MMM - It's almost Halloween!

AHH my kid makes the cutest spiderman ever.  EVER.

amirite?

We had some amazing family days this weekend.  My parents were out of town, so it was just the 3 of us. And it was action packed!

Miles started baseball class this week.  I've been so excited for this - you don't even know (well those of you who understand my love for baseball will understand...).  I love baseball.  I started playing softball when I was about 8.  I hope that by getting him in early, Miles will love baseball as much as I do.  So far, it seems we're on a good track.  He's got a great throwing arm (which, as a future starting pitcher, he's going to need).  His batting skills still need some work though.  He always wants to hit the tee instead of the ball...we're working on it (but again, as a future starting pitcher in the American league, batting skills aren't our top priority...hehehe).

Look at that follow-through!  Kid's a natural!

So proud of my future Tiger!

Since his class was out by the mall, we spent the rest of the day shopping.  Natch.  American Eagle was having an amazing clearance sale - I got some adorable lace leggings for about $5 each (seriously, when did I become a leggings person?).  I also picked up a halloween mask so I could feel 'dressed up' at our work halloween party tomorrow, without feeling completely out of place in public for dressing up 4 days early.
Once we got home, Miles took a great nap and let me get some lettering in for the craft show I'm doing on Thursday.

Sunday was a perfect fall day.  It was raining here and there, but otherwise, the weather was the epitome of fall, so we had to do some fall activities.  First up was the pumpkin farm!  We headed to Walden Pumpkin farm which is only about 10 minutes away from our house.  We decided we prefer the other pumpkin farm in town (Lucky Ladd), but we still had a good time.

Miles went through the hay maze to get to the slide at the end (then just kept going up and down the slide without going back through the maze).

He was in heaven playing on the tractors.  He is huge into construction trucks right now.  His favorite book of the moment is Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site - we read it at least once a day.  And he can point out an excavator, crane, dump truck, cement truck, & bulldozer from about a mile away.  The tractors were close enough to construction trucks - so he was a happy boy.

We also took a ride on the choo-choo (because, trains).  He was having a blast pointing out the pumpkins on the ride and seeing corn as we drove through the field.  It was a short little ride, but similar to a hayride - I thought it was great.

We headed back to get some food and pick out a pumpkin when we spotted the balloon artist and obviously needed to stop.  I was actually quite surprised when Miles chose the Big Bird balloon (actually, no I wasn't.  It was the biggest option - of course he picked it!)  He didn't let go of Big Bird for the rest of the day.

We got home and after his nap and dinner, we got ready to go to Boo at the Zoo.  It was a fun night, but I've been to better (actually, the Chattanooga Zoo does a great Boo at the Zoo).  I like when it's still light and the animals are out, so you get the actual Zoo feel.  Even with our zoo membership, we paid $12 each to get in and didn't get to see any animals!  But there were some really fun aspects - there was a trick or treat trail, carnival games, a magic show (ok...that did have a few animals), and a dance tent - Miles and I rocked out to the Cupid Shuffle (if you're ever looking for a killer workout, do line dances with a 2.5 year old on your hip...that is a workout)!

There was even a s'more station (which also cost extra...because why wouldn't it?).  But we couldn't resist some s'mores, so we roasted marshmallows at the zoo - which isn't something everyone can say they've done.

Miles loved dressing up like Spiderman (which is good because he's got two more dress up opportunities this week).  He still doesn't really get the concept of Halloween, but he gets Spiderman...so Halloween is cool to him.

We've got a pretty jam-packed week coming up too.  I've got my craft show, we're doing a walk through of our new house (which reminds me, I've got to do an update on that situation...well there's my Wednesday post), a couple of Halloween parties, Halloween itself...a lot going on and I can't wait!

So until next time friends,

yep...he's my kid!

Friday 5 - Volume 10

Guys.  I'm having a day.  Scratch that.  I'm having a week.  I'm so glad it's Friday, you don't even understand.  My day week is going so well (no seriously...I forgot my underwear, I forgot my socks, I forgot my shoes, I forgot my phone, I just spilled coffee all over my dress...), I was seriously tempted to make this a more sarcastic, backwards version of my normal where instead of giving you a list of 5 things I loved this week, I gave you the 5 worst things that happened to me this week - and forgetting my shoes on wednesday was probably number 3 on that list...but then I read a post on one of my favorite blogs - Little Baby Garvin, about milestones and changed my tune.  She posted about hearing her new baby laugh for the first time and it made me smile - and I figured out how I was going to turn my day around.  I am going to change up from my normal list, but I think this one will be better.  So now...please to enjoy 5 of my absolute favorite pictures of my baby boy.  :-)

OK first of all, though - I have to say.  This was really hard!  Trying to narrow down the thousands of pictures I have of this kid to 5 of my favorites?  I was able to get down to a short list of 53.  Then 17.  Then 12.  Then 10.  I ended with 7, which I've been able to successfully cut down to 5 list items.  So that's just going to have to be good enough.    

1. First Pic as a Mommy

So this isn't technically my first picture with my bubs, but it is the first one that I think really conveys me as his mommy.  And now I'm crying.  This is starting off well.  I think this will always be my absolute favorite picture of the two of us.  It's hard to imagine anything better.

 2. Laughing
So two pictures for this one - the first time he really laughed (and the picture that really inspired this post) and a recent laughter picture.  This kid LOVES to laugh (I think he laughs at things just to hear himself sometimes) and it just makes my heart happy every time I hear it.

3. Those Eyes
I actually don't remember this picture - well, that's not entirely true.  I remember exactly this day - it was the first time it really snowed, so I put on his snow suit and put him outside in it (he still didn't own shoes, much less boots, so he was wearing about 6 pairs of socks to cover his feet, but they never touched the ground anyway).  It was also the only time he ever wore this snow suit - I didn't even take the tags off!  I had never identified this as a favorite picture before either, but as I was going through my collection, I couldn't take my eyes off it - how big and clear and beautiful his eyes are - through my 4-5 rounds of picture cutting for this post, those eyes just had to remain.

 4. Funny Faces
This kid.  He makes the funniest faces I've ever seen.  It's such a great indicator of his little personality.  When he was younger, and we still had our google glass, he loved to mimic the face we made when we were taking a picture (on glass, that functionality is triggered by winking).  My first round of pictures had about 6 photos of him making his glass face - but the one I kept here is probably the classic.  We always compared his face to the vampires in the buffy/angel whedon-verse.  You can't see it as much in this one, but we have one where he is the spitting image of David Boreanez in his vamp get up.  Even now, his silly faces continue - it probably goes along with the laughter post - he loves to laugh and he loves to make others laugh.

 5. Tantrums
Kid is 2.  These are to be expected.  As with the funny faces, I had about 6 pictures in the original list of him fake crying like this one.  When he's really crying, of course I'm right there hugging and loving on him, but when it's clearly a cry (heh) for attention like this - I'm trying my darndest not to crack up laughing and try to snap a quick pic.  I'm sure I'll find some use for these as he gets older....tee hee.


OK I'm feeling sufficiently better.  This kid can always lift my spirits.  Thanks buddy.

And for all of you - have a better Friday then I have had so far - and enjoy your weekend!  Until next time,

Miles & Momma Monday

Well, I didn't quite hit my goal of 3 posts last week.  But I got 2 - and that's better than the week before, so YAY for improvement.  We'll try to work on 3 again this week.

And I'll start off on an easy note - Miles & Momma Monday.  This was a little bit of an up and down weekend.  It started off a little rough.  Thursday night (hey...it was the weekend in college, so it totally counts!) Chad had a late night work function, so we had to break routine and Momma was in charge of putting him to bed.  Or I suppose, attempting to put him to bed.  What actually happened was a lot of screaming that he wanted to sleep on the couch instead of his pack & play, and when I finally gave in, he would lay down for a few minutes then get distracted by some toy or other and get up.  So I would lay him back down and try and get him to settle and he'd lay there for a few minutes then get distracted by some toy or other and get up.  So I would lay him back down....and on and on for 2 hours until Dad got home and used his magic daddy powers to get him to go to sleep.

I think I may need to invest in this book for next time...

Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Luckily, things got better - it was another Home Depot Kids Workshop Weekend.  I have come to look forward to these so much - Miles has so much fun and I probably have more fun watching the enjoyment he gets out of creating something.  And he is so proud when he shows off his creations too.  He couldn't wait to get home and show his papa (who is a semi-professional woodworker)!

After finishing there, we came home and had lunch - I had some leftover pizza, which will be important later.  Chad and I left Miles home with Grammy and Papa while we went out to look at a house (yes we're still building, but there have been some significant delays, so we're keeping our options open for the time being - more on that in a later post).

Saturday night I wasn't feeling so hot, so I went to bed early when Miles did (also because I was supposed to get up early to sing at church with a co-worker)....remember that leftover pizza I ate?  Let's just say singing didn't happen on Sunday morning.  I spent the whole day on the couch and went to bed early again (and still had to spend today working from home - in bed).  I hate when I'm sick and all Miles wants to do is play with me. :-(  Here's hoping this is just a quick bug and I can get back to lil man quickly!

So up and down, yes, but any time I get to spend with my baby boy is good time (even if he's keeping me up 2 hours past my bedtime)!  Until next time friends,

Miles & Momma Monday

It's been a minute since my last MMM post - one that was really MMM and not vaguely child-related tips - so why not?

This weekend had some prime MM time because my parents (who we are still living with...more about that in a future post) went out of town - so it was like we were living as a family of 3 again.

We started off the weekend with dinner at Red Robin.  I wasn't super hungry, so I planned on doing something light...like a salad.  Then I saw that they had poutine on the menu.  And my light dinner flew out the door.  For those of you reading who are not Canadian, poutine is a dish sent straight from heaven.  It's french fries with gravy and cheese curds.  And it's delicious!  I don't know why it's not a staple in our fat American diet.  Seems like it would fit in nicely.

Anyway, while it wasn't the best poutine I've ever had (that came from Crabby Joe's in Canada and had bbq pork added to it...mmm...I'm in major fat kid mode right now...like Homer Simpson dreaming of donuts), it was really quite delicious.
And of course, because we were at Red Robin, I got the obligatory Freckled Lemonade.  Miles doesn't drink juice yet, but he had no problem commandeering my glass in order to steal ALL of my strawberries.  Little punk.

We also spent a lot of time at our home builder's office/homesite.  There has been zero progress (perhaps even negative progress, depending on how you look at it).  We had a few conversations with a few different people and while they're behind, we at least feel somewhat reassured that it's not too far behind (for now...we'll see if that remains to be the case).
Miles loves going out to the site because it is full of construction trucks, which are his new favorite thing.  My parents bought him a new book Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and now he's obsessed with cement trucks ("ment"), dump trucks ("truck"), excavators, and bulldozers ("boo boo boo").  So each time we went to visit, he got to watch the trucks work a little bit, which he loved.
Because we had such full days this weekend, it also meant that lil man was pretty tuckered out in the evenings (which was fine by me, because so was I, frankly).  He went to bed early every night and he was in prime cuddling mood too, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The one thing he was not this weekend, was interested in having his picture taken with momma.  So while I attempted to get more than just 2 pictures, I failed miserably.  I did write his name on a styrofoam cup though...so there's that.

My parents came back last night, so now it's back to life as we know it. I have a goal to actually complete 3 blog posts this week.  So stay tuned to see it I can accomplish that....we'll see!
Until next time friends...

MMM: Home Depot Kids Workshops

One thing I've noticed since we've moved to Tennessee is that we are finding so many more fun free or cheap activities to do as a family - I love that.  We're mostly homebodies, but that can get pretty boring, pretty quickly - so finding new, fun things to do without a big investment is awesome.

One of those things we've found is the Home Depot Kids Workshop.  On the first Saturday of each month, every home depot offers a workshop for kids to build a fun little toy or game.  The kids learn some great skills - they get to pain and hammer and assemble the project each month - and have lots of fun doing it.  As a parent, I just love watching my little guy participate and learn.  He LOVES banging the nails with the hammer :-)

The recommended age for the workshops is 5-12 - we clearly do not fit into that bracket yet, but the Home Depot employees still welcome Miles eagerly each month.  No one can resist those cheeks!

At their first class, your child will get a genuine Home Depot orange apron with their name on it (written in Sharpie, just like the pros!), then you get your kit.  All the tools you need are at the tables.  The class is come and go style - so arrive when you can and leave when you're done.  Take as much or as little time as you want.  Once the project is complete, your child will get a certificate and a pin to celebrate their completion of that month's project.  I also recently discovered that at their 10th and 25th classes, they get a special pin to mark that achievement!  We've only got 7 more classes to get to our first milestone!  And of course, they get to take their project home with them to play with.

I wasn't sure what to expect when we went into our first project - a minion scooter (which coincided with the Minions movie release).  I've been pleasantly surprised with the results every time.  So far we've made the Minion scooter, a chalkboard door hanger, and a football toss game.  Each project has exceeded my expectations for quality and, despite being about 3 years under the recommended age for the build, I've found that the finished product is also an age appropriate toy for my 2 year old - which is great!

If you're interested in taking your kids to the next workshop (Firetruck - Oct. 3), you can sign up here.  Pre-registration is recommended so that each store has enough kits on hand, but if you forget one month, they won't stop your child from participating (but it's also first come, first served, so if you go later in the morning, you may miss out).

  funny that this is a miles & momma post and momma is no where to be found in these pictures...the problem with being behind the camera I guess.  I'm involved in all of these fun activities, but Chad gets all the glory - this past weekend included when we went to Cheekwood, which is a local botanical garden and fine arts center.

Ah well...

So tell me mommas...what kind of fun activities do you like to do with your littles?  I'm always looking for more recommendations, and I'd love for you to share them with me!  So until next time...

This post is not sponsored or endorsed by The Home Depot.  I'm really just a big fan of these workshops and wanted to share them with all of you!

Momma & Miles Monday: Kids Artwork

I thought I would change up the format of MM Mondays and instead of a random selfie dump, I'd give them some purpose...with a few selfies (or just pics of miles) thrown in.  Something I've learned as a result of being Miles' momma or some tip to share with other moms & moms-to-be...and still have a spot for a selfie dumps on the weeks that I have nothing to talk about.

Today, I'm tackling kids artwork.  All of those things they bring home from daycare or school, make at camp, or color at home on a rainy day.  What do you do with it (after a suitable replacement is found to display on the fridge, of course)??

I am a horrible packrat.  It's been bred into me, I think.  My parents kept everything from when I was a kid.  I love it - I love looking back on those things with fond memories, things I had 'forgotten' that come flooding back just by reading a story or holding a painting.  I appreciate and am thankful that my parents gave me that gift.  But it also comes at a bit of a price.  Those things spend most of their life in a box in a basement somewhere and only really get taken out when we're doing some kind of major cleaning/rearranging or moving.  Right now, they're all in a storage unit living an in-between life until we get to move into our new house...and then we'll have to decide where they'll live out the rest of their days, because our new house won't have a basement.

Chad is much less sentimental about things...well...about everything in general, but things especially.  Perhaps it's because he has a mostly eidetic memory, so he doesn't need to see or touch those things to be able to remember the events that led to their creation.  Perhaps it's because he's just a less emotional person overall.  I have an abysmal memory, and without a trigger, it's a wonder there's anything in my head, ever.  I need those reminders in order to have the memories - and I enjoy having the memories every once in awhile.

So, inevitably, when we moved, Chad encouraged me to purge.  A lot.  And I acquiesed to many of his requests.  It was a painful process that truly felt like throwing my childhood into a giant dumpster...maybe because that's what I was doing.  No but really...I cried a few times.  And despite all that, we still have a massive storage unit full of stuff that will continue to live in boxes that get opened *maybe* once every few years, that I just can't bear to part with (because that story I wrote about a cat named Cupcake in second grade is a masterpiece, dammit.  I typed it on a typewrite and bound it in wallpaper.  You don't just throw that shit away)!

So what does that have to do with my kid's artwork now?  Well, the fact is, he is starting to bring home a lot of arts and crafts now.  And I want to keep ALL. OF. IT.  But I can't.  I have too much of my own crap sitting in boxes that there's just no room for more...(god that sounds terribly selfish...but it's true).  I have to figure out a way to handle my need for sentiment while not instilling the same pack-rat nature in my son (and handling some of my own hoarding issues as well - that makes it sounds much more selfless doesn't it??).

I've decided to start taking pictures of all of Miles' art and storing it digitally, after its lived its full life on the fridge, of course.  There will, inevitably, be some special pieces that get saved, but the day-to-day stuff is going to be photographed and recycled (or as Miles' puts it risossled).  I started the process this weekend while we were cleaning up the kitchen.  This past week, daycare sent home all the artwork he had done throughout the month - so there was a rather large pile just chillin' on the kitchen table.  It was hard.  I struggled with it and I felt like a terrible mother once I actually placed those items in the trash can...but I took comfort in the fact that by storing them digitally, it would keep them in their original condition forever.  I'd never have to worry about things getting ruined in a flood or fire and not being able to get them back.  The only thing I really have to worry about now is my redundant back up system failing...the pictures are saved on my phone, and backed up to Dropbox and Google.  I hope that means they're safe!  Someday, I may think about putting the images together into a photo book or something, but that sort of defeats the purpose...I don't know.  We'll have to wait and see.

So here's his artwork album so far.  I do have some things in storage as well that will need to be photographed and added - but I'll continue to add to it as we get new things.  And while I know there's nothing really special or novel about this idea, I'm proud of myself for thinking of it.  And I hope Miles' inherits my sentimentality and appreciates it someday as well.

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

How do you store and organize your kids' artwork?  Do you feel like a horrible monster when you throw something away, like I do?  Let me know in the comments!

And because no MM Monday post is complete without a picture of Mr. Miles - here he is yesterday afternoon...4 pm, playing on the floor with Grammy's ceramic shelties, and passed out sleeping out of nowhere.  Luckily, he still went to bed on time (actually, lil' angel went to bed early for being naughty...if you can believe it).

Until next time friends,

Miles & Momma Monday - Life Update pt. 2

This is part 2 in a short long series about what's been going on in our lives since my last real post a year ago.  Since it's Miles & Momma Monday, here's what you've missed in the world of the cutest lil man you ever did see.

First - check this out.  This was one of the last pictures I posted of Miles:

This was Miles last Thursday night:

Like...is that even the same kid?  Besides being a year older, Miles has gone through some big stuff since last August.  We started him in Early On, which is the State of Michigan's early intervention program.  We felt like he was a little behind in his language development so we started some bi-weekly meetings with a speech-language pathologist to help push him along.  

We also decided, after an endless stream of ear infections, that we needed to go ahead with getting tubes in his ears.  The quick surgery was scary (I don't care how routine something is, letting your baby out of your sight to be put under general anesthesia and sharp blades run through his eardrums is some scary shit), but took less than 10 minutes and we saw a VAST improvement in his language right from the start.  You could see a huge change in his demeanor right away too - it was like he was hearing things for the first time.  He screamed - a lot - just to hear his own voice.  It was pretty amazing to see.  Here's little man before and after the procedure:

I'm working a little bit out of order here...but whateva.  In December we discovered that Miles was allergic to penicillin.  That was AWESOME, let me tell you.  So - as I mentioned before, kid was pretty much a non-stop ear infection for the better part of a year.  His pediatrician always prescribed amoxicillin.  The infection would clear up for a few weeks then come right back.  The only saving grace was that having an ear infection didn't seem to bother him much.  His only symptom was ever a runny nose - so while he was constantly having ear trouble, he wasn't in pain, which I guess is good.  For whatever reason, the pediatrician was not so hot on him getting tubes (I actually had to push for them when we got concerned about his speech), but just kept telling me - spring is coming, let's just get through the winter and he'll be good.  So he kept getting round after round of antibiotics...I digress.  So anyway, he was on the last day of what was honestly on his 9th or 10th round of amoxicillin, just after Christmas.  We noticed a couple of bumps on his back that looked like some sort of bug bites.  We decided to keep an eye on them (because it was the middle of winter in Michigan...there were no bugs).  The next day we woke up and his left eye was completely swollen.  It was awful.  

We took him to the doctor and they decided it definitely an allergy - most likely to the penicillin.  Luckily, his ears were cleared up and we didn't have to worry about finishing the meds.  She told us to give him benadryl and we went on our way.  The next morning we woke up and he wasn't any better.  In fact, he was worse.  

His entire face was swollen and red.  Those 2 little 'bug bites' on his back and turned into one giant full-body hive.  So back to the doctor we went...he had to be put on steroids.  The doctor told us it was one of the worst penicillin reactions she had ever seen and he would, more than likely, not be a candidate for re-introduction later in life (my husband, mom, and sister had all been allergic to penicillin as kids but can take it with no issue now) as each reaction would get worse and he may end up with anaphilaxis.  Sweet.    Here's my poor, miserable boy a few days into the steroid treatment (yeah...even with the steroids, it still took almost a week for that rash to go away completely...needless to say, we had to cancel our appointment for family pictures).

As if an interstate move isn't enough change for  little guy, we've also had to change his day care situation quite a bit in the last few months, which has been pretty rough.  It didn't help that we loved, loved, LOVED our day care provider back in Michigan.  She was amazing and Miles adored her.  He got so excited to go see Heather every day, got mad at us when we made us leave each afternoon, and never cried or fussed at drop off - we were lucky if we could get a kiss goodbye, because he already had Heather and his friends.  

When we first moved to TN, my mom watched him full time.  The first few days were tough, but once he got used to her, his days with Grammy ended up being pretty similar to his days with Heather, minus the drop off and pickup.  He especially loved all the time he got outside (which was a major change from the snow and cold we left behind).  After a few weeks, we all decided it would be best to put him in daycare part time - he needed the socialization and grammy needed a break (keeping up with an energetic 2 1/2 year old is tough)!  

We found a daycare center that is close to where our new home will be.  It's a bit of a trek for us now, but in the long term, it's a great location.  And it's one of the highest rated centers in the state and affordable and offers part time enrollment (which surprisingly, is very rare).  So, while the center itself is great - it's a very different atmosphere than what we're all used to with Heather's in-home daycare and then staying home each day (and continuing to stay home twice a week) with Grammy.  I think that transition has been the toughest for him.  Drop offs have been so, so hard.  I've had to fight myself a few times to not turn around and bring him back home.  But his teachers assure me that as soon as I (or Grammy) leaves, he stops crying and has a great time with his new friends.  And slowly, but surely, drop offs are getting easier and easier.  I think it's just a slower transition - but we'll get there.

Miles Stats:

Height: ~34"

Weight 20 lbs

Potty Trained? No, but starting to talk about it, and he sits on the potty at daycare (but doesn't use it).

Diaper Size: 6

Clothing Size: Shirts-2T, Pants-18 mos, PJs-3T

Favorite Foods: French Toast Sticks, Mac & Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Protein Granola Bars, String Cheese, Apple Sauce, Black Olives, Beans (Black, Refried), Hot Dogs, Fruit Snacks, Lemons (whole lemons...rind and all)

Favorite Toys: Spiderman Pillow Book, Stuffed Collie, Pete & Patty Pirate, Crane (pictured above - made by Miles' papa for Miles' momma 30 years ago), toy cars, toy airplanes.

Takin Pete and Patty for a walk

Favorite TV Shows/Movies: Super Why, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street (Elmo!), Barney (ugh), Dora (ugh), Ruff Ruff, Tweet, & Dave, Big Hero 6, Avengers

Other Favorites: 

Airplanes (everything airplanes) - we live in the airport path, so there are constantly planes flying overhead.  And when he hears one, we have to drop everything to watch it fly over.  THEN we have to pretend to be airplanes and fly around the driveway.  

Water - his water table, the hose, squirt guns, playing in the rain - if it's wet, he loves it.  Unless he has to go in it...like a pool.  The bathtub is ok.  

Letters - most especially, the letter R.  No clue why.  but you better believe if he can see an R, he will get so excited about it.

He's growing into a little kid - he's definitely not a baby anymore.  It's so fun to watch and learn all his little personality quirks.  And kid definitely has some Chelish in him...

So that's it for our 2 part update.  More (or less) exciting stuff next time.  Until then...