Posts Tagged ‘Lucas’
Lucas and Meredith’s preschool has a Yankee Candle school fundraiser every year, and I just love it. Who doesn’t enjoy Yankee Candles? You can’t beat them ~ I have yet to find a candle that’s as fragrant. I just went through the catalog to see what candles we might want to purchase for our own home. The Sparkling Cinnamon smells so good! I also like Home for the Holidays and Eggnog (one of my favorite holiday beverages). Hard to believe that we’re thinking about Christmas goodies already, but Christmas is only about three months away!
If you’re interested in making a purchase to help out Luke and Meri’s preschool, check out YankeeFundraising.com. Send me an e-mail or leave a blog comment to let me know what you’d like to order, and I’ll get it taken care of for you. (You can mail me a check, send PayPal, or whatever’s easiest). Every dollar that’s raised goes DIRECTLY to Luke and Meri’s preschool class to benefit THEM, which I think is awesome. It’ll help buy new toys, supplies, decorations, activities, etc. as well as help cover daily classroom expenses. And when your order comes in, I’ll get it to you ASAP.
Thanks for your consideration!
Busy afternoon today. I’m dropping Lucas off at preschool at 12:30, and I have lots of stuff to bring with me. I’m taking four empty milk jugs to contribute to the construction of the school’s igloo, and I also washed some dress-up clothes as part of their winter cleaning. While Luke’s in school, I think that I’m going to take Meredith over to the local yarn store that a friend told me about yesterday. (Lord help my wallet, LOL!) Then, after preschool, Lucas has a quick checkup at the pediatrician’s office. Sometime today, I also have to make a grocery list and work on the finishing touches for this town calendar. And I’m doing laundry ~ and I’d also like to relax and do some knitting tonight, if possible. Such a busy time of year!
Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids over to our town’s train station to help decorate for Santa’s arrival this Saturday. Lucas was *so* excited about the model train that’s there. He also saw Santa’s chair sitting in the corner and asked me, “How tall is Santa?” It was super cute. The tree that they chose for the station is so beautiful and full and smells incredible. Lucas is contributing his glittery bell ornament that he made during moms’ group on Tuesday. :) I helped string lights on the outside of the depot, and while we were doing that, we saw an eagle flying overhead! Yesterday was a great day for decorating because it was actually pretty warm ~ in the 40s and low 50s! I can’t wait to take some pictures on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see whether Meredith enjoys Santa or is afraid of him! Oh, and Santa will arrive on one of the town’s fire trucks!
Well, I’d better go ~ the laundry probably needs to be switched around. This week has gone by *so* fast ~ how did it get to be Thursday?
A *very* happy 33rd birthday today to my husband! (He’s now as old as me!) While Lucas was in preschool, I carefully wrapped Jeff’s birthday gift. And by careful, I mean that I *painstakingly* tried to disguise what was inside ~ the new Force Unleashed video game for the Xbox 360. He had mentioned a few gift ideas to me, and that was one of them. So, I got a box and wrapped the game in paper towels for cushioning. Then, I went around the house to figure out what items I could include inside the box to make some rattling noises. I seriously thought that he would never figure out what was inside. (He has this annoying amazing talent for guessing what’s inside a wrapped package.) Afterward, I called him at work and proudly said, “You’re *never* going to figure out what’s inside this box! I did a *really* good job of camouflaging it!” And then, he replied, “Hmm, let’s see … is it … The Force Unleashed?” I swear. Why do I even bother? I spent 10 minutes of my life putting together that box and going to such special effort … next time, I should just hand him some money and say, “Happy birthday ~ go buy something!” LOL! :) But, he said that I totally “hit a home run” with this gift ~ that it’s what he *really* wanted. So, I’m excited about that. P.S. Isn’t it neat that my birthday is 9/12 and his is 12/9?
Speaking of birthdays, I always try to keep Jeff’s birthday separate from Christmas preparations. I don’t give him any Christmas-related gifts, and I don’t wrap his birthday presents in Christmas (or even winter-themed) wrapping paper. He wanted a “Star Wars” cake, but unfortunately I don’t have one put together. :( Hopefully I can concoct something yummy for a special dinner tonight, though.
Lots of Christmas cards are starting to appear in our mailbox! So exciting! I *love* getting our mail this time of year! Thank you to everyone who has sent us cards so far! Ours are gradually going out as I get them addressed. By the way, if you’re still working on your holiday cards and need some inspiration (fast!), ChristmasCardsDirect.com has a ton of fresh, original, pretty designs that you could use to create Photo Christmas Cards this year. We always do a family portrait for ours, and it’s especially neat to see how our children have grown and changed from year to year! For 25 cards, you pay only $1.99 per card ~ and the price drops with the more cards you order. One thing that I like most about the website is that it’s *very* easy to navigate ~ more so than some photo uploading sites out there. They even give you ideas for sentiments to have printed inside your cards. And what I found interesting to read was the section about photography advice and tips. There are articles about photography basics, photographing special events and milestones, nature, and family and friends, to name a few. There’s also a “Photo Tip of the Day.” ChristmasCardsDirect.com features more than 200 card designs, and you can also request up to six free samples if you’d like to see the finished product before you order. So, if you’re nervous about getting your holiday cards out on time and want something a little different this year, make sure to check them out!
Lucas sat down on our living room floor this morning and drew a school bus! Pretty good, huh? He *loves* school buses, and I keep thinking about how he’ll be riding one before we know it. He keeps telling us that he has to be 10 years old before he can ride one, though! :)
How are you guys doing today? I totally slept like *crap* last night. And I’m a “single mom” from now until Sunday, when Jeff gets home from Texas. Pray for me! LOL! :) I think that I’m totally going to crash at some point today. I’d *love* to take a nap this afternoon, but I don’t know whether that’s possible with Meredith not taking naps anymore. She gave up naps when she gave up her crib (Lucas did the same thing). But it’s a tradeoff … she does *really* well now with falling asleep at night! Anyway, I’m *so* tired today that I’m not expecting to get a whole lot done. I’m not awake at all. I *have* to put in a few loads of laundry and do the dishes, though, because we have no plates on which to eat!
Speaking of food … one of Lucas’s preschool teachers asked him yesterday what he ate for Thanksgiving dinner. Lucas responded, “Crackers.” LOL! :) Yes, that’s true … we did have crackers and cheese … but he sure ate a lot more than just that! His teacher said that she wishes she had thought of that ~ it would have made cooking much easier! :) I made some potato soup from scratch last night, and it was *so* good. It was a slow cooker recipe that Carol gave me a long time ago, but I turned it into a top-of-the-stove recipe. That’ll be lunch today, along with some rosemary-olive oil bread! Yum!
Jeff woke up this morning feeling a bit flu-ish. Hopefully he’ll be fine by the end of the week, though, when he travels to Texas for his father’s memorial. I told him that I would be his nurse. :) He didn’t get a flu shot this year, but I’m sure glad that I did. I feel like I’m coming down with a cold, too, however. I’ve been congested at night and in the mornings, but today I can *really* feel something going on in my head. (Mixed with PMS, it’s not fun!) It’s just that time of year, though. :( Meredith still has a deep cough at times, and it concerns me that it has been going on for *so* long. I also noticed this morning that Lucas’s nose was running heavily. We’re just a bunch of snot-nosed brats around here! :)
So … check out what I picked up yesterday for absolutely *no* money whatsoever!
Lucas and Meredith now have a brand-new iMac (well, brand-new to us!). Lucas *loves* to type “e-mails.” I showed him how to type his name, “M.J.,” “Mom,” and “Dad.” Hopefully we can find some kids’ software out there. I *love* Macs. I really miss the computer that I used to use when I was a graphic designer at the bank (a G3, G4, something like that). Anyway, I drove over to Philmont, NY (about 18 miles away) to pick it up through Freecycle. How fantastic. I can’t believe it ~ a computer for free. (An *old* computer, but still!)
Just a minute ago, I turned on the TV and saw a show called “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” At first, I thought that it was a “Star Trek” thing! (Nope … that’s “Cardassians,” LOL!) Anyway, it’s sucking me right in. Must turn off the TV so that I can get some freelance work done!
P.S. A totally random note ~ has anyone seen the new James Bond movie? And if so, what did you think of it? We’re *huge* James Bond fans around here. But he has nothing on my husband … look how great he looks in tuxedos! hehe :)
~Author unknown
Our Thanksgiving this year was *so* relaxing. I wasn’t stressed out at all, and I’m sure that having our grocery store cook the turkey was one reason why! :) Yes, cheating perhaps ~ but it was *so* easy and convenient. Why get up at 6 a.m. and stress out? I also tried to choose simple side dishes and got as much done ahead of time as possible. I had some excellent baking help on Wednesday, too! Luke and Meri stirred the pumpkin pie but quickly got tired and flopped down on the couch. :) Meredith also attempted to help me peel potatoes yesterday morning!
We invited our good friends Vicky and Natalie over. They were our neighbors when we moved to New York and lived in our first apartment, and they have become family to us. We enjoyed some appetizers, then sat down to Thanksgiving dinner. Afterward, we decided to take a short walk down our road (an awesome way to help our food digest and get some exercise and fresh air!). Then, we went upstairs for some Wii action. We have our Wii upstairs on the tv stand in our bonus room. They brought over a *fun* game called Game Party. Oh, and Vicky actually untangled the *huge* mess of yarn that the kids had created! I was *so* grateful for that! Now I can finish my first-time knitting practice. Of course, the day ended by enjoy various desserts. Vicky and Natalie brought over an amazingly rich chocolate Hershey’s ice cream pie, and we also had pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving Cake. What a *terrific* day.
Check out these Indiana Trivial Pursuit cards that Vicky made for us! How *cool* is that? Each question relates to Indiana somehow. Here’s one (answer in the comments section): “In what county is Indiana’s geographic center?” We’re going to have so much fun with those. Vicky also gave us some more beautiful handmade paper Christmas ornaments to add to our tree. She is *so* talented (and even made the box that they came in!). They will be *so* special to hang on our Christmas tree every year (and hopefully this weekend, we’ll be able to put up our tree). Here’s a photo:
I hope that all of you out there had a *wonderful* Thanksgiving, as well. We certainly have *much* to be thankful for.
We watched two movies this weekend: “Transsiberian” and “The Love Guru.” Yes, two dramatically different films! :) “Transsiberian” was recommended to us by a coworker’s girlfriend, and although it was kind of weird in some ways, it was just excellent! I *really* enjoyed it. Most of the story takes place on a train, and Woody Harrelson plays a funny part. The scenery was amazing. “The Love Guru” was silly and good for laughs. Cracked me up that Mariska Hargitay was actually in the movie! I tried to do some knitting during each of these movies, but it was too dark in our living room ~ and the movies *really* captured my attention! :)
Speaking of knitting … I’m knitting now! Yay! :) Carol was *so* sweet to show me the techniques. I even purled a few stitches last night! I can’t tell you how excited I am to learn something new. Right now, I’m using some sage green yarn that she gave me to knit a basic rectangle. I think that I’ll turn it into a coffee cup “cozy” if I manage to actually do it right! :) I’d love to get good enough to make pretty dishcloths, and even down the road maybe I can make some hats for the kids. Carol started me off with some neat knitting supplies and two books to borrow. I’ve been checking those out. I put my name on the list for Ravelry, too. And yes, Kae, I *definitely* need to knit a little pair of pants for my carrot! LOL! :)
Tomorrow is going to be a crazy-busy day. In the morning at 9, I have my moms’ group meeting at our church. Then, it’s lunch on the road as I drive Lucas to preschool at 12:30. I pick him up early because the kids are doing a “Thankful Presentation” (complete with a surprise for the moms ~ I can’t wait to see what Lucas made!). Then, there’s a preschool parent advisory board meeting tomorrow night. I’m absolutely going to crash after that, I think.
Off to finish up some graphic design work ~ have a wonderful Monday, guys!
You may be wondering why I recently uploaded pictures of our dirty stove to Flickr. I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers *so* much that the company actually mailed me a box full of free goodies! Included were the supplies for conducting a test to see whether Mr. Clean Magic Erasers clean things around the house better than “the leading brand,” which is Clorox spray cleaner with bleach. We’ve been using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for a long time now ~ well, ever since having children! LOL! :) They’re wonderful. No need to convince me that they absolutely rock. But they sent a new fragrance that I hadn’t tried yet … Citrus & Light. Mmm, very nice for the kitchen! It was fun trying something new! There was a nice letter from a lady on their marketing staff, too.
Anyway, first I used both products to clean soap scum off two tiles they provided. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked *so* much better, although I wonder whether the tiles were actually covered with a soap material or whether it was some kind of “simulation.” Regardless, I’ve used Mr. Clean Magic Erasers in our bathroom, and they work like a charm.
Next, I used the Crayola marker that they provided to draw on each tile. Both products worked exactly the same to remove the red marker, although I think that the Magic Eraser was a bit neater (no spray everywhere). Also, they provided me with a box of Crayola crayons to draw on a blank wall to see which brand removed the crayon marks better. Without a doubt, it was the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Lucas went through a phase (around age two) when he colored on everything ~ most often, our walls. For a while, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers were the only thing that saved my sanity! LOL! :)
The company even sent me a wooden spoon with a recipe card attached. The directions said, “Use the enclosed wooden spoon to prepare Mr. Clean’s chili recipe and make a mess!” LOL! :) So, I did. (Well, I actually made my own chili recipe with ground turkey.) I then did a test to see which product cleaned our dirty stove better. Honestly, they both did a good job, but I think that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser did a little bit better. We usually use a liquid flat-top stove cleaner, but the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser was much more convenient. The only thing that I’m wondering is whether Mr. Clean Magic Erasers could be manufactured with antibacterial properties? That would be super nice for the kitchen and bathrooms, in particular.
My favorite Mr. Clean Magic Eraser fragrance is the Meadows & Rain. So refreshing and makes our house smell *so* good. We also use the liquid cleaner (diluted) in order to wash things around the house, such as wood floors and kitchen tile. One thing I noticed in the marketing information they sent me, though, is that there’s also another fragrance: Lavender Vanilla & Comfort. I *definitely* want to try that one but haven’t seen it in our stores yet. Also, I didn’t know that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Wipes existed. That’s awesome! The website also gives good tips for how to use everything.
It was *so* cool to receive a free “test” in the mail. Just a note ~ the company isn’t paying me to review these products on my blog. I just wanted to share the results of the test because I am a sucker for nifty cleaning supplies (and these work wonderfully). I highly recommend Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to anyone ~ especially to those of you out there who have children! :)
Meredith climbed out of her crib this morning. I don’t know whether to be excited for her or sad ~ probably a little bit of both! Looks like it’s time for her to make the transition to her toddler bed. This should be interesting! Lucas climbed out of his crib at almost exactly the same age, and when he did, he also stopped taking naps. Ugh. :( I’m looking forward to taking apart our crib and storing it someplace, though, so that we’ll have more room in Meredith’s bedroom. We can make it more of a big-girl room now, too. Gosh, we’ve had a crib in our house since February 2005! I so vividly remember being 30-some weeks pregnant with Lucas and looking inside his newly set-up crib, thinking, “Oh my gosh … this is where our *son* is going to sleep!” And now, we’re taking it down. This is a milestone!
In other news, yesterday morning I accidentally sewed over my left index finger with our sewing machine. Ouch. Well, it actually didn’t hurt much at all right when it happened; it just took me aback. But then, it started hurting like heck. I walked over to our neighbor’s house ~ she is a retired nurse ~ so that she could take a look at it. The needle went through my fingernail and almost completely out the back of my finger. I had been making a Christmas present and was sewing in reverse in order to close a corner, and my finger just got in the way. Our neighbor said to put ice on it throughout the day and keep that hand relaxed. I called the doctor’s office this morning to see whether I’d need a tetanus shot, but thankfully I got that shot back in October 2007. My mom tells me that sewing body parts is hereditary … she also did the same thing when she was a teenager! LOL! :) I’m glad that the needle didn’t break inside my finger. And of course, I tried to milk my injury for all it was worth. After all, it takes *two* hands to change a diaper, right? :)
And finally, a melting-mommy moment from last night. I laid down with Lucas to snuggle with him a little bit before he went to sleep. Suddenly, he leaned over to me and said, “You’re, like, kind of neat.” I just wanted to scoop him up, give him a great big hug, and never let go! It was *so* incredibly sweet. Then, I said, “I love being your mommy.” And he replied, “I love being your Lucas!”
P.S. Today marks exactly 12 years since my husband and I went out on our very first date! November 17, 1996. We went to dinner at Puccini’s in Bloomington, IN, and then watched “The Mirror Has Two Faces.” (The love song from that movie was our first-dance song as husband and wife at our wedding.) Hmm … it might be worth a grocery store trip today in order to recreate the meal we had that night ~ penne a la vodka!
I was sitting at my computer not too long ago when Meredith came up to me and wanted up in my lap. I snuggled with her for a little while, then all of the sudden she said, “Go potty.” I said, “Do you have to go?” And she said, “Yes.” I said, “Do you want to sit on the potty?” And she said, “Yes.” Amazed, I took her into the bathroom, pulled down her jeans, took off her diaper, and sat her on the potty seat. She stayed there for the longest time and was *so* excited about it. Her big brother even sang her the alphabet song *three* times in order to encourage her to go potty! LOL! :) I didn’t want to pressure her, so I just let her sit on the potty seat for as long as she wanted to. All of the sudden, I heard a cute little tinkle. I just couldn’t believe it. Our little girl went No. 1 in the potty for the very *first* time! Yay! :) We’ll see how it goes from here! She has been watching her big brother go through potty training, so I’m sure that has helped! The thought of not having *any* diapers to change anymore … holy cow!
