A photo story

Despite my good intentions of doing better about my blogging I have been a slacker!

We have been busy with several things that I have not blogged about so I had to go to my pictures to remember myself...

First off - We went to see Thomas the Tank Engine - Hunter had his first cotton candy...

 

Our next event captured on camera was Ava's (Hunter's cousin) 4th birthday...

  

Unfortunately, Brad could not get off work to go up with us but Papa and Uncle James tended to Hunter in the water so big pregnant Mama did not have to get in!

Hunter loves race cars.  I found this outfit at a consignment sale and just had to have it!!!

Our next event was the Overton County Fair.  Hunter got to ride a horse in the lead line.  He then rode around forever and did not want to get off the horse!  We usually take camping chairs to sit in while we are waiting around.  This year we forgot them.  I swear I would have been happy with some classroom furniture if it had been available. Several times I had to go to the car and sit so that my ankles would not get to big!

  

  

 Hunter also rode some of the rides at the fair.  You can imagine how much he loved the race car ride!

Next up was Jonas's birthday party at the zoo's jungle gym!  Big fun!!!  

 

I will try not to get so behind again!  Have a great day!

Making Life Better

As a Mom it seems that I am always wanting to make life better. But it seems as each day goes by my life gets busier and I have less time to make it better.

One of the things that I have always enjoyed about magazines is the recipes and little tips. Unfortunately, magazines are one of the things that I have stopped renewing to save a little money.

Therefore, I was excited when www.momcentral.com told me about MakingLifeBetter.com's Family Fun Book. You can download it for free by clicking here.

This book has some great recipes! Some easy recipes, some "save you some money" recipes and great ideas for getting your family together for fun meals!

Not only is the Family Fun Book a great place for ideas but the web site also has great recipes, ideas, and tips as well. And they have some giveaways as well. So take a break from surfing, blogging or tending to your farm on FaceBook and check it out!!


I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Unilever/Making Life Better. Mom Central sent me a gift card and a copy of the Family Fun Book to thank me for taking the time to participate.

17 days

Oh yes, I am doing the countdown! I am big, mean and my ankles have begun to swell! Plus getting comfortable at night for sleep is impossible!

On a good note, my Mom came down weekend before last and we got through some of the crates of clothes from when Hunter was an infant. We (Mom) got the ones we need now washed and folded.

I still have the problem of too much stuff. I am hoping over the next couple of months I can get some more cleaned out. If not, I am going to have to buy some steel buildings to put in the back yard!

Oh well I know that it will all be fine. Just 17 more days!!!

**** Thanks to Pamela's comment I realize I didn't say what was in 17 days (now 16 days). It is baby day, new baby, end of pregnancy...

Do you have a white mustache?

Milk - we all know that it does a body good but how good are you at getting the white stuff into your system?

Me, myself and I - HORRIBLE. It is not that I don't like milk, it is just not something I crave unless, of course, I am sitting with a package of Oreos. Luckily my son loves milk! So I really don't have a problem making sure he gets enough each day.

As a woman, pregnant and planning on nursing, I know that it is very important that I get enough calcium. As stated on the Why Milk? web site, here are some of the reasons milk is important:
Calcium - for your bones and teeth (duh);
Vitamin D - the "sunshine vitamin" - )thanks to skin cancer scares we probably aren't getting as much of this as we need);
Phosphorus - helps the calcium and Vitamin D do their job;
Riboflavin - helps convert your food to energy. (As a Mom I sure do need energy!);
Protein - helps build and maintain lean muscle. (This will be important once my lean muscles return!);
Vitamin B-12 - helps in the production of Red Blood Cells;
Potassium - plays a big role in maintaining normal blood pressure;
Vitamin A - supports healthy skin and good vision - help your immune system. (stay away viruses!!!);
Niacin - Helps enzymes function.

If you are like me, you are now saying "yea, yea I know, milk is good for you but I still don't want to drink it." That is where the yummy part of the Why Milk website comes in to play. They have a section of recipes that look absolutely delicious! There is a cookies and cream smoothie on the list! Talk about getting your cookie and eating it too!

So check out the site and see if you can get yourself a white mustache! Seriously, it is good for you!

I would like to thank Mom Central for bringing this great site to my attention!

Getting to the Final Countdown

Wow! It seems unreal that in less than 5 weeks I will have a new son! My husband asked this morning, "are we ready for this?" I quickly answered "No." And really we are not. When I was expecting Hunter we had the room finished the bed put together, I had new clothes washed and put away. This poor baby has nothing prepared for him.

We have busy weeks the few weeks and my Mom is coming down to help me go through crates of clothes. She is also coming down a few days before I go into the hospital to help me get my house clean. I guess that it is a small blessing that I don't have a PS3 with Rock Band to be taking up all my time right now (but I would still like one).

I can't wait for the baby to get here and I know that he will not know if our house is totally ready or not. I can't wait to see him and see how Hunter responds to him! Yay, less that 5 weeks to go!!!

Zoom Zoom Zoo

Here in Nashville, the zoo is not really all that big but for a couple of 2 year olds it does the trick. Plus, it is more than enough walking and stroller pushing for an old pregnant lady!

My friend Marsha and I took the boys to the zoo Monday and had a great day. Luckily it was overcast and not humid so it really was a perfect day for zooing in the summer. A couple of times on hills I had to stop for a quick breath. I think if I could fit the zoo in several times a week after the baby is born, I won't even have to consider a diet pill.

Here are a few pictures of the boys. We got to feed the birds which Hunter loved but I was not really all that crazy about all those birds flying around me. Unfortunately I was to preoccupied with making sure I did not get shat upon to get any photos of that. Maybe next time - or not...

 

Oh the fishies

 

Does anyone think this goat is scared?

 

Super Hunter!

 

Rest Time...

Murphy's 4th of July weekend

Yes, we took Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) with us to the lake this weekend.  No one was really aware that he/she had tagged along until it was too late.

I will say that despite the things I am about to list we still had a good time with family and friends.  No one got hurt (too badly - my cousins child landed on my child off the slide) and the weather was not too hot and my brother did not take a drill to the hull of the boat.  So, we will call the weekend a success!

As my previous post stated we were going to head out from the dock early Friday morning, well the boat was not running properly - it would not go from forward to reverse or vice versa without dying.  When you are moving a houseboat this is a MUST.  So we had to have someone come work on it that afternoon.  So we would not be taking off until the following morning.

Next up the runabout/ski boat decided to stop working that afternoon - my brother hauled it out and took it to town to be worked on. Luckily they were able to fix it.  And the boat mechanic who worked on the houseboat was able to get it going as well.

Saturday morning we are out of the slip - got gas - headed to the big water to find a spot to park.  A little ways out of the no wake zone while tying the run abouts to the back the houseboat decided to act up again.  It finally got back to right and we headed on.

We found a spot, and apparently a good one since several other houseboats decided to park almost on top of us - I wasn't overly please with that but oh well.  Then, at some point the generator on the houseboat decided to stop working.   They got a new part and it worked for a little bit but not long.  I am certain we burned up a few barcode scanners with all the parts we purchased over the weekend! Luckily it was not a scorcher of day so it was bearable but being 7 and 1/2 months preggers with no electricity is not circumstances you really want.  However we made it through the night had a great meal with friends and family joining us for food and fireworks and we made it back into the slip without any crashes. 

 

  

 

Everyone watch out!

As I have mentioned and more so last summer when I was blogging more, my family has a houseboat and they are kind enough to let us be apart of it.

It used to be a rental so it is long and over the years we have done cosmetics to it and made it into a nice boat. However, on days like today when we are going to take it out (happens once a summer) the key word is LONG.

The boat dock that where we have the boat is kind of narrow with houseboats on both sides of the cove. So, the wrong wind or the engine dying can send this boat crashing into others. And yes it has happened. Luckily no one has felt the need to call a Rochester personal injury lawyer yet and hopefully today will not be that day.

The issue is usually something with the motor. It always seems that at some inopportune time the engine dies and then you have this big large boat adrift with no way to steer it.

My mom has to get down in one of the cuddies to keep her sanity during the process. I will try to update you on how it went...

Happy 4th!

Slippery Slide

 

Yes, that is my 2 1/2 year old child going off the slide, into the lake by himself.  Part of me was like "that's my boy" - the other part was screaming "you're too little, you're too little!" On that day, he did it over and over and over and over.  He only stopped when we made him.  The next day he went down and landed a little funny in the water and did not want to go alone anymore - this Mom's reaction - Good!

So, we are heading to the lake this weekend and are actually taking the houseboat out.  This is great but it does take a lot of planning.  If you forget something or want something, the closest dock to where we will has outrageous prices. So, it is best to have everything you need on the boat!

Hope to have lots of pictures to show off from the weekend.  As I look at the calendar, this may be my last weekend on the boat before have a newborn so I hope to make the most of it for me and the fam!  I might need to look into some sd cards for all the pictures I plan on taking! Hmmm now I need to go make sure my camera is charged!

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!!!

A little pee pee update

We are on week two of the potty training adventure.

Let me say a big thanks to all who commented their support and suggestions!

Well of course we are not potty trained. And my child is the exception to the "if they are naked they won't pee" thingy. I swear it will not be long until my house smells like a meth lab (or is that just cat pee that puts off that aroma?) Either way, folks there has been pee pee everywhere. And a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman getting down to clean pee off the floor - it ain't pretty!

Now, I must give Hunter some credit, a lot of the clean up happens around the toilet, the boy can't seem to hold his privates down to keep in the pot. But he is getting better.

We have finally eased up on the prizes. Hunter no longer asked for a prize every time he looks at the potty. We are now offering a prize if poopy goes in the potty and let me tell we have given no prizes for that!!!!

So, the saga continues and I feel that it will for a while. Meanwhile, I am going to be looking for free insurance quotes and see if any cover mental anguish caused by potty training. On that note, I am off to drag someone to the potty! Happy flushing!

Bella True - Jewelry Buying Tips for Guys

Some guys have that special gift gift. No, that was not a mistype. Some men can go out and buy the perfect gift every time. However, some can't and that is okay. Bella True, an on-line jewelry store has Tips For Guys section that could come in very handy for the troubled gift giver.

I was especially impressed with the What to Give When article. It gives advice ranging from the first month of dating to married. My own husband did a wonderful job on choosing my engagement ring. However, we did have an earrings debacle once while we were dating. Somehow the sales clerk talked Brad into buying some earrings even though he told her that I only ever wore one pair. It all worked out but Brad refused to go bad to that store.

I am certain that choosing jewelry for a woman can be very hard - so leave this little guide up on the computer and give your man a little "hint hint"