Last night after dinner I had to run over to Target to pick up a few items- cat food, diapers, and some cards. Well, I looked through my coupons to see what was expiring today (I knew I had a lot expiring on 3/31) and decided to grab a few more things that I knew I'd need in the next few weeks. So, after spending about 30 minutes or so casually gathering my items I walked into the clothing section. Since I've been losing weight I don't have much that fits me (properly, at least) so I decided to try some things on. I left my shopping cart right outside the dressing room, and one of the ladies manning the dressing room told me she was just going to move it so it wasn't blocking the entrance. I tried my stuff on (didn't really like anything) and when I came out my cart was gone!

I was so angry! Well, at first I was relieved that I took my coupon folder with me, but mad that I had a shopping cart FULL of stuff and it was gone! The lady who was there was NOT the one who took my cart, and said that I probably forgot where I put my cart and was just mistaken. Um...no, it was an employee who moved it, and of course she was no where to be found! I had to do all my shopping over again! And then of course I ended up waiting for 15 minutes in line to check out. Finally additional cashiers were called to help out, and the poor guy checking me out looked like he had NO idea what he was doing, and then of course was having trouble with my $30 in coupons.

Who knew a simple trip to Target could be so stressful?!?!

If you've met me you know I love to dress my boys nice...right down to their shoes! One of my favorite brands of shoes are See Kai Run. They're great when your little ones are learning to walk...they're super flexible. And SUPER cute! And you have a chance to win a pair for your little one. (Or, you know... you could get a pair for my little guy!) Head on over to A Kindred Spirit and check out the giveaway over there. Contest ends tomorrow, so don't delay!

Yesterday afternoon we all headed to Nana & Opa's to hang out for a bit. Nicholas had a surprise waiting for him- a Harley Davidson Big Wheel. He was very excited to ride it. He had to get used to pedaling with his legs straight out (he has the Fisher Price Smart Cycle at home, so he knows how to pedal in a more upright position) and is still working on steering, but had a lot of fun!

If you don't know already, MckMama's sweet little boy Stellan is currently in the hospital with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), the same condition he was diagnosed with in utero. Miraculously he was born healthy, but it has returned. Stellan was born just two days after Erik, and it breaks my heart to think of such a young baby being so sick. Please pray for Stellan, and for the rest of his family as well.

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.

Well, this past week was full of things that I certainly would never do or things that would never happen to me.

First, I can guarantee that I did NOT let my almost three year old eat chocolate cupcakes in the living room just two days after my husband steam cleaned the carpets. There were not crumbs everywhere, including all over his train table, building blocks, and of course his face. Nope, NOT ME!

Then on Tuesday I certainly did NOT get not one, but TWO separate phone calls from two different companies looking for "Erik," and I definitely did NOT joke with the person on the other line that my four month old was napping and couldn't come to the phone. Nope, NOT ME!

And on Wednesday evening, while Ken and I were both in the kitchen, we did NOT overlook the fact that Nicholas opened the door to let BeBop outside to play- AGAIN! Nope, NOT ME!

I also must mention that I am a mature adult, who would NEVER get sucked into the Twlight phenomenon. And because of that, my almost three year old would not loudly announce in the middle of Target while standing in front of the Twilight display, "Look mommy, you have those books at home- they're your FAVORITE!" Nope, NOT ME!

And while at the zoo this weekend I did NOT get to see the Phillies World Series trophy that my husband did not want to wait in line to see. Of course I would NOT have told my almost three year old that the cool Phillies baseball trophy was in the big, white tent and get him all pumped and tell daddy that he wanted to see it. Nope, NOT ME!

So, that's just a peek into the things I did NOT do this week. I'd love to hear about all the things you did NOT do!

Yesterday I was thinking that it had been awhile since we had done an outing as a family, and Erik has never been to the zoo...so off we went!


I must say, I love the Philadelphia Zoo. Did you know that it was America's First Zoo? I'm pretty sure it was the first zoo I went to, at least the first one I remember going to! Growing up in grade school we took many field trips there. And as an adult I still enjoy going and seeing all the animals. We have an annual membership (it pays for itself in two visits and is valid for a full year- TOTALLY worth it!) and since it is so close we get good use out of it.


So, in the morning Ken made us a picnic lunch (yup...gotta love when you can bring in your own food & drink...saves some money) and we stopped at WaWa for some drinks and chips and we were on our way. A gorgeous day...cool, but lots of sunshine which made it feel a lot warmer. On our way in I was asking Nicholas if he wanted to see monkeys, bears, lions, etc... He kept telling me, no- that they scared him. I have NO idea where that came from, because he's always loved animals. The only animals he said he wanted to see were hippos (my favorite!) and giraffes. Well, in the end he ended up wanting to see everything, and loved every minute of it. This was the first big outing where he walked pretty much the entire time and didn't ride in the stroller. Which, by the way, I had the HUGE double stroller and Nicholas was walking and I was wearing Erik in my Sleepy Wrap! I was pushing a stroller full of STUFF! I had one lady walk up to look in the stroller and said, "Oh, twin babies!" and then was shocked to see that there was just a coat, blanket, and some other random items. I had a nice laugh.


One special moment was getting to see the Wrold Series trophy that was on display. Ken did not want to wait in line, because he thought Nicholas would grow impatient and be miserable. Turns out Nicholas saw the white tent it was in, asked me what was in there (I told him the Phillies baseball trophy) and he told me he wanted to go see it! YEAH! So we waited in line (only 15-20 minutes) and got our picture taken. I was very excited! I will definitely be putting that picture in Erik's baby book since he was born the day of the last game (Part One!) when the Phillies won the World Series.




Here are a few pictures from our special day!

Moby what, you say? Moby Wrap- it is a WONDERFUL baby carrier, and it could be yours, FREE! Although, I'd prefer it be mine- so if you win and would like to donate it to me (and Erik) I certainly would NOT complain!

Head over to Our Life Upstate to check out the details on how you could win! (But really, I'm hoping it is me...I definitely do NOT have enough baby carriers! lol)

Illness has made its round at our house. First it was Nicholas last week. He's about 95% better- just a slight cough every so often. Erik got hit next. Today he seems to be lots better, but still sounds congested. You'd never guess he was sick though- he's still one happy little guy!

And then the illness hit Mommy. During the day on Saturday I had a tickle in my throat, which is often how I know I'm getting sick. I went to bed early Saturday night, but still woke up feeling pretty miserable on Sunday. And then on Monday I was feeling even MORE run down, and today it has been even worse. My head is pounding, I've used about 3 boxes of tissues, and you might as well call me Rudolph- my nose is so red.

I guess the good news is that we've got some warm weather coming this way, so I can open the windows and air the house out. Get rid of all these germs! I definitely need to be better by Saturday- Twilight is being released on DVD and my girlfriends and I are having a Twilight viewing party.

Well, this week was fairly uneventful. First, I did NOT spend most of the day Wednesday washing loads of puke covered laundry. Nope, NOT ME! I mean, it wouldn't be my luck that on Tuesday morning my 4 month old ate too quickly and then covered me and half of our king sized bed with his breakfast. And then of course later that night once a new set of sheets were on the bed my almost 3 year old didn't come into my room with a raging fever and get sick, covering not just the sheets, but also my duvet cover and down comforter. Of course when he then moved to the couch to spend the rest of the night there with Daddy he didn't get sick on yet ANOTHER set of sheets (and a few towels) so I would have some more laundry to do. NOPE, NOT ME!!!

Then Saturday night came and I took Erik with me to the grocery store while Daddy & Nicholas spent some quality time together. Erik ended up falling asleep, so I most certainly DID NOT walk slowly and leisurely through the store taking my good ol' time! And then after loading Erik into the car, driving home, nursing Erik, and unloading the groceries from the car I DID NOT break into a sweat because I could not locate my coupon file folder. And of course I definitely DID NOT pack up my half-asleep child and drag him back out to the store to find that my coupon folder was still in the shopping cart in the cart corral where I had left it. Nope, NOT ME!!!

And on Sunday, I assure you I DID NOT spend the entire day in bed with the laptop because my kids got me sick. I mean, I am Super Mom, so I would have definitely gone about my normal day-to-day routine despite being under the weather!

Today Erik had his 4 month well baby visit. Ken and I were trying to make some guesses as to how big he would be this month. Ken said 18 pounds, I said 17.

Well, Mommy wins! I was closest...Erik is my peanut at just 16 pounds 8 ounces! Ok, so he's really not a peanut- that's the 75th percentile, but Nicholas at 4 months was 18 pounds 12 ounces AND he weighed a pound and a half LESS than Erik at birth. Erik was also 26" long, which is 90th percentile for height. He's hitting all the appropriate milestones -he can roll from belly to back, and is this close to rolling from back to belly, he smiles the biggest smiles (as my pictures have shown!), he laughs big belly laughs, sleeps great (generally from 8:30p- 6:30/7:00a), and in general is one happy guy! We're not yet starting on solids...he's not ready, and I'm in no rush. He did get his next round of vaccinations- he cried when the needle went in, but as soon as I picked him up he was fine. Such a trooper!

We don't go back until the middle of May for his 6 month visit. I also scheduled Nicholas' 3 YEAR well child visit. Is it possible that Nicholas is going to be THREE?!?!

2- I have known Chris for several years now. She's an Army wife, who is also mom to two cutie patootie boys. Our oldest boys were born days apart, and our youngest boys birthdays are also days apart- just separated by a year.

3- Jodi from Never Pay Retail Again. I remember when Jodi was talking about starting a blog on how to be more frugal- I thought it was a great idea to have it all in one place. And with all the great deals she posts I've been saving lots of money! Heck, I got diapers practically for FREE this week thanks to her!
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Well, near wordless Wednesday! ;)

The cousins (Michael, Nicholas, Erik)


The little guys playing




Nicholas building a snowman. In Ocean City. In 65+ degree weather. Yes, a snowstorm and spring-like weather all in one week!









Blowing Bubbles

Grey hair.

That's what Nicholas is going to give me. Lots of grey hair.

Nicholas is a great kid. He does a pretty good job of playing by himself while I nurse or tend to Erik. Generally he'll play with his cars or trains, read a book, or watch something on TV. So this morning I was sitting in the basement (our family room area) nursing Erik, and Nicholas went upstairs to the main floor to play with his train table.

Or so I thought.

After about 5-10 minutes I hear Nicholas come to the top of the stairs, and in a frantic voice say, "Mommy, my kitty cat!" I practically drop Erik on the floor, which he wasn't too happy about, especially since he was almost asleep, and race up the stairs.

The first thing I notice is Nicholas had put on his Flyers fleece jacket (backwards, mind you) and then I see the sliding glass door in the kitchen is open. I asked Nicholas where the kitty was (already knowing the answer) and he told me they were playing outside. Sneaky kid...I didn't even hear the door open! I go outside, and sure enough- BeBop is outside ON THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR'S DECK! Our decks are connected, but they're separated by a fence. So, I try to call to BeBop and beg him to come back. He looked at me as if to say, "Crazy lady, this is the first sign of freedom I've had in years...I'm not coming anywhere near you!" Or maybe he was thinking he had freedom from Nicholas.

So I go inside and grab the cat treats. Now, had it been Rocky (MY fat cat) he would have come running at the mere mention of a treat. Then again, he's such a scaredy cat he wouldn't have set one paw outside the door! I retrieve the cat treats, shut the screen door to try to keep Nicholas and Rocky from coming out, and attempt to entice BeBop to return to our side of the deck with these cat treats. A few minutes pass, and he finally gave in, jumped over the fence and I snatched him up and returned inside.

I'm thinking a new door lock is in order. And maybe a video monitor attached to Nicholas so I can see what kind of mischief he is getting into.

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.

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.






Well, it is Monday again, so let me tell you all the things I DID NOT do this past week!

As you may have read, I certainly DID NOT lose my mind and host a playdate with 19 people in my house. No, because it would be silly to have that many people just occupying my small main floor, so certainly NOT ME! I also DID NOT forget that it was Ash Wednesday and make a lunch of pasta with meat sauce for my mainly Catholic guests. Nope, NOT ME! And during this same playdate I DID NOT laugh at my son when he poured a bowl of popcorn on his head. NOT ME!

On Friday, in the midst of a bad day I DID NOT make a batch of Rice Krispies Treats and eat the hot mix before it even got in the pan. NOT ME!

And over the weekend while out shopping I definitely DID NOT buy myself a pair of jeans while I was supposed to be buying khakis for my kids. Nope, again- NOT ME! I would definitely make sure my kids were properly clothed before spending money on myself.

Also, I really DID NOT have trouble sleeping last night because of the excitement of the snow storm hitting our area. And I definitely DID NOT wake up in the middle of the night to check how much we got, and absolutely DID NOT run to the window first thing this morning to see how much snow we got. NOT ME!