Sleeping Arrangements

About a week or so back Will decided that Max was about grown out of crate #2. So he went out and bought a big mama-jama crate, number 3, which holds dogs up to 95 pounds! When he walked in with it he set it down and the first thing Cole did was claimed it as his own.
For about a week we didn't take it out because Cole loved it! It broke our hearts to take such a fun toy away from him, however, a crate is no place for a sweet little boy now is it?

Try convincing a sweet little boy of that...


Nonetheless, we kept it around for a while and then something strange happened. Mom started to like it to.


All of this when we were "big boy bed" shopping for Cole. Seems he found his own big bed. He was in and out and finally we decided that if he was ever going to truly sleep, we needed to give it to its rightful owner.


Max now occupies the crate (when Cole doesn't sneak himself in there) and Cole is back at occupying our bed. We are however on the hunt for an indoor friendly tent...

PETA'S UNhappy Meal

I was stalking other people's blogs this evening when I came across a post about PETA, you know, the animal rights group. Now, I am all for the ethical treatment of all God's creatures but PETA has been known to practice some pretty radical ideas and efforts. Case in point: Inside Peta's Unhappy Meal.

Disclaimer: The content about to be discussed is not suitable for viewing for children under 18, er, for anyone actually!

Now, just imagine walking into McDonald's with your happy go lucky, sweet, little children to find hordes of protesters complete with a presentation. You will find a chicken cutting the head off of an upside down Ronald McDonald with fake blood everywhere.


and just when you think you can't take anymore, they hand your child an Unhappy Meal box.

This was taken directly from the PETA Unhappy Meal web site:

"The inside of the Unhappy Meal box is stained with "blood" and contains a "blood"-filled packet urging McDonald's to "Ketchup With the Times," a paper cutout of a menacing Ronald McDonald with PETA's parody "I'm Hatin' It" logo, a "bloody" plastic chicken, and a "Chicken McCruelty" T-shirt wrapped up like a sandwich.


I find the images disturbing and cannot imagine just how I might explain to my toddler the reason these boxes had boo boos. Seriously PETA?

Food Tiding

This year has been quite a blessed one for the ladies of our MOPS group. We have 2 babies due later this year and one new baby boy. So what we have decided to do is that everyone in our MOPS group signs up to take the newest Momma a meal for their family to enjoy. I will be taking Will's famous Chicken and Rice Casserole, a personal favorite of our family. One in which I hesitate to share the recipe for. I don't know what it is about sharing this particular recipe. Maybe if I give it to everyone we won't be able to use it to entertain people with so then we'll never be social again???? Anyhow, I am still not ready to share but I will be making it for Anne and her family on Wednesday. I'll be sure ot take some pics of me prepping it and maybe you can all guess what goes in it;)
The way we decided to do it is through a schedule we all sign up for on FoodTidings.com. I haven't had much time to go in and play around with it but it seems pretty neat. I think it's a way to plan who will take what, when, and where to who??? If you get to check it out before I do, let me know how it all works.
Now, I do love me some Eggleston Chicken and Rice Casserole,... would it be weird to sit in with the happy family and stuff my face too?

dressing and grooming

Cole styled his own hair while I was working away at the computer. That is hair gel in his hair. He looks kinda cool I think. I might just let him dress and groom himself from now on...

Silver Lining of Potty Training

To every storm cloud there is a silver lining-this is what they say. So every time I want to pull my hair out, I try to find the silver lining.

Potty training Cole after I last posted that it was horrible had become bliss for over a week. No accidents, not all day, not during naps, not at night. Impressive, I know. I kept wanting to facebook or blog about it but I refrained because I didn't want to jinx it. Then one day, I was so proud I bragged about how easy it was and just like that, I jinxed myself.

Some days, he doesn't even try. Most days in fact this week. Today, a breakthrough moment. I had just made him potty in the toilet and we were getting into bed for a nap. A few minutes later he told me he had to go potty - poo poo. We ran to the potty, he banished me frm the room as always, and did his business. It was a turd that only a Mama could be proud of, and I sure was. Surely, there was nothing left in that teeny little bowel of his. So we took our nap, woke up, and he sprinkled his pants on the way to the potty. No biggie, he had tried. I went to get his "chones" and they were all gone. As in all used up. All 15 pairs. And I had just done laundry a couple of days ago. Annoyed, I dump them all in a water/bleach solution and walk into the hallway of the laundry room to find Cole squatting. Weird. I look around the corner and see a big 'ol turd. For a split second I think it must be Bailey's, except that it is the size of Bailey. I ask Cole, "What is that." He looks up at me, smiles, and points to it and says, "Cole pooped" - very matter of factly. Like no shit mom...

Silver lining - our house is all tile....and one spot is particularly clean.

Holistic Health

For a very long time now I have known that my eating habits would someday have to change. My family has a history of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. I got a complete wellness exam a few months back and even that indicated that I was at high risk of heart disease.

It's no secret that Will and I have been trying to get pregnant for a while now. We have seen a fertility specialist and our OBGYN insists that there is nothing physically wrong with me. He has gone over the statistics with me and assured me that in due time, it will happen. In His time, I suppose. After having exhausted many many possibilities and alternatives including IUI, we decided to look to a Natural, or Holistic Health practitioner. We found Dr. Bella.

I met with her yesterday evening and she confirmed that my diet is in fact crap. So,... no more cokes for me, I need to drink a crazy green drink for a while, and much of what I used to eat, I no longer can. All of this has gotten me to thinking that despite the help it will do for me, I am excited about the change it will bring to the eating habits of Cole.

Wish us look on this new and healthy journey!

99 bottles of milk

In an attempt to soothe a hysterical Cole to sleep - he was hysterical that I was not going to sleep in the bed with him - I asked him if he wanted me to sing him a song. Much to my chagrin, he said "yes".

The only song that came to my mind was the "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall". Sad, sad, I know but I just thought I had butchered "Twinkle Twinkle" and Barney's "I Love You" much to many times and frankly, I needed a change. So before I could stop myself, I began singing:

99 bottles of milk on the wall, 99 bottles of milk, if one of those bottles should happen to fall, it's 98 bottles of milk on the wall...98 bottles of milk, if one of those bottles should happen to fall.....

Nevermind that I changed the lyrics without even realizing it until I googled them just now, I fell asleep 3 times only to be awoken by a sweet little voice requesting that I sing it "again".

P.S. Sorry if you will be singing this song now throughout the day...

water and jogging don't mix, they swoosh

Did you know that you really shouldn't drink water while you're running? I drank about 1 cup and a half and I was so proud of myself that I was actually drinking water. I was thinking to myself that if this is what it takes to get water into my system, then this is what I should do. So refreshing. Then it occurred to me that I would just sweat it out. Hum? What to do, what to do? I drank it up anyway. Just as I was finishing my exercise, my stomach felt shaky. I thought that I might just throw up as I could hear the water swooshing in my stomach.
So I guess there went that breakthrough!