Your Heart Just Breaks...

For months the rumors have been flying and its been sad to see unfold. Regardless if you follow the television show Jon and Kate Plus Eight, hearing that the parents of this show are going through marital problems is just sad. But if you follow the program and are a parent of even one child, you know that a marriage can go through rough patches. Watching the season premiere last night just broke my heart. I don't know whats true and what's not and although they have openly put the situation out for discussion, I feel that it doesn't matter what the truth is. The fact that they are openly struggling and that the "D" word is being discussed here and there just saddens me. Not only for the marriage but for the children. It's hard being in the public eye and even if this family walked away from show biz today, show biz wouldn't walk away from them so quickly.

Perfect Purchase

Check out this shirt I found for Finnegan at Target today! It's perfect! I think I'll go back and get him one for next summer too!!

Summer has arrived!!

The summer has arrived, at least within the last week, here in Washington. Last weekend, we got out Finnegan's water table that I purchased last year on clearance. He really enjoyed using it and was completely soaked before I could even think of putting his swim suit on. I'm sure we'll pull it out again during this Memorial Day Weekend!


Daddy even let him climb inside... Bad idea, as he just wanted to sit in it all day. Perhaps we'll pull out the kiddie pool this weekend instead :)
Other days Finnegan will just run in the back yard. He likes to just run and walk around. We don't have our swing set up yet so we don't have ANYTHING to do out there, except for throw balls and chase after them. But for now, that makes him happy!

He wanted to put on my boots the other day... Cute if you ask me!
He watched Cars the other day wit all his buddies... Tigger, BearBear and Green BearBear
Today we went to the zoo with some friends. While the other children want to be out of their strollers, Finnegan is content to sit in his stroller and just watch the animals. He's very laid back and very observant. We'll see how long that lasts.

This is a new exhibit at the Zoo. It's called Budgie Buddies. They're like cockateils. They fly free withing the enclosure and you can purchase a stick of food for $1.00 and the birds will come and sit on the stick and eat the food. Kind of neat.



Here's a video...




Here is a video that I took last week. We pulled out the slide again and Finnegan loved to ride it and send his friends down the slide too!!


Have a great weekend. Perhaps we'll post again during the holiday weekend!

I just realized today that it's been almost a full week since I posted last time. I have a few videos to post but just haven't yet. Perhaps later tonight I'll get around to it. We haven't been particularly busy this week. The normal Monday and Tuesday activities, including Gymboree and a trip to both Costco and Target. I was pretty excited to get a newspaper on Sunday during my trip to WalMart and found tons of coupons and sales that I wanted to take part in.

I went to Target on Tuesday and picked up at Cozy Coupe for Finnegan that was on sale for $35 when they normally retail for $50-$60. It's still in the garage and I think we'll keep it for his birthday rather than giving it too him right away. However, I haven't fully decided that. He may get it early this summer and then just get a few other things for his birthday. I don't know. (They are still on sale until Saturday here in WA, but check your local online ads at Target.com)

I took my first shopping trip with coupons this week. Although our store doesn't provide a lot of coupons in the weekly paper they do offer a few that I was able to take advantage of.

• I got Kraft Cheese slices for cheap... There was a safeway coupon for $.99 package of cheese slices (regularly $3.99 on sale for $3.59 for safeway shoppers). I then had a coupon for $1/2 (MQ). So I got two packages for $3.59 - essentially the one with the safeway coupon was free.
  
• I had a coupon for free Wheat Thin Artisan crackers if you bought ritz crackers. And a $1.00 off coupon for the ritz crackers. So I got both of them for $1.50.
  
• I had a total of $18.50 off in coupons, and saved over $40 in Safeway deals (when they put something on sales). My receipt said that I save 45% off my bill. I think that's the highest I've ever saved. Hopefully it will only get better on those trips. :)

Ken's been working a lot at home recently. He has less than 3 weeks left on his Master's program (his second master's). He's busy working on the final project. He took 2 days off last week, and even took Monday off this last week. It's nice to have him home, but he doesn't do much, as he's working all day long. But we only have 2.5 weeks to go and HE'S DONE!!!

Finnegan's been completely obsessed with going outside now that the weather has turned nice. He's forever asking to go outside, even if its raining. And completely throws a fit when it's time to come in. So we're working to get over those tantrums. Overall he's still a good kid but does have a bit of a temper. But we're learning how to tame them... and we're successful at least part of the time.

I'll post a few photos and videos a little later. :)

Like Father, Like Son

I had always hoped that my son wouldn't be like my husband... at least with his sleep habits. But is not so. Last night, I entered Finnegan's room to cover him with a blanket before I retreated to my room for the night. As I was putting the blanket over his little sleeping body, he all of the sudden sat up on his elbow (like his daddy does in his sleep) and said "Cracker."

I don't know if he was asking for a cracker, or calling me a cracker or just saying cracker. Either way, it was his first "sleep talking" incident. And I'm sure he'll have many more to come!

Why I love days like today...

• It was a cool but sunny 65 degrees today so that means... CLEANING DAY!!!
  
• Ken stayed home from work... although he was working all day... :)
• Our morning didn't start off all that great. Finn was pretty cranky, but after his nap he was a much happier boy. I think he was growing today... very whinny and falling alot.
• I got the whole down stairs cleaned...
  
• toys put away,
  
• kitchen cleaned - counters are spotless with no clutter,
  
• floors swept and vacuumed
  
• moved books to make room in toy box for toys
• Took unused books back upstairs for Baby and Finn's room
  
• Put all recently washed/folded clothes away
• Dusted... a little.
  
• Made the bed
• picked up all dirty clothes from bathroom and bedroom
• Cut a watermelon,
• Enjoyed eating that watermelon with my little boy
• Played outside with Daddy and the Doggies and Finn, of course :)
• Had Hambergers for dinner with LOADS of fresh cut lettuce!!

Here are a few photos of our afternoon playtime outside, before dinner. Finnegan got this new hat, and I love it!!





P.S. I haven't doctored this last photo at all. He is just so photogenic. Can't figure out where he got it from!

Just in case you were curious...

This article was published in the June 2009 issue of Real Simple Magazine... And just as the title suggests (of the article) I was surprised...

Calorie expenditures that may surprise you... (listed below: Activity = Calories Burned)

• Thinking Thin = 132
  
• Running your finger around the bottom of a frosted cake = 215
• Fretting about whether or not you turned off the iron = 240
• Thumbing through a fitness magazine = 273
• Cleaning out your email inbox = 339
• Opening a bottle of wine = 406
• Waiting on hold with customer service for 20 minutes = 482
• Opening your child's plastic-wrapped Happy Meal toy = 516
• Restraining your hand from reaching into a chip bowl = 602
• Scooping very cold ice cream = 655
• Scooping cold ice cream while fending off three children = 727
• Pacing in front of the pantry door = 826
• Organizing a dinner party in less than 24 hours = 1071
• Juggling seven grocery bags, the mail, and your keys = 1149
• Taking off a wet swimsuit = 1500

After reading and typing this, I have to disagree with everything that's printed here. Either the calories burned are by someone who's GIGANTIC, or has HUGE muscle mass. Seeing that if I walk on a treadmill for an hour, I only burn about 150 calories, but standing in front of the pantry door and pacing burns 826??? WHAT??? That's not right!! I should weigh just over 100lbs if that was the case!!

Hope you had a good laugh!

Mini Melt - Slow Melting Popsicles

As a comment of my last post, Jess asked about the Mini Melt - Slow Melting Popsicles and what I thought of them. I have actually been thinking about writing a post about them and encouraging other families to try them. Overall, I think that they are a great product. When I purchased them, I was looking for otter pops for Finnegan to have when he was teething and I couldn't find them. I assume that they are just a summer thing. But I digress... I found the Mini Melt - Slow Melting Popsicles and thought we'd give them a try. The first one that he had, we watched him like a hawk and he liked it and did pretty well. The second one wasn't so successful. He wanted to sit on the couch and then get up and that alone created a mess all over the couch, but he was able to eat the whole thing without getting much on his clothes because it didn't melt that fast. Next time, we'll do it outside, but other than that, I was pleased with how well he did with it and enjoyed it! So if you have toddlers, and want to give them a treat, I'd say give it a try. Although, be aware, that some popsicles have dyes in them that can cause an allergic reaction, so keep a close eye on the kids when you give them the popsicles.

Have a ball, and have a popsicle too!!

Videos of the Boy

Here are a few videos of Finnegan that we took this weekend. This first one was taken during Finnegan's first encounter with a Popsicle. The Popsicle brand has a new "slow melt" mini popsicles that are perfect for little kids. Here he is having his first one.




Here is a second video. It was taken this afternoon at lunch time. Finnegan has a new phrase that he says several times a day.... "Daddy at work". It's really cute! He knows that daddy's at work and that he's coming home later. Today, he kept saying it while eating his watermelon so I thought I'd get some of his cuteness on video.

Long awaited photos

Here are some photos that you've been asking for... The photo above is at 18 weeks. The photo below is at 19 weeks. I'm going to try to take photos like Lacey has to make them a little easier to see the changes. But this what I have so far. No real belly yet. But the baby is just now starting to move at 19.5 weeks along. She's definitely less active than Finnegan was. Finnegan started moving at 16weeks. She's a bit more laid back :)

Smart as Can Be

My little boy, that is! Yesterday morning, I went to wake him up and get him out of his crib and he was just chillin like always. I pulled him out of his bed, and we, together, started to count some toys on his floor. Just then his daddy walked in. I said "one," and finnegan continued, "two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight" I just stood there with my mouth wide open. We've been counting for weeks (since he got his alphebet down) and he's NEVER done this!! I was so excited!! Visibly more excited then Ken, but that is always the case!

Later that night at the dinner table, I brought it back up and reminded Ken that he's never done that before. Ken started counting, and Finnegan picked up around the number four. He got to the number eight, and I thought he'd stop. Then he said "Nine, Ten" and then there was a pause and he started cheering for himself. This is what his little set of Leap Frog Meracas does... Once it gets to ten it starts cheering and says "you did it!" HAHAHAHA I laughed so hard!!

So as review... He's the smartest kid because he knows his alphabets and his 1-10 numbers (excluding the number 1 for some reason) at the age of 19.5 months!! :)

My Baby...

Well, if you haven't heard from Facebook or Email... We're having a....

GIRL!!!

Here are some photos of the sweet little one. She was pretty still during the ultrasound today, except for covering her face (we figure she might be a bit shyer than Finnegan) :)









P.S. Thanks Jess for the new background idea. I just loved this one that you had, I had to be a copy cat!! :)

So what's your guess??

Tomorrow is my ultrasound. I'm 19 weeks today, and we go in tomorrow to see the baby for the first time since he/she was 9 weeks old :) Pretty exciting!!

So what's the consensus? What do you think I'm having??

If your undecided, here's how my "symptoms" have measured up compared to my pregnancy with Finnegan:

• I had morning sickness (just nausea) with Finnegan. I've had the same sickness with Baby #2, but it started at night (around 5pm)
• I had food aversions with Finnegan - mainly for eggs. No food aversions this time.
• I had migraines with this baby, but not with Finnegan
• I can't give you an exact heart rate for when I had Finnegan. This baby's heart rate was at 148, 150 and 155 in the last three visits.
  
• Finnegan moved all the time... This baby seems to be a bit more relaxed
• I crave sweet foods all the time... ice cream, cookies, candy anything! This is with both pregnancies.
  
• I had excess saliva with this pregnancy but not with Finnegan (sorry if that one is gross) :)
• I had bad acne in the first months of both pregnancies.
  

So there you have it... Take a guess. Am I having a boy or a girl? My appt is at 9:30 Pacific time. We're excited to see the baby and make sure he/she is healthy!!

I'll keep you posted. :)

You weight what??

So, I'm 18 weeks pregnant and have gained 8lbs total (so far). I have 22 weeks left, and can only gain another 17lbs to stay within my weight gain goal. What's a pregnant girl to do?? That's less than a pound a week. Oh, man... this baby better come 5 weeks early :) Ok, maybe not. I suppose I need to cut out the ice cream that I've added to my diet for 5 weeks to compensate... But how do you take ice cream away from a pregnant girl?? That's tough one!!