Pumpkin Head

I forgot to post yesterday, but Judah turned 7 months old! He is getting more and more fun each day - one of his favorite things is to push his little plastic car back and forth in front of him. Have I mentioned I am easily amused? I could sit and watch him play for hours on end!

Judah has started saying "momma" this week. He has been saying "dadda" for two months now, and momma has just now been introduced - soooo very sweet to hear it!

I recently rented a childhood classic movie for us to rent - The Happiest Millionaire. Paul has never seen it, and I was rather excited to introduce him to it. I use to borrow this movie all of the time from our library - in fact I watched it so much I broke it. Watching it as an older person I am not sure what I saw in it that I wanted to watch it all of the time. However I was not disappointed. It was most definitely corny - what else can you expect when there's a millionaire, an Irish butler, a boxing Bible Club, a room full of alligators and it's a musical?? But it had us laughing, and it made me happy to watch something I haven't seen in probably 15 years.

I also rented Return to Oz. The odd sequel to Wizard of Oz. It was just dumb, but I had to watch it as when I was really young my parents let my sister and I start watching it but we were so scared they turned it off. I was probably about eight years old, but ever since then I have had the occasional weird dream about a pumpkin head, a room full of heads, and a mirrored room. I knew all those things came from that movie, so now hopefully that dream can be put to rest seeing as I have put all the images into context.

It got me thinking though - someone should re-do The Wizard of Oz!! Can you imagine what they could do with it??

I'm Me!

Judah and I were listening to some songs today and I heard this song for the first time and thought it was so cute, so I thought I'd make a slide show of him and his cousin Ian. They haven't met yet but hopefully they will soon - and how much cuter would the song be if they were in the pictures together??
Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wrong Tube!

If Judah had the opportunity to return the parents he was given I am quite certain that last evening he would have done so in the blink of an eye.

Last night I went to put diaper rash cream on him and I accidentally grabbed the tube of Icy Hot.

Somehow the Icy Hot had ended up in Judah's diaper supply basket, and as you can see in the picture the tubes look identical if I were to just feel them.

For whatever reason last night I squeezed (what I thought was diaper rash cream) straight onto him, as opposed to onto my hand and then rubbing it in. Not only did I do that, but I accidentally squeezed too much onto him. It was everywhere.

I quickly realized my mistake and Paul and I frantically tried to wipe it all off of him as quickly as possible! He cried a little bit, but I think it was because I called quite loudly for Paul to grab a cloth and come help me.

I felt so very awful, and had Judah traded me in last night I would have understood!

Tin Foil "Stained Glass" Ornaments

These are so easy to make!

You need a piece of stiff paper - cardboard or card stock, tin foil, hot glue and Sharpie markers. Oh, and I guess to make them ornaments you'll need a hole punch and ribbon :)

Directions:

Cut paper to desired ornament shape.

Drizzle hot glue over ornament to make sections.

Once dry cover with tin foil.

Color the sections in with colored Sharpies for stained glass effect.

If so desired color the 'glue dividers' with a black Sharpie.

Here is how mine turned out. The first picture is without the black dividing the colors, and the second is with the black. I think it looks MUCH better without the black!

From Mel

Mel gave me an award!! Thanks so much Mel :)

What a Steal

Saturday was the church yard sale and I forgot to take my camera! It was on my 'to-do' list, but at five in the morning my mind wasn't able to remember everything!! So - no pictures of the grand event!!
A few of the youth group girls spent the night and we arrived at the chapel at 6 in the morning (everything had been set up the night before.) All the signs and newspaper ads said that it would open at 7am, but deal obsessed people were there at 6:15!! I think those people need help! Who gets up at 6 to hit yard sales??
Ah well - everyone who came to our yard sale got amazing deals! All of the books were 2 for .25 cents, stuffed animals were fill a bag for $1. Nice lawn chairs went for $1/piece. Two play pens went for $6 each. We had a little bit of everything at the sale, and our goal was to get rid of as much as possible so we didn't have to take it to the local Good Will. We didn't end up selling everything, but we did clear out a lot of what we started with and we made a bundle of money in the process!
Our grand total for our Garage Sale and donation based Car Wash was $851.17! A lot more than any of us expected!!

Judah Photo Shoot

I was cleaning out Judah's closet today - taking out the too small things and adding the things that will now, or soon, fit him - and I found this sweater that I'd bought last year soon after finding out I was pregnant. I think it is SO sweet! I am not sure if it will fit him when it's actually cool enough for him to wear it, so I decided to get some pictures of him in it today =) Ya, I know - it's 104 F outside right now and I had my baby in a sweater! But in my defense we stayed inside in the air conditioned apartment the whole time!
I like how they turned out, especially the one where you see his belly - he kept pulling the sweater off to show off his belly, he thought it was hilarious!

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Wordless Wednesday #2

Attack of the Angry Goose
Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, 2005

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O Judah

A New Do

This is what happens when the teenagers at church take my son =) Does he not look terrified??

Embarrassing Things Come in Three

I have an embarrassing confession - my husband owns a pair of leather pants.

Even more embarrassing to admit though is that *I* own a pair of leather pants! I found mine at a Second Hand Store years before I got married. I thought they were funny, and something possessed me to buy them, so I did. Despite the fact that I have moved three times since getting married they have faithfully lived in the very back of each closet - never to be worn.

That is until last evening.

This coming Saturday our church is having a Garage Sale as a means to raise some money to help cover some of the costs for a coming up youth retreat, so I have been going through Paul's stuff (did I actually just say that?? I mean *our* stuff) to look for things to donate.

I found his leather pants amongst a bin of junk, that if I had just added to the pile of things to be donated he never would have noticed them missing. But I had the decency to ask him if I could toss the leather pants. And his answer was no. Actually it was more like "NO WAY!"
I pointed out that he has not once worn the leather pants in all the years I've known him.

Bad thing to say.

He took that as a challenge and decided that we had to stop sorting for the Garage Sale and he had to try on the pants right then - just to show me that he had to keep the pants and so he could claim he had worn them in the last five years :)

As he was pulling on his leather pants he remembered that I owned a pair, and in a moment of stupidity I told him that I still owned them, and he asked me to pull them out and try mine on too. So being the obedient wife that I am I did.

And here is the most embarrassing thing of all - proof that we do indeed both own leather pants.

So tell me - is your vote with me (Garage Sale them both!)
or with Paul (keep them, and pull them out once every five years for a picture) ??

Almost Penny Candy

I am an easily excitable person, but it takes something extra special to make me giddy. Today was one of my giddy days.
I don't think anyone (ok, other than my SIL who told me about this deal!) will be able to guess what I paid for the 104 jars of baby food in the pictures above.
A GRAND TOTAL of $2.08!!! That's like the greatest deal of the year =)
If you click HERE there is a coupon for $1 off any two Gerber Baby Foods from Target. If you buy the 4 oz jars that are regularly .52 cents then you will be getting them for .2 cents each! TWO cents people!! Even if you don't have a baby go out and buy them for someone you know who has a baby. If you don't know anyone with a baby buy them and go make friends with someone who has a baby!!

I can totally vouch for this coupon as I just used it this evening! You can print off as many coupons as you want and then use them. We were told that the computer has a max that you can buy at one time, so if you're going to buy hundreds of jars then just split it up between a few purchases.
You have to act quickly though as it expires on Wednesday, August 15th.

Oh, and make sure you are super nice to the cashier that rings all this up for you =) It really is a pain to ring it all up and then ring up the coupons!

If you end up using it come back and tell me how many you got! =)

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Today before nap time.
Paul and Judah reading

Judah is back to his cheery self, including sleeping longer! He slept for six hours last night! Hurray! Hopefully it will only get better from now on! Last night I realized the poor boy hadn't pooped in many days, so I gave him some watered down apple juice and twenty minutes later his diaper exploded! And his personality change was almost instant! So, if you have a cranky baby try to make it poop. The answer might be as simple as that :)

Thursday Thirteen #25

I was going to use this picture for yesterday's Wordless Wednesday - but it has such a great story behind it I couldn't leave it wordless!

This picture was taken in 2004 when I was in Nigeria living with my grandparents, who are missionaries there. My uncle, aunt and four cousins all live right next door. My grandparents live in the middle of no where. It takes an hour to drive to the post office and a small market place. It takes three hours to drive to drive to a semi-decent market place. This semi-decent market place is where the story takes place.

My cousin and I were at the market place and this Nigerian man in his early twenties approached us. It didn't take long to realize that in his eyes him and I equaled happily ever after. He actually said these things to me:

"Look! You are wearing flip flops and so am I! What a coincidence!"
"You are wearing green, and so am I! What a coincidence!"
"You are drinking Coke and I am too! What a coincidence!"
"You have dark hair and so do I! What a coincidence!"

All of these 'coincidences' were signs to him that him and I were meant to be together, and it was so obvious that he had a massive crush on me. Or, ok, maybe a strong passion to get to Canada, but I prefer to think he liked me for *me.*

All of these coincidences happened within a matter of minutes of cousin and me meeting him, and when he finally paused and asked me about myself my cousin piped up and told him I was a country music star from Canada and was in Nigeria for a vacation.

He asked for my name and when I told him Jessica Crowe (my maiden name) he says "Ah yes, I think I have heard of you! I am so pleased to meet you!" And then became all the more convinced we were meant to be as he owned a music store and I was supposedly a singer - how much clearer could it get??

He asked me to sing, but we told him I was under strict orders to rest my voice. He asked me to send him my cd, and I said I'd do the best I could.

I left the market that day thinking I would never see or hear from him again. I was so wrong.

The next trip to the market place I stayed at home, and just my cousin went. She came home bearing gifts for me from Mr. Coincidence. He'd sent a book on some country music singer, a belt buckle that said "Country Music" on it and his photo albums. I think there were four or five of them. (And he'd requested I send the albums back to him next time someone went to the market.)

That is when I got the idea to take the above picture of myself to send to him! I got all dressed up (because trust me, I don't normally dress this way!) and my cousin took some pictures for me. I got them printed and the next time my cousin went to the market I sent along an autographed picture of myself.

Conceited? Maybe. Coincidental? I think not.

Today is Thursday Thirteen, and mine is Thirteen Reasons Why Mr. Coincidence and I Would Never Have Worked Out.

1. I lied to him. That is no way to start a relationship.
2. If I did try to keep up the facade that I was a singer eventually I'd be caught - I can not sing.
3. I don't think I could convince him that Canada liked really off tune and shaky voiced country singers!
4. I am not sure if he would ever get over the shock that I'm not truly a singer.
   
5. And even if he did, his initial attraction was driven by a desire to get to Canada, not based on the fact that he loved me.
6. I couldn't pronounce his first name.
7. I can't cook Nigerian food, and I am not too fond of the hot and spicy food they eat!
   
8. His photo album was full of pictures of him with other women - I could never be with a man that had a history of dating tons of women.
9. I really wasn't interested in him.
10. In the slightest bit.
11. Because I was already interested in Paul.
12. As nice as this man was Paul was much, much nicer =)
13. And to this day I know Paul was a much, much better pick. :)

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Let's Rock Her World

Shelly is helping Jessica the Rock Chick get to A-List! And so can you! Stop by Shelly's blog to find out how you can help Jessica out and get the chance to win some great prizes!

“Let’s rock The Rock Chick’s World!
Send Life is RANTastic to the A-List.”

Wordless Wednesday #1

Us
February 2005

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Hanging In There

Judah in his new wrap

Judah did a bit better through the night - I think I actually got almost two hours of consecutive sleep last night! He is hanging out in his little seat entertaining himself, which is something he wasn't doing yesterday, so I think he is on his way to getting better - I just wish he would hurry it along and be well already!

On Saturday I got a tempting deal from my Babies-R-Us credit card - they sent me a coupon good for $25 off a purchase of $25.01 or more put on my credit card. Who could pass up a deal like that?? I spent all weekend dreaming about what I would go and get from the store, and on Monday I headed over there (with Sir Cranky in tow) and bought The Ultimate Baby Wrap. Wow! I am so glad I did. I have used it SO much since Monday! I can hold him in five different positions, one of them being for sleeping/nursing, there is absolutely no pressure on my neck or back, and he just loves it!
Paul had bought me a sling and I have raved about it in the past, and while I do still think it's a great product, this one is much better! It even comes with an instructional DVD so you can be sure to understand how to tie it on your body!

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In A Word

This is a picture of me when I was about four years old. It best reflects how I feel today - insane. Judah is still not himself and for the last 48 hours I have not been apart from him for more than 45 minutes as he simply demands my attention. He doesn't have a temperature anymore, and hasn't since Sunday, but he just isn't himself. He will not sleep for any more than 45 minutes, and when he is awake he wants to be held and cuddled most of the time. Which really wouldn't be so bad, except that's what he wants all day long! And I haven't been able to get anything done.
This evening I was actually beyond eager to go to the gym, as they offer free babysitting for two hours - imagine - two hours to myself! Judah basked in the attention of the nursery attendants, and I enjoyed a good work out and a steamy time in the sauna - which I would like to suggest to ya'll, don't ever go in to a steam sauna with a menopausal woman having cold flashes, they evidently can't feel their nose hairs burning.
Once I had finished the things I'd gone there to do I still had about thirty minutes of babysitting time left, so I sat myself on a bench and read a magazine =) Ahhh, pure bliss!
When I picked Judah up from the nursery they told me he'd been good, and hadn't cried or even fussed for them. Hopefully it's the beginning of my sweet, easy going boy returning, because I definitely miss him!

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Bloggy Awards!

Two of my bloggy friends have awarded me Blogger Awards from Writer's Reviews Blogger Awards! How cool is that??


Crystal gave me this one
And this is why she picked that one for me:

"Jessica at Life as I See It. She always has creative posts including lots of gorgeous photos, interesting sounding recipes, and videos of her super cute baby boy."

And Jessica the Rock Chick gave me this one

And here is why she gave it to me (and no worries Jessica! I am not a stalker!)

"Jessica @ Life As I See It. Jessica once e-mailed me because they had baby Bon Jovi shirts for sale at her local Target store and she thought of me. We’ve never even met and here she is in a store, thinking of me. Maybe I should be frightened, but Jessica is always supportive, she’s always tagging me and promoting my blog and leaves comments on everything I write, no matter how good or bad it is! She even hung with me the vast majority of Blogathon!"

No as per the rules I get to pick five more people to award!

I am going to give the

to two very special people. Firstly to

Mel Sewell who lost her fiancee in Iraq on February 8 '07. She is so honest in how she writes - about her pain, about her faith in God, and about her love for her man. I like Mel so, so much and if you haven't read her blog than you really should head over there and check it out! She has a rather wacky sense of humor that I greatly enjoy :)

The other person I want to give the Courageous Blogger Award to is

Sarge Charlie. His blog is constantly posts and people about our country and our military folk. He recently posted a picture of himself in uniform from 1968, and yup, every man in uniform is handsome!! =)

I want to give the

to Debbie Sewell- Mel's mom. Mrs. Sewell is so loving, sweet and supportive of Mel - I know, because not only is she in her blog, but I have e-mailed her a few times :) I like this lady, she is very kind and thoughtful in her comments to people too.

And the
will go to two people too!

Tasra Dawson's blog is all about scrapbooking! I have spent the last few days looking through it and have some marvelous ideas for my own scrapbooking! She's also hosting a fabulous contest with great prizes!

And then to

Kristin, whose blog is just full of book reviews! I love reading, and while I haven't read very much since Judah entered the world, I do enjoy reading her reviews!

Ten Lies

Sarge Charlie tagged me for a new meme
10 Lies My Mother Told Me.

My dad, mum and me
The only picture I can find on my computer of my mum and me in the same picture! Sad, eh?? We'll have to fix that soon =)

1. "Coffee will stunt your growth." Nope! I think you just didn't want to share!
   
2. "You're not allowed to date till you're thirty." (I was married at 19)
   
3. "No man will marry you if you don't learn to iron." (Paul married me knowing I wouldn't iron - I think I've ironed three things since we've been married!)
   
4. "Don't run with scissors in your hand or you'll cut your eye out." Nice threat mum, but I know running with scissors doesn't equal one eye.
5. "I have eyes in the back of my head."
6. "Eat your bread crusts, it'll make your toes curl." I think it is a sadder fact that I ate bread crusts to obtain curly toes than the fact that my mother told me this!
7. "I don't have a favorite child. I love you all the same" HA! I know this is not true, I know for a fact that I am the favorite child!
8. "You don't need any more than two squares of toilet paper at a time." Hmm... yea, sometimes you just really do!
9. (in a stern voice) "You will go to xyz and you will smile and you will have a good time." Sigh ... while you could make me go and you could somewhat make me smile the brainwashing didn't make me have a good time at whatever the place was I didn't want to go.
10. "Cleaning is fun." I confess though - I think I'll use that one with my kids =)

I am going to tag
-Jessica
-Jam
-Kristee
-Catherine

Munchkin Munching

Here is Judah using the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder mentioned in my recent Thursday Thirteen. He was eating peaches =)
These things are marvelous creations! (This video was taken a few days ago, when he was feeling healthy!)

My Vows

"Paul, I love you, and you are the one I chose above all others to be my husband. As we stand here today before God, our families and our friends, I am making this commitment to you to be your wife as long as I shall live. I
will try always to encourage, support, comfort and be there for you. W
hatever the future holds, or how or where the Lord leads us, I will stay by your side committed to being your helper, encourager and best friend. W
ith the Lord's help I will love, honor and obey you until one or both of us are with Him."

Sleepy, Sick Baby

Poor Judah isn't feeling so good. Last night his temp was 102.5 F and so Paul and I rushed him in to the ER, because every Dr visit they drill it into my head "If his temp ever goes over 100 F get him into the ER RIGHT AWAY."
We got to the ER about 10:15pm and they didn't triage him until 11, at which point his temperature was 103.5 F. And then they stuck us back in the waiting room for another two hours! At 1 am they took us back and let us sit in a room, and the Dr didn't show up for another 45 minutes. Ridiculous!
The doctor thinks it is just a reaction to the shots that Judah had on Wednesday morning, and he sent us home with Tylenol and Ibuprofen to give him until the fever breaks.
About 3 am his temperature went back to normal, but he's not been himself this morning or afternoon. Poor little guy! This is his first time sick, and I don't like it!

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Ashwin’s blog extravaganza

Ashwin is giving away $2,500!! Sounds unbelievable, eh? And even if it is believable there are over 300 people entered in the contest, and the contest is still open for another 15 days! All you need is a paypal account and to write the following blurb on your blog - oh, you also need to leave a comment on Ashwin's blog!

Over at Ashwin’s blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!

Mmm - free!

Just click the link above to get your own free sample of Folgers Gourmet Coffee!

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Guy Time

Judah's New Game

This innocent face has started biting me (with his gums) when he is nursing. OUCH! It started this morning, and as painful as it is I have the hardest time not laughing when it happens. He will bite down *hard* and I will pull him off and yell "OW!" and he then bursts into tears while I tell him "No Judah, that hurts!"
Then I put him back on, he stares up into my eyes, grins, and bites down again. And the cycle continues. What is so funny to me is that he has tears in his eyes - coming down his cheeks even - and then as soon as he is latched on again he grins.

In the last couple of days he has become so much more playful! Paul plays peek-a-boo with him every day and the last few days Judah has really been responding to it - it's the funniest thing in the world to him when his daddy pops his head out from behind his hands and says "BOO!"

Our baby is becoming fun! =)

Thursday Thirteen #24

Have a baby shower coming up that you need to shop for? Here are thirteen gift ideas to help you out! My Thursday Thirteen:





1. Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder, available at Amazon.com This is perfect for a baby starting out on solids. You stick a piece of fruit, meat or vegetable inside the netting and snap it shut and then let the baby at it! The baby gets to chomp away on something without the risk of choking!
2. Diapers! You can NEVER get too many of these! But try to pick up the bigger sizes, or make sure the parents can return them if the baby outgrows that size. 3. A Restaurant Gift Card for the tired new parents!

4. A Baby Sling, like this one, available from Babies-R-Us. 5. A book for mum - but not parenting books! Something light hearted that is easy to put down, maybe just a magazine.
6. A certificate for a free night of babysitting so the parents can get out on their own!
7. Shower gel and loofa for the new mum!
8. A book or candy for the new dad - just so he knows it's about him too!
9. A months subscription to Netflix for the first month that baby is home.
10. Books for baby - look a little harder and find some that dad and mum will enjoy reading! There are some funny ones out there!!
11. A music cd for baby that mummy and baby can dance and sing to- like one by Laurie Berkner
12. Swimmer diapers, sunscreen and a baby beach towel. Add a cute baby swimsuit to the mix too if you want! =)
13. A fun stuffed animal that will make the parents smile, like this skunk. (We don't own that, but we've got a red horse that makes me laugh!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here
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A Girl and Her Daddy

It was heartbreaking.

In the waiting room (at a military hospital) this morning was a little girl, about 4 years old who was chattering and playing with a baby and the baby's mother. The baby's father walked into the waiting room and the little girl said "Who's that?"

The mother answered "That is my baby's daddy."

The little girl got up from playing and walked across the room to where her own mother and little baby sister were sitting and said "Where's my daddy?"

Her mother answered with "He's working honey."

"Where is he working mummy?"

The mother looked at her and said "You know he's overseas right now."

The little girl kind of shrugged her shoulders and walked back over to the family she'd been playing with and said

"My daddy doesn't live with us."

Does that not break your heart? I hope Judah never has to say that his daddy doesn't live with us. I think deployments are hard on everybody, but perhaps hardest on the children. Please remember to pray for the safety of our troops, and specifically that little girls daddy.

Growing Like A Watched Kettle Boils

Judah had his six month appointment today. Why on earth do receptionist make 8:15 am appointments for babies? It was miserabley early to have him up, fed, dressed and out the door giving us enough time to sit through the morning traffic trying to get on base, and be 15 minutes early to the appointment - but we did it! =)

The nurse, doctor and I were all shocked to find out Judah's weight - 13 lb 13 oz. That is only an 11 oz gain in six weeks! And he went from being in the 10th percentile to being in the 5th. The doctor spent some extra time with us and in the end said that she's not concerned about his weight because he is so very active. I am going to start giving him a lot more food though, as nursing every three hours is getting on my nerves.

Judah got some more shots today, poor baby had fallen asleep and was awoken by the needle poking into him! Miserable way to wake up! He really did only cry when he was poked - he got over the pain pretty quickly ... takes after his daddy in that sense =)