Britt's Big Day!!

Tomorrow is the big day! We get to meet Britt's potential boyfriend, Brendon. She has known him for about 4 years, and he has always respected the fact that we told her she could not date him because he is older. Well now that she is almost 17 we have decided we should meet him and see what kind of vibe we get considering after 4 years he has not given up on her. I am kinda worried that maybe he is an"ODD" one because he actually messaged us on myspace and introduced himself to us and made it seem like he was interviewing for a job or potential husband..LMAO..maybe I should clue him in that my daughter is not getting married until she is at least 28 years old..lol. Did I mention that he is 3 years older..yeah...not good! So it will take a lot to convince me to allow her to date him. Tim is already looking to rent a rifle and be cleaning it at the table when he walks in the door...I feel so bad for this guy..lmao!

Teaching Britt About Money Management...

Me and Tim have decided that we need to teach Brittany about Budgets. A couple times a year me and Tim sit down a due a budgetary re-org to account for the goals we have set forth for the rest of the year. Well this time Britt got the opportunity to be a part of that.
She found it to be very interesting, which surprised me actually. See my parents never involved us kids with finances so when we were on our own it was quite a shock to us. But it is because of that I thought I was going to try a different approach with my kids. The funny thing that I think she learned was it all makes sense now. Because Britt would ask for something at the store and I would say "no" not today it is not in the budget..and she would be bummed and carry on...and then she would see me drop 200$ at the grocery store that same day and feel like..what the heck I thought you were broke..lol Well now she understands that we have allocated funds to each budgetary category and once that is to a zero balance then you have to wait until the following month. But this time we are doing things a little different. Britt is going to have her own budget - for example she has allocated funds towards clothing, haircare, toiletries, school lunch, etc. and she will be managing that and reporting a status back to us twice a month. I am hoping this will teach her that it is all about give and take and prioritizing. To make sure she understands that it is not all about spending all the money in your budget - we have decided to have a buffer fund that if we come up under budget that those funds will go into that account and then we will use that for our Bahamas trip. So I am hoping our masterful plan for her works and that she learns a valuable life lesson...that or she at least understand why I have to say "No" once in awhile.

My little cook...

Thank goodness Uncle Jason got creative and found my son a grill - considering Tim won't let me get him a kitchen set!
It is so funny, he even cooks burgers just like his Dad - continually squishes all the juice out of them...lol...sorry Honey but it is true..lol

I am just trying to figure out how he knows that he needs to have the gas canister refilled...lol..I think they observe more then we think they do.


So I am looking for votes...is it wrong for Logan to have a kitchen set?

The Transistion Out Of The Crib...

I have put off transitioning Logan from his crib to a toddler bed in total fear that I would have to give up even more sleep..ugh! Plus I have heard every horror story. But we needed the space and we decided to bite the bullet and just do it!
I had the dilemma between getting a toddler bed or going with the twin/full size bed. My economist side said - "that toddler bed is a waste of money". But the logical side of me felt it would be less intimidating then a huge bed. In the end I decided on the Toddler bed. We found one that matches his furniture exactly at Babies'R'Us and we even found Zanzibar toddler bedding to match his theme. I wasn't going to splurge - but that would buy me more time on redecorating his room- so technically my economist side could not argue.
So anyway..sorry got side tracked..
Tim put the bed together and we did not let Logan see it. I put the bedding on his bed and fluffed the pillow for the grand unveiling. Everyone waited at the door and we counted to 3 and opened the door! ...do you know the expression a child makes when they walk down stairs at Christmas time and see the room filled with presents...well that million dollar look is what he had - it was the happiest I have seen him react to anything!! He ran to the bed and just kept touching it as if it was made out of gold..and then he laid down and wanted to sleep in it. Me and Tim looked at each other like...should we say goodnight..or do the normal bedtime routine...well we chose to relax him buy playing our game called "Cut the pickle"....and then we said goodnight. It took 4 reminders to stay in bed and a little crying as he was giving into his tired body. We gasped at how easy that was! But we warned ourselves that we still have to handle NAP time in the bed too. So we did not get our hopes up. He woke up 2 times that night but would not get out of his bed..it was kinda funny..we even still had to go get him in the morning..lol
The next day at noon we had to lay him down for nap...we were nervous. He had to be reminded 2 times that he had to stay in bed and he fussed as he nodded off to sleep. Once again me and Tim looked at each other totally mystified at how easy this process was ending up.
Last night we got home slightly past his bedtime due to being at the hospital. We did his nightly routine and then we laid him down and tucked him in...not a peep..he went right to bed with no fussing or any reminders...wow I think we did it!! Thank the Lord! Cross your fingers that it remains this easy!

A New Addition..

Tim's brother and his wife had a baby girl today! She is so pretty, just over 6 lbs and has the cutest long toes ever! Her name is Kendyll Morgan Justynski
(I think I will spell it wrong for the first year just like I did for her sister..lol)

The Funny Things You Think....

Is it wrong that I get such enjoyment out of watching other people chase after their children in public places...or when I say I felt comfort in watching the video where Gwen Stafani was getting wacked in the face by her toddler. I guess it just reminded me that parenting is not always glamorous and I am not the only parent who can sprint a 50 yd dash in 10.5 seconds...and look like a total fool doing it.
It is funny how every mother tells herself I am in no way having one of "Those" kinds of kids. Like they have a choice..lol You know "the ones" ..that won't sit still when you are out to eat...the ones that yell mean things at their parents....throw a fit in the store...exactly.
..ahh the joy..

A Wonderful Valentines Day...

After a hectic morning trying to get Logan to daycare and me to work on time, I found a card in my car from my hubby that was very nice. Which made things a lot brighter.

I proceeded to daycare carrying valentines, decorated candy bags, cookies, Logan's teddy bear, diapers and of course Logan fighting holding my hand....phew! My uncontrollable at the time Logan -was very excited to give his teacher's their valentines and pictures. So I was trying very hard to keep up with him running down the hallway if you can picture it. But in return for all my efforts that morning Logan presented me with a magnetic heart that said "I love you" with a picture of him on it that he had made. He had such a smile on his face you just knew he was so very proud. (my heart melted)

So that cured my chaotic morning....then on to my crazy work day.

I had to skip lunch because I had so much to do, but my super hubby brought me lunch. He even sat and ate with me...ahh. Then back to work I had to go. I was trying so hard to get out of work at 5pm so everyone would not have to wait on "Mom" again. Yes..I did it..I left at 5pm!
I get home from work and Logan is grill'n in the living room and Tim is in the kitchen making this huge dinner for us! It turned out so great! I think we all ate too much though. After dinner we frosted all the cupcakes me and Britt made the night before. They all turned out so nice - even Tim & Britt really got into it! You know Logan loved it..because he was able to make a huge mess with Mom's permission.

Some may say my valentine's day was pretty simple - but to me it was the best!
Ok and the new Prada purse was nice too...thanks so much sweetie!

Dog gone it!!

My poor baby, Bentley, is not feeling good.
Brittany came home from school only to call and tell me that he vomitted all over my house and needless to say I was concerned, yet FUSTRATED! Tim took him to the vet and they could not find anything wrong. His vitals were good...so not poisoning (Thank God!), they gave him a dewormer treatment and some antibiotics just in case. I just know that after the steam cleaning and vet bill, I could of easily found a better way to drop that kind of money in one day! Sad to say, I know...but I am saving up for living room furniture so I need to tell Bentley to tear up the couch not throw up all over it!!! For now he is my cuddle bug and I forgive him for prolonging my new furniture..lol

Another reason it sucks to be a planner - no one else sticks to the plan..lol

He is my blessing...

My marriage is a very wonderful thing that has had to endure a lot in the past 3 years. My pregnancy caused me to have severe pain and Tim had to watch me endure so much. Then it was topped off with gestational diabetes and then finished with a c-section. Then came Logan, my piece of heaven, who had colic for the first 2 months, then issues with asthma, formula allergies, etc. Due to his medicine requirements our finances were continually tested. Not that I am complaining, just trying to paint a picture in your mind. Me and Tim still have not had a uninterrupted night's sleep in over 2 years. This has definitely tested our patience with each other and forced us to dig down deep and really appreciate the little things that come easy. Unfortunately I can not brag about how we always persevered without issues..lol..because believe me, we had issues..lol But the nice thing about it all is that we made it through and our love is still strong after 6+ years! We may be short with each other when our patience is tested, and we may give each other that dirty look when we are deciding who's turn it is to get up with Logan at night...but I would not trade it for anything. Marriage is easy when the world around you is perfect, but the true test is when your world is spinning out of control.
Just know all is good when you still check out your husband in the side mirror when he is pumping gas...and tell yourself...yep life is good!

Immune Disfunction...

Once again I have a runny nose and sore throat - this will make it my third cold since 2008 began! What is the deal!! The more I safeguard the house the more colds I get! My littlest, Logan, washes his hands like 30 times a day not including all the hand sanitizer he goes through. With Britt I am lucky if I get a kiss goodnight from her on a dialy basis...so I am thinking it is all Tim's fault..lol

So I did some reading and found that the following things could help my immune system:
Useful Supplements: Acidophilus, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Zinc. (Sounds okay)
Useful Herbs: Ashwagandha , Astragalus, Cat’s Claw(What the hell is this?), Echinacea, Green Tea, Licorice, Ligustrum, Maitake Mushrooms, Shiitake Mushrooms.

So I am now on a mission to see if this truly will work.....I will post a follow-up

Our Little Milestone Moments...

I continue to be amazed with my little guy and all the things he is learning. Nothing is more exciting then seeing them progress. In the last week the changes have been amazing!

We have worked on manners ever since he started talking more. "Please" was easy - because it helped him get hat he wanted, but "Thank You" was a lot harder because he already had the item he wanted so there was nothing motivating him to say it. Well last week he started to....my heart melts every time I hear it now. He says it after you give him anything. It is so funny. I tucked him in last night and he said "Thank you"...then when he woke up in the middle of the night he asked to be rocked, after I said it was time to go back to bed, he said it again. It was cutest thing ever.

He loves to help me cook. He does all the stirring and hands me everything, like he knows what I am asking for. Today we made pancakes and he loved to scoop the mixture out of the bowl and hand it to me to place on the skillet. Needless to say, he ate 3 whole pancakes and 2 scrambled eggs - he gets that from his Dad..lol

He has also become a compulsive hand washer - which I should not complain about - but he is not satisfied until he has washed his hands 5 times in a row. But you have to love their quirks!

He also knows the words to "Wheels on the Bus" now - it is so cute! I have to video it for his Grand Parents to see! His favorite part is the "Baby on the Bus goes Whah Whah Whah!"

He has learned so much in the last week...this new class at Daycare has amazed me! He really wants to start potty training but there are a few things he needs to learn to do first...so hopefully he will still be excited when the time comes.

I think Logan is going to be quite the baseball player. He and Daddy were hitting the ball of his T and he can hit that ball almost across the full length of the yard! Sissy still wants him to play soccer so we will have to see..lol.

He sets the placemats and silverware on the table and remembers who sits where.

He is drinking exclusively from a regular cup now except in the car - the switch was very easy except when it came to bedtime...that took some adjusting for him.

His imagination has truly taken off lately - he now thinks "baby"(his teddy) is his cell pone and that baby requires everything that he does - even when we went to the Dr, Baby had to have an exam too! - Gotta luv his pediatrician!

..okay that was the good stuff..lol

He also learned that if you touch him and he screams ouch that you will let go....this is absolutely not funny...because when you are at the store and you ask him to hold your hand and he says no...so you reach for his hand and he starts yelling owwwww owwww!! Everyone tends to look at you like you are killing him....not liking that phase at all!

He also decided that if you are a stranger and you look at him he yells "NO!" - that is my polite child for ya!

But I guess with the good comes the bad..lol