Monday, February 26, 2007

Baby Play Date


The first picture is from this morning, when I gave Little Dude his first taste of chicken. He insisted upon having the spoon, so I gave him an extra one to play with (the one you see in the pic) while I fed him. It was awesome-after I would put a spoonful in his mouth he insisted upon putting his spoon in his mouth....thus the mess started and just got better from there. It is a great picture though, don't you think? It really looks like he fed himself...hahaha!
Here are pics from Play Dates with the MOMS Club group! Our playgroup, Baby Bears, came to our house Tues. and it was tons of fun! I made Leigh Anne's pepperoni bread and everyone loved it-Thanks, Leigh Anne!! All the babies had tons of fun playing together with Little Dude's toys and all of us Moms loved sitting and chatting together!




I must say MOMS Club has been a great activity for me to keep busy with while at home with a baby! The club activities keep me motivated to get up and dressed and out of the house to go to new places, which is great, because being at home makes it easy to be lazy and not leave. The club is also making it easy to learn where stuff is located and gives me a whole group of resources to call on whenever I have questions. I have made some great friends in the club so far and as happy as I will be to go back home when Bill's job up here is over, I will also be sad to leave all the friends I have made here and the club.




Here also is a pic of Little Dude and his fellow friends at the MOMS Club Valentine's Party! from left to right: Little Dude, Devin and Taylor.


These three are part of the Baby Bears playgroup, along with about 4 other babies. The Valentine party was fun even though the babies just played on the floor. All the older children were cute to watch as they got all excited about their Valentines...so cute!! Tami, one of the moms, hosted the party and she did a great job of having all kinds of kid activities from the oriental trading company. The party was a hit with the kids...I'm taking notes for Little Guy's future birthday parties......

Friday, February 23, 2007

Ash Wednesday and Lent



This past Wed. was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season for Catholics. Many of us spend time up to Ash Wednesday debating over what type of thing/things we will give up for the 40 days of Lent. Instead of giving up something completely, we are going to make changes and make sure we are following all the rules of lent..such as no meat on Fridays, and we are even going to try to have dinner at the church on Fridays if Bill is home in time. We are going to only eat on big meal a day and snack on uncooked fruits or veggies the rest of the day. We are only going to drink water during the day, but at dinner we can have what we want (though no sugar or soda). We are going to go for a family walk when Bill gets home unless the weather is bad. We have turned off the TV and Internet time is limited to checking weather, news, and updating the family blog. We are also going to read a passage from the bible for each night of Lent, discuss them together. There is a list of great ones to read for Lent at www.AmericanCatholic.org under the Feb. 2007 Catholic Update.


Even at all we are going to do, I have to say that the following passage by Mark E Thibodeaux, S.J. is inspirational and everyone should do their best to observe this kind of "fast". What better way to glorify God and the sacrifice of his only Son by performing the acts of kindness he would want us to always give?



'Lent is a time of prayer, penance, and of course, fasting. But what type of fasting should I do? One of my favorite Lenten Scriptures passages is Isaiah 58: " This rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound, setting free the oppressed and homeless, sharing your bread with the hungry, clothing the naked and not turning your back on your own" As difficult as it is for me to give up candy bars and to pray for ever-longer periods of time, I find Isaiah's type of fasting an even greater challenge. To concretely reach out to those in need-to actually reach out to real homeless people, prisoners and even to those of "my own" whom I've imprisoned in my heart through rejection, negligence or being judgmental-this would make for a far more difficult Lent. Every Lent we are invited to meditate on Scripture. But this Lent, I also invite you to set about tasks which lead to greater reconciliation with God and others, and especially with those who are on the "outs" whether in society or people closer to home.'


February 2007

Catholic Update

St. Anthony Messenger press

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Family





Well, this past Saturday was Fab's birthday and it was really great to see him and his awesome wife, Leigh Anne. Bill and I love the two of them dearly and are so glad they are in our lives. The pictures are all from the party at their home; can I say I want that train rocker? It is SO COOL!!!! Leigh Anne found them on sale somewhere...AWESOME buy!!! Little guy had so much fun playing on them with her! Happy birthday, Fab!!


Thursday, February 15, 2007

Valentine Fun


Hi, all! It has been quite a busy February! On Tuesday I had band practice for a concert this Sunday and I have been practicing furiously since because there is one part with an A flat above the scale and I can't hit it yet....sigh. The struggles of a musician...lol! Anyways, then Wed. my CCD class had a party so Little Guy and I brought stuff for that and then had the kids all go over acts of kindness they are going to work on during lent. We had to cover a lot because we don't have class next week for Ash Wednesday...I think we did OK though. Little Dude was very well behaved as well! Bill went out with guys from work and got to do some "guy" stuff, which was very fun for him!


Today, Little Guy and I went to a Valentine's Day party with all the MOMS Club girls and kids...MUCH fun!! I made mac and cheese and everyone loved it....it was only noodles and melted Velveeta and mozzarella.....but I didn't let them know how easy it was to make....it was kinda fun having everyone gush to me about how great it was...haha! The party was so fun; we made valentine boxes and passed out valentines...the older children were having so much fun! I loved watching them all play and interact! Like a dope, I forgot to charge the batteries for my camera, sooooo I have no pictures :( I am sad. However; one of the other moms got a picture of Little Guy and his two other baby friends, Taylor and Devin....she said she would email it to me...if she remembers, as soon as I get it I will post it. At any rate, on the 27th we are having playgroup at my house, so I will get some pics of Little Guy and his friends then!


Also, this week, Little Guy and I went to the Science Museum here...it was VERY interesting. It also had great interactive stuff for older kids; I think I like it better(for kids) than the one back home. There were all kinds of cool games for children to play and there was even a cool mirror room that Little Guy loved (it had mirrors of all different shapes and sizes, showing how they distorted your image, etc). Friday we are going to the library for reading time and a puppet show, going shopping for a birthday present, then packing to head home for the awesome B-Day party! Happy Birthday Fab!!! See all our home town friends this weekend!!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Super Bowl






Well, the super bowl was pretty fun! My little sister, Lisa, came up and spent the night so she could watch the game with us! Her visit was really fun! Bill and I got all excited we were going to
have a visitor here at our new place, so we went crazy making treats and finger foods! Yummy! We also found a GREAT recipe for cheese dip on Food Network! I love Food Network; all the cooks are like my extended family now..hahah! Anyways, we made bunches of finger foods and drank some beer and had a great time. Lisa and I cheered for "DA BEARS" simply because it reminded me of the Saturday Night Live skit with Chris Farley that Julie Z has...if you have not seen it, tell Julie you have to because it is AWESOME! Sadly, "DA BEARS" lost, but honestly I did not care, nor did I pay any real close attention to the game...Lisa and I were having much more fun talking and playing with little guy! heehee!


In other news, our little guy is now eating green peas. Yes, green peas, I know, he is such a big boy! They are the baby food jar green peas, but he LOVES them!!! I can not feed him the peas fast enough LOL!!! Since I love peas too, it makes since...must be my kid! haha! Anyways, he is enjoying having some taste to his baby food and in a few days we are going to try carrots. I think we will go through the veggies, then meats, the fruits. I am not sure if that is a good order, it was just one I came up with, so anyone with suggestions feel free to leave them. Also, right now, our little guy has a cold. It has not been to bad, except last night he really started coughing a lot in his sleep...so needless to say I did not get much sleep because I was up worrying about him! Gosh, who knew how much you could be concerned over a cold? Parenthood changes everything so wonderfully! Anywho, I am not sure if I should take him to a doctor (he has no temp) or if I should just get a grip and realize that at some point he was going to catch a cold, so getting one in the winter is normal. I guess I am lucky he has not gotten one before now! I am surprised he hasn't had an ear infection yet....all the kids at the daycare had them ALL the time...but our little guy has been all good with his ears...I'm going to say it is the breastfeeding, but honestly I do not know if that helps or makes a difference, but it makes me feel good. So, anyone with advice/stories on how to handle the "first cold" please feel free to share!

Today, 2-6-07, little dude and I went to the Oak Ridge Children's Museum with the MOMS Club girls and we had a blast! There are play areas that mimic a kid sized house, rain forest, desert, and the secret city of Oak Ridge! We weren't supposed to take pics, but I snuck a few in. We hung out, watched the older children play, played with the kids close to our age and best of all I got to talk to other moms for 3 hours...very fun and informative! I got great advice on dealing with two kids and spacing them and such. I really like all the women/girls in MOMS and I have a lot of fun with them, but I must say they are a little hippie for me....like all of them (that I have hung out with so far, 11 women total, there are more members, but not in my little guys playgroup age) use cloth diapers (except me, I am polluting the earth with BJ brand size 2) and they all make their own baby food from organic sources or buy organic baby food(except me, I am polluting the earth with tiny, baby sized glass jars and polluting my child with ungodly toxins from the mutated peas placed in the tiny, baby sized glass jars). Other than those two issues, I really like all the girls. You would've enjoyed being there when they heard my thoughts on organic baby cereal(seriously, the stuff is able to last for 5 years..how? preservatives, my friends, preservatives. And when something is packed that full of preservatives, does it matter anymore if it is organic or not?).....their looks were great. Thank goodness they all seem to like me anyway, so I guess they aren't to hippie.....


Also in more news I had my first secret shopper job today! Cool, eh? I just take little guy with me and evaluate stores! Then I just wait for money to come in.. as Borat would say"Very Nice".
Well, little guy is up from his nap, so we are going to get ready for the gym! Bye!
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