Her Life With Monkeys...

Happy Friday friends!

One of my challenges this week was to make a friend famous - and this person is a new friend from this challenge. I've started reading her blog daily and I just love the things she posts! Please check this out and then link over and comment on HER blog please! (:

You can read more about what Kellee says on having the best day and many other topics here, at My Life With Monkeys (dot) Com.

Friday Morning Coffee

75 Things About Me

I have a few new readers now so I figured it was time for an updated list of things about me...

1. I like to read fantasy and adventure books.
2. I also like to read romance, mystery, and crime dramas.
3. Stubborn.
4. Faithful.
5. Honest.
6. True to Myself.
7. I don't deal well with confrontation.
8. Child of God.
9. I like all kinds of music, almost every genre (except heavy metal).
10. Creative.
11. I love to do research.
12. I LOVE scary movies.
13. I'm addicted to really bad reality tv shows like Big Brother and Bachelor Pad.
14. My favorite colors are: brown, pink and teal/turquoise.
15. Prefer dogs, hate cats.
16. I like to play lame and addictive games on my Iphone like Draw Something and Matching with Friends.
17. I love the beach.
18. I also love the mountains.
19. Storms are my worst nightmare.
20. I am scared of spiders and just about any other bug.
21. I try really hard to be patient.
22. I have a temper and even though I'm 27, I am still learning how to keep it under control.
23. Addicted to chocolate.
24. And coffee.
25. I'm trying hard to be healthy and to walk daily.
26. I am known to be lazy sometimes.
27. I love to travel.
28. New York, Vegas, LA and Chicago are on my list of places I want to visit one day.
29. So are: London, Paris, Italy, and Spain.
30. I'm 1/3 Cherokee Indian.
31. My family is also Norwegian.
32. I love RICE!
33. Mexican food will be the death of me one day.
34. I'm lactose intolerant.
35. I've had some tough times in life, all of which I would do over again just to be where I am now.
36. I love being a Mom.
37. I was born to be a house wife.
38. Dancing is not something I'm good at, but love to do.
39. Going out to a bar for drinks and time with friends is a fun night.
40. So is staying in and watching a movie with a glass of wine.
41. I enjoy learning new things and meeting new people.
42. I get anxious easily.
43. I also get my feelings hurt easily.
44. My friends are everything to me.
45. But my family is so much more.
46. I love to write down quotes that means something.
47. Despite the odds, I did finish Ryan's baby book!
48. I want more kids.
49. Warm hearted.
50. Kind.
51. I don't make friends easily although I love to meet new people.
52. Fidgety.
53. I tend to get obsessed with keeping my house clean.
54. Organized.
55. Love babies/children. They are my weakness and my burden in life.
56. I would adopt many children today if we could afford it.
57. Giving.
58. I don't do well when speaking in front of people.
59. Hopeful.
60. I tend to get sick alot but hate going to the doctor.
61. I enjoy putting vague statuses on facebook/twitter.
62. Disney movies gave me a false hope for love.
63. Fiesty.
64. Happy.
65. Loving.
66. I adore sticky notes, calendars, planners and things of that nature.
67. I miss having a desk job.
68. I don't miss having to deal with people on a daily basis.
69. I'm loving being a SAHM!
70. I'm into MMA.
71. I put aside a lot of things to spend time with my son daily. The work can wait.
72. I believe in Heaven.
73. Cautious.
74. I'm addicted to my DVR and there are MANY shows I watch!
75. Jesus Christ is my Savior!

Wordless Wednesday - GNO with Church

Parental Hot Topics: The Cry it Out Method

Apparently the actual name for this technique is ‘ferberizing’. 

Named after a Doctor Richard Ferber, the gist of this method is this: if you put your baby in the crib and leave them alone, they’ll cry – but not forever – and then they’ll fall asleep. Eventually, they learn how to self-soothe themselves.

Sounds pretty easy, right?? Not always.

The hardest part of doing this every night is the crying and the screaming, up until the point when the baby gets used to the routine and only cries for a few minutes before realizing it’s time to go to sleep.

Ryan, my son, who is now 15 months old, took to this really well. A whole lot better than I expected actually. I started doing this with him at the age of 6 months. I had him on a kind of flexible schedule. When I did put him down for bed it was typically around 8 pm. He’d cry for 10-15 minutes and then fall asleep. He’s been putting himself to sleep since then on his own. Now that he’s a little older, he doesn’t really cry anymore, he just plays with the stuffed babies in his bed before falling asleep. Some times it’s 15 minutes, and sometimes it's two hours.

Here is how you actually do this method correctly and get good results, according to Dr. Ferber. I took all of these thoughts and ideas from my head, my experience, and a few other sites that I looked over and researched. I hope that someone else can benefit from this.

Once your child reaches 5 or 6 months old, they are old enough to benefit from an actual routine. So, create a bed time routine that works for your family. Ours is this: dinner, bath, play for 30-45 minutes, brush teeth, read Goodnight Moon, go to bed. Put them in the bed while they are still awake. Say your goodnights, pat and comfort them while they roll around and get comfortable, and then leave the room.

Crying is expected, so be prepared for it. Ryan still cries initially when I put him down. If this is the first time, they will probably scream and make themselves sick. The key is to keep your reactions the same every time you go check on them. Pat and comfort them while they are still in the crib, but don’t pick them up or feed them. (Of course, if they do make themselves sick, you are going to want to clean that up and start over.)

It’s important to check on them in regular intervals especially until they get used to this new routine. You have to pick a timing that works for you – it can be every five minutes or every fifteen minutes. But check on them, pat them, and then leave the room again. Over the course of the first week, start to spread out the timing of when you check on them. Ferber termed this as ‘progressive waiting’.

How long should you leave them alone? In his book, Ferber suggests these intervals:

• First night: Leave for three minutes the first time, five minutes the second time, and ten minutes for the third and all subsequent waiting periods.
• Second night: Leave for five minutes, then ten minutes, then 12 minutes.
• Make the intervals longer on each subsequent night.

For most babies, it only takes about a week or sometimes two weeks before they realize this is a routine and they get used to it. They will learn that crying won’t get them out of the crib, and they will learn how to fall asleep on their own.

The point of all of this is for your baby and you to both get a good night’s sleep, with as little drama as possible. It’s also a good way to help your baby gain some independence. The most important thing to remember is to be CONSISTANT! This quote from babycenter.com sums it up well; “Parents who've been through sleep training agree that consistency is the key. Unless you realize that your child simply isn't physically or emotionally ready and you decide to put the program on hold for a while, follow through with it for a couple of weeks. When your baby wakes you up at 2 a.m., you may be tempted to give in and hold or rock him, but if you do, your hard work will be wasted and you'll have to start over from square one.”

You are free to modify this basic premise to fit your own needs. You know what works best for your family and what doesn’t. No one likes to think that they are putting their child under any un-needed stress, but in my personal opinion, this method is actually designed to help avoid unnecessary crying. Keep in mind though that if this method works on one child, it’s not guaranteed to work on another, even one in the same household.

A lot of parents believe that this ‘cry it out’ method is needlessly harsh on such a young child and that it can leave emotional scars. I just don’t personally agree with that.  

You are welcome to your own opinions, of course, but this method worked for Ryan and us. I was so thankful that Ryan caught onto this so quickly. Now, I can lay him down and trust that he will go to sleep on his own while I get done what I need to do before bed – whether it’s clean the kitchen, read a book, watch a movie, or write a blog post. ( I do keep on the video monitor near by just so that I can keep an eye on him. )

Here is an excerpt from an article I found on the subject that sums up how I feel and what Dr. Ferber has to say as well…

Human babies are hardwired for near-constant holding, breastfeeding, and having their other needs met quickly -- the hallmarks of AttachmentParenting, Narvaez points out -- in order for their brains to develop properly. Even Dr. Richard Ferber, whose sleep-training method is commonly called the Cry It Out Method, says that he never intended parents to completely ignore their babies' nighttime tears.

"I've always believed that there are many solutions to sleep problems, and that every family and every child is unique," he said in an interview with BabyTalk. "People want one easy solution, but there's no such thing. I never encouraged parents to let their babies cry it out, but one of the many treatment styles I described in my book is gradual extinction, where you delay your response time to your baby's wakings. I went to great pains in the second edition to clarify that that treatment is not appropriate for every sleep issue, of which there are many."

In any instance, if your baby is crying so hard they can’t breathe, this Doctor doesn’t say “just let them cry” he encourages you to go and comfort them, just don’t pick them up because that defeats the purpose. 

I think using this method, or some version of it can be very beneficial to the baby and to the parents. Not every Mom feels the same way that I do about this method, or even about allowing a baby this young to have that independence. Some parents are more into the attachment and the bond with their baby that even considering doing something like this is stressful for them, and that's okay. Just don't criticize those of us that need some separation. 

Shout Out to The Classics - Novel Posters

I found these and fell in love with them! I had to share! They are created with words from the novels themselves. Read more about them here at the Novel Poster website.

The Great Gatsby

 

 

Crime and Punishment

Jane Eyre

Alice in Wonderland

Moby Dick

Sherlock Holmes

Book Review: Heart of Darkness

Title: Heart Of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: Blackwood's Magazine, 1899
 Number of Pages: Paperback, 96 pages


Genre: Classic Literature, Novella, Cultural - Africa


Plot: This book is all about the narrator's journey through the Congo and his travels on the Congo River.

Personal Thoughts:

Marlow makes a comment early on in the book about London having been "one of the dark places on earth", and then begins a story of how he once took a job as captain of a river steamboat in Africa.

This books was very interesting and  very much NOT my style.  It has a powerful story in it and a lot of horrific descriptions of what the narrator was seeing and living through. The author's descriptions didn't leave much to the imagination. That being said, there was so much content, I found myself having to go back and re-read who pages just to remind myself what happened. This book was a challenge for me, but I did make my self push through it.


Recommended Age Level: 17+

Rating: 2
Reviews/Awards:

 

Blog Challenge Update

Well, I've just completed week two of the Blog Challenge: 31 Days to a Better Blog.

So far this experience has helped me broaden the scope of who I'm writing for on my blog and most of the time it's written for just me! I'm learning a lot about myself through out this experience and I'm so excited to move forward with it! I still have four more weeks of challenges so be on the look out for a lot more blog content.

Here is a run down of the last two weeks.

Day1: The first day was all about examining my statistics on this blog. I installed Google Analytics and have been keeping track of the pageviews I get, where people visit from, the sites they come from and much more. We will be checking them again at the end of the challenge to see how much they actually change.

Day 2: We had to find a blogging buddy - on that day I found a few and have found a few since that day as well. We can use them for feedback and guest posts as needed. It's been a great way to get to know other bloggers in my niche of blogging about parenting and all.

Day 3: Making plans. This was the day that I started making plans for my 'Parental Hot Topics' posts for the next several weeks, as well as some of the other repeated posts that you see like Wordless Wednesdays and Friday Morning Coffee. It was fun sitting down and writing some plans and doing some research to try and beef up the ol' blog.

Day 4: Brainstorming. Simple as that. (:

Day 5: List posting!! This was when I thought of and created my list post of the Top Ten People that my friends should follow on Twitter! It turned out to be a great post and I've even got some new followers out of the deal!

Day 6: Choosing our social media outlet - I chose to stick with my main man, Twitter! I use that one for everything! When I update this blog, it automatically posts to twitter, which then auto updates my Facebook page too. Works for me, all I have to do is post or share from here!

Day 7: We were to look up and join a forum from our blogging niche. Done and done, like a long time ago! I already am on and post on many parenting forums.

Day 8: Monitoring, we learned how to set up our blogs to send alerts via a feed reader. This thing is amazing and I'm so glad they showed us how to do it and how it works!

Day 9: Opinion Posting! I posted my opinions on being a Stay at Home Mom - I've gotten some good feedback and some negative... but most of all it was a good post to put up.

Day 10: Refresh and Repeat. We were supposed to refresh a page on the blog, give it a new feel or a new look. To take a look at some of the most viewed pages and vamp them up again with a new look or attitude. 

Everyone over at the 31 Days Challenge Facebook page has been super supportive through this whole thing and super encouraging as well. I'm enjoying meeting all kinds of new people and I've added tons and tons of new blogs to my list of ones to read daily! I look forward to the rest of the challenge and reading and learning more in the accompanying book. Thank you to all of those who have been supportive thus far and I hope to see you back time and time again!

Friday Morning Coffee

• 'What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas' doesn't apply to a Prince! There are nekkid photos flying around all over the web of Prince Harry partying in Las Vegas this week. Apparently, the Palace in England has warnings out to tabloids that printing these images would infringe on the Prince's privacy. NBC
• Tropical storm Isaac is looking to hit US landfall soon, the question is will it stay a storm or get stronger and become a hurricane? Batten down the hatches, Florida! SARASOTA HERALD
• GO DAWGS! "Georgia’s early interaction with [Todd] Gurley helped the Bulldogs land the four-star prospect over Clemson, North Carolina and at least a dozen other serious suitors. Nine days before the Bulldogs’ season opener, it’s clear that the 6-foot-1, 218-pound speedster will at least be in Georgia’s tailback rotation this season. That is, if he doesn’t become the first freshman since Danny Ware in 2004 to start an opener at tailback for the Bulldogs." AJC
• 34 mine strikers were killed by police last Thursday in South Africa, families are demanding that the ordering officer be arrested. I'm praying for these families. CBS
• Obama-Biden is leading Romney-Ryan by 48 to 44 %. "A majority of voters (54 percent) said Romney’s choice of the conservative Wisconsin congressman does not affect their vote either way, while 23 percent said it make them less likely to vote for the GOP ticket and 22 percent said it make them more likely." POST
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Opinion: Stay at Home Mom's

When I decided to stay at home with Ryan not long after I found out that I was pregnant, I wasn't sure exactly how I would feel once the time finally came for me to stay home. Adding that to my 'job resume' brought all kinds of unwelcome comments and remarks from people who barely knew me. They were hurtful, and they made me rethink my decision more than once. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I decided to do what I thought was best for my family, and that still rings true today.


Some of the remarks I've heard are:

• "Your house must be spotless with so much time to clean."
• No it's not. I do my best to keep it clean, to keep the dishes done, to do some laundry every day... but by no means is my house 'spotless'. I spend most of my time playing with my son and enjoying every moment I have with him at this amazing age where he learns so much every day. 

• "Don't you want to work?"
•  Sure. I'd love to get back into the real world and have a job, get some adult interaction and make some money. But that doesn't mean I am going to run out tomorrow and find one just because I want to. I've made sacrifices for my family and I intended to do everything I can to keep doing so. Not having a college degree, I'm sure that all the money I'd make in a part time job would go straight into childcare and that's just not worth it to me.

• "I'm to active to be a stay at home Mom like you."
• So, basically you think I sit around on my butt all day doing nothing? Great. Currently, I chase a toddler around all day, except for nap time. I cook, I clean, I do laundry, I care for the dog, I grocery shop, I exercise, and many other things as well. Every day around here is different. 

• "It must be nice not to have to do anything all day." 

• REALLY? This one makes me the maddest. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who cares for us, works hard for us on a daily basis and doesn't come home and complain about something that just didn't get done. I focus more on my son, teaching him, and playing with him. Chores come last. Yes, I pride myself on keeping my house mostly clean, but that doesn't mean I ignore my son to do those things.  

I'll break it down for you. Being a stay at home Mom is the hardest thing I've ever made the decision to do.

I am on the clock 24/7.

I work very hard for very little pay. 

I'm challenged on a daily basis. 

The benefits vary from good to bad. 

There is no chance of promotion. 

My employee (my son) sometimes hates me. 

I don't get sick time, or vacation time for that matter. 

The majority of people in this world think that my job is easy and unimportant. 

The future of my family depends on me. 

If I fail, my company will fall apart and no one will be able to bail us out. 

I struggle on a daily basis on understanding how to be a good boss (Mom). 

My job is priceless. I couldn't put a price on it if I wanted to. I love being home with my baby.

Wordless Wednesday - The 'Kim Face'

Weekend Warriors (8/17-8/19)

This weekend was BABY FREE.

It was kind of nice not having Ryan around for two nights, but I missed him terribly! It had been a great week of family time (Wesley had three days off work last week). We loved having him at home! Friday was a work night for me... I took Ryan to my Mom's house for the weekend and then went to start a new cleaning gig. I worked for a couple of hours and then went home and crashed!

Saturday was pretty lazy! It was nice. I went that morning to pick up my nephew, Davy, from football practice at the Pike Co fields, and ended up sitting for an hour watching a scrimmage game. It was fun to see him out there, being all grown up! I'm so excited for his FIRST official game next Saturday. The afternoon was super lazy - took a nap, worked on my blog a little and then ended up at dinner with my Sister in law and family. After that, I went to my friend Marlena's apartment to watch The Hunger Games. Only the second time I've seen the movie and I loved it again, even though there was a lot of chatting during it. (: It was the perfect end to an okay day.

Sunday we had to get up early for church - Wesley had set up duty and I was keeping nursery. We always enjoy volunteering on Sundays. After church, we grabbed some pizza and headed to my Mom's house to eat lunch and get Ryan. We ended up hanging out for a few hours - both sisters were there and so was Lauren and Nathan. We played some cards and watched some funny you tube videos. If you haven't seen the one called "baby goat is a douche bag", then you need to go watch it. Actually, I'll post it here! (: Enjoy!

15 Months

Today my baby boy is 15 months old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Tomorrow he goes to the doctor so that I can see how much he's grown, then we get some shots and he'll come home and be fussy and hopefully sleep all afternoon! (:

I've been writing these little letters to Ryan in hopes that one day he will actually sit down and read them - and know how I feel about him, and how he's grown as time has been passing us by. At the doctor this week you were 24 pounds and 31.5 inches tall! My big, healthy boy!!

Dear Ryan, 

I'm so proud of the boy you are becoming. You learn so much every day and are so close to really talking my ear off! I swear you already say some phrases, but they still sound a lot like babbles! You are a pro at walking now and even try to run on occasion. You love your Momma and Daddy more than anything and it shows when we see your face light up at seeing us near by. Your smile brightens all of my bad days and your laugh warms my heart. 

You currently love stuffed animals and cars more than any other toys. You get excited when I bring back out a toy you haven't seen in a few days and it's like Christmas all over again! I look forward to seeing how you grow and progress in talking over the next few months and I can't wait to share some many more new experiences with you baby boy. 

Love, Momma

Parental Hot Topics: Breast feeding or Bottle feeding?

My general goals for this blog series is to keep things as neutral as possible and to keep my own personal opinions to a minimum. I'm posting these for educational purposes and to share some things that some parents might not consider when it comes to their children.

This week we're discussing the differences, pros/cons of breast feeding versus bottle feeding. Feel free to comment below on agreements, disagreements or general feelings about the subject. Please refrain from being harsh to me or other readers. Thank you.
_______________________________________________________

Reading Challenge Update!

Last year, I posted this list of 50 books that I wanted to have READ by the time I turned 30! I just turned 27 in January of this year, so I still have time, but I'm slowly already marking books off the list!

Blue Books are the ones I'd already read previous to the challenge.
Pink Books are the ones I have and plan to read soon.
Purple Books are the ones I've read since beginning the challenge.
Black Books are the ones I need to get/read.

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
2. 1984 by George Orwell
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5. To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
9. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
11. A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
12. The great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
14. The Bell Jar by Sylvie Plath
15. Brave new World by Aldous Huxley
16. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
17. Don Quixote by Miduel de Cervantes
18. The Bible by Various
19. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
20. Ulysses by James Joyce
21. The quiet American by Graham Greene
22. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulke
23. Money by Martin Amis
24. Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
25. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
26. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
27. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
28. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
29. Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
30. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
31. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
32. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
33. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
34. The way we live now by Antony Trollope
35. The Outsider by Albert Camus
36. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
37. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
38. Frankenstein by Mary Selley
39. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
40. Man without Woman by Ernest Hemingway
41. Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
42. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
43. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
44. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
45. One flew over the Cockoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
46. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
47. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
48. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
49. The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
50. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

People YOU Should be Following on Twitter

If you aren't already on Twitter - then I guess you can ignore this post!

Here are my TOP TEN people that everyone should be following on Twitter:

10. @disneywords  -  Okay, so this really isn't a person, but they post all kinds of quotes from Disney movies and I just love to read and retweet them! (: Latest one I loved was, "I am a damsel, I am in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day. –Megara (Hercules)".

9. @danecook  -  Yes, he's a bad dude most of the time, but his tweets are typically hilarious. Here is one that made me laugh out loud the other day: "I’ve come to the defeated realization that my cell phone just wants to be between the drivers seat & center console."

8. @ZooeyDeschanel  -  One of my ALL TIME favorite actresses, and she's hilarious and an avid tweeter to boot! (: Here tweet the other day asked "When will someone open a sunglasses store called fifty shades of shades?" Too funny!

7. @kramergirl  -  She's a One Tree Actress and a quick rising country star! My kind of girl!! Love her and all the photos that she posts from being on tour with Lee Brice and Brad Paisley! 
"Been a fun 3 days from New York with @bradpaisley to opening for @leebrice & acoustic show for my loves @Sea http://instagr.am/p/OUM7PlLMsg/"

6. @SophiaBush  -  Wow, there are a lot of girls on my list... but this one is amazing! (: She's also a One Tree Hill actress but is also an activist. She stands for a lot of things and does a lot of charity work. I look forward to seeing her on her new show this fall, Partners. 

5. @YahooOmg  -  This is the page where I get ALL my celeb info from! (:

4. @joelmchale  -  He is of course always good for a laugh! "I get disturbingly embarrassed for people who talk loud while wearing headphones." (:

3. @iamgreenfield  -  This is Schmidt from New Girl, Max Greenfield! Hilarious! (:

2. @JimGaffigan  -  He is one of my all time favorite comedians for this reason: "Turns out butterflies don't even taste like butter", his tweet from earlier this month. Haha.

1. @Followtheblonde  -  - My all time favorite female actress ever, Melissa Peterman! Loved her on Reba and loving her again on Baby Daddy on ABC Family. (: "He only wears them to drive. Good Dog. pic.twitter.com/EwYFS1t3"

Friday Morning Coffee

• Bumbo baby seats have been RECALLED due to over two dozen reports of fractured skulls on babies that sit in them. This product has been designed to help babies sit upright until they are able to do it on their own - and is not to be used anywhere but on the floor! Bumbo International has recalled them and asking not to use them until you have called to get the new safety kit which includes a warning sticker and safety harness. THE GLOBE
• In the world of social media. Pinterest has introduced new apps for the Ipad and Android phones. SFGATE
• I'm praying for the people out west dealing with the rapid spread of wildfires; Idaho, Washington, North Cali and Oregon. REUTERS
• Phyllis Thaxter, an actress best known for her role as Clark Kent's adoptive mother in the 1978 film "Superman," has died in Florida. She was 92. FOX
• I absolutely HATE Miley's new hair!! NYDAILY
• Georgia Lottery President Margaret DeFrancisco, who has helped the state generate billions of dollars for public education, announced her retirement Wednesday, although her departure was not immenent. AJC
• FALCONS: Top five positions to watch as they play the Bengals this week! AJC

Toddler Time: Photos of Ryan

Wordless Wednesday - Chasing Bunny Rabbits

Weekend Warriors (8/14-8/16)

This weekend was pretty uneventful for the most part.

Friday night we went to see Nana and Pop and Aunt Steph. I spent time cleaning Mom's house and then we went to eat Mexican for dinner before heading back home - my sister, Stephanie, stayed the weekend with us. It was so awesome to have her around!

Saturday was BORING! LOL But I loved it that way. Steph and I went shopping for a few hours while Daddy stayed home with Ryan. We went to Goodwill, Bealls Outlet and to Walmart, then brought Chickfila home for lunch. We spent the rest of the day watching television - most importantly, the first four episodes of Walking Dead. Steph has never seen the show! Then we watched a movie before bed - and I also spent some time cleaning the house and baking for my 31 Party on Sunday.

Sunday, Steph and I got up and went to church - leaving Ryan home with his Daddy. (Wesley had to work late the night before from home, so he was not ready to go to church with us that morning). Afterwards, we came home to clean the house, vacuum, and eat lunch. Around 2pm, some friends and my Mom showed up for my party and it was honestly just what I needed that afternoon. (I'll post about that one day... when I feel like being honest about how my heart feels).

Moon Sand

This morning, Ryan and I had a new venture- making and playing with what is called Moon Sand. This was a pinterest find and Ryan had fun playing with it!

The recipe I found said to make it with five cups of flour and one cup of baby oil. Well, I know my kid and he would taste it, so I made it with canola oil instead and it worked great! (And he definitely tasted it!)

Here are some pictures from our fun:

I added a duck to hide in the sand. He had fun digging him out!

Checking it out, before even touching it!

Checking it out, he had to save the duckie first.

Playing with a sand toy, a sea shell.

Scraping the sand around in our box. Next time, I want to give him some trucks to use too!

31 Days Blog Challenge

So... to help myself get back into the ring with this blog, I'm participating in the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge (Darren Rowse) starting TOMORROW!

I'm  looking forward to learning some tips and tricks to get this blog back up and running, and hopefully some of the time and effort I put into it will help me gain some more readers and traffic. My goal over these next 6 weeks is to gain more followers and to just feel better about what I'm posting.

So, today was all about statistics and looking at the amount of pageviews I already have to date since I started this thing and then when the 6 weeks are up, I'll check it again and see how far I've gotten. It might not bring in a TON of more followers, but just a few would make me happy! (:

Giveaway: AVON Tote Bag + Goodies!

 Enter NOW to WIN a FREE AVON Tote Bag filled with all kinds of AVON goodies! (:

List of Goodies: 
Blue Tote Bag (Small) Measures 10"H x 8"W x 2½"D with 5½" drop handles. $15.00 Value
SKIN SO SOFT Bug Guard Plus Picaridin Aerosol Spray 4 oz. net wt. $5.99 Value
MOISTURE THERAPY Ultra Skin Renewal Ointment Hypoallergenic. 3.4 fl. oz. $8.00 Value
2 Sweetest Day Lip Balms $.99 each Value
mark Glow Baby Glow Hook Up Lip Gloss in Blow Kisses Red $6.50 Value
mark Metalliner Hook Up Eye Glam in Bronze $6.50 Value
Avon Loose Powder Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz $2.99 Value
Sample of Outspoken by Fergie Frangrance
Sample of Sunset Haiku Fragrance
Sample of Advanced Techniques Frizz Control

Sample of Advanced Techniques Damage Repair Leave in Treatment for Dry and Damaged hair
Sample of ANEW Genics Eye Treatment

The goodies total to about a $45 value! Amazing! 

Just follow the steps here and hopefully your name will be chosen! You can enter initially on Saturday, and continue to TWEET about the contest for the week to earn even more points! Email me or comment if you have any questions!

NOTE: Be sure to read all the info on the entries. You MUST comment on this blog post to answer the question FIRST or your entries won't count!! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Morning Coffee

This is going to be my new series for Friday Mornings where I will list and talk about all the things from the news that week that I think everyone should know at least a little about... I am going to 'try' to remain unbiased and post about a lot of different subjects.

Please feel free to comment, suggest, or hate anything I post about. (:

• McDonald's has announced a "Breakfast After Midnight" program that offers a limited number of the most popular items from the chains' breakfast menu. Applebee's, also to capitalize on the nocturnivore trend, offers special menu items and deals for late-night. FESMAG.COM
• The FBI now says the gunman in the Wisconsin Sikh temple shootings died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he was shot by police. CHICAGO TRIBUNE
•  MTV's favorite former bad girl, Kristin Cavallari, has given birth to her first child.
  "We are thrilled to welcome Camden Jack Cutler into the world," she tweeted. "He was born this morning [Wednesday] weighing 7lbs 9oz. Everyone is doing great!"MTV 
•   Falcons coach Mike Smith is tired of the all of this two-hand touch and technique work. He’s ready to start evaluating the offensive line, a major area of concern for the 2012 season, when they face the Baltimore Ravens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Georgia Dome. he offensive line gave up 26 sacks and 84 quarterback hits last season. The Falcons first two draft picks were offensive linemen and they replaced offensive line coach Paul Boudreau with Pat Hill, the former head coach at Fresno State. After the offseason, Smith was already pointing toward the exhibition games and stating how important they were for the offensive linemen. He wants to see how the line holds up under full contact. They will determine the line positions based on the exhibition games. Smith doesn’t put much stock in the depth chart which shows the same starters who opened last season on the first-team. AJC
•  In a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney focused on President Obama's recent change to the welfare reform law signed in 1996. Romney said the president changed welfare so that people no longer have to work to receive the cash assistance. "It is wrong to make any change that would make America more of a nation of government dependency. We must restore, and I will restore, work for welfare!" he said to loud cheers and applause from the crowd of about 700. USATODAY
• July was the hottest month in U.S. history, federal scientists announced Wednesday, eclipsing the record set during the heart of the Dust Bowl in 1936. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average temperature for the contiguous United States in July was 77.6 degrees, which is 3.3 degrees above the 20th century average, marking the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the nation. USATODAY
  
  

Weekend Warriors (8/3-8/5)

Well, I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging on a more regular basis since I haven't been doing that in like months. It feels good to sit down and put what's on my mind onto the screen.

I started Weekend Warriors sometime last summer to update all of you on our weekends spent doing things around the house or around our town. I stopped after a while because blogging and being a Mom to an infant was too much for me. I was having to nap when he napped and that didn't leave a lot of time while he was awake to write anything. So, here I am.

I figured since a lot of kids went back to school this week, it was like a new beginning. So I decided to make it mine.

On friday, Ryan and I spent most of the day hanging out here at the house, cleaning, playing and doing laundry. I really get to enjoy him a lot more these days now that he's almost fifteen months old and he wants to help clean and bring me dirty clothes... but most of the time I just end up going around behind him cleaning up because he drags the laundry all over the house and laughs at me while he does it. It's kind of funny, but super frustrating. That evening after Daddy got home from work, we got dressed and prepared to head to the Moose Lodge (about 10 mins from the house) for a surprise graduation party for our friend at church.

Let me start that story with one that truly started last July when we started going to Lifesong church. In the past year, we've both gotten really involved, made lots of new friends and enjoy the company of them. Our friend graduated from the local police academy this week and his wife threw him a huge surprise party. So, we went, ate pizza, swam in the pool, ate some cake and then rushed home before he storm hit! That's right... it started to thunder on us, and luckily the bottom didn't drop out until we made it home.

Saturday was pretty lazy for the most part. I went to see my friend April that morning to take her an Avon order and to talk about my upcoming 31 party that she and I are hosting at my house. I made my wish list on what I want to get if I earn a certain amount of money, although I don't know what all on that list I will actually be able to get or purchase at a discount. That night, Ryan stayed home with Daddy so that I could go help my sister and parents paint at a salon in Lovejoy that my Dad has been renovating for some friends. (I always jump at the chance to make some extra money). It was a fun time of painting, small talk and then finished with some food and coffee at Waffle House.

Sunday was easy too - church was good although Ryan got knocked down by another child and had a huge knot on the back of his head most of the day. Wesley learned how to help with media during the service, I'm so glad that he's making friends and getting involved in our church. After church we went to lunch with our Pastor and his family and our lead singer/guitarist at O'Charleys. We had a good lunch - and then headed to my parents house after nap time for dinner and some quality time for Aunt Steph to spend with Ryan.

This week has been good so far - kind of busy. Ryan stayed at Mom's on Monday night so that I could attend a sweet friend's visitation for her Papa that passed away over the weekend. So Wes and I got Taco Bell for dinner and watched Warrior. (For anyone who cares, it was a fantastic movie about two brothers who fight MMA). The upcoming weekend looks less eventful, but we shall see.

Wordless Wednesday - Funny Face

Book Review: The Witness by Dee Henderson

Title: The Witness (Shield of Honor #1)
Author: Dee Henderson
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., January 2006
Number of Pages: Paperback, 378 pages


Genre: Christian Fiction, Drama, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Romance, Inspirational

Plot:

For eight years, Amanda Griffin has been on the run from Richard Wise. She holds the access to twenty million dollars of ill-gotten funds, and a list of his contacts that she's gradually turning over to the police. One mistake could snuff out her life. Her family already thinks she's dead.

Trouble arrives when her sisters receive a huge inheritance from the father they never knew. Afraid that Wise will take revenge on Marie and Tracey, Amanda moves back to town to keep an eye on them -- and let them know she's still alive, for now.

Police Chief Luke Granger met Amanda three years ago, and he hasn't forgotten her. One of his homicide detectives is dating Tracey; another is just getting to know Marie. Luke, Marsh, and Connor will do everything in their power to keep the three Griffin women safe. But it may not be enough.

Personal Thoughts: 




This book had it's high points and it's low points! It starts right off the bat when Luke meets Amanda three years previous to the major plot of the book. The connection between the two is obvious to begin with, and then when we see them three years later, the connection is still present. Luke cares about her and her sisters. Marsh and Connor do too... the middle of the book lacks a little and the plot moves along slowly. But it's all build up for the last third of the book when things start happening fast and ends with a BANG!



I personally loved this book. It was a christian fiction book - but the only references were prayers and personal conversations about beliefs. It was not a 'throw it in your face' kind of book. I liked that there were no sex scenes or curse words. I like good clean novels that tell a good story and have a little mystery to them. This book satisfied just about everything that I like about a good novel.

Recommended Age Level: 18+ 
Rating: 4.1

Reviews:

Dee Henderson departs from her usual pattern by focusing on three couples, making her protagonists older, and having the series more integrated; in fact, many of the story threads aren't finished in this book. But the book has her signature blend of mystery and suspense. The characters are fully drawn, but Henderson's point-of-view choices prevent readers from connecting as deeply as those in her previous novels. Amanda and Tracey are never the viewpoint characters, and I think the book suffers because of it, especially with Amanda. Hopefully future books will allow readers to get to know her better. In all, The Witness is an excellent choice for romantic suspense fans. -- Katie Hart, Christian Book Previews.com 

My Opinions - Christianity & Chickfila

Okay, I've pretty much kept my opinion to myself on the matter thus far and will continue to do so after this post. I just want to put down my thoughts about the issues.

#1 Chickfila is a privately owned Christian company and has been since the doors first opened. Of course they are going to run their business as such until the day their doors close. They stay closed on Sunday's to allow their employees and patrons to spend their time at church if they so choose. Why are you all surprised that Dan Cathy supports biblical marriage!?

#2 Be gay, or don't be. I don't really care nor am I going to judge you or not be friends with you if you are. It's not my place! God is the one you will have to face in the end.

#3 The bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin.

Here is a new testament and old testament verse to prove my point:

Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin. Leviticus 18:22 NLT

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies… Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:24, 26-27

#4 The bible also states that the definition of 'marriage' is one man, one woman. Those are the words I live by.

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Matthew 19:4-6

My philosophy is "Love the Sinner and Hate the Sin".

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

I love all people, but I don't have to love the things that they do!