Works for Me Wednesday -- Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt!

When my husband and I were dating and celebrating our first Valentine's Day together I put together a scavenger hunt. This began as he approached the door to my apartment and received a clue and throughout the apartment he would go and find a "gift" and another clue, leading to the final gift. The first gifts were small items like a heart shaped chocolate chip cookie (I found a heart shaped pan and used ready to bake cookie dough), chocolate covered strawberries, etc. This would even work great for kids! Even if you put the clues on different Valentine's cards. He enjoyed it and it was a good memory! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Check out more Valentine's Day ideas at Works for Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer!

Wordless Wednesday -- Brrrr!

Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts!

Demolition Kid!

I never knew how big of a mess 1 16month old child can make. We have enough toys to stock an entire toy store, but does the kiddo want to play with those?? Of course not. Instead he enjoys ripping every item off of the changing table in his bedroom and finding new homes for those.

I have found diapers, diaper rash ointment, lotion, baby wipes, shoes, toys, etc. in odd places such as the toy box, the laundry basket, the diaper pail (yes, inside the diaper pail with the dirty diapers), even in his crib. The crib is his latest discovery. He has figured out that he can throw things through the slats on the crib and load it up with miscellaneous items.

This picture is how I often find him "playing" in his room:



There are some items to point out in the picture:
* He has a sock in his hand, which was removed from his foot (he must have gotten bored with ripping items off of the changing table)
* He has opened the baby wipe container and has thrown all of them on the floor
* There are clothes which have been removed from the laundry basket laying on top of the stuffed horse under the window
* What you don't see is the open toy box which has no toys removed from it
* You also don't see the CD player on the bottom shelf of the changing table which is playing a cd (he figured out which button to push to make it play, which in turn made him cry, I guess "John Jacob Jinglehimmer Smith" is not his #1 choice of music)

The only thing I can find to stop this is to clean his room and shut the door. I don't want to cause him to think that he is not allowed in his bedroom. We all need a break from each other (trust me!).

So to all you experienced mothers out there...any suggestions on what to do to dissuade him from reaking havoc on his bedroom? Or is this a lost cause and I should just come to terms with my new role of picking up baby wipes from the floor to clean his bottom?

Contest!!

I am a sucker for free stuff and contests so go check out what is happening and 5 Mintues for Mom and enter to win! Good Luck!

Glasses, Glasses, Glasses!

My 15 month old son wears glasses. He has since he was barely 13 months (he is severely farsighted). He has done great with the glasses. The first couple weeks he would pull them off a lot and did not like to wear them, but he eventually got used to the new face-wear and now he does not bother them much -- only when he is sleepy or if his eyes itch. It has been a great accomplishment, actually one of my better mothering feats in my opinion! I have protected "the glasses" as if they were gold, after all they were not cheap in any fashion and my pockets are very deep (they might as well be gold, they cost just as much!).


Yesterday we had a glasses disaster.


We live in an apartment and have to park a few miles away from the apartment (ok, not really, but in 10 degree winter weather and with a toddler it can feel like it). Yesterday I arrived at home and gathered the 700 items of the kiddo's and then I grabbed the mail and my purse and all the other belongings. Needless to say, I had my hands full. When I went around to get Hoss Cat out of the carseat I realized he had pulled his glasses off. I found them on the side of the seat and put them in the outside pocket for the diaper bag. Safe for now, or so I thought! I decided since Hoss is walking so well and because he weights 28lb 7oz (he just had a check-up, I don't own a doctor's scale!) I would let him walk to the apartment door. So I helped him stand up outside the car and balance and then I let go of him...MISTAKE! He immediately took off through the parking lot. I grabbed the "belongings" and raced after him. I was able to catch him before any disasters occured and we walked to the apartment.


Upon entering the apartment I stripped the toddler of all his winter apparel (it was 10 degrees, there was a lot of apparel), put away all the "belongings," and then skimmed over the mail. Then I realized he needed to have his glasses back on. So I grabbed the diaper bag, no glasses. Then I grabbed my purse and actually turned it upside down and dumped it on the kitchen table, no glasses. I searched my coat pockets, all over the house, and I finally realized the glasses just weren't there.


Enter the husband, home from work. He enters to me frantically looking for the glasses with tears in my eyes. I can't believe I lost them! I JUST had them! So the husband turns around and scours the parking lot. He enters 5 minutes later, no glasses! I am in full blown panic mode by this time! I decide I am going to go look myself (I wear glasses, my husband does not, I MUST have better eyesight!). So I go down, walking slow, looking everywhere I could imagine, in bushes, under cars and then I find them! Sitting all alone under a carport. We never walk under the carport, but that just so happened to be where I chased the kiddo when he took off in the parking lot. They were safe and sound, no injuries and returned to the beautiful face of the toddler!
This entire scenario reminded me of the movie "Parenthood" starring Steve Martin. At one point the parents search through all the trash cans and the dumpster of a pizza restuarant (imagine Chuckee Cheese) when their son accidentally threw away his retainer. I really was 1 minute away from doing this myself!


He's only 15 months old...I still have years of these panic attacks to look forward to. These are the blessings to count! After all, look at this face:

Woah Baby!

I believe that this story may be my future! My son was born on 10/5/05 weighing 10lb 5 oz. He was big all during the pregnancy and I knew he would be big, so it was not a huge shock. He was born via c-section due to his size and he was breach...it appears he got too large to turn around. When Hoss Cat was born the doctors and nurses all said, "Wow! Look at him!" or "That's a BIG boy." The anesthesiologist said "18, 11." My comment was "WHAT! He does not weigh 18, 11 does he???" And then as soon as the statement was off my tongue I said, "Oh, that's what time it is!" I will never forget that Hoss was born at 18:11.

The Price of Children

I received this in email form from my mom...I just had to share it with everyone. I love it!

The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice. The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year
* $741.38 a month
* $171.08 a week
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich."Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs,
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream or pizza regardless.

You get a front row seat to history, to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date
* first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. Y
ou get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits. So, one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!