Friday's Fab Five

Here's what's been happening around our neck of the woods:

1. Kyle and I got iPhones! We have been talking about it for a while now; trying to justify paying more each month for a data plan and this week decided to go ahead and do it. I really like my phone! I haven't even had a chance to sit down and explore all it can do, but I've played some games and even got to FaceTime with Amanda and Adah today!

2. You'll read about this in some upcoming posts, but I think The Dollar Tree is my new favorite store. Sure it's a little ghetto in there, but I love that everything really is only $1! Since starting Tot School with Brennan, I get to link-up and see all these great ideas parents are doing with their kiddos. The Dollar Tree is a great place to stock up on little things we can use for Tot School. What can I say, I'm cheap!

3. I got to go out on Wednesday night with some fabulous ladies. It's always nice to meet new Navy wives and we just sat around talking and laughing for hours. We all have kids, so we were sharing funny stories about them. Funny how when we get a night out without the kids, they are all we can talk about.

4. I am going to the eye doctor today. That is NOT fabulous. I do not like going. I don't like doing things I am not good at and I am not good at seeing. I always feel like I am failing a test when I go. But I need to get some more contacts and my prescription is expired, so it's a necessity. Amanda C. is fabulous for watching Brennan while I go!

5. Brennan and I leave for VA on Sunday! I am soooo excited! I.cant.wait! (That was for you, Laura!) Being out and laughing with the ladies on Wednesday night got me even more excited because I know Amanda, Amanda, and I are going to be laughing the entire time we are together.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

B is 13 months today! Come back later for his update!

Top 5 Photos

Remember this post when I shared my top 10 photos of B from 2010? Well, Amber over at Amber's Articles has decided that a year is much too long to wait to do that again. So, she and some other phenomenal photographers are hosting a quarterly version of the link-up!

The link-up doesn't start until March 30th, but I just wanted to get the word out there in case anyone else wants to participate. The best part is, two participants will be randomly selected to win prizes. Check out Amber's blog for all the rules and what you could win!

Balloon Wreath

Check out the wreath I made!

I know it's a little crazy and bright, but I LOVE it! (Kyle says it's "fruity".) I am not quite ready to hang it up yet; I think I'll wait until it is a little warmer outside. It was super-dee-duper easy and fast to make.

I first read the tutorial from How Does She.

I then went and bought my supplies. I bought the straw wreath and greening pins at Michaels. I bought balloons at The Dollar Tree. Just as the tutorial recommended, I bought 100 greening pins and 150ish balloons, so I thought I was all set.

That is until I sat down to start making the wreath today and realized that I was going to need A LOT more supplies. Oops!!! At first I thought I bought a wreath that was too big, but now that it is finished, I think it looks the same size as the one from Missy's blog.  I certainly didn't have enough though. I used up my 100 greening pins before I had finished up all my balloons. At that point, my wreath was a little more than 1/2 covered with balloons. So I made a quick trip back out to pick up additional supplies.

With a wreath my size, I used a little less than 250 balloons and greening pins. The wreath is not covered completely, that would've taken forever and SO many balloons. I am very happy with how it turned out though.

I love Missy's idea of using it for birthdays. She puts the wreath out whenever someone in her family has a birthday coming up. If I was still teaching, I think it would be a cute thing to put on my classroom door when a student has a birthday. For now, I think it will be either my spring or summer wreath. Or if I can't wait to hang it up, my hurry up and get here spring wreath.

Tot School - 12 . 5 Months

Check out all the fun we had this week. I took LOTS of pictures! Probably too many, but we were having so much fun! Brennan may not crawl or walk, but I am continually impressed by his fine motor skills.

He is still loving his Leapfrog Fridge Phonics.

He put the letters in the measuring cup.

He took letters out of the measuring cup.

He also worked on pouring them out.

His other favorite toy right now is his V-Tech helicopter. It was a birthday gift from Mrs. Hamilton.

He can take the balls out.

He can put them in the top and press them all the way down.

I also got one of my colanders out for him. If he plays with something for more than 1 minute, I consider it a hit. This was a BIG hit!

I was trying to get him to stir; he wanted to chew.

Alphabet soup??

We worked on transferring letters from containers.

The best part was sliding the colander across the tile floor!

PUSH!

PULL!

GOTCHA!

I put some pieces of uncooked spaghetti in the holes to see what he would do. He was able to take them out, but then he'd break them. We still had fun though. With my help he would put them back in and watch them disappear. Then I picked up colander and all the pieces were there! Just picking up the pieces of pasta from the floor was great practice with his fine motor skills!

We had some activities that didn't go so well. I thought he might be too little for them, but decided to try anyways. I guess exposing him to these was still good though.

I wanted to see what he would do with stickers, but he wanted to eat them. With my help we got some stuck to the paper.

Ringo was certainly curious.

He liked how they looked stuck on the paper.

But wasn't so sure about them on his finger.

I still had to display our first art project!

We received this Cheerios Play Book as a hand-me-down. B has always liked it. Each page has some missing Cheerios that need to be filled in. B has always been able to point to the missing spots, so I thought maybe he could put Cheerios there. Not so much. I ended up putting the Cheerios in the right spots and he would take them off to eat them.

Look! One car has no wheels. Can you fix it?

Can you put Cheerios in the empty purple circles?

We practiced more with putting objects inside a container.

He is a pro at this now!

He's all boy. He likes to knock things over.

Here is knocking over dinosaurs from a puzzle.

 This kid LOVES books!

Baby Einstein's My First Book of Numbers is one of his favs!

But he loves any book!

And check out what Brennan Mommy built with Megablocks!

Go CATS!

Make sure you check out Carisa's blog for lots of Tot School links! Thanks for visiting!

ABCs of Me

I saw this idea on Jamie's blog and figured I'd go ahead and do it too! So here are the ABCs of me:

A-Age: 28

B-Bed size: We have a queen size bed and I'm happy with that. If it was bigger I think Kyle would want Ringo to sleep with us!

C-Chore you hate: Folding and putting away laundry

D-Dogs: Just good ole Ringo.

E-Essential start to your day: I don't think I really have one. I usually eat a bowl of cereal and get on the computer to check blogs, email, and Facebook.

F-Favorite color: Purple; has been ever since I was a little girl.

G-Gold or silver: Silver. I used to wear gold jewelry in high school, but not since.

H-Height: 5'6"

I-Instruments you play: None, unless you count the recorder. Ha! I learned to play that in middle school and had to do it again in a college elementary music course and can still play a few things. 

J-Job title: Stay-at-home-mommy!

K-Kids: B-Nugget

L-Live: Mystic, CT - home of Mystic Pizza!

M-Mom's name: Marilyn

N-Nickname: Rach, Rachie, Cougie

O-Overnight hospital stay: Only after giving birth to Brennan.

P-Pet Peeve: People who are late...I think I have fewer pet peeves now that I have a baby and I am lazier than before. :)

Q-Quote from a movie: "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." (I couldn't think of anything else.)

R-Righty or lefty: Righty

S-Sibling(s): a younger sister, Lauren and an older half-sis, Hollie

T-Time you wake up: When Brennan wakes up; usually between 7-8.

U-Underwear: Not really picky, but feel I'm too old for thongs. 

V-Veggies you dislike: Peas, cauliflower, and a bunch of others. 

W-What makes you run late: Having a kiddo definitely makes it harder to get places on time.

X-X-rays you've had: Only ones at the dentist.

Y-Yummy food you make: Probably my current fav is Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole.

Z-Zoo animal: A giraffe, of course!

Friday's Fab Five

TGIF! Here's a little bit of fabulous-ness from our week:

1. When I was pregnant with Brennan and knew I'd get to be a stay-at-home-mom, I swore I would make sure the baby and I got out of the house on a daily basis. I didn't want to go crazy stuck at home all the time. Well, a lot changes when you actually have a baby. I am so thankful to have a baby that (usually) naps well. When a baby takes two naps/day, it's hard to get out of the house. B's morning nap comes pretty quickly after he wakes up. Then when he wakes up from that nap, he eats lunch, gets independent playtime, and that doesn't leave much time for going anywhere. We can sometimes make a super quick trip out, but that's about it. If we do go somewhere, it is typically after his second nap. Okay, I'm getting long-winded. I say all that because, even though a part of me looks forward to doing more outings after he drops his morning nap, I think we have a pretty fabulous routine going here. I don't really get an itch to get out of the house. I just enjoy playing with B right here. Sure we miss out on some playgroups, but I think he's a pretty fabulous little guy.

2. We had swim class on Tuesday. It is one thing we do get out and do each week. The class takes place back in this kinda run down looking building in our neighborhood, but the indoor swimming pool is heated. This week, the water was 91 degrees! That feels pretty fabulous when it's below freezing outside.

3. Check this out!
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. ~Psalm 119:11


Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken. ~Psalm 55:22


Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs; that it might benefit those who listen. ~Ephesians 4:29


Do not judge or you too will be judged, for in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ~Matthew 7:1-2.


I just did those all from memory! That's pretty fabulous, right? Those are the first four verses I have learned for 2011. I am learning two each month. I actually haven't selected my verse for the first half of March yet, so I am slacking a little. Guess I need to get on that today. When I am first learning them, I repeat them  A LOT and write them down several times. Then I try to review them at random times throughout the day. I always try to say them all in the shower. No particular reason; I just take a shower everyday so it seems like a good place to make sure I get some practice in.

4. I just ordered this book this morning:

The writers of several blogs I read have read or are reading this book. This is what it's about:
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are---Drawing heartbreaking beauty out of the simplest of details, Ann Voskamp invites you into her grace-bathed life of farming, parenting, and writing---and deeper still into your own life. Here you will discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings you deep and lasting joy.
I ordered it online. I can't wait until it arrives. I just know it'll be fabulous. :)

5. Okay, so I still have a little over a week to go, but I cannot wait for next Sunday. Brennan and I are going to see the Dishmons in VA! Woohoo! I was able to use our timeshare and get a nice four bedroom suite for us and some other friends. It's going to be a long drive, but it'll be so worth it! I cannot wait to see them and to meet little Michaela! It'll be a fabulous trip!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend! (Don't you hate how when you've written a word so many times, you start to think it is misspelled???) Thank goodness for spell check. It's fabulous!

Sorry, no pictures today. Come back on Sunday for TONS of pictures to go along with my Tot School post!

You're So Silly!

Remember this video? It was taken back in July when we were visiting KY with B for the first time. Sorry the sound is delayed. It happens when I use my computer to video.

This one was was just taken tonight. (That's a piece of a biscuit in his mouth. I'm glad he didn't choke!)


I love our little giggle-box!