Black Friday!

Unlike most people who head out at 3am to shop on Black Friday at the mall (Zac went!)   I headed out at 9am and went to CVS!  LOL  Look at all the FREE stuff they had!

Excedrin, Colgate, Eucerin lotion, listerine pocket packs, ren-pur shampoo, herbal essences shampoo, gillette deodorant, carmex lip care, m&m's, and reeses cup.  They also had hair gel and a remote for the tv which I passed on since I didnt use those.

Did you shop?

Happy Thanksgiving!

We stayed home this year and our friends Martha and Eric came up from Alexandria.  When she offered to cook I asked her how fast could she get here =)  haha

Zac was excited as well and said "does that mean we will have a REAL Thanksgiving dinner this year"?   lol     Last year, we didnt.....

First we had to start cooking!  Wednesday night Martha and Sam started on the pecan bars - Sam wanted to help - we asked him what he was making and he said Apple Pie - not sure where he got that from-

 We looked outside and OMG it was snowing!!!  I couldnt believe it! They were calling for sleet not snow!  It was 46 degrees too - anyway Piper and Sam wanted to go out in it for a bit - it was chilly!

This was about all we got before it did turn to sleet but it was so pretty while it lasted =)

 Mark fried a turkey -it didnt look yummy but it was soooo good!!!!

 Martha is about 15 weeks along with her first baby (Congrats!!)  so we took a "belly" pic - I am 25 weeks - and wow am I short!!!!!!

I made a "Thankful" tree as the table centerpiece - this was one of those times I really wish I had a die cut machine - I had to hand cut all those leafs -ugh! What a pain!  Anyway, if you know us your name is on a leaf - cuz we are thankful for YOU!



 Here is the turkey we baked (yep 2 turkeys!)  It was delish!!!!!

Time to eat!

We hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving and were surrounded by friends and family - we were =)

Let's Talk

Sam's nightly routine is going upstairs at 8pm – grabbing his blanket and pacifier and heading to “mommy’s bed” for some last minute snuggling, prayers and songs (Sam loves Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and Little Bunny foo-foo- haha). We usually stay there for 20 mins then I take Sam to his crib, rub his back and he goes down for the night.


Last night he must have had a burst of energy – Mark was laying down with us and Sam was jumping on the bed and head butting Mark – I told him 100 times to lay down – it was time to settle down – he still didn’t listen so I warned him one last time that if he did it again we were going to Sam’s room. He jumped again. SO I picked him up and took him to his room, screaming. He wanted to be in Mommy’s bed! We get to his room and I close the gate so he cant escape and he runs over and hangs on it crying “mommy’s bed! mommy’s bed!”

The first thing out of my mouth was “Sam. Lets talk. Come here please”. As soon as those words left my mouth I thought “who says “lets talk” to a 2 year old”????

Surprisingly he stopped, looked at me and said “yeah, talk mommy” and walked over to me and sat in my lap. He then looked up to me ready to listen. I was a little shocked how this seemed to be a “grown-up convo” I was having with a 2 year old. So, I tell him how Mommy asked him to stop jumping and he didn’t listen and that is why we came to his room. I tell him he needs to listen to mommy when she asks him to do something. He says “ok mommy”. Then he says “Mommy’s bed?” – I knew I shouldn’t but I then say “Are you going to jump on mommy’s bed?” he says “no”. Then I say “can mommy have a kiss?” He gives me a HUGE hug and kiss and then I scoop him up and take him back to my room for 10 minutes where he does as promised and lay there while we sing and snuggle.

Give Thanks!

I wanted to make a little something for Sam's teachers and saw this cute idea online - you remove the bottom of a pop top can (I used mandarin oranges) and then fill the can and glue the bottom back on. Then I added some cute paper and circle and some ribbon on top - turned out cute!

A boy and his dog

From the time Piper was a puppy I couldnt wait to have kids to share her with them and then the time finally came!  No, its not all great stuff - I am trying to teach both Sam and Piper how to interact with each other

Sam: No, you cant pull on Piper's fur

Piper: Stop taking food from Sam's hands

Sam: Stop eating Piper's food!

Piper: Stop eating Sam's playdough!

Then you get these moments - my first "baby" Piper and my sweet sweet Sam - He wanted to read her a book =)

My evenings

Sam has been obsessed with ghosts - have no clue why - but he loves them - every single night this week I have to draw ghosts - then Sam places them all over the living room!

Boo!

Thanksgiving Feast at Goddard

Today Sam's school had their annual Thanksgiving feast - we had turkey, corn, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes - everything!  It was so much fun having lunch with my little guy! 

Of course it wouldn't be complete without a fun treat from me =)  So I made some mini cornicopia's using waffle cones

Before:

After:

cute huh???  =)  All the teachers were quite impressed =)

Sam also made a special placemat with his hand prints - I was trying to get a picture of him holding it and this is what I got instead:

Finally I got this one:

Its that time of year again!

Time to get the pictures done and make our yearly Christmas card!  In the past we have had great success using Shutterfly for Christmas cards, New Years cards and even some birthday cards!

The designs are endless - you can have 1 group picture or 5 individual pictures!  For us, its impossible to get everyone together at the same time so I prefer the style with lots of pictures.

Here are a few of my favorites I found on their site for this year:

Joy in Color - Its a Christmas and New Year card all in one! Plus I love the different colors - not your typical Christmas card

Twelve Months Birthday Card - Does this look familiar?  Yep, its the one I did for Sam's first birthday but used a slightly different layout

Top Ten Moments - This card is great for those that like to do the yearly Christmas letter - instead of typing out pages and pages just highlight the Top ten moments from the year, add some pictures and your done! awesome!

Jolly Gems - I am loving this card as well!  Again, not your traditional colors but hey, who says Christmas has to be all green and red??

Hurry over to Shutterfly now and see all the new designs - I am sure you will find the perfect one for your family..... oh yeah, then make sure you send me one =)

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Nothing sweeter

There is nothing sweeter to me right now than seeing Zac and his friends (a bunch of 16-17 yr old boys) playing with Sam.  Chasing him - throwing him in the air - letting him use the skateboard. Sam is in love with these boys and they return the favor by giving him lots of attention - so sweet!
Last night Zac decided he needed a new FB picture and of course Sam had to be in it - "the ladies like Sam"  his words, not mine - LOL

So after several cell phone takes I thought this one was pretty cute!

I hope Zac will always be such a great big brother to Sam =)

The Five Love Languages

If you have never read this book you should go out and get it now!  Mark and I both read it while we were dating and it provides great insight as to what your partner wants -

QUALITY TIME, WORDS OF AFFIRMATION, GIFTS, ACTS OF SERVICE, PHYSICAL TOUCH

The point of the book is that just because YOU like to receive gifts as an act of love doesnt mean that is what your partner needs - one of you may need quailty time while the other needs gifts.

They also have a children's version of the book and w/o even reading it I can tell you Sam's love language is Acts of Service.  Some may call him lazy -haha - but he loves it when other people do things for him.  I constantly hear "Ma, do it"  "Ma, get it".  This morning in the car Sam dropped his french toast stick - we were still in the neighborhood so when he said "Ma, get it" I pulled over to retrieve his french toast stick (cuz I love him) and lo and behold it was on his leg - EASILY accesible.  But he wanted someone else to get it for him.   Two minutes later while on the main road same thing happens - but I tell him Mommy is driving and I cant get it right now - so he picks it up himself....haha

I always try to show him I love him thru HIS love language and I hope that makes him happy =)

So, what is your child's love language?

Sisters

Growing up I never thought I looked much like my sister - I always thought me and my brother Jeff looked the most alike... until now!

This picture was taken at Sam and Hailey's birthday party and OMG we finally look like sisters!!!!  =)

I lost Sam today

No, we weren't at the store - or at the zoo or the park.  We were at home. Yes, I lost my 2 year old in my own house!
We both went upstairs so I could check email really quick - Sam decided he wanted to go downstairs so I let him thinking he would go in the play room.
After 3-4 mins I get done with email and I call to him.... no answer.....

Then I walk downstairs....ok this is weird, he isnt in the play room.....
Laundry room? no
Hall closet? no
Bathroom? no
Under the table?  no
The dog door!!!  I run outside, he isnt on the deck so I go down on the patio - nope he isnt there.

This is when I get really scared - OMG where is Sam!! Panic sets in!

I start calling for him - no answer. 

I run back upstairs and recheck my room, Josh's room then I go in Zac's room and open his closet.... Hi Mommy. 

There is Sam sitting in Zac's closet (he closed the door and Zac was still asleep) playing with a dinosaur I had stored in there.

I scooped him up and tell him he scared mommy and when mommy calls he has to come to her.  Sam's reply "snack?"

THE scariest 4 minutes of my life!!!!

Back to the allergist!

I had Sam re-tested at his food challenge in September but ever since I introduced cow's milk he has been telling me his tummy hurts....ugh!  Then he started refusing it all together so I went back to coconut milk.  I didn't love his allergist at St Chris' anyway so when a co-worker highly recommended her allergist I thought I would get a 2nd opinion.  We met with Dr Oh yesterday and I LOVE her, yes that is right LOVE her!!!  She asked more questions about Sam then the previous allergist and his ped have ever asked!  I explained to her that I was just a frustrated mom looking for a second opinion.  She re-tested him for milk along with 17 other highly allergenic things - indoor/outdoor and foods.

The nurse warned me that he would cry when she did the skin test - she was right!  The first 2 sets were 8 each all done at the same time - then 2 single ones.  He screamed - broke my heart!  Then we waited the 20 mins to see what happened.

Good news! No reactions!  Even shellfish (which we haven't tried yet) showed no response.

So we don't really have an answer to why he doesn't feel good on milk - she said a lactose intolerance in toddlers is uncommon - not that he couldn't have one just unlikely.  Her biggest concern w/ not drinking cow's milk was missing out on the protein - I told her no worries there as meat is the only thing he does eat these days - haha

She also said I could cut out cows milk for drinking but I should leave it in his diet (cooking, etc). She has seen kids who have an allergy - then pass the food challenge and then still leave the item out of their diet - when the finally introduce it again the body rejects it and it becomes an allergen again.

I bought some Lactose Free milk as a test - she told me to let her know of the results.  I also got some chocolate soy milk - he always refused reg soy milk.  Other than that he will get water. He is also on a multi-vitamin and calcium supplements - which he loves since they are like gummies =)

We talked a little about the new baby as well - since Sam had a reaction at a young age she is 4 times more likely to have a reaction as well - and she told me I was welcome to bring her in for her first exposure to cows milk - just in case.

We will go back in 6 months just to re-evaluate if needed.

So now I have a plan in place and feel so much better!!!

This shirt would look great on me.....

....... dont you agree?

The Blankie is no more....

..sniff sniff....

No, you see Sam still uses his blankie to sleep with and in the car but when I picked him up from school and put him in the car he asked for his blankET - WHAT?  You mean BlankIE??
Nope, he asked for his blanket - just like a big boy =(
Man he is growing up fast!

No, thats not your baby sister...thank goodness!

My mom sent a little doll for the new baby and when Sam saw it he said "baby sister"!

Then gave her a big hug!

 

Then threw her on the ground.... oy!

Great Weekend!

Some friends of ours from the condo in VA came to visit this weekend - The (Big) boys headed to a football game while me, Andrea and the (little) guys stayed at the house.

Sunday we took a walk in the wagon and Sam and Adam were all smiles. Sam was just giggling to himself - he thought it was so neat that Adam was in the wagon with him!  very cute!

Sam also wanted to be like Adam - so when Adam crawled.... Sam followed - haha

It was a fun weekend - opened my eyes a bit to having 2 kids... and now I am really freaking out! haha.

Sam didnt like it when I held Adam on my lap - HE wanted to be on my lap. He also wasn't too keen on sharing his toys with Adam.... I kept telling myself   "he is only 2, he is only 2" - I recently read some GREAT advice online that said when your child is misbehaving say outloud - "Stop acting like you're a 2 year old"   (if your child is 3 you say 3, etc etc).  It makes you pause for a moment a realize "oh, yeah, you ARE a 2 year old!!!" - you are suppose to act this way!  Not that I advocate "bad" behavior but children are learning and exploring and trying to figure out whats right and wrong and in doing that make lots of parents very frazzled!   Sometimes I think I expect too much from him.... I can promise you this, he wont be opposed to sharing when he is in high school ;-)