why I haven't been blogging as much lately...

My child is cute! He makes funny faces!


And he now has seven teeth. That's right- another one just popped through.


He likes to bounce up and down in his crib...


... and thinks ceiling fans would be pretty fun toys.


Lately, he decided that taking all the pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets and rearranging our drawers is a whole lot of fun... along with pushing doors shut, ripping all the books off his bookshelf, and ripping out handfuls of mama's hair.


He laughs at the word "NO", or puts on an innocent face and pretends he didn't hear you.


Oh, and did I mention he likes to dive off beds?


And he enjoys throwing his food on the floor just so he can watch me pick it all up.



He has a whole roomful of toys, but prefers to put things like lens caps, pens, shoes, and wires in his mouth.

Yes, he is a wild man.
...but it just makes him that much cuter ♥

Elliot: 9 months!

Another month has flown by, and Elliot is now nine months old. He is a wild, crazy little man now. He hardly sits still for anything, except to eat. He's too busy exploring and getting into trouble. He's a handful but lots and lots of fun!

This Month:
♥ I'm guessing Elliot weighs around 17 lbs. {Dr's appt next week}
♥ he is wearing all 3-6 months clothing, and just started wearing 6-9 month sleepers because he's so long
♥ he eats four 8 ounce bottles a day: when he first wakes up, before his morning and afternoon naps, and before bed
♥ he can't get enough of "big people" food. Some of his new favorites include pancakes, rice, and scrambled eggs
♥ he is eating 5 oz of homemade babyfood 3x a day, oatmeal in the morning, and he eats some of our dinner every night
♥ my big boy now goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at 5:30am. He's been waking up around midnight lately, but falls back asleep in just a few minutes
♥ we moved his bedtime up, so he changed his nap schedule. He takes a morning nap around 10 and an afternoon nap around 2, and no longer takes his evening nap, which makes bedtime much easier!
♥ he crawls all over the place and walks along the furniture and walls while barely holding on with one hand
♥ he figured out how to crawl up the stairs and learned to open and rearrange our drawers
♥ if you tell him "NO", he will stop for a minute and then laugh and do it again {little stinker!}
♥ he cries "mum mum mum mum!" while crawling after me if I leave the room {he was calling me mama and now he decided he likes "mum" better}
♥ he will look at Aaron and say "dada!" and he whines and squeals for his "baba" {bottle}
♥ he sits in shopping carts like a big boy now!
♥ he is super ticklish
♥ he is ALWAYS blowing raspberries and sticking his tongue out and spitting if he's happy. It's cute but... messy.
♥ give him a pot and a metal spoon and he's happy as can be
♥ some things I had to fish out of his mouth this month: a cricket leg, a small rock, a candy wrapper, a wadded up sticky note, and the door stopper caps
♥ if you ask him for a kiss or a hug, he'll give you them, and it's so precious!
♥ he really, REALLY hates diaper changes so they usually involve me holding him down with one hand, changing him with the other, and giving him something he's not usually allowed to play with, like my cell phone
♥ he has finally decided that the carseat is not a torture device- as long as I'm in the backseat with him.
♥ he and Charlie are still best friends.

Happy nine months, baby boy!

londonware review and giveaway!

Elliot is a heavy wetter. And by heavy wetter, I mean he soaks through ANY diaper, cloth or disposable, in less than an hour. I'm not kidding. Trying to find an overnight option for him was one gigantic headache. It seems like no matter what we tried, he always woke up in the middle of the night with soaked jammies and sheets. Left with no other option, I resorted to changing him every time he woke up at night. We both hated this because every diaper change turned into tears and a tantrum. As if it weren't bad enough, THEN Elliot started sleeping through the night... and we really had a problem on our hands.

Enter Londonware fleece soakers. These are sized fleece covers that go over a diaper of your choice- cloth or disposable- which wick excess moisture from the diaper beneath and help prevent {or, in Elliot's case, prolong} leaks. They have an extra layer sewn into the wet zone, making them amazingly absorbent, and they're waterproof until absolutely saturated. Plus, they're CUTE! I love ours! I'm not going to try to fool you, these did not 100% solve our problem. They have, however, enabled Elliot to go much longer and leak less than he did before, particularly at night. Elliot never goes to bed without his fleece soaker, and I smile every morning when he crawls around while I'm picking out his clothes for the day because these things are just so darn cute.

Elliot sporting his favorite soaker:






Want to win your own fleece soaker?

Giveaway:
to enter:
- leave a comment with your name, email, and which print and size cover you like most from Londonware's store.
- winner will be chosen Wednesday, September 21st

extra entries:
- tweet about Londonware fleece soakers
- follow me on twitter
- vote for this blog
- tweet about this giveaway {with link}


Good luck!

Oh, hi!

I've been slacking a bit on the blogging front. I blame this on the fact that Elliot has been waking up at 5:30am lately and crawling all over the place destroying the whole house... which equals one very tired mama! I'm going to try harder this week, though. I have reviews and giveaways to post, too! Yay!

A couple pictures from last night:
Nom nom nom!


Charlie and Elliot are still best friends. They are always stealing each-other's toys and Charlie literally follows Elliot EVERYWHERE still... he even watches him take his baths, even though he hates water! It's pretty funny. These two are just too cute together.

we will not forget.

On this day, ten years ago, in 2001:




Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?
{song lyrics from "Where Were You" by Alan Jackson}

Where were you?

Do you remember? I was sitting in my classroom in Riverton, Wyoming. We all sat in silence, confused, as the live report on CNN was playing on every TV in every classroom. Minutes later, we were all sent home from school because everyone thought that a nearby missile tower was going to be another possible target. I was confused, angry, and most of all- terrified.
I didn't know it at the time, but the events of this day would begin the same war that, years later, my husband would spend months fighting in overseas.

My heart aches for all those grieving the loss of someone that died in one of those three planes, in the towers, or at ground zero. It also hurts to think about all of the troops that have died since on the front lines in the War on Terrorism.

We will not forget.



God Bless the USA!

love to clean? have I got a review for you!

I love to clean. Yes, it's true. I sometimes I actually beg my husband to watch Elliot for a few minutes so I can clean up scattered toys, bits of food stuck to the floor beneath the highchair, tiny fingerprints on the windows and mirrors, and puddles {yes, PUDDLES} of drool. How does one baby create so much mess? I have no idea, and I wonder how the parents of multiples do it. I don't think I'd survive. I don't feel like I can breathe easily unless our house is clean.

So, when I received the opportunity to review Stanley Home degreaser concentrate, I literally thought, yessss! I'm all over this! When I first unpacked it, I wondered why the heck it didn't come with a spray pump. Then I read the instructions, and I'm glad I did, or else I probably would have used 10x more than I needed to. To use this as a typical spray cleaner, you only need to add one tablespoon to 16 oz of water. One tablespoon! That's it! I was a little skeptical, but I prepared the mixture as instructed and tried it out. The verdict? This stuff is AMAZING! Splattered grease? No problem. Stuck on day old melted puffs? Piece of cake. Scorched pots and pans that the husband forgot to soak? Sparkling! It works. FOR EVERYTHING. It's a good thing this stuff comes in a gigantic bottle, because if it didn't, I'd probably hide a stockpile of it in the pantry.

If you're a mom, you need this stuff!
Not convinced? Here's a nifty list of 50 different ways to use this little wonder product.

someone got ahold of our debit card...

You know how earlier I said that something always happens? I think I jinxed myself.
Someone got ahold of our debit card information.
And they made 75 purchases in the last four days. SEVENTY-FIVE?! I mean, really? So, now our account is negative, and some of the transactions are still pending... which means MORE overdraft fees.
We cancelled the card, but I can't actually file a claim until tomorrow... assuming they work tomorrow, since it's Labor Day.
I am so ANNOYED!!

meal planning

Being a stay at home mama is something I do not take for granted. I feel so blessed to be able to spend each and every moment with my son, watching him learn and grow. The days weeks are passing so quickly lately that I simply can't imagine what I would do if I had to go to work. I'd probably spend 95% of my day thinking about him and wondering what he was doing. It would be hard to focus! Missing all his milestones and having to hear about his "firsts" from a nanny or day care provider would just about kill me. Not to mention the fact that I'm exhausted every day simply from caring for {and chasing around} my son. I can't imagine doing it after having to work eight hours- and somehow finding time to clean and cook, too! Crazy! I want to give all you working mamas out there a big round of applause. You inspire me!

My husband is a soldier. He makes a decent living but you know, there are bills to pay and it seems like we have the worst luck ever- there's always some kind of unexpected expense. Almost every month. Since I'm not working and obviously not contributing to the household {other than the little bit I get from doing blog design} I try to find ways to spend less and save more whenever I can. My latest fixation? Grocery shopping. I've been doing some research lately and was absolutely shocked to read that some people spend as little as $50 for a week of groceries. I've always prided myself in being a "smart grocery shopper"- buying store brands, looking for sales, never shopping on an empty stomach, sticking to my shopping list, and using coupons {this is something I need to do more!}, etc... but our weekly grocery bill is definitely nowhere near $50.

One of the big things I've been doing lately is meal planning. So far, it has really helped us to save, eat healthy (and at home more), and to avoid those spur of the moment shopping trips where you always come home with twice as much as you intended to buy. Next month, however, I'm going to take it to the next level and try once a month shopping. I first read about this on Melissa's blog, Happy Homemaking in Texas. I knew I was going to try it before I even finished reading.

I'm going to do a few more posts entirely devoted to this topic as October draws near, since we've already gone grocery shopping for the first half of September, and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about it. I'm working on a monthly meal list and master shopping list.
But right now? My first priority is creating a nifty meal planning board like the ones below.

Source: makeandtakes.com via Jess on Pinterest

Source: orgjunkie.com via Jess on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jess on Pinterest

Adorable, right? And so functional!

I'm doing some more reading about meal planning, particularly monthly meal planning, at sources like the ones below:
The Organic Sister
Organized Home
Simple Mom


Do you meal plan?
What have you found helpful?

happy weekend!

I am in a fabulous mood today. It's labor day weekend, which means we get to spend four whole days together as a family. We've been celebrating by staying up late, sleeping in {until EIGHT this morning... is it sad that we think 8:00 is sleeping in?!}, eating good food, and spending plenty of time outdoors. It has only been in the 90's today, so I even took the camera out with us.

















Happy weekend, friends! I hope you're all enjoying it as much as we are!

by popular demand...

Many of you asked if I made the letters above Elliot's crib. I did! I made them when I was still pregnant, and it was a quick and easy project. In fact, right after I made them, I actually did a blog post about it!
CLICK HERE to read it. :)