Delirious Delusions, Dalmatians and Duct Tape

Oh, where to start? Just because I've been sick doesn't mean the world around me stood still. (But wouldn't that be awesome if it did? Imagine...Javen and Liam sleeping in every day, playing contently, Javen using the potty and changing Liam's diaper...haha...I digress...)

Last weekend when we came back from graduation in Greenville we brought back our twin bed that we let my brother Jeff use while he was in college. Javen was SO excited that he was going to get "Fuh's" bed. The transition from his little toddler bed to the twin bed could not have been easier. (Seriously. You may think I'm joking when I tell you he's literally asleep within minutes of us tucking him in for nap and bed time, but it's no joke.) Jake stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up a railing and I outfitted the bed in my old 101 Dalmatian sheets (circa 1991??) and denim comforter from college. He LOVES this bed. It's quite cozy all nestled up next to the wall in the corner. Oh, and now that we've hung up some black out curtains he's stopped waking up at 6am! Hello 8am, I've missed you.

The best part about his new bed? (This is huge , so pay attention...) No more duct tape diapers!! Yes, my friends, the age of duct tape diapers has come to an end. Anyone care to guess how many rolls of duct tape we went through before it was over?

And I just realized that my pictures of Javen's "new" bed are all on my phone. And I don't have a fancy phone or data plans that sends photos to facebook or email or what have you so, just trust me; it's cute.

I do have pictures of Liam in the "basket bed" that Javen made for him. Apparently, it's the cool thing to do when you're under three feet tall. Who am I to argue? Just look how happy my boys are when they play together...

Sick. Sick. And Sick.

Ugh. I'm not better. Liam's sick too, poor lil guy. We went to the doctor on Thursday and it turns out we have a virus that's been going around. It takes 7-10 days to run its course. Jake stayed home from work to take care of us on Thursday. Friday went a little better, and then I woke up this morning feeling worse...much worse. The good news in all this is that according to the doctor, we're no longer contagious (though I don't see how that's possible since I'm coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose all the time, but whatever...) and Liam doesn't seem to be as sick as me. He's a little congested, but still his normal smiley happy self.

Jake and Javen are fine. (Praise Jesus!) I've been pumping them full of vitamins and immune system defense herbs so they can stay in tip top shape.

And for good measure, here's a pic of Liam from last weekend that our good friend Luke took.

I Should Be Sleeping...

I'm trying my hardest to get plenty of rest and get over this stinkin' cold that our travels to Illinois bestowed on me. So until I'm back to 100%, I'll be spending my normal blogging time taking naps instead.

Catch ya on the flip side!


Zzzzzzzzzzz.........

Congrats Grads!

This past weekend we road tripped it up to Greenville, Illinois for my brother and sister's college graduation. It was a looooong car ride with the two boys, but honestly I don't think they could have done better! At the risk of this becoming a quite lengthy post, I'll give you the short version of the trip... Liam slept most of the way and Javen was entertained with books, toy cars, snacks, watching the big trucks on the highway and watching movies. Javen didn't nap all weekend, but was too busy to care. I don't think the boys (namely Javen) realized that the weekend was to celebrate Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kendra. They had a blast playing with everyone.

Exhibit A: Pool with his Great-Grandad

Exhibit B: Playtime with Pop

Exhibit C: Nap time with Granny

Proof that we did go to actually celebrate graduation:

We're in age order (from left to right) youngest to oldest. Apparently I missed the "wear black" memo.

Congrats Jeff and Kendra!! We're so proud of you!!

I didn't take too many photos, it was a busy 3 days!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream...

for ice cream!

Spontaneous Photo Shoot

Yesterday was our last day with the rental car, so the boys and I had to go pick Jake up from work. When we got home we played out in the front yard for a little while before it got dark. The boys found a lady bug to torture play with...

I got some Liam lovin'

We took some family shots...

and Javen hammed it up for the camera!

This is now the face we get when we ask him to smile for the camera:

I love my family!!

Peter Rabbit Winner

According to Random.org Integer Generator the winner of the Peter Rabbit giveaway is number....

Here are your random numbers:
12
Timestamp: 2010-05-20 13:16:08 UTC

Congrats Ashley!

I'll be sending you an email today and you have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.

Thanks for playing everyone!!!

Wordless Wednesday

JumperPoo Take II

If you've read my blog for any length of time you know what a poop-tastic life we lead these days.

On Saturday I broke out the Jumperoo (or as we call it, the Jumperpoo) and let Liam take it for a spin. Not to be outdone by his older brother, it only took him 5 minutes before this happened:

I noticed it running down his leg and grabbed him out of that thing before he could do much more damage.

On Sunday afternoon I let him give it a try again. He was happily bouncing and cooing for about 20 minutes and then he started to fuss. I picked him up to find poop up his back and on the cloth seat he was sitting in.

So far he's 2 for 2...batting 100% in the Jumperpoo.

Four Months!

Liam turned 4 months old on Saturday. Can you believe it? I can't.

To celebrate:

Javen woke up exxxxxtra early. (See previous post.)

We gave Liam his first taste of baby cereal. Even though he never spit it out, he's just not quite sure what to think...

I got out the good ole Jumperoo JumperPoo (more on this later.)

A few 4 month Liam-isms:

He loves to suck his fingers. And toes...

He's tall. Like, really tall. Not sure exactly how tall, but we'll find out soon. He's currently wearing 6-9 month sized footie pj's. And he's the same height as his 7 month old friend, Jesalyn. (Granted, she's a petite little thing, but still...)

He rolls all over the place! And does a semi-crawl where he pushes with his legs and scoots across the floor without using his arms. It's pretty funny to watch.

He's vocal. Talks to his toys the most, but when Javen is not around (ie napping) he'll coo and talk to me.

Speaking of Javen, he's Liam's most favorite person in the world (maybe right after me, of course.) But seriously, he LOVES to watch, smile and talk to his big brother. Javen is almost as equally interested in Liam. Let's just say there's lots of hugs and kisses. So sweet!

His hair is too funny for words. One side is longer than the other. One side sticks up, the other has this little wave thing going on. I should probably cut it, but it's falling out anyway, so we'll just embrace the 'do.

He does NOT sleep through the night. (What's up with that?? Javen was 8 weeks old when he started sleeping 8 hours at a time!) He usually goes to bed at 8, wakes up around 12AM and again at 3AM to eat, then sleeps in to around 8. Come on dude, lets get it together here.

He's just the happiest little guy on the planet. All smiles and giggles and coo's almost all day long. I love having such a happy, content baby.

I love you, Liam!

5:15

On Friday, Javen woke up at 5:15 AM. FIVE FIFTEEN IN THE MORNING. Normally, he sleeps till about 7:30 or 8:00. I was NOT a happy camper to be awake at that dark hour of the day. (Is it even considered to be daytime at that point?) Did I mention that Liam had just been up at 3:00AM to eat, and also at 12:00AM? And that I had gone to bed at 10:30PM?

Oh. Soooo tired.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure to wear him out so he would sleeeeeep in on Saturday. I met up with Heather and she took him on a lunch date while Liam and I ran some errands. On our way home that afternoon he fell asleep in the car. He woke up when I brought him inside and I set him on the couch and told him he could watch a movie as soon as I got Liam out of his car seat. After I unbuckled Liam, I turned around to find Javen passed out on the couch, like this:

Those lips...those curls...that little button nose!

 He slept in that very spot for the next 2 hours and went to sleep that night as soon as his head hit the pillow. And Saturday morning? Up at 7:30 AM again. Bliss...

Javen and the Purple Crayon

Ugh.

Save the Planet, Peter Rabbit (And a GIVEAWAY!)

When I was a little girl, my Mom always read to us - mostly the classic children's stories, including good ole Peter Rabbit. Now that I'm a mother I'm excited to introduce my boys to Peter Rabbit and all the trouble he gets into in Mr. McGregor's garden. When I was pregnant with Javen I jumped on the organic bandwagon and haven't looked back since. So, now that I've become the organic, book loving, eco-friendly conscious type mom, you can imagine how excited I was to receive a box full of organic Peter Rabbit goodies to try out and tell you about.

Javen was SO excited to see a new book arrive, that he immediately asked me to sit down on the couch and read to him. Usually when we read, we just talk about the photos and Javen flips through the pages before I can read every word of text.  This time he let me read every word on every page. (I think it helped that the text was only a sentence or two per page.) The size of the book is great too! Perfect for his little hands to hold and for me to throw in the diaper bag to pull out for some "emergency" entertainment. This hard back version of the book is even printed with vegetable based ink (which I think is pretty cool.) Downside- since it's not a board book, the pages easily tear. I have to keep an eye out when Javen reads this one to make sure he doesn't rip the pages out.

The rattle is the perfect size for Liam's little baby hands to hold and is made from 100% certified organic cotton, eco-friendly materials and phthalate-free. I don't have to worry about him chewing on questionable chemical filled materials and I LOVE that it's machine washable. Liam loves to gum on the soft bunny ears. Downside? Nothing, it's cute!

The Spring Garden baby shampoo/body wash has a pleasant light scent that is great for sensitive baby skin. (And my kids have some sensitive skin!) It's made with pure, organic, eco friendly ingredients. It didn't make Javen break out and he smells like a clean little boy with no fake fruity soapy smell. Downside? If you were to ask Javen, it doesn't make bubbles in the bath as well as our normal soap, and bubbles are key when it comes to bath time in this house!

The intense therapy cream?! Honestly love it. When it's gone, I will buy more. All I can say is: it works. Period. Downside? These products are a little pricey. The shampoo/body wash is $9.99 and the intense cream is $11.99. However, if you buy organic soaps and lotions anyway, it's around the same price range as the other brands.

Want to try this stuff out for yourself (or your favorite kids?) You can! You can win all of the above Peter Rabbit products by entering this giveaway. All you have to do is go here, to the Peter Rabbit Website. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is. I'll pick one winner at random one week from today- Thursday, May 20. (Make sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win!)

Want extra entries?

Follow my blog. Leave a comment telling me you're a follower.

Blog about the giveaway. Leave me a comment and link to your blog.

I don't twitter, so if you want to twitter about it, feel free. But I'm not going to know the difference! :) (Maybe I'll save my reasons for my non twittering ways for a different blog entry.)

The opinions of this review are 100% my own and I was not required to write a positive review. I was not compensated monetarily for my view on these products, but did receive the above products for free so I could provide an accurate and informed review.

I'm linking up to Things I Love Thursday.

BIG Trouble

What is BIG trouble? Every now and then Javen will throw one of his toys down the steps. This is not good for obvious reasons. Today I was doing laundry (our laundry closet is at the top of our stairs) and Javen was sitting at my feet playing with his toy school bus. As he crept closer and closer to the edge of the stairs with the bus, I told him to back up and play elsewhere. He lifted the bus over his head in what can only be described as the "I'm going to test you, Mommy" position. I told him if he threw his bus down the steps that not only would I take it away, but he would also be in BIG trouble. (Lots of emphasis on the word "big.")

Thankfully, he obeyed and went off to play in his room. That was a close one. I'm not exactly sure what BIG trouble is?? I mean, he's only 2 for Pete's sake. Yes, he needs to learn rules and boundaries. Yes, I need to correct him when he is disobeying or doing something potentially dangerous, but HOW do I get through to him? And how to I kick it up a notch from taking away his toys to make good on my threat of BIG trouble?

 Discipline = one of my least favorite things about parenting. Thankfully, 2 hasn't been so terrible thus far! He's still just my sweet, kind, messy little boy!

A Peek Inside My Head...

A little scatter-brained at the moment so I'm just going to make a list of things running through my head...

~Don't know how I forgot to mention this when it happened, but Liam rolled over for the first time about 8 days ago. He's a rollin' fool now.

~We had ZERO poop-tastrifies today! I think it may be a first since March 21, 2008. (Though Liam did nail me with some serious spit-up about 3 times today. Oh well.)

~We finally have a rental car! It's ours for the next 7 days, which is when we'll also be car shopping for a new mini-van or Honda Pilot type vehicle. Any recommendations?

~ Speaking of cars, we've been overwhelmed by all our wonderful friends and church family who have offered to loan us their cars. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful, caring, generous people in our lives. Also, thank you to all of you who have called, emailed, texted, facebooked or contacted us in any way to check on our family during the flood. We feel so loved and love each and every one of you as well!

~There may or may not be a fun giveaway coming up this week. Stay tuned for the details!

~It's no secret that my new favorite thing is photography. I'm trying to learn more every day and I'm just falling in love with it. Last weekend our best friends asked me to do a little photo shoot with them for Mother's Day. It was SO fun! Below are a few of my favorites.