Friday, September 28, 2012

My New Maid

I am loving being a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) but have also been busy working from home. [When I moved from Louisiana the company I was working for opted to keep me on, managing projects remotely]. It is an interesting balance but it is much easier now that I have a maid to do my cleaning! :)  Have a great weekend!

Action shot!
Such a Little Man!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

New Outfit!

Here is a new outfit I picked up in Ohio from Forever 21. I had really been wanting to get a pair of colored jeans and was shopping with one of my best friends, T, whose favorite color is purple, purple, purple. These pants are a really bright, royal (LSU) purple and I wore them to dinner last night (we went out with my husband's training instructor and his spouse to celebrate the end of training). The photo doesn't do justice to how purple the pants are.


I also had a jacket and scarf planned but once we stepped outside I didn't need it. Just anticipating autumn, I guess!

Organizer's Dream

We are officially moved in! (and we now have internet!!!) The moving crew came on Monday and hauled half of our stuff up to the third floor. The other half went straight on a UHaul to be put in storage (not as easy or cheap as it sounds) The four guys that showed up had been told there was no elevator, so they were beyond happy to find out there was! It took about 7 hours for them to unload the TWO moving trucks they brought. They also "unpacked" for us. Unpacking = dumping the box upside down and taking the box with them, resulting in giant piles of stuff. It looked like something from the tv show Hoarders, no joke. Luckily, once we put everything away, there were no dead cats or rotten meatloaf. We are about 90% done. The only "piles" still on the floor are things that I have no idea where to put but aren't ready to throw out (Xmas wreaths, beach towels, books).

Right now my apartment is an organizer's dream. Luckily, I love to organize! So part of me loves the fact that we're throwing out as much junk as we can and only keeping what we need and everything can be cleaned and put away nicely. Of course, I'll need to buy sone bins, research Pinterest for hours and then label everything in sight! My goal is for everything to have its forever-home by the end of the week. This is quite a big on-taking considering I have a munchkin running around getting into things. [[He has teething this week (1 yr molars) and it has really been wearing him out, poor guy.]]

I haven't taken many photos so far (who puts photos on the Internet of their house being an absolute disaster?! That would be like posting pictures of myself with no makeup on. It's just insanity!) but I am borderline crazy so here is ONE photo. This was taken on Monday night after the movers left and we had been to the storage unit AND we had been unpacking for hours.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The APT!

Here are the first photos of our apartment!

The night photo was taken from our balcony and the tall red building is the empire state building!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Loving It Lately

We couldn't have made it through these last few weeks without patience, understanding, flexibility, and most importantly, OUR iPAD!!

How people can even raise kids without an iPad is still a mystery to me.

Exhibit A: Out to eat.
Set up for success!

We also have this iPad case that is pretty handy.
Eddie Bauer iPad Case (Target, $20)
Here's why I love it:
1) Nice, big handles are made of rubber and protect the iPad when dropped 
2) Nice, big handles make it easy for the little guy to hold it all by himself
3) Clear protective covering makes the screen less sensitive so little fingers don't accidentally close out their sing-a-long songs.
4) Strap on the back is for attaching the case to the headrest in your car, Voila! DVD player.
5) Stand on the back pulls out to prop up iPad

Little man now navigates the iPad better than most adults. He knows which aps are his and how to get back to the home screen.  Just this week he figured out how to unlock the screen! Child genius? Hopefully the next Steve Jobs :)


Thursday, September 20, 2012

Double Take

When I saw this:

Little Man pulling wipes out of the package

It reminded me of this:

June pulling the stuffing out of her bed

Both cases I looked away for two seconds. TWO SECONDS!! This is normal, right?

On a separate note: We move into our apartment tomorrow! I will try to take some good pictures to show you guys.  But the movers can't come until Monday. HELLO, air mattress. Hopefully I am still able to get my beauty rest.  Honestly, I don't even care about the air mattress I'm so excited to be out of a hotel and HOME. Finally.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It All Comes Out In the Wash

... At least I hope so! The package claims to be the world's most washable and we are putting it to the test!

Little man cleaned up ok in the bath tonight (keep reading) so washable or not I'd call it a wash (get it?). Ok. Enough of that.

Usually a trip to Target is the highlight of my week. Today, however, I was just glad to make it home. That bad.

I was ecstatic to learn the nearest target was 6.3 miles from our hotel. I've never lived so close to one! As soon as little man woke up from his nap we were on our way.

We walk out the hotel doors and it's like the scene where Dorothy gets whisked away to Oz. The sky was black, wind was howling and stray were branches all over the parking lot. I wanted to go back inside but little man was nearly out of children's Tylenol so I forged ahead.

Next, the car seat is in Big Daddy's car. The car that I'm not yet insured to drive (new company car).  Let me just tell you, this is the hardest car seat ever to move over. But it is a good one. In fact, I just bought a second one tonight. Won't be having that problem again!

Britax Marathon 70-G3 in Cowmooflage

Then Target was in the basement of a mega mall located on all of these one way streets that my Garmin didn't recognize and google maps was unhelpful. And I had to go in a parking garage and the only entrance into Target is 3 levels down and the spots are metered... It was all very stressful/confusing and I'm not sure how I made it home, I'm just glad I did.

When little man decided to draw all over his face and clothes... I was just happy he was entertained. Notice the crayon on his forehead, cheek, neck and shirt. These pictures do not even do it justice...





It was his first time with a coloring book and crayons and there is definitely some natural talent here, don't you think?! (Hopefully I can get him to stop eating the crayons...)


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

A Little Man and His Newspaper

Our little man has a favorite bath book that we call his newspaper. He sits in his chair and flips through the pages like a little old man reading the news, commenting on each page as he goes.

March 2012 (7 months old)

Sept 2012 (13 months old)

Early on, he used to point to the pages and grunt, yes, grunt. Video from April 2012 (8 months old).

 
Now we just babble.  Still the occasional grunt or giggle, but mostly babbling. Video from Sept 2012 (13 months old).
 
In our house/hotel/apartment, reading the blues clues news is a nightly tradition! PS - are you able to view the videos?  

Monday, September 17, 2012

Day Number 15 In A Hotel

What do you do in a hotel for HALF A MONTH with a one year old? I'm not sure. I honestly can't believe we've made it this far. Here's some of the things we've been doing to try to stay busy (when we're not doing the super cool things we do every day like shopping, strolling, or playing with our toys)

Wear Dad's shoes

Practice holding a banana by oneself

Turning the pages of phone books. Apparently more fun than it looks.

Press the buttons on the remote control (this is his favorite toy, second only to phones/iPad)

Watching YouTube videos. (J/K, it's a blank screen, I just took a cute photo)

Throwing temper tantrums. It's the latest thing and fun for everyone. 
Kings eat cookies too

Trying to call grandma (... Or maybe room service)

Blogging, of course!


Less than a week until we move into our new place! Hopefully it's bigger than our current abode :)

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Mike!

Grandpa Mike turns 60 today! He is a wonderful father, father in law and grandfather and we are so thankful to have him in our lives!  Thank you for everything you do for us! We love you!!

Father & son
Last time we'll be able to talk Pam onto a roller coaster!

Night out in Savannah!

The golfers
Oak Island, NC

Mike is a grandpa!  
Little man at 3 months
Baby-sitting June
3 Amigos


Happy 60th Grandpa Mike!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Haircut!

One thing I was sure to do before leaving OH was to get my hair cut. It was in really bad shape and hadn't even been trimmed since...well, I'm embarrassed to say... Last thanksgiving. Gasp! I know, I know! Well, due to lack of attention, I needed to get quite a bit trimmed to be in good standing again. I also had some blonde highlights added (surprise, surprise).  I realize that to the untrained eye, these pictures don't look too different, but let me assure you, the difference is HUGE!  (HUGE like how Donald Trump says it on Celeb Apprentice) Now my hair is soft and silky again! :)

Before
After

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Loving It Lately...

What have I been loving lately? Baby bowls. Yep, you read that right, baby bowls. Here's why I'm into them:

1) I love snacks
2) I love anything that helps keep my home/car/stroller clean
3) I love new and improved technology. Bowls have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, then, BAM! They've come up with something new.

What?! New baby bowls? Yes, and here are my top two picks:

The Gyro Bowl
The Gyro Bowl

This bowl came to us as a birthday present from Great-Grandma Connie. It is a small weighted bowl inside a larger bowl. The larger bowl has handles and looks like a saucer. They are connected by a ring and two small pegs which allow the inner bowl to rotate. The way the inner bowl is weighted allows for it to remain upright even as the outer bowl is jostled, turned or tipped. So, in theory, the bowl can never spill!

As little man walks and tries to hold the bowl one-handed, its contents do not spill! It's a miracle of physics!! The only downside, if you drop the bowl, everything does spill out. So when your child (mine doesn't do this obviously but...) has a fit of rage at a restaurant and throws his bowl on the floor, expect goldfish to go flying.



Notice how the bowl is still upright? And yes, we are ready for Halloween.


The Munchkin Snack Catcher


The Snack Catcher

These bowls came to us from the lovely land of Target and let me say they were a great pick. Grandmas, stock up on these!

Its design is simple. A small bowl with handles and a removable lid. But not just any lid, this lid is spiral cut. Little hands easily push through the precut silicone lid while the silicone catches the snacks so they can't fall out (even when dropped!) The downside is that it's not ideal for mushy snacks (bananas or watermelon) and really small snacks (like Cheerios) can still fall through the flaps. Overall though, I would consider this a huge success and a staple item in our kitchen. Grandmas, run out and get a few of these. At $3 ea or $7.50 for a four pack, you too will be loving it.



PS- I'm also loving these socks! 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Last Leg

We are almost finished with out 1500 mile trek eastward!!


Chris is officially out of the Army which means we left Louisiana! We spent six weeks in Ohio where Chris did some training at the "mothership" (ie HQ) and our parents were able to get their fill of little man. Labor Day Weekend we got in the car and set out... But our aparment isn't ready until the 21st, so we've been bouncing around in hotels lever since.

We spent our first week at The Tarrytown Estate. It is an old mansion that has been turned into a hotel.

What we really liked about the estate was that it had beautiful formal gardens for little man to play in.



We also went into Irvington and Sleepy Hollow for dinner and celebrated Chris's birthday with cupcakes from the local bakery. But we are happy to leave ... It means we are one step closer to being moved-in!
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