Sunday, December 28, 2008

Merry Christmas to all...

Ahhh, the holidays. So I hope Santa is peacefully resting...as all his work is done. Meanwhile I'm left cleaning up his messes.





Jack was very excited to find his tool set and ginormous blocks on Christmas morning. Now they are of course ALWAYS scattered everywhere and I find myself "playing" with them more than he does...but that's ok.

Please don't let me forget Jack's super terrific birthday party. We maganged a Yo Gabba Gabba party, and it was pretty sweet. SO sweet in fact, that these cupcakes couldn't compare with the sweetness, however they were the highlight of the evening... and the bulk of my entire day.








Not to mention the Gabba Land I whipped up in a couple minutes. Forgive me, DJ Lance Rock wasn't invited to the party. Not because I'm racist, but because he his is just plain a nuisance.





And Jack decided to take the form of Linus, as he drags around his favorite blue blankie, and chose to remove my already nice tree skirt, PUSH the presents aside, and wrap my pathetic tree with a little love.

So there you go. Christmas summarized.





Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I'm THREE YEARS OLD.





That's right. Jack has now been with us for TWICE the amount of time Josh and I have spent without him after being married.


Obviously, we are so grateful he is here. To think that my little boy flatlined 3 hours after birth, and was brought back to us by dozens of doctors so he could have his Gabba Birthday today means the world.


Jack was born 11:30pm December 17th, 2005. He came willfully on his own, a week before his induction date. I went into labor and called my mom to tell her I wouldn't be making it to the family party she was hosting, due to the birth of my child. She quickly finished up her preparation, put one of the guests in charge and she and my dad ditched their very own party to come be with me and greet their first grandson. Laura I'm sure would have been there too, but she was at the U2 concert and was a little late.


Jack was a beautiful 5 lbs 14 oz, and went straight from me to the NICU, then taken over to Primary's.


You know the rest...





So here we are, with a 25 lb three year old, who can sing, jump, run, play and keep up with the rest of the 3 year olds. We love him more than anything else in this world, and we hope to continue celebrating these birthdays/milestones for YEARS upon YEARS upon YEARS.

Happy Birthday Baby Bum.

Jack,one year old.












Jack, two years old.












Jack, three years old.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

"I want to go to the car. I want to go to the car. I want to go to the car."


That is pretty much how Jack's first visit to the dentist went.


That, and he has ALL his teeth. Whew!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Tips, Tricks and Efficiencies

After Jack made his nightly trip to our room at 5am to say "He's scared" and I escorted him back to bed, I couldn't sleep. By 6am I thought I would make good use of my time and go swim some laps. So I got up and suited up, and the gym apparently doesn't open till 7. So I knew if I went home I'd go back to bed and it would all have been a waste. So I drove up the canyon and watched the CATS groom the slopes at Snowbird. That's a whole other post.

This one, however, is about ways I try to save time, money and hardship.

1. By recycling ALL things recycleable I cut my trips to the garbage can in half, and save garbage bags, simply by using a recycling bin.

2. When giving juice to Jack, I always dillute it halfway with water. That way he is getting the sweet drink he wants, with less sugar, and his tastebuds are sensitive to taste- hopefully benefitting him in the future to not like things that are TOO sweet. (Thus, less cavities.)

3. By using my fabric grocery bags I got at Harmon's for $1 each, I fit more groceries into each bag and have less to drag in from the car.

4. Organic milk stays fresh 1-2 MONTHS longer than regular milk. (Costco usually has the ones that last the longest.) That way, I know I will always make it to the end of the bottle before it expires.

5. We now use the "confetti" from our paper shredder to cushion breakable things we either ship, or pack. (Like christmas ornaments.)((I also use old egg cartons for ornaments as well.))

6. If I take Jack's diaper off for a bath or to change his clothes and it's BORDERLINE too wet to put back on him, I can extend the life of the diaper by pouring a little cornstarch in it. (And prevent a rash at the same time..)

7. If I run out of laundry detergent, I can get one extra load by filling the bottle up with water, shaking it to get all the soap coating the sides of the bottle, and pouring it into a new wash.

8. I try to only buy new clothes after selling some to Plato's Closet or donating them to the DI. That way my closet isn't to overwhelmed. And neither am I.

9. At the end of the year we collect ALL the change in the house (and cars), looking in every spot like under and inside of couches, places Jack will have put it, pockets, change purses and the laundry room- and we usually average about 75-100 dollars.


10. Keeping the same amount of dishes in your cupborad as there are people using them in the home, helps eliminate excess dishwasher usage (in turn, dish soap and electricity, and GAS if you use hot water), because each time you use your plate you are more inclined to just wash it, dry it, and put it away. (1 plate, bowl, cup, etc. per person. I understand this is harder with more people, kids, or teenagers.)

If anyone else has good tips.. please chare. Oh and I did go swimming after these thoughts. My back still hurts though.

~L