Thomas Minis Blind Bag Codes

E has a new obsession: Thomas Minis. We had no idea that these existed since we never shop at Walmart but we went there to get the new Thomas special Thomas and Friends: The Adventure Begins, which is a Walmart exclusive and we discovered the minis!

I bought E a blind bag and then tried to sneak the 8 pack that they had into my cart to save for Easter but Ethan saw it when it was being checked out so I ended up giving it to him. He was so in love that he fell asleep that night clutching his "Thomas babies"

The next day, he didn't want to go to school because he wanted to stay home and play with his "babies" so I told him he could have another blind bag as a reward if he got ready for school with no protest and was good while he was there. My plan was to go back to Walmart and get every blind bag they had, plus every different type of 3 pack, along with the carry case that has the awesome gold Thomas.

I figured other Thomas parents were in the same boat of wondering what numbers correspond with what trains in the blind bags so I figured I'd start keeping track here. Here is what we've gotten from our three blind bags so far:

Classic Iron Bert- his bag actually had no number. I think that might have been an error but not sure.

Racer Bill- G48A/17

Neon Toby-G48A/07

I've got a lot more blind bags put away to use as a rewards for good behavior, etc. so I will update this post as we open more. Ethan wants to collect them all! 

Cookie Exchange Invitations (Free Download)

Every Christmas season for several years now, my family has had a cookie exchange. The host and guests vary from year to year but the core group of me, my mother & three aunts is the same. One of my aunts is hosting this year so I made these invitations. If you are hosting a cookie exchange and are in need of a cute invitation, these will do this trick!

You can print them as blanks and handwrite on them or you can edit the jpg file on any photo editing software like photoshop or picmonkey.  I made them as 5x7 because my local AC Moore always has very inexpensive, white envelopes for the size.

Click here to download

Happy baking!

Elf on the Shelf 2014 Calendar & Shopping List

Hello internet!

It's been a while. I know, I know. You thought I gave up on this blog didn't you? SURPRISE! I'm back. And I have something fun(and slightly crazy) to share.

So it's October 3rd and while I love me some autumn, I also am thinking of my favorite time of year that is fast approaching: Christmas! So last year, we did the Elf on the Shelf thing. It was fun. Ethan enjoyed it but I found myself often unprepared and just throwing the elf anywhere after a while. This year that is not going to happen. This year, I have a plan. And a calendar. And a shopping list. My Elf on the Shelf game in 2014 is going to be ON POINT.

Now, I know what you are thinking: this chick is crazy. I accept that assessment. I own it and relish in it. In fact I am taking that assessment and covering my bed in it and then rolling around naked in it. Because one person's crazy is another person's awesome.

Without further ado, I give you, the calendar:

Basically, I went on pinterest, pinned 27 days worth of fun elf stuff, and then made this spreadsheet. I think its GLORIOUS. The column on the right has the list of things you need. 

Here is the pdf if you want to download it yourself:

super awesome elf on the shelf calendar

Some of the days involve printables. I have every day labeled on my pinterest board, where you can find all the links to those:

super awesome elf on the shelf pinterest board

Sesame Street First Birthday Party

Let's just start off by saying that if pinterest did not exist, I would not have felt compelled to do half of the projects that I did for Ethan's first birthday party. I started pinning things as soon as he showed a little interest in Sesame Street, which must have been around 3 months old.

If you want to check out the pinterest board CLICK HERE

The majority of Sesame Street supplies was purchased at Party City. They had a huge sale around Memorial Day and another one around July 4th where if you print a coupon from their website, you get $30 off if you spend $100. That came in handy.

For DIY, my favorite thing I did BY FAR was the photobooth, which I copied directly from Red Red Completely Red It was pretty much the easiest thing in the world. I bought the Vitaminer Vimpel Duvet from IKEA for $14.99 and I ordered fun props from The Manic Moose on Etsy. Then we nailed the top of the duvet to the side of the shed and viola!

DIY project #2 was inspired by this blog post. When I told Mark I wanted him to build a wooden bean bag toss game, he looked at me like I was crazy but after looking at the tutorial, he got on board. My original idea was to make 2 sets, one would be Elmo/Cookie Monster and the other would be Big Bird/Oscar. That idea got scrapped when I realized Big Bird would be hard to paint and also when we went to Lowes and saw the price of the wood we needed. So we went with 1 set and I painted one board to look like Elmo and the other to look like Cookie Monster. It came out pretty good considering I did it by hand:

I also made a subway art-esque sign using the Sesame Street theme song lyrics:

For goodie bags, kids got bubbles, sidewalk chalk, Sesame Street bendy straws, crayons, Sesame Street stickers and a whirly pop and I made street sign stickers for the front of the bags with their names on them: 

I also made the balloon wreath that is all over pinterest, with my own little spin on it: 

All in all I was happy with my little projects and Ethan was a very happy Birthday Boy, so I am calling his party a success!

Baby Macgyver

Oh boy, I am in for it with this kid. I better stock up on the hair dye now, because I am for sure going to go gray, and fast. Here is what happened today:

Ethan fell asleep nursing around 10:30am, which is when he usually takes his morning nap. Like almost every day, I put him in his swing, buckled the 5 point harness and jumped in the shower. At some point, I heard him making some noises, but he wasn't crying so I just hurried up and finished washing.

As I was getting out of the shower, I heard Gatsby's bowls, which are in my kitchen, clanking which isn't odd because Gatsby is always shoving his face in his food and water bowls since he has a smush face. Imagine my shock when I walk into the kitchen and find Ethan, drenched from head to toe, with his hands in Gatsby's water bowl. I was so shocked that I couldn't even react. I just stared at him in disbelief as these realizations hit me:

1) Ethan not only got out of the 5 point harness of his swing but FELL out of his swing.

2) He could potentially be hurt and this may be an emergency situation.

3) If Gatsby had not eaten all the food in his bowl, Ethan would have put in his mouth and probably choked and died.

4) The swing is done. He has officially outgrown it. Damn.

After I got over my few seconds of shock, I got Ethan on the changing table and checked him from head to toe and changed his clothes. Not a scratch on him. How is that possible?

Mommy needs a stiff drink.

Bye Bye Gallbladder or Mommy Gets 8 Straight Hours

So last Wednesday, I had my gallbladder taken out. It was nothing urgent...in fact, the Dr. told me I could wait years if I wasn't having any pain but since the gall stones were there because of pregnancy/pregnancy hormones, I decided to just get it done, in case I were to get pregnant again (which by the way is NOT going to happen, in case you were wondering. I'm still breastfeeding and we are not by any means trying.)

Anesthesia is the most awesome stuff ever, as well as pain killers. My only gripe is there was a mix up with the order the Dr. wrote for my pain medication post surgery and the nurses had me waiting almost an hour for it to be fixed. I was in a LOT of pain. Once they finally gave me my 2 little pills though, I was all better!

I am not allowed to lift anything for 10 days so Mark is off for a week and a half to do all the lifting of Ethan. The night/day following surgery, I slept. Then I slept. Then I slept and slept and slept. It was glorious. Of course, I was doped up on pain meds, but still, it felt like old times.

And when I woke up from my drug-sleep haze, Ethan was walking. Like taking steps without holding on to anything walking.

Life is good right now.

Box of Sunshine

I thought I would share the "Box of Sunshine" I put together on behalf of a wonderful and thoughtful group of women for one of our own and her daughter who is seriously ill with complications from HLHS in the hospital.

The original idea came from this blog: http://happymoneysaver.com/send-a-box-of-sunshine-to-brighten-someones-day

Here is my version:

I made the "You Are My Sunshine" art on MS publisher myself. The box is a regular USPS Medium Flat Rate box. In case you can't see the box had:


$100 Amex gift card


Tazo decaf chai tea


Starbucks Via coffee (breakfast blend)


White Chocolate Coconut Bar


Yellow Earbuds


Reese's Egg


Resistance bands (3 different types)


Peeps


Gum


Banana split lollipops


Kashi Honey Almond Flax bars

Dots


Burt's Bees Chapstick


Framed "You Are My Sunshine" print that I made 


BG Essentials Cloth Diaper 


You Are My Sunshine board book for the baby

Burt's Bees Face Wipes

For more information on HLHS, check out Sisters By Heart

Meal Plan Monday 2/20/12

Monday: Soy-Ginger Chicken from Martha Stewart   (slow-cooker)
substituting ground ginger for fresh ginger and chicken cutlets instead of thighs and drumsticks.
I'm also making a cucumber salad w/red onion, S&P, and red wine vinegar

Tuesday: Turkey Meat Loaf: No recipe. I usually throw in an egg, Italian bread crumbs, S&P, Parmesan cheese, ground fennel, a small diced onion and a clove of garlic. with Sauteed Broccoli and 5 minute couscous.

Wednesday: Creamy Avocado Pasta **meatless** with fresh Italian bread from the bakery

Thursday: Honey Sauced Chicken (slow cooker) with white rice and spinach

Friday: Vegetable Casserole (slow cooker) **meatless** 


Saturday: Mini Meatball Minestra and Grilled Provolone

Sigh...the Postpartum Ailments List Gets Longer

Hello blog world! I have been meaning to blog more. I know I always say that...and I always mean it. Life gets in the way though.

Anyway, My beautiful boy Ethan is 6 months old and getting so big. I wish time would slow down!

Along with his six month birthday comes another fun postpartum diagnosis: I have 3 small gallstones YAY!

I know gallstones can happen to anyone, but because I have never had a gallbladder issue before and I am still within a year of having a baby, my doctor feels they were definitely caused by pregnancy. In fact, she said she sees it all the time. Who knew? I haven't been feeling so great for a few months now, and gallstones can cause all the symptoms I have been having (lightheaded, headaches, bloated, etc.) So I am probably going to have my gallbladder removed. My Dr. also said if I ever want to have another child, best to get this puppy out now, since the stones were probably caused by hormones.

Here is what Baby Center has to say about pregnancy and gallstones:
During pregnancy, levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone are higher, which inhibits the gallbladder from contracting and slows the emptying process. When bile lingers in the gallbladder, it's more likely to become concentrated and form stones. About 12 percent of women develop gallstones while they're pregnant and have significant symptoms that may then require surgical removal of the gallbladder either during pregnancy or in the immediate postpartum period.


So yea, 12%. Lucky me.


Just to recap, since I gave birth to Ethan I have:


-been part of the 1% of women that develops PUPPP after giving birth (it took 4 rounds of prednisone to clear it up.)


-developed a benign breast lump, which had to be core needle biopsied. That cancer scare was SUPER fun.


-developed mastitis, probably from the core needle biopsy.


-and now, I have flippin gallstones.


Ethan was worth it, but this kind of sucks.