Let Me Read To You

Some of Xavier's favorite things are books. He loves them and has made it very clear which ones are his favorites. He loves to turn pages and point to random things and say something in jiberish. He's starting to really like to be in a lap or sitting right next to you when he "reads". When he wants to be read to he will bring you a book and won't take no for an answer as he shoves it in your face and climbs on you. It's pretty cute, although 15 times a day can become a little much!

Sitting with Daddy reading "What The Baby Hears"

Reading "Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See" with Grandpa

The Fancy Grocery Store

We normally grocery shop at the very "budget friendly - no frills" grocery store. But, recently X and I made a stop at the "fancy" grocery store because quite frankly, I needed the pick me up. It had been a challenging day for lunch and nap and I decided we (ok, I) needed the fancy grocery store experience to make up for me picking turkey pieces out of the dining room rug. While it cost me probably about a 1/3 more for my few items I didn't care. Everyone at the fancy grocery store just always seems happy and friendly and it makes the world seem brighter!

Upon walking in we headed to get some bananas and were stopped by one of the managers wanting to "say hello to this beautiful blue eyed boy". Xavier flashed a smile on cue! Things were looking up already. Next we headed over to the deli counter and the man helping us asked if Xavier would like some cheese to snack on. I said that would be great and expected the guy to give him a little piece. But no, he pulls out a WHOLE slice of their freshly cut American cheese (no Kraft single here!) How cool is that -- free cheese! This just keeps getting better!

We wrapped up our trip by heading over to the dairy cases to get some milk and were stopped by a little old lady who started talking to X. She then proceeded to tell me how she went to a party the day before and and thought some kid was a girl because "she" had long hair, but actually it was a boy and "Jack" was very upset by the mistaken identity. Funny Gal!

The fancy grocery store came through for me that day and I walked out smiling (and not looking at my receipt). So, while we can't visit often, I will remember our time there fondly!

And for those that come here for the pictures, here's one that was taken exactly a year ago today. This was during Xavier's "where has all my hair gone?" phase. Nice nose pickin kiddo!

Is This 2-Ply ?

Normally we keep the bathroom doors shut or take the toilet paper roll off the hooks. Apparently we were slacking on this day. I heard Xavier laughing in the bathroom and went to see what was so funny.

It was too darn cute not to take pictures of since he was having such a good time! It's almost a right of passage for kids to undo the roll, right?

He was a little surprised when he was caught red handed. Crazy boy!

Since this is not a very cost effective form of play we're keeping a better eye out from now on!

Snow Day Round 2

These are some more pictures from the snow fall a few weeks ago. This was the day after this when the snow was deeper.

I attempted to make Xavier into a snow angel, but he really didn't get the concept. I had to kinda of just lay him down and push him into the snow to make an imprint. It ended up looking like a body outline from a crime scene!

This day also marked the first time that Xavier tried to run away from home. But he didn't get very far before he stopped and turned back. I'd like to think it's because he knew he'd miss his mommy too much!

As a bonus to our day, a neighbor came over with 2 pairs of snow pants that her kids grew out of. So, we've got some free snow gear for the next 2 years -- SWEET!!

Sick Sick Sick

Yes, all 3 of us have been sick this week. Xavier lead the pack by getting the stomach flu on Sunday night. As I mentioned, he threw up on my parent's carpet. Then on the driveway as we were leaving, then in the kitchen once we got home....LOVELY! It was strange because he didn't act sick. He did get scared when he threw up and cried for a few minutes, but then after we cleaned him up he went back to playing. He never threw up again after that, but had issues on the other end for the next few days and still isn't back to eating much at all.

We thought we might be in the clear, but Thursday morning around 2 am I was throwing up and Walter followed suit about 5am. It was a LONG sick day around our house. We got hit much harder than Xavier and were pretty much good for nothin! Thank the Lord that my mom was able to come over and take care of Xavier because we could barely sit up. She was kind enough to play with him, feed him lunch and dinner, put him down for a nap, and give him a bath. It was soooo wonderful to know that he was in good hands. Mom even brought us soup and jello and changed our sheets! How great is that!!!! I guess you are never too old to need your mom when you are sick.

I'm crossing my fingers when I say that I think the worst is behind us and we're all working our way back to being healthy now.

Being sick made me realize how much I'm addicted to email, facebook and blogging. I wasn't online for about 36 hours and felt total withdrawals. I was so excited to check back in this afternoon. I had lots of reading to catch up on! I even caught myself saying to Walter "You know it's like when you miss a day of school and you have extra homework to do." Ummmm, yeah.....I'm addicted!!

I'm behind on downloading my photos too so hopefully I'll have some posts with pictures here shortly!

Happy Early Valentines Day!

Not Me Monday

It's that time again. Head over to MckMama's place to see what others have not done this week. As for me....

• I did NOT vacuum and clean my house no less than 5 times in the past 7 days. Someone PLEASE buy our house so I can stop keeping it in a ridiculously clean state at all times!!


• I did NOT go absolutely nuts when X got up at 5am one day and wouldn't go back to sleep. It did NOT put me in such a bad mood for the day that when Walter asked me to think of something good in my life at that point all I could come up with was "my Internet connection". (apparently the answer he was looking for was him and X)


• I did NOT put a bib on my shirtless kiddo for dinner the other night, because what would be the point of that?


• My son did NOT puke all over my parent's carpet right after my mom and dad were talking about how they never let us eat food in the living room when we were young for fear we'd get it all over the carpet.


• After X puked again all over me, I did not just wipe off my shirt and put a coat on over it to go to Target to get Pedialyte and hope that no one would stand too close to me in the checkout line and smell it!

Happy Monday!

Blogging about Blogging

It was just about a year ago that I was introduced to the blogging world. I'd heard of the term "blog" before, but didn't really get it and certainly hadn't read any before. Then a friend told me to check out her blog, so I did. She also gave me a few others to check out. And I did....and that was the beginning of my new obsession. It started out slowly and I found an interesting blog here and there (mostly from blog reels of other blogs) and it seemed to just snowball. I now have upwards of 20 or so blogs that I follow and seem to check for new updates multiple times a day. I know that I could easily add 20 more to my list because there are soooo many good ones out there, but I'm trying to show some restraint. I've even thought about cutting a few out because it can become very time consuming to keep up!

I think what attracted me initially to the blogging world is that it's an easy way to keep up on what friends are doing. But, then I started following blogs of people I don't even know because their lives and their stories seemed interesting. I also follow some advice blogs and organization blogs. For a stay at home mom like me, it's become a connection to others, even if I don't "know" these people per say.

Reading blogs can cheer me up when I'm having a bad day because someone out there is bound to be doing something fun. Reading blogs makes me feel like I'm not alone in the struggles of parenthood. Reading blogs gives me great ideas to incorporate into my life. Reading blogs makes me realize how fortunate I am too. I follow several blogs of christian families and it's amazing how much their stories of faith and how they live their lives has impacted me. I find myself praying more, for those I know, and those I don't know, and being inspired to live a more faith-filled life.

A few months back I decided to create my own blog. While I'm not a great writer by any means, it's been a fun outlet for me and a great way to post pictures of Xavier for family and friends. I like having a record of what's been going on in life. I don't even really care if anyone reads it (which is good because I think my faithful followers could be counted on one hand!)

So today I choose to be thankful for the world of blogging! It brings me much joy, much learning, and a great way to put off doing laundry!!

Double Vision

X loves the computer. He loves it so much he can not walk past it without trying to pull on the mouse or bang on the keyboard. When the computer comes out of hibernation and the screen pops up he squeals with delight upon seeing his own picture (because of course my background is of the most adorable child in the world!) The other morning he happened to be wearing the same jammies that were in the picture. It was like I was seeing double!

Wow, that's a good lookin boy on the screen Mommy!

Hey, I think that's me -- how did I get in there?

Maybe if I click this thing it will let me out!

Xavier and Xavier

And completely unrelated, but I think equally funny....I came out of the shower to find X had been in my dresser....

and was trying to put on my bra!

Hmm...does this go on my foot?

25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged by some friends on Facebook to write 25 Random Things about me and thought I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone and use it for a blog post as well. This works out seeing at I don't have my camera right now (see item 9) and haven't downloaded any new pics in over a week. So, here goes....

1. I just typed this all and forgot to save and lost it...ahhh!
2. I have never lived out of state but would like to.
3. I'm sure I'm tagging people that have already done this, but oh well. (ok, that one applies to Facebook since I don't really have enough blog followers to make it worth tagging here!)
4. I like to eat grilled cheese cut diagonally.
5. I don't like crowds -- i prefer small groups.
6. I don't color my hair -- have had highlights a few times, but don't like the hassle or the $$$$
7. I have only had 2 cars in my life - both SUVs.
8. I have regrets in life and wish that I didn't.
9. While I'm super organized I often misplace my camera (like yesterday -- left it at my brother's house)
10. I would like to read more.
11. I question my faith and often wonder if I'm Catholic just because I've always been Catholic.
12. I love Kraft Mac N Cheese (the powder cheese kind).
13. 80% of my clothes are from Target or resale shops.
14. While I love my kiddo, I envy the freedom of people who are not parents.
15. I'm addicted to reading blogs.
16. I have 1 brother and my parents are still married to each other.
17. I still wear my Senior Sweatshirt -- not very often, but it does have a place in my closet.
18. I haven't been away from my son for more than about 6 hours at a time since he was born (13 months) and even that long is VERY rare.
19. When I was little I wanted to be either an over the road truck driver or work on a lawn cutting crew. And I wanted my first car to be a GEO storm. (I'm 0 for 3)
20. I get frustrated with my every day life, but always know how lucky I am when you look at the big picture.
21. I won a butterfly CZ necklace in a drawing at KMART when I was 6.
22. I hate stuffed animals and anything with hearts on it.
23. I am trying to floss more.
24. If left unattended I could eat an entire box of Thin Mint cookies in one sitting!
25. I don't wear much makeup but put on chapstick 365 days a year.

Happy Monday!