A California Vacation

We had a wonderful visit to California visiting Ace's Grammie and Great Grum along with several others that were eager to meet our little guy. Ace did wonderfully on both the flight there and home and we were lucky enough to have both flights the extra seat in the row! What a blessing that was, although we certainly could have managed without that extra seat, it was nice to not have to worry about the passenger next to us being bothered by our little guy or me breastfeeding. There was never a need to worry though he was an angel. He's going to be a world traveler I know it. :)

While in California we spent most of the time at home-base and had the visitors come to us. We ventured out once or twice to visit those that couldn't come to us, but otherwise it was mostly just a time to be at Grum's house and relax. Ace did wonderfully with all the visitors in and out of the house all day - and also enjoyed playing with his Grammie a lot.

Ace is regularly rolling over onto his tummy and getting frustrated after a bit once he's there because he doesn't realize that he can roll back over - and at this moment I am simply enjoying the remaining days of a non-mobile baby!!! I know my days are numbered. Ace also had a few days of intense teething while we there there and his first little tooth is partially peeking out of his gums. So many firsts this time of year! So far so good in the biting department - I've escaped feedings unscathed to date.

Ace went to my childhood church (were my mom and grandma still attend) with us on Sunday and did very well, but it being a smaller church than we typically attend it was cute to hear the little old ladies in the pew behind us when I took Ace out of his car seat and there was this on cue "awww" - I'm not sure how much of the sermon those ladies actually heard that day.

Grammie and Grum had gotten Ace a Pack-n-Play for him to sleep/nap in while we were down there and he enjoyed many naps in there as with all the visitors he napped way more than he typically does. He also napped often in the sling! Thank goodness I brought that! He was sweet just to sit in there and poke his little head out to see all that was around him.

Also on this trip to Cali I was able to see a group of my friend that we haven't been able to ALL get together in nearly a decade! Over the years we've managed to get 4 of us max in a room at one time, but that was it - so it was wonderful to get everyone together and just spend some time reminiscing of old times.

It was wonderful to make it down to California and visit friends and family, some of whom I hadn't seen since my baby shower last May. I was so pleased that everyone was able to meet Ace while he was a baby, but yet old enough to interact with them as well. It was a wonderful trip! Enjoy the slideshow of our adventures!

First Solid Foods!

Wow what a beginning to Ace's sixth month of life! At the beginning of this week he had himself a haircut and now he has entered the world of solid food! Yep my boy is growing up! SLOW DOWN! After a wonderful visit to California we are back and home in the NW.

After several weeks of Ace reaching for our food and trying his darnest to drink out a big boy cup (a post for another day!) we finally decided to try him on solid foods after returning from vacation. So today Ace and I ventured to the store to get ourselves from organic rice cereal, yum! Mixing it with breastmilk and sitting him in his high chair and this boy was ready to go! Ace took to it instantly and seemed to enjoy it. He had a little twitch after each bite which was accompanied by a smile. I apologize for my arm being in the way for much of the video, I'm a lefty what can I say. Next time I video I'll put Ace on the other side of the table.

First Haircut

Yes, after much complaining on my husband's part, we trimmed my baby's hair. It's true that he was born with a full head of hair, adorable and dark! But between cradle cap and the standard expectation of 'baby's hair always falls out' it had almost all fallen out - and he was starting to look like a Who a little Charlie Loo Who. :) I thought it was sweet, but he got a hair cut.

While visiting his Grammie and Great Grum in California my little boy at 5 months old received his first haircut. I don't know why I find this traumatic, it's just a hair cut... but seriously, very traumatic for me. As you'll see in the video I am very distraught. You'll also see my husband and I with differing opinions on how all this should take place :) and Ace who seemed to be very interested in the shiny scissors. And after all that it's still unruly, but apparently it's now more "respectable."

Flying Ace

That's my boy... he's been enjoying his vacation. He had a lovely flight to California and has been enjoying many visitors. We'll return to regularly schedule blogging on Thursday, until then - enjoy some photos of Ace and *some* of his California fans. I'll try to post more soon!

Five Months Old

Really? Can it be possible? Ace is five months old today; and what a month it has been. From Christmas to California, Ace has had a lot of visiting and fun over the last month of his life.

New firsts over this last month? His first trip on an airplane, his first trip to California, his first theft, rolling over from back to front, his first Christmas, his first new years, his first pair of bell bottoms!

Ace began his fifth month of life on Christmas morning. He awoke to his Grandma Carol and Aunt A and Uncle S and 5 more inches of snow falling for his (and my) first white Christmas. It was wonderful. His visitors headed out to get Pop Pop and Gran from their house in the all-wheel drive vehicle and then we enjoyed Christmas afternoon and evening enjoying each other's company and everyone enjoying watching Ace enjoy his first Christmas. In the evening we enjoyed opening some gifts and received the GIANT Nemo.

The snow began to melt and Ace finally made it to his four month appointment (a week late) and he measured at 25" (76%) and 14.9lbs (56%) a happy and growing baby boy. The doctor agreed his little teeth were starting to make their way in as she noted some swollen gums. To date there are not any broken through, but you can certainly feel them right under the gums now.

New Years Eve rolled around and we had our annual New Years Eve Party and this year it was themed in the 70's! So little Ace enjoyed sporting the tie-dye and bell bottoms. Ace was a perfect angel for his mom and dad. He enjoyed the company of everyone coming in and saying hi to him, and like clockwork headed to bed (in the room with the kitties) right at 11pm. He went down perfectly and was out within 15 minutes. Slept through the new year and woke up for his nightly snack around 1:30am. So mom and dad were able to enjoy ringing in the new year with friends with no fuss! Such a big and cooperative boy.

The first of the year has been pretty easy going after all the holiday hussle and bussle. Ace has enjoyed staying at home with mom and playing on his play mat. He has started to enjoy playing in his Exersaucer now that he is tall enough and has started to sit up almost entirely on his own. He rolled over from back to front for the first time one week shy of being a month old and has continued to do it. Just today he started (when placed on his knees) to start scooching using his toes. He still isn't interested in using his arms... but he is moments away from crawling. Ace still enjoys Kokomo as his soothing agent in the car and just before our trip to California we created a cd exclusively of Kokomo. Whatever works.

On Thursday we took Ace's first trip on an airplane. He did wonderful. He fell asleep before we went up and then was awake and happy. He had a moment of fussing on the initial descent into the airport that caused him some discomfort, but overall he is off to a good start to be a world traveler. :)

Since being in California he has had many visitors from his Great Aunt & Uncle and several other Aunties and of course Grammie and Great Grum. His Grum has been trying to teach him the last few days how to wink. He really is trying to do it and it's adorable to watch his eyes twitch as he's trying to do it. We have a few more days of excitement here in California and Ace is enjoying the warm weather. Ace's sixth month is off to a good start today!

Wordless Wednesday

Sometimes I think God talks with the clouds,
we just need to pay attention.

Took this picture on my college campus my freshman year.

To see more Wordless Wednesdays stop by here

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
No menu planning for me this week! Instead I thought I'd participate in a different hemisphere of the blogging world and participate in Not Me Monday. A time where you can blog that you decidedly did not participate or do something during the week. Below are things that I certainly did not do over the last week. Nope not me!



I did not have so little time during the day that when I spilled coke on the carpet I did not clean it up by simply dumping water on it and throwing a spit up rag on top of it. Nope not me!



After losing track on when my son last had a bath, I did not substitute a real bath for my son with diaper wipes and baby powder.
I did not finish The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I most certainly did not stay up till 4:30 in the morning reading a book several days to do so.
I do not blog in the wee hours of the morning and I most certainly am not addicted to blogging.
I certainly have not had a fabulous time with my dear friend Carrie and we most certainly did not enjoy several hours of episodes of Sex and The City.
I am not excited to see my family this week!
Check out other Not Me Mondays at My Charming Kids

From back to front

Another milestone for Mr. Ace! Yep that's right - Ace has now conquered rolling from his back to his tummy. He accomplished such a feat yesterday - only a week shy of his 5 month birthday. :)

Books Books and More Books

I love to read. I think I've said it once or twice. ;-) I love to get lost in a good book. There are so many of them out there! I tend to be one that holds onto books. In our home we have 8 bookshelves of varying sizes throughout the house. Then of course the nightstands are full... I could go on, but suffice it to say there are books in every room of the house. Yep, even the bathrooms. They range from law books to children books, hardback to paperbacks, thriller to romance, fiction to nonfiction, chick lit to classics. There is no end to the myriad of book genres we have in this house. Barring new age, satanic, and westerns; we've pretty much got the genres covered. Don't believe me, try and stump me. If you do - you can challenge me to read a specific book that you've read (and liked) out of that genre.

I took a quiz regarding book... these were my results.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

The Power of Prayer

First off I want to say thank you to everyone that has been praying for my sister in-law. She gave birth to her stillborn 19 week old baby girl and said goodbye to her on Sunday. Her blood pressure has stabilized and she is home now. Continue to pray for their comfort. They are surrounded by wonderful people and know that their daughter is in heaven waiting for them, but it of course is still hard.

Secondly, I would implore all of you to pray for Kelly and her newborn baby, Harper.

Reminders

I thank God every day for my son. Every day I look at this baby miracle and thank the Lord for blessing Loving Husband and I with Ace. I pray for his safety and to teach me ways that I can help Ace more. He is a visual reminder that God exists.

Today much of the world got a visual reminder when that plane went into the Hudson River. What a miracle that the pilot was able to guide that plane so skillfully into the water. What a blessing that that pilot was scheduled and flew that flight. How wonderful that all those people survived what could have been a very freak and tragic accident. What an excellent visual example for the world to see God in action.

I hope the world was watching.

What's Stealing?

Today my son "stole" a toy. Now he didn't get away with the crime, but I ended up paying for it. Yes today at Babies R Us... my son while hiked over my shoulder (kind of teetering there like a seesaw) lunged toward a rack of the soft rattles and before I knew what he was doing - one of them was in his mouth. This one to be exact.

So since his opinion was now all over said rattle it clearly was going to become ours. Now, I can be thankful that my son has good taste (ha!) because this particular rattle was on clearance. However, I took the moment to teach him that mouthing toys is tantamount to stealing and that now mommy had to pay for it and that this is not very demure behavior for a well behaved almost-five month old. Or I just laughed hysterically and broke out my camera. I know I know, first Nemo now this. But two impulse purchases in 4 months is not terrible, he just can't learn that every time he mouths something it comes home with us... then I'll be in big trouble.
The little monster rattle came home with us and provided almost a full hour of entertainment. I am not sure what was so fascinating about this little creature, but my boy and it bonded something fierce. Ace sat next to me for almost a solid hour just chewing and shaking this little monster, and of course some photos had to be taken. In the one immediately below, he left it on his face in that same spot long enough for me to walk across the room and get my camera out, apparently it was comforting or amusing him - I'm not sure which, but I certainly am glad I got it on film!






After enjoying such a long amount of time with his monster, once Loving Husband got home we all went upstairs and enjoyed some Jeopardy (I know we have the habits of 80 year olds, ah well!) we got easily distracted when I started to play with Ace on my legs and he started to giggle and laugh up a storm - and so we broke out the camera in the hopes of finally catching a giggle on video. Success and he's such a ham for the camera! Again ignore me and maybe turn down your volume, I'm quite loud. ;-) Enjoy! Happy Thursday, everyone.

Wordless Wednesday

At our friends wedding 2006

Loving Husband was the best man.

For more Wordless Wednesday stop by here

Tipsy Tuesday

If you're new to my blog, click here to read about Tipsy Tuesday and to grap the button! As always there's no requirement to be a mommy, nor do your tips need to be baby related! And I'm still looking for that tip of how to sharpen crafty scissors!!

So let's talk about Diaper Genie Refills!

For some reason whenever I'm at Target they are always out of Diaper Genie II refills. All the time. I don't understand it. So often I have to go to Babies R Us to get said items. The only other time I go there is for diapers and do a) I remember to get the refills when buying diapers b) stock up before I run out? Nope, never! So what do you do? Do you simply convert the DG to a regular trash can and just hope for the best? Do you set the DG aside allowing it to collect dust while the room fills with fumes too horrifying to discuss until you can find the moment to get yourself together to get out the door to go shopping? No!

We have found a solution in our house! This actually was my husband's solution but I found it ingenious and again it's possible that I'm quite daft (recall the Mommy Brain) and this is of course what everyone does when they run out of DG refills. Well here it is. Take a standard trash bag and roll it down, then place the bottom through just as you would the refills and tuck the bulk of the trash back where the DG refill should be. Close the DG up as usual and wa-la you have a make shift DG refill that will certainly last until you go to the store. It keeps the DG clean and contains the smell just as well. The only draw back is toward the end - the bag is so much bigger that the old diapers have expanded the trash bag within the DG and the spring board holding the DG closed to lock in the "freshness" tends to sag open, so as the more diapers are added the wider the hole stays open- but it certainly will work for a day or two!

Be sure to grab the banner for your blog!

If you've provided a tip this week, just add a comment and add your link below!

Photo Tag

I was tagged by Mommy of Ms, stop by there to see the adorable picture on her page!

Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same

This picture was taken in So Cal right before I moved to the NW. It was my goodbye breakfast with some very close friends. It was wonderful. What's better than breakfast by the beach! Oh how I miss those views and those girls!! Jackie just moved here, yay!

Now I'm tagging...

Lori

KDLOST

Rachel

Carrie

Shelley

I know I have five... I like to rebel :)

That appliance ate my socks!

Nope, not the dryer! After all these years with a bad rap, the dryer has been cleared in the accusations of eating foot paraphernalia. We have discovered that it is in fact the washing machine. Seriously. I have been wracking my brain wondering where on earth those tiny baby socks have gotten off to. I mean yes they are small - but honestly I take them off in pairs (most of the time) they make it to the laundry pile together - and to the best of my knowledge they make it to the washing machine - and then where do they go from there!?

Well... tonight we established it is in fact the washing machine eating our baby's socks. The nerve! Impossible you say? Oh no it is very true. We own a front loading washing machine (a Maytag MFW9700S Epic, in case you too own such a beast!) and I love it. It washes clothes wonderfully, is water efficient, and takes very little soap to clean... but now I've discovered it eats my socks.

Ok what on earth am I talking about?! If you don't own this beast allow me to explain. When you open the door (which is quite thick) the space the door fits in kind of where the drum is connect to everything there is a piece of rubber that creates the seal for the door. It is NOT however a sealed piece of rubber. It is the location that if it were a dryer some lint traps are located. I've provide a stock photo below in case my rambling rhetoric is driving you batty. Now I don't have socks in the mechanics of my washing machine (I don't think!) but that space is like a black hole. A black hole for socks, underwear... you name it if it's smaller than a onesie it can and was collecting in there. Delightful!

So the next time you can't find a PAIR of socks - it is quite possible that your WASHER ate them.

Menu Planning Monday

Success! Last week was my first attempt (via the blogging world) to plan and execute a weeks worth of meals. I've tried in the past but life or myself always got in the way. I think having the list in the digital world helped spur me on to keep on cookin!


To report on our yummy meals, I didn't stick quite to the menu as it was laid out. We had a freak bout of snow on Sunday that prevented the necessary trip to the grocery store (it was only a few inches, but it was supposed to rain away before the end of the day and we were waiting for that to occur... it didn't.) So Monday's meal (a soup) required a lot of prep and my husband (who kindly offered to do the shopping, because with a teething baby, it's less than ideal to shop with him) couldn't do it until after work on Monday. We would have been eating soup on Tuesday early-AM if we had chosen to make soup. So I made Poppy Seed Chicken instead. Yum! Tuesday was our potluck night, got rid of more drinks left over from New Years Eve... and Wednesday I think was my favorite. Steak Fajitas over Mexican rice with sweet potato rosemary and garlic fries. I know it doesn't sound like they go together - but they were delicious! Although Thursday was a close second - the Chicken Tortilla Soup! Yummy again. It was the first time I've ever made a soup from scratch - I'm a pro at taking a soup and adding meat to it but nothing more elaborate than that. Friday was leftover day! Saturday night went off without a hitch and my husband made it while I was putting the boy down for a nap. Sunday as usual unpredictable and was leftovers and McDonald's (I had two dinners, don't judge me!)

This week! I chose to hunt for some inspiration and where better than orgjunkie.com and the links set up by these fabulous bloggers! Yummy! So here's the menu for this week!

Monday: Mini Meatloafs

Tuesday: Potluck style again... we're in charge of bread!

Wednesday: Oven Fried Chicken

Thursday: Campbell's Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

Friday: On Your Own! It's Bunco Night!

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Unpredictable as usual!


To find out what other bloggers are cooking this week check out Orgjunkie's page and see what's cookin!

Baby Bed Hog

Yup that's my boy! Ace sleeps in our bed - we have good intentions of transitioning him out to his own - but I just can't do it yet. He's my baby! We've tried once and then he got too tall. My husband would like him to sleep in his own bed... but as I said I just can't just yet. I love being able to just roll over and feed him and half the night I even hug him in my sleep (or so my husband says) I believe him though because my arm is quite angry at me when I awake in the morning.

It isn't all roses though. There have been a few instances where bio hazards have struck resulting in having to change the entire bed (even though he sleeps on his own waterproof pad) but like the title of this blog says - he is a bed hog. Yes it's true - he scooching over and kicks his legs and migrates to me. I have woken up several times from sleeping on my side and I have a cat against my back and my baby smack against my front and I can't even move my arms to get leverage to move one or the other!

We have a king size bed. I measured my space this morning and I was sleeping on exactly 19" of the 76" available! The baby started slightly to my husband's side of the bed in the middle of the bed - and when I woke up - we were all well within my half(third) of the bed! I guess it's only fitting when I was young I could migrate an entire tent - I kept scooching closer to the person sleeping next to me (I was cold!) and by morning the 3-4 girls in the tent would be on HALF of the tent. So apparently scooching is genetic.

But he's such an adorable sleeper... who could be upset at a face like this?

Eating their feelings!

Nickolas 2005

Tort 2005

Prior to our son being born our kitties were our babies. They were loved and adored like little princes. Since they were kittens they've been the center of everyone in this household's attention. We regulate their food to a half a cup each twice a day. I've taught them to sit up pretty, they "say please" before getting food, and both of our cats can "sing" the song from Lady and The Tramp... "We are Siamese If You Please MEOW..." they will sing every meow requested of them. Everything was fine until... "that baby" entered the house. (Excuse my hiiiigh whine-y voice. How embarassing.)

As of late every time they see either Loving Husband or myself move they bolt for the kitchen... for food - Nickolas is a pro at pawing at our food out of our hands (the audacity!) and their table manners (though always poor) are now appalling. Then they get started meowing, and then the baby fusses, and then the phone rings, then there's a dirty diaper.... and sadly the cats draw the short end of the attention stick and so in the interest of getting them to leave us alone we feed them. We've been neglectful kitty-mommas and daddys. It's true. I acknowledged that they're meowing for food because that's when they get the attention - so we try to pet them more. They are getting better (this is an extremely relative term) especially now that I've made the connection between neediness and food. But the truth remains: our kitties are eating their feelings.

Now they always bulk up a bit in winter simply because they don't go run around outside as much - it's cold here! So inside they stay sleeping on the back of the couch... and to be fair to these two - they are large cats to begin with. They have always weighed 13+ pounds since reaching adulthood. Tort is a maine coon - they're average is 16-17lbs. So we wouldn't ever have dainty cats. These are a man's man cat!

So allow me to introduce our kitties in all their glory (and my is there a lot of it!) For comparisons to their former selves I've posted "Pre Baby Weight*" pictures and "Post Baby Weight" pictures taken today. :) Those will be the only of their kind ever posted on this here website!

* To be fair it should be noted that the "pre baby weight" pictures were taken in the summer of 2006 and they were barely a year old. So they were still spry teenagers and not to their full adult bodied potential... but for comparison and dramatic sake :)

Please Pray

If there is one thing that I believe in - it is the power of prayer.

"Pray without ceasing" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

***UPDATE*** on Sunday, January 11th @ 11:00pm My SIL is through the worst of it physically. She will remain in the hospital for a few days for further monitoring, but it looks like prayers have been answered for her safety. There will be no long term damage to her body. Amen. Please continue to pray for her and her husband's emotional healing.

**UPDATE** on Sunday, January 11th @ 12:00pm PST My SIL has gotten her color back and her blood pressure is under control. Things are looking up. Please continue to pray for her healing and strength as this ordeal winds to a close. She is resting now and finally getting some sleep. Thank you all for your concern and prayers!

*UPDATE* @ 7:30pm PST My SIL is currently being treated for high blood pressure and is in the risk zones of a stroke and damage to her organs. She is on iv drips and being monitored very closely. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Today I ask for you to pray. Pray for my sister-in-law, who at this moment is in the hospital. The doctors are trying to prevent her from going into shock. They just found out the baby she's been carrying for 19 weeks is not viable and is causing her liver and kidneys to shut down. So please pray for her and her husband. Pray for healing of her body and her heart.

A Moment for Mommy

Upon my own reflection and thanks to the comments provided by other mommies - I'm resolved to the fact that to some degree - I'm going to keep the Mommy Brain for at least the foreseeable future. Ok fine. Other things I'd like to keep are also my sanity and so tonight I paid tribute to National Bubble Bath Day. Who knew such a day existed? I didn't, but Sweet 'n Sassy Girls posted about it and after my husband got home, we had dinner, cleaned up after dinner and got the boy content........... I drew a bath. A lavender bath salt and bubble bath bath. Ahhhhh

I have not had a bubble bath since my second trimester of pregnancy which ended in early June. Once I hit the third trimester getting in and out of the tub was not a graceful nor relaxing experience and thus not an option. So tonight I enjoyed 30 minutes of uninterrupted relaxing in a bath ME time. I had music playing, candles lit and I laid in the tub all to myself. Ahhhhhhh.

I think a nice bubble bath every six months or so is just what I need. I might have to squeeze in another one before June. Perhaps on January 21st which also happens to Squirrel Appreciation Day. Who makes this stuff up, seriously?

100 Things

I was over at Nothing But Purple and she has this posted on her page and I thought what a fun thing to do and perhaps set as goals to accomplish. I'm not sure I want to do all of these things. Some might not be possible or simply unwise (hitch hiking for example) but it's a unique list. If it's bold/colored (as bolding is hard to see) I've done it... if it's not... only time will tell! If it's bold and pink there's a link to a blog about said adventure in one form or another.

Just bold whatever you've done on your blog and let me know so I can see.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check -- Ooops!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (does outside the gate count?)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Mommy Brain

I was inspired to draft this blog after seeing one of my ads above here entitled "Mommy Brain" and I thought back to the conversation I had just had with my husband [we'll get to that] and I decided, yup I've still got that. I thought it would go away with pregnancy. Then again I thought those extra pounds would too. I'm 0-2 at the moment. Dang.

Being an attorney I know at one point my head was crammed full of facts, figures, laws on all things legal - ranging from torts to civil procedure to security law! Why? Because I had to take the bar exam and in order to be licensed. I had to REALLY know it, because I had to apply it in essays. I feel confident having passed that - cramming 22 subjects into my brain - that I know at least a few things. So I find it really disturbing when I have conversations like this with my husband.

Loving Husband: Where is Ace's washcloth?
Me: It's by the thing.
LH: ::blank stare::
Me: It's by... the thing over by that other thing.
LH: Oh right ok. ::blank stare::
Me: Uuhh uhh by the tv, it's by the thing over by the tv.

This has happened more than once. Don't worry I am not a litigator so there is no quick verbal retorts that are involve "Your Honor, that guy didn't do that thing that someone uh saw? no said... wait. Arg he didn't do it!" In fact I'm relatively sharp witted still - as long as I don't have to open my mouth! Apparently the verbal skills are the portions of my brain that my son has sucked from my being. I hope they grow back. Otherwise my child is going to sound far superior in intellect by the time he's 3 at mixed gatherings.

Wordless Wednesday

It's been three years.
I miss you, daddy.

For more Wordless Wednesday stop by here

Tipsy Tuesday

Welcome to the Premiere edition of Tipsy Tuesday! I thought it would be fun to share ideas, tips, and findings from crafty and ingenious women. No need to be a mommy to participate! It can be about anything! From tips for cleaning carpet stains to the best way to keep crafty scissors sharp (I'd love a tip on this!) to a great book find to bargain deals!



So join in the fun of sharing your tip of the week! To Join in Tipsy Tuesday excitement:
Please add the following banner to your Tipsy Tuesday post and/or link back to The A-Priori Mommy so that people can find other Tipsters!

If you've provided a tip this week, just add a comment and add your link below!

I thought that I would start this event off with my favorite tip that I received out of a book of tips: The New Mom's Manual. The tip that I have found to be the most beneficial for this here new mom has been the use of makeup wedges and diaper cream application!
Ingenious! Perhaps I was daft and every other mommy on the planet has been aware of this from their inception - but I found it to be one of the most profound discoveries during my pregnancy... and I utilized it fully since the arrival of our son. Because let's face it - diaper cream smells. Don't get me wrong it is a thousand times better than the substance that causes the need for diaper cream... but still it smells quite medicine-y (even if you get the Au' natural stuff, I think) and it does NOT come off with a simple wash of the hands. And thus why I find this tip to be ingenious! Simply apply the diaper cream to the wedge and apply to baby's bum accordingly. For those frugal mommies (like me) you can save and reuse the sponge for a few applications or for those who say a bag of makeup sponges is less than $2 for 50 at Target and only want to use it once (my husband) then that's just fine too!

A banshee or a boy?

That is the current question in this household. Tonight *we* went to bed early/on time. Loving Husband is going back to work after enjoying a nice lengthy vacation and so for the first time in a few weeks bedtime mattered. We're not the best at creating a bed time routine for Ace as of yet... in fact I'm not sure how great we will ever be at it - but tonight we started to get him down around 9:30 - when he isn't utterly exhausted - this process takes about an hour. Is that normal?

He sleeps in our bed still - a few weeks back I attempted to transition him to the cradle next to my bed ... but he's too long for it already and I just am not ready to have him sleep in the other room. Anywhoo - so once both the boy and my husband were O-U-T and had been for at least 20 minutes (I waited for that deep breathing Ace does when he's really out) I headed down to the craft room to work on my GAM, because I'm a born night-owl.

Yes I can sleep in until noon, but I don't have to - I can function on 5 hours of sleep or less. It was a tremendous super power for me during law school when sleep was one of the 5 S's you got to choose to accomplish within the week (study, sleep, support (aka work), socialize, school) on average 3 of these were truly possible within a day if you were going to do them justice. All were possible if mediocrity was all you were aiming for. Sorry for the sidetrack... as I was saying... I don't need much sleep. I'm pushing 30 and have a 4+ month old kid and there is no signs of me requiring much more than I ever have required... I'm sure if we add another kid to the mix my song will change it's tune.

As I was saying... I was in the craft room when all of the sudden I heard my little guy screaming in his highest pitched terrified screaming voice and it really has to be loud to hear him all the way on the basement level of the house! It was hard to tell as I dropped what I was doing and ran up two flights of stairs to see what was wrong. Loving Husband was stirring - he wasn't sure what Ace was fussing was a result of... and there my little boy lay crying very sadly and still screeching (this was all within seconds, I run very fast it doesn't reflect poorly on my husband's actions during this time, as he was waking from a dead sleep himself to address the situation.) I tried to nurse him, worried that he had been looking for a hit off the milk tap and I had been missing, but he was still very sad and very asleep. I picked him up and soothed him and then he finally woke up. He smiled at me and started rooting for a snack - looking at me like why did you wake me up momma? Poor little guy. I think his mouth is hurting him.

Since the banshee scream I've stayed up here to ensure he's doing ok and so that Loving Husband can continue to get some sleep before work tomorrow... and Ace has a few times started to wind up that banshee motor and I've simply put my hand on his chest and said it's ok sweetheart, keep sleeping.

Wow, quite the ramble... well it's true to the mantra of the blog!

Menu Plan Monday

Ok! I'm going to try this out and see if these meals actually get made this week. My husband will be thrilled that I'm attempting to cook a few nights in a row. I've been spoiled since he's been on vacation and he actually has been doing a lot of the cooking. Since I'm the only one that "cooks" for baby - it's a tremendous help to a) have some spare time to myself while he gets dinner ready for us or b) I'm busy feeding the boy and dinner would be far later than either of us would appreciate. So a big thank you to my husband for his efforts in the kitchen; my heart and my stomach thank you so does baby's stomach.

I digress! Menu planning for this week. Hmm so many choices and so little time to actually accomplish these type things. I will try to aim low on the expectations bar for this go around.

Monday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tuesday: Potluck style meal - we're in charge of drinks!

Wednesday: Steak or Chicken Fajitas with spanish rice

Thursday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Friday: Shredded poppy seed chicken

Saturday: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Sunday: Leftovers or Eat Out... or a sandwhich - Sundays are always unpredictible.

To find out what other bloggers are cooking this week check out Orgjunkie's page and see what's cookin!

My boys

You can't help but smile.
Happy first Sunday of the year everyone!

Praying for a Miracle

Praying for a Miracle is the title of my friend Sara's blog about her mother, and also exactly what we are doing. Sara's mother has had a relapse of cancer and their entire family is in need of prayer and support. Pat is a wonderful woman who I knew during my years in college as much as you know any of your friend's parents in college. In our Sophomore year of college, perhaps junior my years are fussy... Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer. All of us girls rallied around Sara in support of her and her mother Pat. What a wonderful journey and story the followed. Sara's family are all very strong in Christ and have every faith in God's healing and most importantly in His will. Please take time to visit their blog and provide them with words of encouragement and prayer for their family.

GAM '09 - January Edition

GAM '09

While I am not one for an entire New Years resolution, I thought that this challenge would be a good one as it is a month by month situation. Vermillion Rules! set out the challenge to post a goal for the month of January. But as she mentioned establishing that goal is time consuming!

So for the first month of this new year, I think I'm setting my goal to be to get my Etsy shop up and running. That involves primarily creating inventory!! I've created an Etsy shop back in November - Ace Quilting - got it all ready to go with the full intentions of having inventory for Christmas - well that did NOT happen.

I have made significant steps in the last few days for some of my products: lavender eye pillows and sachets for your drawers and closets. I've procured the lavender, flax seeds, and fabric... now I just need to get sewing. I find this to be a worthy (and hopefully) profitable by at least a $1 goal for January!

Before: An empty shop!

After: Links and listings hopefully to accompany my February edition!

Sucker punched by a 4 month old...

Ace is in the early phases of teething. Yep he's pretty young for it, but they're on their way in. Nothing has quite surfaced but the gums from time to time get swollen, red and a very sad little boy emerges and replaces my normally very happy and smiley boy. It is heartbreaking.

Although today my heart wasn't breaking when my nose almost did. Now I say sucker punch and most people would think a right cross to the nose. But let's be serious a four month old's arms don't pack that great of a punch (now his legs are a different story, but we'll save that for another blog) but a four month old, specifically my four month old doesn't have complete control of his arms and still has that *twitch* that young babies have from time to time. Often we refer to these arms as his "airplane" arms. Where he will just start flapping them for no real reason. When he's calm it's adorable. When he's super sad, fussy and downright having a melt down it's potentially hazardous.

Tonight my dear son was teething again and he was just plain uncomfortable, nothing really helped and he was flailing where ever he could, salmoning away at every chance. I finally managed to get him a little calm and he was sitting on my lap... he must have had a surge of pain when all of the sudden he lurches and his little airplane arms start going full speed in a more helicopter motion - fingers sprawled and into my nose ... WAY into my nose did one of those fingers go. Baby fingers are tiny so as we adults have sort of built in roadblocks with our own fingers fitting into our nostrils only so far (ew!) baby fingers have no problem fitting into an adults nostril with full force... to make eyes water. I was convinced my nose was bleeding it was throbbing and my eyes were watering and while I wanted to sit there stunned as if I had been sucker punched - I didn't have time for me, my poor little helicopter boy was very sad and needed to be walked around the room... and we did walk all the way to a mirror to conclude that I wasn't bleeding, but had an oddly shaped nose as half of it was swollen.

Yup, so for my first day of the new year I was sucker punched by a four month old. We're off to an amusing start!

About Me

Hi everyone, I am The A-Priori Mommy, Jo. I am a SAHM to a houseful of excitement! There’s the husband, the boy, the little girl and a scrappy pup and a fish! We all live happily on the west coast (most of the time!) and keep busy with many different things. We love the Lord and living our lives for Him, and I am so bless that I am able to stay at home with my son and daughter. It is such a joy that I am able to watch my littles grow and change every day.

Life has gotten busy and I've come to value our privacy more as the kids get older - but this still is a place I love to come back and relive the tales of when they were tiny.   And still from time to time update and log more of our fun, so its pretty quiet here these day, but there are still lots of ideas to find for toddler fun, education, theme parties, and more!  
And finally to answer the ever burning question, that I know you all wonder about...
What does it mean to be an A-Priori Mommy? Well... it's a complicated legal term often used in debate and the simple shortened explanation is that you obtain knowledge through experiences that are logically related to one another and therefore that knowledge of logical relations of ideas is a priori knowledge because we are able to perceive these logical relations without needing empirical evidence for them. Or at first glance you know it to be true because logic tells you it is so! My belief in God is an example of a priori knowledge. There are so many logical ideas and examples of his existence that I don't NEED empirical evidence (although there is plenty!) So all that to say that I am a mommy who operates on logical ideas and while I read and experience things I don't seek out empirical data to raise my son on a daily basis. In fact, I'd say many moms are A-Priori mommies themselves. Our gut instinct never fails!

Books of 2008

For the last few years I have set a reading goal for the new year. In 2006 I merely kept track of the books I read. In 2007 I set the goal of a number of books. In 2008 I set a page goal and exceeded it twice! For 2009 my goal is a little different. Happy New Year, everyone!

Original Goal 10,000 Pages, completed 8/1/08!
Phase Two of Goal 12,000, completed 10/25/08!
Total Pages Read in 2008: 13,001 . 35 books

Katherine

A Mango-Shaped Space

The Reading Group

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Love Walked In

The Keep

A Modern Girls Guide to Bible Study

A Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy

Eat Pray Love

Vanishing Acts

Left Behind

Tribulation Force

Nicolae

The Next Thing on My List

Soul Harvest

Apollyon

Fire Bell in the Night

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Assassins

A Wife After God's Own Heart

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Firefly Lane

The New Mom's Manual

The Prayer that Changes Everything

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

What to Expect When You're Expecting (430)

Belong to Me

The Power of a Praying Wife

Beginner's Greek

The Indwelling

The Mark

Desecration

The Remnant

A Christmas Carol