The world according to Bekah Boo

2009-07-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

June according to Gordon

2009-07-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

Gordon is guest posting today:

Starting off June, some of my relatives came into town for a visit; More than that -- my dad was preaching his final sermon. He is officially retiring from full-time ministry, and my grandmother and some cousins were able to make the long drive to see it. Things went well, and one of my cousin's daughters was even able to attend the first couple days of my church's vacation Bible school, which was pretty cool.

After they left, my daughter continued attending VBS for the next couple days, which brings me to the next event in June: One night, after picking up Bekah and heading home in the driving rain, I was coming over a hill to encounter a car at a dead stop in the middle of the road (not at an intersection). Well, our car hydroplaned, and being unable to stop I rear-ended her. The praise is that both Bekah and I were uninjured, and while the paramedics did come for the lady in the other car, I believe it was precautionary since she was complaining of back pain. She remains in our prayers, however, since I don't really know the extent of her injuries and haven't received the police report yet. Good news too was that while I was obviously cited, it was for "failure to leave assured minimum safe distance" rather than speeding, as I was going too fast for the conditions of the road, but not faster than the posted speed limit. Also good news that the car I was driving was my wife's Saturn, a car that we have had paid off for some time, and not the Subaru which we are nowhere close to having paid off.

In the aftermath of the wreck, we found out that my insurance totaled the Saturn, though to rub salt in the wound, if the figure had been $80 less, the car would have been salvageable. We looked into salvaging the Saturn on our own, but determined that the trouble of salvage title, fees, and no guarentee that the actual repair would equal the estimate was more trouble than it was worth. Since all this occurred literally two days before we were due to go out of town on vacation, we could have been in a real bind. Fortunately, my parents stepped up to the plate and offered us their Ford SUV to use for the next week and a half.Which brings us to the next section. We went out of town to Detroit, Michigan to attend a stopover of the re-inactment of the Big Race of 1909 from New York to Seattle, which my great-grandfather won for Henry Ford a hundred years ago, driving a model T car cross-continant over the course of a month. In the re-enactment, 55 model T Fords are slowly making their way to Seattle caravan-style (as of this morning, they are in Wyoming, judging by the website). We got to meet up with them, and they took us all around Detroit and Dearborn riding with them in a very memorable tour. We visited areas of the Ford factories that are completely off-limits to normal tourists, and it was very strange in that we were treated as minor celebreties during our time with them. Also, in a truely bizarre way, it turned out good that we were unable to take the Saturn up north, as during one of the days Jessi wound up driving the Expedition around, following the caravan to a series of points-of-intrest. How would that look for the family of the great-grandson of the man who won the race for Henry Ford to be driving a GM model car during the re-enactment? :) My parents and brothers were also with us on this trip, and we all had a trip of a lifetime. I will try to get some pictures at some point, though I don't think they really do the trip justice.

We headed home the following Sunday, which brings me to the next event. As we were driving back from Detroit, my daughter randomly started talking about God and heaven, and how various different people (some real, some fictional) are or are not going there. Well, in the middle of the discussion, completely unprompted by Jessi or I, Bekah decided that she definately wanted to go to heaven, and prayed the sinner's prayer right there on the spot. Jessi and I just looked at each other with a combination of joy, pride, and amazement, and decided a follow-up discussion with our children's pastor was in order once we got back. (An aside -- we did have that conversation with our pastor, and Bekah was able to re-iterate everything that she did, and why, to him so that he and we believe the conversion was 100% genuine! Praise the Lord!)

After we got back, Jessi and I celebrated our sixth anniversary, and we went out to a restaurant called "The Melting Pot". The place specializes in fondue, and it was a great dining experience, especially since I had never had fondue before. I will tell you though -- how little bits of meat and bread on sticks can fill you up so completely is beyond me. It also was a slow dining experience -- we started eating around 8:00, and didn't finish up until 10:30 or so. But I will tell you, the food was superb!

After a few uneventful days, last Thursday I was still driving the Ford SUV around, as we had not gotten a replacement car for Jessi, and I was going to meet her at the gym where Bekah has her tumbling class at lunchtime. I was going to go to Chick-Fil-A to grab lunch and then meet them there. Well, I was getting ready to turn into the parking lot of the restaurant when a semi truck decided to exit out the entrance. He turned left in front of me, and failed to leave adequate distance so that his trailer didn't sideswipe my dad's SUV. Protectively, I threw the car into reverse and after checking my mirrors and seeing no-one, idled backward to steer clear of the semi's trailer. Unfortunately, a little convertable was smack dab right behind me, and due to the blind spots of my dad's behemoth SUV, I didn't see him. Thunk! The SUV hit the convertable, causing a 4 to 6 inch dent in the front of his car. My dad's SUV didn't have so much as a paint smear on his car, as the area that came in contact with the other car was the trailer hitch. I figure if the hitch hadn't been there, the bumpers would have collided and there would have been zero damage to either car. Anyways, the semi didn't realize what he had done and had already headed off to goodness knows where, so the driver of the other car and I exchanged insurance information (my poor insurance account!) and went our separate ways. Last week was not really a good week for me.

We purchased a new car for Jessi with the insurance money from the Saturn wreck, which the Lord saw fit to be sufficient to cover the total cost of the new car. While a definate downgrade from the decked-out Saturn that my wife had, it meets our needs, and she is excited about it since this is the first car that she has shopped for and selected on her own that is not a hand-me-down. It is a Forrester, and it had every maintenance record conceivable stuffed into its glovebox. Also, the dealership that we bought it from was the very same one that had sold the car new back in 1998. May it last many, many long years, or at least long enough for us to pay off my Subaru. Jessi promptly named her car "Sally", which caused my mother-in-law to follow up by naming my Subaru "Harry", since previously it had been nameless as "Gordon's Car". Cute.

Finally, the last event before the month came to a close: This past Sunday, we discovered that Jessi is pregnant with our second child! We are extremely grateful for this new blessing, and would appreciate your prayers over the next months as we prepare to add this new member of our family into our household. Especially, pray for the period of time right after the birth as well, as this was an exceptionally difficult time for Jessi the first time around. We haven't seen the doctor yet for our first appointment, but we estimate Jessi's due date is March 1st. She's currently about five weeks along, now.

Whoa. I think that is it. Here's hoping for a quieter July, that's for sure!

The Office

2009-06-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

The office in our home has long been a dumping ground. It has especially been used during the last minute stash and dash before visitors arrive. It has been a goal of mine to get the office decluttered. Here's the result!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Computer Desk:

Before After

Storage:

Before After

Corner next to closet:

Before After

Ice Cream for Breakfast?

2009-05-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

Sure when it is Starbucks new Caramel Macchiato ice cream. I was sent an email with a $1 off coupon as a Reward Card holder. I figured it was worth a try. The cost at my Kroger was $3.59. Kroger plus card took 59 cents off. So in the end I paid $2 for a pint of ice cream. Even without the coupon it cost less than its drink counterpart. It has a great strong coffee taste that it not bitter. It has a thick ribbon of caramel that gives more caramel than the drink. The great thing is that it is so rich I couldn't eat it in one sitting. I sampled it Wednesday night when I bought it. Had some for breakfast yesterday, then some for dessert and finally I'm finishing it off right now.

Free Regal Movies - Schedule for my local theater

2009-05-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Get your local schedule: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/freefamilyfilm.aspx

10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday

06/09/2009-06/10/2009
March Of The Penguins (G)
Igor (PG)

06/16/2009-06/17/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG)

06/23/2009-06/24/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Inkheart (PG)

06/30/2009-07/01/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/07/2009-07/08/2009
Charlotte's Web (G)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

07/14/2009-07/15/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Firehouse Dog (PG)

07/21/2009-07/22/2009
Wallace And Gromit (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

07/28/2009-07/29/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

08/04/2009-08/05/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)

Starbucks new instant coffee

2009-03-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday in the mail I received my sample of Starbucks new instant coffee "Viva". I have yet to taste an instant coffee that I like. However I went into this with an open mind. They gave me two packets. Yesterday I made the first one. I followed the exact direction on the package. I took a sip and promptly spit it back into the cup. It tasted awful black. It tasted like - instant coffee. I was really hoping that Starbucks had indeed come up with a good instant coffee. Today I decided to try it out as iced coffee. I made it as directed on the package. I put 4 TBS of sugar-free vanilla syrup, 4 TBS of half and half, ice and then coffee into a glass and mixed it up. The result was perfect iced coffee.

Amish Friendship Bread - It's a Success!

2009-03-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

This time our bread made it the whole ten days. Gordon baked it Saturday. He add the optional pecans and it is so yummy. We only have two slices left. We gave two of the starters away and kept one for ourselves. I think that it will be nice to keep our bread going as long as we can.

Amish Friendship Bread - the orginal chain letter

2009-03-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

Amish Friendship Bread is truly the gift that keeps giving. You get it from a friend, baby it for 10 days, make bread for yourself and then give the starter to other friends (3 or 4 I can't remember). There is also a starter for you to keep. So hypothetically this process could go on forever. Nine days ago we were the recipients of a starter. It came from G's work. I don't have a great track record when it comes to cooking especially not something as needy as Friendship Bread. The last time I got it I gave it my best effort. It made it until day 9. That night, the day before getting to bake it, it fell of the counter. It was a horrible and messy death. It was so disappointed and on top of that I had to clean up the mess. So here we are on day 9. This time the starter bag in on the counter, but in a bowl. G has been in charge of it. I have heard rumors of an office pool as to whether the bread makes it. I'm thinking that there must be some truth to the office pool because one of G's coworkers call us at home one day to remind us that it was the day to add stuff to the starter. Hopefully tomorrow I will have pictures to post of our beautiful friendship bread.

Anyone else have Friendship Bread experiences? Push the comment bottom and share.

AI: Week 3

2009-03-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

This challenge is getting really boring. If Gordon and I didn't agree so much it would be more interesting. Neither of us got points last week. This week we both thought that Megan should go home, but she was the "vote for the worst" so we knew she wouldn't go home. So we both chose Micheal again this week. We were right. So the score stands at G-17 J-15. Hopefully it will get interesting in the coming weeks. I wish that Alexis not Micheal was on the top 10 tour.

AI: week 2

2009-03-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

It is no fun when G and I agree. G likes country week as much as Simon. However, at the end of the show we both agreed that we think that Michael S. will go home. If that is the case G will get 2 points and I'll only get 1. I have Kris Allen going home in my blind guess and there is no way that is going to happen.

Scottie Dog Message Board

2009-03-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

My craftiness up to this point has been cross-stitching. For awhile now it has been cross-stitching bibs for friends with babies. I like cross-stitch. There is a pattern to follow. There isn't much creativity that goes into the project. The most creative I've been with cross-stitch is when I made a Scottie Dog Bib for Bekah and the pattern I had only had the Scottie facing one direction. I wanted two Scottie dogs facing each other so I went through the effort of trying to figure out how to reverse the pattern. I like the result, but it almost wasn't worth the effort.

A while back I got a Mary Engelbreit craft book. I was look for cross-stitch patterns. There weren't any in this book, but it did have a kitchen message board would go great in my kitchen.

Here's my Scottie Dog border that is the inspiration for the project. I wish I had a picture of their message board so you can see the modifications that I made to the project.

Here's the finished work.

The message board itself is a 17x11 cork board that I had in college. I painted the edges red. I purchased the Mary Engelbriet Scottie fabric on EBay as a 'fat quarter'. It also can with two other Scottie fat quarters in red and green. For the record the ME Scottie dog's name is Henry.

The mail box was purchased at Lowe's. It was a standard black wall mounted mailbox. I primed the mailbox white. Then painted it the colors you see here. The most challenge part was painting the "Mail" letters. I'm sure I could have spent alot of time and taped around it, but part of the purpose of this project was to be okay with imperfection.

Last night G and I went to Lowe's to get the hardware to mount it on the kitchen wall. Both of us aren't handy so just going to Lowe's was an undertaking in itself. While we were there we got supplies for other fix up jobs around the house. Gordon used all the supplies we got around the house today. The only thing not used was the little gardening shovel - that's my project and it'll wait for another day.

It's getting warm enough to go to the park!

2009-03-11T22:46:00.001-07:00

Wegerzyn Metro Park

2009-03-11T22:35:00.001-07:00

Wegerzyn had a preschool event about gardening. It was the first Wednesday in March. We had been 'waitlisted' and didn't find out we had a spot until the day before. Since I knew the forecast I decided to take the open spot.

The class had the kids start off together in a group then break into three group to rotate 4 stations.

1. Matching seeds

2. Story

3. Planting

Each station was about 20 minutes long. It was a little much for a 3 year old. During the 2 station I decided to give Bekah the option to be finished. At that point she just wanted to run around and play.

P.S. For those of you who also have trouble pronouncing the name I have finally figured it out.

We (short e) -ger - zyn (zin)

The Office

2009-03-11T22:25:00.001-07:00

Lately at Gordon's office they have been trading DVDs. We got the Office Season 1 a couple weeks ago and got hooked. Since then we have watched all four seasons. Now we are in the middle of season 5, but are going to wait for the DVD so we can watch it together.

Bekah isn't allowed to watch it but she is aware of it. She's into saying "When I'm an adult..." so she says she's going to work at 'the office'. She also discovered that daddy works at 'the office'. So now she wants to visit him.

In the meantime, Gordon took the camera into work so she could see what 'the office' looks like.

Gordon's cubicle

Doug the keeper of the Survivor can

This is Gordon's old cubicle.

Take note of the ceiling.

It took awhile to get a new desk despite the leaking every time it rained.

American Idol - week 1

2009-03-11T19:33:00.002-07:00

The score after the top 36 is:
Gordon - 14
Jessi -13

Our Blind Guess for ranking: Picked before Tuesday's show.

Gordon Jessi
1. Lil Danny
2. Danny Lil
3. Adam Michael
4. Alexis Scott
5. Scott Alexis
6. Jasmine Allison
7. Allison Jasmine
8. Kris Anoop
9. Anoop Adam
10. Matt Jorge
11. Michael Kris
12. Megan Matt
13. Jorge Megan

Our picks for the two going home:
Gordon: Megan and Jorge
Jessi: Jorge and Megan

Score as of 3/11:
Gordon - 16 (1 pt for having Jorge #13 and 1pt for having Jorge in this week's prediction)
Jessi - 14 (1 pt for Jorge prediction)

American Idol - Top 36 - week 3

2009-03-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Thankfully AI was back on Tuesday night this week. However the Wildcard show will be on Thursday this week - at the same time as SURVIVOR! What?!?! I think Fox should move Hell's Kitchen to 8pm and air AI at 9pm. Believe it or not there are people that don't have TiVo or DVR. We will be watching AI at a friend's home and taping Survivor.

Last night was interesting. Simon is frustrated at the contestants song choices. He suggested a Simon picks show. I think that will be a great night. Simon know his stuff. I read his book - it is a great read.

My favorites from the evening were: Ju'not, Kristen, Felicia, Scott, Kendall and Lil Rounds. I was disappointed with Taylor who I have in my top 12. I like Kristen her personia was wierd.

So my picks for this week are:
Scott
Kendall
Lil Rounds

Gordon's:
Scott
Felicia
Lil Rounds

We don't pick who we think should go through. We pick who we think America will actually vote through to the top 12.
If I had to pick my 3 it would be: Ju'not, Felicia and Scott

I wanted to do a blind guess of who is coming back for the Wildcard show. We won't be doing that, but just for fun here are my picks for the Wildcard show - this does not include yesterday's contestants:
Stephen F
Anoop
Mishaconna
Titiania
Nick/Norman
Jasmine

AI week 2 results

2009-02-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

Last night Allison, Adam and Kris made it through to the top 12.

This brings the score to:
Gordon - 9
Jessi - 7

Kris wasn't on either of our radars. I didn't really think much about him until I heard Jon n Sherry on KLOVE talking about him being a worship leader. KLOVE has a huge listening audience. I do listen to KLOVE. I personally don't like it when other media gets involved in the voting process of AI. I think that it should be Americans watching the show and choosing independently who THEY want to go on - or go home. However this is not reality as 'vote of the worst' has played a part in AI in the past. This is the reason the Nick/Norman made both of our top 12. I was pleasantly surprised that Nick didn't make it this week - but there is always the Wild Card round.

AI: week #2

2009-02-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

Gordon's picks:
Adam Lambert
Allison Iraheta
Nick Mitchell

Jessi's picks:
Mishavonna
Adam Lambert
Allison Iraheta

Before you think that Gordon has lost his mind picking Nick/Norman - we pick based on who we think America is going to vote for and he thinks that America will keep Nick/Norman. He is in my final 12, but I think that he's going to get a Wild Card spot in week #4.

The score from last week:
Gordon - 5
Jessi - 4

Our Little "American Idol"

2009-02-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

AI: week 1

2009-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

Here are our predictions for who will be going on to the finals:

Jessi:
Anoop
Danny G.
Michael Sarver

Gordon:
Danny G.
Alexis Grace
Tatiana

Stay-tune to see who gets this week's points.

American Idol - fantasy idol - Scott version.

2009-02-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

Every year Gordon and I have our own "Fantasy Idol" game. We start out by blindly predicting who we think will be in the top 12. These are out picks we made before the first live show.

Jessi's list: no order
Danny Gokey
Nick Mitchell
Stephen F
Michael Sarver
Anoop
Scott MacIntyre
Aliison Iraheta
Jasmine
Mishavonna
Tatiana
Lil Rounds
Taylor

Gordon's list: no order
Danny Gokey
Nick Mitchell
Von Smith
Michael Sarver
Anoop
Scott MacIntyre
Aliison Iraheta
Alexis Grace
Kristen MacNamera
Tatiana
Lil Rounds
Adam Lambert

It's been a while since I've posted FREEBIES

2009-01-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my mom and the Bob Evans email for these freebies:

1. Panera Bread - free cup of coffee and breakfast samples - Jan 28th only.

From their website - "When you visit on January 28th for free coffee and delicious breakfast samples, we also invite you to donate $1 to support our Operation Dough-Nation® Community BreadboxTM program. Participating bakery-cafes will match the amount raised, up to $250 per bakery-cafe, with funds going to support local programs that address "

2. Bob Evans - free fruit and yogurt parfait - coupon good until Feb 28th.

BB at Grandma's

2009-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

http://gscottage.blogspot.com/2009/01/rainbows-in-winter-why-not.html

Cabin Fever

2009-01-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Bekah Boo - I want to watch train movie.

After figuring out that the train movie is Polar Express. I put in the train movie. Shortly after that.

BB - I want to call daddy.

We call daddy. She talks to him then tells him she'll be right back. After a while I goto find her she is watching the movie. DH had hung up by this time because he had a meeting.

BB comes back to find the phone hung up and wants to call him back.
BB wants to play on PBSkids.com. I told her that she needs to wait for daddy to come home.

I tell her she needs to find something to do by herself for 15 minutes. She ask for her LeapFrog letters - GREAT!

BB - I can't find the letter "E"

I goto the kitchen and right on the floor there are TWO letter "E"s.

Now we are back at the office computer because she wants Sesame Street coloring pages. I have dial-up so it will take a while.

While waiting BB say - I want hot tea.

Nope - not getting the hot tea.

This is going to be a long day. I really do have things to do, but I'm reading blogs right now. I'm not sure I could really get anything accomplished anyways with all these requested coming at me from a stir crazy toddler.

How are y'all coping with the winter weather?

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

We were able to sleep in again this year. I wasn't expecting her to sleep this year, but I know that next year we'd better be ready early!

Yesterday we had a Friends and Family Christmas Eve Dinner. The guests included us, my mom, my dad and two families from church. The day before I conquered HoneyBakedHam and got $10.69 off my ham. So that was our main dish. Everyone brought something yummy to eat.

My mom came over first and Bekah opened up her gifts from Grandma and we let her open Uncle Jeff's gift too since he was out of town.

Then when my dad came Bekah opened her gifts from Granddad and from his sister Aunt Linda.

The timing of all of it was great because then people started to arrive. One family arrived and we got all their food situated then we sat down and had my dad read "One Solitary Life" it is a tradition that his dad read it every year. Now my dad reads it every year. After that the other family came and we ate. Once we were full Settlers of Catan came out of the box and we played right until we had to leave for church. I WON!

We went to the contemporary children's service which used Christmas cartoons to look for the real meaning of Christmas. Bekah sat for awhile then ended up in the back with a bunch of toddlers running around.

We went home to prepare for Santa. We made him cookies, strawberry milk and set out carrots for the reindeer. Then Bekah wrote a note. She has been asking for a "Bekah sized chair". She saw this in Big Lots a few weeks ago and has been talking about it ever since. We were fortunately enough to be able to go back and get her one that looks like G's and reclines too. So she wrote to Santa about the chair.

We got Bekah to bed waited awhile and then got the goodies out. The chair has been hiding in our laundry room so it was easy to get it out and stick a bow on that. Then we stuffed the stockings. Not much to the overnight prep. G did prepare his family's traditional omelet sandwiches that set overnight in the fridge.

I was really concerned about BB getting up without us knowing about it. I put a jingle bell on her door so that I might have a chance at hearing her. G and I got up at 7:30. We got the omelet sandwiches in the oven and then decided that we had waited long enough - it was time for the princess to wake up! She was not ready to wake up. So we tried to get her excited before she came out. Her first stop was the coffee table where she had put the cookies and milk for Santa. Sure enough Santa had been there to nibble on the treats. He left her a note in return...which really confused her...but maybe she'll get that part next year. In G's family Santa always pointed back to Jesus as the reason for Christmas. We had to point her in the direction of the chair and then we got the response. She wanted it right by daddy's chair. Bekah has been a daddy's girl today and I think that is great.

After we finished all the gifts and ate breakfast...and watched Regis and Kelly...we went up to Nana and Papa's house. Apparently Bekah's been extra good this year so Santa brought her a purple tent and sleeping bag. It is very cute. It will be interesting to see if she will actually sleep in it on our camping trips. Between now and then it can be used inside or out in the backyard.

We open presents with G's family, ate lunch, took a nap then....played CATAN!

That's about as good as it gets. The last two days have been nice relaxing days. Over the next week we have several people coming from out of town. Amazingly everyone's schedules work together and everyone gets their own day. My niece gets three days plus Bekah sleeping over the last day she is here. That leaves one day for each of my brother coming into town and one day for our friends who live in the next big town over from us.

I'll leave you with this parting thought/picture "Life doesn't get much better than this!"

Christmas Shopping

2008-12-11T07:59:00.001-08:00

It has been fun shopping for Bekah. She hasn't hit the 'I want" stage. So getting out of her what she would like has been interesting. We were in BigLot looking forsomething when Bekah saw plush chairs that were her size. Gordon is in charge of getting the one big gift from santa and this chair was it. We had just enough money in BB's gift fund to get it. That day at church they allowed parents to drop of chidrens so they could get shopping done. The errand was so easy without Bekah. Gordon had extra time left so he finished the last of his shopping (shopping for me!). Now Bekah has picked out a gift for me and a gift for Gordon. It is fun watching try no to tell what she got for us. She has already told Gordon that she got him a video. Though I was smart and didn't tell her the title! He can probably guess, but I won't say on here just in case he reads this. BB told me she got me a Scotty Dog. It's not going to be a real one - I get that when I have an empty nest.

Don't Hate Me.

2008-11-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

I'm done with my Christmas shopping!!!!!!

Cost to Benefit ratio Analysis

2008-11-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

If you read my last post you saw all the freebies I racked up on today. Now I'm going to figure out if all the driving around was worth the freebies I received. Back in May I posted my opinion about Freebies not really being free.

If today were a normal Tuesday plus a simple trip to the polls I would have driven from home to the polling place to Bible Study to the Mall and back home.

Today my trip looks like this: Home - Polling place -Starbucks - Krispy Kreme - Bible Study - Mall - Home - Ben and Jerry's - Home.

I calculated that I added an extra 24 miles to get all my freebies. 24 miles is a little over a tank of gas in my car. The cost of gas today is $1.99

Freebies:

$2.75 Starbucks coffee + child hot cocoa

$ .89 Krispy Kreme Donut

$2.79 Chick-fil-a - sandwich

$1.49 Starbucks coffee

$5.38 Ben and Jerry's ice cream

--------------------------------------

$13.30 Total

Total - gas = net benefit

$13.30 - $2.25 = $11.05

Of all these I think that Krispy Kreme was probably the least cost efficient because I went out of my way to get a freebie that was worth less than $1. Ben and Jerry's was the best deal of the day. In the over all scheme of things I definitely came out on top today.

note: I didn't include Gordon in my analysis. He benefited from all but the Krispy Kreme, but twice he was driving a separate car so I didn't want to complicate this any further.

Election Day

2008-11-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

I got BekahBoo up before the crack of dawn so we all could vote as a family. I personally wanted to early vote, but I respect that my husband wanted to vote on the day of the Election. We didn't wake BB up and hoped she would stay asleep since it wasn't even 6am yet. While we were putting her in her car seat she woke up looked at us funny and said "I'm outside." She was quite the trooper. We were there about 30 minutes early and thankfully today's morning weather was only down to 40 degrees. The drama at our polling place started at 6:30 when the doors DID NOT OPEN. At 6:35 I was on the phone with the Board of Elections to report the problem. The lady tried to give me an excuse and I did kindly (seriously I was nice) tell her that I wasn't interested in an excuse we had the right to vote on time. The doors were opened 5 minutes later. Which is good because my next call was going to be to the local news. Once the doors were open we were in and out in approximately 30 minutes. After we voted the real fun began...FREEBIES!!!!!

We left the polling location and went straight to Starbucks for our FREE coffee. Gordon went on to work after that. BB and I then went to Krispy Kreme for my donut. I asked her if she wanted one too. She said "no". After that it was time for Bible Study at church. Then we were off to Chick-fil-a for our sandwich. We went to the mall Chick-fil-a. Once we were finished with lunch BB wanted to play. We'll next to the playground is Starbucks. So once again I showed my sticker and got another cup of coffee to sip while I watched BB play. After Gordon gets off work we'll head down to Ben and Jerry's for our ice cream.

Kid's voting is on-line this year so I asked at the polling place if she could have a voting sticker. They said she could. At Starbucks I told them that she got up early to go with us to vote and that she was doing on-line kids voting. I then asked if she could have a child sized hot cocoa. The cashier thought about it for a moment and answered 'sure, why not'. I did not try to get BB a free chick-fil-a sandwich because she needed a kids meal. I would have asked for her to have a free donut, but she didn't want one. I'm definitely asking for her to get a small scoop of ice cream tonight.

Stay tuned for my next post which will analyze the cost to benefit ratio of my adventure in Election Day freebies.

Voting = FREE STARBUCK!

2008-11-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful that I stayed up to watch John McCain and David Cook on Saturday Night Live yestersday. Starbuck made this announcement during a 60 sec commercial.

Check your local Starbuck for participation.

Voring = Free Chick-fil-a sandwich

2008-11-02T04:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to P.G. for telling me about this freebie.

"Present" your I VOTED sticker and get a free chick-fil-a sandwich. This promotion is in my area. I have heard of it in other areas. As always - check with your local store to see if they are participating.

Also in my local area: 20% discount for service women and men in uniform.

Voting = Free Krispy Kreme

2008-10-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Email from Krispy Kreme:

"On Election Day, Nov. 4, 2008, participating Krispy Kreme stores will be offering a free star-shaped doughnut, with white icing and red, white and blue sprinkles, to each customer wearing an "I Voted" sticker. While voters may not always agree on the best candidate to win, each voter can agree on one thing: Celebrating one of America's most coveted constitutional rights can be oh-so sweet. The star-shaped treats are made from Krispy Kreme's signature, yeast-raised dough, and will be available only on Nov. 4th. This promotion is good for one doughnut per customer. Select stores may offer yeast-raised doughnuts in the standard circle shape, but still decorated with white icing and red, white and blue sprinkles. Please call your local Krispy Kreme (http://krispykreme.qm4.net/a/1/10339605/451710/default.aspx) store now to find out if they are participating. "

Voting = Free Ice Cream

2008-10-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Birthday Special Activity #2

2008-08-31T01:31:00.001-07:00

Just in case you thought BB got ripped off enough on Friday the story continues on Saturday. Another one of her birthday freebies is for Cold Stone Creamery which I'll get to in a moment. Back story is necessary.

We have been working with Bekah on pooping in the potty. It has been very dramatic this summer. I'll spare you the details. Well the first time she pooped we came up with a reward chart. The first level is ice cream after 5 poops on the potty. I can already tell that you know where this is going.

So today marked #5 and how convenient that we have a FREE coupon for a Like It Signature Creation from Cold Stone. Well just like yesterday the ice cream is HUGE. It turns out we ran into a friend in line. Being the opportunist that I am I offered her the coupon in exchange for her buying BB an kids ice cream cone with one topping. I know that you can't sell a coupon, but is bartering 'illegal'? Everyone won in the end.

We were at an open mall with a Town Square fountains for kids to play in. We let BB splash around to her content. As an added bonus there was a concert with a local band - it was good and now I'm a fan.

Birthday Special Activity #1

2008-08-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone who know me know that I am a member of just about every birthday club in town. Of course this means that I also signed BB up for every kids birthday club in town.

Friday Gordon took a 1/2 day off work. We went to a local farm that makes and sells ice cream. The birthday ice cream is two scoops in a waffle cone and their 'scoops' are very generous. So the loving parents that we are decided that we would eat BB's huge ice cream and get her a kids cone with sprinkles. Hey she is too young to understand the injustice of the situation.

Then we went to Toys R Us to spend her $3 off a $3 purchase birthday gift from the store. I took BB there once and really prefer not to go with her when using the birthday gift card. Since Gordon was with me I threw caution to the wind and ask if we could stop by on the way home. The visit was actually very pleasant. BB had so much fun pushing all the buttons on the 'try me' toys. Not once did she ask for any of the toys. I ended up getting a supply I needed for her birthday party and she was satisfied to buy that with her gift card. Once again the poor kid was ripped off by her own parents.

Diving and Coaching

2008-08-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

We are waiting for the Women's team to take the mat in the all around competition. Bekah is in her leotard and hair up in a pony tail ready to go. Meanwhile she is practicing her platform diving.

And if that wasn't enough for this young Olympic hopeful she made some time to give daddy a few pointers on his tumble.

I've updated yesterday's post with pictures.

Floor exercise

2008-08-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

We are watching alot of Olympics at our house. BekahBoo has been enjoying the gymnastics. Like many little girls around the world she watches and tries to emulate them. For the floor exercise she watches and tries to copy their opening stance. Then dances around with them with her own moves. When the gymnast does a tumbling pass BB does one somersault. After exercise is complete she comes up to us and high-fives and hugs just like the girls and their coaches.

Update: pictures

Neighbors

2008-07-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today my mommy's helper came over. Today's task was to get the kitchen ready for guests coming to breakfast tomorrow. It is very sad that my biggest task was to get all the dishes out of the sink. So I had quite a bit of time to think while hand washing dishes (it is actually faster than a dishwasher). I started thinking about our neighbors. Our block is very quiet. Probably due to the high percentage of retirees. The neighbors we know the best are on either side of us. Bob on the right and Bob on the left. Bekah's papa's name is Bob too. Put that together with Bob the tomato and its hard to know who she is talking about. Anyways. Bob on the right we know the best. He and his wife Barbara have adopted Bekah has a great granddaughter. They have major family drama and their great granddaughter doesn't come over much anymore even though they live very close. Bekah is welcome over there anytime she wants to go. The fact that they always have chocolate kisses and Dora cookies only makes her want to go over more. Up til now I have always gone over with her, but it is getting to the point that she can go in alone. When Barbara is with Bekah its like I'm not there anyways and I keep thinking "I could get so much done right now". I do spend time with them. Usually on their front porch in the evenings. They have also introduced us to the other retirees on the block. Barbara knows EVERYONE. So I try to be careful about what I tell her. The other Bob, on the left is a little of a different situation. The owner of the house is Bob's dad who can't take care of himself. Bob lives there during the week and takes care of him. Bob's sister comes on the weekend to relieve Bob and he goes to the lake. There is a little girl (about 5 or 6) in the family that I see periodically on weekends. Though I haven't figured out if she is Bob's niece or granddaughter. As I was thinking that we hadn't seen her lately and that maybe Bekah would be old enough to play with her this summer. Just then the mommy's helper came inside the house and said that the girl next door wanted Bekah to come over and play.
So that began a full day of little girls going back and forth between houses. I am not used to this at all. The morning was easy. The mommy's helper followed Bekah wherever she went. At noon I told the girl that it was time for us to eat and then Bekah needed a nap because she was still little. An hour later she came back. I told her it was not time yet and to come back in 2 hours. Of course she did come back. Bekah happily got up from her nap and put on her shoes to go next door. Then I had a decision to make. Do I go with her? They were going to ride bikes on the back patio so I decided that I would go out in my backyard and read a book.
As they were taking Bekah's bike over the little girl's mom came out. She told the little girl "we're leaving soon" and so Bekah couldn't come over. Bekah was crushed. We went back inside and sat in dad's chair and she cried. I wanted to cry too. There was no one at fault in the situation but my daughter was broken hearted all the same. I decided to break the no TV rule for this one time and let her watch "Bob".
Thankfully the mom said that they would come back sometimes and I told her that her girl is welcome to come over and play.

Free Starbucks!

2008-07-03T03:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I entered "Dr. Pepper More to Explore" online. True to advistising there is no purchase necessary and they will give you a free code every day. On my first try I won a $10 gift card. I did think for a little while about using it on groceries. Then I thought "I won this. I get to use it on me." How is that for selfish. I take my $10 Kroger card and use it to buy a Starbucks gift card. Then I registered my Starbuck card online and will be receiving a coupon for a FREE starbucks drink. I'm not sure the value of the coupon. It could be a 'tall' (small) drink. I'm hoping it is good for any drink any size (dare to dream, I know). It better not be for just a cup of coffee.

I highly recommend reading Freebie for Moms blogs. It is a wealth of information on all things free. Now y'all know part of my secret to getting information.

Mommy Helper

2008-06-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

One of my AWANA clubbers really wants to babysit but she is just a little too young. So we talked about options with her mom and we have come up with her coming over Thursday mornings during the summer to entertain BekahBoo so I can get things done around the house. She just left and I got so much accomplished. I fully cleaned the guest bathroom and reorganized Bekah's room. If you know me well in order for me to REALLY clean up a room I have to take most of the stuff out of the room. So Bekah's room is reorganized, but her toys are in their boxes in the hallway and in the living room. It actually looks worse than it really is. All of her toys are categorized and put into boxes which fit nicely on her floor to ceiling book shelf. If a toy doesn't fit into a category then it goes into the pink bin in the living room.

One of the task involved with reorganizing her room was figuring out which toys she has out grown. We have put aside several to give to Baby E if his mom wants him to have them. I also had a toy organized that just wasn't working for me. It turned into more of a 'catch all' and I already have that...in the pink bin. Plus we have acquired a chalk easle that I didn't have a place to put. So I emptied out the toy organized and replaced it with the easle that has been sitting in the middle of the floor.

When the mommy helper's mom arrived I was ready to pay her and send her on her merry way. Before she would take the money she said, "I need to bring stuff in from outside". I told her if this worked for her she is welcome to come every week until school starts.

I am so mad right now!

2008-06-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

Bekah is SCREAMING in her room right now. Why you ask? I took all her Dora books away because she ripped one of the pages. Not just ripped it out of the book (whole). Nope ripped it in half. I'm in the office taking a break from the drama. I called Gordon and we have decided that all the paper book will be collected (including all the DORA books). I will take Bekah to the Library for her to show the librarian and she will turn in all her precious Dora books. We will go back to board books for the time being. We will pay for the book. I think losing Dora books is enough of a punishment plus we don't do allowance for her at this point. I could debit her first allowance in a couple of years, but that is cruel and unusual punishment.

Coffee's House

2008-06-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

I am a coffee snob. I drink it black and am constantly on the search for coffeehouses that can correctly brew coffee for people who do not use a ton of cream and suger. There are time I like going to Starbucks and getting fru fru coffee (Carmel Macchiato, Mint Chocolate Chip Frappicinos, etc). However I have learned the hard way that atleast at my local Starbucks black coffee is not something they are good at making.

There are two local coffeehouses that I regularly frequent and I had just found that Krispy Kreme's smooth blend is great.

Just about everyday Bekah and I go on a special activity or a field trip. I use these term when she wakes up so I can get her to do her morning routine without being distracted by the specific location or people we are going to see. Once we are eating breakfast and are getting ready to go then we start the game. "Where do you think we are going?" There is a usually list of her favorite friends as well as park, pool, and library. Yesterday she said "coffee's house". It was so cute and makes perfect sense. She is well aware of coffee and that she's not allowed to have it. I have also trained her from a young age to entertain herself while we go to a coffee house and I sip on my coffee. I bring a suitcase full of toys. Yes a suitcase...the same one she takes to grandma's house. I'm a firm believer that you can't take a child anywhere and expect them to deal with long waits (i.e. doctor's office) without coming prepared. Our favorite coffeehouse is very kid friendly and Bekah feels right at home. Which maybe why she calls it "coffee's house".

Live with Regis and Kelly

2008-06-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

The right after I booked the hotel and airline I requested tickets to "Live with Regis and Kelly". This was back in November. On-line it gave instructions for mailing in a postcard with available dates. We gave them Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The tickets would be randomly given out 1-3 weeks before the show. I did not get too excited about it though I really wanted to go. The Tuesday before we left the tickets arrived in the mail. Bekah recognized the "LIVE" logo on the envelope and said "Kelly". Our tickets were for Tuesday, our first full day in NYC.

We had our "ticket" really a letter with a confirmation number. You have to call in to make your 'ticket' valid. I did that right away so that I wouldn't forget. They it gives instruction about getting into the show. It is very clear that the getting into the show is not guaranteed (probably due to liability issues). You have to be there in time and seating not reserved. We got our tickets a week before we left. I went on-line to check who was going to be on the show. At that point it was only announcing Kim Catrell from "...and the city". I went online later and saw that DAVID COOK was going to be on the show. I didn't tell DH because I wanted to surprise him. Because David Cook (who is the winner of American Idol) was going to be on the show the waiting line was crazy. There are basically three ways to get in 1. VIP 2. confirmed ticket holders and 3. waiting to see if tickets are available. VIPs get right into the building and do whatever VIPs get to do before the show. They rest of the people (2 & 3) have to wait outside. That morning it was raining. We walked from the hotel to the studio. It had been our original plan to take a cab, but while we were wandering the day before we realized that we walked close to the studio. It was worth it to get up early and save money walking. Once saw the studio and the line(s) outside we made a quick stop into Starbucks to get a Carmel Macchiato to go. Caffeine and warmth are good things for early rainy days. We were told there was an 'inside' (have tickets) and 'outside'(waiting) line. My logic tell me that 'inside' means in the building. This is not the case. The 'inside' line was right up against the building. Since it was David Cook crazy and the the outside line was long and thick. We were very confused about this "inside" line. We actually stood in the outside line until we figured it out. Once the line was allowed inside we went through security checks and getting the official card that allows admission to the taping. From then on it was smooth sailing for us. We were seated about 20 minutes before the show. We got brief coaching from Michael Gelman (producer) on clapping and cheering. Did you know that clapping faster is louder than clapping harder? Good to know for future reference. For me it was an experience to be on the set of a show that I watch on a regular basis. Bekah KNOWS Kelly. She gets upset on days when there is a sub. co-host in her place. "Kelly? Where is Kelly?" In some ways the studio seemed smaller than I thought it would be. I liked seeing all the last minute stuff that happens right before Regis and Kelly come out onto the stage. My favorite part of the show is the host chat which is generally 15 minutes at the beginning. During the taping watching it is so different. On the TV the camera has a tight shot on them. At the studio you have them on stage, cameras and monitors all to look at. Gelman is also sitting on the sidelines with a marker and cardboard waiting to write a message to them if necessary. When the audience laughs or claps you can't hear them. They are mic-ed mainly for the TV not for the audience. It was interesting to see how the trivia game worked live. Right now they are doing "Spring Trivia a Gro-Go". For the winter it was "Yhetti Trivia a Sno-Go" and they had a person in a Yhetti costume. For the spring they started out with a Flower costume. It did not have the same effect as the Yhetti. So one Monday early in the spring the flower did show up during the Trivia segment. Bekah was very concerned about this "Where's the flower?" Regis must have been too because he asked Gelman about it. Gelman's answered "its at the cleaners". And it has been at the cleaners ever since! After the trivia phone contestant finishes their turn (this time they won the trip) they pick a number between 1 and 150 to choose an audience member to win a prize. We had a 1 in 75 chance so I wasn't very hopeful about getting it. During the commercial breaks Regis and Kelly came up into the audience to talk to people. I wasn't expecting that and it was very nice to see them interacting with their adoring fans.I only have one disappointment about my Regis and Kelly experience and it can be summed up in two words THE MUG. When the tickets arrive in the mail an merchandise order form is included. It says "Our lobby Kiosk has many items for you to purchase as a souvenir of your visit. In case you want to order some of our merchandise after your trip home...Please see the order form on back." I left for NYC knowing 100% that my souvenir for the trip was going to be the official mug, the one that matches the one Kelly drinks out of every morning. I was going to 'have coffee' with Kelly. While we were in the lobby something that looked Kiosk-ish was there. It had the LIVE logo and we took our picture with the sign. However there was no opportunity to buy merchandise before the show. I thought that after the show we'd be given the opportunity. After the show we were quickly lead out the a cargo bay and had to push through the MOB waiting for David Cook. I'm thinking that since David Cook was there it was not an ordinary day. We'll I still have my order form and can get my mug. The $9.85 shipping and handling is hard for me to take since I was THERE. I ended up getting another mug in the city. I'm holding off on getting the show mug for now. I might ask DH's to get it for me for Christmas.

Our 5th Anniversary Trip to NYC

2008-06-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

We left on Memorial Day and flew to NYC. We arrived around noon and were able to check in early to Hotel Edison.

My theory in planning our trip to arrive on Memorial Day was that tourist would visit the city for the long weekend and go home on Monday. I also figured that many residents would be coming back into the city that day as well. My theory was right on the first part. However it seemed like more of the residents came back on Tuesday. We didn't see packed streets in Time Square until Wednesday night. So if you are planning a trip to NYC go on Memorial Day. The weather was great and the temperature was perfect.

The first afternoon we then hit the streets just to wander around. The only plans we had for the day was to take a night tour on the Grayline. It was fun to wander around the streets with nothing planned. We ate lunch at BAGEL STIX a local deli. We ended up walking from our hotel near Time Square all the way to Central Park. Gordon wanted to see David Letterman's Ed Sullivan studio. I wanted to go to the "Hello Deli" next door. Both were closed. Not being able to eat at the Hello Deli was the only disspointment to me during the whole trip. Around 6pm we went to the Grayline office and turned in our online voucher for our 48-hour All-Loops tour pass. We went on the night tour. The tour guide's tagline was "That's unbelievable!" We ate dinner at JOHN's PIZZERIA just a couple of blocks from our hotel. Gordon said that it was the best restuarant of all the ones we ate at during our trip.

Tuesday morning we got up early to see the taping of "Live with Regis and Kelly"(see post). After the taping we walked back to the hotel to take a little break before we hit the streets again. We got on the tour bus for the Downtown loop. Our first stop was the Empire State Building. We went up to the 86 floor observatory. Unfortunately it was a low visability day so we couldn't see everything.

Our next stop was Chinatown and Little Italy. It was our only opportunity to visit both so we decided to get one entree at each and share. We started off at a restuarant in Chinatown and had sweet and sour chicken and ate with chopstick...sort of. Then we off to Little Italy to find some real Italian food and Tiramasu. One thing I wanted was to eat at an outdoor cafe. We found POMODORO PIZZERIA and were seated outside and ordered homemade lasanga. It was so good! We asked about Tiramasu for dessert, but they didn't have any! So they pointed us in the direction of FERRARA which we then remembered the "That's unbelievable" tour guide mentioned the night before. We went there and it was an classy dessert place. There were so many option including Gelato and cheesecake. I was so glad that we came in knowing what we wanted. After a filling lunch our last stop was the World Trade Center site.

We got a little confused on where to go and ended up on the opposite side from the memorial. However we got a great view of the building site. Our sore feet helped us decide that we didn't need to go all the way around to the memorial so we hopped back on the bus to finish the tour.

Tuesday night we went to see Curtains (post coming soon ).

After the show we went to VIVA PANCHO a mexican resturant in the theater district. There weren't that many people in the restuarant. The fajitas, my favorite, were great however the service was lacking. It probably had s0me to do with the language barrier, however they just weren't attentive. We had to ask twice to get a water refill. If I go there I again I would take the food to go and eat it in my hotel room.

Wednesday was another early morning. We pre-purchased our tickets for the Statue of Liberty. Our orginal plan was to buy reserved tickets with a monument pass. I waited until a couple days before so I could see what the weather forcast looked like. By this time all that was available at all for our trip was 8 AM! There is first come first serve passes to the monument, but we didn't want to take that chance so we bought the 8am tickets. Orginally we were going to take a taxi, but we saw that it was a straight shot on the subway from Time Square to Battery Park. We left early to make sure we got there on time. The only slight issue was figuring out which subway entrance to take. We went in the wrong side at first, but were directed to the right entrance. We were right on time for our ferry. Fortunately we where ahead of a large school group. I enjoyed the ferry ride. It was cold and windy, but bearable. It was cool to see the Statue of Liberty getting bigger and bigger as we approached. I'm glad in the end that we were on the first ferry to the Statue. The security at the monument was tighter than the airport. All bags had to be stowed in lockers. The lockers were high-tech. It used your finger prints to lock and unlock them. After that all personal effects were scanned like in the airport. We got to keep on our shoes, but everything else was the same. Then we went through a bio-scanner that was like a virtual pat down. It puffed air around you and the security people looked at a monitor. I don't complete grasp how it works or what it is looking for. Whatever it was looking for I thankfully did not have on me. The benefit of the security line and being close to the front is getting to the monument before it got crowded. We leisurely read all the placs and historical information about the Statue. There were full sized replicas of the torch, her face and feet inside. It is sad that you can no longer go up to the top. Gordon did get a great picture looking straight up from the observation level.

I didn't realize that I was out of shape until I had to climb 150+ stairs to get to observation level. I was quite happy that I didn't have the opporunity to climb all the way to the top of the Statue. I don't think I would have made it. By this time we were exhausted and happy to catch the next ferry. The one that was leaving just as we arrived was PACKED. I was so glad we didn't get on that one. I like personal space. The next ferry wasn't as packed and we stayed inside and sat down. The ferry also went to Ellis Island, but we stayed on and went back to Battery Park and eventually back to Time Square.

Wednesday afternoon we wandered around the city again. We wanted to walk further east than we had the previous two days. Our ultimate goal was to make it to F.A.O. Schwarz. On the way we saw Rockafeller Plaza, Radio Music City Hall, and the expensive clothing district. F.A.O. Schwarz was fun to browse however the prices where astronomical. We thought before coming that we would get a gift for Bekah there. Nope not worth the price for a gift to a 2 year old. So we left empty handed. Walked to Central Park. Got lost in Central Park looking for the Carousel. Found and rode the Carousel. Our feet ached and we desperately wanted to get back to the hotel. The only regret I have is not taking a horse-drawn carriage ride around the park. We were too tired. We ate lunch at BUBBA GUMP in the heart of Time Square. We went to the 3 story Toys R Us in Times Square. It has a ferris wheel INSIDE. Since F.A.O Shwartz didn't work for buying Bekah a gift and we didn't find anything we liked in the souvenir shops we looked around Toys R Us. We decided to get her a Dora umbrella. We did get her a New York shirt at a gift shop as well.

Wednesday night we went to see Wicked (post coming soon).

After Wicked we went to the last restuarant on my 'must' eat here list - STAGE DELI. I heard that if you eat there for lunch that you won't have to eat dinner. We weren't able to get there for lunch so we were there at 11pm eating a late dinner. We split one double decker club sandwich. There isn't a smaller option and I had to unload some of the toppings on my half because it wouldn't fit in my mouth. We then shared an Oreo cheesecake. It was good and huge. We couldn't finish it. I took it back to the hotel just incase I had room for it after walking back. Nope. So unfortunately the last bit went to waste.

Thursday was our last day in the city. Our flight was at 4pm out of LaG so the day was mainly getting ready to leave. In the morning I needed a little 'me' time so I went to the business center and checked my email, blogs and facebook. I stopped at the cafe got coffee (my first non-Starbucks coffee purchase of the trip) and returned to the hotel room to watch none other than Live with Regis and Kelly. The day before's show had David Arueletta (American Idol) and Kristen Davis (...and the City). They are my favorites on their respective shows. Now don't gasp that I am familiar with ...and the City. It is not something that I watch frequently but who doesn't want to live in NYC with 3 girlfriend to get together with all the time. Honestly I change channels during the 'bad' parts. I won't see the movie until it comes out on video and I have the remote control in my hands. Kristen's character Charlotte is the naive one and I can relate to her. Anyways now that we're all over the shock we must move on. That day on LIVE was Sarah Jessica Parker and Syesha Mercado. I mainly tuned in to listen to the host chat and hear Syesha sing. I have said for sometime that Syesha's going to be on Broadway. I look forward to hearing which show casts her first.

After LIVE we finished packing up. Check out wasn't until noon so we keep the bags in the hotel room while we did a little more souvenir shopping. I didn't have one yet because of the whole MUG fiasco. We stopped at the transportation desk to check out transportation options for getting to the airport and got a great rate for sharing a shuttle. It left the hotel at 1pm which would get us there in plenty of time. I had no luck finding a souvenir that morning. We went back to our room to get our stuff and checked out. We had a little time and I had one NYC food to cross off my list. A New York hot dog. If you know me I'm not a huge fan of hot dogs. I don't hate them I just don't prefer them if given a choice. But I felt like I needed to have the NY hot dog experience straight from a street vending cart. We found one quickly and when he asked what I wanted on it I told him I wanted an official New York hot dog. He put on katchup, mustard, sourkraut and onions. Gordon skipped the sourkraut. The hot dog was great and overwhelming at the same time. I don't think I have eaten anything that was that diverse in one item. I had gotten a Snapple, but kept drinking Gordon's Coke to give my tastebuds a break between bites.

It wasn't long until we were in the shuttle on the way to the airport. We had plenty of time to get through security. Which isn't hard when you have only two backpack sized bags total. We did have the umbrella and a large book we were hand carrying, but that wasn't a problem. We ate at the Chinese food at the airport and had a HUGE (virgin) Pina Colada drink. It was the one drink that we hadn't gotten around to finding. I blame Skyborne Skateland for my addiction to Pina Colada smoothies. Then we window shopped while waiting. I really didn't expect to find anything, but then there it was a MUG to replace my aspirations for a Kelly mug. It is a great mug and we have been inseperatible ever since.

The flight was problem free and we even got back home a little early. My parent brought Bekah to our home. We were able to give Bekah her gifts and a little while later she was in bed. I loved our trip but desperately needed some time to myself. So the next day Gordon took care of Bekah and I was able to go get some coffee and buy gifts for upcoming events.

Summer Reading Club

2008-05-29T17:56:00.001-07:00

The summer is finally here and it has come in with a blast of hot air. Literally over night it is SO hot. Our main activites this summer will be pool, parks and the library.

I am so excited about the library reading club. There is one for children and adults. When I was in elementary school I read alot during the summer and won prizes at the library. At that time they gave prizes based on number of books. I remember at one point having to give the librarian a summary of the book for it to count. Now the reading club is done in incriments of 15 minutes. I like this better because it levels the playing field. Fast readers and those reading shorter books had the upper hand before. 15 minutes is about the longest BB will sit. She gets to count the 30 minutes for story time on Wednesdays as well. I like that they have an adult reading club. I'm in it to get the library bag after reading 10 books. What bothers me is what they allow to be counted as 'books'.
1. Reading a book - of course
2. Book on tape - iffy to me, but I'll buy it
3. watching a video - ANY video - are you kidding me? What does this have to do with reading? If it were a documentary where information was learned I could understand that. But are you telling me that I could hypothetically go see "...and The City" and count it as a book. I just can't do it personally (Both see that movie and count it as a book).

Also this summer we have decided to turn the TV off. Specically from June 1st until Aug 8th when the olypmics start. I am really liking not having the TV on. I'll miss watching "Kelly" all summer, but I will survive. I don't have the mug anyways.

WFMW - planning/keeping track of activites on vacation

2008-05-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from my friend Paula (I'm posting this with her permission). She used it on her Disney trip and I just used it on my trip to New York City. I bought a pack of 3x5 cards. First, I made up a card for each place that we had time specific reservations. Then, I made up cards for each place we wanted to visit. Finally, I made up cards for the restuarants we would like to get to while we were there.

_______________________________________________

Name of place or event Time/Date (if reserved)

Street Address of place

Phone number

Directions from our hotel to location

(in our situation walking directions)

______________________________________________

I kept all these cards in the front outside pocket of my purse so I could access them easily. We had cards for 3 shows, 3 resturants and 5 places that were on our MUST SEE list. We made it to all of them and had plenty of time to just wander around the city the rest of the time. We had a great time on our NYC trip. If you have time please read about it here and let me know what you think.

Since coming home I have decided to put this card system to use in another way for the summer.

There are so many activites to do it is hard to keep up with all the opportunities. I have a folder on my desktop filled with files of activites for different venues. So I have a plan. First I have created a card for each week of the summer. This week is labeled "Week of June 8th". It has where our playgroup will be meeting, what movie is playing at Regal, etc. I put down all opportunities. Yesterday we had 3 opportunites and then choose the one we wanted to do that day. I also have created a pile of cards for things that we can do anyday of the week. This is mainly for our family after my husband gets off work. It is so hard after dinner to think of something to do. Since we have turned off the TV we've got to do something other than stare at each other. On our cards are pool, park, walk, read, musuem and bike. We'll add to the list as we go.

For other great ideas visit Rocks In My Dryer.

Theater in Broadway

2008-05-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

Gordon will be giving his critique on the musicals we saw:

1. Wicked

2. Curtains

Free Movies at Regal

2008-05-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Note: This was originally posted two weeks ago on my blog, but not linked to WFMW. I'm linking it today since it matches today's theme.

This is my local Regal's schedule. Charlotte's Web and Veggie Tales are definitely ones that we want to see again. Click here to look up your local Regal's availability and schedule.

06/10/2008-06/11/2008
Doogal (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

06/17/2008-06/18/2008
Arctic Tale (G)
Racing Stripes (PG)

06/24/2008-06/25/2008
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Happy Feet (PG)

07/01/2008-07/02/2008
March Of The Penguins (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

07/08/2008-07/09/2008
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

07/15/2008-07/16/2008
Charlotte's Web (G)
Night At The Museum (PG)

07/22/2008-07/23/2008
Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

07/29/2008-07/30/2008
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
Firehouse Dog (PG)

08/05/2008-08/06/2008
Wallace And Gromit (G)
Open Season (PG)

Click here to check out other summer activities suggestions.

The end of Constipation!

2008-05-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

I think only a mom who has dealt with a kid with serious constipation would understand my excitement right now. BB is in the middle of potty training. She has the peeing down. But REFUSES to go poop. Her refusing to go poop caused her not to be able to go at all. I was really getting worried because she kept telling me that her tummy hurt. I'm sure it did. I really didn't want to go to the doctor if I didn't have to so I made phone calls and consulted WebMD. First thing I learned is that milk/dairy can cause constipation. Hmmm BB's favorite foods: milk, cheese and yogurt! So we cut out the dairy all together (temporarily). Then I bought her prune juice. Surprisingly she likes it. I have been making it into smoothies (add ice and blend) to change things up. I also had her drink alot of water. It has taken a week and two painful BMs, but today were back to normal.

For more tips click on the "Works for Me Wednesday" Banner and see what's up at Rocks in My Dryer.

FREE*

2008-05-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

I love getting things FREE. I don't like things that say FREE with a "*" after it. That means it is not usually free. Yesterday was free* chicken sandwich at McDonald's. They are trying to be Chick-fil-a. I can't tell you the last time I went to McDonalds. It has been awhile. I went to let Bekah play so I could read a book. I went in knowing that the "*" was "with purchase of a medium or large drink". Which for me included an additional purchase of a Happy Meal.

My birthday is coming up and I am enrolled in every birthday club known to man - that is close to my house. I think that all birthday club offers should be free items without strings attached. Many of them do and I have no problem going in getting my free item and leaving. I get annoyed when places like Friendly's offers me FREE* ice cream "with additional purchase". That isn't free.

Ironically, I also believe that nothing in life is free. Everything costs someone something. FREE offers and samples cost the company money in exchange for the possiblity that I will like their product and become a regular customer. In the case of McDonald's this did not work. Sorry I'm not giving up my Chick-fil-A.

"Let's Go On A Mommy Date"

2008-05-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors. When I found out she was writing a children's book called Let's Go On A Mommy Date I was so excited and couldn't wait for it to come out. I rarely buy books so I put in my request early at the library and was only 8th in line to get it. I have read it to BB several times and I just love it. It is all about spending time with your kids now while you still can. I like it so much it is only a matter of time before I go out and buy it. I want to buy it for all my mommy friends. It is that good.

SAMPLES!

2008-05-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

I am all about getting things FREE. This month is my birthday and already my free birthday offers are coming in. Another thing I like doing is requesting FREE samples online. Request take 4-6 weeks on average so by the time I get them I complete forget about them and it is a surprise. Yesterday my mailbox was overstuffed with THREE samples. I brought the mail in and said "I love samples!" Yesterday's sample include Starbucks coffee, Goodnight training pants and a Potty Training DVD from Pull-ups. I put them aside for the time being. Later when I was cleaning off the table BB saw the pile and said "I love samples. I want one" I gave her the DVD on potty training! I wonder what will arrive in my mailbox today.

UPDATE - I just go back from my mailbox. Today's sample is Seattle's Best Coffee - Vanilla Bean!

Getting a Babysitters on Facebook

2008-05-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last October quite a few of my friends in our Young Married class got on Facebook. We are mostly 20s and early 30 something married couples. In the beginning, I had my friends from class and then started finding friends from high school and college. Recently I have started getting friend invitations from high schoolers who I know through the children's ministry at church. When that started happening I started searching for all of BB's babysitters. All but one are on Facebook. Now when I need a babysitter all I have to do is send out ONE message to all of them and the first to respond gets the job. This saves me so many phone calls. That's what works for me. Stop over at Rocks in My Dryer for other tips.

If you clicked on this from Rocks in My Dryer please leave me a comment. I like to know that people are reading my blog.

Going to Grandma's

2008-04-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

BekahBoo stayed over and Grandma and Granddad's Saturday night. I am thankful that she made it the whole night. Last time she spent the night at Nana and Papa's she got sick and DH had to go pick her up in the middle of the night.

BB's Uncle came in for a surprise visit Sunday morning which was a nice treat. We ended up having lunch at my parent's with him.

I'm mainly writing today because I can't get over one thing that BB said. She wanted to pick up a pinecone from a basket. I had no idea if this was okay so I told her to ask Grandma. She thought about it for awhile and then said "I want mommy to ask Grandma for me." That is an 8 word sentence. A grammatically correct sentence. Not bad for a 2.5 year old.

Special Activities

2008-04-17T19:45:00.001-07:00

I am learning the art of not telling BekahBoo where we are going. Sometimes I get really excited about where we are headed and make the mistake of telling her in advance. This causes problems especially if a nap or eating needs to take place before the activity. Today we were invited to join a preschool field trip to a local farm with some of BB's favorite people. All I told her when she got up is that we had a 'special activity' today and she needed to get dressed and eat breakfast before we went. I waited until she was buckled up and I was pulling out of the drive way to tell her where we were going and with whom. When I told her we were going to a farm she said "E-I-E-I-O". The farm had all the animals that the kids wanted to see. The pigs were the big hit of the day. The other mom and I like the pigs too until we noticed that the pig sty was co-habitated by MICE. That was the end of the trip to the barn. They were cute mice, but still mice.

Evites

2008-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

I was having a hard time thinking of a WFMW post until I read Not Trying for a Boy's post today.

What works for me when inviting people to an event is evite. I started using it for big events like baby showers. Now I use them for just about any get together. Saturday night Settlers of Catan game night...evite.

The evite is sent to everyone's email. They click on a link and RSVP. It is easy because you are already on the internet anyways. Everyone can see who is invited, who has RSVP and comments (i.e. I'm bringing chips). You can also see who has looked at it and NOT RSVPed! As the host I can email everyone, email those who have responded and email those who haven't responded. Since I can see who has and hasn't looked at their invitation I only call those who haven't looked at the invitation. I can also email people incessantly who have looked at the email and have NOT RSVPed.

That's what works for me. Check out other WFMW posts.

Getting ready for trips to the park/pool

2008-04-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an amazing sunny day with the high of 70 degrees. I made a few calls and 4 of my mommy friends met BB and I at the park for lunch. I came prepared with a lunch (forgot the drink). However only one mom had a 'park bag' with her...she admitted that was still in her car from last summer. This year I will be without a diaper bag so the park and pool bags will be very important. I have two separate bags one for the park and one for the pool. It is worth it to buy items like sunscreen twice so that it where you need it.

Here is my list in progress:

Park Bag
- sunscreen
- hat
- sunglasses
- back up outfit
- wax paper (this is for the slide that is built on the slide of a hill.)
- Wet ones
- snacks that don't get stale

Pool Bag
- sunscreen
- hat
- sunglasses
- swimsuit
- towels
- money for the snack shoppe
- wet ones
- baby powder (to get the sand off)

What do you keep in your summer bags? Also if you have found a kid friendly sunscreen you love please let me know. I tried the continous spray one last summer and it kept getting in my mouth.

Sick...really sick

2008-02-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

The past week I have been sick with the flu. "Don't touch me I ache" flu. The "yucky cough" flu according to BB. It has been really hard for BB to have to not touch me. It has been hard for me to take care of an active toddler. Thankfully I have a great family who is there to help out. One day my mom came and took her for the morning to give me a break. A couple of times DH came home at lunch to feed her and put her down for a nap. BB was very sweet (for the most part) while I was sick. A couple of times she brought me HER blankies. She has two - full blankie that stays at home and travel blankie that goes everywhere. She first gave me travel blankie and told me to put in on my neck. Then she gave me full blankie and told me to put it on my stomach. Then she even dragged my person blankie...I mean blanket...to put on my lap. Then she climbed up into my lap. I decided then was not the time to tell her I really hurt.

Thankfully all BB has gotten so far is a cough. Which EVERYONE has these days. She is loving the popsicles that she gets all the time. The popsicles really have nothing to do with us being sick. It is just that DH took her grocery shopping with him. While they were getting frozen juice she conned him into getting her popsicles. Considering that is also near the ice cream I'm happy it was just popsicles. Not that ice cream wouldn't be great...it just doesn't fit into our plan of eating better.

Where has the time gone?

2008-02-16T01:37:00.000-08:00

Has it really been two months since I blogged? I used to get on Taragon for being so behind and now I'm the one behind. I totally missed any Christmas blogging. Oh well - I'll just start from where we are today.

No throwing

2007-12-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

BB has been experience 2yo frustrations. At times these frustration cause her to throw the item that isn't working the way she wants it to or that mommy or daddy don't want her to have. The result is she has to put up the item tell it she is sorry, then she has added kissing the item to make it feel better. After that it is up to my discretion whether the toy goes into Time Out. This can depend on the breakablity of the toy or the probability that she will get frustrated with it again and repeat the throwing.

While I am cleaning the living room which is actually clean, but clutter with STUFF I use each chair and section of the house to help me organize the stuff. chair #1 = clothes; chair #2 = toys from BB's room chair #3 = hair 'pretties', etc. I start in the middle of the room and TOSS items in their piles. I must mostly do this at naptime because a couple of days ago BB was horrified that when she saw me TOSS her cell phone onto the toy pile. She very seriously look at me and said "Mommy, no throwing". Ouch. Guilty as charged. I walked over to the cell phone, picked it up, told it I was sorry for throwing it and kissed it."

I'm definitely going to wait to do my clean up of the living room during nap time. Then she can help me put it away.

Say WHAT?!?

2007-12-23T03:58:00.000-08:00

I have mommy friend I'll call her Taragon. She and I talk just about every morning. She loves me enough to hang up at 9am and not be hurt because I have to watch the first 15 minutes of Regis and Kelly. She knows I'll call her back. Lately we have seen very little of each other. A while back we thought that we had a great scheme figured out. I would bring BB over during naptime and put her in her pack and play. While we watched a movie together. This was a dismal failure. BB and 'Isaac' talked to each from their separate rooms the whole time. We did watch our movie, but we had two grumpy kids afterward.

Lately with Christmas in full swing I see very little of Taragon. They other day I thought to myself "Man I just wish that BB and Isaac would sleep together at nap time"....WOAH...I'm still talking to myself at this point "That just isn't right". I did call Taragon and tell her about our children sleeping together. So not ready to even think about that right now. She had a good laugh about it.

WFMW - Christmas Edition

2007-12-19T11:48:00.001-08:00

For several year's I have been using FlyLady. One of my favorite things is her Holiday Control Journal. This free downloadable document helps keep all holiday planning in one place. It has a place for you to write down what you have bought for each person. I keep the list from each year so that I can reference it. There is nothing worse than getting a person the same gift again.

Go on FlyLady's website and see if her housekeeping and holiday planner can work for you too.

BekahBoo's 1st Self-portrait - look out Picaso!

2007-12-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

K-9 literacy

2007-12-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Our library brings in therapy dogs periodically to allow children to practice their reading skills. Dogs are less threating than an adult. The dog handler is right there and does interact if the child wants to interact with them too. Thursday night I was at the library for a quick drop off overdue books and pick up reserves. I peaked into the children's section and there was the therapy dog with no one there reading to her. Her name is E.L. by the way. I don't bring BB to this because she is not a reader. However with NOONE there I called DH and asked him to bring her there. By the time she got there one girl had arrived and was reading. Then it was BB's turn. With the help of DH she read "Moo, Baa, La La La" (http://www.sandraboynton.com) She says all the animal sounds while DH reads the other words. It was a great experience. Having a therapy reading dog is something that I am interested in pursuing when BB is a little older. Reading is so important and so many children struggle with this skill. Reading outloud is overlooked a lot of times in education because of the high ratio of students to teachers and the lack of schools volunteers.

Aren't you here to read to me?

2007-12-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Brother #1 and girlfriend (I would say #1 but that would just not sound right) came over for a visit last night. It was after 9pm but we let BB stay up to see them for a little while. Yesterday was quite the day for family. She saw brother #3, granddad then brother #1. She was in rare form due to a very short nap. As soon as girlfriend sat down BB brought her books expecting story time. Girlfriend was so sweet and read BB quite a few. BB really likes girlfriend. Quite often she makes the top of BB's bedtime "Thank you God for ____" prayers.

Oh be careful what you say

2007-12-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was driving to the airport. The big snow hadn't hit yet so the road were in great condition. The highway I was on had a left lane exit. I'm used to this and know to drive in the middle lane to stay on the highway. The car to the left of me look like the knew what they were doing and I really thought they were taking the exit on purpose...WRONG. At the very last minute the SUV cuts me off and then starts weaving in traffic. I yelled "Pick a lane!" BB's response was "CHICK-FIL-A" My response to her "That's right CHICK-FIL-A!" So now I know that I really need to watch what I say and I also have an alternative to telling other drivers off. I see this as being similar to saying fudge in place of another word.

The party can't start without me

2007-12-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had some friends over. I hired a mommy's helper so that I could actually talk to my friends. Plus it allowed two other mommies to come as well. My favorite mommy's helper/babysitter is a homeschooler from my church. She is somewhere in the middle of the 7 children in her family. She is amazing. But I'm off the point. In the middle of us girls sipping on yummy coffee that I made at home (mine was an Egg Nog latte) BB decides to make an appearance. She walks into the room with a sombrero, purse in the crook of her elbow and "talking" on the phone. Right when she got to the middle of the room she said to the person on the phone "Okay, bye" and hung up. It was cute and hilarious all rolled up into one.

I prepared a cookie decorating for the mommy's helper to do with the 3 girls. I bought premade, precut, precolored Christmas tree sugar cookie dough. Now before you judge me my thing is COFFEE...I made all of my guest gourmet coffee from scratch. I get to cheat on the baking. I set up a table in BB's room with a picnic tablecloth. I gave them icing, red hots and sprinkles. The next time BB ran out of the room her hands and face were RED. She wanted me to take her to wash her hands. Then I noticed that her feet were also RED. Well I'm very thankful that I have a carpet cleaner.

In addition to all the cookies the girls decorated and ate I also gave them a little bit of the brownies and ice cream the mommies were eating. SUGAR! One mom threated to leave her dd there. I don't blame her. I'm not quite ready for sleep overs yet. BB and her friend aren't either. Instead we have pajama parties. A couple of weeks ago BB and a friend had a movie PJ party.

How to keep a diaper on all night?

2007-11-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

I'm glad you asked....DUCT TAPE...it is truly the fix it all. I received this advice after bawling at Bible Study Fellowship. Painting the walls with a diaper in the middle of the night is NOT my idea of a fun thing to wake me up. Before you get ready to call children's service on me - the duct tape does not touch her skin. It is care fully wrapped around the top edge of the diaper. I have to carefully use scissors in the morning to get the diaper off.

All dogs go to heaven?

2007-11-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we are dog sitting for friends. Cassie is very gentle and easy-going. BB and Cassie have taken to each other. Cassie tries to eat her food, but other than that they get along. BB has decided that Cassie needs to be a party of all family activities at home. When we asked Cassie if she needed to go potty BB ran to the bathroom and started calling out "Cassie-dog, potty come on". Cassie has also been required by BB to join in family prayers before bed. So while Cassie has been here she has gotten a little bit of religion in her.

Portable DVD player

2007-11-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

DH got a Portable DVD player for his 10th anniversary with his company. The main use so far has been DH watching movies after BB and I have gone to bed. DH has a 20% hearing loss and it is impossible for him to watch TV in our home without it being heard by the sleeping. Today I found a great use for it. I had to get my oil changed at the dealership. It takes about an hour because they also check out everything. I brought the DVD player with Leap Frog Letter Factory and it entertained BB for 30 minutes. The rest of the time she entertained herself with toys that we brought as well as entertaining others waiting.

Potty Training

2007-11-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Potty Training has been an on again off again thing. Over the summer we spent most days at the pool. The bathroom is all the way at the entrance of the pool which is FAR away from the toddler pool. I decided it just wasn't worth it. After BB's birthday I started hard core on potty training. Every hour on the hour sitting her on the potty. She just held it! I however had to go every hour on the hour. So we stopped. Just recently BB's 2nd cousin came for a visit she is 9 months older and POTTY TRAINED. This started the independant wish to go to the potty. We have sat on a lot of potties, but just for practice. TODAY....TODAY...is a very exciting day. This morning BB yelled to me "Mommy potty". I don't get excited. She has a stool in the bathroom. "Okay BB go potty." Next thing I hear in a distressed voice "MOMMY POOP". Yes there was poop. It didn't quite make it IN the potty. For some reason she was standing on the toilet seat. The poop was on the seat and a little on her legs (which explains the distress). I kept the focus
YEAH you pooped on the potty (LITERALLY). I got her cleaned up and let her call daddy. Then she had to call her best boy - friend and share with his mommy.

Catching up

2007-11-14T13:21:00.000-08:00

Well there is really no good way to catch up from 2 months of having a toddler. I wanted to get on here and write down some of the funny things she has said lately.

While praying "Thank you Jesus for Mommy, Kenzie, and chocolate. AMEN"

When daddy did something she did not like "Daddy ANN (last name)" It is funny that she used her middle name.

One of BB's friends that is a boy told his mom yesterday "BB is pretty". They are only 2!

One of BB's latest things is getting out of bed and playing in the middle of the night. Often I will find her conked out on the floor asleep. Last night however she decided to play with her Busy Ball Popper. It makes noise. It woke me up at 4:30! I went into her room and told her firmly "GO TO BED". I went to the restroom and what do you think I heard THE BUSY BALL POPPER! I was able to compose myself and discipline her without being angry. I did get into bed and told DH that if she got out of bed he had to deal with her.

BB is becoming very helpful around the house. She likes loading clothes in the washer. If I put a stack of clothes on the floor and set up the stool she'll load it "all by myself". I can then be just a few feet away and load the dishwasher. She also like to unload the dishwasher. This is a little more stressful, but I just let her pick up a dish and hand it to me right away. If it is a plastic container or a cutting board I'll let her put that away "MYSELF"

A day on the farm

2007-09-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Today BB and I went with our Moms and Tots group to a historial farm. The kids started off the fun in the one room school house. They are much to young for school, but this will definitely be somewhere to bring the kids back when they are school age. Just playing in the school made everyone hungry so we took out our packed lunches. We were bothered by bees for the entire lunch. We spent more time swatting than eating. After lunch we were off to see the animals. We had more than 10 kids in our group and it was quite a challenge to keep all the kids some what together as well as keeping them from climbing fences into the animal pens.

At the end we went into the farm house. By this time it was past 1pm and BB did not like being told not to touch things. A meltdown occurred so it was time for us to leave. It was a little walk back to the welcome center. Fortunately BB calmed down and we were able to stop in the penny store. The store sells pieces of candy for 1 to 5 cents. They have totsies rolls, malted milk balls, smarties, lollipops, etc. A kid can get quite a bag of candy for 50 cents.

Happy 2nd Birthday BekahBoo

2007-09-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today is BB's 2nd birthday. This morning we set up the living room with her gifts before she woke up. We weren't going to wrap them. I think she got enough unwrapping at last night's party. We put the oversized Elmo stuffed animal on a chair with an Elmo book on his lap and an Elmo balloon tied to his arm. The main gift was a doll and the accessories. Elmo and the accessories I have been picking up at garage sales all summer. Doll accessories now include swings, strollers, car seats, etc. The only NEW thing that I bought was the doll. I think BB has the right to a brand new doll. BB had a great time trying out the doll in the swing, stroller and car seat. The car seat is actually more like a baby backpack.

At 10 a.m. we had her friend's birthday party. The theme was Elmo. We did not go crazy on the theme. I bought hats and plates and the one mylar Elmo balloon. For the cake I bought Elmo candy toppers. I bought Little Debbie Fancy Cakes and put the Elmo faces on each. That is the easiest birthday cake I'll make.

The party started off with Elmo coloring pages I found on sesameworkshop.com. That combined with playing with BB's new toys lasted longer than I thought it would. BB did pretty well at sharing her new toys. I brought out my own doll and my cabbage patch doll so there were more dolls to go around. For the craft we had a Make a Plate kit. Each kid designed their own plate. We will send the kit in and get the plates in a few weeks. How is that for delayed gratification at 2? After the craft we brought out the 'cake' and ice cream. Last night I softened ice cream and filled cones to the top. I refroze them overnight so that today they would be solid and less messy. It actually worked. After sugaring up the kids we took them outside to play in the kiddie pool and sprinkler. A good time was had by all.

Two of the moms were thoughtful enough to take pictures and a few short video clips. They know that you can recreate the moment if you miss it. Thanks!

Young's Dairy

2007-09-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

Sunday night we took BB and some family members to Young's Dairy for ice cream and to see the cows. Our good friends from York were in town so they came along for the fun. They have two kids so BB wasn't the only kid in our group. The kids had a great time eating ice cream, visiting the animals in the barn and playing on the tractor playground.

Promotion Sunday

2007-08-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

BB is not in school yet so the big event of the Fall is her moving up to her new Sunday School class. She made the cut off that allows her to go up into the 2 year old room. Her birthday is next weekend and the cut-off is Sept 30th.

I have quite a few friends who have children born in 2005. Actually in our Sunday School class alone we had 13 babies that year. Everyone made the cut-off except ONE. Her birthday is in October. I am sad that she has been left behind.

This situation brings up a topic that I didn't think we would have to face so soon - When to start BB in Kindergarten. This isn't an issue this year, but next year we can start her in our AWANA program at church. However the Cubbies program is designed for the 2 years before Kindergarten. Who can tell at age three if they will be ready for Kindergarten at 5. BB is right on the line and we just might keep her home one more year. Kids are already growing up so fast.

I actually plan on 'homeschooling' BB starting next year for the preschool years. I have a network of mommies that we already get together on a regular basis who want to co-op together. I think that going to preschool is great if the child doesn't have many social opportunies or the mom needs a break. With 13 friends with 2 year olds BB is not lacking social interaction. So we will try the 'homeschooling'. Whether I homeschool after preschool is yet to be determined.

Unfortunate pronunciation

2007-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

BB has a decent vocabulary for her age. I can usually understand what she is saying. However when she says truck there is an unfortunate "F" at the beginning of the word. What is strange is that she can say 'tree' 'train' just fine. I'm just waiting for this to come out in public. We show this off to my family, but they were forwarned and so it was funny. Stay tuned for updates on this...

Catching Up

2007-08-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Weekend of July 14th

We traveled to Memphis Tennessee for BB's aunt's wedding. BB had never met her aunt because she lives to far away. We spent alot of time before the wedding showing BB pictures of her aunt and the groom as well as her daughter and his daughter.

Just a note: Nobody in the wedding or related to the wedding actually lived in Memphis. It was a destination wedding at Graceland.

The biggest part of the weekend for BB was being the ring barer in the wedding. The wedding chapel at Graceland was small and there were only 50 guests. The bride picked out BB's dress to match the flower girls (bride and groom's daughters). BB was well behaved, especially considering that it was her nap time. When it came time for her to go down the aisle she walked down with the pillow (WITHOUT the rings) handed it to her other aunt who was the maid of honor and walked back up the aisle. I was actually glad to have her in the back because she wouldn't be a distraction. After all it WAS naptime.

Weekend of August 4th: Camping and Amusement Park

DH's company has an annual company get together. This year the company took us to an Amusement Park about an hour away. We decided to make a weekend of it and camp. It was our goal to get to the park early and beat the crowds.

BB took to camping. She most enjoyed bouncing on our airmattress. BB has her own air mattress that has the sleeping bag attached to it. This is a great invention.

Saturday morning we were able to get to the park at 9 am to get a great parking space. The entrance opened at 9:30 and the rides at 10am. DH wanted to go on the newest ride so he literally RAN to get first in line. He only had to wait 10 minutes. Meanwhile BB and I were loving the no waiting at the kiddie land. We rode as many rides as we could with her height. Some rides are 36 inches and BB is 30 inches. She had the hardest time not being able to ride the Blue's Clue ride. We were careful after that to avoid her seeing it.

DH's company provided lunch. All you can eat buffet, drinks and dessert. It doesn't get much better than that considering how much food cost in the park. We were even able to take drinks and ice with us. IT WAS HOT!

After we had enough of the rides we took in some shows to cool off. BB's favorite was DORA! She made friends with one of the dancer in the show who tipped us off on where to see Dora later in the park. Since it was so hot the characters would only be out for 10 minutes. We got to the location and were ready with the camera for BB's close up with Dora. She was so excited. Since the trip she has been asking to see her and Dora on the computer.

We camped again Saturday night. It rained, but we stayed dry. Overall it was a successful camp out. We will have a bigger camp out with friends next month so this was a great trial run.

Summer Days at the Pool

2007-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

My philosophy for this summer is very basic. Get up and get ready for the pool. Pack a lunch (or buy it on the way). Go to the pool. Wear out BB and come home and let her take a long nap. So far this plan has been working very well. The only draw back is that I also come home worn out and also take a long nap.

BB's favorite thing to do at the pool is go down the kiddie water slide. It is about 5 feet in length and not very steep. The 'ladder' to get up to the slide is steps up a man-made rock hill. It was BB's own idea to try the slide. I was surprise on our first trip to the pool that she wanted to go down all by herself. I watched her climb up and then went to the end of the slide to catch her. Each day that we go it takes her one time to warm up to the idea. After that she says "AGAIN!"

The pool we goto is actually a mini water park. There are 3 wading pools, a main pool and two big water slides. The main pool and the big water slide are teeny bobber teritory. I don't take BB anywhere near them and their skimpy bathing suits.

The three wading pools are all great places for BB to explore. The one with the waterslide is just for kids under 8. There is a wading pool with a waterfall. This is the best place to catch a breeze even on the hottest days. The 3rd pool is the most crowded but it is large and only 2 feet deep. I try to give BB room to explore, but in this pool I keep close.

So this is what we have been doing most of the summer and will be doing for the rest of the summer.

The only other big activing BB and I are doing is the library reading club. When I was in the summer library club you got credit for each book you read. One summer I read 93 books. Now they have changed it so that you get credit for each 15 minutes you read. I like this a lot better because it makes it equal to low and fast readers. After 1 hour they get a sticker. 8 hours get them a prize out of the prize box. 15 hours gets them a library tote bag and coupons. Now before you think that BB is a child prodogy and already reading I'll let you know how I count her time. I basically count 1) us reading to BB 2) BB "reading" a book to us or herself or 3) BB reading a book to her stuffed animals. BB has started to read books to herself while we drive in the car.

Carnival

2007-05-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

It is a sunny warm day in our part of the world so we decided to take a visit to a carnival. We are die-hard carnival fans, but we thought it would be fun. We only brought $5 on purpose. We really weren't sure if BB would actually ride anything. We were pleasantly surprised that they had live pony rides for $3. We asked if BB was old enough to ride. The carny said that I could walk along side the pony with BB. BB was excited, but tenative. It was a small pony, but to her it was HUGE. She did great. She was the only kid on a pony at the time. I was surprise at how long they let her ride. Eventually she looked at me and said "finished". I thought she was going to jump. I told them she wanted down and they stopped the ponies.

We walked around a little bit more. BB saw other kiddie rides. We were really not sure if she would go by herself. The kiddie rides were $2 so we took the risk. There was a little fishy ride that is kinda like miniture version of the Dumbo ride at Disney. BB walked up to the ride by her self and let the ride attendant put her in a seat. So far so good. When the ride first started up it was jolty and she had 'concerned eyebrows'. We kept smiling at her and saying "weeeee". She liked that and joined in on the 'weeee's. When the ride came to an end she let the attendant take her out of the ride. Then she promptly tried to get back in! She started to cry. I went in and got her. We waved 'bye' to the fishies. We told the attendant thank you.

With the whooping $5 spent it was time to go. BB is probably too young to understand our philosophy of money, but I don't think its to early to talk about it. The money is gone and so we are done. We waved good bye to the fishies one more time and then to the ponies. The sun was setting and it was time to go.

This was actually a good practice run for another carnival that we are going to later this month. It is held at a dairy farm. BB and I are going with another mommy friend and her two children. We are taking two mommy helpers. The plan is to take turns going on adult rides and accompaning kids on kiddie rides. The dairy farm also has a ice cream parlor so if all else fails there is always ICE CREAM!

Take me out to the ballgame

2007-04-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

It has finally decided to be spring in our corner of the world. Yesterday we took BB to a minor league baseball game. We had 8 adults going so we figured it would be easy enough to keep track of an active toddler at a baseball game. The weather was perfect for a spring ballgame.

We were meeting up with family member so we were waiting outside of the front gate. During the wait a staff member came upto us and asked if our child could help them with a skit. At first this seem like a strange request and I wasn't excited about it. Then the staffer explained that it was one of the between the innings entertainmentcall "Sourface baby". We would go out on the field with BB and give her a piece of lemon. The baby with the best sourface won.

After the 3rd inning we met up with the staffer and two other babies. We were taken down into the dugout area of the other team. I thought it was very cool. It was kinda like a backstage tour. The staff lined up the babies in strollers, got their names and then we waited for the inning to end. We were waiting in the dugout of the visiting team. As soon as the inning ended the staffers quickly got the babies on the field. DH went on the field with BB and I watched from the dugout. BB went first and made a great face. The other two made faces as well, but the crowd cheered for BB the loudest. After it was all over the staffer gave each baby a plush ball and bat. DH was a little disappointed because the staffer orginally told us that the winner would get a T-shirt. That's okay because Papa surprised her with a pink toddler t-shirt after the game. She is proudly wearing the t-shirt to 'school' today.

BB really enjoyed the game. Well not so much the game as the people who were with us. She got to high 5 the team mascot. After the 7th inning stretch we did a lap around the stadium so that BB could meet and greet her new found fan club.

Houston, TX

2007-04-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

We're leaving on a jet plane....BB and I flew to Houston last Monday. I have friends their in the Deaf community that I have not seen in 7 years. A visit was long over due. DH was taking care of family business elsewhere in the country. This was BB first plane ride. We had a 22 minute hopper to a bigger city then a 'real' flight to Houston. I considered the hopper a great 'practice' run at the real thing. BB spend 1/2 the time saying "WHOA!" really loudly. The other 1/2 of the ride she want to open and close the window constantly.

She slept through the layover which let me eat and go to the restroom twice. I was not trying to go on the plane with a toddler. The 2nd flight was smooth sailing. She cried when the plane descended, but she was able to blow when I held her nose and that alievated the pressure.

I found my friend easily at the airport and we were off for her home. It has been while since I visited Houston and I forgot that it is the 4th largest city. The driving there is crazy. We got to my friend's home. They just built a new house near the husband's work. Once inside we took a tour of the house. When we arrived at the final room out popped my Deaf friend who is a missionary to the Deaf overseas. I was not expecting her and I was pleasantly surprised to unite with her. We did two short term missions projects together and we also lived in the same city at one time and shared a car.

Monday was a down day. We stayed at the house and caught up on each other's lives

Tuesday: During the day we went to the Deaf church to visit with people there. In the evening we went to 1st Baptist Houston's Bible Study lead by Beth Moore (http://www.lproof.org/). The woman I was staying with is Beth Moore's interpreter. She was nervous that I was there watching, but I promised her that was not there to judge her interpreting. After all SHE was the one up there in the "Hot Seat" not me. I did come away with new ways to interpret concepts. Very Cool!

Wednesday: We went to Deaf Church in the evening. The Deaf church is a missions church of 1st Baptist Church. They have several missions church in the area to reach out to the multi-cultures in the Houston area. The Deaf Church has a small attendance on Wednesday nights and no nursery. I brought lots of toys and thought that I would be able to pay attention while BB played. This great plan did not work. She wanted to run around which was visually distracting to the Deaf people so I decided to take her outside. Fortunately in Houston it is a fabulous 75 degrees with a slight breeze. (This is not the case at home!) I was very disappointed to miss an opportunity to 'listen' to a preacher who I respect a great deal. I believe I made a good decision for my daughter.

Thurday: A group of us went to N.A.S.A - the Johnson Space Center. I am a complete Air Force and space geek so this was my request. You could rent a head set to hear commentary about various displays. We decided to rent ONE headset and let me be the interpreter for the group. Our group was a mix of hearing signers and Deaf people. Note: Normally interpreting situation are confidential. Since I was with friends and interpreting as a friend I do not feel this situation is under the confidentiality clause). We had a great time on the tour and seeing various shows and demonstrations. Since I am a stay-at-home mom now it was great to be interpreting again. I found the Space Center to be very accomodating to me as an interpreter. Thursday night another friend stopped by and we talked until we could keep our eyes open.

Friday: The morning was spent packing and saying last minute things that we didn't want to forget. Before I knew it we were heading to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time. Getting through security was easier that I imaged. We immediately stop for MILK and lunch. Then we went to the gate. I was not expecting much of wait. However the plane decided to have computer issues. Why they told us this I don't know. I was not exactly excited about getting on a plane that just had computer issues. As we were checking in to get on the plane the airline rep looked at me and stated in a no questions manner. "You can not sit in 8A you must sit in 7A." I walked down the ramp to the plane dreading the seat switch. I coud only image that it was going to be trouble. I found my NEW seat and started to get BB's toys and activities settled in the seat pocket. Moments later a couple stopped and the man said "You are in my seat" Here we go I thought. I looked at hime and responded that I was very sorry but they said I had sit in THIS seat. I later found out that it was because that row had an extra mask for an infant on lap. I felt bad for the couple because they wanted to sit together. So the man started yelling "Flight Attendant! I need the Flight Attendant NOW!" Thankfully the flight attendant (who was already having a bad day) was able to get them seats together in the back of the plane. I ended up next to a mom who was on business. She was so friendly and helpful. She even helped me change BB diaper which was very smelling. The Flight Attendant was NOT at all excited about the rancid diaper that was smelling up the plane. I was stuck by the window so the lady next to me put the diaper in the vomit bag and took it to the bathroom.

We made it home safely and on time and now we are having a quiet day at hom.e

Deaf Church part 2

2007-03-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

As promised BB has come out of her shell with the Deaf church on Sunday evening. We were not able to make it on the 18th because she was sick. This Sunday she was happy to see everyone. During the worship songs she watched Mark (the Deaf Pastor) sign along with the I-Worship video. Then BB stood up in the pew next to me and started signing "Yes" along with the music. The song was "I'm trading my sorrows" and the chorus repeats "YES, Lord! YES, Lord! Yes, Yes, Lord!" She did her best to sign along. She got the 'yes' sign down and just lifted her hands in the air for Lord. I can not wait to get to Houston and have her meet the Woodhaven choir.

First the feet now the SHOES!

2007-03-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

It was raining today so we decided to go to the mall as a family and walk. Of course we had to stop and see the puppies. Next door to the pet store is the shoe store...and I had a coupon. While Dadday and BB looked at puppies I looked at shoes. I was hoping to get water shoes for the pool this summer. No such luck. They had crocks...don't even get me started on those. Besides my daughter is just as prissy as I am. There is no way crock will work. Two seconds in the sandbox and she'll have a fit. I did spot some dressy shoes in the next size up. I went back to the pet store to get BB. I took her to the shoes and said "What do you think?" She grabbed the shoes and left. Thankfully we were at the back of the store and I had time to catch up to her before she 'shoplifted'. I told her we needed to pay for them, but she could put them on while we waited. So we sat in line and put on the shoes. When it was our turn at the counter I lifted BB up on the counter and said "We'll take these". The shoes really are cute. There are two kinds of girls accessory girl and what ever a non-accessory girl would be called. Ironically the mommies in my group who are not accessory girl now have daughters who ARE. And the "accessory girl" mommies in my group have BOYS!

Deaf Church

2007-03-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to our local Deaf Church this evening. BB has been around Deaf people at our home church, but they have not been coming lately. We have all missed being around Deaf people so we decided as a family to start going to Deaf Church Sunday nights when we are able. We were welcomed warmly. BB was naturally the center of attention. The Deaf people thought that her signing was so cute. She was unusually timid, but I expect that after a few weeks and getting used to a church full of Deaf people (compared to our huge hearing church with just a few Deaf people) she will sign to them as much as she signs to me at home.

Feet

2007-03-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

I finally remembered the funny story that I was going to tell. Now I have two stories about feet. Actually I have one more about Rebekah's flexible legs.

Story 1 - BB loves reading books. She like reading them to her dollies. A few nights ago she was in the kitchen after dinner waiting for me and daddy to finish. She sat on the floor book in lap and held up her right foot. It was a book with infant pictures. She read the page to her foot then told her foot to say hi to the baby. Then she waved her foot like you would wave your hand. It was cute and creative.

Story 2 - BB also LOVES talking on the phone. Today she couldn't find her phone. So she put her foot to her ear like a phone. The bottom of her foot was flat against her face. How are babies that flexible?!?

Story 3 - Today: BB was taking a nap and she started to SCREAM. This is not normal. We had already made an emergency trip to the chiropracter to relieve ear pain this morning. So I could not imagine WHY she was crying. Usually a trip to the chiropracter guartantees me atleast a 2 hour nap. BB was screaming because she weaved her leg through the crib slats and back. She couldn't get it back out. At first I wasn't sure that I could either. It took one little backward bend of the leg, but she was quickly freed and told to go back to sleep.

2007-03-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

I can't help but think that BekahBoo (BB) must have done something blog worthy since last week. I'm too tired to think of anything other than today.

Today is my friend's DD's 3 birthday. They live far enough away that our monthly visits last all day. Today had to be cut short due to afternoon appointments for both of us.

This morning as usual it took the girls time to get used to each other. They are 18 months apart in age so there is also the developmental differences too. They had fun playing ring around the roseys whichs is brand new to BB and I'm sure that we will do it over and over again in the days to come. BB also initiated the first peer hug that I have seen. Most time other kids hug (attack) her, and she has not been interested. Today she was the attacker...I mean hugger!

For lunch we went to the Oregon District. My favorite place was there but with a different name. Thankfully the food was the same. BB and I did not have much time so we split a bacon, egg and cheese queche (sp?). It was actually supposed to be roasted red pepper and blue cheese, but I didn't have time to wait for the right one. BB and her friend sat together on a couch. I wish I had a camera to catch them and how happy they were. I have a picture of the 3 year old "holding" BB 18 months ago. I will make every effort to bring a camera to our next monthly gathering.

Shadows

2007-03-02T05:55:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this BLOG is for me to keep up with the funny stories that go on in my child's life.

After a long winter of snowy days and sunless days stuck inside we FINALLY got out. The sun greeted us with a smile. We were leaving KRC when BekahBoo looks down and sees her shadow. She locked her knees and made a valant attempt at walking around it. She found it almost frustrating that try as she might she could not get around it. Then she decided it was fun to step on it all the way to the car. Walking is one of her favorite thing.

A week ago we all went to the local arena to watch a free hockey game. We knew that we would only be there for 15 minutes with her current attention span. It was fun to watch because we had front row seats. When we left she said "WALK". I looked up at the stair leading up to the exit. I thought "no way". But we wanted to let her have practice on stairs so we each took one of her hands and supported her as she took to the stairs. I was very surprised that she made it 3/4ths of the way up before looking at me and said "UP".