Would you care for some milk?

Avery will share.

My little thumb sucker.

I'm so glad Avery doesn't take a pacifier. It's one less thing I have to keep track of, one less thing I have to pick up, one less thing for her to lose all the time or use as a flying weapon at me in the car.

She's a thumb sucker. We never lose her thumb and I never have to think about bringing it with us. I know as soon as that thumb crosses her lips she's either tired or not feeling well. She's not a 24/7 thumb sucker. It's great. With her thumb and her blankie(s) she is a happy camper.

I took this right before her nap.


Signal bedtime.

She walks into her bed and grabs one or both blankies and walks around with her thumb in her mouth. This is the universal "put me to bed woman" in my house. It's really a good thing she isn't into subtleties, eh?

Get out your calendars, blackberries or the like

And mark this day.

I have nothing to say.

::cricket.....cricket, cricket::

Sure I have things to say but nothing I want to BLOG about.

This is monumental.

ch-ch-ch-changes

PROGRESS! The bathroom was even more destroyed then made a whole lot better today! Yesssss. This is what it looked like this morning.


Oh how I will miss you ugly wallpaper. So sorry we couldn't be friends longer even more ugly newly discovered wallpaper on the right.


Avery was telling Grandpa how much she LOVES her new bathroom floor and can't wait to go streaking across it naked for bathtime. (Don't tell dad I took this, mkay? I told him I was just getting Avery, but how cute is this pic?!)


Senora No Pants was telling me I forgot something on my list. She's just so darn helpful.


Look how pretty the new sink is!


Love the floor!


The end of the day. Wall paper is gone, holes are filled, floor done, vanity installed.


I need to sand down the putty tomorrow and paint the walls and new trim. Dad is going to install the light and new mirror at some point. New shower curtain and fixtures and then almost done! I hope I'm able to get the painting done tomorrow. I have to work tomorrow night so we'll see!

I'm going to bed. I'm pooped!

Say it isn't so

We started something new in our house today.


Potty training! I'm not pushing anything and we're just going to see what happens. She's been acting ready for about a month now. She pulled down her own pants this morning and was poking her diaper. So, eh why not?

So far she thinks the potty is funny and likes to throw cheerios in it. After about 15 min of stand up, giggle, sit down, toss in a cheerio, giggle, stand up she walked over and peed on the floor. At least she's not freaked out by it. She just loves running around with a naked butt.

Modern technology you dirty little minx you.

I believe we've already discussed that I'm technically retarded a bit slow in the technology department. Oh, yes we have. Here let me give you a linky. And who says I don't take care of my guests?

Tonight I set up my wireless printer.

I was surprised that I was able to set it up all.by.myself. Somehow I managed to install the software twice. How does that even happen? Once I got that straightened out I was good to go. Then I put it to the test.

Ya'll, I sat in my living room and hit print on my 2008 tax return (don't move to another state, you have to prove tax returns and all that fun stuff) and when I walked in my bedroom THERE WAS A 2008 TAX RETURN ON MY TABLE.

Knock me over with a feather.

Between the printer and my new iPod Touch I'm welcoming new technology at lightening speed. Okay, okay more like snail speed. Baby steps. I didn't tell you about my new iPod? Ooooo I'm in love! It's just so darn cool. There are apps for EVERYTHING. Period tracker, rock band, sex facts, oh my! Peekaboo farm to keep the Avester entertained when I'm at the end of my rope.

I feel like such a...a...I don't know what. I have a wireless network, a real wireless network, in my house. I have a cool iPod and know how to function it. I have an awesome camera and I'm learning how to take semi-decent pictures.

I'm embracing my nerd.

What a relaxing weekend!

"Mom if I give you a fake smile will you leave me alone to watch Yo Gabba Gabba?"


I took these this afternoon. Not a thing she's wearing matches and she's carrying an empty snack cup, but boy is she sure cute.

These shoes sure are cute!


We had a great weekend spending time just the two of us and seeing family. I'm pretty sure I could get used to having this many days off in a row. My bathroom remains a work in progress. I'm so tired of looking at a half done bathroom and huge boxes in my living room. Patience.

About that new tattoo, I think I'm going to call and make and appointment tomorrow. Eeek! I have a list of things to get done tomorrow and I think I'm going to put that on the list.

I'm still waiting for my tax return. The money is already spent, but I'm impatient! You hear that IRS?! GIVE ME MA MON-NEY!

Love getting a deal

Avery outgrows clothes so quickly right now that she gets a whole new wardrobe every season. So I took advantage of spring being on the way and sold some of Avery's clothes from last summer to the consignment shop. They took almost everything I brought in and I turned around and got her some things for this spring/summer.

Not too shabby for $40. Two of the shirts still have the store tags on them. The brown and pink thing is a rain coat. A zip up hoody, a denim skirt, 3 shirts, a dress, a rain coat, and two orange jump suit outfits isn't bad. Especially since they gave me more than that for all the clothes I took in. Gotta love saving money. :) Her summer wardrobe is coming together quite nicely.

I'm a Type A personality.

I've embraced it. I'm just not the laid back go with the flow type of person. I want things done now and done my way. I hate being late. I'm a touch OCD. It messes with my flow when my plans get interrupted unexpectedly. I'm probably hard to live with. I guess you could ask my ex-husband about that.

I believe this is my strongest attribute when it comes to being a single parent. I prepare the night before to leave the house for appointments, I make more than one meal at a time, etc. Admittedly, I've been a slacker lately for which I blame on night shift with no set schedule and my continued hypothyroidism. I know, I know I need to get back on my medicine. I have a list of small tasks I need to complete but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours of daylight.

I digress....man maybe I'm a bit ADD too.

The type A part of me I thinks may enjoy being a single parent just a teensy bit. I don't have to compromise on my beliefs about discipline, nutrition, education, or values. I don't have to justify my decisions to anyone. If I want to sit on the couch all night after Avery goes to bed, I can do it. If I want to eat 2 bowls of ice cream in one day, I can do it. I can not do the laundry for a week and hide the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I can do these things because there is no one there giving me the side-eye or depending on me for things too. My child's needs are met and that is all that is required of me today if that is what I so choose.

I don't know what it's like to go through this with someone else. Oh I remember being pregnant and PRAYING that someone would come rub my back. Who got up when I had a midnight craving? I did. Who held my hair when I was puking? My ponytail holder. Don't be mistaken. I'm so thankful that I have Avery and I don't regret the way things happened one bit. But I wish I had someone to be excited with and pick out bedding and names with. Someone to feel Avery when I laid down in bed. That was always her extra wiggly time.

How nice would it be for someone else to have a turn when she gets up too early so I can have a sleep in day? Or change a diaper! Or cook a meal! But at the end of the day I love my life. I love that I'm a home owner. I love all the things I've learned to do myself. I don't need to rely on people nearly as much as I did before my life forked to the left. I love that I'm Avery's favorite person in the world. I love our perfect little family. We aren't wanting for anything. Would I like to meet someone to share our life with? Absolutely. I'd also love to have more children someday. I'd love to lay down next to someone after a long day and talk about things. I'd love someone to do the landscaping! But God is just going to have to put him on my front porch because I just don't know when I'm going to have the time to go find him.

But for now the laundry awaits...

I'm so over you

You hear that winter? I'm done. Three big snowstorms in a week and a half with MORE on the way? You have got to be kidding me. I detest winter as it is and we've had a record breaking February.

Lovely.

This absurdly snowy winter has renewed my desire to move south, or west, or anywhere that isn't north of the mason-dixon. I want to be WARM.

I read an article the other day about the happiest states in America. I totally get why Hawaii is the happiest state. What confused me is why Utah and Montana are tied for second. Also in looking at the map, why are the happiest states all north? To me north=snow/winter=NOT HAPPY! Perhaps I'm the only one that thinks winter is the devil.

The states with the lowest well-being? Kentucky and West Virginia. Would you like me to tell you how close I live to Kentucky? I can be there in less time than it took me to bake chicken last night.

I'm tired of shoveling the driveway, warming up the car, bundling up, thick winter coats, boots (well boots are cute but not HAVING to wear boots), the chill in the air, and all that white stuff. I miss walking outside in a tank top, I miss putting Avery in her carseat and not having her look like the abominable snowman. I miss walking outside barefoot and watching Avery giggle when the grass tickles her toes. I miss the park. I miss swimming with my little water baby and suntan lines.

I think I have the winter blues......

All things wrap

I by no means am an expert in the art of baby wearing. I like to think myself a bit of a novice. However, I have worn the babe since she was a warm ball of snuggly newborn. It has made my life infinitely easier. Back in those early days as a single mama and new home owner the wrap was the only way I could do ANYTHING. From unpacking a box, to folding laundry, to OH EM GEE GOING TO THE BATHROOM! To this day I haven't peed or showered alone unless she is asleep, but I digress.

My first wrap was a Moby I loved my moby. Its jersey cotton and warm and stretchy for those early days. I loved the newborn hug hold when she was tiny. This progressed to the hug hold then to the lotus hold. I also loved that I could use it as a blanket or nursing cover out in public.

Then summer hit....

HOLY MOTHER OF TINY BABY JESUS!!

It didn't matter how little either of us wore we were both sweating buckets in that thing. I was upset. Gone were the days of putting Avery in the wrap and going grocery shopping or to the mall or just getting things done around the house. I had to start using my stroller for things besides going for walks. I hated how big and cumbersome it was. I missed my wrap. (They gypsy wrap as my family likes to call it.) Avery was big enough to ride in carts when they were available but it never lasted for long. She wanted to be held...by me. I made due until I was on the moby website and saw this new hold and the clouds parted and angels were singing!

YES! Fist pump!

I started wearing Avery in this hold everywhere we went. I loved that it was super fast to put on and put Avery in and be on our way. It didn't take all the wrapping and layering that the original holds had. I could put it on while still sitting in the car, go around and grab Avery and be off. And the greatest thing?! I was holding her and still had both hands free!

But alas, baby buddah is too heavy for a jersey knit wrap. She would start on my hip and gravitate down and I would end up wearing her somewhere around my ankle by the time we were done. I had heard of better options in fabric but didn't want to drop a small fortune on a new wrap when I wasn't sure how it would work. I was planning a trip to Arizona to visit my bestie and got desperate. I DID NOT want to drag the stroller to Arizona. So I scoured the internet for wraps. Do some people really spend over ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS on a few yards of fabric? I refused. Not even because I only had one income, but because that's just stupid. I would make one myself if I had to.

Then I started looking for wraps on my favorite website EVA and behold the cotton gauze wrap . I talked to this lady about getting the wrap as soon as possible as I was leaving for Arizona in about a week. Not only did I receive it super fast, it was exactly as described. I loved, loved, LOVED it!

This is the old favorite side wear.


I love that I can spread the fabric out over my other shoulder to distribute the weight. I can wear her in that hold for hours. She usually wants down before I'm tired of wearing her.

I found instructions online for carrying her on my back by you tubing "rucksack carry" and found numerous videos. My first attempt was a success!


(I'm not sure why that dang mirror is always so foggy. It's leaving with the remodel.) We've had a few failures since then, but it works well. She does get a little heavy on the shoulders which I blame on both the 24.5lb child on my back and the two head sized melons on the front. Again, spreading out the fabric helps a lot. Most recently was this week with my mom. We spent a couple hours in the mall shopping and she was perched on my back the entire time. I even handed back her blanky and she even put her head down for a little while. I had a messenger bag type diaper bag slung across me and voila! Both hands free. That is until we had eleventy billlion bags to carry.

Be warned. Wearing this wrap in public gets mixed responses. Some people give weird looks. Others smile and keep walking. I've had a number come up and ask me about it. Including people at church. I'd like to think I'm spreading the gypsy. :) We've already discussed how I'm hip with the Africans.

My overall review: I'm not sure how I would live without it. But, that's coming from the ex-breastfeeding, cloth diapering, no paper towel using gypsy.

I've got the itch

for a new one.

No, no not a baby (let's not talk about that).

A tattoo.

::gasp:: I can hear the disapproval now. (Simmer down mom, I already know.)

I have 2, both of which are on my back and both of which have special meaning to me. Neither one of them are visible in a one piece bathing suit.

I'm tossing around ideas in my head. These are in the lead: (I'm only getting one.)

Option A: I would get in the same spot but smaller.


Option B: It says "It was then that I carried you". I would like it in the same spot as option A.


Option C: In place of "I love you" I would put "Avery" or just "A" in the same place.


Thoughts? I would love to hear your ideas. Do you have tattoos? How many? Do they have special meaning?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope that everyone had a great Valentine's Day! My little Valentine and I took my mom to the airport to go back to Florida bright and early this morning. My gift today? Avery went back to sleep for 2.5 hours when we got home. She didn't get up until 10! I took a shower and laid back down and must have fallen asleep myself. We were almost late for church.

We spent most of the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house because they hadn't seen Avery most of the week since she was visiting with Florida Grandma.

Photo shoot. Success?!

Today was the day ya'll.

I bought supplies yesterday for a Valentine's Day photo shoot. By the time we got home yesterday and the babe got a nap there wasn't enough light left for pictures. So this morning I fed and bathed her and set up my "backdrop". Who isn't in a good mood when they are clean, refreshed and have a full belly right?

It didn't last long but I think I got some pretty good shots before she was done. And by done I mean NO I WILL NOT SIT HERE ANYMORE!! But, I'll let you be the judge of that...



Then she was done:

Isn't it funny how we do some things from birth?

This was Aves at less than 1 day old.


Note the tongue part way out.


At 14 months she's still doing the exact same thing.

Wish list Wednesday

Sunshine! Oh how I long for the days of summer when Avery and I can go outside and feel the sun on our skin.

Snow day.

Mommy had to go out and shovel the driveway so I bundled up the Avester and took her out with me for a bit while my mom took pictures. Avery actually liked the snow. She didn't want to go inside when I handed her off.


I laid her down in the snow...she wasn't thrilled.


So she decided to tell me a story about the snow. (Disclaimer: you may go blind looking at my outfit.)


Then we tried to walk a little bit.


How cute is she?



She fell down.


I sent her inside shortly after this. She was not happy about it.

I thought I had a short driveway. Man does it seem long when you're shoveling 8 inches or more off of it. I was covered in sweat by the time I went inside. Of course we got about 3 or 4 more inches last night so it needs shoveled again. FML. So this is what all you ladies keep your men around for right? "Manly" things like shoveling the drive and opening the pickles. Geesh it's a good thing I'm strong enough to open the pickle jar and I can shovel my own driveway thankyouverymuch. I'll admit I don't know how to do some things so my dad is helping me redo the bathroom. I probably could do the flooring, sure, but I'd like it to look nice. I probably wouldn't even be able to lay it straight.

How cute is this bag?!

As I told ya'll before I had my eye on an adorable camera bag . I kept my eye on them for about a week and finally caved and bought one. She had this design that I hadn't seen previously and fell in love. So far it's working great.


I love that it doesn't look like a camera bag so people in public won't know that I'm carrying around very expensive equipment. It also has extra room that I could throw in my wallet and cell phone since I don't have a lot of gear yet and not have to carry another bag with me.

Bath time!

I love bath time with Avery. She is a little fishy and squeals with delight whenever I say "You wanna take a bath?" I love it when I strip her naked in the living room and she goes tearing into the bathroom ready to jump in. It makes me giggle to see her little nakey butt leaning over the bathtub trying to get in as I chase after her. I got a super cute shot of that too, but perhaps I'll leave my daughters tooshy off the interwebz, eh?

Dirty girl was in need of a bath! Poor snot nose.


She couldn't catch the water in her hand.


All clean!


Silly girl.

But I don't want to go to work tonight!

It's the biggest night of the year for football fans and MY TEAM IS PLAYING! But alas, duty calls.

Thank goodness the powers that be gave us a plasma tv in the break room for Christmas. I'll be sporting my jersey and cheering on my team while nursing the children.

GO COLTS!!!!

Welcome! New followers! New things I'm following.

HI! I have TWO NEW FOLLOWERS! Woot! Come in, have a seat. Don't worry you don't have to use a coaster and you can put your feet on the couch. (Much to my mothers dismay.) Do you like chocolate chip cookies? You do?!? We're going to get along just fine.

I added a bazillion more blogs to my list that I'm following. Some I've been reading for awhile but haven't added them. Some make me chuckle, some make me teary, some are just as batshitcrazy as I am and I feel like we would be IRL BFFs.

Cheese toasties and cute tights

We had cheese toasties last night for dinner. Mmmm. Avery loved them. She loves anything with cheese. She is truly related to her Aunt Tiffani and Aunt Lauren.


I tried getting a picture of her outfit this morning for church because I'm in love with her little tights. She was having none of that so this was all I got. Oh...and this...


<3