Christmas Crafty

So I've been looking for something fun and exciting to blog about, and none of these things are happening in my life. Unless you would like to talk about the fact that all of our big bills have come at once (I'm looking at you, taxes, insurnace, home repair, car repair, etc). That is a totally different subject though. Well... not really. Because we have so much money going out and the same amount of money coming in as always(and you know, we bought a house this summer) and Christmas is coming, I've decided to try and get crafty with my gifts this year. Why you ask?

1.  Because of the things mentioned up there (^)about money.

2. I feel like gifts that have time into them instead of money are more meaningful.

3. I am a part time SAHM and while last year was crazy (with a 5 month old) around the holidays things have settled down this year and I feel that I should take advantage of the extra(ha!) time I have.

4. I want to be able to do crafty things with Kenz when she gets a little bit older so she can give handmade gifts to her grandparents and friends and will want to do this, and maybe you know be crafty.

All of that being said, I am not crafty AT ALL. Any of you that know me, are reading this and laughing your butts off at me. Its ok, laugh, Eric did when I told him. Then told me he was proud of me for stepping out of the box and trying something new (and you know not making him go shopping).

Anyway, moving on, what I have decided to try is buying this, and you know obviously some yarn to try to make hats for the kiddos and possibly scarves for my friends. My problem is, I don't knit, never have even tried. Plus I am a left handed and I have heard its hard for left handed people to knit. We will see what happens though UPS should be delivering it this afternoon, I've asked hubby to pick up some yarn at the store so I can try it tonight and see what happens. Wish me luck! If you have any tips PLEASE help me. I'm scared really excited to try this.

I've also decided to try to make these kits and these jar kits. My friends are probably going to kill me for the playdough kits but I think the kids will really enjoy them. The food recipe jar I think is a neat idea and the recipe looks super easy (and doesn't require to many ingredients on my end).

My other idea(hey I've been busy on the internet, don't judge) is filling a jar with buttons or beads, only sorting these by color first and then layering them as a decoration for the home? As I am sitting here thinking of this, I can also do this with M&M's and do the same thing only have it be edible....mmmmmhhhhhmmmm. Me thinks this is a good idea. Only I will eat all the M&M's before they get in the jar, will have to hide them from the hubby.

So what are you doing for Christmas? Do you have any tips for me? Or other ideas I can try? Help me out!

I Love Fall in VT

I so love fall in VT, the cooler temperatures, the frosty mornings (ok not so much those), the views I saw this morning on the way to drop Kenz off at her Grammy's were amazing. There was steam coming off the rivers, the sun was making the trees GLOW, it was beautiful. I didn't have time to get all the pictures I wanted because (story of my life) I was late for work. My goal for the weekend is to get up early at least one day and take pictures of the beautiful fall foliage.

Sleep habits and OB/GYN overshare

Can anyone, please PLEASE explain to me, why, when I put Kenz down for bed at 9pm she is up at 6, BUT if she goes to bed at 7:30 or 8 she doesn't get up until 7:30 or 8? Isn't this the opposite of what should be happening? I'm so CONFUSED! We are struggling with afternoon naps running to late and not sure how to fix that, I really need her to have an afternoon nap for my sanity but we may have to get rid of them soon. :(

Asked my MIL to come over this am for 6 so I could go to work early (co-worker on vacation) and wouldn't have to wake Kenz up at 5 am and she was up at 6:15 anyway.... pointless! ::grrrr::  Oh and did I mention she was up at 3:44? Crying for like 2 seconds but was standing up and she has yet to figure out how to lay herself back down?

Rant over, kthanksbye!

Oh WAIT!

On a side note I had my yearly "exam" today and as I was in my closet getting dressed, in my "nice" clothes, because I always feel like I have to dress up for these appointments I wondered to myself, why? The Dr. never even sees me with my clothes on, so I could wear pajama's and he would never know. ::sigh:: Then he tells me that I am under weight and need to gain 5 or 10 lbs and have lunch at McDonald's (TMI alert), McD's makes me lose more weight, not gain weight, if you know what I'm saying?
Here's the munchkin, blowing her nose:

She makes up for all the bad stuff w/ her cuteness!

Parenting Don't

Baby standing on the table is definitely a don't, but its cute.

Yard Sale Finds!!

Yard Sales are my new hobby. I am in search of good deals on baby clothes, toys and even clothes for me! I know some people have phobeas of second hand things but me? No! Why would you? You can save so much money by going to yard sales. Today alone I probably saved us well over $100 on baby clothes.

Here is what I got:

2 pairs of shoes
9 outfits (1 piece and 2 piece)
5 shirts
2 pairs of pants
4 skirts
2 dresses

So in the store:

2 pairs of shoes = $20
9 Outfits = $45 EASY (thats at $5 a piece)
5 shirts = $25
2 pairs of pants= $10
4 skirts= $25
2 dresses= $20

So thats (hang on I have to add it :-D).... $145. If you buy it all on sale. I spent, wait for it, wait for it, $15. HOW RIDICULOUS! Its all just like brand new, probably worn a handful of times. So yeah I love my yard sales!

I also picked up a few 3 shirts and 3 sweaters for myself for $2.50 more!

SCORE!

What's your favorite new hobby?

Early Talker?

So everyone tells me Kenz is an early talker. She will be 14 months old on the 3rd of September. Here are a list of words (or phrases) she says(in no particular order):

• Doggy
• Kittie
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Papa
• Mamie(aka Grammy)
• Horse
• Abby(we decided this is what she named Grammy's bunny)
• Horse
• Cookie
• Boo
• Boom
• Duck
• Good Doggy
• Bad Doggy
• Good Mommy
• Good Daddy
• Arm
• Butt (don't ask)
• Bath
• Bubba
• Bella(which sounds an awful lot like Bubba but is slightly different)
• Un-uh (Is this really a word? She means no, and shakes her head emphatically when she says it!)
• Yuck
• Eli (her "boyfriend", she says his name and points at his picture! ADORABLE!)
• Hi
• Bye
• Bird
• Ride it(in reference to the four wheeler)
• Hot (and then blows on her food)
• Moo
• Bah (not sure if these are words, but she makes these noises when she sees the animals)
• Balloon
• Eye
• Nose
• What is it
• Tickle, tickle

She does a few signs more, milk, and all done. She blows kisses, waves hi and bye. All the "normal" things. She follow simple directions, give me a kiss/hug, throws things in the trash, brings the remote, opens/closes the door, etc.

So this what www.babycenter.com has to say about 14 month old language:

At 14 months, your toddler understands many more words than she can say. Her spoken vocabulary likely consists of about three to five words, typically "Mama," "Dada," and one other simple word such as "ball" or "dog," but she learns the meanings of new words every day. As she starts to add words to her vocabulary, you'll notice that she looks for opportunities to practice them. Once she can say "dog," for instance, she'll look for dogs everywhere — in books, outside, on videos — just so she can point and say the word over and over again.

So I guess maybe she really is an early talker? Not surprising with the, um, "genes" she gets from my side of the family!

What do you guys think? Am I in for it?

Race & Hurricane Irene

Hubby is racing his ATV tomorrow a few hours from home. Fun to watch, even if he is in and out of the woods and weaving in and out of trees, much less stressful on me than when he was racing MotoX. Also its such a relaxed, family friendly atmosphere. Definitely something I am looking forward to. Especially since 2 of our best friends are going with us. It also helps that he kicks butt! What?Its true and I'm just sayin' and not only cause I'm his wife, cause he's good!

Everyone is freaking out about Hurricane Irene, in my weird and sick twisted way I'm kind of excited, not for damage or for anyone to get hurt or anything like that. I love watching storms, they are so powerful and something that I personally have no control over.  I love having the excuse to cuddle my family up inside, and just spend time together. Even if having no power sucks. We do have a generator but as long as we have food, I'm happy!

Also, check out my little munchkin cuteness:

This was like a month ago, but how friggin adorable is she?