A few days home

This past Tuesday Chase was lucky enough to have Daddy come to music class with him.

Unfortunately Chase took a nasty spill on the carpet and got a pretty rough carpet burn. He was literally limping around the room and couldn't go more than a few minutes without crying... it was very sad.

After trying some other options (you know... a regular band aid) this is what Daddy came up with. The band aid irritated him more than the burn so we took that off and Adam tied a handkerchief around his knee. Unconventional but it worked better than any other remedy ;~)

Enjoying Daddy's company ;~)

Unfortunately Ms. Danielle won't be back to teach the class next year (family is moving) but we all had such a great time that we put together a photo album of our time... 3 guesses on who had the most pictures ;~)

We are really going to miss her!

Hopefully she will be starting a similar class in her new town... lucky kids!

This past week we have been staying close to home. Adam was sick... then Chase was under the weather and finally yesterday I wasn't feeling too hot. As much as I like getting out to do things, staying home has been good too. My house is clean, I play with Chase more and I actually completed my blanket for Chase's bed!

Playing little people with Chase in our pj's. I am not sure why but he calls the little people farm 'farm puzzle'. I think it's too cute to correct for now ;~)

Even Riley gets into the little people action.

The aforementioned finished blanket! I am so happy to have actually completed this!

Which leads me to my next project... a nursing cover for a friend of mine. She's very patient as I have been promising for quite some time. I am determined to get it to her before she stops nursing her son!

This puzzle is the end all be all. I can't remember who gave it to us but if you read this blog... thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The boy knows how to relax!

One of my new favorite pastimes is baking banana bread. I love the way it makes the house smell and I most certainly love eating it ;~)

Chase is a big fan of the mixing.

Adam convinced me to throw some chocolate chips in this batch... excellent suggestion!

And of course enjoying our spoils!

We actually got out of the house today and enjoyed some time at Monkey Joe's with our friends Jen and Kyla.

Kyla (18 months) followed Chase everywhere (as much as she could ;~) and got a big kick out of mimicking him! Chase seemed to revel in the attention...

just another reason I think he will make an awesome big brother!

Yard Sale Time Again

The Spring Kids Nearly New sale happened this weekend and like the good hunters we are, the moms and I headed out early Saturday morning to score some deals.

This time we were a little smarter... we met at 6, ordered coffee and donuts and headed straight over to the yard sale. We were out of the cars and shopping at 6:20 for a yard sale that doesn't 'start' until 7. We're hip to their game.

I didn't score as big this time but I didn't really intend to. Over the past few weekends Adam and I have done a good bit of rearranging, spring cleaning and purging. The last thing I wanted to do was clutter everything back up again. Big ticket items weren't really on my list.

Bekah was looking for boy's clothes for her littlest who is out-sizing his older brother despite the fact that their birthdays are 2 weeks apart!

While sifting through I spotted this...

and could not pass it up. Boy or girl, lil bean will be sporting this at some point!

So I kept looking around... and ended up finding some other pieces that I loved and thought I would put on either a girl or a boy.

The last one I was thinking about using over Christmas but we'll have to see how big lil bean is around that time.

At $0.50 a piece, I figured I couldn't go wrong. If lil bean is a girl, I can pair any of these with a girly pair of pants and a headband. If lil bean is a boy... boy pants. No harm, no foul.

I picked up this cool floor mat puzzle for $2.

Never been opened Thomas sticker kit... just the thing for a long road trip to Myrtle beach this summer! Paid $3 for it and I saw it for $13 on Amazon... not a bad deal!

Another item for the trip to Myrtle beach. Coloring as well as a page of stickers... hopefully minutes of fun. Scored for $1!

Fun Elmo puzzle for $2 (I think... I was really tired at this point)

I was pretty happy about this find... a Melissa and Doug set with all it's pieces... a definite rarity. Chase has been getting more and more into doing his 'kitchen stuff' which just means cooking in his kitchen. Typically as soon as I start dinner he runs to his kitchen and starts preparing food as well. He loves the fruit cutting set my dad gave him for Christmas (also M and D) so I thought this would be fun as well. I may wait until his birthday to give it to him though... we'll see.

Paid $5 for it... it regularly sells between $15 - $20.

I am always looking to expand Chase's library (cheaply of course ;~) so I spent a good bit of time digging through book bins. These were the only ones I came up with but I am glad I found them. We love Sandra Boynton books so when I saw Opposites, I snatched that up. I also have heard good things about the Love You Forever book so I grabbed that one. Little Toot I remember from my childhood... maybe a bit long for him right now but I think he'll grow into it. And the Little Critter books... A New Baby (appropriate I thought) and Bye Bye Mom and Dad (again, maybe a little appropriate for my clingy little man ;~)

He's been carrying these 5 books around since yesterday afternoon... I think he likes them. I paid anywhere from $0.25 to $1 for each of them... not too bad!

And what quite possibly could be the buy of the year...

The moment Chase saw this his eyes lit up and the biggest smile spread across his face. This Thomas chair has been everywhere in our house as well as to Bamma and Grandpa's already... he is completely and totally in love with it.

Generally I am wary about things that are cloth covered but it was in such good condition that I went in for a second look. Then I realized you can take the cover off and wash it... I was sold!

This might be the best $2 I have ever spent.

I love this yard sale and I got out of it exactly what I wanted to. I hope to hit up some more this summer... there's a mile long yard sale on July 4th that's calling my name!

Fire Station!

This past Thursday Chase and a whole bunch of his friends went to the Funkstown Fire Station for a tour.

One of the fire fighters dressed in his complete outfit... boots, gloves, helmet, air tank and all! All told it equals over 100 lbs.

The fire chief made a comment about how the fire fighters have to learn to dress in less than a minute... then Laura (a mom of 2) piped up "So do I!".

We watched a video about what to do if your clothes catch on fire...

but there's nothing like actually doing the STOP DROP and ROLL!

We've since mentioned it to Chase a few times but last night he and Adam were wrestling around all the sudden Chase yells out "We're doing STOP DROP and ROLL!". And they were... Adam had him in a bear hug and was rolling him back and forth. It's gratifying to see that kind of stuff sticking in his mind.

The kids got a chance to walk through 2 different fire trucks... I swear Chase was more thrilled than this picture suggests ;~)

Got a smile but of course it's not to the camera... oh well, I'll take what I can get!

A line up shot... shocked right?

At the end of the tour they got a bag of goodies and a fire chief hat...

which I couldn't resist trying on... I think it suits me!

My Monkey

This past Thursday Chase and I were supposed to attend a birthday party for one of his friends... but her mommy went ahead and gave birth to her baby sister instead! (Truly Sadie probably wanted the baby more than the party... she was made to be a big sister)

Since everyone we hang out with was supposed to attend the party, we all collectively decided to head to Monkey Joe's.

A few of us had scouted the place out a week or so before (it's new to the area and since rainy days come to frequently, we are always in search of a good indoor alternative). I love it. Other places (who will remain nameless) just don't compare... the courses and the height of the slides are too much for him so boredom comes quickly. Not MJ's. They have all different levels of bounce houses. Chase immediately hit up the smaller slides and was in heaven... not even a hint of boredom.

Then we went back this past Thursday, I think the smaller slides gave him the confidence to try the medium size slides. He made it up the 'steps' just fine but was very sad when he realized he had to slide down. I stood as close to him as I could and reached out my hand... he leaned forward and slid down... and almost instantaneously was back up and climbing the steps again. He repeated that loop for a good 20 minutes straight.

This was what I was greeted with every 2 minutes...




I was so proud of him for conquering his fear!!!

Once he figured out that the slide wasn't so bad he started pushing the limits on other slightly larger ones... before long I couldn't keep track of him... he was moving through the place so fast.

Then came the massive slide. Twice this slide has been his Everest.



He had little problem scaling the steps (but as you can see the staff are there to help them out ;~)... it's once he gets to the top and realizes that the slide is the only way down when the real trauma starts. He sits up there shaking his head, pouting as far as the bottom lip will go, tears welling up in his eyes... and he defiantly moves away from anyone that comes near him to help him.

Cue pregnant mom climbing the steps... not a pretty sight folks.

Then Chase clings to me as we slide down together. And to his defense, it's a little daunting when you push off!

But after all this fear conquering, Chase tried it again. He scaled the steps and sat up top for a half a second before flinging himself down the slide.

There is no picture of him coming down the first time because I was so proud of him it was all I could do to stop cheering for him.

I did capture a run or 2 later...


I am so proud I could burst ;~)

During our 4 hour adventure at MJ's we stopped to have lunch. Bekah went to check on Alexander and laid Nikolas down... who promptly started to fuss. I asked Chase to go say hi to Nikolas and this is what I see a few moments later...


He is going to make an excellent big brother.

Sometimes I just can't believe how big Chase is getting. It really is amazing to watch him grow.

One more picture for my CA friend Amanda...

Apparently Chase thinks Riley needs Jesus as much as Ru thinks Broccoli does.

City Slicker

One of my friends generously offered her parents house for a day of fun and horse riding for all of us and the kids. We descend on their house, they bring the horses out, let the kids ride, take us for walks on trails through their land and then feed us... sign me up!

So what does one wear to such an event.

Why these of course...


Could I be any more lame? (please don't answer that, I am fragile right now)

Seriously, I show up in flip flops and immediately take notice that I am in fact the only one. *sigh*

A few self deprecating jokes and I try to forget about it.

Then I look at the other kids...


My poor boy.

I get me being stupid but being stupid for my kid... that's a whole other level of FAIL.

More self deprecating jokes (probably too many) and I try to forget about it... again.

Laura's parents bring out the horses and Chase bravely follows Adam (Laura's son) as one of the first to ride.

I stupidly walked back to take a picture which was met with extremely dislike from Chase. So this is how we rode for the rest of the time.

One hand on the knob thingy (technical term) and one hand tightly grasping mine.

I love that I am his comfort.


After a few times around the ring we let someone else have a turn.

Which is about the time I started to look down...

and see that my poor exposed feet were rustling among the leaves. Which wasn't too bad... until you stared for a second or 2... and saw the spiders just hauling tail over all the leaves and twigs.

The fact that I didn't climb to the top of the 30 ft trees is a testament to my ability to hold it together. But I was freaked the hell out. And yes... a few crossed over my feet.

Typing it just made me shiver.

I couldn't be less country if I tried.

Bekah just kept telling me not to look down... a hard feat when you are convinced you are being eaten alive by spiders... also a hard feat when you are trying not to fall over because uneven terrain and stupid beach flip flops don't mix.

Sometimes my stupidity overwhelms me.

But I tried not to look down and just enjoyed a nice walk with Bekah holding Chase's hand and Alexander holding mine... I'm not sure how that happens so often ;~)

Once we were back from the walk I asked Chase if he wanted to ride again but was met with a firm "No fank you". "Are you sure you don't want to ride Elmo?". "Nope, I don't". "What about Charolette? Do you want to ride Charlotte?". "No fank you."

Ok... no more riding. At least he did it once which is what I really wanted.

We headed back down toward the house where Laura's parents had picnic tables set up with hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit salad, pasta salad, baked beans, chips and drinks. It really was quite a spread.

My boy and I enjoying some lunch.


Chase really liked his ice cream sandwich... he had his and mine!


We did a little more horse watching...


and we spent some quality time with Snoopy.

After all that fun, it was time to go home and make an attempt at "Quiet Time"... which has become the new norm at our house. I never thought I would hear myself say that but after all the sleep battles, this was just the direction he was headed. I no longer care if he sleeps (although it's nice when it happens!)... all I care is that he spends at least an hour and a half in his room for quiet time. Occasionally I have to go back there to solve some problem or make him stop jumping... or in rare cases, make him stop screaming *sigh*. But for the most part he gets it. He sits in his crib (yes he is still in a crib... the toddler bed is coming soon) and looks at books, rolls around, talks to his bears, rearranges his blankets and occasionally, throws it all out on the floor.

2 positive things to come from quiet time... 1. when I walk into his room he smiles and says "quiet time is over?". I smile and say yes and pick him up. He wraps his arms around me, gives me a hug while patting my back and says "Hi Mommy" in a sweet soft voice. That has become a new favorite time of the day. And #2... bed time is a hundred times easier. He's in bed by 7:30/7:45 and he rarely makes it to 8.

I on the other hand am up at 11:12 and wondering why. Goodnight!