There were three new comments waiting to be moderated when I signed in today so here I am to write my new post. Thanks Dad, Cyndi and Julie, although the first two of you were rather unorignal.
This week has been crazy insane. I think that is going to be our theme for awhile. We had our Bible Study group over on Saturday for pizza, cider, desserts and pumpkin carving. We had about 25 people including 10-12 little munchkins. We had so much fun, just spread out plastic tablecloths on the floor and dug right in. We had a hard time keeping the knives and carving tools from the kiddos but we figured it out and nominated "knife keepers". I did a star theme and Richard did a mummy head. We carved the top of Lillian's off and dug it out but haven't carved it yet. We also kept all the seeds from everyone's pumpkins and baked them. R is in punkin seed heaven.
I was bumed though because we were all excited about taking our pop-a-tot to the pumpkin patch and letting Lillian sit in it and watch everyone while we roamed the fields for the perfect pumpkin. However, it was a rainy messy day and we wern't sure if it would work because we didn't want our pop-a-tot to get all wet and dirty. But we took it anyways and thought we would try it, however, when we got there we found out that it wasn't really a pumpkin "patch" but more of a petting farm and pumpkin "pallet" lot. There wasn't any place to really use the pop a tot. And then, when everyone was back here carving pumpkins would have been a great time to use it BUT it was still in the car and I forgot about it until right now. We are going to have Kylie and Warren over tomorrow morning though and Lindsey is really interested in seeing it, not so much for Warren, but for her new baby, coming very soon.
We don't really have anything planned for this next weekend. I'm wondering what great adventures we can plan that don't cost much money. I'm thinking about maybe seeing what there is to do in Richmond, its only two hours away, if we can find some great stuff to do, the gas money would be worth it.
We went to the Farmer's Market today and R got a steak and some seasoning and I got some apple butter and a candle. We ate at a small BBQ restaurant that was really cheap but only had OK food. I got home to find two magazines in the mailbox (from yesterday) and am so excited to sit down and read those tonight. I love magazines. I will post pictures of the pumpkin "patch", carving and party pictures, but it won't be tonight, I'm being lazy today. But I figured if I didn't post soon, you all would start complaining.
Lillian is almost ready to cut two more teeth, on the top this time. They are right there, making bumps and you can see them but they are not through the skin yet. Any day now. She's chewing on everything, we got her a new teether that is shaped like a strawberry and vibrates when you chew on it. She loves it. She also had her first sucker today, which was dad's idea and mostly ended up as a drool bath for him. Fun to watch though. She also had BBQ sandwich and baked beans today for the first time. Loved everything of course. My little piggy.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Comment Game
We're going to play a game. Every time I log on and there are no new comments to be moderated, I am not going to post. Every time I log on and there are comments, I will leave a new post. :-)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Kids Klutter Katchers
I found these bags today and love them. They are definitely an add on to Lillian's Christmas list. And because they are a new company, just getting this product off the ground, they have a special right now that you can get 21 bags for 30 dollars. That's not much over $1 a bag. I can think of so many uses for these bags. Dirty clothes on trips. Keeping in the car for extra toys, diapers, plugs that must stay in there. Planning whole outfits (shirt, pants, bib, socks, shoes, bow) and putting them in for easy daddy access. Keeping little socks from getting lost in the dryer. I definitely need these for her. And I LOVE the original intention too.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Mid-Week update
We had bible study tonight instead of tomorrow because we had a big planning meeting. We just changed leaders for our group and are taking advantage of the change to make any other changes we want. I am so excited. I love our class, it has definintly been the best thing about being where we are right now, and THE reason we are not wanting to relocate with new orders. I love these couples, they are just like family.
Example, R and I wern't sure we were going to go out for our anniversary. We have been pretty busy lately and having to find a babysitter, pay for something to do (we're broke til the 15th) etc...
However...tonight at bible study, people knew our anniversary was coming up and offered to babysit, without me even having to ask. So Tim and Katey are going to watch Lillian tomorrow night (R gets off work early) so we can go to dinner. We were planning on going to IHop because we have a two for one coupon. However, Whitney asked why we were going to IHOP, did we really love it that much? Because it seemed like a lame place for an anniversary dinner. I told her it was because we had a coupon and she said she was buying us a gift card for dinner. We argued back and forth over email and facebook, she called me homie, and 15 emails later, she is buying us a surprise gift card tomorrow and we are eating at some place other than IHOP. It is amazing.
We have been looking for an "entertainment center" of sorts to help childproof our tv. The shelf we have now is open so Lillian is grabbing DVDs out of the playstation, and pushing buttons on the cable box. Also, if she stands up, she can put finger prints on the tv. So we are looking for a small cabinet, that is closed, preferably with glass to get the components inside and the tv up a little higher. We have a big, huge entertainment center in mind for once we have money and a living room big enough to hold such furniture. So for now we just want something super cheap in the meantime that can be used later in another way or sold on craigslist. I looked at Target and found this...
And LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this...
But, they are too expensive.
So, I looked on craigslist and found this dresser that I think will work good.
We'll probably paint it so that it doesn't clash with the good wood cabinet we have right next to the tv. But this is long enough that we can put the tv up on it (high, thankfully) and still have room next to it for the Tivo with a lamp on top of it (which will also allow us to get rid of the floor lamp that lil can pull over if she trys). And it will give us lots of extra storage. It will look a little odd to have a dresser in the living room, but I'm already over that. The only problem is, I contacted the seller and asked some questions and she answered, but now that I wrote her and told her I pulled cash out of our house fund and want to pick it up, she hasn't emailed me back. I'm so sad. I hope she does, I really think it would work good. And we scavaged the thrift stores around here and found nothing similar, all the dressers were too old and froo froo.
Lillian is now eating cheerios on her own, able to pick them up and get them to her mouth, AND let go. Its a huge help, to be able to have five minutes to myself while she mows down.
We were able to find a brand new babygate, still in the box and sealed, at Goodwill for only $15. They retail for $50-$100 now, unbelievably. It is one of the ones that can swing open as a door, rather than having to climb over (because you know my short self can't climb over anything without killing myself). We got it all installed last night after she went to bed. Although our apartment walls are made of paper and crap and nothing else, it seemed to stay up okay.
Today, I was in the bathroom, curling my hair for bible study and I hear a blood curdling scream. My first thought is that she leaned on it and it fell over. I go out there and look. Nope. She's standing up at the gate, hands on the clear plastic, balling her little eyes out. I call her name and ask what's wrong and she turns around and gives me the look of death. She then proceeds to bang her hands on the gate (pretty remarkable for one who isn't so adept at standing on her own yet). I pick her up and she stops crying and I set her down with lots of toys. I go back to curling my hair. When I come out I find her sitting at the gate, feet under it (it has to be up higher because of the molding) head and both hands resting on the plastic, peering through the gate, wistfully. She sat like that FOR FOURTY MINUTES until I picked her up to leave for bible study. It was freaking hilarious.
Whitney has two upcoming shows that I am able to help with (and one out of state that I can't, unfortunately) and I am so excited!
We have a pumpkin patch outing with our group on the 18th and then everyone is coming back here for cider and pizza while punkin carving. I'm contemplating making caramel apples, but not sure yet.
We also have three girls in our sunday school group ready to pop (with new babies). I am so excited to meet three new beautiful babies (two girls and a surprise!), especially without having to endure labor and surgery first.
Mom Shipp just bought a ticket to possibly come out in November, depending on how the surgery goes and if she has the hard kind or not. I hope she can come! We've been STARVED for visitors this year. I want anyone and everyone to come visit RIGHT NOW!!
We are having a halloween party, I have been planning Lil's costume forever and working on it, and its all completed now. HOWEVER, it never entered my mind that Richard and I would have to dress up. Well, we do, and I just found out. Thank goodness for craigslist. I found a set of brand new costumes for $25 total. And they're costumes we can save and wear in upcoming years if this fate is forced upon us again. I'm afraid, but sure that there will be pictures after the occurrence.
Two of my really good friends have birthdays the end of this month, Julie (from college) and Lindsey (from here, Kylie's mom). And Mom and Dad Brill so kindly shared their anniversary with us. Mom and Dad shipp are following only a month behind. Happy 30th!
We are spending thanksgiving with our "family" here, as most will either have brand new babies or duty that weekend. It won't be the same as real family, but super fun none-the-less. We are hoping for the first leave option for christmas which means we would actually be in Michigan for Christmas Day this year. Which would rock! Although we will have to rent a UHaul to transport Her Highness' gifts back and forth. Good thing R screwed up his Christmas present and is now getting nothing but coal.
These next few months are going to fly by. And remember, the majestical first birthday event will take place, Saturday, January 24th. All are welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, please, join us.
Example, R and I wern't sure we were going to go out for our anniversary. We have been pretty busy lately and having to find a babysitter, pay for something to do (we're broke til the 15th) etc...
However...tonight at bible study, people knew our anniversary was coming up and offered to babysit, without me even having to ask. So Tim and Katey are going to watch Lillian tomorrow night (R gets off work early) so we can go to dinner. We were planning on going to IHop because we have a two for one coupon. However, Whitney asked why we were going to IHOP, did we really love it that much? Because it seemed like a lame place for an anniversary dinner. I told her it was because we had a coupon and she said she was buying us a gift card for dinner. We argued back and forth over email and facebook, she called me homie, and 15 emails later, she is buying us a surprise gift card tomorrow and we are eating at some place other than IHOP. It is amazing.
We have been looking for an "entertainment center" of sorts to help childproof our tv. The shelf we have now is open so Lillian is grabbing DVDs out of the playstation, and pushing buttons on the cable box. Also, if she stands up, she can put finger prints on the tv. So we are looking for a small cabinet, that is closed, preferably with glass to get the components inside and the tv up a little higher. We have a big, huge entertainment center in mind for once we have money and a living room big enough to hold such furniture. So for now we just want something super cheap in the meantime that can be used later in another way or sold on craigslist. I looked at Target and found this...
And LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this...
But, they are too expensive.
So, I looked on craigslist and found this dresser that I think will work good.
We'll probably paint it so that it doesn't clash with the good wood cabinet we have right next to the tv. But this is long enough that we can put the tv up on it (high, thankfully) and still have room next to it for the Tivo with a lamp on top of it (which will also allow us to get rid of the floor lamp that lil can pull over if she trys). And it will give us lots of extra storage. It will look a little odd to have a dresser in the living room, but I'm already over that. The only problem is, I contacted the seller and asked some questions and she answered, but now that I wrote her and told her I pulled cash out of our house fund and want to pick it up, she hasn't emailed me back. I'm so sad. I hope she does, I really think it would work good. And we scavaged the thrift stores around here and found nothing similar, all the dressers were too old and froo froo.
Lillian is now eating cheerios on her own, able to pick them up and get them to her mouth, AND let go. Its a huge help, to be able to have five minutes to myself while she mows down.
We were able to find a brand new babygate, still in the box and sealed, at Goodwill for only $15. They retail for $50-$100 now, unbelievably. It is one of the ones that can swing open as a door, rather than having to climb over (because you know my short self can't climb over anything without killing myself). We got it all installed last night after she went to bed. Although our apartment walls are made of paper and crap and nothing else, it seemed to stay up okay.
Today, I was in the bathroom, curling my hair for bible study and I hear a blood curdling scream. My first thought is that she leaned on it and it fell over. I go out there and look. Nope. She's standing up at the gate, hands on the clear plastic, balling her little eyes out. I call her name and ask what's wrong and she turns around and gives me the look of death. She then proceeds to bang her hands on the gate (pretty remarkable for one who isn't so adept at standing on her own yet). I pick her up and she stops crying and I set her down with lots of toys. I go back to curling my hair. When I come out I find her sitting at the gate, feet under it (it has to be up higher because of the molding) head and both hands resting on the plastic, peering through the gate, wistfully. She sat like that FOR FOURTY MINUTES until I picked her up to leave for bible study. It was freaking hilarious.
Whitney has two upcoming shows that I am able to help with (and one out of state that I can't, unfortunately) and I am so excited!
We have a pumpkin patch outing with our group on the 18th and then everyone is coming back here for cider and pizza while punkin carving. I'm contemplating making caramel apples, but not sure yet.
We also have three girls in our sunday school group ready to pop (with new babies). I am so excited to meet three new beautiful babies (two girls and a surprise!), especially without having to endure labor and surgery first.
Mom Shipp just bought a ticket to possibly come out in November, depending on how the surgery goes and if she has the hard kind or not. I hope she can come! We've been STARVED for visitors this year. I want anyone and everyone to come visit RIGHT NOW!!
We are having a halloween party, I have been planning Lil's costume forever and working on it, and its all completed now. HOWEVER, it never entered my mind that Richard and I would have to dress up. Well, we do, and I just found out. Thank goodness for craigslist. I found a set of brand new costumes for $25 total. And they're costumes we can save and wear in upcoming years if this fate is forced upon us again. I'm afraid, but sure that there will be pictures after the occurrence.
Two of my really good friends have birthdays the end of this month, Julie (from college) and Lindsey (from here, Kylie's mom). And Mom and Dad Brill so kindly shared their anniversary with us. Mom and Dad shipp are following only a month behind. Happy 30th!
We are spending thanksgiving with our "family" here, as most will either have brand new babies or duty that weekend. It won't be the same as real family, but super fun none-the-less. We are hoping for the first leave option for christmas which means we would actually be in Michigan for Christmas Day this year. Which would rock! Although we will have to rent a UHaul to transport Her Highness' gifts back and forth. Good thing R screwed up his Christmas present and is now getting nothing but coal.
These next few months are going to fly by. And remember, the majestical first birthday event will take place, Saturday, January 24th. All are welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, please, join us.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Whitney Caroline Designs
I have spent the last week working with Whitney. Whitney is a fabulous Southern girl from our Sunday School class. She owns her own business, Whitney Caroline Designs, and just celebrated her first anniversary in September. Her husband is currently deployed but is due home in less than 20 days!!
She had her first show of this season this last weekend.
I helped her most nights during the week at her house. She had set up a mock booth in her dining room and we played around with how she wanted the goods displayed. Then we gathered the "refills" from her storage upstairs and priced and packed everything. Friday morning Richard and I dropped Lillian off at Kally's and headed over to Whitney's at 8 and we loaded up all the boxes and booth setup into Richard's truck and Whitney's jeep and headed to Town Center. We carried everything up (to the third floor-but with the help of an elevator) and started setting up the booth. R helped and took pictures and then got us lunch from Chick-Fil-A but then had to go to Work.
Whitney and I kept setting up (for four hours) and then went back to her house to freshen up and change and come back to sell. Her booth looked fabulous. Not exactly as we had planned though, after some of the Prissy Plates fell off the shelf and almost killed Whitney, we decided we better move them down a little. We had them up high at her house but with the floor being different the grid wall was wobbly, thus making it a safety hazard. She didn't want to start off her second year with a law suit, imagine that.
We both wore all black and green and pink (her colors) aprons that Kally and I made specifically for her to hold cash in rather than a cash box. The aprons turned out gorgeously- everyone commented on them and it really made us stand out.
The show actually had very low levels of foot traffic, as we heard from other vendors, but Whitney had good sales. Mostly because her stuff is GORGEOUS and less expensive than some of the other vendors there. She has a HUGE amount of stock and we kept pulling out "refills" as soon as something sold. Her booth was stocked up and people just kept buying. She had adorable muffin mixes that were packaged ready for gift giving, and even came with a red or green spatula. We made some pumpkin muffins and apple muffins Thursday night to have as "samples" and guess what? We sold out of the muffin mixes on Friday night, before we ran out of samples even. We're planning on making some of the sugar cookie mixes for her next show.
She has so much more inventory than is on her website even. But here are some of my favorites from the website...
Three Piece Cosmetic Set. This unfolds to hang over a door and then has two detachable make-up bags that are HUGE. And its in a ton of colors. She also has duffle bags and garment bags that go with each color.
Isn't this little spider dress ADORABLE?!?!?!?
This is one of the Prissy Plates. It is a collection of white ceramic that is compatible with several ribbons (bow is pre-tied for those of us who are bow illiterate) and the ribbons are interchangeable. I want one of these so badly but I would just sit there and put a new ribbon in it every day.
She does photo cards, Christmas cards, stationary and invitations. This is one of my favorites I think, although there are so many to choose from. She can do anything. If you have something you're looking for, just email her and she will blow your mind with her fabulosity.
I am so excited about this. She is going to start offering Scout Bags and Totes by Bungalow. These are gorgeous and so useful. I can already think of a million places in my house I want to put these and every size bag I want in every color. The totes are spectacular and they have tall ones that can be used for trash, laundry or toys. Large, wide ones that can be used for storage, trunk boxes, or toy boxes. They have ones that can be used as coolers and "troughs" for drinks at a party. They have smaller ones that I think would be perfect on a bookshelf for hiding clutter and making the shelf look spiffy.
My favorite bag is the "Four Boys Bag". It is HUMONGOUS! Probably named because you could fit four boys INSIDE this bag. I love it! My favorite pattern is the pink one shown below. They also offer that pattern in black with pink trim (Richard's favorite). If you are like me and MUST have one of these, email Whitney at Whitney@WhitneyCarolineDesigns.com.
She is also going to start selling stamps and accessories from Three Designing Women. I am IN LOVE with these and can't wait to get my hands on one of everything.
ALL IN ALL, I had a spectacular week but I am completely exhausted and slept almost all day today, along with doing 5 loads of laundry and opening lots and lots of mail.
She had her first show of this season this last weekend.
I helped her most nights during the week at her house. She had set up a mock booth in her dining room and we played around with how she wanted the goods displayed. Then we gathered the "refills" from her storage upstairs and priced and packed everything. Friday morning Richard and I dropped Lillian off at Kally's and headed over to Whitney's at 8 and we loaded up all the boxes and booth setup into Richard's truck and Whitney's jeep and headed to Town Center. We carried everything up (to the third floor-but with the help of an elevator) and started setting up the booth. R helped and took pictures and then got us lunch from Chick-Fil-A but then had to go to Work.
Whitney and I kept setting up (for four hours) and then went back to her house to freshen up and change and come back to sell. Her booth looked fabulous. Not exactly as we had planned though, after some of the Prissy Plates fell off the shelf and almost killed Whitney, we decided we better move them down a little. We had them up high at her house but with the floor being different the grid wall was wobbly, thus making it a safety hazard. She didn't want to start off her second year with a law suit, imagine that.
We both wore all black and green and pink (her colors) aprons that Kally and I made specifically for her to hold cash in rather than a cash box. The aprons turned out gorgeously- everyone commented on them and it really made us stand out.
The show actually had very low levels of foot traffic, as we heard from other vendors, but Whitney had good sales. Mostly because her stuff is GORGEOUS and less expensive than some of the other vendors there. She has a HUGE amount of stock and we kept pulling out "refills" as soon as something sold. Her booth was stocked up and people just kept buying. She had adorable muffin mixes that were packaged ready for gift giving, and even came with a red or green spatula. We made some pumpkin muffins and apple muffins Thursday night to have as "samples" and guess what? We sold out of the muffin mixes on Friday night, before we ran out of samples even. We're planning on making some of the sugar cookie mixes for her next show.
She has so much more inventory than is on her website even. But here are some of my favorites from the website...
Three Piece Cosmetic Set. This unfolds to hang over a door and then has two detachable make-up bags that are HUGE. And its in a ton of colors. She also has duffle bags and garment bags that go with each color.
Isn't this little spider dress ADORABLE?!?!?!?
This is one of the Prissy Plates. It is a collection of white ceramic that is compatible with several ribbons (bow is pre-tied for those of us who are bow illiterate) and the ribbons are interchangeable. I want one of these so badly but I would just sit there and put a new ribbon in it every day.
She does photo cards, Christmas cards, stationary and invitations. This is one of my favorites I think, although there are so many to choose from. She can do anything. If you have something you're looking for, just email her and she will blow your mind with her fabulosity.
I am so excited about this. She is going to start offering Scout Bags and Totes by Bungalow. These are gorgeous and so useful. I can already think of a million places in my house I want to put these and every size bag I want in every color. The totes are spectacular and they have tall ones that can be used for trash, laundry or toys. Large, wide ones that can be used for storage, trunk boxes, or toy boxes. They have ones that can be used as coolers and "troughs" for drinks at a party. They have smaller ones that I think would be perfect on a bookshelf for hiding clutter and making the shelf look spiffy.
My favorite bag is the "Four Boys Bag". It is HUMONGOUS! Probably named because you could fit four boys INSIDE this bag. I love it! My favorite pattern is the pink one shown below. They also offer that pattern in black with pink trim (Richard's favorite). If you are like me and MUST have one of these, email Whitney at Whitney@WhitneyCarolineDesigns.com.
She is also going to start selling stamps and accessories from Three Designing Women. I am IN LOVE with these and can't wait to get my hands on one of everything.
ALL IN ALL, I had a spectacular week but I am completely exhausted and slept almost all day today, along with doing 5 loads of laundry and opening lots and lots of mail.
Pop-A-Tot
I was selected to be a Product Tester/Reviewer about a month ago and was told I would be sent a Pop-A-Tot as soon as they were done with manufacturing.
I received my Pop-A-Tot via UPS sometime this last week (I don't know which day because I wasn't home at all-more about that later). I opened it on Saturday morning. It looked just like I had expected it to, from the website. It came out of the package easily and popped right together. I had a little difficulty getting the latches together, but Richard snapped them right together, first try. There was a set of Sassy brand links included to attach toys to the Pop-A-Tot's loops. Upon closer inspection, while sitting next to it, watching Lillian play in it, I discovered that there were many thread ends that had not gotten cut off and one small piece of extra fabric that was still attached. I cut off the extra threads and we'll see if anything frays from this point on.
Lillian was already cranky that morning (from her schedule being off all week and me being gone all week) but I plopped her in it anyways. She did great for about five minutes, playing with the links and chewing on them, but soon she stared fussing to get out. She tried climbing out and didn't make any progress. An excellent thing. Her feet do not touch the ground, an excellent thing, because she has a lot of room to grow. But I wonder if she is in the seat for awhile, if her legs might go tingly.
Overall, I am very impressed with the Pop-A-Tot. I am excited to use it more and especially outside and at parks, play dates and the beach, weather dependent.
Please, please, please leave comments with any comments you have about the product as you see so far or any questions you may have.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Things have been INSANE BUSY these last two weeks. Last week was bad crazy. This week is good crazy. Next week should be nice and peaceful (notice the SHOULD) and I don't have Kylie, so I should be able to just relax (yeah right) and do lots of projects for fun, not because I have to or that have a deadline.
I'll update next week or this weekend with all that's been going on and pictures and such. If I forget, email me and remind me.
I'll update next week or this weekend with all that's been going on and pictures and such. If I forget, email me and remind me.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
We took Lillian back to the doctor yesterday (4th time in a month) for the congestion, hoarse throat, tugging/digging/scratching at ears, teething, not sleeping, crankiness, fever, not eating bottle.
We, again, saw a different doctor (#4 in 4 appointments). This guy said, "well, that all accompanies teething, blah blah blah". I insisted that he do something other than tell us "come back if it gets worse" like they have for three times now. It has gotten worse each time and has now lasted for a month.
He said he thinks what it is is Hay Fever. He put her on 1/2 tsp Claritin and we're supposed to go back in 2-3 weeks for a follow up if its not better. I'm not sure I think it is that, but I hope the medicine helps. This is so old. I want my happy baby back.
She weighed in at 14 lbs 2 ounces and 27 inches long. He said right this minute, her weight is okay, but to weigh her every morning at home and if she loses ANYTHING to take her back in and we'll have to do special formula among other things.
She eats food like a champ, will eat anything, anytime you feed her. However, she has been eating less and less bottle. She is down to 15 ounces a day, when she should be at 28-30, so that is an issue.
We also got two free bottles of tylenol. With three refills. Score! But seriously, if you think a baby will need 8 bottles of tylenol (full size bottles) in the next three months (when the perscription is good til) don't you think something other than Hay Fever is going on?? Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love free health care, but oh, what I wouldn't do for Good Dr. Stolz, the REAL pediatrician we saw right after birth til the Navy health care system sank their claws into Lillian.
PS-off topic, but kind of on topic...a rant...Her name is Lillian. Yes, Lilly and Lil are used as short nicknames but when I go to the nursery to pick her up and her nametag says Lily (only 1 L) and I ask them to change it to Lillian (use same name tags every week) and this happens for three weeks, it drives me CRAZY. When the doctors office calls to confirm her appointment and says "
I'm calling to confirm an appointment for Lilly" it makes me want to say "there is no Lilly here". You don't know her, you aren't friendly with her or me, please call her by her full name.
This is not intended towards family, just my rant towards the public who doesn't know her but decides they will change her given name.
We, again, saw a different doctor (#4 in 4 appointments). This guy said, "well, that all accompanies teething, blah blah blah". I insisted that he do something other than tell us "come back if it gets worse" like they have for three times now. It has gotten worse each time and has now lasted for a month.
He said he thinks what it is is Hay Fever. He put her on 1/2 tsp Claritin and we're supposed to go back in 2-3 weeks for a follow up if its not better. I'm not sure I think it is that, but I hope the medicine helps. This is so old. I want my happy baby back.
She weighed in at 14 lbs 2 ounces and 27 inches long. He said right this minute, her weight is okay, but to weigh her every morning at home and if she loses ANYTHING to take her back in and we'll have to do special formula among other things.
She eats food like a champ, will eat anything, anytime you feed her. However, she has been eating less and less bottle. She is down to 15 ounces a day, when she should be at 28-30, so that is an issue.
We also got two free bottles of tylenol. With three refills. Score! But seriously, if you think a baby will need 8 bottles of tylenol (full size bottles) in the next three months (when the perscription is good til) don't you think something other than Hay Fever is going on?? Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love free health care, but oh, what I wouldn't do for Good Dr. Stolz, the REAL pediatrician we saw right after birth til the Navy health care system sank their claws into Lillian.
PS-off topic, but kind of on topic...a rant...Her name is Lillian. Yes, Lilly and Lil are used as short nicknames but when I go to the nursery to pick her up and her nametag says Lily (only 1 L) and I ask them to change it to Lillian (use same name tags every week) and this happens for three weeks, it drives me CRAZY. When the doctors office calls to confirm her appointment and says "
I'm calling to confirm an appointment for Lilly" it makes me want to say "there is no Lilly here". You don't know her, you aren't friendly with her or me, please call her by her full name.
This is not intended towards family, just my rant towards the public who doesn't know her but decides they will change her given name.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Babysitter needed for March/April 2009
We are in need of a babysitter who is willing to travel with us in March or April of 2009. Disney (World and Land) is offering free admission to anyone on their birthday in 2009. We aim to take them up on that offer and finally celebrate a honeymoon. (Who thought we'd have to have a babysitter for our honeymoon?!?) We'd like to take Lil along but also be able to ride rides and such. Who wants to go?? Come on, you know you wanna.
We are contemplating DisneyLand (California) but DisneyWorld (Florida) would probably be more of a reality.
If you have a birthday in the first half of the year and want to babysit, we would consider going on your birthday. If your birthday is in the second half of the year, R might be on a ship in the Middle East and that would kind of defeat the whole honeymoon idea.
We are contemplating DisneyLand (California) but DisneyWorld (Florida) would probably be more of a reality.
If you have a birthday in the first half of the year and want to babysit, we would consider going on your birthday. If your birthday is in the second half of the year, R might be on a ship in the Middle East and that would kind of defeat the whole honeymoon idea.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Lillian's Stats
Lillian has lost 1 pound 1 oz since August 3rd and is now down to 14 lbs even.
At seven and a half months, she is 14 pounds even and is down to BELOW the 5%.
Ugh, not this again.
Here is her length chart.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Pink Orange Rock Star Backpack
Yes, in response to Cyndi's comment, we do NEED those items :-)
In fact, I'd love it if someone would go ahead and say they would purchase the backpack. I love it and want it for her but we've gotten other stuff for her recently and with hurricane prep we're not buying more stuff for her til closer to Christmas. And I don't want it to be gone.
Someone, anyone? An easy Christmas gift you'll know we'll love....
http://www.polkadotpatch.com/travel-packs-orange-and-pink-rock-star-backpack.html
In fact, I'd love it if someone would go ahead and say they would purchase the backpack. I love it and want it for her but we've gotten other stuff for her recently and with hurricane prep we're not buying more stuff for her til closer to Christmas. And I don't want it to be gone.
Someone, anyone? An easy Christmas gift you'll know we'll love....
http://www.polkadotpatch.com/travel-packs-orange-and-pink-rock-star-backpack.html
Thursday, September 11, 2008
PINK ORANGE EXTRAVAGANZA
I (I um, um, of course, mean Lillian) need these things immediately:
Funky Mod Toddler Rock Star Backpack and the Matching Lunch Box
Pink Double Breasted Pea Coat
Reversible Microfiber Bed Set
Funky Mod Toddler Rock Star Backpack and the Matching Lunch Box
Pink Double Breasted Pea Coat
Reversible Microfiber Bed Set
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Free Nicorette White Ice™ Mint 20-Piece Starter Pack
Free Bubblegum Surf Wax Sticker and Bar of Wax
Playtex Tampons Sample
Klean-To-Go Personal Protection Packets
Two Free Pairs No Nonsense Socks
Free 2 Year Subscription to Parents Magazine
Free Bubblegum Surf Wax Sticker and Bar of Wax
Playtex Tampons Sample
Klean-To-Go Personal Protection Packets
Two Free Pairs No Nonsense Socks
Free 2 Year Subscription to Parents Magazine
Click here to receive a free one year subscription to Blender Magazine
Click here to receive 3 free issues of Oprah Magazine
Click here for a chance to get a free subscription to Psychology Today
Free Betty Crocker Warm Delights with sign up for email list
Free Betty Crocker Potatoes with sign up for email list
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Lillian
Lillian broke her first tooth a week ago Thursday. Lillian broke her second tooth thru on Sunday.
On August 1 they told us she was 26 inches long. Last Saturday they told us she was 25 inches long. Yesterday they told us she was 27 inches long. Gotta love the military clinics and their 5 minute appointment procedures. We plan to measure her tonight, so we know what she really is.
She weighs between 14.6 and 15.1 pounds. (Apparently they can't measure weight, just like they can't measure length.)
She is now rocking back and forth on all fours and will occasionally move one leg forward, not always the same leg, but won't move her arms at all. She will lay on her tummy and twirl around in circles or pull herself forward with her arms to get where she wants to go. She is also a fan of rolling all the way across the house.
We were sleeping in bed the other morning (with the door shut) while she was sleeping in front of the ottoman and TV. I woke up to her "knocking", hitting and kicking our bedroom door with a huge "I found you" smile on her face.
She loves to stand up and is now pulling herself up on whatever she can, from sitting to standing position.
She will walk, holding on to our fingers, without us holding her up or anything. We got her a Leap Frog shopping cart, and she will hold the short end (the non-push end of the cart) and if you push or pull the cart away from her she will walk with it.
She is now eating anything and everything in sight. Her favorite I would say is Vanilla Yogurt. She is eating lots of finger foods including Gerber Graduates Biter Biscuits, Puffs and Yogurt Bites. She also loves Cheerios, Mum-Mums, Mini Rice Cakes, Vanilla Wafers, chunks of veggies and fruit, bread, etc.
She will pick up and eat all the bigger things by herself but the cheerios and puffs she can pick up but then they get stuck in her fist and she hits herself in the face with her fist, trying to get them in her mouth. Its quite humorous actually.
She moved up to her "big girl" convertible carseat yesterday. She is still rear facing and will be until a year, but this carseat can go both ways and can hold her up to 100 pounds. We also had to order a second one for Richard's truck now that this one is more stationary and sometimes he takes the Pacifica to work to save on gas.
She is wearing size 2 diapers, size 2 or 3 shoes, shirts size 6 months, 6-9 months and 6-12 months, pants size 3 months, and dresses from 3 months to 9 months.
She is drinking 4-6 bottles a day with 6 ounces in them and is using size 3 nipples. She has started using a sippy cup and does really well with it. She still can't feed herself a bottle or a sippy cup if she's sitting up, but she does it all on her own if she's laying down. We are starting to teach her to use a regular cup and drink out of a straw (as both are better on teeth than bottles or sippy cups). She will hold a spoon and put it in her mouth, but is not feeding herself with one. She will stick her hands in any kind of food (liquid baby food) and put her hand in her mouth to feed herself.
She doesn't sleep swaddled up any more, and loves to hold her blanket right over her face. She sleeps in her crib all the time. She takes 2-3 naps for 1-2 hours each. She sleeps at night typically from 9-9:30 to 8-8:30. She will usually play happily in her crib for 10-15 minutes before crying to get up.
She LOVES to be out and about and if she's cranky she loves to go walk around the mall, stores or a musem or the park.
She is "talking" a lot more, making lots of "mmmmmmmmm" and "hhheeee" sounds. Every once in a while she will say "mamamamama" but hasn't said "mama" yet. Although R is convinced she has and I'm just not telling him.
She is now hanging on to our arms and neck while we hold her and snuggling her head into our necks. R can't wait until someone else is holding her and she reaches out for him. I can wait, I'd love for other people to hold her :-)
She will raise her arms as your picking her up but won't just reach out to be picked up if you're not right by her.
Her favorite toys right now are her blankets and burp rags as well as her musical learning tree house that sings songs and plays nursery rhymes and her leap frog learning table which does basically the same thing.
She loves peek a boo and cracks up. She will laugh so hard if you tickle just below her neck and her thighs. We are waving goodbye with her, but she doesn't do it on her own yet. She still doesn't fully respond to her name but she does respond to "NO" by looking like you just shot her and sticking out her lower lip (trembling) and dropping big fat crocodile tears while screaming. Yes, she's already a drama queen.
She has become super spoiled/needy lately with being home with me all the time so that if either one of us are home but not right next to her she screams. So we've purposely put her in our room or her room by herself and had her play for the last week and she is doing lots better already. The church nursery and Wednesday night bible studys (when she's with lots of other kids) help with this too.
I think thats it for the updates on her. Just wanted to get down a good documentation of everything she's doing, wearing and loving right now.
On August 1 they told us she was 26 inches long. Last Saturday they told us she was 25 inches long. Yesterday they told us she was 27 inches long. Gotta love the military clinics and their 5 minute appointment procedures. We plan to measure her tonight, so we know what she really is.
She weighs between 14.6 and 15.1 pounds. (Apparently they can't measure weight, just like they can't measure length.)
She is now rocking back and forth on all fours and will occasionally move one leg forward, not always the same leg, but won't move her arms at all. She will lay on her tummy and twirl around in circles or pull herself forward with her arms to get where she wants to go. She is also a fan of rolling all the way across the house.
We were sleeping in bed the other morning (with the door shut) while she was sleeping in front of the ottoman and TV. I woke up to her "knocking", hitting and kicking our bedroom door with a huge "I found you" smile on her face.
She loves to stand up and is now pulling herself up on whatever she can, from sitting to standing position.
She will walk, holding on to our fingers, without us holding her up or anything. We got her a Leap Frog shopping cart, and she will hold the short end (the non-push end of the cart) and if you push or pull the cart away from her she will walk with it.
She is now eating anything and everything in sight. Her favorite I would say is Vanilla Yogurt. She is eating lots of finger foods including Gerber Graduates Biter Biscuits, Puffs and Yogurt Bites. She also loves Cheerios, Mum-Mums, Mini Rice Cakes, Vanilla Wafers, chunks of veggies and fruit, bread, etc.
She will pick up and eat all the bigger things by herself but the cheerios and puffs she can pick up but then they get stuck in her fist and she hits herself in the face with her fist, trying to get them in her mouth. Its quite humorous actually.
She moved up to her "big girl" convertible carseat yesterday. She is still rear facing and will be until a year, but this carseat can go both ways and can hold her up to 100 pounds. We also had to order a second one for Richard's truck now that this one is more stationary and sometimes he takes the Pacifica to work to save on gas.
She is wearing size 2 diapers, size 2 or 3 shoes, shirts size 6 months, 6-9 months and 6-12 months, pants size 3 months, and dresses from 3 months to 9 months.
She is drinking 4-6 bottles a day with 6 ounces in them and is using size 3 nipples. She has started using a sippy cup and does really well with it. She still can't feed herself a bottle or a sippy cup if she's sitting up, but she does it all on her own if she's laying down. We are starting to teach her to use a regular cup and drink out of a straw (as both are better on teeth than bottles or sippy cups). She will hold a spoon and put it in her mouth, but is not feeding herself with one. She will stick her hands in any kind of food (liquid baby food) and put her hand in her mouth to feed herself.
She doesn't sleep swaddled up any more, and loves to hold her blanket right over her face. She sleeps in her crib all the time. She takes 2-3 naps for 1-2 hours each. She sleeps at night typically from 9-9:30 to 8-8:30. She will usually play happily in her crib for 10-15 minutes before crying to get up.
She LOVES to be out and about and if she's cranky she loves to go walk around the mall, stores or a musem or the park.
She is "talking" a lot more, making lots of "mmmmmmmmm" and "hhheeee" sounds. Every once in a while she will say "mamamamama" but hasn't said "mama" yet. Although R is convinced she has and I'm just not telling him.
She is now hanging on to our arms and neck while we hold her and snuggling her head into our necks. R can't wait until someone else is holding her and she reaches out for him. I can wait, I'd love for other people to hold her :-)
She will raise her arms as your picking her up but won't just reach out to be picked up if you're not right by her.
Her favorite toys right now are her blankets and burp rags as well as her musical learning tree house that sings songs and plays nursery rhymes and her leap frog learning table which does basically the same thing.
She loves peek a boo and cracks up. She will laugh so hard if you tickle just below her neck and her thighs. We are waving goodbye with her, but she doesn't do it on her own yet. She still doesn't fully respond to her name but she does respond to "NO" by looking like you just shot her and sticking out her lower lip (trembling) and dropping big fat crocodile tears while screaming. Yes, she's already a drama queen.
She has become super spoiled/needy lately with being home with me all the time so that if either one of us are home but not right next to her she screams. So we've purposely put her in our room or her room by herself and had her play for the last week and she is doing lots better already. The church nursery and Wednesday night bible studys (when she's with lots of other kids) help with this too.
I think thats it for the updates on her. Just wanted to get down a good documentation of everything she's doing, wearing and loving right now.
Free Magazine Subscriptions
FREE trial subscription to Oprah magazine (3 issues) compliments of BedBathStore. No strings attached!
FREE subscription to Motor Trend or Automobile Magazine compliments of XM Radio! Just scroll down and make your picks.
FREE 1 issue of Bridalguide magazine compliments of BedBathStore. No strings attached!
FREE subscription to Boating Life magazine. No strings attached!
FREE subscription to TV Guide from Rewards Gold for a quick survey on your favorite TV show. I've signed up for several subscriptions through them in the past, and I've always received them!
FREE subscription to REMEDY Magazine – Subscribers to health magazines like Prevention, Total Health, or Health Magazine can now get 3 years of REMEDY Magazine, the award-winning health magazine for free. You can also sign up for free samples through RemedyLife.
FREE subscriptions to trade publications – Tons to choose from here in a wide variety of industries. Mandi was pleasantly surprised to find Confection and Snack Retailing which is relevant to her hubby's Tastykake business.
FREE subscription to Working Mother magazine from Rewards Gold for a quick quick survey on handbags.
Monday, September 8, 2008
More Good Deals
I forgot to add in my other post that Kohl's has all women's and children's shoes buy one, get one FREE this week. We saved $45 and got two pairs of shoes for me for fall for a total of $47. (This is super good because, thanks to Lil, my feet are now a different size than they have ever been so new shoes are mandatory and flip flops won't work all year long.)
Also, just a note to say I spent 14.70 at Kroger and saved 16.49. Yeah, that's more than half.
I spent $1.80 at Walgreen's and saved $2.30.
I spent $47 at Kohl's and saved $45.
ROCK ON!!!
Also, just a note to say I spent 14.70 at Kroger and saved 16.49. Yeah, that's more than half.
I spent $1.80 at Walgreen's and saved $2.30.
I spent $47 at Kohl's and saved $45.
ROCK ON!!!
Money Saving Monday
I have been super excited lately about reading blogs with my new reader, Google Reader. It brings all my favorite blogs right to my reader, each time they write a new post. Now I don't have to go look at 50 blogs a day and see if they have new posts, they automatically get delivered to me.
This has helped me save tons of time and be able to read even more blogs. My favorite blogs are by crazy stay at home moms who seemingly compete who can get the most free samples and best deals weekly. They find them, blog about them, and then I go do them!
This week we saved TONS! The paper this week had great ads and coupons for us. Our "overstock" cupboard is literally overflowing into every room in our house. I took photos of our extras and I'll post them in the next day or two. Between this and Angel Food Ministries, we should have our weekly groceries down to things like eggs and milk along with our super great sales from ads combined with coupons.
I'm going to try to start posting new samples, freebies, coupon codes and great deals here each week. You can find old posts about this by searching for the label "Freebies/Coupons/Deals".
I try not to include any samples that require you to sign up for other things or answer 50 question surveys in order to get the sample, but some might sneak in here and there if they are a sample I haven't personally requested. If you do have to do something out of the ordinary, I'll try to remember to mention it.
I would recommend making a second email address to use to sign up for all these freebies, that way your regular email doesn't get filled up with advertisements. I made RSBrill@yahoo.com and use it expressly for online surveys, coupons, contests, giveaways and samples. And once a week or so I go in and delete all the mail.
FREE SAMPLES
One Year Subscription to TV Guide (requires you to enter a friend's email-you can use rsbrill@yahoo.com)
Carefree Sample
Fisher Price Geo Trax DVD
Fisher Price Planet Heroes DVD
Free Custom Fruit Rollup (you must sign up for a newsletter from Box Tops for Education)
Free Full Size Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant
Pledge Multi Surface Wipes Sample and $1 coupon (you have to answer a 2 question survey first)
Duncan Hines Delectible Carrot Cake Free after Rebate
Night-time Renewal Kit from Tempur-Pedic!
14-day supply of Nature Made(R) Liquid Softgel Vitamins.
samples of Crystal Light, Purell, Blistex for joining REMEDYLife.
box of Touch of Gray for Men with this printable coupon!
sample pack of X2O energy drink for a quick survey!
30 minutes of tutoring for your child from Tutor.com!
Fiber One - Cereal, chewy bar, and coupons! A great sample!
Pantene Expressions - Got more free shampoo & conditioner to try! No coupon, but you can still request this sample by signing-in to the P&G website.
Head & Shoulders - Another free shampoo & conditioner sample. You can choose from smooth & silk or dry scalp.
Healthy Balance Juice - I got my $1 off 2 coupon and a 25 cent coupon with recipes for Old Orchard Healthy Balance Juice.
Hanes - You too can be getting several pairs of free underwear in the mail! Just enter Hanes Wedgie-Free Wednesday once a week and you can win this sweeps more than once!
Family Circle - You can still request 2 free issues from StartSampling. If you already have a subscription, they will simply add on 2 issues to it.
Kraft Food & Family - A great free magazine from Kraft and I was happy to see the Fall issue had 4 coupons in it.
American Baby - Yet another free magazine! Like a short version of Parents magazine.
Lactaid - Got a 4-packet sample to try for free.
Free Master Lock at Sears Hardware- In store
Free Guitar Strings
Home Depot - Free Do It Herself Workshops - register for a free in-store class and receive a 10% off coupon
FREE Bag of Purina Yesterday's News Litter
Free subscription to Pet Style News
FREE Subscription - Remedy Magazine
Receive a free sample of Mary Kay mascara
Free Sample of Oxyfresh Toothpaste
TRADITIONAL HOMES 1 year free
Walmart.com always has free samples. For me they always arrive exactly as they said, quickly and usually with pretty good coupons. This week their samples are:
Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes - Just add some pampering to your everyday bathroom routine.
Gain with Baking Soda - Get sparkling clean clothes with a scent you’ll love.
alli® Book – Read about real people who lost weight with alli®.
Benefiber Sticks – New single-serving size makes it simple and easy to travel.
Benefiber Fiber Supplement – Add the fiber you need to your cooking.
Cascade® Complete All-in-1 + Mr. Clean Magic Eraser – Get your dishes completely clean with the new Cascade® Complete All-in-1 formula.
Kotex Pads, Liners and Tampons – New and improved pads, liners and tampons for ultimate comfort and convenience.
Tampax® Pearl – Only Tampax® Pearl has the LeakGuard™ braid and core protection built in.
Ultra Downey TotalCare – Help keep that first-wear love alive.
Freeflys.com has an ongoing list of some free samples. You can also get a RSS feed when they get new samples to read easily in Google Reader.
COUPONS
Custom Fruit Rollups Coupon
You can go here and choose pictures and text to have printed on your customized fruit rollups. The price is $30 for 30 roll ups and my shipping was $7. The coupon code MYFRU10 will get you $10 off your order total.
Tons of printable Babies R Us coupons valid until 9/14 and if you shop online you can enter code 923913 for $5 off of $25.
Babycenter.com Free Shipping on $25 or more: Coupon Code SHOPPING
DSW.com Free Shipping on $25 or more: Coupon Code RSHPDSW
Gap.com Get 20% off Baby Gap purchases of $75 or more through September 21: Coupon Code BBDHNJL9C6JB
Every Monday there is a new code to get a free rental from Redbox DVD vending machines. The code is only good on Monday and the DVD has to be back by Tuesday at 9pm but you can't beat a free movie rental. Also, the code works once for each credit or debit card, so if you have more than one, you can rent more than one movie for free. Deal Seeking Mom lists the codes each Monday.
If you shop at Kroger, you can load coupons onto your Kroger card and get coupon credit by simply presenting your Kroger card at checkout. There are two sites that do this, (shortcuts.com and P&G eSaver) and they each have different coupons. The bonus is that these online coupons are typically the same as coupons in the Sunday paper, but if you load the coupon onto your card AND cut out the coupon and take it in to the store, you get the coupon credit TWICE!!
OTHER ROCKIN DEALS
Target.com has Free Shipping when you purchase $50 or more in Baby Gear
Earth's Best Baby Food is BOGO at Publix this week. Wish we had a Publix here, thats a stockopportunity!!
Toys R Us stores have ALL DVDs and BluRay's for buy 2 get the 3rd free until Saturday. We stocked up on some for Christmas and Lil's Birthday.
Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Piper Lime have combined shipping fees of only $7 whether you shop from one store or all four. If you add something from Piper Lime to your order of any thing from any of the other three stores to your order, shipping is FREE. (if you're looking for something from Piper Lime to add to your order, Lillian is drooling over these in size 4.)
We've started using Angel Food Ministries for the bulk of our groceries. You can read a review about the program here.
Walmart.com always has a good selection of items available for 97 cent shipping.
If you have a Food Lion in your area, if you buy six gallons of milk from August to December this year and save the register "ticket" that prints with your receipt, you can turn in the tickets for a free gallon of milk. Not bad for us since milk here is $5.99 a gallon.
This has helped me save tons of time and be able to read even more blogs. My favorite blogs are by crazy stay at home moms who seemingly compete who can get the most free samples and best deals weekly. They find them, blog about them, and then I go do them!
This week we saved TONS! The paper this week had great ads and coupons for us. Our "overstock" cupboard is literally overflowing into every room in our house. I took photos of our extras and I'll post them in the next day or two. Between this and Angel Food Ministries, we should have our weekly groceries down to things like eggs and milk along with our super great sales from ads combined with coupons.
I'm going to try to start posting new samples, freebies, coupon codes and great deals here each week. You can find old posts about this by searching for the label "Freebies/Coupons/Deals".
I try not to include any samples that require you to sign up for other things or answer 50 question surveys in order to get the sample, but some might sneak in here and there if they are a sample I haven't personally requested. If you do have to do something out of the ordinary, I'll try to remember to mention it.
I would recommend making a second email address to use to sign up for all these freebies, that way your regular email doesn't get filled up with advertisements. I made RSBrill@yahoo.com and use it expressly for online surveys, coupons, contests, giveaways and samples. And once a week or so I go in and delete all the mail.
FREE SAMPLES
One Year Subscription to TV Guide (requires you to enter a friend's email-you can use rsbrill@yahoo.com)
Carefree Sample
Fisher Price Geo Trax DVD
Fisher Price Planet Heroes DVD
Free Custom Fruit Rollup (you must sign up for a newsletter from Box Tops for Education)
Free Full Size Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant
Pledge Multi Surface Wipes Sample and $1 coupon (you have to answer a 2 question survey first)
Duncan Hines Delectible Carrot Cake Free after Rebate
Night-time Renewal Kit from Tempur-Pedic!
14-day supply of Nature Made(R) Liquid Softgel Vitamins.
samples of Crystal Light, Purell, Blistex for joining REMEDYLife.
box of Touch of Gray for Men with this printable coupon!
sample pack of X2O energy drink for a quick survey!
30 minutes of tutoring for your child from Tutor.com!
Fiber One - Cereal, chewy bar, and coupons! A great sample!
Pantene Expressions - Got more free shampoo & conditioner to try! No coupon, but you can still request this sample by signing-in to the P&G website.
Head & Shoulders - Another free shampoo & conditioner sample. You can choose from smooth & silk or dry scalp.
Healthy Balance Juice - I got my $1 off 2 coupon and a 25 cent coupon with recipes for Old Orchard Healthy Balance Juice.
Hanes - You too can be getting several pairs of free underwear in the mail! Just enter Hanes Wedgie-Free Wednesday once a week and you can win this sweeps more than once!
Family Circle - You can still request 2 free issues from StartSampling. If you already have a subscription, they will simply add on 2 issues to it.
Kraft Food & Family - A great free magazine from Kraft and I was happy to see the Fall issue had 4 coupons in it.
American Baby - Yet another free magazine! Like a short version of Parents magazine.
Lactaid - Got a 4-packet sample to try for free.
Free Master Lock at Sears Hardware- In store
Free Guitar Strings
Home Depot - Free Do It Herself Workshops - register for a free in-store class and receive a 10% off coupon
FREE Bag of Purina Yesterday's News Litter
Free subscription to Pet Style News
FREE Subscription - Remedy Magazine
Receive a free sample of Mary Kay mascara
Free Sample of Oxyfresh Toothpaste
TRADITIONAL HOMES 1 year free
Walmart.com always has free samples. For me they always arrive exactly as they said, quickly and usually with pretty good coupons. This week their samples are:
Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes - Just add some pampering to your everyday bathroom routine.
Gain with Baking Soda - Get sparkling clean clothes with a scent you’ll love.
alli® Book – Read about real people who lost weight with alli®.
Benefiber Sticks – New single-serving size makes it simple and easy to travel.
Benefiber Fiber Supplement – Add the fiber you need to your cooking.
Cascade® Complete All-in-1 + Mr. Clean Magic Eraser – Get your dishes completely clean with the new Cascade® Complete All-in-1 formula.
Kotex Pads, Liners and Tampons – New and improved pads, liners and tampons for ultimate comfort and convenience.
Tampax® Pearl – Only Tampax® Pearl has the LeakGuard™ braid and core protection built in.
Ultra Downey TotalCare – Help keep that first-wear love alive.
Freeflys.com has an ongoing list of some free samples. You can also get a RSS feed when they get new samples to read easily in Google Reader.
COUPONS
Custom Fruit Rollups Coupon
You can go here and choose pictures and text to have printed on your customized fruit rollups. The price is $30 for 30 roll ups and my shipping was $7. The coupon code MYFRU10 will get you $10 off your order total.
Tons of printable Babies R Us coupons valid until 9/14 and if you shop online you can enter code 923913 for $5 off of $25.
Babycenter.com Free Shipping on $25 or more: Coupon Code SHOPPING
DSW.com Free Shipping on $25 or more: Coupon Code RSHPDSW
Gap.com Get 20% off Baby Gap purchases of $75 or more through September 21: Coupon Code BBDHNJL9C6JB
Every Monday there is a new code to get a free rental from Redbox DVD vending machines. The code is only good on Monday and the DVD has to be back by Tuesday at 9pm but you can't beat a free movie rental. Also, the code works once for each credit or debit card, so if you have more than one, you can rent more than one movie for free. Deal Seeking Mom lists the codes each Monday.
If you shop at Kroger, you can load coupons onto your Kroger card and get coupon credit by simply presenting your Kroger card at checkout. There are two sites that do this, (shortcuts.com and P&G eSaver) and they each have different coupons. The bonus is that these online coupons are typically the same as coupons in the Sunday paper, but if you load the coupon onto your card AND cut out the coupon and take it in to the store, you get the coupon credit TWICE!!
OTHER ROCKIN DEALS
Target.com has Free Shipping when you purchase $50 or more in Baby Gear
Earth's Best Baby Food is BOGO at Publix this week. Wish we had a Publix here, thats a stockopportunity!!
Toys R Us stores have ALL DVDs and BluRay's for buy 2 get the 3rd free until Saturday. We stocked up on some for Christmas and Lil's Birthday.
Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Piper Lime have combined shipping fees of only $7 whether you shop from one store or all four. If you add something from Piper Lime to your order of any thing from any of the other three stores to your order, shipping is FREE. (if you're looking for something from Piper Lime to add to your order, Lillian is drooling over these in size 4.)
We've started using Angel Food Ministries for the bulk of our groceries. You can read a review about the program here.
Walmart.com always has a good selection of items available for 97 cent shipping.
If you have a Food Lion in your area, if you buy six gallons of milk from August to December this year and save the register "ticket" that prints with your receipt, you can turn in the tickets for a free gallon of milk. Not bad for us since milk here is $5.99 a gallon.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Richard's Wishlist
Dominion Game $30
The Last Airbender on Blu-Ray
Ninja in Blu Ray $16
Apple iPod Touch 64G $399
Subscription to Maximum PC Magazine $15
Cyber Cube Silver $22
Cotton Candy Maker $50
Bean Bag Chair 37in, Cotton Taupe $125
Beef Jerkey, Green Monster Energy Drinks, Blue Powerade
Gift Cards to:
Regal Cinema
Sam's Club
Texas Roadhouse
Red Lobster
Applebee's
Burger King
Outback
The Last Airbender on Blu-Ray
Ninja in Blu Ray $16
Apple iPod Touch 64G $399
Subscription to Maximum PC Magazine $15
Cyber Cube Silver $22
Cotton Candy Maker $50
Bean Bag Chair 37in, Cotton Taupe $125
Beef Jerkey, Green Monster Energy Drinks, Blue Powerade
Gift Cards to:
Regal Cinema
Sam's Club
Texas Roadhouse
Red Lobster
Applebee's
Burger King
Outback
Stacey's Wishlist
I have an Amazon Wishlist at: http://amzn.com/w/2XH50PYGPQVG8 which lists everything I want in detail, with links. Just the general stuff is left listed here.
Tickets to Cirque du Soleil
Van detailing
All my music CDs uploaded onto my ipod for me
Handbag-like:
Storksak Emily Pewter Nylon
Seatbelt bag Lola Ruffle Tote Espresso
Seatbelt Bag Large Tote Sangria or Espresso
A surprise weekend away
A surprise night out, with babysitting planned
Gift Cards:
Regal Movie Theaters
Old Navy
Target
Amazon
TJ Maxx
Skinny Dip
Outback
Texas Roadhouse
Chick Fil A
Qdoba
Pizza Hut
itunes
Tickets to Cirque du Soleil
Van detailing
All my music CDs uploaded onto my ipod for me
Handbag-like:
Storksak Emily Pewter Nylon
Seatbelt bag Lola Ruffle Tote Espresso
Seatbelt Bag Large Tote Sangria or Espresso
A surprise weekend away
A surprise night out, with babysitting planned
Gift Cards:
Regal Movie Theaters
Old Navy
Target
Amazon
TJ Maxx
Skinny Dip
Outback
Texas Roadhouse
Chick Fil A
Qdoba
Pizza Hut
itunes
Lillian's Wishlist
This is Lillian's general want/need list...however I have a more specific list of items at Amazon. It is located at: http://amzn.com/w/1SKN1MX9620P1
Hoodie sweatshirts, that are all one piece, not zip up, size 4T or 5T
"Track pants" or "warm up pants" or "running pants", any color, size 4T
Any shoes size 10 or higher.
Lil wants "stripey" tights or pants
$50 for tickets for Circus or Disney on Ice
$55 for zoo membership
$100 for Aquarium membership
Gift Cards:
Gap
Picture People
Itunes
Hoodie sweatshirts, that are all one piece, not zip up, size 4T or 5T
"Track pants" or "warm up pants" or "running pants", any color, size 4T
Any shoes size 10 or higher.
Lil wants "stripey" tights or pants
$50 for tickets for Circus or Disney on Ice
$55 for zoo membership
$100 for Aquarium membership
Gift Cards:
Gap
Picture People
Itunes
New Pictures
There are new pictures on the picasa site in the following albums:
Lillian August 2008
Lillian September 2008
Lillian & Kylie
Apparently I haven't uploaded the camera for awhile...oops.
Lillian August 2008
Lillian September 2008
Lillian & Kylie
Apparently I haven't uploaded the camera for awhile...oops.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Hurricane Watch
Currently Virginia has been declared by Governor Kaine in "a state of emergency".
Tropical Storm Hanna is supposed to hit here Saturday with rain and heavy winds, possibly knocking out power.
Hurricane Ike is possibly going to hit us. It is currently a Category 4, possibly will get up to a 5, before dropping back down. If it does head our way, it will probably hit us as a Category 3 on Wednesday or Thursday. If it does hit as a Category 3, there will most likely be evacuations.
Tropical Storm Josephine is right behind Ike and may or may not head our way.
Richard is on duty this weekend, if we evacuate this weekend, he will NOT evacuate with us, he will be required to stay at work.
If we evacuate next week, he MAY or MAY NOT evacuate with us, work will tell him what he is to do.
If we evacuate, we will head to Deb and Bill's house in Durham, NC. We should be able to take back roads (to avoid the road closures, forcing everyone to evacuate north) and make it there. We will also have our friend Kally and her 5 month old baby and 7 year old daughter with us. Kally's husband is in Iraq.
We have two more women in our Sunday School class whose husbands are in Iraq and at least one more who's husband is leaving tomorrow on one of the ships. They are sending all the ships out of port to hopefully ride out the storms. They are flying most of the aircraft off all the bases around here, sending them to Ohio, Missouri and some other midwest states.
We purchased water and non-perishable foods today as well as lighters, batteries, etc. We stocked up on gas and should be set to go. We have all our important documents together and have a car charger for the cell phones.
If you need to get ahold of us, please call my cell phone 810-423-0456, as we will try to reserve R's for work calls and if the two of us get separated.
Please pray for us in this next week or two but especially for the many women who are without their husbands and are trying to take care of pets, children and houses alone.
Waiting to see what happens....
Tropical Storm Hanna is supposed to hit here Saturday with rain and heavy winds, possibly knocking out power.
Hurricane Ike is possibly going to hit us. It is currently a Category 4, possibly will get up to a 5, before dropping back down. If it does head our way, it will probably hit us as a Category 3 on Wednesday or Thursday. If it does hit as a Category 3, there will most likely be evacuations.
Tropical Storm Josephine is right behind Ike and may or may not head our way.
Richard is on duty this weekend, if we evacuate this weekend, he will NOT evacuate with us, he will be required to stay at work.
If we evacuate next week, he MAY or MAY NOT evacuate with us, work will tell him what he is to do.
If we evacuate, we will head to Deb and Bill's house in Durham, NC. We should be able to take back roads (to avoid the road closures, forcing everyone to evacuate north) and make it there. We will also have our friend Kally and her 5 month old baby and 7 year old daughter with us. Kally's husband is in Iraq.
We have two more women in our Sunday School class whose husbands are in Iraq and at least one more who's husband is leaving tomorrow on one of the ships. They are sending all the ships out of port to hopefully ride out the storms. They are flying most of the aircraft off all the bases around here, sending them to Ohio, Missouri and some other midwest states.
We purchased water and non-perishable foods today as well as lighters, batteries, etc. We stocked up on gas and should be set to go. We have all our important documents together and have a car charger for the cell phones.
If you need to get ahold of us, please call my cell phone 810-423-0456, as we will try to reserve R's for work calls and if the two of us get separated.
Please pray for us in this next week or two but especially for the many women who are without their husbands and are trying to take care of pets, children and houses alone.
Waiting to see what happens....
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Week in Review
Things I love:
1. The person who suggested filling plugs (pacifiers) with water and freezing them.
2. The frozen water filled plugs. Lillian will not chew on any teethers or wet washcloths or anything, but she LOVES the frozen plugs. We now store or arsenal in the freezer.
3. Our new water bottles. They are the On The Go bottles from Nalgene. Not only is it a Nalgene bottle, which I love, but it is slim enough to fit in most cupholders, including that of the stroller. But it also has a flip top nozzle lid. It is completely spill proof, yet you don't have to screw off the lid and be mammoth mouth to drink out of it.
4. That our daughter will eat anything. Including chicken, ribs and roll from Busch Gardens yesterday.
5. That R bought me flowers on Saturday "for no reason" and he took Jack's birthday present to the post office all by himself. PS-I think the roses were because I got up 5 MILLION TIMES in the night with Lillian over the last week and he didn't at all. But if he wants to call it "for no reason" thats fine with me. I'm just enjoying them.
6. TiVo
7. The Smart Shopping Cart by Leapfrog. Lillian loves it. And walks pushing it. INSANE. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I'm pretty sure we're going to have to leave it out as she's learning to walk already.
8. My new reusable shopping/gift bags from Toys R Us. They are bigger than any others I've seen and they have many super cute designs, with just a small Toys R Us. This is so you don't feel like a retard walking into Kroger with a Target bag and vice versa. I have been using them for everything and will be using them to give gifts in as, at $1.49, they are no more than a regular, disposable gift bag. (Unfortunately Google could not show me a picture of the bags, I will try to take one with the next batch of uploaded Picasa pictures-but trust me, they are super cute!)
9. Lillian is not crawling yet. YAY!!! But she's really close unfortunately. We just bought some "crawler covers" aka leg warmers to help protect her sad little knees which are all rug burned up.
10. Lillian's Halloween costume. I won't say more now so I'll leave you in suspense.
12. The bright idea to use a pipe cleaner to clean out reusable straws. Excellent for sippy cups with straws.
13. The backyardigans. Could you get any cuter than Tyrone, Pablo and Uniqua? I don't think so. Although their theme song could use some work.
14. That the View is back in live production and Oprah is soon to follow.
15. My Pacifia. Everytime I use it or use another vehicle or see someone else struggling to get something in or out of a vehicle, I remember how much I LOVE MY PACIFICA and its automatic lift gate.
16. My new keychain. I love that its skinny enough to not be bulky in the diaper bag or R's pocket. However its big enough to find in the diaper bag without getting lost. Its also perfet to just slide the keychain in my pocket, letting the keys hang out but not fall out. It fits on my wrist! (Mine is like the picture but the ribbon is pink and orange polka dot...surprise!)
17. Busch Gardens. I swear each time I go, I love it more. Even with two babies, a 7 year old and a hot day.
18. My diaper bag. I went through a couple before I found "the one". It just works for us. I'm convince finding a diaper bag is like finding a spouse, there's one -and only one- for everyone. You might find a few duds before the real deal but then you will be so in love you can't see straight.
19. That the newest Mozilla Firefox will automatically (if you tell it to) save all of your tabs when your browser gets closed (by your husband) and open them up when you open Mozilla the next time.
20. That I have now purchased, written in, addressed, sealed and calendared all of my cards for the rest of the year (except for Christmas).
21. That I get to make digital Christmas Cards and Invites for Lillian's Birthday party (which will be Saturday, January 24th, 2009. Mark your calendars now and make plans to attend. I promise it will be a spectacular event).
22. Homemade Mozzarella Sticks. Thanks Megan!
Things I hate:
1. That our carseat has an expiration date of next July. That means we will need a new one for our next (if we have a next one) kid. Glad we got this one on craigslist since we used it for a whole 7 months.
2. That Lillian was 26 inches last month and is 25 inches now. Come on people, you are in the Navy, do you think you can measure a baby. Especially one who lays completely still while you do so. Is she or isn't she too long for her current carseat?
3. Baby washcloths. What a waste of material. I just bought at two 12 packs of white washcloths at Target, on sale from $2.49 to $1.69. I keep two boxes on my dryer, one inside the other. In the large box is all the clean white washcloths. In the smaller box, are all the wet/dirty washcloths, ready to be dumped into the washer. BEST THOUGHT EVER. And yes, we go through 24 washcloths in about three days, insane.
4. That to get a new cell phone (a smart one, with a keyboard and a calendar) I must: purchase the phone: $99, add an additional three years to our already obscenely long contract with Sprint, choose a new monthly plan. Which of course does not come in anything similar to what we have now (500 minutes shared between three people), but only much larger (1500 minutes), much more expensive plans. And that is all without any texting or web browsing. I LOVE SPRINT!!!!!
5. The fact that apparently Virginia doesn't get cold enough to require stores to sell hats for babies. Or maybe they're not just "cool" right now. I think they're adorable though, the more outrageous the better, and aim to find some, somewhere.
6. Barney, Dora (although she does try to teach Spanish), Little Einsteins, Elmo, Bratz, Blues Clues and all other over-used kid's cartoons. Even more, all the new cartoons that are so STUPID. We're all about the Bernstein Bears, Gerbert, Dennis the Menace, Inspector Gadget, Bobby's World, Looney Tunes, Garfield and Friends, Doug, Carmen Sandiago, Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Road Runner, and Heathcliff.
7. That Army Wives hasn't been on for two weeks now.
8. The "service soon" light. If you can prompt the light to come on, you would think you can prompt the light to be more specific.
9. New Facebook, Vista, Office 2007. Nuff said.
10. That if I want to guarrantee R will be here for my next birth, I must get pregnant in/before October or not for three and a half years. YUCK!!!!!! (And NOT HAPPENING in/before October so y'all can just stop asking and petitioning unless you'd like to volunteer your womb.)
Things I need:
1. Ideas for great toys for 1 year olds for Lil's Christmas List
2. Same thing for DVD's (other than Veggie Tales and Baby Einstein)
3. Pink and Orange foods. Leave your comment with all you can think of.
4. Birthday party ideas for entertaining 2-3 year olds.
5. Visitors this fall. Come on people, come visit us.
1. The person who suggested filling plugs (pacifiers) with water and freezing them.
2. The frozen water filled plugs. Lillian will not chew on any teethers or wet washcloths or anything, but she LOVES the frozen plugs. We now store or arsenal in the freezer.
3. Our new water bottles. They are the On The Go bottles from Nalgene. Not only is it a Nalgene bottle, which I love, but it is slim enough to fit in most cupholders, including that of the stroller. But it also has a flip top nozzle lid. It is completely spill proof, yet you don't have to screw off the lid and be mammoth mouth to drink out of it.
4. That our daughter will eat anything. Including chicken, ribs and roll from Busch Gardens yesterday.
5. That R bought me flowers on Saturday "for no reason" and he took Jack's birthday present to the post office all by himself. PS-I think the roses were because I got up 5 MILLION TIMES in the night with Lillian over the last week and he didn't at all. But if he wants to call it "for no reason" thats fine with me. I'm just enjoying them.
6. TiVo
7. The Smart Shopping Cart by Leapfrog. Lillian loves it. And walks pushing it. INSANE. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I'm pretty sure we're going to have to leave it out as she's learning to walk already.
8. My new reusable shopping/gift bags from Toys R Us. They are bigger than any others I've seen and they have many super cute designs, with just a small Toys R Us. This is so you don't feel like a retard walking into Kroger with a Target bag and vice versa. I have been using them for everything and will be using them to give gifts in as, at $1.49, they are no more than a regular, disposable gift bag. (Unfortunately Google could not show me a picture of the bags, I will try to take one with the next batch of uploaded Picasa pictures-but trust me, they are super cute!)
9. Lillian is not crawling yet. YAY!!! But she's really close unfortunately. We just bought some "crawler covers" aka leg warmers to help protect her sad little knees which are all rug burned up.
10. Lillian's Halloween costume. I won't say more now so I'll leave you in suspense.
12. The bright idea to use a pipe cleaner to clean out reusable straws. Excellent for sippy cups with straws.
13. The backyardigans. Could you get any cuter than Tyrone, Pablo and Uniqua? I don't think so. Although their theme song could use some work.
14. That the View is back in live production and Oprah is soon to follow.15. My Pacifia. Everytime I use it or use another vehicle or see someone else struggling to get something in or out of a vehicle, I remember how much I LOVE MY PACIFICA and its automatic lift gate.
16. My new keychain. I love that its skinny enough to not be bulky in the diaper bag or R's pocket. However its big enough to find in the diaper bag without getting lost. Its also perfet to just slide the keychain in my pocket, letting the keys hang out but not fall out. It fits on my wrist! (Mine is like the picture but the ribbon is pink and orange polka dot...surprise!)
17. Busch Gardens. I swear each time I go, I love it more. Even with two babies, a 7 year old and a hot day.18. My diaper bag. I went through a couple before I found "the one". It just works for us. I'm convince finding a diaper bag is like finding a spouse, there's one -and only one- for everyone. You might find a few duds before the real deal but then you will be so in love you can't see straight.
19. That the newest Mozilla Firefox will automatically (if you tell it to) save all of your tabs when your browser gets closed (by your husband) and open them up when you open Mozilla the next time.20. That I have now purchased, written in, addressed, sealed and calendared all of my cards for the rest of the year (except for Christmas).
21. That I get to make digital Christmas Cards and Invites for Lillian's Birthday party (which will be Saturday, January 24th, 2009. Mark your calendars now and make plans to attend. I promise it will be a spectacular event).
22. Homemade Mozzarella Sticks. Thanks Megan!
Things I hate:
1. That our carseat has an expiration date of next July. That means we will need a new one for our next (if we have a next one) kid. Glad we got this one on craigslist since we used it for a whole 7 months.
2. That Lillian was 26 inches last month and is 25 inches now. Come on people, you are in the Navy, do you think you can measure a baby. Especially one who lays completely still while you do so. Is she or isn't she too long for her current carseat?
3. Baby washcloths. What a waste of material. I just bought at two 12 packs of white washcloths at Target, on sale from $2.49 to $1.69. I keep two boxes on my dryer, one inside the other. In the large box is all the clean white washcloths. In the smaller box, are all the wet/dirty washcloths, ready to be dumped into the washer. BEST THOUGHT EVER. And yes, we go through 24 washcloths in about three days, insane.
4. That to get a new cell phone (a smart one, with a keyboard and a calendar) I must: purchase the phone: $99, add an additional three years to our already obscenely long contract with Sprint, choose a new monthly plan. Which of course does not come in anything similar to what we have now (500 minutes shared between three people), but only much larger (1500 minutes), much more expensive plans. And that is all without any texting or web browsing. I LOVE SPRINT!!!!!
5. The fact that apparently Virginia doesn't get cold enough to require stores to sell hats for babies. Or maybe they're not just "cool" right now. I think they're adorable though, the more outrageous the better, and aim to find some, somewhere.
6. Barney, Dora (although she does try to teach Spanish), Little Einsteins, Elmo, Bratz, Blues Clues and all other over-used kid's cartoons. Even more, all the new cartoons that are so STUPID. We're all about the Bernstein Bears, Gerbert, Dennis the Menace, Inspector Gadget, Bobby's World, Looney Tunes, Garfield and Friends, Doug, Carmen Sandiago, Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Road Runner, and Heathcliff.
7. That Army Wives hasn't been on for two weeks now.8. The "service soon" light. If you can prompt the light to come on, you would think you can prompt the light to be more specific.
9. New Facebook, Vista, Office 2007. Nuff said.
10. That if I want to guarrantee R will be here for my next birth, I must get pregnant in/before October or not for three and a half years. YUCK!!!!!! (And NOT HAPPENING in/before October so y'all can just stop asking and petitioning unless you'd like to volunteer your womb.)
Things I need:
1. Ideas for great toys for 1 year olds for Lil's Christmas List
2. Same thing for DVD's (other than Veggie Tales and Baby Einstein)
3. Pink and Orange foods. Leave your comment with all you can think of.
4. Birthday party ideas for entertaining 2-3 year olds.
5. Visitors this fall. Come on people, come visit us.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
This weekend has been awful, aside from the visit with the Howard's and Fusco's which was great! We went to a great mall with them and got Lil's halloween costume. We watched movies and hung out, had GREAT food and visited a new church with them (they just moved there).
On the upside, I am still fat (that's not the upside, I'm getting to that), so I think this weekend has helped me to lose a little more weight, between not eating and puking. So we will see for sure tomorrow morning at scale time.
I have made some changes to the blog, as you will see outlined in the text above. I am sorry if you could not get to the blog in the meantime, but as you can see it is now invite only, please let anyone know who you know likes to read the blog. The changes will require a couple extra steps on your part, for which I am sorry, but it should make the blogging experience better in the long run. If you do not understand the new comment policy or how to make a comment without a blogger account, please email me at StaceyBrill@gmail.com.
You will also notice many posts missing. This is not an error, this was on purpose. The best posts are left for your re-reading enjoyment.
I probably will not be posting as much as I have been and I probably will not post for a while. I'm just not in the mood right now. But don't give up, the blog is still open and eventually I'm sure I will post again.
On the upside, I am still fat (that's not the upside, I'm getting to that), so I think this weekend has helped me to lose a little more weight, between not eating and puking. So we will see for sure tomorrow morning at scale time.
I have made some changes to the blog, as you will see outlined in the text above. I am sorry if you could not get to the blog in the meantime, but as you can see it is now invite only, please let anyone know who you know likes to read the blog. The changes will require a couple extra steps on your part, for which I am sorry, but it should make the blogging experience better in the long run. If you do not understand the new comment policy or how to make a comment without a blogger account, please email me at StaceyBrill@gmail.com.
You will also notice many posts missing. This is not an error, this was on purpose. The best posts are left for your re-reading enjoyment.
I probably will not be posting as much as I have been and I probably will not post for a while. I'm just not in the mood right now. But don't give up, the blog is still open and eventually I'm sure I will post again.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Ugh, its Monday
This is my new favorite thing. Odd, since I don't like peanut butter or honey, but together and schmeared on an apple, it is marvelous. I received three magazines in the mail today. That helped to make the day a little less Monday.
Kylie was back today, it was great to see her, and Brandon and Lindsey, after being apart for two weeks. However, it was not nice to wake up early again. Why couldn't I wake up bright eyed at 6am like I did all week in Iowa?
Lillian is sitting up like a pro!!! And a pro with good posture. She is also, much to my dismay, up on all fours, rocking back and forth. She is mere weeks (hopefully not days) away from crawling. Ugh, we've got lots of work to do, babyproofing. Specially since her favorite thing to do is pull on the tablecloth.
On a sad note, Lillian has peed twice while being changed in the last two days. Yesterday it was for Richard and he laughed. Today it was for me and I looked right at her and said "NO" loudly. She cried. Then I laughed.
She is sucking her thumb alot, we try to pull it out, but she is quicker than us. We could pull it out 100 times a day and she would put it back in 101.
She is eating anything and everything. She loves eating whatever is on our plates. And she cannot get enough vanilla yogurt.
I am excited to go see the Howards and Fuscos this weekend in North Carolina.
We are trying to find a weekend to go to Busch Gardens and use our free passes. Cyndi, you should come out and go with us.
I'm also tempted to go back to Great Wolf Lodge. They have fall specials and military specials going on now. Its $149 a room, but it includes sleeping for 6 and 6 passes to the water park. Cyndi? Come on, ya know ya wanna.
It looks like we are not going to have any overnight company for the rest of the year and I'm sad if you can't tell. I love having people here and hate it that we live so far away no one can make it for a long weekend.
I am loving watching the olympics. And am still amazed by the opening ceremony box act. I am in awe of the choreography skills of the Chinese.
6 month pictures
I uploaded Lillian's six month pictures to our Picasa site. I uploaded the full size photos, so they may take a minute to load (especially for those archaic dial-up users...Mom and Dad Brill) but they should print fine in any size you want.
Print on people!
Print on people!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Educational Placemats
Some of you may know of my obsession with educational placemats. (Thank you, Kerstin's mom.)
I have had a few people ask me which ones I currently have so that they can help me add to my collection without purchasing duplicates. So I am going to make a list here of placemats we already own, and I will make a link in the right sidebar to this post and keep it updated so you can always get the most current list.
We already have:
Cursive
Flags of the US
Weights & Measures
Print Alphabet
Colors
Numbers
Multiplication
Dinosaurs
Presidents
World Map
US Map
Shapes
Weather
Musical Instruments
Solar System
Subtraction
Sign Language Alphabet
Ones I have seen and love, but do not have: (get ready, the list is long)
Money
Time
Addition
Division
Fractions
World Flags
Human Body
Periodic Table
Place Setting
Roman Numerals
Constellations
Composers
Bugs
Phonics
Metric System
Transportation
Counting to 100
Pyramid
Maze
Road Signs
Zoo Animals
Rocks/Minerals
Ocean Life
Butterflies
Birds
I have had a few people ask me which ones I currently have so that they can help me add to my collection without purchasing duplicates. So I am going to make a list here of placemats we already own, and I will make a link in the right sidebar to this post and keep it updated so you can always get the most current list.
We already have:
Cursive
Flags of the US
Weights & Measures
Print Alphabet
Colors
Numbers
Multiplication
Dinosaurs
Presidents
World Map
US Map
Shapes
Weather
Musical Instruments
Solar System
Subtraction
Sign Language Alphabet
Ones I have seen and love, but do not have: (get ready, the list is long)
Money
Time
Addition
Division
Fractions
World Flags
Human Body
Periodic Table
Place Setting
Roman Numerals
Constellations
Composers
Bugs
Phonics
Metric System
Transportation
Counting to 100
Pyramid
Maze
Road Signs
Zoo Animals
Rocks/Minerals
Ocean Life
Butterflies
Birds
We got back from Iowa, uneventfully, thankfully.
I had an ultrasound today to follow up with some problems from my c-section but my appointment to find out the results isn't til September 15th. Pray for patience.
R went back to work tonight and said lots of stuff is messed up. Pray for patience.
We received the rest of Lillian's six month pictures today via email and they are up at Becky's website. I love them, but still wish Lil would have been in a better, more smiley mood. We have all the rights to these photos, and anyone can save and print them. However, wait until they are up on our Picasa website, because these ones are imprinted with her name and are a low resolution for easy web viewing.
I went through our motherload of mail tonight and ended up with four magazines, three bills, two coupons and one certificate for a free month of Gymboree classes. Whee! I balanced the checkbook, did laundry and cleaned also. Yes, I know how to have a good time.
I'm going to upload pictures tomorrow of the rest of the Iowa pictures (yes mother, including the verse I painted on Gma's kitchen wall) and a couple we've taken since we got home.
Also tomorrow, R's brother, Kenny, is going to visit us for the first time.
I'm going to chop my hair off. There's no stopping me now, just debating how short and how to cut it. My favorite two options are:
Number One Front:
Number One Back (right):
Number Two:
Number One Back (right):
Number Two:
Number Three:
However, I am going between this type of cut and one that is more plain but would allow me to still get my hair into a ponytail. Something like these:
Number Four:
Number Five:
Number Six:
Number Seven:
Thoughts? But make them pronto, or I'm liable to get over anxious and just hack it all off myself.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday and Sunday
Saturday
We went out to breakfast at Village Inn then did a driving tour around all the new stuff in Ankeny. You wouldn't even belive it here, Julie, its insane. Then I went over to Doug and Cyndi's to help Cyndi with Katie's 12th birthday party. Richard and Lillian stayed at Gma's and hung out with Gma and Mom and Dad. We came back over to Gma's last night and watched the olympics and played games.
Sunday
Mom and Dad left this morning :-( Then we went to church with Cyndi and Doug and Gma came too. (She does attend church regularly, but at a different church.) We had lunch at Applebee's then I dropped R, L and Gma off at Gma's and I went to get Cyndi and we went to a few stores. Then I dropped her off and came back to Gma's to watch Lillian while R went out to see the Batman movie with Ashley. We just hung out here the rest of the night and watched the olympics. Bed now.
We went out to breakfast at Village Inn then did a driving tour around all the new stuff in Ankeny. You wouldn't even belive it here, Julie, its insane. Then I went over to Doug and Cyndi's to help Cyndi with Katie's 12th birthday party. Richard and Lillian stayed at Gma's and hung out with Gma and Mom and Dad. We came back over to Gma's last night and watched the olympics and played games.
Sunday
Mom and Dad left this morning :-( Then we went to church with Cyndi and Doug and Gma came too. (She does attend church regularly, but at a different church.) We had lunch at Applebee's then I dropped R, L and Gma off at Gma's and I went to get Cyndi and we went to a few stores. Then I dropped her off and came back to Gma's to watch Lillian while R went out to see the Batman movie with Ashley. We just hung out here the rest of the night and watched the olympics. Bed now.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday
I worked on the verse for above Gma's kitchen cabinets.
Wal-mart for the rest of the paint supplies
Over to Doug and Cyndi's to paint Katie's room from yellow with a painted flower boarder at the top to 3 walls pink one wall brown.
Also painted her bulletin board frame and a bookshelf.
Moved furniture back in.
Went to Stella's Diner for dinner.
Came back to Gma's.
Watched the opening ceremonies.
Played Sequence.
Wal-mart for the rest of the paint supplies
Over to Doug and Cyndi's to paint Katie's room from yellow with a painted flower boarder at the top to 3 walls pink one wall brown.
Also painted her bulletin board frame and a bookshelf.
Moved furniture back in.
Went to Stella's Diner for dinner.
Came back to Gma's.
Watched the opening ceremonies.
Played Sequence.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday
After getting up with Lillian four times between 2am (when I went to bed) and 6:30am (when I got up), I:
Balanced our checkbook
Put shelf paper on all of the bathroom shelves and drawers
Folded two loads of laundry
Had breakfast
Woke the troublemakers up
Fed the munchkin
Re stained the deck at Gma's (took forever and was HOT)
Took a shower
Ate lunch
Went to Drug Town (a great place, not what the name implies)
Went to Target to get Katie's new bedding, rug, and lamp
Went to Home Depot to do an exchange
Went to Menard's to do an exchange and get Katie's paint and cork board for Mom's craft room (more about that in December)
Then we went to Kaliediscoops, an ice cream place for Katie's birthday treat
Back to Gma's
Cleaned up our room downstairs
Did two more loads of laundry
Looked through a design book for Kid's bedrooms
Tried to find Cyndi a Papasan chair cushion cover (not possible for less than a whole cushion)
Looked up online to try to find a Bible verse wall decal for Gma's kitchen
Cyndi and Doug came for dinner
Jarrod came
Ashley came over
Got pizza
Watched Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King
Bathed the munchkin (someone else fed her :-)
Tried to find something fun to do with the kids on Monday
Talked about playing a game (didn't)
Talked about going to Wal-Mart at 1 am to get Katie's curtains (didn't)
Decided to paint the verse on Gma's soffet
Played with different fonts on the computer
Mom and Dad went to their hotel
Richard and Lillian went to bed
Checked facebook
Read Google Reader
Started writing blog entry
Gma went to bed
Now I'm going to fold two loads of laundry and go to bed
Til tomorrow...
Balanced our checkbook
Put shelf paper on all of the bathroom shelves and drawers
Folded two loads of laundry
Had breakfast
Woke the troublemakers up
Fed the munchkin
Re stained the deck at Gma's (took forever and was HOT)
Took a shower
Ate lunch
Went to Drug Town (a great place, not what the name implies)
Went to Target to get Katie's new bedding, rug, and lamp
Went to Home Depot to do an exchange
Went to Menard's to do an exchange and get Katie's paint and cork board for Mom's craft room (more about that in December)
Then we went to Kaliediscoops, an ice cream place for Katie's birthday treat
Back to Gma's
Cleaned up our room downstairs
Did two more loads of laundry
Looked through a design book for Kid's bedrooms
Tried to find Cyndi a Papasan chair cushion cover (not possible for less than a whole cushion)
Looked up online to try to find a Bible verse wall decal for Gma's kitchen
Cyndi and Doug came for dinner
Jarrod came
Ashley came over
Got pizza
Watched Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King
Bathed the munchkin (someone else fed her :-)
Tried to find something fun to do with the kids on Monday
Talked about playing a game (didn't)
Talked about going to Wal-Mart at 1 am to get Katie's curtains (didn't)
Decided to paint the verse on Gma's soffet
Played with different fonts on the computer
Mom and Dad went to their hotel
Richard and Lillian went to bed
Checked facebook
Read Google Reader
Started writing blog entry
Gma went to bed
Now I'm going to fold two loads of laundry and go to bed
Til tomorrow...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday
I'm posting from Iowa, but its just a short list of what we did each day to keep you updated but not take my time away from THE BEST WEEK EVER.
Tuesday:
Arrived at Omaha with all luggage and almost on time
Drove to Ankeny, IA
Had lunch at Maid Rite
Unpacked
Target for Diapers and Formula (and of course baby clothes)
SAW ASHLEY!!!
Hickory Park for dinner! Yum cheese curds and sundaes.
Wednesday:
Put the veneer on the cabinets in Gma's kitchen
Put shelf liner on all shelves and Drawers
Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, Michael's
Dinner at Cyndi & Dougs
Played Wii
Planned the rest of our time
Back to Gma's for sleep
Received preview of Lillian's six month shots in my email. It's below. Thanks Becky Breedlove!
Tuesday:
Arrived at Omaha with all luggage and almost on time
Drove to Ankeny, IA
Had lunch at Maid Rite
Unpacked
Target for Diapers and Formula (and of course baby clothes)
SAW ASHLEY!!!
Hickory Park for dinner! Yum cheese curds and sundaes.
Wednesday:
Put the veneer on the cabinets in Gma's kitchen
Put shelf liner on all shelves and Drawers
Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, Michael's
Dinner at Cyndi & Dougs
Played Wii
Planned the rest of our time
Back to Gma's for sleep
Received preview of Lillian's six month shots in my email. It's below. Thanks Becky Breedlove!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Life is Magic
On a random whim, I decided to add a note to Kerstin on the "Vacation" post below.
We are flying into and out of Omaha Airport. Although we don't want to spend too much time in Omaha, basically just dropping the rental car off and checking in for our flight, I thought being in Omaha was too close not to at least ask Kerstin (my bestest friend from high school, and the ONLY one I still talk to, sad, with our class size) if on the off chance she had next Wednesday off and would want to drive to the Omaha Airport (a 45 minute drive if I remember correctly) to see us for a mere ten or fifteen minutes.
Ha. Yeah right.
Much to my joy and amusement, see Kerstin's comment on that post. She will not only be off work next Wednesday, she will be ....are you ready? ....are you sure? ....This is big...
SHE WILL BE AT THE OMAHA AIRPORT sending her Mom back home to Flint.
INSANE and PERFECT.
Yay!
And I can proudly say I am much more excited to see Kerstin than a million Paula Deen's anyday.
We are flying into and out of Omaha Airport. Although we don't want to spend too much time in Omaha, basically just dropping the rental car off and checking in for our flight, I thought being in Omaha was too close not to at least ask Kerstin (my bestest friend from high school, and the ONLY one I still talk to, sad, with our class size) if on the off chance she had next Wednesday off and would want to drive to the Omaha Airport (a 45 minute drive if I remember correctly) to see us for a mere ten or fifteen minutes.
Ha. Yeah right.
Much to my joy and amusement, see Kerstin's comment on that post. She will not only be off work next Wednesday, she will be ....are you ready? ....are you sure? ....This is big...
SHE WILL BE AT THE OMAHA AIRPORT sending her Mom back home to Flint.
INSANE and PERFECT.
Yay!
And I can proudly say I am much more excited to see Kerstin than a million Paula Deen's anyday.
Poopy Pants
We originally planned on going to bed early since we had to get up at 4am to catch our flight.
Then we decided that since we typically don't go to bed until 1:30 am or later, we probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep earlier and therefore should just stay up all night rather than get 2+ hours of sleep.
Then, at 1:45, I was falling over and made the executive decision that, yes, we would sleep.
However in a move of supreme authority, at 2:30, Miss Lillian (aka Ruler of the World as we know it) decided to wake up crying because she pooped all over. When I say all over, I mean all over her diaper, all over her pjamas (which THANK GOODNESS were footed and zip up to her neck), all over her legs, back, stomach, arms (?!?!), and even a smudge on her face.
Needless to say it is 3:30 am and I am up, after having given her a bath and myself taking a shower to clean the poop off of us both, and she is sleeping peacefully again. I, on the other hand, am doing a load of laundry with exactly three items in it. This irks me mostly because I did a gigantor load at 1am, so that we would have all the laundry in the house clean and dry when we stepped out the door at 4am.
Now, not only am I doing another load at 3:30 am, but it is a load with a mere three things in it.
Yes, Master Lillian, whatever you say, your hiney.
Then we decided that since we typically don't go to bed until 1:30 am or later, we probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep earlier and therefore should just stay up all night rather than get 2+ hours of sleep.
Then, at 1:45, I was falling over and made the executive decision that, yes, we would sleep.
However in a move of supreme authority, at 2:30, Miss Lillian (aka Ruler of the World as we know it) decided to wake up crying because she pooped all over. When I say all over, I mean all over her diaper, all over her pjamas (which THANK GOODNESS were footed and zip up to her neck), all over her legs, back, stomach, arms (?!?!), and even a smudge on her face.
Needless to say it is 3:30 am and I am up, after having given her a bath and myself taking a shower to clean the poop off of us both, and she is sleeping peacefully again. I, on the other hand, am doing a load of laundry with exactly three items in it. This irks me mostly because I did a gigantor load at 1am, so that we would have all the laundry in the house clean and dry when we stepped out the door at 4am.
Now, not only am I doing another load at 3:30 am, but it is a load with a mere three things in it.
Yes, Master Lillian, whatever you say, your hiney.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Paula Deen
I know I said I was going away, and I am. But something unfortunate happened today and I just have to share.
If I wasn't leaving for Iowa in a couple hours I would have been able to be interviewed by Paula Deen for an "upcoming TV special" about Military wives. A producer of her's emailed me a week or so ago asking if I would be interested in being interviewed by Paula Deen, saying she had seen on my Facebook account that I was a Military wife in the Hampton Roads area. I replied sure and asked for more information, thinking it was surely a joke. But she emailed back and forth with me asking all about our marriage, his time in the Navy, etc. She emailed today and said she wanted me to come Wednesday at noon to be interviewed on camera by Paula Deen with only 2-3 other wives. However, we are leaving tomorrow morning. I am so BUMMED.
But she did ask if I had other military friends who might be interested. Of course I do so she said to call or email them and have them call her and she would maybe do one or some of them. So far I haven't heard anything, but I'm hoping she picks someone I know so I can at least know when its going to be on and everything.
Vacation
Sometimes I post 5 times a day, sometimes I post once a week. Get over it. :-)
We, and by we I mean I, am in a packing/cleaning/shutting up house frenzy. It is insane to me:
1. How early our flight is
2. How much stuff a 6 month old requires
3. How time consuming it is to finalize everything when everyone is going and no one is staying home (plants in the sink, laundry and dishes done, mail stopped, car keys given out, etc)
We are leaving bright and early (although I am sure it will definintly not be bright, it will still be dark, tomorrow morning to fly to Chicago O'Hare and then on to Omaha. We will be met there by someone from my family who will then drive us back to Ankeny, Iowa to visit my Grandma Shipp and my Aunt Cyndi and her family, as well as my parents who are joining us there for a few days. It was going to cost us $400 more, PER TICKET, to fly into Des Moines Airport. INSANE. So someone is picking us up and we will rent a car to drive back but it will still be way cheaper than flying into Des Moines.
Kerstin: I would love to see you but I'm not sure that we'll be arriving in Omaha any earlier than it will take us to turn the car in and board for our flight :-( Let me know if you are even possibly available next Wednesday the 15th around 5pm, wait I think our flight leaves at 5. I don't know. If you're not working next Wednesday afternoon let me know and I'll see if we can't meet for something super quick.
That's all folks. I'm off til next Thursday, or more likely, Friday. I am more excited about this trip than any in a long time. It will be so good for the three of us to get away, and not have it be Flint, where we're constantly running ragged trying to see everyone we know.
Ta ta!
We, and by we I mean I, am in a packing/cleaning/shutting up house frenzy. It is insane to me:
1. How early our flight is
2. How much stuff a 6 month old requires
3. How time consuming it is to finalize everything when everyone is going and no one is staying home (plants in the sink, laundry and dishes done, mail stopped, car keys given out, etc)
We are leaving bright and early (although I am sure it will definintly not be bright, it will still be dark, tomorrow morning to fly to Chicago O'Hare and then on to Omaha. We will be met there by someone from my family who will then drive us back to Ankeny, Iowa to visit my Grandma Shipp and my Aunt Cyndi and her family, as well as my parents who are joining us there for a few days. It was going to cost us $400 more, PER TICKET, to fly into Des Moines Airport. INSANE. So someone is picking us up and we will rent a car to drive back but it will still be way cheaper than flying into Des Moines.
Kerstin: I would love to see you but I'm not sure that we'll be arriving in Omaha any earlier than it will take us to turn the car in and board for our flight :-( Let me know if you are even possibly available next Wednesday the 15th around 5pm, wait I think our flight leaves at 5. I don't know. If you're not working next Wednesday afternoon let me know and I'll see if we can't meet for something super quick.
That's all folks. I'm off til next Thursday, or more likely, Friday. I am more excited about this trip than any in a long time. It will be so good for the three of us to get away, and not have it be Flint, where we're constantly running ragged trying to see everyone we know.
Ta ta!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Today...
*R had to be at work at noon instead of 2:30 and the day is lagging on forever.
*B&L are just going to leave K here until they come over for Bible Study, which is fine, but is also making the day lag on forever.
*We took the girls to the playground (for only about 10 minutes since it was FREAKIN hot) and Lil got to swing for the first time.
*I am catching up on last week's episodes of the View. And I appreciate them coordinating their summer hiatus with my vacation to Iowa.
*I did 6 loads of laundry. And I did laundry on Monday. Sick.
*I put butt cream on Lil's face because she has a huge rash I want to go away before her pictures on Sunday. She looks like a ghost.
*I am annoyed that Oprah has been in reruns for about 8 years.
*I used our last Swiffer Duster. I love those things. Gotta get some more.
*I am going to make three ham and cheese loaves for Bible Study.
*I let R take some of the Dirt Cake to work before people had it tonight for Bible Study, now it has a huge hole in it.
*I fed Lil Mango for the first time. She loved it. (It was from Gerber, no, I did not make her Mango)
*I cleaned our toilet AGAIN (see yesterdays post).
*I made finger jello for tonight. I love finger jello. I don't like regular jello but finger jello is so much better.
*B&L are just going to leave K here until they come over for Bible Study, which is fine, but is also making the day lag on forever.
*We took the girls to the playground (for only about 10 minutes since it was FREAKIN hot) and Lil got to swing for the first time.
*I am catching up on last week's episodes of the View. And I appreciate them coordinating their summer hiatus with my vacation to Iowa.
*I did 6 loads of laundry. And I did laundry on Monday. Sick.
*I put butt cream on Lil's face because she has a huge rash I want to go away before her pictures on Sunday. She looks like a ghost.
*I am annoyed that Oprah has been in reruns for about 8 years.
*I used our last Swiffer Duster. I love those things. Gotta get some more.
*I am going to make three ham and cheese loaves for Bible Study.
*I let R take some of the Dirt Cake to work before people had it tonight for Bible Study, now it has a huge hole in it.
*I fed Lil Mango for the first time. She loved it. (It was from Gerber, no, I did not make her Mango)
*I cleaned our toilet AGAIN (see yesterdays post).
*I made finger jello for tonight. I love finger jello. I don't like regular jello but finger jello is so much better.