Handwashing 101

While at work yesterday I received a memo from my supervisor. Apparently the lovely folks at JCAHO believe that we are all incompetent, uneducated folks in the area of handwashing. As a result, each employee must demonstrate the appropriate steps in handwashing. Each employee's supervisor will "poll" a percentage of their employees each month. The memo included the steps to handwashing and the suggestion to sing "Happy Birthday" while washing my hands to ensure I spend 20 seconds scrubbing them.

I sure hope this does not prevent me from that annual bonus...the one that pays for Jacob's birthday and Christmas presents! I sure don't want to have to tell him that I could not buy him birthday or Christmas gifts because Momma was not able to correctly demonstrate her handwashing skills.

You better believe I am studying up! At the very least I will be able to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jacob!

I promise, I do wash my clothes!

Monday I went to Chick-fil-a for lunch with a co-worker. While we were there a few women from the church I attend came in for lunch as well. We exchanged our Hellos and then we went our separate ways.

As I was leaving Chick-fil-a to return to work I had a moment of panic. I was wearing the exact same outfit I had worn the day before to church. In my defense, I had washed it, but just thought it was perfect for work on Monday morning so I put it on again.

I hope they didn't notice, but I have a feeling they did since I had plenty of face time with 2 of them on Sunday as they were in the nursery and Jacob was not in the best mood and needed a little "mommy time" before church.

I guess I can continue with my life and move on...maybe! I just need to be sure not to wear the same outfit again on Sunday!

Works for Me Wednesday -- Consignment Sales!

I have taken a couple weeks off from WFMW because I thought I was out of tips, but then a couple came to mind, so here is one of those:

I love to shop(don't we all?). Since I had Hoss I have been able to use him as an excuse to shop (it makes me feel less guilty); however, I still have to stay on a budget. So I have learned to shop for "deals." If I see the big yellow clearance sign I am running to it trying to find a deal! This is a bit easier to do with kids' clothes, since I'm a little less picky for Hoss than I am for myself!

I like to shop 2nd hand for Hoss' clothes, especially his every day play clothes (however, I have also found some really nice Gymboree and Children's Place clothes for dirt cheap!). I just can't get myself out of the house in a presentable manner on Saturday mornings to tackle yard sales so I needed an alternative. I shop at a couple of local kids' consignment stores, but I have also discovered that there are several Christian preschools and other groups that have biannual consignment sales. I discovered a couple by seeing the signs while driving by and then signed myself up for the reminder mail so I never miss out on a sale. Here in central KY these sales typically occur in the spring and fall months typically with clothes specific for the upcoming season. I have already attended 4 sales this spring and stocked Jacob's wardrobe.

The sales consist of clothing for children and the seller gets the majority of the sale and the organization running the sale gets a smaller portion. When I am ready to sell our baby/kid clothes I think I will try this route. The sales also have more than just clothes, but toys, shoes, strollers, baby equipment, etc. I purchased Jacob's stroller and car seat at a consignment sale before he was born.

This is also great if you are looking to stock up a nursery or day care with toys. Our church has gone to a few sales in the past and got a lot of good toys for the nursery. A lot of these sales have 1/2 price sales on the last day. I went to one this past weekend and I was able to pick up Blues Clue, Sponge Bob and Sesame Street toys for Hoss (and he really does not need them...our house is already overcome with toys), 3 shirts for Hoss in the summer, a pair of New Balance tennis shoes (that looked brand new!) and shorts and a Children's Place shirt (for 75 cents!) for my nephew. All this for $16. I felt successful!

Consignment sales work for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday tips visit Shannon!

The Rain Dance

My 2 year old nephew approached my sister last week, moving his shoulders up and down, waving his arms occassionally, and stomping. She asked him what he was doing and he said, "Rain Dance."

She asked him where he learned to do the "Rain Dance" and he said at "Gigi and Grandpa's house."

He told her that "Aunt Jess (Me), [Hoss], and Uncle Don (hubby)" also did the rain dance, along with "Gigi" (my mom).

(I have no recollection of such dancing, nor does "Uncle Don" or "Gigi." I am sure we would remember, seeing as to how we have NEVER participated in rain dancing.)

My nephew then told my sister, "I do good Rain Dance! It rain outside." It had been raining all.day.long when he was doing his rain dance.

The imagination of a 2 year old ceases to amaze me!

I LOVE the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Each and every Sunday night I watch and cry as the family's story touches my heart. I am amazed by people's determination and ability to overcome such great obstacles.

Today, I learned of a 2 year old boy named Jordan. His story is an amazing, God-filled one, go here to read about him. I stumbled upon this story through an email my sister sent me regarding a petition people in Hendersonville, TN are doing for Jordan so his family can have a new home to accomodate their family of 8. You can sign this petition and read about the petition here.

This family is definitely deserving of a new home and new start.

Is it a squirrel or a skunk???

I thought I knew my animals until I was attempting to help Hoss work on a puzzle this weekend. I picked up this animal and told him it was a skunk...


Then I looked at the puzzle and it said...


I have seen several squirrels in my life, but I have never seen a black one with white stripes on it.

What is even better is that I read the word, "Squirrel" to Hoss before realizing what it said and now he picks up that puzzle piece and says, "quirl."

Don't blame me for teaching my son that a skunk-like animal is a squirrel, blame it on the puzzle!

Supposebly?? Supposedly??

So which is it?

Supposebly or Supposedly?

I guess I have always said "Supposebly." Why? I don't know. I didn't even realize it until hubby pointed it out to me recently. I was confessing my Contraction Snob-ism to him and he decided to confess his frustration with "supposebly." Apparently I and my entire family use the "b" version of the word. According to the spell check on good ole blogger, this is incorrect. The word is spelled with a "d."

So why do I use a "b?" This may be the mystery of the week. I doubt I will ever figure out this answer to that question, but trust me I will always think twice before I use this word again. In order to fit (since I'm a conformist and all) in I guess I will use spell check version...since spell check is always right!

Glasses Update

I know that I post often about Hoss' glasses and the revolving door of replacing those, and, well, here is yet another post about this saga! Hopefully the cycle of broken glasses will slow down, but I have a feeling this is only going to continue and get worse.

I was able to move Hoss' eye appointment from May to yesterday. It made sense to me not to continue with getting a new pair of frames if he was going to need to get new lenses a month later. Well, the doctor did not want to check his eyes at this visit since he is doing well with his glasses (despite ripping them off and breaking them in half...which I think has nothing to do with no being able to see, but more with having ear infections, being sleeping, and being 18 months old). I was prepared to speak with the eye glass tech about other options for Hoss and cheaper frames, etc.

Maybe it was the screaming toddler in my arms or the completely pitiful look on my face, the bags under my eyes from only 6 hours of sleep, or the desperation in my voice...whatever it was, the tech was able to cover the frames with Hoss' warranty again!

I had called the office a few days prior to ask about this and they told me that only 1 replacement was possible (and we used that 2 months ago) and I would have to pay $130+ for a new pair. I had been frantically calling around to other eyeglass stores trying to find the best deal and I was prepared to walk out of the office with the same taped together frames we walked in with to find a better deal, but FREE is the best deal I know of.

I am certain this will never happen again, but it sure made me happy today!

As I was researching the best pair of glasses to get for Hoss I stumbled upon these glasses. One of the stores I called recommended them so I thought I would check them out online. Now, I don't think I am a vain person, but I just could not put these glasses on my baby boy. Yes, they may be unbreakable and may stop the contant replacement of glasses, but I just don't think I could put them on the face of my red headed baby. Maybe I am vain...

For Heather UPDATED

Boomama is having a day of love for Heather today. Heather was diagnosed last week with an inoperable brain tumor. She is a mother of 3 children and a faithful servant of Christ. I don't personally know Heather, but I feel as if I know her as I have read her blog prior to her diagnosis and her candid feelings and thoughts upon the diagnosis of her brain tumor have touched my heart. Next week Heather is going to the Mayo Clinic for further consultation with neurosurgeons regarding her tumor. Boomama is leading the blogging mommas in support for Heather. She is raising money through Paypal for Heather. Go visit Boomama's site for more info on this crusade for a sister in Christ. And also visit Beth at I Should be Folding Laundry as she is having a prize giveaway for Heather's supporters. And please remember Heather in your prayers throughout her journey.

** UPDATED TO ADD: Wow! Everyone really stepped out to help Heather and her family! As of 7:50 p.m. tonight $8307.46 has been raised for Heather and is growing!

Wrinkles, Wrinkles Everywhere!

So I have a confession to make. Bare with me here as this is a tough confession...

I HATE TO IRON!

There, I said it. My number one least favorite chore is to iron. I would rather clean a million bathrooms than to pull out the ironing board and iron.

I do own an iron. I just don't use it. It lives in my laundry room, on top of the dryer, covered in dryer lint that seaps from the dryer when I forget to empty the lint trap.

When my mom comes to visit, I will dust it off, so she can use it to iron her clothes, but basically, I have no interest in being wrinkle-free. Luckily my professional life is rather laid back so being wrinkle-free is not a requirement. Hubby's job is a bit more of a wrinkle-free environment, but I still don't iron his dress clothes. If he doesn't mind, I don't mind. Because folks, I HATE to iron!

I have an aunt who has been known to iron her underwear...at least that is the rumor. I guess I didn't get those genes. Luckily, because I could not imagine ironing my under garments. Come on, I have more important things to do like, um...blog!

Freedom...if only for a moment

Friday night, after the date, I decided I wanted to go to a local bi-annual consignment sale. I left the house at 10 p.m...alone! I felt like I was doing something wrong. I haven't been out of the house so late alone in a very long time. I was excited, I felt a sense of freedom, my adrenaline was pumping. I mean, come on folks, the mall was even closed!

Yes, I was only going to a consignment sale, but it was exciting. I was going alone, without lugging a stroller out of the car and entertaining a toddler. Alone, with a sense of freedom.

It's the simple things in life that can be so exciting! The simple things!

Glasses of Steel??

My favorite thing about Hoss' little glasses is watching him take his chubby toddler hand and push his glasses up to the top of his nose. He will take his full open hand and push in the middle of his glasses when they begin to slide down his nose. Oh, I wish you all could see it. It is so precious.

My least favorite thing about Hoss' little glasses is when he breaks them. He has had his glasses for barely 6 months and we replaced the first set of frames in February. Now, once again, we will be replacing this set of frames. They warned me about this when I bought the first set of frames in November, but you gotta live and learn.

I guess this time I will have to try to find some steel frame glasses...anyone know where those can be found?

Dinner and a Movie, at the SAME TIME

Tonight (Friday night) hubby and I had date night.

Oh what a wonderful thing!

A great friend of mine from work volunteered to watch Hoss while we went out to dinner and a movie. That's right folks, both dinner AND a movie! And you know what is even better? We did both at the same place! We decided to try out the newest invention to hit Kentucky, the Movie Tavern.

For any of you who are from Texas and reading this, I understand there are several places like this in that part of the world, but for those of you who are unaware of such, the Movie Tavern serves dinner while you watch a movie.

Yep, that's right dinner and movie all in one! I'm all about some multi-tasking and I'm not one to pass up checking out something new, so away we went (with a bit of hesitation on hubby's part).

My review...I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since it is new. However, it can be distracting when a waitress stops to ask if you need anything or is delivering food, refilling drinks, etc in the middle of a movie (however, it beats changing a poopy diaper or getting a snack for a toddler in the middle of a movie at home). Our food order was "lost" and had to be reordered, but it's a new place and that happens in new establishments. The price was okay, competitive with other theaters and restaurants, but the food quality in our opinion was mediocre.

The convenience was a great thing. We were gone from home for only 2 1/2 hours and we had both dinner and watched an entire movie!

So, there you have it folks! Needing a fast, multi-tasking date AND you have a Movie Travern close by, check it out!

Contraction Snobs Annonymous

I have a pet peeve...incorrect uses of contractions. No, not those preggo contractions, but the word contractions. Hello, my name is Jessica and I am a contraction snob.

There, I said it, it is out in the open. Whew! I feel so much better now...I took the first step!

As you are all aware, contractions are two words joined together with an apostrophe. you and are = you're, it and is = it's, they and are = they're...you get the picture. I can't stand the misuse or lack of use of contractions.

While at work today they celebrated the 60th birthday of a co-worker. A cake was purchased and the following phrase was stated on the cake "Your older than dirt." Can I tell you how frustrated I was that "your" was used incorrectly. I could hardly look at the cake without thinking that "your" should have been "you're." I doubt anyone else noticed...oh but I did.

So it was then that I realized to what extent of a contraction snob I am. When I can't stand to look at a birthday cake with a mis-spelled word, it is a problem. I won't judge you if a contraction is used incorrectly or not used at all. I promise. It is just something I am trying to get over...overlook...tolerate...GET A GRIP on.

So are any of you a contraction snob? Come join the group...you'll remain annonymous!

Locked Out

In order to prevent toddler hands from finding items that are not appropriate for toddler hands, we keep several doors in our home closed and have a baby gate up over the kitchen entrance.

One of these doors that is closed is our bedroom door. Last night as I was preparing to go to bed I attempted to enter my bedroom. I say attempted because the door was locked. We never lock our bedroom doors and we could not figure out how this happened. Plus we didn't have a key or anyway to get in to the room. And it was 11:15 p.m. We can't be busting down bedroom doors at that hour on the second floor of an apartment building!

So we did the next best thing! Hubby and I got a screwdriver and attempted to poke it through the small hole in the knob to unlock the door. After 5 minutes of determination, we were unsuccessful.

The door hinges are on the inside of the door, so removing the door was out of the question. Hubby decided to get a butter knife and attempt to open the door. Well, praise God he has opened a door or two in his life in this manner (I didn't ask when or why...sometimes it's better not to know!).

When we entered the bedroom we tried to figure out how the door became locked. The lock is a simple push-the-doorknob-in type lock and there were a couple shirts on hangers on the back of the door (yes we have a closet, but why use that when we have great doorknobs to hang clothes on!). Earlier in the day Hoss had been in the room and as hubby was herding him out of the room Hoss grabbed the hangers and pulled on them. We think that some of his jiggling with the hangers caused the door to lock.

Whatever the case was, the fact was that I was locked out for 10 minutes but due to the breaking and entering skills of my dear spouse I was able to sleep soundly on my bed!

I'm so proud!

All my hardwork, determination and consistency has paid off. Okay, so maybe it wasn't such hardwork, just a little bit of determination and a tad of consistency. BUT I have convinced Hoss sleeping in his own bed is the only place to sleep. Tonight I told him it was time for bed and he ran to his room. When I didn't immediately run after him he came out, looked at me, whimpered and then ran back into his room and stood beside his crib. He actually grabbed onto the bed rails like he was going to try to get in himself. Now he is a big boy, but not quite that big yet. And as soon as I put him in the crib he grabbed his blanket, pulled it over himself and laid down to sleep. It felt like such a great victory.

And then I left the room...and the crying began. I was so confused...what was the problem? He just begged to go to bed. I still am not sure what the crying was about...maybe he heard me bragging to hubby about how big he is getting (not hubby, Hoss) and had to respond.

What I do know is that I miss my cuddle bug. But I guess this is the first step in "letting go" that we mothers get to suffer through. I can't stand the growing up...I am already dreading Kindergarten and it is 4 years away.

It must be our week...

So every Tuesday hubby comes home and asks if we got the TV Guide. Yes, we know exactly what day the TV Guide comes. It's the little things in life!

Well, no TV Guide in the mail today! We joke that it's our week for the postal service worker to read our copy! Every Tuesday we check our mail so excited, waiting for that new weekly TV Guide. I don't subscribe for the tv listings. Oh no, why would I do that? I like to subscribe for the weekly suduko puzzle and the crossword (even though I have to ask Donnie every other question) plus all the tv gossip. Donnie on the other hand does subscribe for the tv listings. He checks the TV Guide daily to plan his TV viewing for the evening.

It's beneficial. We know when shows are on re-run, we know when those "forgotten" shows are on. You know, the shows that we love to watch, but they aren't on the main 4 stations so we forget. Tonight we are getting to enjoy one of those shows, "Dog the Bounty Hunter." It's a guilty pleasure. I love it...plus it's a new season, episodes I haven't seen before...gotta love that! And the TV Guide told me all about that.

Who would have thought that it was worth more than just the suduko, crossword and gossip! I guess hubby did! I knew I should keep him around for something!

I can't even think of a title...

So I haven't posted since Thursday and I have a million thoughts going on in my head. I have a lot of thoughts of changes in my life...decisions to be made on places to live, jobs or the desire not to have one (at least that is "paid"), and on and on. When my brain clears out and I can form semi-clear thoughts hopefully I will get a new post for the 3 readers I have.

I'm so glad I married this man!

One 32 year old man + One toddler's lego toys =

BBRRRRRR....

How did this happen? Tuesday it was 80 degrees, Hoss even wore shorts, and now today it is 40 and the winter coats have been pulled back out of the closet. I guess it was too soon to shove those away for the season.

I know it is colder in other parts of the country and world, but bbrrrrrrr..... this girl was not interested in putting on a coat again for a few months. It's a good thing Hoss has a long sleeve outfit for Easter, it is going to be C-O-L-D! Maybe even snow (which I saw flurries here in KY today).

Darn Arctic air! Keep it in the Arctic, we don't want it!

Works for Me Wednesday -- Kid Music

Today's Work for Me Wednesday theme is the Car Edition. Hoss does pretty good traveling. We always provide him with toys to play with and I try to schedule our long distance traveling for nap time so possibly he will fall asleep. But for those times when the toys are no longer fun and the nap is over my precious little man becomes upset. When the crying begins and the snacks are out I just pop in a kid cd in the car's cd player and instantly he is a happy kiddo. Well, most of the time. Not every cd works, but his favorite Cd is the Backyardigans. As soon as he hears the first note of the theme song he is smiling and laughing. I discovered this by chance on a 4 hour car ride, not scheduled during nap time! My husband has also burned a cd for Hoss that has several of his favorite characters singing. That is always the back up if the Backyardigans cd is MIA.

So there you have it...get a favorite TV show's cd and make your kid's day (or atleast give yourself another 45 minutes of driving without a screaming toddler!)

For more Car Edition Tips visit Shannon!

Praying for Nick

I have previously posted about 11 year old Nick and his second battle with a brain tumor. Please remember Nick and his family in your prayers this week. Nick received good news last week, a spot on his brain which was possibly another tumor shrank and is not considered to be a tumor. Nick is going to begin his last round of chemo tomorrow. This has made him very sick in the past which has involved several blood transfusions. Remember this family as they spend Easter in a hospital in Columbus, OH. And please pray for Nick's continued healing and limited side effects during his chemo this week. Also visit Nick's website and follow along with him and his family as they fight this battle.

Dyson, Dyson, Dyson...

This is all I have been hearing lately. How great the Dyson vacuum cleaners are. Well, I may just have a chance to win me a free one soon. 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a Dyson Slim Vacuum! How fabulous. I know this is the envy of women all over the country...so go, register to win, and if you do win, be sure to let me know just how wonderful this Dyson is!

Easter Fun -- all weekend long

We have been participating in the Easter traditions of dying eggs and Egg Hunts this weekend.

We went to the Easter Egg Hunt at church yesterday. Yes, there was candy and some eggs to go along with it! Hoss picked up one egg and was done with the egg hunting and took off running toward the propane tank behind the church. I guess he's been eyeing it and he had a prime opportunity for attack yesterday! We pursuaded him to get a few more eggs...





Today I decided to try to dye eggs with Hoss even though we won't be hiding or hunting these. I just could not resist tackling some egg dying with a 17 month old...maybe I am crazy?



No, this is not Hoss's hand...it is mine. I was the one who got messy...he had no interest in the dying or decorating process of the eggs. Just in trying to demolish them...



Here is Hoss saying, "Oh No!" when he would drop the eggs on the floor...like I said, demolishing them!



Maybe next year he will be the messy one and not me!