2009--In Review

Since I just started blogging recently (I still don't know what I'm doing.)I thought I would do a post to sum up the year 2009 so that you can see what I've been up to. I think you'll find a pattern. :o) It's all about Mason.



Mason and Daddy listening to music.



Mason's 2nd birthday party.



Helping Daddy put together new cabinets we put up in the utility room.



Dying Easter eggs.



Mowing the yard.



Cooking cubed steak. He loves to help in the kitchen.






Mason's first trip to the Birmingham Zoo.






A trip to Lake Winnie with the Church Youth Group.






Playing outside.







A trip to the Smokey Mountains. I think Mason's favorite part was riding the go-carts at the Track.





This is pictures of my brother's (Unc to Mason) wedding. We we're obviously all in the wedding party and yes that is a tractor being ridden down the aisle of our church.




Mason at the pumpkin patch. I think we picked the coldest day to go and it was misting rain. He was obviously a cowboy for Halloween. I'm so proud of myself b/c I made the chaps.





A couple Christmas pictures. Mason was a calf in our Christmas play at church.

Joy

Recently I read a post from a fellow blogger where she challenged us to find "Joy" in everyday things. Here are a couple of things I've found in the past week.

1. Hearing my son say "I love you too, Mommy" in that sweet little voice when I tell him I love him. Although sometimes it's said with frustration like he's saying "I just told you that ten minutes ago", I don't care. I will never tire of hearing those words flow from his mouth.

2. Finding a piece of chocolate in my desk drawer I didn't know I had. Some of you probably think this is stupid, but obviously you don't know how much I LOVE chocolate.

3. Smelling that sweet smell of "baby" on my son when he gets out of the tub and I'm getting him ready for bed.

These are just a few things that I have found joy in recently. I plan to keep posting on different things I find joy in. Stay tuned!

Sites I love

This is a list of my favorite sites that I've used to save me tons of money. Check them out!

1. www.babycheapskate.com -- When I got pregnant three years ago I found this site that I still visit almost daily. It is a site that is updated daily that gives you the best deals on baby, kid and maternity items. My favorite thing about this site is the Top Diaper and Formula posts that are done every Sunday. They give the weekly sales on all brands of diaper and formula so that I don't have to take the time to find the best deals in my area. Of course, since we're way out of the formula and baby food around my house I only look for the pull-ups deals. It also gives you sales on kids clothes, car seats, etc. If your expecting or already have a child or children and haven't looked at this site check it out for yourself. It has saved me a ton of money over the last couple of years.

2. www.freebies4mom.com -- This is a site that I've recently found and became addicted too. It has several free items, hence the name, and a lot of different coupons. Some I recently scored were coupons for FREE gallons of milk. Yes, I said FREE. Around my house where we buy two gallons of milk EVERY time we go to the store that is a really big deal. Another recent coupon was BOGO free Sunbelt granola bars or cereal bars. These are another hot item around my house. The good thing about this coupon is that there was no limit on how many that you could print. Lets just say I stocked up and won't have to buy any for a while. :o)

3. www.ebay.com -- We all know this one. I had never really looked at ebay until I had my son. I just thought I would see what was out there one day and I was hooked. I could buy my son name brand items for hardly nothing. It's better if you can get a lot of items. I've even started selling his clothes that are too small on there and then using that money to buy him more clothes in larger sizes.

Planning for the beach

I just had to share this story. All of you who have little ones know how funny they can be so you will understand the humor. My son asked me the other day "Mommy, what are you doing on that computer over there" and my reply was "I'm looking for a place for us to stay when we go to the beach". After a minute he said "I want to go but it's raining outside and we have to go to church tonight". I tried to explain it would be a while before we got to go to the beach but at almost three he has no concept of time. Now he asks every day when we are going to the beach.

It's finally clicked!

I'm sure several of you have been through this horrible, frustrating phase. You know the one I'm talking about. It's called P-O-T-T-Y T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G. We have been attempting to potty train my son who will be three next month for the past year unsuccessfully. He has been going to the potty by himself to pee for months now but if he had to do the dreaded #2 he would do it in his underwear and then tell you he needed changing. I mean who wants to sit in that mess! I don't understand. I have read articles and blogs, got advice from friends, talked to the doctor. Nothing that they've said has worked. A lot that I have read said though to not pressure him and when he's ready it will just CLICK. We didn't want to send him to kindergarten in diapers so we tried one more thing this week and I think it's finally worked. We would take away one toy for every time he pooped in his underwear and if he pooped in the potty he got the toy back. We only had to take one toy away and he hasn't pooped in his underwear since. We took his gun away because that is his favorite toy and then he said "Please don't take my weedeater away", so you guessed it we had already decided it would be the next to go. Hey, I know that four days without an accident does not mean that we're done but for us we've hit a milestone because he's NEVER actually told us he had to poop before and now he is, so me and my husband are on cloud nine.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

If you live anywhere near where I do I'm sure your tired of the rain too. It started late yesterday afternoon and hasn't stopped yet. Here are a few pictures of the ditch beside our house and the water rushing over our road.