Judah and his daddy

Paul is an entertainer - and Judah loves being entertained... the two of them could spend HOURS making each other laugh... I love their relationship :)

Rock It, Baby!

We have never owned a real rocking chair, not for a lack of wanting to own one, but... well, I am super picky about finding a great rocking chair and I won't spend money on one I don't love, and I have yet to find one that I love. A friend has a glider that she is wanting to get rid of and said she'll give to us and I am rather excited about this fact, as even if it isn't exactly what I would want in a chair it is FREE, so no complaints there!
Judah loves being rocked to sleep, and I have mixed feelings about giving up our improvised 'rocker.' As with all great ideas that originate here Paul thought this one up... see, I have this exercise ball that he bought me to, ya know... exercise with. It doesn't get a whole lot of use in the exercise department so Paul put it to use as a rocking chair. For the last two months Judah and I spend a lot of time bonding while my poor butt is struggling to balance on this ball... annoying, but it actually gives my butt and thighs and pretty good workout!
So when we get this new 'real' rocker it will be much more comfortable and easy to rock him, but not as good for my lower body. :)

Sunday's Freebie

Flavored Flax Oil - scroll down to the form and in the select ""flax oil sample request" from the drop down menu. In the comments request one of the following three flavors:

Mike's Special Red - garlic and paprika blend
Sweet Mustard - agave and mustard
Pure Gold - highest quality Golden Flaxseed

The Mom Song

Saturday's Freebie

Blue Ridge Mountains DVD - for Canadians too! =) It is likely just a advertisement ploy... but worth a shot on something that will entertain the baby!

For your free 3M Post-it Pop Up click 'Change is Free' on the main page and then enter the code n8r4ry.... not exactly sure what this is, but guess we'll all find out in a few weeks! =)

Friday's Sample

Hamburger Helper Sample - yummy! =)

Thursday's Freebie

D Ring Holder

Samples

I haven't been linking to samples because I wasn't sure that anyone was really interested in them... but the last few days I have been raking in the freebies, and it's been rather exciting to me! I request a couple a day, so it's not a big deal to link to them on my blog - just let me know if you'd like me to start posting them daily again and I will!

In the last few days I have gotten:
*a coupon for a free 21oz Dr. Pepper
*a coupon for a free can of baby formula
*a days supply of baby formula
*another days supply of baby formula
*a travel size tube of toothpaste
*a mini box of cereal
*eight different flavors of hot chocolate (one cup of each)
*a full size granola bar
*another full size granola bar

Fun with the Mirror

Eight Months!

Judah is eight months old today!!

God Grew Tired of Us

I just got this movie today from Netflix and watched it this evening (while folding those clothes I was trying so hard to avoid!) This movie is AMAZING!! Really makes you FEEL what these 'Lost Boys' went through when they came over to the USA, it made me laugh and it made me cry. I strongly recommend you rent it from somewhere and watch it!

Only Eight

I was tagged awhile ago... I think by a few people. I don't remember! I have a huge pile of laundry I should be folding, but I really don't want to, so I am doing everything possible to put it off... so I am going to do this meme!

These are the rules of being tagged: RULES - Post rules before giving the facts - Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves - People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules - At the end of the your blog you need to tag (hopefully) six people and list their names - Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.


Eight Things You Were Dying to Know About Me...

1. I hate when the doorbell rings or when someone knocks on the door. At least I hate it when Paul is away. Every single time it crosses my mind that it could be someone here to tell me that Paul has been injured or died. Paul doesn't work in a dangerous job but he does travel a lot and he is overworked, as is everyone else in his clinic, which means it's a bunch of exhausted people driving all over the state - and nearby states. I am by no means paranoid about it, but I do try to mentally prepare myself (as if that is possible...) every time there is someone at the door.
2. I change my purse/diaper bag depending on what outfit I am wearing. If I am carrying a purse and a diaper bag too than the diaper bag has to match Judah's outfit...
   
3. I am addicted to tea. I drink upwards of 5 cups a day sometimes. SO yummy! My friend Crystal just sent me a bunch of her fav teas and she now has me hooked on Chocolate tea.
4. On Saturday mornings I sometimes watch That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody... and I actually enjoy it =)
5. I hate folding laundry and will do anything to put it off - not sure why, as it won't go away until I do fold it!
6. I love working out at the gym with Paul. He motivates me and makes it fun, and I thoroughly enjoy working out - but only with him. I can't motivate myself to go if he's not there!
7. I make up silly songs for Judah all the time. Almost everything we do gets turned in to a song. It makes him giggle, which makes me happy!
8. I just love shower gels and lotions - I have to be careful not to buy too much... I always have a shelf full of different scents!
   

The Newest Thing in Puzzles!

He's Got a Bright Future...

Chocolate Sensation

I discovered this Dark Hot Chocolate mix last Wednesday night, and sadly enough am already on my second box of it! It is SO good!! The only thing better than this hot chocolate is white hot chocolate, which I haven't been able to find around here =(
If you like to drink your chocolate I totally recommend you buy this Dark Chocolate Sensation kind! YUMMY!

Laughing Baby

This movie is really dark but you can still hear Judah's laugh. He was laughing at Paul doing handstands! Judah thought it was hysterical =) We thought he was!

Baby At Play

This picture of Judah just cracks me up... he has the oddest expression on his face - it's so funny =)

Judah discovered the blanket he was sitting on (that will be there till we buy a rug to cover the bleach stain!) I can just hear him thinking "Now what can I do with this?"

"Hmm, doesn't taste very good."

"Maybe I can hide behind it!"
"MUMMYYYY! Try to find me!"
"Here I am! So funny - let's do it again!"

The Many Faces of Judah-Budah

Judah and I were playing on the floor this afternoon and he started making the funniest faces at me... so I grabbed my camera and the faces continued!
For your enjoyment:

His praying pose

His spitting face

His 'yuck! you spit back at me!' face

His starting to smile face

His coughing face

Howdy

Woohoo! We did it - we finally each bought ourselves a pair of cowboy boots! My friend found the ladies boots at a store for 75% off - she took me in there on Thursday and I just adored the boots, but wanted to make sure that Paul loved them too! So after picking him up at the airport yesterday afternoon I took him back to the store to look at my boots and check out the mens clearance.

He bought this pair for himself - they are suede. Reg $84 - he got them for $21.

These are the ones I bought for me. Reg $234 - we paid $58 for them.

I just love the smell of leather! Mmm! And I love the look of my boots too... these are our first western boots for both of us - I think it's a much better trend than our leather pant look, don't you?!

New Decor

Sometimes I do really stupid things. At times like those I am so grateful for a loving husband with a sense of humor.
This weeks stupid thing happened Thursday evening - the same evening as 'the diaper stuff' and, coincidentally, is directly related to that drama. When Judah had that explosive diaper he was in his exo-saucer at the time. So the poop that ended up between his toes was also all over the base of the exo-saucer. Gross. In my grossed-out-ed-ness I decided to clean it up with bleach. I poured a bit of bleach and water into the base and started scrubbing. Imagine my horror when I realized there are tiny holes in the base! Really - it was worse than horror.
This is what I did to our carpet:

The picture does not even do it justice.... there is this ugly bleach stain right in the middle of our living room.
I called Paul later that evening just to chat and he just KNEW something was up - but I did not want to tell him what I'd done. When he finally managed to get the story out of me he actually laughed and said he thought it was kind of funny, and then said that we could go out and buy a rug to cover it up. Aw! How sweet of him to be so nice about my stupid mistake!


I remembered to take a picture of our new coffee maker - looks pretty snazzy, eh?? I haven't figured it out yet (floor model means no instruction manual...) so if Paul isn't home I don't drink coffee!

Blog for a Year

For whatever reason no one seems to be able to get on to the site Blog for a Year. I have no idea why, and neither does the lady who was in first place. I hate to do this since so many of you were so committed to voting for me each day - but I QUIT!
It's like one of those situations where you know you're about to be fired so you quickly decide you want to quit... ya, that would be this. I think the creator of Blog for a Year has ditched us all... run off with the money. But it still feels good to say that I quit =)
Thanks everyone for your faithful voting.

Catching Up

It has been a little while since I've blogged and I miss it. Paul has been away since last Saturday and so I have tried to be productive with my days to keep myself from getting bored with him being gone... so now our apartment is cleaner than ever before, my Christmas gifts for my family are all wrapped, Judah's-too-small-for-him-now clothes are all put away, and I finally got around to visiting the local flea market! It has been a fun week.

I have been trying so hard to get Judah to crawl again, but he just won't!! Wednesday night while I was at prayer meeting the nursery ladies said that he crawled for them... sheesh. My baby is a show off! The only thing he has been showing off for me this week has been his pooping skills... I think Paul must have a stern chat with him every time he leaves for a long time away from us because Judah ALWAYS does massively disgusting diaper stuff while Paul is gone. This evening I could smell it from the other side of the apartment. GROSS. When I came to see if I was truly smelling what I thought I was smelling I discovered it had gone through the diaper, all down his leg and it was in between his toes. DISGUSTING. The smell is now burnt into my nose and it makes me want to gag. I'm sure you're all glad I am back to blogging now, eh?! Ok... I shall change the subject.

I am rather pleased with myself for asking for something. I had made an order on Amazon for all the supplies to make Bubble Tea ... if you have never had Bubble Tea you must try it! Absolutely delicious and addictive! It's also a little pricey so I had the brilliant thought of ordering all the supplies to make it and then making it at home. So that's what I did. The company sent me an e-mail to tell me that they were out of one of the items, so I could either wait two weeks till they got the shipment of it in, or I could cancel my order. So I e-mailed them back and said I could wait, but could they send me something extra to make up for the wait. They said they would, so now I am getting two extra flavored powders along with my order - sweet! It NEVER hurts to ask for something!

That reminds me... a couple of weeks ago Paul and I were in Khol's and I found a coffee maker - it's regularly $100 and it was 60% off. I was pretty excited so I put it in our cart (because up until that day we were still using Paul's inventive coffee maker!) The only one they had left was the floor model, so when we got to the check out I asked if they could give us a discount since it was the floor model... we got an additional 15% off of the price... so the $100 coffee maker cost us $34! The new one has a timer on it and looks quite spiffy. Sometime when I am unlazy I will take a picture of it!

I will also take a picture of Judah's Christmas present. I am really excited about it! At the flea market I found some wooden (toy) tools. They look really neat! I am debating painting them or leaving them with the wood look. They look really cool and what's even neater is that a 72 year old man makes them :) He's a retired trucker and he had all sorts of wooden things he'd made to sell. I will take a picture of it soon and poll ya'll to see what I should do about painting them!

He did it!! My little dude crawled last night! He won't do it for me today, but he did it last night for the youth group girls. Little show off!! I am so excited for him!

Almost Crawling!

A Blog Worth Reading

There are some amazing blogs out there and tonight I was introduced to a remarkable one that sadly will never be updated again by the author. Amy Wilhoite was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in July 2006, she had been married for about three years and had a young baby (about eight months old from my estimation). She started her blog as a means to share the events of her life from the time she found out that she potentially had leukemia. Her faith in God is beautiful. Really, there is no other way to describe it. The JOY she had in life. Her love and gratefulness for her doctors and nurses. Her love for God. Her blog is such a testimony of a life transformed by God's grace.
Sadly Amy died on Monday (September 10, 2007). She left behind her husband, Brandon and young son, Gary.
You can go read her story HERE - but be warned, you will need a box of kleenex.

*Just a note, if you want to start at the beginning of her story on the side bar you will see the years 2007 and 2006. Click on '2006.' It will then list the months, July being the starting month. Click on 'July.' All of July 2006 posts will appear. Scroll down to the bottom of that page to get the very first post, and then work your way back up the page.

*Cough Cough*

Just to stifle any curious mind I will say this at the beginning - I am not pregnant. A blood test was done today and it was negative.

That being said I feel I can now safely say that I have been sick for the past week. I was sick last Thursday night, Saturday night and Monday night with really sharp stomach pains and nauseousness. Monday night it struck me that I was getting sick every other day, which is what happened when I had malaria. I was not having the chills and fever which normally accompany malaria, but I was still concerned about it.

So yesterday Paul called the Hospital Administration desk to see if they'd had any cancellations and if so could they get me in to see a doctor. They told him to have me call back at 1pm to make an appointment for today.

So I did.
The receptionist told me that they saved the last minute scheduling for acute cases.
I told her I'd been told to call.
She said she couldn't do anything as, again, last minute scheduling was reserved for acute cases.
I asked her if malaria didn't count as acute.
She said - and I quote - "No, malaria is just a routine testing that we do."
Umm right. Like malaria is routinely tested anywhere in the US. Ok, maybe at a Tropical Disease Center, but I was just going to Community Care.
The lady would not budge on her decision to not give me an appointment. So I said goodbye, hung up and called Paul about it.

He called back and within a matter of minutes got me an appointment for 9am this morning. He's very good at that kind of stuff =)

So in I went this morning. I like my doctor a lot. She scheduled a bunch of labs for me, some of which required me fasting for 12 hours before hand ... thankfully I'd remembered this from the tests I went through three years ago when I had it and I hadn't eaten in the morning, so I was all set for all the tests and was able to get them all taken care of at once.
My doctor said she would call if there's anything abnormal in the lab results, so I will have to wait on that to find out.

As soon as I finished with my checkup with her I went to get the labs done. In the waiting room was a little girl one week younger than Judah. Judah and I sat right across from the little girl and her mom and the little girl coughed. Judah looked up at her, smiled, and did his fake cough (he loves doing his fake cough...) the little girl coughed back at him, and he then coughed back at her. They smiled and laughed and coughed at each other for a good little while. It was SO very funny to see them 'playing' that way!

So right now I am waiting on the test results. I had the same sick stomach feelings again this afternoon - but it didn't flow with the 'every other day' thing that had been going on... so hopefully the tests will show something and we can figure out what's wrong with me!

Thursday's Freebie

A snack bar - pick between chocolate or cherry almond

Sunsweet product sample - click on the link that says "free sample" and pick any or all of the four snack samples they offer.

Wednesday's Freebie

Check out HERE for a free $5 giftcard to Walmart - you have to hurry tho as it's only for the first 5,000 people who enter!

It is a pop culture quiz. The answers are:

1. Runway
2. Joey
3. The Queen
4. The Departed

A Boy & A Dog video

A Boy & A Dog

Judah is learning new things every day and it is just so exciting to watch!!
On Sunday he added his third word to his vocabulary - "Ada" for Uncle Adam, a guy at church that Judah just adores.
Last week he started waving bye-bye, he still doesn't do it every time we ask him to, but he does do it most times =)
He loves being sung to and being read to.
And his favorite toy right now is his stuffed dog. He spends ages rolling around on the floor with it, it's rather cute.

Tuesday's Freebie

Just "Add To Cart" and your on your way to free candy.

http://www.brooklynpremium.com/swlowmipa.html

Product Description
These chocolate covered mint patties are low in fat and calories and sugar free. Sweet’N Low® Patteez® contain 2.1g of fat and 95.8 calories per 39g serving (four pieces) compared to 10g of fat and 190 calories in the same size serving of the leading chocolate candy brands. Each case contains 12 packages of 2.75 oz.

INGREDIENTS: Lactitol, Salatrim, Enriched Flour [Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Isomalt, Cocoa, Polydextrose, Sodium Caseinate, contains 2% or less of Salt, Wheat Starch, Soybean Oil, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda, Egg Whites, Whey, Ammonium Bicarbonate,Yellow # 5 & 6, Red 40, Blue 1, Artificial & Natural Flavorings, Acesulfame Potassium.

EXCHANGE INFORMATION 1 Serving = 1 fat, saturated; 1 carbohydrate; 1 protein.

Product may contain peanuts.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 4 pieces (39 g) Servings Per Container about 2

Amount Per Serving Calories 100 Calories from Fat 20

Total Fat 2 g, 3% DV Saturated Fat 2 g, 9% DV ??? Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 25 mg, 1% DV Total Carbohydrate 29 g, 10% DV Dietary Fiber 0 g, 0% Sugars 0 g Sugar Alcohol 24 g Protein 1 g

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet

9/11

My Crazy, Happy Boy

I went in to Judah's room to get something during his nap and found him sleeping like this - he does have a bumper, it just hasn't made it back on his bed after being washed!


Judah and his curious mind:"What?! You don't want me drooling on your keyboard mummy?"

Modeling his shoes from Aunt Essie
And the top from Aunt Essie ... what would he do without her to dress him??

Distractable Baby

I love how the slightest little thing distracts him... like his fascination with the car turns into a fascination with the camera, which then turns into a fascination with the carpet, then back to the camera, then he bumps the car which reminds him that it's there and he is fascinated with it for all of three seconds, then it's back to the carpet again... a never ending circle. He makes me laugh!

Thursday's Freebie for Canada

This one is for Canadian addresses only Nutella Sample

My debit card expired the end of August, and for whatever reason I never got the replacement card. I called our bank three times during the month of August - trying to ensure that my new bank card would get here before the other one expired (ya know - so I wouldn't have to put a pause on any shopping!!) Each time I called they assured me it had been sent and would get here within two days. Didn't happen. The cards they supposedly kept sending must have gotten eaten in the mail.
So September started (um, crazy thought!!) and I didn't have access to any money. It was slightly in my favor as it meant Paul had to take my car out to get the oil change and put gas in it. But it was really annoying to not have money. Yesterday I needed to go grocery shopping desperately so took Paul's card with me hoping they wouldn't check the name on it ... how embarassing to have to return all my groceries because I had no way to pay for them! But his card worked just fine.
And as life would have it the new card finally arrived this morning - early this morning! As glad as I was to get the card it was frustrating that they came so early and woke up my baby when they rang the door bell. Guess you can't have it all, eh?

So yes, it is September. Kind of hard to believe when it is about 97 F outside. I saw apple cider in the grocery store yesterday but couldn't bring myself to buy it. As much as I love it it's a Fall drink, and "Fall" is not shorts, tank top and flip flop weather. So I'll be holding out for the apple cider.

Tomorrow is the youth groups white water rafting trip. I still have a bit of stuff to organize for it... like actually figure out where it is and how to get there =) Those would be good details to know!! This blog will likely not have any updates till after I get home on Sunday, which means no freebie links either.

Thursday's Freebie

Shania Starlight Perfume Sample.

Monday at the Lake

My Friend Has More Talent Than Your Friend

I don't know your friend, so I can say that... but really, when it comes to jewelry making my friend Crystal (yup! A bloggy buddy! Can I call her a 'buggy' then?) makes the most beautiful jewelry! I'll confess that I haven't yet bought any, but her prices are really great, and the pieces are just beautiful!!
I have spent a lot of time drooling over her work.
Check out her clever website 2 Belles and a Bead where her and her mom's work is showcased. Shipping prices cannot be beat - free within the USA and just $1 to Canada! Pretty sweet, eh?

Wednesday's Freebie

Mark it on your calendar - September 29th is Museum Day and participating locations are offering free admission. Look HERE to print off the coupon and HERE for a list of participating locations. Some museums that are not listed will still be participating in honor of Museum Day, so if nothing near you is mentioned on the list check your nearby locations to see if they are actually participating.

Tuesday's Freebie

South Beach Diet bar... for Americans only.

I am going to include a second one today. It is for Americans and Canadians but is only for the first 500 responses- and they don't tell you if you are one of the first 500 or not! Mark Jewel Eau de Toilette

Monday's Freebie

I know this is REALLY late for Monday's freebie (and it's not even good for in Canada!!) But here is todays - Honey Bunches of Oat. Yummy! In order to get this sample you have to check that you're willing to receive future correspondence with them - so I strongly suggest that you create an email account that is solely for the purpose of giving out in such cases as these, so that your own email account is not bogged down with junk mail!

Judah at Midnight

I promise - he was SO worked up before the camera started!! My "boo's" did not work him up any more than he'd done to himself!! This was was him at midnight... after being up since 6:30am! It is 1 am now and he JUST went to sleep a few moments ago. Hopefully it will be a long sleep! For my sake!!

The Descent

I recently bought The Man From Snowy River for us - it's a movie I grew up watching and it has my all time favorite horse scene is it - and guess what?! I found it on You Tube so you can enjoy watching it too! At 2:25 exactly (in the clip) is where the chills start for me! I love it so much!

Laundry Laughs

Have you ever read the care instructions on your underwear? I never have. Until yesterday that is, and what I read made me laugh. It made me laugh so hard I had to run and check all my underwear care instructions. They all say the typical "Wash with like colors. Tumble Dry" and then the line that made me laugh "Iron as needed." IRON?! Underwear?!?! Forget the fact that ironing is my least favorite chore and I have done it less than a handful of times since getting married. WHO in their right mind irons underwear? Even if you love ironing, would you ever iron underwear? Have you ever heard of such a thing??

While we're talking about underwear... the lady at VS said such a funny thing to me when I was using my coupon to get the free underwear.
I put my purchase down on the counter along with my $10 off any purchase coupon.
VS LADY: Don't you want to get the 5 for $25 deal? With this coupon you can get 5 for $15. It's a much better deal!
ME: (trying to sound confused): Better deal than free?
VS LADY: Oh...
Then she rushed through the rest of the transaction without talking to me.

Ok, underwear talk is finished... on to other things now... like my baby!
I am not sure what's going on with him... he is on a sleeping strike. I won't give you a run down on our whole week, but starting with this weekend he's slept 6 hours Friday night, 40 minutes all day Saturday, 6 hours Saturday night and NOTHING today!! He is far too young to be giving up his naps yet ... I have no idea what is causing this strike! He has bags under his eyes he's so tired! It is now 11pm and he is not anywhere close to going to sleep - he's happy, just won't sleep!

Sunday's Freebie

Whenever possible I will post freebies for Canadians as well as Americans... it's not very easy to find a freebie that's good in both countries!! But I shall attempt it!

Today's freebie (for Canadians too!) is for an Acrylic Stamp Set. It is only available to the first 15,000 people that request it, so head over HERE quickly and fill out!

Smells Good!

I wonder if I can find a freebie a day to list for ya'll? I am going to try!! Todays freebie is quite fabulous! A Ginger Therapy Gift Basket! All you do is answer a short survey on holiday and gift giving and then fill out your information. This is good for Canadians too! Check it out HERE.