ta da!

i'm reporting back on my to do list.

- clean and organize spare bedroom. this includes the closet!
- fold and pack away all of ben's outgrown clothes. 
- go through our closet and donate to goodwill.
- clean out garage. {this is nick's!}
- organize recipes/cookbooks.
- reorganize and purge scrapbook room.

the weather hasn't exactly cooperated for the garage. soon! i swear.
and the spare bedroom is iffy, but mostly done so i'm crossing it off the list!

now for may's list...
- nick: build garden box.
- plant garden.
- put together ben's water/sand table.

not too ambitious. well, it is. the garden is huge. so i don't want to get too crazy with other goals!

grammy's mostacoli.

i think he likes it.

not sure why he is must rub anything red across his entire face and then grab his hair with those filthy little hands! and i'm not sure why i can only share photos of him eating red, messy food!

tea

nick and i are big tea people.
saw a website a while ago on some blog that showed this super nifty tea pot.  love the dispenser but not so much the teas. then we heard about teavana from two different people. and it is sooo yummy!
coffee tea, i mean come on. what's not to like?
nick's a huge fan of this one. and holy cow does it smell delicious!

i hear there is a store in oak brook. might have to take a field trip out that way to try some of the flavors. they also have an app for the iphone: how long to brew and different recipes for mixing and matching the flavors. some people are serious about their tea, huh?

new fridge!

nick and i have wanted a fridge for outside forever!!!
we had a mini one leftover from college that barely held our beer.
we finally decided to bite the bullet and buy one.
it came on friday.
sooo fun!!

the front is dry erase. how fun is that?!? and of course i had to go and get a whole variety of dry erase markers. they are on the side in rainbow order naturally!

note to anyone that comes over: dry erase works on the front of the fridge only. please don't draw on the sides!!

the weekend.

i think weekends are going to be post free for a while. we have lots going on and i'm really just wanting to enjoy my family and the weather. ;-)
weeknights are easier just because we have a routine. the weekends tend to be a free for all! maybe i should start doing my weekend in pictures... hmmmm....

and beaner turned thirteen months this weekend. was kind of a relief to not take those monthly pictures. they were such a pain in the ass. i know i'm going to appreciate having them and i'm glad i did it, but i'm glad it's over!

here's ben on saturday. so random that i took some pictures. he was insistent on climbing into the hamper!

let's see if i can come up with some tidbits for mr. ben's thriteen months...
- loves to walk with his activity walker. not so much with mom and dad.
- is signing eat along with more. working on please and drink and sleep.
- was moved to a new room at daycare.
- is sleeping a solid 11-12 hours every night. {with an occasional crying bout here and there...}
- learned how to use out water dispenser. sigh.
- still loves to dance. ;-)
- squeals with excitement when you say outside.
- is not missing his bottle at all.
- eats well. a bit picky but that's okay. we'll get there. is a complete fruit and yogurt monger!

healthcare humor.

i guess that's what one would call it. someone posted this on facebook and i laughed my ass off. might take a certain type of person {medical professional} to appreciate it but i'm sharing anyway. ;-)



off to watch some more!!

earth week.

so nick and i have been trying to be greener: hybrid, reusable shopping bags, new light bulbs {you can land a plane in our driveway}, energy efficient washer and drier, and trying to not use plastic bottles but reusuable ones, and recycling.
granted we still have a ways to go. ahem, i cannot turn the water off while brushing my teeth. i have no clue what that is all about?!
went out this week and checked out some stuff for our garden and came home with this...
really hoping we can be good about using it!
also hoping the weather gets a bit warmer this weekend and we can do some planting/yard work.
happy earth day!

walkers.

beaner likes his new walking toy. was bogo free at toys r us a while back. also nabbed this, which he loves!
any who.
back to the walker, really hoping it helps wee man. he hates walking with us. but he really enjoys this one. i really should get it on video. he makes some happy noises while scrunching his face and walking at us.... so cute!
pictures don't do him justice but i'll share anyway!
this is his intense concentration face. 

and in other random ben news... he slept for 13 hours last night.
was a complete bear after daycare and just wasn't happy. ended up putting him down for a 'nap' at like 5:30 and home skillet slept until 6:30 this morning. wasn't in pjs or changed into a night time diaper. thankfully the diaper held up!!

life.

oprah is no mike rowe.
these shows just amaze me. life, planet earth. 
i'm kinda obsessed with national geographic pictures too....
i mean how do they catch this stuff? 
we watched the reptile episode the other night. i mean the jesus walking lizard. how do they film that? i'm not sure i believe that they just so happened to have their camera under the water and the lizard just happened to run across the top of it.
and aren't they in danger by being so close to film this stuff? or is it like the meerkats where they just set up equipment and see what they get. i kinda doubt it with such expensive equipment but whatever. 
it's cool. and interesting. and makes me feel a little bit smarter! ;-)

smoothie king

ben is a fan.

so are we! nick had it three times last week. i only had it twice.  and it is yummy! thinking it is very dangerous that they moved so close to us!

kindle.

never thought i would own one...
but nick surprised me with an early mother's day gift. i think he has alterior motives and wants one for dad's day... whatever!
seems really freaking neat! already downloaded a few books. now i just have to finish up the one i was reading!
and i'm super excited to search etsy for a cute holder. can't decide if i want a sleeve or a book-ish one.
anyone have any kindle tips? must reads? must have accesories?

glee

we love this show.
finally got to watch this week's episode last night.

some of the stuff these writers come up with is just ridiculous.

gay sharks? and the actress was spot on. she's such a great ditz!



i'm really thinking i need to download these soundtracks. we were listening to the mtv station at work the other day and they played a song from one of the soundtracks. 

have to say i'm totally stoked about the madonna episode!

{sorry if this was babbling, incoherent post. must get sleep!}

he likes it!

that's his new happy face. it's a squitny eyed, squished up face. so cute!

garden.

i want one.
a container garden to be more specific.
well actually i guess it's a garden box. but that doesn't sound as cute.

i have been telling nick we needed a garden for years. i'm a bit lazy and my thumbs are kinda brown, so we both kinda laughed it off. but we've been watching jamie oliver's food revolution and i think that it has convinced nick that this is a good thing. that we can teach ben about fruits and veggies. {or veg as jamie would call it.} and eat healthier. and live a little greener...

thinking we are going to start small this year. found this on pw's site. and nick has a new project! hoping it'll keep the pesky bunnies out! and thinking we can add another one next year if all goes well. now we have to figure out what to plant!

i remembered!

it's time for 12 on the 12th!

- i orginally forgot and had a whole other post done. {that will now be edited and shared tomorrow! oops.}
- am in love with this weather.
- we have one of ben's outdoor activities together. working on the table next!
- coco has a new show! debated his comedy tour. i know that we're gonna regret not going but that's okay!
- have booked our first weekend getaway without ben. thank you to the future mr. and mrs. mclaughlin! and thank you to the grandparents for tag team babysitting!
- got another pair of butt shoes! wore them for the first time today and they are completely different from the ones i wear at work!
- just watched nick kill a fly with his hand. now he thinks he is a ninja...
- nick had smoothie king for the first time today. LOVED it. i am trying not to go because i'm afraid i'll get addicted.
- am really wishing my thumbs were greener...
- how badass is this sculpture?
- ran out of margarita mix this weekend. how does that happen!?!
- is needing to find some scrap mojo. got my goodie package from rsc this weekend... i think i am afraid to get my room dirty now that it's all cleaned up!!

he loves...

kitty!
aka orbit. and orbit is such a trouper with him. which is unbelievable if you've meet orbit... he's a bit of a scaredy cat.
now onto the pictures. courtesy of nick. so thankful he thinks to grab the camera at random moments.

doesn't orbit look thrilled?

and ben now climbs over everything. us, orbit, blankets, pillows...

and a just because. kinda like the darkness and the view point...

coupon lady.

this chick is insane.
coupon lady.
i think the most i've saved on one trip is $55.
however, i did go to jewel yesterday and got $15 of stuff for $1.48! with a $2 rebate so that kinda equals free, right?

and i have to say that my coupon madness has rubbed off on nick. ;o)
he was buying something online and saw that they had a rebate and then did an internet search for a free shipping code and ended up saving like $20.
so proud.

{side note: i'm a little miffed at blogger. this is now twice i've set up autoblogging and it hasn't posted my scheduled posts... grrr.... totally ruining my goal to post daily. and it's not even my fault!}

food!

want some?
he's enjoying some pasta courtesy of gerber...

i think he likes it. ;-)

trying to lick it off of his face!

aw, chubby lil fingers covered in mess!

yum.

and onto desert. applesauce with a spoon. all by himself! {i mean he can't get much messier!}

sorry bout the picture overload. but i think he's kinda cute... and i'm a bit brain dead this week so pictures are the easy way to go!

12 months.

way late, of course...

- has crawling down pat.
- had his first haircut.
- celebrated his first birthday early. loved, loved the cake.
- has had 2 more antibiotics for pesky ear infections.
- has momma and dadda trying to figure out what to do about above infections.
- missed 2 weeks of daycare due to side effects of antibiotics.
- weighed in at 22.8 pounds and was 28.3 inches. total shorty.
- still has only 4 teeth.
- waves, claps, and says more in sign language. however, he sometimes waves to get more food!
- pulls to a stand. he's been doing it for a while, but i'm not sure i've blogged it.
- is a completely loved and adored little boy.
- wanted nothing to do with his 12 mo. photo shoot...

unhappy ben = great picture of all four of his teeth. yes, mommy is trying to stay positive!

trying to escape!

eating mr. panda's butt..

happy when daddy is swinging him in the air...

a forced smile through his ever present binky....

happy easter.

ben did awesome meeting the easter bunny. i'm sure next year he won't be such a fan. picture courtesy of walgreens. they give you one free picture with the bunny. can't beat that!

also, made some pop cupcakes. total surprise, right? orange pop + yellow cake = tasty!

{all frames on photos from rhonna farrar purchased at two peas....}

easter was great. both of them. lots of fun goody baskets for mr. ben. and he was super great at both outings. have to say he is a huge fan of dumplins and cheesecake. ;-)

kickin ass

and taking names.
well, whatever. i'm on a roll.
now have 4/6 to do list items complete. and one is nick's so i have one left!
i think it's the type a personality in me. i have to make and cross off lists. i do sooo much better with lists.

also enjoyed easter number one today! didn't take many pictures. but am happy to say that ben and mommy and daddy got easter baskets. so fun! might have to go drink some of what came in my basket after this uber busy day!!

yay x3

-tom tom has a home. thank you!

-also, have 3.25 projects completed!
{i'm a quarter of the way through our closet. ;-P}

-ben has been off of baby food/bottles for a week and is doing great!

now off to bed. had a long day. nick was able to leave work early so we headed to lighthouse mall. yay shopping! however, i think nick might have spent more money than i did! and then had dinner with his mom at quaker steak. yum. fried pickles.

for sale.

one tom tom.

we have a garmin.
i know who needs two gps's?

we didn't buy both. honest. i received tom tom as a gift from my office for christmas this year. great gift, no?

we try out tom tom like twice. aren't fans. i think it's just because we are so used to george.  decide that we're keeping george and getting rid of tom tom.

we bought 'george' the garmin almost 6 years ago. for a pretty hefty penny. however, we bought it from costco when their return policy was you could return any item, any time for a full refund. {it's also why and where i bought my rebel.}
we've used trusty george forever. love him. just didn't want to update his maps. can get pretty expensive.

we've since returned george. rip lil buddy. and have purchased another garmin for much, much cheaper. woo hoo for making some money back... and again from costco who still has a lifetime return policy on gps's.

point of story. we are selling tom tom. yes, i'm selling a gift. whatever. judge away! ;-)
info here.
only $100.
please email me or post a comment here if you are interested in giving him a good home.  thought i would let you guys have first dibs. then it will be posted on facebook or maybe even craigslist.

oh and for you not so local peeps... i think it'll ship flat rate. even in a priority box. so not to bad on shipping for ya. ;o)