best - the Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers.

Here is a cute picture of one in pink!

So far from what I have read these seem to be what I would want to go with. I like these because they have the leg casings to prevent leaks and from what I've read they're good for chunky babies (which we have!) I like the snaps and the idea that it can come apart for easier cleaning. I made a pro's and con's list. That has really helped me decide! Now that I've done that and my con's list has pretty much vanished from having my questions answered. I need to make an appointment to try them on Amelia and see if I like that part of it and -*drum roll* - It's time to convince the hubby! =)

We've been iced in!

Today was the day for our La Leche League's cloth diapering workshop. I have been looking forward to this for almost two months now. Well we got hit with a darn ice storm and everything has been cancelled around here. Stupid winter! If I didn't have family around here - I'd move in a heart beat. So - here are a couple of pictures I could snap from my window's.
Our ice storm so far - oh and it's not over. We're in a warning until midnight. I don't know if you can tell, but that is all ice on those trees. The one on the right, that tree stands really tall and it is all weighted down. Hopefully we don't have any power outages or anything. =)

Another fun Contest!

D&E Reviews are having a Giveaway. You really should bookmark them, because they're always having fun giveaways. This week they're giving away a 5 pack of customized place mats from Olive Kids. I think they're cute and Landen would enjoy them. Click here to enter. Good Luck!

I also wanted to mention that Mama Speaks is always having reviews and lots of Giveaways! I have the link on my side bar, but it's always worth checking the site daily to see what the latest giveaway is that they're having. Contest are fun, especially if you win!

Boogers Flyin'!?!?!

Whenever it was that I watched Opera's show with Dr. Oz about the Neti Pot I have been wanting to get one and try it. Well, I've wanted to get it and have Kurt try it. He has sinus issues and is always congested. I bought one a couple weeks ago - I just happened to walk by an end cap at Wal-Mart with them sitting right there staring me in the face... without hesitation I grabbed it up. I hear these are becoming quite popular after them being on Opera's show!

Anyway, Last night after staring at it for a couple of weeks, we managed to get enough courage to try it out. Of course I had to go first. =) It really wasn't that bad and it actually went in one nostril and out the other. I almost felt like I was filling up with water, but then once it started flowing out, it was no big deal. I was all prepared for boogers everywhere, choking, screaming, burning, you get the idea. Afterwards, I felt like I was cleaner - maybe it was all in my head, but it was like I could breathe better. I don't have a problem with my sinuses or anything though. Then it was the hubby's turn. He did well - but later that night said he felt raw like he was having a lot of drainage. I don't know though - maybe a coincidence and he would have had that anyway??

Anyway, I think I'm going to try to do this every once in awhile. Definitely not twice a day like it recommends! Have any of you tried the neti pot? I'm curious as to what you think about it.

Movie

I wanted to post this to my blog because there has been a lot of talk about the controversial film that will be in theaters tomorrow - The Golden Compass. My family will not be seeing this movie or reading any of Pullman's books. I encourage those people that read my blog to read This article, written by Msgr. Eric Barr for The Observer. What do you think?

The Elf Family!

I just might have entirely too much time on my hands. LOL!!! Check this or maybe this for a good laugh!!!! I'm sick.

Before and After

As I posted before - Kurt and I painted our bedroom. We still have work to do, the molding, a new ceiling fan, *wink, wink* possibly a new comforter, and the pictures and new decor needs to be put up. I thought I'd post anyway the new results. I really like it!

Before

Matching Curtains.

Matching border.

Just not my style.

Half way pointGetting there.

After

Nice white curtains.Dark mahogany walls.

More my style!

Contest for a wonderful Mothers-To-Be Book

Donna-Marie at Embracing Motherhood is giving away a copy of her book. Prayerfully Expecting: Nine Month Novena for Mothers-To-Be. I would love to win this! I actually had this down as a book I wanted to purchase, but thought I would wait until we were expecting again. What a great contest. Click here to enter. Good luck! Oh and if you don't read her blog regularly - you should, it's great! =)

I might take too many pictures

I'm off to play with these two little ones who keep hitting the buttons on the keyboard.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Saturday we spent the majority of the day putting up our Christmas tree and decor. It was fun as usual. I thought Landen would be able to get more into it, but he's still a little bit small to help out a whole lot. He enjoys the balls and hockey ornaments - he hits the balls with the hockey stick ornament. No breaks yet.

I love Christmas trees and lights. There is something so soothing and relaxing about it. Every year when we put it up it makes our home turn into some soft cozy little place. Well, I think it does anyway. Here's our tree with a little helper. I know it's kind of hard to tell what it looks like. It's fake - Kurt and I got it our first Christmas married. It has those fake little pine cones on it. I love it!

Fala lala la Lalala la!

We finally made it out in all the hustle and bustle for a little bit of Christmas shopping Friday. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought but took a lot longer in each store when you have two little ones to tote around with you. Neither Kurt or I got grumpy at each other, Landen and Amelia were excellent, and we won $50.00 in Gordman bucks! Woo hoo! We got a lot of stuff for family, a little bit for Landen and what other odds and ends we needed. I can't say to much, because family reads this (anyway I think they do) and I don't want to give anything away. =)

I found a children's nativity for Landen. The people are finger puppets and it came with the the stable (that sings), angel, wise men, shepard, some animals, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and it all velcros up so it doesn't get lost. Landen's been having lots of fun with it.

Before we left that morning Kurt found the pacifiers that we had from Landen (that he didn't use) and decided to see if Amelia would try it. Sure enough she took right too it.. I wasn't exactly happy about it, but we decided to have one in the car in case of emergency use. A lot of times if I can't stop I'll just let her have my pinky (yuck I know) but with it being flu season and being out in the stores I didn't want to do that. So we brought it along. Well we ended up using it in the stores - every time I looked down at her it made me feel bad. Something was actually pacifying her and it wasn't me. I really don't like pacifiers either, I have absolutely no problem if other people use them, but I don't want my children using them. As soon as we got home it disappeared - I really have no idea where it is. Kurt probably did something with it because Landen was in love with it (strange child) and he knew I didn't like Amelia having it. It's a good emergency usage for the car though. I know I'd give it to her in the house if it was around instead of just taking time out to nurse and let her suckle. =/

Not much more on shopping - of course we have more to do and I have to go back soon to use my $50 Gordman Bucks!

Lets make believe

I love Landen's little imagination! Today he's been in this box with two spatula's paddling his boat. LoL! What's even cuter is that he keeps asking that Amelia (mel-ia) gets in and rides with him. The other day he had a pot and was using it as a hat!

Today we were also playing trains - he loves trains! Of course we all had a turn with the two trains. Even Amelia! Sometimes he's not very good with sharing with others, but lately he's been very good with Amelia. Always wanting her to play with him... cars, trains, hockey, etc.

Right now, he has the rods from the dry rack (that he takes apart - what is it with boys taking things apart? I remember my brother Adam taking everything apart - now he's really good at fixing things so I suppose I shouldn't worry about it!) and is playing guns with them. Earlier he was fishing with them. Using them as poles and catching fish... got that from little bear.

Here are my two little sweet hearts!

Apples-N-Oranges Giveway

I really like these gramma hats from Apples-N-Oranges. That's why I'm posting this so I can get a second entry in on their giveaway. Haha! They really are super adorable and even though Landen's head is too big for one - Amelia's is not! Hopefully I can win. To enter this fabulous giveaway click here. To check out these cute hats, click here. I love the friendly monster in pink. Cute! Good luck!

Uh Oh - She's Off

Amelia has decided she no longer likes her infant seat. Today she scooted herself right out until her head was were her little tush was supposed to be. Hmm! I think she's a little young for this. A couple days ago she scooted herself as far under the couch as she could fit.. which is only to her butt.

She also has decided that by screaming when she looses her toys (which she has just started playing with) she gets her way very quickly. =) She is now asleep again so I can finish cleaning up my mess from making all that delicious food.

The baby girl in her drooled on pink shirt and quirky smile!

A New Baby

My Stay at home Catholic Mom friend Kate had her baby girl.

She doesn't have any pictures or anything up on her blog - Hey, I don't even know if she's home from the hospital. I'm excited for her and her family!

Congratulations Kate!

Ooohhh Contests - I won one!

A couple of contests for anyone to Enter. Remember - you do not have to have a blog to enter.

First off - Andrea over at The Laughs will go On is giving away this great instructional DVD for baby-wearing. It's called Tummy 2 Tummy. Check it out. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I need this because I still have freak out moments about carrying Amelia. Click here to enter!

Next, Stephanie at Adventures In Babywearing makes the cutest things by knitting. Yes, I said knitting. I used to be one of those people who thought only grandma's knitted and it turned out old fashioned looking. Well her stuff is so cute! She's giving away this totally cute cactus scarf. Click here to enter.

D&E Reviews are always having a fun contest to enter. Click here for their latest contest.

Oh and just so you all know. You do win things when you enter contests. I won the Name Your Tune CD from Andrea's The Laughs with Go On! I can't wait to get it, but I might give it to Landen as a Christmas present so I might have to wait. Will see. That just tells you - you should enter contests! I used to say - I never win anything - but not anymore. =) That's it for now!

Maybe I'll eat a few Snickers

Today we had our friends Teri and Liesie over to play for a bit. I hadn't realized it had been so long since they had been at our house. We've seen them at other things, but never over to play. I was very proud of Landen - he was sharing so nicely, until he went into some sort of fit. He just wanted to sit on my lap with a blanket and didn't want to share or have Liesie in any other room. He seems very sleepy right now and is about ready for a nap, so I hope it was that and the combination of being hungry that made him upset.

Amelia is almost asleep here in my arms. Then I'm off to make a delightful meal for my friend Jane who had her baby a little over a week ago. I'm going this evening (alone) to take the food and get a glimpse (maybe a small hold) of the sweet baby boy. I'm making lasagna, cheesy bread and snicker salad. Yummy! Yes, I am also making it for us as well - that wouldn't be very nice to the hubby if I didn't.

Rest Time is Over.. Before it Began

Today as we were trying to have Rest Time - we used to use nap time and Landen would think we said bath time and run to the bathroom, rest time works much better. As we were on the couch watching a movie, Landen jumps up and informs me that he is - "awake mom - see my eyes are open". As he's holding his eye brows up with his finger - "see momma... eyes awake." LoL! He can't fool me - he's awake and not in a mood for a rest or nap. He's off playing cars. =)

The Latest Project

Kurt and I started our next project Friday. Fixing up our bedroom! It had the most horrible wall paper ever in there - with matching border and curtains. Hideous! Friday we tore all the paper off. It came off really well, except for a few places. Kurt got on the Internet and found a DIY for wall paper removing. You mix vinegar with warm water and spray it on there - worked like a charm. So, we didn't end up having to rent a steamer. That took us all day unfortunately. Then since we have those darn plaster walls up there we had to patch some areas and tape it all off for painting. We finally started painting Saturday afternoon, but it came to a halt because we went to Mass Saturday night. We finished late that night and had to put a second coat on Sunday morning before we left for Thanksgiving lunch - an hour away. It turned out very nice - it's a dark mahogany/burgundy with white trim. It was also a great deal, only $2.99 a gallon because this certain brand of paint was on sale at Menards this last weekend. We only used a little over a gallon. =) We still have to put new molding up near the ceiling, repaint the trim, and a few other things, but when it's finished I'll have before and after pictures. I'm just so happy to get that gross wall paper out of there. Anyway, that's what we've been busy doing around here on Kurt's long weekend off of work. Still a lot more to do, but very nice.

On a little side note - we of course couldn't sleep in there. I still walk in there and get a head ache from the fumes and it's been airing out. We've been having quite the pow wow on the floor of the little bedroom the last few nights. We brought our mattress in and that's been our bed. =) Looking forward to getting back into an actual bed instead of a mattress on the ground - hopefully tonight!

Lets make something fun with... play dough

Today I discovered that Landen loves play dough! After talking to a friend this morning, she was telling me that her son loves to play with it and will play until she says it's time to put it up. He's almost a year old than Landen, but I thought we'd give it a try. A Success!!! Only problem is - we have one color (that we got at the library) and no fun tools to go along with it. I gave him some silverware and he's been having fun for 45 minutes now. We've been making birthday cake with candles! I have to go now because the cake has to be cut - again!

Our Thanksgiving in a Nutshell

I'm finally getting a chance (maybe) to type a little post out about Thanksgiving. =) Not a lot of time around here for fun computer time (and that's what blogging is for me.)

Thanksgiving was pretty good. We went to my parents house for lunch. Everyone was home and it's always nice to see all my sisters and brothers over the holidays. Especially Emily, Maggie, Sara and Adam who I don't get to see very often. What occurred to me though is that when you grow up and start doing your own things - you become a lot different.
The food was especially good - except my mom didn't make real mashed potato's. That's my only complaint!
We went to Kurt's dad's side of the family for dinner. Unfortunately everyone decided to leave earlier than was planned so we didn't get to see everyone. =(
Then this past Sunday we went to Kurt's mom's side of the family for lunch. Almost everyone was there and it was nice to visit with everyone. We don't see them that often.
That was basically our Thanksgiving in a nutshell.

No Jury Duty -

Thanks for all the responses regarding the stupid jury duty. I called last night and it was cancelled. Woo hoo for me! I think it would be cool to sit in and hear about the crazies, but as many of you commented on - it's hard when your an exclusive breast feeding mom, your hubby works, and you don't leave your kids with just anyone. =) I'm glad to say I was able to stay home today and get a lot of the work done that needed to be done around here.

Jury Duty - Again

Tell me this - How do you get picked for jury duty? Isn't it supposed to be a random thing? How do you get picked four times in four months? I haven't had to actually go in yet, but that shouldn't make a difference. The first time was a few weeks before Amelia was born - I got a letter saying it was cancelled, or whatever happens. The second one was a couple weeks later - I was supposed to go in on my due date. Not going to happen! I called and told them very politely that I was pregnant and that was my due date. The woman that answered just said "yeah?" Like she didn't know why I was calling. I told her - "well if I'm in labor, I'm not going to remember to call the court house to tell you I won't be making it to jury duty." Duh! She had to transfer me a few times to different ladies - at the end of all that, they were very rude to me and basically told me they didn't know if I was really pregnant or not, but I was taken off. Then just three weeks ago - I got the letter again- It got cancelled. Then I got another one and I'm scheduled to go in on Monday. It doesn't seem right to me to keep getting my name drawn four times in four months. Hmm!?!?
However - let me throw this out - I'm taking Amelia with me. She's a nursing baby and what are they going to tell me? Hopefully I get sent home. =) Has this ever happened to anyone else?

The Babes!

Last night Kurt discovered that Amelia does very well being propped up to look around. I remember when Landen got to this point. I was comparing the two this morning after downloading the pictures. Landen was a lot bigger than I thought. Here's a comparison - both at four months! You can't really tell he's that much bigger, but he is. They sure change fast.

Babble Babble

I feel like blabbing about just whatever - so here's a post for that!

We decided to put Landen on vitamins. Just the Flintstones kind - I remember taking them when I was a kid. =) This will be his first winter without nursing and I think a vitamin will be good for him. He's also around other children a lot more and playing with the same toy's they are. I'm hoping to skip the throw up sickness again this year. Plus Kurt and I both take a multi-vitamin so hopefully that will keep us all healthy during the flu season. Also - I decided to start taking Flax Oil. Hopefully that will help regulate these womanly hormones that are still not in check from having Amelia.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving - well mostly the food! I want to see everyone, but that seems to be all going haywire all of a sudden. Who knows when some of my family will show up, and his family will all be gone by the time we get there. Sometimes, I wish there was a simple way to do the holiday stuff.

We were supposed to try to go shopping tomorrow - but the weather is supposed to be snowy (yuck) , rainy and cold so we decided against it. I have no Christmas shopping done and I really hate going after Thanksgiving because I get irritable at the crowds. I'm thinking about doing a lot online this year. Not that we have as much this year - we decided to limit it by quite a bit and stick with what Christmas is really about. =)

I found Christmas music on the music channels on tv today. Something about Christmas music is so soothing. Very wintry, but comforting and soothing. Landen seemed to like it, but maybe that's because I sing Jingle Bells all year round and he's used to it. =)

I saw a pretty red cardinal today! It reminded me of Kurt's grandma who passed away last year. Made me kind of sad. Plus my mom tells me my grandpa has a few medical problems (supposed to hear more about them later - to know the full detail) and it worries me, as he is getting older and older.

Amelia is really rolling now. Today she got from her belly to her back just as easy as she gets from her back to her belly. She seems to be doing things a little sooner than Landen did. She's able to pull herself up in a sitting position when laying back a little ways too. She's becoming strong. Probably not much longer until she's sitting up on her own. =)
Speaking of the little thing - she just pooped a big pooper and I see it going through on to her clothes. I better change her. =)

Have a good Tuesday - what's left of it.

I'm cold...

I don't like days like today. It's damp, rainy, cold, dreary, and just sad looking outside. Here's to remembering summer - which seems so long ago already.

I think I'll go make myself some warm french vanilla coffee!

The Super - Boom Boom

I haven't posted a picture of Landen or Amelia in a little while, so I had to post this one. I know it's controversial about letting your children play guns. As of right now we think it's fine if he wants to play. Lately he's been shooting the deer.. he creeps and sneaks up on them. lol! Here's a picture of the little goon! Check out that face, he put this hat on and got his little squirt gun on his own.

Oh, and why I'm thinking about it - he's wearing his Superman pajama's. These are pretty special - why you ask? Because now that he wears these, he considers himself a super. He wears the towel in the picture below (and others we have like this) over his head and runs around the house calling himself a super. Yes, I get to be a super once in awhile too. LoL! This picture is from last year because I haven't taken one of him this year running around as a super! He's really changed. Look - he has no wrists!!!!!!

Mama Speaks Giveaways!

Check out some Great Giveaways from Mama Speaks! You do not have to have a blog to enter their giveaways! Another direct link at the bottom of this page. Good luck!

Baby Wearing

I heard about this Babywearing Conference awhile ago, but thought I would share the link with everyone else, since that's what they're asking everyone to do. Chicago isn't that far and it'd be fun to meet up with some other Babywearing Mom's that I have met. Click here to enter the site and read more about it! Enter here for the page with banners for your blog or e-mail. I'll let people know if I decide to go. It is scheduled for around my birthday... maybe some birthday fun!?? Will see!