Just one week shy of the official halfway mark - and one week shy of finding out whether Lil Roo is getting a baby brother or baby sister (provided the baby within cooperates!).  Lil Roo continues to insist he wants a baby brother - NOT a baby sister.  However, when I was asking him what names he would like, he did have a choice if it is a girl - Tinkerbell. Ummm… about that… If he does happen to get a baby sister, I guess he is all set with a nickname for her.  Just don’t look for us to put Tinkerbell on the birth certificate.  After all, it isn’t Irish.

A funny thing happened on the way to the halfway mark… The extreme ickiness started lessening and I was certain, if I squinted just enough, I could see light at the end of the tunnel. Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids.  {Hush your mouth if you know that “dates” me and if you have no idea where that came from, then just ignore it, heehee.}  It seems it was something of a false alarm. Although I don’t feel as extremely icky as I did previously, I’m still not over the “morning” sickness (which has nothing to do with a time of day at all, except perhaps it occurs more at nighttime for me) and if I do more than 15 seconds of intense labor (and by intense labor I mean anything at all), I feel wiped out.  OK, I exxagerated a little. I can usually push it to 15-30 minutes, but seriously?  My house is practically falling apart because I can’t do all I need to do. Awesome Husband does a lot, but I still look at all the things that need to be done and that is before I even think about my “before the baby comes” to do list.  Ummm, when does nesting start?

Last night (Wed night) I had this dream I was somehow in a hospital about 6 or so hours away from home.  On purpose.  Not cool.  In the dream, hubby tells me that was where they (my OB’s office?) told him to take me. {Point of fact, my OB’s office is IN the hospital I’ll actual be delivering in, lol.}  In this dream, I am in complete freak-out mode because it is NOT where I want to be. Yeah, obviously. It seems I’ve been assigned a room and I am there with my hubby and son waiting to go into labor. The supposed delivering doctor routinely checks on me, inquiring if labor has started. He is just weird. He wants to induce, which my OB said they absolutely would NOT do because of the previous ceserean. I want to go home. NOW. But hubby tells me it is too risky because I could go into labor during the drive.  Also, at some point during this dream, there was a cracked, empty egg on the floor. It probably made more sense than the rest of the dream, LOL!  My after-waking thoughts? Was I sleeping the entire drive there & had no idea what was going on??? As frustrated as I was in the dream and completely NOT wanting to be THERE, I’d be fine with the risky drive. We could stop at any point and call 911 (which would provide immediate help, plus they’d know where the nearest hospital was) AND hubby is also a paramedic, so he’s well capable of handling an EMS issue while waiting for supplies & transport to arrive. Just sayin’.  Such a crazy dream and it was kinda funny the actual frustration and anger I felt during the dream - amazing how real it can seem even when none of it makes sense.

Back to the real world… as I am approaching the mid-point of the pregnancy, I am faced with deciding to attempt a VBAC or have another c-section.  The circumstances surrounding my previous emergency-ish c-section seem (to me at least) to have more to do with me than with that particular pregnancy or birth (since they say each one can be different).  So, it makes me wonder how likely it would be to have a repeat (well, minus the whole inducing part).  If I go to 41 weeks again, it is automatic C/S. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  (Even though I could use the $200, heehee.)  I just worry that if I attempt the VBAC and need to do the C/S afterall that I would lose control of the situation and my birth plan preferences (even for C/S) may go out the window… since it would then be considered an emergency c-section.  Guess I’m thinking out loud here, need to talk to Doc about this next week at the appointment, but it is just what I’ve been debating over, and going back and forth. 

Anyhoo…. Here’s a graphic of a 19 week baby-on-the-way (via BabyCenter.com) & some interesting facts…

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Think you’re big now? You’ll start growing even faster in the weeks to come. As a result, you may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen or even an occasional brief, stabbing pain on one or both sides — especially when you shift position or at the end of an active day. Most likely, this is round ligament pain. The ligaments that support your uterus are stretching to accommodate its increasing weight. This is nothing to be alarmed about, but call your practitioner if the pain continues even when you’re resting or becomes severe.

Round ligament pain? Ah, now that I know your name, I can dislike you even more personally! That junk does NOT feel good. I don’t do the whole pain thing real well, so what that may feel like for a normal person is multiplied for me. Please let’s have a little less of that? Me no likey the pain.

I know I’ve been so sporadic with my postings, but I hope to provide a weekly pregnancy update (aka: babble session, lol) from here on out. It helps to get the thoughts out anyway.  So, thanks for reading, especially since I have no earthly clue how NOT to write an uber long post.

We saw our baby for the first time yesterday.  After the general office visit stuff was out of the way, hubs and Lil Roo were able to come back so we could see him/her together.  Lil Roo is just so adorable about the baby.  We were given the one photo and he announces that he wants it. I had to make a copy when I got home so he would have his own! We’ve explained bits and pieces to him here and there (he’s three, so we try to keep it as understandable and simple as possible).  Now he likes to share snacks “with the baby” and after giving me the bite, he explains (with hand motions) that it goes down, then around and around (cirling his belly indicating the umbilical cord) and into the belly button!  Due to this excitement, I’ve had to start explaining that when baby arrives, he CANNOT share his snacks til baby gets bigger.  It is touching and hysterical at the same time to experience this through the eyes of a 3 year old.

Lying there, looking at the screen and seeing this little being inside of me, it finally felt more real. The yucky part of the pregnancy has been so consuming that I hadn’t consciously felt that connection to my littlest one.  The moment passed quickly, but it was cherished nonetheless. 

And for anyone who is wondering and have been tossing the possibilities of twins about… not happening.  Just one baby in this belly, LOL!! Oh, and that baby IS a boy. Lil Roo says so. Even though we won’t find out for sure for another few weeks. You even mention the possibility of baby being a girl and he’ll straighten you right out. It. is. a. BOY. Not sure how we’ll break the news on that off-chance his wishes weren’t granted.

BTW, I’ve started posting baby freebies over on Savvy Frugalista (I’m trying one a day to start then we’ll see how it goes. 

You know the cry. It says, loud and clear before any words are spoken, that your child is hurt. Bad.  Lil Roo was in his room playing, and suddenly - that cry.  I get to him and oh my, the blood.  Now, this isn’t a sliced an artery, blood spurting everywhere bleed, but there was enough in and around his mouth that I thought for certain he just lost his first tooth. His first three or four teeth.  He was breathing and I was fairly certain he wasn’t going to die on me in the next few moments, so I held him first to calm him down.

Once I got it cleaned up, I found two nice little cuts on his lip where he evidently bit into his lip as he crashed into the dresser.  So, the damage wasn’t bad at all, but I imagine the immediate pain he felt was still pretty bad. And shocking. To go from full on play to full on pain, laying on the floor with a bloody mouth is not one of his top ten favorite feelings.  

 ————-

UPDATE: Evidently, my son isn’t the only one accident prone today. Taking his lunch plate back to the kitchen, I completely overlooked his Play-Doh canister (this huge jalopy of a thing that holds the Play-Doh and a gazillion tools) sitting in the middle of the living room. I ran smack into it, tripped over it, and eased myself to the floor, holding my leg at the place of impact. My sweet boy came over, moved my hand, and kissed my “boo boo”.  Heart. Melt. I asked him to take the canister back to his room, and as he was picking it up, he just said, “poor, sad mommy.” Ha!  Too cute!

Discovering I was expecting - actually more like the onset of the “morning” sickness and all the joyous stuff that goes along with it - derailed some of our plans this year. I was so excited about getting a great deal at Disney and spending a wonderful week in Lake Buena Vista, but as the time got closer, I knew it just wasn’t realistic. It would have happened a couple of weeks ago, and even now I still don’t think I’d be up to it. 

I also cancelled my trip to BlogHer, which is super depressing (I have a ticket for sale and a couple of people I need to get back to).  I was also SO excited about finally making it to BlogHer, but alas, it isn’t happening. Although I MAY feel more “up to it” by the time it arrives, I’m just not able to properly prepare for it, not combining the way I still feel with other things currently on my plate. We may still take a little trip that way to visit family later in the summer or early fall.

The baby is arriving in November, so it will be a little while after that before we’d be up for a family vacation… so we are looking at Summer 2011!

It IS a ways off, but as possibilities are coming together, it helps soothe the wound of the trips I won’t be taking this year. We have pretty much decided on a CRUISE, which is my absolute FAVORITE way of vacationing. We cruised this past February and as every time before, I was ready to go again as soon as I stepped off the ship!  We are looking at a longer cruise - a full week - and possibly to the Eastern Caribbean.  We all love it, and Lil Roo really loves the children’s activities. 

So, as families around the world make their summer plans for 2010 - we are making ours for 2011, LOL!

… and not exactly by choice, mind you.  Maybe a little early practice for the days of middle of the night feedings that are coming with the birth of the baby this fall? 

 Lil Roo woke up from a bad dream and it took a bit to calm him down. Dreams can be so real, that it is hard to tell whether it really happened or not… and why is it that when things happen in dreams it feels so much more intense than if it DID actually happen in real life? The best I was able to understand was that he was walking, lost his balance and fell in the water. He was upset because he was all wet and at some point it hurt - not sure if the walking hurt his feet or the fall hurt him.  When I asked where it hurt, he touched his shoulder blade, then a little later, saying it hurt (again? still?), this time it was his toes. Both sides (top & bottom). So sad, but kinda cute. It took awhile for the tears to subside and every time he’d talk, it’d get more intense.

There has already been a time or two when he has awakened in pure hysteria and pain with what I can only assume was growing pains. Those times took quite awhile of comforting and leg rubbing before he was able to even settle down remotely, much less drift back to sleep. I remember one incident when I was 8 or 10 that I woke up with those growing pains and to this day I can remember that pain. To imagine my little one in that kind of pain, with him having no real understanding of WHY he hurts so bad, just breaks my heart.

After getting him somewhat calmer, we all sat together and watched a little bit of Go, Diego, Go, and while watching it, he relaxed.  He’s now lying back down, more restfully, watching his Diego DVD. Hopefully he’ll be drifting back to sleep soon.  I think Daddy already is…

UPDATE: 3:55 and the little guy is sleeping soundly once again…

The first part of this pregnancy has been pretty rough for me and I haven’t spent near the time I should have on preschool stuff with Lil Roo.  I know too much screen time is NOT a good thing, but I’ve learned he is a visual learner (and duplicator).  I tried forever to get him to say the ABCs.  He finally would say the last part of the alphabet, but nothing more. Then one day we turned on Super Why and I swear it was no time before he was saying the whole alphabet like it was nothing. As lame as it is, quality programming during screen time has filled in a little bit of the gap for me. 

He really loves worksheets, so my goal is to get back on those as I feel a little better moving toward the middle of the pregnancy.  I need to create 2 different stacks - one of things he can do with no instruction or guidance and another that I need to sit down with him and talk about as he works on it (or at least initially explain the concept of what he is suppose to do).  Those from the first stack I can hand him even when I feel my worst, lol. 

Once I am more up and going, feeling much less sick, and getting some actual energy, I would like to focus on doing more crafts, playing more board games, more interactive stuff. 

Writing is a big thing we need to work on. I’m not sure where 3, almost 4 year olds should be in this regard, and I am sure it varies widely, but I’d like to find some base to go off of. This is the area we’ve worked in the LEAST, so it seems obvious it is now the area we need to work on the MOST. 

I have 3 stackable large plastic drawers in the living room that house his board games and puzzles (but looks like I need to buy a fourth!). Puzzles were once on a lower shelf in his room until I came to realize what. a. very. bad. idea. that was, lol.  I reclaimed a 3 drawer plastic cart from elsewhere in the house (much smaller drawers than the ones the games are in) and I plan to use that for learning materials, etc. I just pulled it out, so I am in the process of gathering the materials I already have.  I just purchased this Letter Of The Week kit w/ lesson plans (found the link on this post, which has other homeschool resources linked also). 

AND A TIME FOR PLAY…..

We are also in the process of moving all the yard toys to the backyard from the side yard and I am discovering we have hit an “in-between” stage.  He is outgrowing some of the play items (slides and whatnot) but “bigger kid” yard stuff seems too big for him. Looks like I am also on a quest to find something that will work for him now, and also grow with him (and oh, yeah, not cost us half what the house is worth, lol). 

It is time once again for the annual 5 Minutes For Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party (though technically I am a little late to the festivities).  If you aren’t already participating, there’s still time (hey, look at me, lol).  This is truly too awesome to miss for bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

Not only are there TONS of great people to meet - there are Linky lists for blogs, Twitter, and Facebook - but there are OODLES and OODLES of fab-u-lous prizes.  A few of my favorites (mentioning them here gives me a chance at winning my preference - how cool is THAT?):

US39 - Hilton Garden Inn 2 night stay
US40 - Holiday Inn Main Gate East, Kissimmee, FL, 3 day / 2 night stay
USC17 - $200 Apple GC
US19 Hasbro Preschool Package
INTL2 Custom WP Blog Design

And if those have already been picked, any of the following (in order of preference, lol) gift cards, since I will soon have LOTS of baby stuff to get (or maybe something special for me, depending on which GC, heehee):

USC8 - US112 - USC37 - USC35 - US104 - USC35 - USC39 - USC13 - USC15 - USC3 - US73 - US74 - US87 - USC34 - US2 - US32 - US15 - US52 - US61 -  US107 - US88 - US100 - US113 - USC36 -  US31 -  US37 - US55 - USC32 - USC40 - USC44 - USC41

And if all of those are spoken for too, lol, anything for baby, maternity, or preschoolers would work for me. I’m easy. 

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Now, a little about me in case this our first time “meeting”…   I’m Christy, I’m married to a professional firefighter and I am the WAHM of Lil Roo, our three year old (he’s turning four this summer, how fast time goes by), and our new on-the-way bundle of joy.  We also have a very spoiled four-legged daughter, Halie.  She is an American Pit Bull Terrier and if you believe anything the media says about them, you’ve been misled.  She’s awesome, everyone that meets her loves her and most want her for their own.  We also have a cat, sometimes two.  Both of those pet stories are for another day, heehee.

I started blogging in the Spring of 2008 (looks like I’m upon a bloggiversary of sorts) at MultitaskingMama.Wordpress.org, then after a couple months moved over to Shake The Salt.  I recently created Savvy Frugalistas, where I now post deal / freebies oriented stuff. It is sporadic right now (24/7 morning sickness basically has much of my life on hold or going in slo-mo), but in the future I’d like it to be more frugal-community focused - there are so many wonderful frugal bloggers that I’d love to spotlight and give a little special attention to. 

I created Homespun Preschool and Making It A Home, and blogged there a bit with my buddy Kim, but they just aren’t working out for us, so I think we are going to let them go. Instead of helping me organize my blogging, it just provided an extra responsibility that my heart isn’t in right now.  All reviews from Homespun will be moved so they will still be accessable after the site comes down.  It happens, ebb and flow, trial and error, some things work, some don’t.

Projects I am working on, that will be launching this year that I’m pretty excited about, are Florida Fun Reviews and Sweet Posh Baby!  FFR will focus on family activities & travel within Florida (and perhaps an excursion here and there outside of the Sunshine State) and will launch this May/June.  SPB will be a catalog of reviews on products for babies, mamas-to-be, daddies-to-be, new parents, young children, etc and will launch this September. 

You can find me at any of these blogs, plus at Simply Sensational Divas Review, and on Facebook and Twitter.  I am also available by email.  You can keep up with any of the blogs by following on Facebook / NetworkedBlogs or via RSS (email is an option of that works better for you):

Shake The Salt - Facebook/NB - RSS
Savvy Frugalistas - Facebook/NB - RSS
Florida Fun Reviews - Facebook/NB - RSS
Sweet Posh Baby - Facebook/NB - RSS
SSDR - Twitter - Facebook/NB - RSS

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 A quick little plug about my newest “obsession” - and by obsession I mean something I LOVE but don’t have to spend a lot of time at for it to work: SwagBucks. I’ve been messing around with it for a couple months and I am up to $50 in Amazon Gift Cards.  I ONLY do the free stuff, and pretty much just searches (I try at least each day but sometimes not every day) and codes when I come across them.  Join me there and feel free to ask me any questions - I’d love to help. 

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Thanks soooo much for stopping by…. please leave a comment and a link to your blog if you have one.  I’d love to hear a little about you and any comments on my blog (or suggestions on dealing with 24/7 morning sickness, lol).  I love meeting new people.  BTW, are you going to BLOGHER ‘10 in NYC?  I’ll be there!!! Look for me - I’ll be the short, very pregnant one, haha!!!  

This is just a brief post - because I’m pretty excited about it I had to say SOMETHING, lol. (OK, who am I kidding? I can’t write a brief post!) I feel I am actually making a little bit of progress getting a handle on clutter, etc.

My desk always seems to collect EVERYTHING.  It is in the Living Room and is a convenient place to drop the mail and anything else we might find in our hands that needs to be sat down somewhere.  I did a clean sweep of it and only added back items that REALLY needed to be there - there are still things I am going through.  I’ve also added a little bit of organization to it for paper clips, pens, etc, etc that is out of the way, yet easy to access (the desk has no drawers because I wanted something small for the Living Room).

ALSO - because the loveseat is near the desk, I have a bad habit of sitting stuff on the loveseat as I’m working as well as using part of the loveseat for clean laundry as it comes out of the dryer before being folded.  Both of those issues are also resolved and the loveseat is no longer a “hotspot” either.

I discovered a great laundry system that has revolutionized the whole way I feel about laundry and has eliminated the pile up (both clean and waiting to be washed).  More on that in another post.  Since I cleaned up the desk, I eliminated the need (and the bad habit!) of using the loveseat as an extension of my desk.

Finally, I found a template for a daily planner page that I have been tweaking as well as paying more attention to, and also tweaking, my morning routine / morning to do list. 

All in all, piece by piece and step by step, it is progress.  Things have gotten to a point of being chaotic, unorganized, and cluttered to a certain extent and it feels really good to finally start moving in the opposite direction!

I love couponing and getting the deals.  I buy 6 papers each week for the coupon inserts (if you get coupons & don’t want them, feel free to send them my way, lol!), which means I’m able to stock-up on great deals.  That stockpile has to go somewhere, preferably somewhat organized. That presents somewhat of a challenge for me because space, especially storage space of any kind, is very much at a premium here.  Confession: I do not have a pantry.  My cabinet space is sparse, but admittedly not as well utilized as it could be. 

I have a goal this year (well, not a goal persay, but I’m taking little steps in all areas making improvements) to really get all the “stuff” organized.  I discovered Sterlite’s clear bins (lid colors vary by season) in 3 sizes that are really working for me: shoebox size, 16 qt, and 56 qt.  I love that the clear bottoms helps me know exactly what is inside & the lids are very flat and simple, no extra bulk. 

I discovered that the 16 qt fits nicely between the dryer & water heater in the laundry room, which is just off the kitchen.  We put in a few shelves in the laundry room, some of which I’m using for food items (need to add more to maximize the space).  Putting like items together in a bin makes it very easy when looking for something specific and I’m loving the organization. It is a small step, but it is working for now. Still have much to organize, even with just the food items.

The bottom bin is full (crammed full!!) of different types & brands of cookie mixes.  The next bin up holds a wide variety (also crammed full) of Homemade Gourmet mixes. Bin #3 from the bottom has 12 bags of Chex Mix (and there are another 7 bags that wouldn’t fit - what can I say? It was an awesome deal!). On top of the Chex Mix bin, there are 3 shoebox size bins: (1) packets of seasonings, gravy, marinades, etc; (2) (can’t see in pic) unopened spices; and (3) cornbread mixes and Crystal Light packets.

I am using the spare room’s (was the office when my computer was in there, but is basically a storage room / dump zone) closet for stockpiling all the non-food stuff, but it is in need of desperate reorganization, so I hope to work on it soon and possibly add in a few more shelves.

For more Tackle It Tuesday, click here.  For more Tuesday Toot, click here.  For more Works For Me Wednesday, click here.

I did it.  I bit the bullet, jumped in with both feet and did it.  I’m starting a garden!!  This afternoon I marked off an area and started digging!  I dug around the perimeter as a start.  This is hard work, folks.  I had a helper though!  I’ll continue to post my progress… feel free to jump in anytime with advce or suggestions.  I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m going to fake my way through so don’t tell anyone, mmmmmkay?  It is fun to know I’m not going at this alone, though. 

I’M COMPOSTING!  Last night I started my composting pile…. it is a plastic container on my dryer consisting of LINT, but it is a start! 

  (If you are starting your garden, or having any gardening or composting posts, I welcome a full onslaught of linky goodness, heehee.)  

The “before” pic…. 

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

Breast is best, it goes without saying (though the catchy phrase makes it easy to convey the message). It was my first choice when Lil Roo was born, but certain circumstances prevailed and by several months old, he was completely on formula. 

We then used Enfamil until whole milk became the drink of choice.  We used formula checks and coupons, sometimes stacked together, to help offset the high formula cost. Wanting the best of the options that were on the table (as the absolute best was now off the table), we chose a well-trusted name brand.

I’m frugal and not always brand loyal, but like many parents I did not even think of considering a more frugal, non-name brand, option.  As a first time mom, I took my responsibility of this very precious person very seriously and believed there was a quality difference in brand and “generic” formula and wasn’t taking any chances. 

I’ve since learned a little bit more on the subject of baby formula and that while store-brand infant formula may be gentler on your budget, it is not at the expense of quality.  Whether name brand or store brand, there are standards that must be met before it could ever land on the store shelf.  Recently, advertising by a name brand infant formula company claiming store-brand infant formula was a lesser quality was proven false, so the facts show they are of an equal quality.

We know there’s a substantial savings to be had by purchasing the store-brand option, but were you aware there were also coupons available for store brand infant formula to sweeten the deal? 

Get a $3 coupon by taking a Baby Formula Quiz (seven random baby formula questions). You can also get a store-brand formula coupon by completing the name-and-address form. 

Personally, if/when we have a younger sibling for Lil Roo, and if breastfeeding was again taken off the table, I would give serious thought to store brand formula. Knowing I can make an affordable choice without sacrificing quality makes all the difference in the world to me. 

What’s your thoughts? If breastfeeding was not an option for you or not your first choice, would you give your baby store-brand formula over the name brand formula? 

It has been awhile since I wrote a more “personal” / daily life kinda post, so this is much overdue.  Unfortunately it’ll probably come across as blah as I feel.  Today has just been “one of those days” and not just any “one of” but a real gloomy, not at all feeling it (it being just about anything and everything) kind of day.  Have you been there?

My house is in a state of what I consider shambles. Kitchen needs some attention, dishes to be done, laundry to be washed, general straightening up needed, but I can’t even talk myself into caring.

It could be the weather. We had a harsh January winter and February isn’t looking much better.  I know there’s harsh winter going on everywhere, but for Florida it just isn’t how we do the winter months.  February is our “winter” and we usually suffer through several days or so each year of a harsh, cold freeze.  We aren’t known as “The Sunshine State” for nothing, but it was nowhere to be found today.  So, maybe the overall, non-typical gloominess of today played a part in this overwhelming blah feeling today.

Perhaps a poor night’s sleep could have lended to it as well.  I went to sleep at a decent time for me, but was awakened by the little guy during the wee hours.  Technically hubs unconsciously nudged me because of the little guy calling out for me, which meant I was really out cold because I tend to stir at any whimper he may make.  After waking to discover he was still asleep, I couldn’t go back to sleep for a couple or so hours.

And there’s a chance that my Dad going to the ER yesterday and currently being in ICU (should be moved to non-ICU room tomorrow though) may be weighing on my mind and heart even more than I realize.

We went outside this afternoon for some fresh air (mainly wanted to let Lil Roo run wide open and burn off some energy, lol) and even that didn’t shake me out of this.  Hopefully it passes during the night and tomorrow I can wake with a better perspective, some energy, and shaken from these blahs.  

We will be taking our three year old on his first cruise and will be stopping in Nassau.  I’ve been several times, but never with a child.  I’ve done excursions and I’ve taken my own path, but again… never with a child.  So, I’m fishing shamelessly for ideas.  We are thinking of foregoing the pricey excursions.  One major concern we have is the crazy cab rides, which is almost required to get anywhere - especailly to the “nicer” side. (I’ve walked that once and will. never. do. it. again. LOL!) 

We’ll have about half a day (the latter half) in port.  Ideas, please?  Kthxbai. 

Lil Roo (herein referred to as Chef Roo, lol) and I had a great New Year’s Eve.  Daddy was working, so it was just the two of us.  We ordered pizza (technically a pizza, oven roasted sandwich, and pasta bread bowl - and the smorgasbord was yum-o! lol!), watched Handy Manny’s Motorcycle Adventure, made banana bread, then watched Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.  HAPPY NEW YEAR SWEET PEA!  We found our recipe for banana bread HERE. 

I evidently need a little practice recording & handling video, but this is a start for me and he’s cute even with my faulty video skills, lol.

Banana Bread With Chef Roo

Ingredients:
1/3 cups shortening (some use olive oil or lard.)
3/4 cup sugar (white)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour (white or whole wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar.

 Bake for about 50 minutes or until done.

Heard around our house this morning…

Daddy to Lil Roo (3 yrs old) after he’s dressed to go to the movies: Go show Mommy how good you look.

Lil Roo (after brief convo w/me about how nice he looked & while I am busy trying to get ready): Mommy doesn’t look good yet.

Then a little later…
Getting in the car, Lil Roo spies Daddy’s purple ribbon he wore for Somer Thompson (Daddy had previously talked to him about what happened, vaguely and in bits a 3 year old could understand).

Lil Roo: Is Jesus going to make her feel better?

All in one morning little ones can make you laugh at loud and then tug at your heart strings.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.