Have you entered the fabulous eco-friendly product giveaway from Lets Go Green.biz yet? If not, click on the above link to read more about it, and to enter.

Hurry, you have less than a week left to enter. The winner will be selected on Tuesday, July 1st at 10pm eastern time. (Please make sure to enter on the contest page at the above link- NOT here.  Your comment won’t be counted as an entry here.)

If you want a chance to win another great organic product, head over to Crunchy Domestic Goddess where you can win a bottle of Nature Avenger Organic Weed Killer. Really hurry on this one, because the winner will be selected this Friday.

Isn’t it great to have some green giveaways?  Good luck!

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If you are like me, you might be trying to gradually replace household items in your home with more eco-friendly options.  Who wants to expose their children and family to harmful chemicals, so often found in traditional cleaning products? 

I have also been trying for over a year now, to reduce the amount of plastic bags we bring home from the grocery store.  Once I started paying attention to how many bags I was bringing my groceries home in, it was so excessive.  No wonder I always ended up with what seemed liked hundreds of bags under my sink.  Sometimes the bagger at the store, would use one bag for one small item. 

It bothers me that we still use plastic Ziploc bags, but quite frankly, they are so easy to use.  I use the gallon sizes for everything from marinades to storing art supplies in.  I use the sandwich and snack sizes for the boys’ snacks on the go, and for Ryan’s school lunches. 

But probably the biggest single factor for me in holding off replacing more household items is the cost.  We only have one natural grocery store in our town, and paper products, etc. are pretty expensive there.  My regular grocery store doesn’t have that big of a selection of eco-friendly paper, plastic, and cleaning supplies.  I suspect I am like a lot of people, who would like to purchase more eco-friendly products, but can’t justify spending double, triple, or even more on them. 

Fortunately, we don’t have to now.  There is a fantastic company, Lets Go Green.biz, which now provides many eco-friendly household products that are affordable.  In fact, after reviewing their site, many products cost less than what I have been paying for conventional items.

What makes it even more affordable, in addition to their already low prices, if you use the coupon code FRIEND during checkout, you receive an additional 25% off your order!  How wonderful is that? 

One of the best bargains they have is their new BPA-free water bottles from Camelbak.  I have seen similar BPA bottles in the sporting good store for at least $15.  Sigg BPA-free water bottles are great, but in my health food store, they run from $20-$40.  The price of Lets Go Green’s BPA-free water bottles: $12.89. With the 25% discount, they end up being $9.67.  I have yet to see them less anywhere else.  Plus they come in a variety of colors. 

I am so excited and pleased to offer a fabulous giveway from Lets Go Green.biz.  It is valued at over $37 and all the products are eco-friendly.  One lucky person will win: 

 Let’s Go Green Large Canvas Shopping Bag 

 32oz. Glass Cleaner (I have used this, and it works wonderfully!  It gets the smudges and little handprints off the windows with no streaks.  It is dye and fragrence free, non-toxic, and it is biodegradable!) 

 Recycled Bath Tissue 4pack 

  Recycled Paper Towel 3pack

  13 Gallon Ecosafe Tall Degradable Kitchen Bags  (15 count)

  Slider Gallon PVC Free Freezer Bags (10 count)

   5 Minute Shower Coach  (to help time your showers and conserve water)

   Toilet Tank Bank  (helps save almost a full gallon with every flush)

   Walnut Scrubber Sponge (made with organic walnut shells)

To be eligible to win this prize, all you have to do is go to Lets Go Green.biz, and look at their products.  Then leave a comment here, stating what product, or products you would like to try, or what product caught your attention.  That’s it!  The contest will run for two weeks, ending on July 1, at 10 PM eastern time.  The winner will be picked by a random.org, with the number corresponding to your comment number.

If you can’t wait that long, be sure to click on the Lets Go Green.biz button I have on the top of this post, or on the left hand side of my blog.  It will take you to their website, and remember to enter the code FRIEND at checkout, to save 25% off your order. 

Lets Go Green.biz also has a fundraising program that is definitely worth checking out if you have a group or organization.  If you are interested in finding out more about their fundraising programs, be sure to check out their Green Fundraising pages.

This is a terrific chance to win some eco-friendly household products.  Make sure to enter before July 1st.  Going “green” doesn’t have to be expensive, and thanks to Lets Go Green.biz, they have just made it a lot easier and affordable.  Good luck- and may the “green” be with you!

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I know there is a lot of information available on how to be “greener,”and the benefits to the environment.  For instance, last year around Earth Day, I vowed to stop using the plastic grocery store bags, and I purchased these Envirosax reusable bags.  Most of the stores in my area started offering plastic bag recycling as well, so there are many places now I can take the plastic bags when they start to accumulate.

This Earth Day I thought it would be interesting to cite some financial information on how much “green” efforts can save you.  Again, all these are good for the Earth too, but it can also be a motivating factor when you see how many “green” backs your “green” efforts are saving you.

• You can save money by using cloth napkins, and paper towels.  If an average family goes through a standard 250 package of napkins a month, and they are $2.50 a package, in a year the savings would be: $30.  Paper towels are about $3 for a package of two, and assuming you use a package a month, the savings in a year would be: $36.
• If you can use cloth diapers, (even some of the time) the savings really start to add up and are enormous- especially if you invest in cloth diapers and use them for a second and or third child. 

There are tons of spreadsheets on the Internet breaking down the costs of disposable diapers versus cloth diapers.  Basically in summary, if water is cheap (and in the US it is), there is less of a toll on the environment by using cloth diapers.  The savings seem to work out on average, by the time your first baby is about 10-12 months old, you would have spent the same amount on cloth diapers as you would disposables.  At that point you have broken even, and after that, you have recouped your costs, and are basically diapering for free (minus the cost of water to wash them). 

If you have bought diapers recently, I don’t have to tell you how much of a savings this can be.  Especially if you have two children in diapers at the same time!  If a family uses a case of diapers a month and on average they are about $30 a case, in a year on the low end, that is $360 a year.  If you invest in cloth diapers, after 10-12 months, you will have saved $30-60+, and after that you are saving at least $30+ a month!

• Buy energy efficient appliances.  Energy Star has a list of qualified products.  Here are just two examples of how much money you can save with Energy Star appliances: Energy Star Refrigerator: $10.82, Energy Star Front-Load Washing Machine: $50.50 (just on the electricity- not counting the savings in water!)  Total for these two appliances: $61.32
• Unplugging appliances when not in use, can help save on your electricity bill too.
• By paying your bills on-line, you not only save the costs of stamps to mail your bills, you also save on the costs of checks, by not having to re-order so many.  On average my estimate is you would save about $50 a year by doing this. 
• Make one meal a week, a vegetarian meal, and save on the cost of meat.  If the average package of meat or chicken costs around $7, in a year you would have saved $364 on meat! 

Just these few tips would save the average household about $574 a year.  You can add to that if you are a family using cloth diapers!  These saving could be several trips to the grocery store, several tanks of gas, several meals out, or even a nice weekend away!

Join me in the coming year to try to be as “green” as possible, and save yourself some “green” at the same time.  If you have any more money saving tips that are good for the Earth too, I would love to hear them.

Happy Earth Day!

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Welcome to A Mama’s Blog’s new home.  I hope you can linger for a moment and get acquainted with the new site.  If you are looking for any past articles, just scroll down on the right hand side bar, and you can use the “Search” feature, or look through the “Archives.”  You can also browse through past posts by ”Category”.  

Perhaps you have noticed a brand new feature, the “Link to Me” button, with the jibberish code underneath it.  You can now place a link on your blog using this code, and my button will appear on your blog.  I did this with my friend Amy’s Crunchy Domestic Goddess blog button in my blogroll.

Finally, my favorite feature so far is the header.  I searched and searched for the image that was perfect, and couldn’t find it.  I really wanted an image that reflected me with my boys, but it didn’t seem like they had an image with two boys and a mama that I liked.   I took a few days off from searching, and when I went back to look through the thousands of images istockphoto has,  a new one popped up.  A mama with her two boys, just about the same age as my boys! 

My designer, Heather,  from Girly Blog Designz customized it more for me, so it would look even more like Ryan, Cole, and I, and she added the laptop in for me.   Really, because what blogging mama doesn’t have her laptop with her at all times?  :-)  Then we found a landscape picture background that Heather merged into the picture.  Next Heather added her creative flair, and we finally had the header.  Needless to say, I am so happy with how the new blog turned out!

I am so happy and excited to be launching the new home of A Mama’s Blog, that I am giving away this best selling infant/toddler T-shirt from my store, Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs:

It says, What Happens at Grandma’s Stays at Grandma’s.  The shirt is white (as pictured) and it is infant/toddler size 18 months.  You can view all the specifics of the shirt, see a size chart, and see it in greater detail here, at my store.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  If you have a blog, I’d really appreciate it, if you would mention and link this contest, and my new site in a post on your blog.  Please sign Mr. Linky if you do link.  I will pick a winner through random.org on Saturday March 22nd, at 10pm eastern time.  I will announce the winner either Saturday night, or on Sunday March 23rd.   So make sure you leave your post before then,  if you want a chance to win this adorable shirt. 

Even if you don’t have a child in size 18 months, it would make a great gift for your niece, nephew, grandchild, best friend’s baby…you get the drift.  Since this shirt is unisex, it is so cute for either a boy or a girl!

Thanks for stopping by the new site.  Don’t forget to check back to see who the T-shirt winner is. 

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I did something today that I have never done before.  I spent 5 hours at the mall with both Ryan and Cole.  What was I thinking?

After our great weather on Saturday, it turned windy, cold, and snowy on Sunday.  We were cooped up all day yesterday.   I actually had no errands or anything else planned today, and the prospect of spending 12 hours in the house again, was not appealing- evidently going to the mall with two small, active, boys was. 

I had to return a pair of my new jeans that I just bought, because (and I’m not complaining), they were too big.  After having them on for a few hours, they stretched out, and just didn’t fit.  I also needed to pick up a few more casual / work shirts.  I couldn’t believe how empty the mall was.  It seems like I usually go to the mall on weekends.  There was hardly anyone there.  It was so nice being able to shop and look around without bumping into people, especially since I had the double stroller.  Ryan and Cole also liked being able to stand in front of the mirrors and they could move their arms, and not hit anyone.  I must remember any shopping at the mall needs to be done on a Monday.

I returned my jeans, (the size down didn’t fit at all), and I found some nice shirts on sale at Gap and Old Navy- woo hoo!  After I was done with my errands, we ate lunch.  I packed some PB&J’s for the boys.  Cole wanted nothing to do with his sandwich, so he ate most of my sandwich I picked up at Subway.  Oh well. 

Then we went to Pottery Barn Kids, where I took a nap on the beautifully, perfect, made up Madeline Canopy trundle bed, (do adults with jobs even have beds this nice?) while the boys played next to me in the $800 toy kitchen.  (Do adults with jobs even have kitchens this nice?)  Just kidding- about the nap- I did sit down on the Madeline bed, and laid up against the perfect pillows for forty-five minutes while the boys played. 

 I have to say the employees at Pottery Barn Kids were very nice.  I am sure they could tell I wasn’t going to buy anything, but they didn’t mind a tired mama camping out on the perfectly made Madeline Canopy bed, nor did they even flinch when my two boys climbed on it. At least the boys took their shoes off, before getting on the white bedding. I was hoping I didn’t miss wiping up any jelly on their hands from lunch.  They just told me to relax, and told me how cute Ryan and Cole were.  They get my vote for just being so nice.  The next time I am in the market for an item I can afford there (it won’t be the $800 kitchen though), I will get it there. 

Then we went to the play area, where the boys ran around for another hour.  Then we got a snack and headed home.  All in all it went well EXCEPT I forgot that Ryan’s medication he is taking for his double ear infection that won’t go away, makes him have to go to the bathroom in a heartbeat.  Let’s just say it sure isn’t fun dashing across the mall, trying to find a bathroom for your four-year old, when you already know his pants are a mess, and you forgot to bring 3 pairs of clean underwear for him. I wonder if he was the only other kid going commando at the mall today?

Cole was asleep as we left the parking lot, and Ryan fell asleep about ten minutes from home.  They both fell asleep tonight a few minutes after they laid down.  I am happy that they got so much exercise, and they really did have fun.  Ryan asked if we could stay at the mall longer, as we were leaving, and then as we were getting in the car, he told me Coley wanted to go back inside the mall.  I guess we’ll have to become offical mall rats the next time the weather is bad, and we have cabin fever. 

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All the stars must have aligned right yesterday, because it worked out where I was able to get out of the house, and do some much needed shopping.  I had Cole with me, and he is quite the shopper.

One reason I always wanted a girl, was I just assumed you had to have a girl to go shopping with.  Ryan is not a shopper- he is just like his dad in that area-go in, get what you need, get out as quick as you can.  Cole, on the other hand, takes after me.  He loves looking around at all the people, and he loves touching clothes, and just seeing what is going on in the stores.  I have to be in the right mood to shop, or else I hate it, and fortunately, both Cole and I were in a shopping mood today.

We started out at Old Navy, where they are having a huge baby sale- all baby/kids clothes were 40% off.  I stocked up on tee shirts and shorts mostly for Ryan for the summer, since Cole will have plenty of Ryan’s hand-me-downs.  They were all on sale for $3.90 each.  I did get both boys one matching outfit- a navy and gray shirt, with matching shorts.  Then I found a nice work / dressier occasion black short sleeved blouse for me on sale for $7.  It was triple that originally, so I scored there.  I looked for a birthday present for my niece, who will be one in April, but I just didn’t see anything that I liked.  I take that back- I saw this adorable onesie, which fits my niece to a T, but they only had newborn sizes.  However, I got my friend, who is expecting her first baby, a boy in March, a gift, (not sure if she reads my blog or not, so can’t say what it is, other than it is cute!) I had a coupon for an additional 10% of everything, so I saved quite a bit.

I was getting hungry, so I stopped at a bakery and got a chicken walnut salad sandwich.  Cole had eaten before we left, and didn’t want any of my food, except for the delicious oatmeal raisin cookie that came with it.  He sat on his chair like such a big boy and smiled at everyone who walked by.  While we were eating, I saw a new mother sitting a few tables down with a baby that looked about a month old.  They looked so happy and calm.  I wondered if I ever looked that happy, or if I just always looked as frazzled, and tired as I felt.

After we were done eating, it was off to Children’s Place, where I had another coupon for 15% off.  We went shopping there right before Christmas, so I figured I had seen most the merchandise, but I have another friend who is also due in March with her first baby, but she doesn’t know the gender.  I thought I would see if there were any cute outfits that would work.  Now I know what everyone went through with me- we didn’t find out the gender either time.  I really wanted to get her some things, but everything was so gender specific, I couldn’t.  I did find one nice little gift though, that will work for a boy or a girl.  I also found two long sleeved graphic shirts for Ryan for next fall, that were originally $14, marked down to $5.99, and then they were 50% off that.  With my coupon they ended up being $2.54. Not bad for two brand new cool shirts.  One had a snowmobiler on it, and one had a helicopter scenes.  Right up Ryan’s alley.

Cole was starting to get a bit tired, but I wanted to go to New York & Company to see what kind of jeans they had.  I debated on stopping at Pottery Barn Kids first to let Cole  play for a while, but it is so hard to get him out of there- he never wants to leave.  So I decided to go to NY&Co. first.  They were crazy busy!  It was my lucky day to need jeans, because they were having a sale on all their pants- buy one get one for 50% off.  And, yes you guessed it, I had a coupon for $30 off, if you spent $75.  I have never bought NY&Co. jeans before, but my sister has a few pairs that are really cute.  Plus, I can wear jeans to work if they are nicer, and it seems like the jeans there are a little dressier.  Plus they have tall lengths, which I usually need.  

Because of the sale and my coupon it really did make sense to get two pairs- two pairs would cost me $10 more than one pair.  But, I was out of luck.  The jeans were so picked over, I only found one pair that were my size, and they weren’t even the long length.  I tried them on anyway, and surprisingly they were long enough.  I even asked the sales person to see if they had anymore jeans in my size. 

The store was so cramped, and the aisles were very narrow, it was NOT fun trying to maneuver a stroller through all of it.  The sales person told me I must have the only pair in my size- she couldn’t find anymore.  I was still going to get the pair I liked, and found some great sweaters for work and a blouse, all marked down from $36 to $7.99.  Then I spotted a clearance rack by another dressing room that had some more jeans on it.  I looked through every pair, and the very last pair, was my size, in a long length, with a design on the back pockets that I really liked.  After trying them on, it seemed like they were a little too long.  I guess they don’t mess around- tall means tall!  Usually tall is like half an inch longer than the regular length.  Not at NY&Co.!  But they were so cute, I decided to get them anyway, and I know Joe’s mom could hem them up for me.

While I was standing in line, I noticed EVERY fashion conscious person in the store (you know what they look like- they aren’t mom’s who have dried chicken salad from lunch on their black shirts, and pushing a toddler in a beat up stroller) had on really long jeans- most had the hems to the floor, and were standing on them.  I guess these pants were the height of fashion.  Maybe I won’t have them hemmed- now if I could do something about the dried white mayonnaise spots on my black shirt. 

I was over the $75 mark with the sweaters, but after using my coupon, I got $30 knocked off.  I am really happy I found two nice pair of jeans I can wear to work if I want to.  Here is the first pair, and here is the second, long, pair. 

Cole was really getting fussy at this point, so we went to Pottery Barn Kids, and spent the next hour there.  He was having a blast playing with the toy kitchen, stove, washing machine, ironing board, and vacuum cleaner.  It also was not crowded at all, so he had the toys to himself.  Almost everyone who walked by and saw him playing told me how sweet he looked.  He would stop what he was doing, and wave at that the person.  Finally, he was getting so tired, I had to pick him up and carry him out of there.  He cried, but he stopped as soon as we started walking in the mall again.  He fell asleep on they way home.

Hopefully we are set on clothes now for a while.  It was a really nice, fun, and laid back day, and I really enjoyed spending that one-on-one time with Cole.  Oh, and if you are wondering how I got so many coupons- the last time I was at Old Navy, the reciept selected me to take a customer satisfaction survey for the 10% off.  So I did, and I got a code when I was done.  For the other two stores, I am on their mailing list, and they send coupons quite regularly.  You can sign up on-line at their websites,  if there are any shopping trips in your future to these stores.

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• It finally warmed up today.  Ryan received an air rocket launcher for his birthday (over a month ago), and has been dying to use it, but it has been too cold.  Today when he saw the sun was shining, he said, “Today is a nice day.   Can we go to the park and shoot off the rocket?”  After breakfast we headed out, only to discover it was way too windy to shoot the rocket off.  We took the boys to the park instead, but the wind was very strong, and was making it cold yet again.  After about 15 minutes, we had to call it quits. 

We came home, had lunch, and then the boys took a nap.  When Cole woke up I took him to the health food store, and the grocery store for groceries.  The wind had died down, and it was wonderful.  Cole and I didn’t even need our jackets.  Joe took Ryan to finally shoot off his rocket.  We all got home at the same time, and Ryan had so much fun with the rocket.  He kept saying he hopes it is warm tomorrow, so he can go again. 

• While we were eating dinner, Cole was particularly fussy- he didn’t want to eat, but he kept pointing to my plate.  When I offered him my plate, he would just start fussing again.  We couldn’t figure out what the problem was.  I was trying to get Cole to eat something, but to no avail.  I tried bribing next- I told Cole if he ate his food he could have dessert.  Even that didn’t work.  But Ryan, not missing a beat, had to point out that he was already done with his dinner and he was going to get dessert.  I told him that was correct, but we were going to wait for dessert until Cole had eaten.  Frustrated, Ryan pulls says to Cole, in his best stern Sir Topham Hatt voice, “Coley, you are causing confusion and delay.”         

I just burst out laughing- it was so funny, and just perfect timing.  Later, as they were getting dressed after their bath, Cole was goofing around, and was not being very cooperative, when I was trying to get him to stay still, so I could put his diaper on.  Again, Ryan tells Cole, he “is causing confusion and delay.” 

• I got my hair cut yesterday.  I realized it had been almost six months, since the last time a pair of scissors had touched my hair.  It was to my shoulders, and I got about three inches cut off, and got it thinned out.  I always forget how much lighter my neck feels when I have this done.  I like it.  I didn’t get it a new cut, but it feels great to have it trimmed up again.

• My Alzheimer’s is behind me!  I finally, finally, found the bag of art supplies I have been looking for now, for several weeks.  Were they in some obscure place?  Nope.  They were in a Dillard’s bag, in the front closet- the closet I have checked at least 20 times before.  Don’t know why I never found them before, or how I missed them, but I was very happy when I came across them yesterday. 

I think what threw me was the Dillard’s bag.  I hardly ever shop at Dillard’s.  I can’t say when the last time I was there.  I don’t know where the bag even came from, so I think when I saw it, I figured it was something really, really, old in there- like clothes that need to be donated or something like that, and I just skipped right over it.  Now we’ll see if we get another snowy day, in which the boys could actually use the supplies before next winter.  

• My Alzheimer’s is gone, but now it has hit Joe.  He has a bad habit of forgetting to close the garage door.  Someone could walk right in our house this way, or just help themselves to his myriads of tools on the shelves in there, and we would never know they were gone, until that day he is looking for that one tool, and can’t find it.  Joe carried in the groceries for me this afternoon around five.  We carry them in through the garage, since it leads right into the kitchen.

Tonight at 11, the doorbell rings.  We were watching a movie, and wondered who in the world would be at the door that late?  Joe answered it, and it was our wonderful neighbor across the street.  He told us he was sorry to bother us, but they were getting ready to go to sleep, and had noticed that our garage door had been open all night, and he knew we usually keep it closed, so he wanted to let us know.  Thank goodness he did.  That would have been great- leaving the door up all night.  I check it sometimes before I go to bed, but not always.  I told Joe we need an alarm or something. 

• Tomorrow it is supposed to be warm again, and no wind.  I desperately need some new clothes.  I won’t complain, because I finally, finally lost all my baby weight for good, and then some.  I have forced myself to stop eating dessert every (only occasionally now) night, and surprisingly lost almost 10 pounds.  So once again, I don’t have any jeans that fit great.  I’m hoping to sneak off to the mall for some shopping.  I also have a friend who is due in March with her first baby, and she is having a boy.  I know they are having some great sales right now too, so I want to get her baby some goodies.   We’ll  see how that goes. 

• I have to take my Jeep back into the shop on Monday.  We had it in last week for a tune up, and the shocks were shot.  After we got it back, it idled very rough, and the check engine light came on.  Guess they didn’t fix it right, or did something wrong.  So I hope to get all those little things done tomorrow, since we’ll be home-bound on Monday. 

 Hope you can stand all the excitement around here.  At least we aren’t sick.  J

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This has been a busy week, so I am glad it is Friday!  We have been having very cold temperatures but fortunately, we were able to get out and go for some nice long walks, before it got too cold.  I wanted to go this morning after our music class, but it is just too cold out for Cole. 

 My in-laws got sick on Wednesday, so I had some last minute shuffling for child care.  Our wonderful child care provider J, who the boys go to for the mornings on Thursday, was able to take them for a half day on Wednesday, so I went to work in the morning, and then had the afternoon “off.”  I played with the boys, read them lots of stories, and then indulged myself with a 2 hour nap, while the boys took their nap too!  It was wonderful.  After the boys went to bed, I worked for a few more hours. 

Yesterday, as I was getting ready to leave work, my boss asked to speak to me.  Without getting in too much detail, her biggest client, and the one who she has had the longest (18 years) needed some help preparing their 2008 budget reports for their board meeting in two weeks.  She is absolutely swamped with work, and she asked me if I wanted to take a shot at preparing these budget reports.  She explained it to me briefly, and I told her I would try.  Fortunately, I can do all the work from home.  I wasn’t really sure, if I had bitten off more than I could chew, so last night I reviewed exactly what I was supposed to do.  It is fairly complex, but I think and hope I can manage it.  Of course, my boss said to let her know if I have any questions, but I am really hoping I can get it done in the coming week.  I am really happy and surprised, frankly, she asked me to take this on, since this is her most important client, but it also feels good to have a mental challenge, and be able to put my skills to the test. 

Tomorrow we have some dinner plans “in the big city” with my brother and sister-in-law, and my dad and step-mom are going to babysit the boys, while we go.  The boys are already super excited.  Joe has another busy work week ahead of him, and at the end of next week, my youngest sister, who lives out of state, is coming for a long weekend visit.  She will be staying with me for a night, so I am very excited to see her.  It has been over a year, since she has been able to stay with me, when she comes to town. I think we will go shopping- we always love to do that.  Sisters make the best shopping partners too, because they can be honest and don’t worry about hurting your feelings. 

Ryan has just turned into a little chatter-box.  He just goes on and on about everything, and he comes up with the funniest things.  The other night he told me he was going to go to dinner with some friends, and he’d be back, when he got back.  (say, that doesn’t sound like something his mother would say, does it?)  When I asked him who his friends are, he just said, that was his business! 

He has also learned somehow, somewhere how to pee standing up.  Neither Joe nor myself had taught him this, and to tell the truth, I like him sitting down- let’s just say it is less of a clean-up for Mommy.  Anyway, when I asked him where he learned to do that, he said, “At my work.”  OK then!

Ryan always asks Joe and I how our days at work go.  Last week, he was whining and he said he was tired.  This was after my work day, and I told him I was tired too, and that I had to sit in a hard chair all day (not really, but my regular chair was broken, and the chair I was using, just wasn’t as comfortable).  The next day he was very concerned and asked me if I was tired after work.  I told him no, and he said, “Oh good- you didn’t have to sit in the hard chair then?”  It is just amazing how much they process.

Cole is blooming into his own little person- very determined, but also very sweet.  When something happens that he doesn’t like, he sticks his bottom lip out in a major pout, and then crunches up his forehead, and looks down at the ground.  He is saying “mama” a lot, and says “da” for yes.  Funny, how he has his own language, and funny too, we know what he means.

 Those are all the updates for now- I hope everyone has a great (and warm) weekend.

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I haven’t mentioned my on-line store, Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs,  very often in my blog, even though I have a few links to it.  When I checked my e-mail for the store today, I discovered the following special coupon from Cafe Press (who hosts the site), and thought I would share this special.   If you think you might do some shopping here, hurry though, because it looks like the coupon code (FRFAM2007) is valid only until the 28th.  I also have a feeling this code will work on other stores at Cafe Press, so that may be worth a try if you find other things you like as well in a different store.

Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs carries designs for babies, children, maternity, and women.   (The onesie in the picture below which says, “My Grandpa Can Fix Anything,”is one of my designs you’ll find in the store.  There are also some breastfeeding advocacy designs and bumper stickers, birth and home birth designs, and some “Green” designs.  Check out the site, and pick up a cute onesie for that special baby in your life- remember Christmas is right around the corner. 

Friends & Family of Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs Get $15 off $50*

Start shopping at Little Pumpkin Sweet Pea Designs, http://www.cafepress.com/lpspd

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We had very busy weekend!  My baby sister (well, she just turned 29, but she is still my baby sister), was visiting this weekend from out-of-state. 

On Saturday morning, we met her, my sister, my brother-their spouses, and of course my niece for breakfast.  Then we took the kids to the park for an hour.  Ryan had a great time playing with his aunts and uncles, and Cole, just loves slides.  He has no fear.  He climbed up the tallest slide at the park, which had to be about 30 feet, turns around and slides down, feet first.  He laughs, and just wants to do it again, and again.

On Saturday night, Ryan and I attended a house-warming party of a friend, who moved into a new house (they had it built), about two months ago.  Unfortunately, Cole has been teething, and the excitement of the park and with his teething, he was very cranky.  Joe stayed home with Cole, since he was not in a very good party mood. 

Ryan had fun at the party, playing with a new set of three-year-old boy toys, which included new Thomas toys, he doesn’t have, and a little airplane, which was the hit of the evening.  I had fun too, visiting with some friends, and meeting some new people.  My friend’s new house is beautiful.  One of the things I liked best about it, is it has the laundry room upstairs, right next to the bedrooms.  I have seen that in new home models, and it always seemed like it makes a lot of sense- saving you time from lugging the laundry downstairs, and then lugging it back again.  At any rate, we were both having such a nice time, we were one of the last people to leave, which doesn’t happen very often. 

On Sunday, we met Joe’s sister, her kids (the cousins), and her husband at a amusement park, about two hours from our house. It had lots of rides that were just right for Ryan and Cole, and Santa was there! When it was Ryan’s turn, he just hopped on Santa’s lap, and started to tell him the one gift he wants, and how hold he is. 

The rest of the day was spent riding rides with the cousins. We left about three, and then went to my dad’s house, who made a wonderful Mexican food meal for us.  We finally arrived back home at 7. The boys played for a while, took their baths, and were conked out, shortly after.  They slept wonderfully last night. 

Today Ryan, Cole, and I met my sisters at a mall for lunch, so we could see my sister one last time before she left tonight.  It was so nice to see her.  I hope we will be able to go visit her soon.  When Ryan saw her at the mall, he ran to her with his arms wide open for a hug.

After lunch, my sisters had to get to some shops, and get my sister to the airport, so the boys and I returned a shirt at a store, and then went to play at a Pottery Barn Kids.  They always have such neat toys there.  I was bummed to see a lot of the toys were made in China, though.  I just don’t feel confident right now, buying pained toys from China. 

I had been wondering what to get Cole for Christmas- for some reason I have been drawing a blank.  He always plays with what Ryan has, but I want him to have something just for him.  After spending an hour in PBK, I was at a loss, no more.  He absolutely LOVED their cash register.   I was going to get it for him, but it was $59, and the money was $9.  I think that is kind of expensive.  I think I’ll look around and see if I can find something that may be more reasonably priced first.  He really just liked putting the credit card in the slot, which beeped.  So, a cash register with a credit card slot that beeps, is now on my list. 

(***UPDATE*** As soon as I was done writing this, I Googled play cash registers, and this one from Target came up- I’ll be making a stop there tomorrow- it even has TWO credit cards!****)

I did end up buying this play-mat for their train table.  Ryan really likes lining up his cars, and pretending they are on the street, so this should be a big hit, come Christmas. 

I am really excited for Christmas this year.  I think because finally, at least Ryan is old enough to really be in to it.  In previous years, it seemed like a lot of work, when the boys really wouldn’t have cared one way or another.  Ryan is talking about the Christmas tree, the lights, and the decorations.  It makes it that much more exciting for me, to try to make this time special and memorable for them.  I want them to always remember Christmas time as being special, magical, and fun.

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