weekend project.

a new sink!
nick wanted to put it in before christmas. i freaked. thought how the hell am i supposed to host christmas if something goes wrong?! of course, nick was upset at my pessimistic ways. we finally had some time this weekend, so he went for it!
i have to say, i'm very proud of him. did it all by himself. who knew my little video game nerd could be so handy! ;o)


before: yucky stainless double basin sink.

during: nick hard at work.

 

after: a new granite sink. nice big basin. cool new faucet. {that i'm still getting used too!} and a new quieter garbage disposal.

 

 

yay home improvements!

10 months!

-still only has his two teeth.
-is rolling like crazy.
-gets up on all fours and rocks.
-'dances' to the music. {video soon!}
-loves balls and books.
-says mama, dada, and kitty. loves to talk!
-waves.
-working on learning 'more' in sign language.
-is a huge fan of table food! will grab it right off your plate...
-loves peek a boo.
-would take baths all day, every day.
-wakes us in the morning with babble. not cries! ;o)
-enjoys being out and about. loves it! 

and now for the pictures. not so many this month...

did not want to take a picture with mr. panda.

had to bribe him with a binky!

my new favorite picture!

a shot of him in action. the boy is always moving!

daddy making sure he doesn't fall off the chair!

 

good friday.

dad's surgery went well.
nick's biopsy was benign.
ben's feeling better.

we're celebrating with movies, beer, and pizza!
i love lazy nights in. ;-)

please send...

happy thoughts for my dad. {he's a lurker here!}
he's having his second knee replacement today. the surgery is at 545am in chicago. that's an early morning!
had the first knee done in october.
and his kidney surgery was in june.
phew.
hoping he's all done with surgeries for a long, long time!

get well soon dad! we're thinking of ya.
xo.

another.

ear infection. a double one at that.
pedi said he's not too worried about the ear infections yet. if they show up in the summer, then maybe. but for now he's a normal daycare kid. that he'll be seeing us until ben's two and then not so much! hoping he's right and ben's immune system kicks ass by then!
now on zithromax. only for three days though! and once a day. kinda nice since ben isn't the best medicine taker!
we're heading back to work/school tomorrow!
i'm so off schedule. being home is really messing with me.

random tidbit: ben hasn't grown a bit since his check up a few weeks ago! still 21.8 pounds and a measly 27.5 inches! ;o)

beaner cracked me up at the appointment. had to take pictures. yes, i'm always armed with a camera...
i mean in a diaper and socks playing with toys. how cute is he?!
and waving to mama. and the fantastic hubby who was able to leave work to join us!

 

still sick.

beanie still isn't feeling well.
thought his fever broke this morning. not so much. he spiked another when nick was home with him. thinking he'll be seeing the doctor tomorrow. ;-(
glad i was able to get to work for a few hours. got some stuff taken care of which was good since i'll be out tomorrow...
he's not absolutely miserable. just spurts of unhappiness. not really taking his bottles. munching on rice puffs, yogurt treats, and unflavored pedialyte. {why must all pedialyte be fruit flavored? my kid hates fruit? but then again, i can't imagine pea flavored juice drink!}

i didn't torture ben with his ten month pics. but i did take some today.
daddy decided ben should have access to the rice puffs....

yes, daddy will be vacuuming this evening!

home sick.

got the phone call at work that ben was running a fever. left work early to go get the poor lil guy. he's sleeping up a storm. hoping this blows over and we don't need to visit the pediatrician.

nick and i are splitting staying at home tomorrow. i love, love, love our jobs. so flexible. so i'm on morning shift with ben while nick works. then nick is going to come home and i'll go to work for the afternoon. it is my night to close the office, so it works out well.

since he was miserable i didn't bother with pictures. i'm hoping to grab them tomorrow morning. maybe i can catch him bright eyed and bushy tailed?!

til then a ben picture to tide ya over. it's been a while...
this picture cracks me up. the crazy toothed smile or something! ;o)

cannot wait.

for the olympics.
i think they've even made the blog before.
i was beyond exhausted, thank you benjamin, when the summer olympics were on!
i'm gonna be ready this year!!!
the week of february 7th is gonna be awesome. superbowl, birthday, olympics! fun, fun, fun!

fyi, crazy hectic day. ben is a bit sick. hoping for pics and update tomorrow since he is now 10 months old!! ;o)

a quick thanks.

to you lovely readers who are leaving comments. so fun!
and i know there are more of you out there... you can say hello too!

some replies to the posts since i'm not sure you guys are opting to be notified when someone else posts a reply....

the pop cupcakes were a hit. except for mixing white cake with dark cola/pop/soda. i also baked mine for the entire time that was suggested on the box. yes, they were sticky and the wrappers came loose after a few days, but they were tasty.  i've also been told it works in cake form and tastes better the day after! haven't tried my cream soda one yet. also thinking that you could mix strawberry with white and that might be good. with some coconut frosting. seriously, i'm going to be 200# by the time i try all the combos i have swimming around my head!

clementines. yes, i knew they were mandarin oranges. i think it's the seedless thing that really makes me love them! i've been able to find them for $4.99 for 5 pounds. cuties even has their own website. there is a place to sign up for coupons. i have not received one yet and signed up a week or two ago. i know jewel carries cuties. so you could nab them with your preferred card and coupon for mayb $3.99 on a good week.

and for fellow couponers.
check out these websites. redplum. smartsource. coupons. coupon surfer. i've also done searches for a specific product and sometimes their websites will have links for coupons!

k. i hope i'm up to date on responding to all the responses!

if i missed ya, it wasn't intentional! ;o)

clementines

one of my favorite fruits. wish they weren't seasonal!

these beauties were a gift for nick's birthday. i love it when nick gets gifts that i can use! {or eat!}

yeah, another lame post... but it's a busy evening....

grocery buzz.

i used to hate grocery shopping. dispise it. and we used to spend ridiculous amounts of money. paid no attention to pricing, coupons, sales. just bought what we wanted, when we wanted. not that there's anything wrong with that... but now that i've realized how much i can save, i think it's totally worth the hassle!

now it's fun. a game. {krystn, i understand your obsession with the grocery game a while ago!}
took a class with clair in the fall. check out her webiste. love her! have subbed to the chicago trib on sundays just for the coupons. and also sub to all you. both are completely worth the subscription price and have already paid for themselves!

today i scored big. so proud of myself!
got this at jewel for $56.78!!!

here's a closer look at the items.
the veggie section. peppers, cilantro, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, jalepenos...

misc items. cream cheese, sour cream, string cheese, canned items, tortillas, beef, cut off a bottle of mccormick's spice, and a bit of baby stuff...

 

 lots of baby stuff. lots of food {there are at least 10 gerber two packs and four bottles of 3rd stages food...}, snackies, wash, cereal, and some yoplait delights!

 

 then there's pasta, salsa, chips, and bread.

{nick said his salsa splurge ruined some of my savings! he felt kinda bad after he realized what it cost. but that's okay!!}

 

not bad right?

$106.17 was the original total.

saved $17.84 in preferred card savings. $31.55 in coupons!

the coupons kinda came at a price. you see walgreens gives out register rewards. these rewards can be used at jewel. today alone i nabbed $19 dollars in RR from walgreens. but i did spend $60 to get those.

this is what i got for $60...

plus 5- 12 packs of pepsi products. yes 5!
i saved almost $40 dollars at walgreens. $23 in walgreens sales, about $10 in coupons, and $6.50 in walgreens coupons.

if you add it all up, i think that's pretty good... all that loot for about $110!

i'm afraid.

nick wants to start p90x.
i kind of want to try it... just have to find the time and the energy! i don't like getting up earlier than 545. that's pushing it now. and i don't want to stay up late either... must figure this out!

32 candles

on his cake today. well, we didn't have cake. not today. and when we did there were no candles... anywho.

happy birthday nick. thanks for being such a good hubby and daddy. 
i love you. beaner does too! ;o)

i guess...

i shouldn't have left you guys hanging. sorry.
nick has stitches because he had a biopsy done last week. i thought most of my readers knew this and didn't think twice about putting it up there! nick had what we thought was a bug bite. but it didn't go away, so he saw a dermatologist. the derm did an excision and biopsy. doesn't think it is anything to worry about but sent the specimen out for pathology just in case...
he follows up with the doc next week, so until then he has three stitches in the back of his leg which means no volleyball for him.

k.
now on a lighter note...


ben not enjoying fruits! ;o)

so nice.

so sundays nick and i play on indoor volleyball league.
today nick couldn't play due to his stitches... looks like he'll be out next week too. but that's beside the point.
i was glad he sat out today... why??
because i got to wear the good knee pads. and they are soooo nice. i'm in love. and i'm making him go buy me my own pair this week. i can't possibly imagine playing in anything else!
the ones that i'm wearing are from high school. when i was on the dance team. so that's like freshman year!!
i've complained to nick repeatedly after our games that my knees still hurt. now i know why. apparently, all knee pads are not created equal! ;o)

pop cupcakes

or soda cupcakes. i guess a few of you might call them coke cupcakes. which is beyond wrong, since coke already is a specific type but whatever...
back to the food!

got this recipe from a friend. had to try it since i <3 cupcakes!

all you need is a can of pop and a package of cake mix. no egg.  no oil. just cake mix and pop.
all i had was yellow cake, so i used sprite...

turned out so yummy!
i'm not a big fan of yellow cake. these were lighter. nick even approved and he isn't a fan of sweets!

looking forward to trying white cake with creme soda and chocolate cake with cherry vanilla dr. pepper. yum!

if you try a combo and it's a success, let me know! ;o)

busy busy

today. have cleaned, baked, and am working on scrapping while beaner naps. then it is off to run some errands.
just wanted to let you know i've added a subscribe area on the right side... by popular demand! ;o)
hope it makes viewing easier.
let me know how it works.
a better post tomorrow... i promise!

he knows.

where the toy corner is!!

heck, with all the toys he has, he doesn't need to roll far!
he is rolling everywhere. and sometimes gets himself in the silliest positions! so fun.

team conan...

i love him.
he's so goofy. have been a fan for years.  was super excited when i found out he would be replacing leno. have been bad at watching. makes me wish we had tv access in our bedroom... then again, maybe not. i have enough trouble getting to bed at a decent time!

have to say i thought this was pretty cool...



love his string dance too!

and his response to the craziness that has been out there the past few days with his show and jay and jimmy, well, i think he's pretty neat. yes, i said neat.
here's what he said. might have to make more of an effort to watch him where ever he ends up....

12 on the 12th.

so i was never really good at it. {for those who don't know, you take 12 pictures on the 12th day of the month and then share your pictures as a post....}

thinking i'm going to change it up and post twelve random thoughts on the twelth, since the blog is picture overloaded anyway. ;-)

-my feet are cold. they always are... but i can't go to sleep with cold feet, so i need to fix this soon.
-had a nice time at mommy's night out. wish my two certain individuals could have joined me but i understand impending labor and a child in the er.
-am itching to try out my new cookbook but have been a nice friend and let some people borrow it...
-am not sure what's wrong with me... i have a package and i haven't opened it. i love mail and packages!!
-has scrapped the past few nights and it makes me happy.
-thinks it's so fun that ben can try all table foods. i hear string cheese was a big hit tonight.
-is longing to go to the library. or a bookstore...
-need to figure out a birthday gift for nick from ben!
-thinks it's sad that i thought today was 'warm.' it was 20 flippin degrees.
-am lucky to have some pretty cool people in my life.
-wants to have a movie night to watch cloudy with a chance of meatballs. and am looking forward to where the wild things are being released on dvd.
-saw that there is now chicago style popcorn from okedoke. can't find it on their website... aha, here's the only thing i can find... but it can't be as good as garrett's. totally regret not buying it. thinking i'm going to grab a bag just because!

i think.

ben had enough.
nick was playing with him while i was making dinner. next thing we know, he pulled the blanket over his head and took a nap! hilarious. guess he is his mommy's child... i too can nap anywhere!

he also had a severe case of floppy sock this evening!

and because i can't post pictures with no ben faces...
this is ben doing his new thing. he turns his head and looks at you like you are the weirdest thing ever!

and yes, we know he doesn't match, but we love him anyway! ;-)

notebook doodles.

am loving them!
here's the site.

some favorites...
i mean how stinking cute is that tent? and yes, laughing always helps. ;-)

these last two are really making me think about my word for the year. gratitude.

 

 

go colts?

sounds so strange.
the other day i was like who the heck am i going to hope wins the superbowl.
no bears. boo.
then i thought steelers. but no, they're out too. double bummer.
and then i was like, seriously shan, how could you forget the colts? i can't believe i didn't even think of them! i'm such a bad hoosier!
i'll also be cheering for mr. brees. think it's so cool that he got to keep wearing black and gold. ;o)

winter + nurse =

super dry, cracked, painful hands for shannon. so not fun.
have tried pretty much everything to treat it and nothing works.
yes, i've tried bag balm and yes, that stuff is nasty.

this year i've tried something new.

seriously. has made quite a difference. my hands are still killer dry. and my knuckles still crack and bleed. {sorry. but it is true.} but it's not as bad as previous years.  been trying to slather it on at night and sleep with it on there! will not wear gloves to bed. nope. can barely wear socks and you think i'm wearing gloves... absolutely not!

thinking to buy an extra bottle for work instead of lugging one back and forth!

9 months.

finally.

-has had a few ear infections. hoping tubes are not in his future.
-has two teeth!
-hates fruit. won't eat peaches, bananas, apricots, hawaiian delight.
-loves veggies. seriously, can't get enough of them.
-pretends he's a little birdy and opens his mouth for some of whatever mom and dad are eating.
-is sleeping like a champ.
-still not crawling. but pivots and rolls to get to whatever he's after. mostly remotes. ;o)
-is somewhere around 28 inches and 21 pounds.
-is clapping like crazy again. and sometimes waves.
-still doesn't say momma. loves saying dadda.
-says kitty. well, at least i think he does!

sigh, mom do we really have to take pictures every month?

i think that might just be an eye roll...

mom why do you insist on removing my binky for pictures?

seriously, i'm so much bigger than mr. panda now...

i can roll and i'm quick.

sleepy face...
must be exhausting having all those toys back there to play with...

cat, wait. i'm not tired any more. can we play with kitty?

{ignore kitty's bum.  bad picture. but so ben. he loves orbit!}

i found this thing that makes a crinkly noise on my shirt.

and just because.

i want

to nap like this...

killer week at work. not going to bed before midnight. all perfect reasons to make me jealous of ben. seriously, what an exhausting life.  granted the wee man is sick again. so i'll cut him a little slack and be thankful he sleeps through the night. or i really would be a zombie by the weekend! ;o)

scrappies the second.

k. just to get the scrapbooking updates out of the way, here's my stuff from the latest issue of rsc. december 09/january 10. gosh, that 10 was weird to type. just looks like a random 10. anywho...

i won't bog down the post with supply lists...

for the open gallery. created with a byom kit.

kelzpop:

 

 

 

an oldie for the blue and white section. used a byom kit here too...

 tiff zippy:
totally nabbed the title from someone somewhere...

paper follie: 

pine cone press:

 

a scrappy design:

 

bazzill. a staple!

zva creative: