A Little Crazy

 

She looks cute enough, but man, sometimes she makes me want to turn in my parent card for a day. Can you do that? 

 

Lately she has been SOOOO whiny. About EVERYTHING.

Dont worry fellow moms, she's not teething, & no earache. She just gets mad at me when I wont let her be as independent as she thinks she is.

This girl thinks she is 20 years old and ready to see the world. Um WRONG.

 

When we go to the grocery store she will pull out all the stops to get out of the cart. She sees that Ryder is allowed to walk around, un-captured, and she thinks she should be awarded the same privileges. Sorry sister. I dont want to pay for the 5,000 jars of baby food you will knock off the shelves. Have a nice day.

 

But then on the flip side she wants to cling to me and gets mad if I walk two steps away from her. She always acts like this when we are home. The other day we were looking at an elmo book on the couch and I stood up and she freaked. I didnt even go anywhere! 

 

She will hand me a book, sit in my lap and get mad that i dont turn the pictures fast enough. She'll hand me a toy and get mad that I dont play with it right.

George and I always joke that she is a mini Donald Trump. Its her way or its wrong.

 

 

I can hear her little corporate self now: "YOU'RE FIRED!"

Treat Yo Self

Im telling you people, I would be BFF with these two.

I did a little of my own Treat Yo Self just moments ago.....in the form of food......as usual.

Chocolate Coconut Bars.

Graham cracker crust, chocolate chips, pecans, coconut, & sweetened condensed milk. Heaven.

Of course its a Martha Recipe. Go here to get it.

I ran out of chocolate chips so I opened up a few fun size reeses pieces from the Halloween candy stash. Its still a winner.

 

Its supposed to be cut up into little bars, but I cant wait that long. I usually just dive right in to a corner with a huge spoon.

Did you have a good weekend? And a good Monday for that matter? Im posting WAY late! George and Ryder are about to go to skate church so Lucy and I are going on a momma-daughter date......to Moe's probably. I love that place.

BYE!

Hello Friday!

In a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip I ran into this:

The Blue Elephant. 

He stopped me in my tracks. My 2am delirious self thought he was a dog that had broken into my house to eat me on my way to the bathroom. Even though the hallway was dark, his big white eyes were visible and staring at me.

Obviously, I realized what he was. But on my way back to the bedroom I sure did kick him and run....he freaked me out.

Thank goodness in the light of day he isnt so scary.

-----------------------------------

Last night on our way home from date night to get the kids I had a brilliant idea. We stopped at Panera to pick up some bagels for breakfast in the morning. I am so proud of myself for thinking of that. This morning when Ryder said "Mommy I hongry" I threw a chocolate chip bagel with hazelnut cream cheese to him. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Do you have anything fun planned? I am helping Jenny with Christmas card photo shoots tomorrow! Im excited!

See you next week people!

"Are we going to church today?"

 

That's the question Ryder asks me EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Only two times am I able to tell him yes, on Sundays and Mondays.

I know the only reason he loves going is because of this...

The Skate Park. George runs the skateboarding ministry at our church, so that means every Monday Ryder gets to go watch the big boys skate. 

But apparently, Ryder is becoming the next Rob Dyrdek. George said last Monday Ryder jumped on the board while it was rolling, balanced, and attempted to jump and spin around on the board! Ha!

Im so thankful that we go to Innerchange.

I know most kids could care less about going to church, or hate going.....especially if they have to dress up. Jon Jons, gowns, smocked dresses... Gag me. Sorry southern girls, I cant handle that stuff.

So yea, he loves the skateboarding. But the fact that he knows church as fun place where he is free to play and get dirty...

I mean REALLY dirty, then maybe he will want to stay when he is older. And maybe he will always think church is thebomb.com

I know people dont say that anymore, but I am bringing it back. Also, I sure did use an entire bottle of Oxy Clean on those jeans and his shirt.

Just wanted to share a little something that makes me smile. I love that he loves going :)

Oh, and here are the dirty skaters George chats and skates with on Mondays.

And...one of George

 HA!

A little of this- A little of that

*As you all know, I have trouble with organization. But one thing I dont have trouble with is making lists! I found this one on Pinterest the other day to help with Christmas shopping. Im so excited to use it. There are so many people other than my family that I want to send a little something to, but I get so wrapped up in things that need to get done that I never get around to actually sending them anything. 

 

 From Atypical Type A blog. Go here to download and get your organization on!

*Also, while we are on the subject of free printables, here are some cute CD and money sleeves to spruce up your gift giving.

 

 

 

All of these printables can be found here, on the Canon website.

*And if you need a fun kids CD to put in that baby CD holder, look no further.

I think I found this awesome lady on Oh Dee Doh.

Laura Veirs' album Tumble Bee.

I have also been searching around online for my favorite printable gift tags. Maybe I will do a post closer to Christmas and share them with you. There is no reason to buy ugly gift tags at walmart or Target when there are so many free cute ones out there!

BYE!

New Toys

This past weekend the same question was brought up several times with my friends....

"What are you getting your kids for Christmas?!"

We talked about how last year some of us (me) got their kids tons of little things just so they could have lots of presents to open. 

I have learned my lesson.

Let me tell you a something. Getting a ton of cheap crap is so much worse than getting fewer,  quality(more expensive) toys.

You would think this is common sense, but for some reason when it comes down to a week or so before Christmas, i find myself grabbing at every little $10 item in Target. Just so they will have "one more thing".

This year I am prepared. I am shopping early, ONLINE. That's key I think. $7 for you to ship it to me vs. picking up 3 more craptastic $10 toys in Target? Oh, I think I'll go for $7 shipping.

So, here are some of the things I have picked out to give to the kiddies this year. Good, quality toys that make them think. Im sorry, but as cute and as many fisher price toys that we have, they only keep interest for like 2 weeks....if that.

Here we go!

Dantoy Crocodile Rocker. $43.13 from Amazon

I like this because both the kids can use it at the same time or alone. Its small enough to go in our house, and i know they will love it.

 

 Kid-O Bilibo. $22.84 from Amazon.

Im getting one for each of the kids. These things are awesome, there are so many different things they can do with them. Use them as a helmet, bowl, sit in them, stand on them, use them as a shovel, its endless. 

 

Wood Stacking Robots. $13.95 from Amazon.

These guys can stack upside down and balance on each other. So simple, but I think Ryder will love them. 

 

Plan Toys Dancing Alligator Pull Toy. $15.08 from Amazon.

So cute. I know Lucy will love it. I also know that I will catch Ryder pulling it around too....Im sure it will be a favorite.

 

Hide and Squeak Eggs. $9.99 from Amazon.

There are so many reasons why this toy is awesome. Taking the eggs out, putting them back in, taking their tops on and off, hearing them squeak, learning colors. I already love it!

 

Star Crayon in the Tub. $5.49 from Amazon.

Getting one of these for each of the kids. Yay for all the colors being together! I cant tell you how many times I have decided to take nice hot bath only to discover a blue crayon hanging out in there with me. Stocking Stuffer!

 

Melissa & Doug Bug Jug Fill and Spill. $19.28 from Amazon.

This is one of my favorites. Lucy LOVES LOVES LOVES  "filling and spilling" things. She doesnt have any toys like this yet, so she resorts to filling and spilling the laundry hamper. But I must say, there is more spilling going on than filling...

Well, that's it! That's everything in my Amazon cart. PS: if you have never used Amazon before YOU SHOULD! Everything will be shipped free, except the wooden Robots. They dont qualify for some reason.

Oh, and one last thing! I found this awesome toy site yesterday!

Moolka Toys.

I found that Crocodile Rocker on their site but knew I could get it on Amazon for way cheaper, and I did, about $15 cheaper! But its still a great place to find unique toys. Sometimes Amazon beats them, sometimes they dont!

I am going to have to get a few more things that Ryder has been asking for....like a Pillow Pet. Which means Lucy will have to have one too! Maybe one or two more things for him and I will be done. That's so exciting to say! And its not even Thanksgiving yet!

Have you thought about what you are getting your kids for Christmas? Are you awesome about Christmas and shop year round? 

Let me know if there are any other unique toys I should know about! 

 

Weekend run-down

Friday:

Eating out and shopping was done. 

I scored this pair of black jeggings at Old Navy. Jeans with an elastic waistband. Really, why dont all jeans have elastic at the top? Probably because we would all balloon up to 500 lbs.

 

Saturday:

Football watching day. 

Everyone started out happy.

High Fives were awesome.

......until everything went wrong.....

:( We lost.

I still had fun in my corner of the room catching up with Devin and Jenny!

Sunday:

We did small group, ate yummy gumbo, and went home sooo tired at 7:30. Is this time change killing anyone else? 

I am glad that I am waking up and going to bed earlier. Ive been trying to change my routine, so thanks DST for doing it for me!

I am ready for this new week. I am determined to go through and clean out all of the kids toys to get ready for Christmas. I am a firm believer that kids dont need 10,000 toys to play with. Only a few......although you wouldnt believe me if you saw their room, or my entire house for that matter....

What are you doing this week? Anything to prepare for Christmas or Thanksgiving?