New flower bed and more flowers added!

We put in a new flower bed yesterday. Hubby brought home a bunch of really awesome new plants.

My hubby, doing all the hard work for me… Thanks babe.

This is called a Persian Shield… very awesome. Should be about 4 foot tall by next spring and an extremely hardy plant that can stand below freezing temperatures of –30 degrees!

Hibiscus shrub that we haven’t decided to put in the ground yet. the hubby was told it would die and not come back the following year but he may have been misinformed, as I’ve seen a few in this area that were in fact in the ground and quite large. Hoping if any of you southerners (Louisiana, Texas, Ark, Miss) may be able to tell me about your experiences growing Hibiscus scrubs.

Heirloom cherry tomatoes.

The gate looks really good, but I think we need a fence..

Yep…. that’s in my front yard!! A gate….. just a gate….. with no fence…yep.

Fresh picked produce…. with toddler teeth marks

This morning my son and I went to pick our first tomato of the year along with a few banana peppers, a couple of bell peppers, and a handful of strawberries. I displayed all of it in a large bamboo bowl as I was very proud, only to pass by a few minutes later and notice it all spread across the kitchen table. As I picked up the pieces I noticed each and every one had a few little nibble marks.

Oh Jaxon had taken a few pieces with him in the living room and was enjoying his little feast. All the strawberries and a banana pepper. *Sigh* At least he had a healthy snack and he likes banana peppers. That’s a plus.

Preparation for midnight bottle feedings

No one ever gave me a heads up on how chaotic a midnight feeding could be if you weren’t properly prepared. Oh I remember those first couple of nights searching desperately for the right nipple and trying to measure out formula with my eyes so heavy I could barely keep them open. After Jaxon’s second night home, I knew that I was going to need some organization and preparation for midnight feedings, as there were going to be many many more to come.
My best advice is to have everything measured and prepared. Munchkin makes this great little formula dispensers, that holds three different feeding per container. You simply fill it up with the desired amount of powdered formula and when you get ready to use, you just turn the top to the section you want to use, open the top, and add to the bottle. I also labeled the two different dispensers I had, as one had enough powder for a 5 ounce bottle and one had powder for a six ounce bottle.
Make sure you keep plenty of extra bottles with the desired amount of water already added so that everything is ready to go. Have nipples and caps all matched up and assembled especially if you are using Dr. Browns bottles with 50 different pieces. Oh how frustrating that is trying to assemble a Dr. Browns bottle at 1:30 a.m.   Yes I have been there.

Thank you my 101 followers

It means alot to me that you all take time to stop by my blog and read what I have to say. I appricate the comments and all the new friends I have made in these few short months blogging. My goal for the next few weeks will be to connect with you all more and focus on catching up with your blogs and my reading.
Hope you all have a wonderful evening.

RecycleBank

I just found this website and just love it! It gives tons of tips on ways to go green and rewards for going green. Sign up and take the dove poll to see how much you know about going green and get points.

The dog whisperer

Ha ha… yeah. This is what my mom and dad called me as a child. I have always had a way with animals and I , more than anything, wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian. I did the whole 4-H thing in middle school and high school, and won lots of ribbons (2 blue).

Growing up in the country we had every possible domestic animal that you can find on a farm. We raised hogs, potbelly pigs, had 2 calves, a horse, cats, dogs, fish, quail, rabbits, and pigeons and then I had so very exotic pets too. I had a pet squirrel for 13 years, hermit crabs, bearded dragons, water dragon, cockatiels, cockatoos, parakeets, frogs, tad poles, turtles, snakes, iguanas. (We have had them ALL). My favorite pet out of all of these was a rat terrier, named Odie Ray. I got him right before my 13th birthday and that dog went every where with me. I had him house broke in 3 days and he knew a vast array of tricks. Sitting, rolling over and talking were some of the first tricks I taught him but as the months went on, it just amazed me how smart he was and how many tricks he could learn.

Well, when I moved out of my parents house at 18, I moved into an apartment and Odie Ray couldn’t go with me. Mainly because my mom and dad were also very attached to him. So, I went on about my life and Odie lived with my parents. I missed him so much. When I went to visit my parents Odie would be so happy to see me, which it hurt my heart because I couldn’t take him with me.

Last weekend I got a call from my mom. Odie had died. He would have be 12 years old this August 14th. I had only been out to my moms house once in the last 8 months and when I saw him (about 5 months ago) I could tell he had lost some weight and was very gray. He had gotten so old. He had arthritis in his back legs and began having trouble seeing.

I’m not even going to explain how he died as I will probably start bawling. It was his time as he was having A LOT of health problems. Oh how I miss him and am so mad at myself for not going to see him recently. It amazes me that animals can really become a part of the family and how much they can be missed when they are gone.

I got a Blue Heeler puppy  about 7 months ago right after my second son was born. He is kind of wandered up to our house and was so sweet that I just had to keep him. He is a great dog and so good with my kids but he will never take the place of Odie Ray.

Last night after my hubby got home, he took Jaxon for a ride on the tractor and of course Blue had to go for his evening run through the field and chase the horses. After about a 30 minute run my husband was heading back through the field and Blue (not at all paying attention to what he was doing) run underneath the tractor. He was hit by the front tire and my hubby immediately shut down the tractor as the bush hog on the back was still turning and because of syntrifical force it doesn’t stop turning until the tractor stops completely. He was almost ran over by the bush hog. It would have killed him. Kasey carried him in to me and I looked him over (checking for broken bones) thank goodness there are none. I stayed up with him most the night making sure he didn’t start having seizures, or peeing blood or having trouble breathing.

We went early this morning to the vet to have them look him over and he is fine. I am so thankful he’s ok. I don’t know what I would do if I lost to dogs this week.

Signs, symptoms, and reasons: Middle ear infections in infants

Otitis media, also known as middle ear infection is commonly seen in infants and toddlers and often times goes unnoticed by parents until serve symptoms occur. In infants, the eustachian tubes which connect the ear drum to the nasopharynx and equalizes the pressure in the ear drum with that of the outside atmosphere is much shorter and smaller and can make it much easier for germs, bacteria, and viruses to invade the middle ear and ear drum.

Although ear infections aren’t contagious, other things that cause them are such as colds and the flu. Colds and others upper respiratory infections can cause the eustachian tubes also known as the auditory tubes to become inflamed and infected. If eustachitis occurs it causes fluid to build up behind the ear drum (serous otitis media), which causes the middle ear infection (acute otitis media).

Water that accumulates in the ear from swimming or baths can also cause an infection if left in the ear. Always dry out your baby’s ears after he has been in water. Use caution when cleaning and never stick anything in the ear canal. Only dry the outer ear where the water accumulates.

Cigarette smoke can also cause the eustachian tubes to become inflamed, making it harder for pressure to be equalized and may cause fluid to build up behind the ear drum. Always keep your child away from smokers and smoke of any kind. Child with allergies should try to stay away from pollen and outside dust because this can also cause problems with the ear drums and eustachian tubes

Chronic ear infections that recur again and again can cause serious damage to the ear drum and in some cases hearing loss. Children and adults with chronic ear infections may need surgery to repair damaged parts of the eardrum known as tympanoplasty or have damaged tissue on the ear drum removed to improve hearing also known as tympanectomy.

If any fluid has built up behind the ear drum and cannot drain by itself, a surgery may need to be performed to remove the built up fluid. A tiny puncture into the tympanic member (ear drum) will be made with a needle and tympanostomy tubes may be inserted into the ear drum to provide ongoing drainage of fluid to relieve pressure on the ear drum. This is the most common procedure performed on young children and is what is meant when “tubes” are placed in the ears.

There are different types of tubes that can be placed, some that fall out on their own after six months to two years and then the tiny hole in the ear drum will heal. In some cases larger tubes are needed and will have to be surgical removed after the child is clear of ear infections, the fluid is completely gone, and the ear drum has had time to heal.

It may be harder to tell if your baby has an ear infection since they have not yet learned to pull on their ears when they hurt. Sometimes an ear infection isn’t detected by parents until serious symptoms occur such as a high fever or drainage from the ear. If you notice your child showing any sign of discomfort when cleaning the outer ear, or behind the ear, take your child to the doctor. Ear infections can quickly become very serious.

Prescription antibiotics are usually given for five to ten days to unsure that the infection is gone. A shot of antibiotics may be given for serve infections. Ear drops can also be prescribed to help with the ear pain.Over the counter pain reliever may also be administered to help with pain or fever. If a fever continues for more than 24 hours after starting antibiotics your child may need to return to the doctor to ensure that the infection hasn’t spread or become more serious than firstly expected. Anyways make sure that your child finishes all the antibiotics to make sure that the ear infection doesn’t return.

Why haven’t I learned?

Every time I get busy cleaning the house or taking care of the youngest, it seems my oldest son goes looking for something to get into! It still surprises me that he thinks he can so easily get away with stuff!! And that I always seem to leave something out!

It only takes me about a minute to change a diaper which is what I was doing went I noticed Jaxon was off somewhere being very quite. I quickly finished the diaper change and went looking for him. He was sitting quietly in his bedroom with his back to the door. As soon as I walked in the room, I could smell the strong aroma of toothpaste. I walked around him to the other side of the room to see what he had exactly.

He was feeling up his dump truck with the brand new tube of toothpaste. I asked him what he was doing and he quickly handed me the toothpaste with a big satisfied smile on his face. He had finished filling up the truck and had now picked up the toothbrush that he had hidden under his leg and began cleaning the truck.

What was he thinking? He really thought that he had done something special so I put him in the bathtub to finish cleaning his truck… now the toothpaste and everything that used to sit on my bathroom counter goes in the cabinet above the toilet. He’s 2 and a half!! Why haven’t I learned…

Flowers from my garden

The pink lily is my favorite. I actually planted those about three years ago, before my first son was born but this is the first year that they bloomed! I was so excited to finally see what they looked like. The white flower is from my tiny Gardenia bush. It’s only the size of a basketball but has produced a bunch of flowers.

“Liking” product brand pages on Facebook

If you haven’t LIKED any of your favorite product brands on facebook, I just want to let you know that this is a great way a get access to printable coupons, sign up for contest, and of course, get FREE samples!!

Recently Tide did a 5 day give away at a different time each day on Facebook. After the info is posted on Facebook, the first 20,000 people to fill out request forms received coupons for different products and free product.

Many companies do giveaways on Friday, calling it “Freebie Friday”. Just a heads up tomorrow will be a perfect day to start watching for posts!! Last Friday, I ended up getting a coupon for a free 60 count Tide Stain Release pack, a coupon for a bottle of Suave body wash, and a Swiffer 360  starter kit!!

Great brands to LIKE that are always giving away free stuff:

Swiffer, Soy Joy, Tide, ICEE, Coffeemate, P & G,

It’s easy to find great brand’s pages, just do a search at the top of the Facebook page and check over each page to see if there are any upcoming giveaways!!

Join Gifts to Grow now and get 100 Free Points.

From knowing exactly when they want teddy to comforting them at 3am, the list of love is endless. Gifts to Grow gives parents the rewards they deserve, simply by buying Pampers diapers and wipes. Join now and get 100 Free Points.

View >>

Extreme Couponing

I have learned over the past six months that I can easily save 50% weekly on my grocery bill. From spending $100.00 – $160.00 to spending $50.00 – $80.00. You can check out all this tips on my couponing page.

Now, I’ve decided to try my hand at extreme couponing. The objective is to get every single item for free or only pay taxes. My first trip I got $19.00 worth of merchandise for $1.35. I went again today and got about $29.00 worth of merchandise for $4.04.

First, you have to find out all the local store’s coupon policies. They are all different, so you have to know if any double and triple on which day of the week. Find out if the store will accept 2 coupons on 1 item; say a online store coupon and a manufactures coupon. In my opinion the store that does this is the best one to go to, if you can get 2 coupons on 1 item. I recently found out that my local Target will allow me to use a manufactures coupon out of the Sunday paper and a printed coupon just for Target, this way, I can sometimes save $3-$5 on a single item.

You can sometimes find stores that will give you money back on an item. If say, your coupon was for $3.00 and the item was on sale for $1.50. If you find a store that gives you money back on the item you can put it towards your sale tax or toward another item. Some stores may only give you cash up to a certain amount and some many allow every cent to carry over and you can get cash back.

It is so important to know every single stores policies. I recently went to target and the cashier tried to tell me I had too many coupons and couldn’t use anymore on that transaction. I had to ask her to try it anyways because as many times as I have been in, I had never been told that. She tried the last 3 coupons on my most expensive items and they worked. Unfortunately, I think she wanted me to pay full price for those last 3 things. I would have had to void the last three items and paid for them separately.

Do some research to find out what is on sale that week. I’ve started checking Target’s website because there are tons of discontinued items and sale items that don’t end up in the weekly ad and they are at every store!

If your coupon does not specify the certain size of the product, it is best to buy the smallest or trial size so that the item will be free. Unless you can find a really good sale and the larger item would still be free.

Good luck fellow couponers!

My Great Deals - May 15, 2011

$1.62

$4.04

Just a little update...

For the last few days I have been M.I.A. and haven't even posted anything. This isn't like me at all! I usually never go a day without at least picking up the computer and checking my blogger stats and what's going on, on voiceBoks. Anyways, since Friday, I have been going non-stop. Spent Firday running arrands and getting Mother's Day pictures taking. Spent Saturday grocery shopping and some late spring cleaning. We spent Mother's Day at the Bodcau Dam and then spent Monday taking Dylan back to the doctor. He now has laryngitis. Of course he does because they gave him amoxcillin!

Well anyways, I'm hoping today we can get back in our normal routine and try to get back on schedule with everything. Hope everyone has a great day!

Christin

Activities for kids: Farmer’s market

As a child, this was an activity that my grandmother and I did every weekend during the summer months that it took place. Usually June – September local farmer’s markets began opening around the country. Farmers, 4-H members, homemakers, and even normal people like myself sell their produce, farm raised meats, plants, and really anything hand made or produced item.

Even as a child I learned so much about gardening, seasonal plants, herbs, and still use everything I learned to this day. I of course learned lots of great stuff from my grandparents, and dad but I still got to find out about things as a child that I knew nothing about.

Last year, was the first year that I took my son. At the time he was one and a half so he didn’t really understand what was going on, but he certainly enjoyed all the fresh fruits I bought. So far this year, I’ve taught him about the growing process, gardening care (his favorite because he gets to water garden!), and now he’s getting to see what grows on all the plants! Strawberries and the Tiny Sensation lilies where his favorites!

While you are sampling, it’s a great opportunity to ask questions about how they grow their produce, what they do differently than others, and where they items are grown. All the farmers and sellers are always happy to share their tips and of course their produce. Many offer pamphlets or  their instructions on how to grow high quality produce.

Let your child help you pick out a fruit or veggie and use it in a dish for dinner or desert. While you’re cooking you can teach your child about it! If you only serve your family organic fruits and veggies, don’t worry, everything must be grown without the aid of pesticides.

Fruits and veggies, aren’t the only thing sold at the farmer’s market! A wide variety of herbs and other plants are also sold. You can find out about which plants grow best where you live and basically anything you want to know about herbs. You can find out which herbs are best in what foods, how to grow your own herb garden, and even what can be grown during each growing season. This is where I found out I can have a summer herb garden and a winter herb garden and I no longer pay high prices for fresh herbs!! I can just walk outside and cut whatever I need for what I’m cooking that day. I also learned how to dry and freeze herbs that I harvest so I have them any time of the year.

The famer’s market is also a great place to get fresh, grade A beef, pork, chicken, and of course fresh yard eggs. All livestock is feed organic grains and feed and the meats are never frozen. Rather it is freshly slaughtered and and sold right after it is packaged. Although the meat is VERY expensive, it was the best steaks I’ve ever bought!! I’ve even seen beef jerk and boudin sold here. All grade A quality beef, fresh, and home-made!!

The farmer’s market is a wonderful place for your children and you, to learn and experience new things! It is also a great way to support local farmer’s! These people depend on this as a source of income and take pride in the quality of their products. When I purchase anything from here I know that I am feeding my family the best of the best in my area and I love the fact that it is ALL  grown locally in my community!

Nutrition guidelines for your food newbie

As you may know each and every baby develops differently and each baby will start to show interest in food and signs of development at different ages. There are however, different signs to look for to know if your baby is ready to start eating pureed baby food.

Has your baby begin to sit independently? This is one of the most important signs and if your baby is not sitting unsupported yet, then it’s not time to start introducing solids. You should start noticing the signs when your baby is ready, such as the ability to pick up tiny objects with finger, closing mouth and using upper lip to clear cereal off a spoon, the ability to make “chewing” motions, and the ability to put anything and everything to his mouth.

At this stage of development it is important to introduce new sources of iron and zinc not only from infant cereal but from pureed meats as well. Fruits and veggies are important to promote healthy eating habits with nutrients such as vitamin C for a healthy immune system, and most baby food now days have DHA to help support healthy brain and eye development. After 6 months yogurt maybe be added in small amounts. Plain yogurt with the least amount of added sweeteners is best .Although it is a great source of calcium, protein, and vitamins A, D, and E, your baby’s source of all of these nutrients will still come from formula or breast milk.  At this age, your baby should be drinking around 24 – 32 ounces a day. Some may even start to show interest in drinking from a cup!

It’s not necessarily as important which order to introduce new foods in, as it is how often to add new foods. Always wait 4 to 6 days before introducing a new food and only offer new foods one at a time. Watch for any type of reaction; diarrhea, diaper rashes, vomiting, skin rashes, or breathing problems. If a reaction occurs and becomes severe, you should seek medical attention and should consult a doctor before giving the food to your child in the future.

Wait until your baby is at least a year old before giving them cow’s milk, egg whites or whole eggs, chocolate, shellfish, cocoa, or nuts (especially peanuts and peanut butter). Never give babies under the age of one year honey or products made with honey.

Remember:

*Never prop your baby’s bottle or lay your baby flat with eating. This can lead to tooth decay and ear infections.

*Do not add salt, pepper, butter, sugar, honey, or any other seasoning to you baby’s food.

*Unless the whole jar of baby food is eaten at that feeding, use a dish for the portion of food that your baby will eat. This will keep your baby’s saliva from causing the uneaten portion of food to spoil faster.

* Never feed your baby a opened jar of baby food that has been in the refrigerator for more than three days.

Trying to go green?

One of the biggest trends over the last 10 years, is the efforts of normal people to “go green”. Whether it is to save money, celebrate Earth day, or just your way of trying to help our environment, going green definitely has it’s benefits!

We all know some of the simple little things we can do to help, like turn off lights when you leave a room, or sparingly use water. Lots of people are buying hybrid or smart cars to reduce pollution or even carpooling with others to work or school and some have gone as far as to completely cut out the use of a car by riding a bike or walking to work.

All of these are such great ideas to help the earth but there are still so many other things that we can do to help and to save ourselves some money. For instance, what about growing your own food. Believe it or not, growing a garden isn’t  hard to do and you can even go as far as to grow your own fruit, veggies, and herbs! Once it gets growing, you can cut out about 10-25 percent of your grocery bill depending on how much fresh produce you normally buy. A garden measuring 25x25 feet, with 7-10 different kinds of produce and 20-25 plants total can feed a family of four for three to four months!

If you do garden, instead of buying expensive fertilizers, start a compost pile! I do this now and can save about $50.00 per growing season on fertilizers and I now have something to do with all the left over scraps from my fruits, veggies, dead grass, egg shells, and dead annual plants (at the end of the growing season; tomatoes, squash, corn, etc..) It takes little tending, once a week, mix it up and water and add soil.)

Instead of using plastic grocery bags at the store, try using reusable bags!! Even though the bags are around $1 each and chances are they will not pay for themselves before they are slowly destroyed,  you keep 20-35 plastic bags per reusable bag out of land fields. This is a great number!! If you spend $10.00 on reusable bags and use these instead every trip, in 10 trips you've saved 200-350 non-biodegradable plastic bags from being dumped in a land field!

Instead of throwing out old paper towel rolls, egg cartons, empty baby wipe containers, old shoe boxes, foam containers, etc.., try taking them to a local preschool. These are some perfect items that can be used for craft projects for those little youngsters!! And trust me, the teachers will greatly appreciate it!

There are so many different ways to help our planet! Lets try to do all we can, even the smallest things and make significant improvements for mother earth!

Let your baby experience everything

From a very young age, most babies are inquisitive and can’t help but be nosey. They love new experiences and new things. Whether it be seeing a friendly new friend and beautiful nature scene, feeling a soft stuffed animals or running their hand over a dog or cat for the first time.
Babies love to use all their senses so why not let them try, touch, hear, smell, taste, and see new things as much as possible. Even the simplest things will fascinate your baby and it’s quite funny to watch their eyes light up over each and every little thing they experience.
Touch
Let your babies feel everything you feel during the day. Cooking with artichoke tonight? Let your baby hold it for a minute and feel the odd textured object. Letting your baby sit in grass for the first time may leading to the most puzzling expression you’ve ever seen your baby give you! Wouldn’t you love to pet a bunny rabbit if you had never touched one before? Your baby would!
Sound
Babies love music, sound, traffic noises, and some will even pay attention to commercial noises (blenders, vacuum, dishwashers, etc..)  Example: My son would love to ride the vacuum while it’s on. I don’t know why, but he crawls to it as soon as I turn it on. Guitars and other musical instruments will interest some babies.
Taste
This is more important for the older babies (6 months and up). Let your baby taste some sour pickle juice or even a lemon. It’s very funny to watch their reaction and most really like it. More textured food, such as a whole banana put in a mesh feeder usually intrigues a food newbie, after a while you can try mashed potatoes, cooked carrots,etc..
Sight
Babies love to see new, colorful things. Whether it is a bright colored picture of a simple shape, a bird eating birdseed outside the window, or even a pretty colored bath paint during bath time. Take your babies to new places; the park, zoo, or aquarium. They will get to see things they couldn’t ever image!
Smell
I think we often take smells for granite. We may walk past a flower and not even smell it because we’ve smelled them a thousand times. Your baby would love to smell the sweet scent of a rose. Actually, your baby would  probably enjoy seeing, smelling, and touching the rose. You may not realize it but your perfume or shampoo may be one of your baby’s favorite scents. If you have a scent (say gain detergent) that your baby is used to smelling, it may began to be a comforting smell to him.
Babies learn so much in their first year of life so why not help them by giving them new opportunities to learn, touch, smell, taste, and experience life as much as possible. You are your child’s most important teacher.

My 50th Follower!!

Thank you to S. Greiner for following me!! You are my 50th follower and I'm so excited! I never thought I would have this many people interested in my blog!

Got pictures taken today…

My sister-in-law just started a new job as a photographer at a local portrait studio and these are some of my favorites!!

Running errands with more than one child

It’s hard enough to run errands with one child let alone two!! I don’t know how the women I see in the grocery store with 3 and 4 kids do it!! I commend them greatly!!

New mother’s of two sometimes have a hard time taking their children anywhere. I know I did for about six months. I would go to the lengths of postponing shopping trips until I had an extra hand or someone to watch one of the kids. I’ve had horrible experiences with both of them at the store that lead me to do this.

I have since decided that I am just going to have to do what I have to do basically and have started running all my errands during the day with both of them. Recently all our adventures have went well.

If you can detain both the kids (double-stroller- this is best but sometimesit is too much of a hassle especially if you’re trying to push a buggy too. When both kids can sit up, the buggy is just fine. I’m able to use it now and as long as the oldest son is locked in, we are good to go.

Make errands as quick as possible. You don't  want to be in the middle of the store when your toddler decides to throw a tantrum. Hopefully you have made it to the register.

Keep snacks, toys, and Sippy cup handy. This may keep you from having to buy toddler’s impulse buy! I’ve learned to deal with the tantrums even though others haven’t and it still makes me mad when I see someone just staring! OK! You know the kids throwing a fit get over it! When I see this, I think to myself, yeah that could be Jaxon… ignore it.

Baby proofing your home

Here’s some tips for making sure your home is safe for your baby. After baby proofing my house with my first son, I thought I was ready for the second crawler. I was wrong. I soon started remembering all the precautions I took at first and now I’m double checking everything to make sure if just as safe for baby number two.

Checklist for baby proofing:

1.Make sure all outlets are covered with outlet covers. Make sure no cords or blind cords are out of reach.

2. Store all siblings small toys up high and only play with supervision to insure none are left in reach of the baby.

3. Install child proof latches on all cabinets. Even if cleaners are stored up high, eventually that crawler will be walking and moving chairs quietly across the floor and getting in that top cabinet. Later on you may even want them on dresser drawers to keep the toddlers from rearranging their assortment of clothes.

4. Never leave knives, scissors, or any sharp object on even the kitchen counters. Toddlers reach for stuff without looking.

5. If you put your crawler on the floor even for a minute, scan the room and check for small items of any sort.

6. Remove dangerous furniture. (It seems the coffee table is usually the prefect height for a baby to pull up on, hit their head, fall off of. Lamps were the first thing to go in my house and coffee table was next.)

7.Make sure all doors are closed completely before leaving a room. (The bathroom especially. Don’t want baby crawling in there.)

8. Trashcans are easy to knock over and are covered with germs so they are best kept in a pantry or closet.

9.Has your baby found a favorite area to stand, refrigerator for instance, but you have tile floor. Try putting a rug in that spot to keep them from sliding down.

10.Make sure DVD racks, book shelves, etc.. are securely anchored to the wall to keep baby from pulling it down on themselves.

11. Keep electrical appliances away from toddlers. They know what to do with them and while try to plug them in so just keep them out of reach.

I’m sure I will think of a million other things after I post this so there may possibly be a Baby proofing your home: part 2!!

Transitioning to the “big boy bed”

Before my second son was born we began working on this transition making sure that my oldest son was involved in the process every step of the way and we also made sure he completely understood what was going on. He knew why he was getting a big boy bed (too big for the crib basically and climbed in and out of it) and that his new brother would be needing a crib before long. He “helped” us put it together and picked out his new bedding and he helped pick out coordinating bedding my his little brother’s crib.

We first put the toddler bed together and got the bedding on and got Jaxon ready for his first night in the big boy bed. We explained that he had to stay in bed just like in his crib and that just because he was able to get in and out didn’t mean that he could get up in the early A.M. hours and play.. 

The first week, there were many trips back to bed, extra stories read, more water, blah blah and after a while it just got really old. We stopped with all the extra stuff just repeatedly putting him back to bed, kiss, and a firm good night and after the third night it became easier. It took about a week and a half total, he was used to the whole idea and was perfectly fine with it. He now goes straight to bed with no arguments; Oh I’m sure this will change as he gets older but for now thankfully he’s cooperating!!

Dylan–The 7 month old adventurer!!

Yesterday he began pulling up on the couch, coffee table, kitchen chairs, EVERYTHING! When he’s on the floor he just goes! He follows behind his big brother, trying so very hard just to keep up. He is just a little adventurer.

He is just still so young it seems to be doing all this. And the reality of the whole situation is that he is no longer my little infant but almost a toddler! I miss the days that I could lay him in his cradle and he would just sleep and lay there so peacefully…. ah, but those days all long gone!

He is now on to exploring his bedroom, trying to climb up his brothers back, and pestering the dog anytime he is within his site. He’s the same size as his 1 year old cousin and looks just like his older brother. Man oh man, I wonder what the next few months will have in store for him. I’ll be planning his 1st birthday party before I know it.

7 month old–Pulling up

And failing tremendously I might add. He keeps trying to stand and he keeps falling. Wish I could reason with him, but he’s determined. Going to take some pictures tomorrow. It really is funny because he looks so small and he is pulling up on everything!! I have to watch him like a hawk now and really wish he was still a little less mobile!

Compost Piles

I posted about this earlier in the year when I had first started planting everything.. Usually within the first month, half of all my plants are dead but not this year. The only two plants died and they were the ones that my son pulled up. The only thing I have done differently was used compost from my compost pile. I have added it to the soil twice since planting everything and I am amazed at the results. I'll never buy expensive fertilizer again!!

Peaceful, Quiet Sunday Morning

This is all I could ask for today. I was able to enjoy some coffee and watch the hummingbirds….. and for 35 minutes straight. I didn’t hear a noise in the house. Both kids were sleeping and hubby left for a morning of golf with his buddies. It was so nice.

Until I heard MOMMA!!!!! The two year old was awake and in the process of waking up the baby. At this point all hell had broke loose and it was on. Two screaming kids ready to start their day and already going full force.

Kids are so full of energy and so happy to start the day. It takes me a good hour to wake up… I envy their ambition….