Saturday, February 28, 2009

Random Photo Challenge


It's time for another random photo challenge! To join in the fun go and visit 4 little men and girly twins to get the details and link up!

This week it's the 11th picture from the September 2007 picture folder! When I went through and got my picture this is what I found!!!



This is a picture of my Aunt Donna and Aunt Betty picking sunflower seeds. We were on our way to visit my mom at the cemetary and stopped to get some seeds. The roads on the way to the cemetary are lined with sunflowers that time of year and it's really beautiful. Sunflowers were my moms favorite flower so it just makes my day anytime I see the sunflowers in bloom.

Unknown

Today I filled out an application for The Hulk to get a passport. We are going to be taking a trip and he will need one. And since I had such a horrible passport getting experience we are starting the application process well in advance! I think I have passport PTSD from the last time I applied!

So I was filling out the application and it asked for his mother and fathers information. I filled out mine and left the father information blank because I'm his only legal parent. Well the application wouldn't except that. I either had to fill out the information for father or I had to check the box that says unknown.

That just really bugs me. I don't like checking the unknown box. He doesn't have an unknown father. He just doesn't have a father. It makes it out like I just ran around town and randomly had this baby. It makes it feel yucky to me. I don't like the unknown box. So I'm going to send a little letter to the passport people and ask them to put a box that says "adopted by an amazing single mother who happens to do the mother and father role very well." I might also ask them to put a box that says "my mom isn't a whore" or maybe "I'm not a bastard". Who wants to bet on any of those showing up on the application form.

Clickin Mama

Friday, February 27, 2009

Octuplets

I'm not even going to get into the whole Octuplets fiasco. I'll keep my opinions to myself on that issue. But I do have to share this video because it makes me laugh every time I see it. So chuckle along with me!

Walk This Way

The Hulk and I have been going on lots of walks lately! We take a walk every evening now. We have developed a nice little routine. He loves being outside and I need the exercise so it's a win win for both of us! He also really relaxes during our walks so it's a nice way to end his day. By the time we get home it's time for a bath and bed and he goes right to sleep. I've also been sleeping better since I've been getting the regular exercise.

It's also been so nice to get to know some of the people along our walking route. There are several folks that we see each evening and they are so friendly to us. One older lady is always sitting on her porch when we walk by and she always says the same thing, "He is still so cute." I love that lady. And there is an older man that always waves to us and asks how we are. There is a middle school age boy that always tells his dog not to bark at us and waves to us. Nice kid. So it's been a really great thing for us. We are meeting new people and that is never a bad thing.

So I think we will keep this walking thing up. Who knows it might make my butt smaller.

Clickin Mama

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Work With Me

The other night I kept my nieces Mattie and Kerrington while my brother and his wife went on a date. I'm getting better at caring for all three kids at once. But some things are still a bit of a struggle. The biggest problem is when I have to feed Kerrington. For some reason anytime I feed that baby The Hulk will sob and sob. He hates it! So that night I asked Mattie to be my big helper. She really likes to "hep you" lately. So I put The Hulk in the saucer and asked Mattie to play with him. Usually she dances and sings for him but this time she decided to "weed to him".

I started feeding the baby and Mattie pulled her little stool up beside the saucer and gave The Hulk a book and then started reading to him in her jibber jabbish. But The Hulkept throwing his book on the floor. Mattie picked it up and gave it back several times and then I about died laughing when I heard her say. "Damn The Hulk work with me". I don't know where the damn part came from but I say work with me quite a bit. When I'm trying to get one of them dressed and they are squirming away or trying to feed two kids and they both are melting down I will say work with me guys. I guess she is always listening!



Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Big Stuff

Mr. Big Stuff



Who Do You Think You Are



Mr. Big Stuff




You're Always Gonna Get My Love



Mr. Big Stuff!


Look at my big boy! Now that he stands he looks so big! Well he has always looked big but tall and boy like rather than like a baby. And he can wear shoes now! That makes a huge difference. The Hulk has weird toes. Like his little toe actually is kinda stuck under his other toes. And that makes wearing some shoes painful for him. But I finally found a couple pairs of shoes that don't hurt him. So we he is wearing his kicks he is one cool kid! I just love how he is turning into a little boy rather than a baby! ADORABLE!!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Protein Power for Babies

In the last baby food making post I covered making your child's cereal out of whole grains. Now I'm going to fill you in on the power of protein for your child. Before I get into how to incorporate protein into your child's diet we have to figure out how much protein you kid needs. The easiest way to figure this out is to keep in mind that a child needs 2 grams of protein for each pound they weigh. So The Hulk weighs 27 pounds which means he needs 54 grams of protein. If you have a 15 pound baby then they need 30 grams of protein. Sounds like a lot right. But there are so many easy ways to add protein to your child's diet.

Beans, Beans, BEANS!!!!

Beans are our friend! First they are oh so cheap and so very good for babies. I'm sure your wondering how I get my kid to eat beans but it is so easy. When I grind up the grains for his cereal I also grind up beans and cook the beans with the cereal. I have also ground up and cooked beans and froze them in the ice cube trays to serve with meals. You can use any kind of bean. Some of our favorites are black beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, and lentils. The Hulk also loves lima beans! Almost every day I dump a couple spoon fulls of lima beans out on his tray and he just eats them as finger food.

Egg Yolk

I'm sure most of you have heard that you shouldn't give a baby eggs before they are a year old. However, research shows that babies can have egg yolks prior to one year. It is your decision. Since The Hulk has no known food allergies I went ahead and introduced egg yolks to his diet months ago. So I just hardboil eggs on Sunday and he gets an egg yolk mixed into his breakfast every other day for protein. And I get the egg white. Yummy!

Yougert and Cottage Cheese

These are great forms of protein and kids tend to really like them. I try to feed The Hulk some Yougert or Cottage Cheese each day. I actually base his morning meal around cereal and his evening meal around yougert.

Meat

Of course meat is a good source of protein. However, we eat very little meat around here. When we do have meat it is fish or chicken. So meat isn't a reliable source of protein for us.

Complete Protein

When you combine whole grains with beans/lentils you get a whole protein. This means that it is basically like eating meat. So we aim for complete proteins here and it works for us.

Hope that helps you all. As always if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in comments or email me. If I don't know the answer I'll try to track it down for you!

Clickin Mama

Monday, February 23, 2009

Not Me Monday



Well another week has gone by. Which means that it's not just Monday but it's Not Me Monday! My free therapy session is ready to begin. Do you think you are up to hearing about the things I did NOT do.... You may want to cover your eyes and peek through your fingers because it might get a little scary.

I did NOT create a lovely birthday cake for my sister, place it in the oven and then forget about it. I did NOT go outside to do some yard work and come back in an hour later and wonder what was burning... And I did NOT find a blackened brick of what was supposed to be a strawberry cake in my oven.

I did NOT make a second cake and when the time arrived to frost the said cake realize that instead of cream cheese frosting I had purchased rainbow chip frosting. I did NOT frost the cake and then try to convince my sister that her favorite cake is really strawberry cake with rainbow chip frosting....

I did NOT put a load of towels in the washing machine and return several days later to find them still in the washing machine. I didn't just add more towels to the load and start the washer again.

I did NOT wonder how in the hell we were going to survive the church picture fiasco. I did NOT consider just leaving and having our names in the directory rather than a picture. And I did NOT consider changing churches and joining a church that does not have directories.

I did NOT recall that my mom and dad divorced shortly after getting church directory pictures taken years ago. And I did NOT recall that my mom and step dad also divorced shortly after having church directory pictures taken. So it really did NOT occur to me while sitting there that the church directory really is the cause of divorce and family drama. I did NOT say a little prayer of thanks that The Hulk' adoption is finalized. At least that way the church directory pictures couldn't screw that up too!

I did NOT get a little emotional this week when I picked The Hulk up from daycare one day. When I got to the house he was standing with his back against the couch and when he saw me he just started laughing and lunged for me. I did NOT feel my breath slip away as I caught that little boy in my arms. I did NOT feel like the most important person in the world at that moment. I did NOT hug him a little tighter or kiss him a little longer to hide the tears in my eyes from Miss Liz.

I also did NOT let The Hulk rip a People magazine to shreds because I just needed 10 cotton picking minutes of peace the other night to pay a couple bills online.

What did you NOT do this week.....

Clickin Mama

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Birthday Party

Today we had Miss Heather's 22nd birthday party! I don't know how another year has flown by so fast! I feel like we just had her 21st birthday party! But something has obviously happened to Heather in the last year. She has obviously matured in the last year based on her gift requests. She requested all kinds of kitchen things this year rather than clothes, music, etc. I don't know what is going on but we all complied. So Heather left the party with an almost complete kitchen.

Here are some pics of our wonderful 22 year old and the nieces and nephews she loves so much!



Friday, February 20, 2009

Adoption Thoughts

With The Hulk' birthday looming just a month away I've been pondering my second adoption more and more. It doesn't help that the adoption agency keeps calling me with possible matches. Yes they call frequently. I keep track of their calls for some reason. I don't know why but I do this. So today's call made 17 calls since The Hulk came home. How crazy is that. I waited a year for The Hulk! I had three failed adoptions! And now that I have a baby the calls keep coming. Funny how that works.

Anyway today the social worker called to let me know about a situation with a baby due in two months. We talked about that and I let her know that I needed to wait awhile longer. She understood that but asked when I thought I would be ready. I was honest and told her I really didn't know. We have a meeting set up for next week so I told her I would try to have some answers then. It is our 1 year follow up meeting! Basically she will come out the house to visit The Hulk and I. I even heard a rumor that he and I get a present... I wonder what it will be?

I always said I'd go back on the waiting list when The Hulk was a year old. But now that I have him and he is getting to such a fun age I really just want to enjoy him. Something happened when I took him to the beach in Texas over Christmas. It was so fun to do that with him. The way he laughed made my heart so happy. And it makes me want to do more things with him. The older he gets the more fun he gets. And to be honest I don't know how much traveling I'd be able to do with him if I had a newborn too. So I think I should wait and have some fun with him as a single and then add a second one in.

Also I still need to do some money saving. My new job doesn't offer a paid maternity leave. So I need to replenish the savings from the jobless fiasco to cover my maternity leave as well as the expenses for the adoption. I have the majority of adoption number 2 paid for. I will just have to come up with the $8500.00 for the placement fee and the $1500.00 for the attorney's fees. So not much. Just 10 grand! Ridiculous right!

So now that I've typed that out it's pretty obvious I need to not go on the list for awhile. I think now that waiting till The Hulk is 2 would be good. If it takes another year to match like it did with him then he would be 3 and that seems like a good spread for kids.... Doesn't it?

Thursday, February 19, 2009

What I Should Be Doing


This is what I should be doing. I should be folding this pile of laundry! I have named it Mt. Foldmore! I feel like it's the story of my life. The Hulk goes through clothes so dang fast! And now that I'm working again so do I. Laundry is my least favorite thing to do. I don't mind washing it I just hate the folding and putting away. But I have a rule that I won't let the pile sit overnight. So I will fold all this and put it away before I go to bed. If I don't force myself to do it shortly after it comes out of the dryer then it just doesn't get done. So I promise, I'll go put on a DVD to watch while I fold away! YUCK!!!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Never Again.... Until Next Time....

Oh the dreaded church directory pictures were tonight. I should have known that it wouldn't be good. But somehow I convinced myself that really it would be fine. Oh sweet Jesus how very wrong I was!

First the only time they could get us in was for 7:00. The Hulk is usually asleep at 6:30. So that should have been a sign of bad things to come. But regardless of this omen I dressed him and I up all cute and headed to the church. I even wore my pretty new shirt and The Hulk wore an adorable little striped polo. We were looking cute as could be when we left the house....

As soon as I pulled in the parking lot I should have just left. There were so many cars. But no no stupid me unloads the sleepy adorable baby and heads inside to find out they are running late. But that's okay. We will just read some books. All will be fine!

Until The Hulk throws up on himself. Oops that is kinda bad. I didn't bring a back up shirt but most of it was on the side of his shirt and I could kinda hide that in the picture. All will be well. Until he throws up again all over the front of his shirt! And begins to cry! But I fix it by letting him play with some toy trucks. And I convince myself that they will be able to photo shop the puke out of the picture. Until he throws up a third time all over him and me! My cute blouse is now soaked in puke, it has also run down my chest and has saturated my bra. Nice! I'm feeling real pretty for pictures. And I particularly love the smell coming from The Hulk and I.

By this time I've run out of burp clothes and bibs to clean up the puke. I now get a towel from the church kitchen and try to clean us up. The Hulk is screaming and kicking. He grabs my pretty necklace and yanks harder than a giant on PCP and it breaks and beads go flying. And I admit defeat!

I quit trying to clean us up. I just pick up the baby and sit in the pew waiting for our turn. I don't care what the stupid picture looks like. I just want to be done. Finally at 8:18 it is our turn for pictures. So puke boy and I take a seat, smile nice and are all done in a few minutes. He was asleep in the car seat before I got out of the parking lot.

So I took a little vow tonight as I unloaded The Hulk from the car. We are never doing this again! We are never taking church pictures again! Never Never Never.... Until next time!

Clickin Mama

Kiva

I've blogged about Kiva before but I have to blog about it again. I just really think it's a wonderful concept. If you have never heard of Kiva before you really must visit their website because my explanation won't do it justice. But basically what Kiva does is allow regular people like you and me to donate money to people all over the world. What we do is make a donation and that funds a loan for individuals in third world countries to start a business, get more animals for their farm, etc. It allows them to become self sufficient. What happens is a bunch of us make small loans for $25 or $50 and then that one person in another country gets our pool of money for like $1000. They get the supplies they need to start their business and make payments on the loan every month. As we are paid back from that loan we can either have the money refunded to us or we can loan again. Awesome right!

I've been loaning through Kiva for 18 months now. I started out by donating $200.00 seperated between four different people. My first four loans are all paid off. So I have reloaned that same $200.00 again and again. I've actually loaned that same $200.00 five times now! I've helped a total of 27 people fund their own small business and become self supporting! I think that is amazing.

So go visit and help someone build their future!

Clickin Mama

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Mother Daughter Pictures

I love taking pictures of moms and their kids. Maybe it's because I loved my mom so much. I don't know why. What I do know is that some of the best pictures in the whole world are of moms with their babies. Maybe they are little babies. Maybe they are toddlers, maybe they are even adult children caring for aging parents. It doesn't matter the age. There is just something about capturing that relationship. You put a mom and her daughter together and you are bound to get good pics. And if you don't believe me here is some proof. These are some of my favorite pictures from a recent mother/daughter shoot I had with Kelci and her lovely mom Della.



Questions and Answers

On my old blog I did the question and answer posts every once in awhile. I haven't done one since I started this blog. But I've had a few emails and comments pile up that I haven't gotten answered and thought I better get to it. So here goes....

Do you ever talk to The Hulk' birth mom?

Yes I do talk to Miss Katie! We have an open relationship. Katie and I used to talk more frequently but now we probably talk about once a month. The Hulk, Katie and I try to get together every couple of months or so. I also send her pictures and notes on a regular basis. And for some reason we do a lot of our communicating through My space messages back and forth.

How can you afford to stay home and not work as a single mom?

Well this is an easy answer! I can't afford to stay home and not work as a single mom. Thank God I found a job! I was really reaching the scary place financially. It's a real blessing to be back to work. I can't wait for that first paycheck to come. Luckily I also had some money coming in from my photography business. And I have a very generous dad and step mom that hooked me up with a little dough to get by. I promise if your reading this I will pay you back. :-)

What photo editing program do you use?

I use a couple of editing programs. For most pictures I use Picassa. This is a FREE yes I said FREE editing program that is wonderful! Honestly I use it the majority of the time. However, I also use Adobe Photoshop Elements for editing. I can do a little more with it than I can with Picassa. Honestly Elements does a lot of great things I have yet to figure out. I need to take a class on photoshop one of these days.

Why don't you post more pictures on your blog?

Okay I think this comment/question was a joke. I'm gonna hope it's a joke. I think I post quite a few pictures. Almost every day I post a picture. So the real question is for the readers do you think I post enough pictures?

Okay that's all I have time for tonight. If you have any questions for me leave them in the comments or email me. I'm happy to answer almost anything.

Clickin Mama

Monday, February 16, 2009

Perfectly Pregnant!

My best friend Darby is pregnant! I'm so so excited for her and Chris and of course Caden. In fact I was able to talk to their 4 1/2 year old Caden on the phone tonight and he is very excited. He explained to me that Darby has a baby in her belly and it is very small. But she is going to eat and eat and the baby is gonna gobble up all the food and get very big. The way kids process things crack me up! Caden also told me that someday I could have a baby in my belly too. Such a sweetie. I think he thinks that anything his mom does I can do too. And maybe he is right. I guess we will have to wait and see.

All I know for sure is that this pregnancy is a huge blessing! It's been a long road for Darby and Chris and this little person is so very wanted. I also know that it is going to be a very LONG 9 months! But Darby has a lot of eating to do and this baby has a lot of gobbling and growing to do so we can wait.

Clickin Mama

Not Me Monday



Thank goodness Monday is here because I need my free therapy! I have plenty to share this week! So let's get it over with....

I did NOT want to call the Pampers people and chew them out for the changes they have made to their diapers recently. I did NOT want to send them the diaper that basically fell apart in the middle of the night and left my baby covered in pee soaked diaper pellets.

I also did NOT spend almost an hour online researching various diapers to find something that will hold the large amount of night time urine my child would never produce.

And I did NOT curse the fact that my baby is too big for any cloth diapers I've found out there. Do they not make diapers for babies over 25 pounds that actually work?

I did NOT change clothes 3 times on Friday due to spitting up and food spills!

I did NOT just chop up The Hulk' food and put it in a pile in front of him on the table at a restaurant so he could feed himself and I could eat hot food. I did NOT feel a little guilty about the mess and leave a big tip to cover my guilt.

I did NOT find corn and peas in my purse because The Hulknocked them off the table and I foolishly left my purse within a 10 foot radius of him when eating.

I did NOT take almost an hour of video of The Hulk crawling around and being silly so I could post some of it on this blog for his grandparents to see. If I did that I would have posted it. But I did NOT curse my computer and video camera for not working together to allow me to upload said video to post. ARGH!

And I did NOT let The Hulk stay up late 2 nights this week just because I missed his little face and wanted to spend time with him.

What did you NOT do this week?

Clickin Mama

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Baby Whatcha Reading



The Hulk and I would like to take a moment to recommend our top books of the week! Of course we love all books. But we all know that books are not created equally. Some just happen to be a little better than others. And we have spent a lot of time finding the best and unfortunately the worst of children's books. So if we can save you time and money we will just share our tops picks with you!



We must share with you our love of all books written by Marianne Richmond! One of our favorites is I Love You so Much... The Hulk is showing it to you in the top picture. Trust us it's a book you can really sink your teeth into. :-) Seriously Marianne has a talent! Her books are wonderful. They show children of all colors, they depict a wide variety of families, they share positive messages about self esteem, unconditional love, and acceptance, and they are just down right fun!!! The Hulk and I read her books the most and he laughs and every time! Now I just hold up one of her books and he goes nuts! Buy one, buy two, buy them ALL!!!!!



Something I have noticed since having The Hulk is how "white" children's books can be. I'm not a big fan of that. So almost anytime I find a book that depicts any other race in a positive manner I grab it up and add it to our collection. I have quite a bit of luck finding some fun books that show how everyone is different but ultimately very much the same. If you have any suggestions of books we should check out let us know! Someone has a birthday coming up soon!



Right now The Hulk also really likes animals and any book that I can turn into a song or rhyme. Rhymes make him laugh. So we read lots of animal books! He also really likes the book My Spiritual Alphabet Book. It is a rhyming singing book of fun! Lots of laughs and a little Jesus in the heart to boot! Good times!

What books are you reading to your kids?

Clickin Mama

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope that you all had a good Valentine's Day. We had a wonderful day today! The Hulk and I spent the whole day together today. I missed him this week while I was working! We went to lunch with Shawn and Amanda and the girls. Then The Hulk and I hit the mall to get our Valentine gifts. I got him a couple new polo shirts that were on sale and a pair of shoes. And that little sweetie bought me a new pair of jeans and a pair of pants for work that actually fit! What a sweet little baby! Who knew he would turn into such a great little shopper.

So it was a low key Valentine's Day here. But a great day anyways. Tomorrow we are having another laid back day just hanging out together.

Clickin Mama

Random Picture Challenge

It's time for another random picture challenge hosted by Brittany over at 4 little men and twins. This week we are taking the 3rd picture from our January 2007 folder.



This picture is of a good family friend of ours (Gerry) holding my niece Mattie. Gerry is a rough and tumble military guy. He has been in Iraq off and on for the last 6 years. He is a tough guy. One of those guys that could probably live out in the middle of no where for months on end with a compass and a piece of string. He is just like that. But we also found out when he Mattie that he is the baby whisperer. He is AMAZING with babies! Like seriously unreal with little ones. He can calm a screaming baby in seconds. They love him. And we love Gerry.

Pandora

Have you all heard of Pandora Radio? I love it! It is free Internet radio! I've been using it for several months now and just realized I haven't been sharing the Pandora fun with you. How could I let you all be without Pandora for all this time. What I love about it is that there are NO commercials. I also love that it is free. And most of all I love that I get to pick my favorite artists and listen to music I love. And if for some reason a song pops up that I don't like I just click a little box that says I hate it and it will never be played for me again! It also suggests new music based on your interests. So I've found lots of new music that I probably would have never found otherwise. How cool is that?!? No listening to the same song you hate 10 times in a day. WAHOOOO!!!

So check out Pandora and pick some of your favorite artists to create special radio stations just for you. And yes just in case you were wondering I have a couple "odd" stations. Yep, Elvis and Miley Cyrus. Yes I know I'm a huge dork but that's why you love me....

Clickin Mama

Friday, February 13, 2009

TGIF

Oh I'm so glad the weekend is here. It's been a long week. It was my first full week back at work and I'm worn out! Who knew you could get so tired. I turned into a wimp during my time off! Even though I'm tired and we are still adjusting to the new routine I think it's going well.

I really like having a job again! Of course I miss my little man while I'm at work but it's so nice to get out and interact with other professionals. And it's nice to wear jewelery and do my hair. And did I mention how nice it is to get PAID! Yes I get a paycheck. A real paycheck. One that goes into my account and I pay the bills with it. How kick ass is that!

It's also crazy but I get more done when I am working. Even though I'm home less I get more done around the house. The schedule and structure is good for me and good for The Hulk. When I have free time I tend to waste time. I tend to do puzzles, or read books, or play the Wii instead of doing all the things on my To Do list. But when I have a limited time to get things done I just stay on it. So it works well.

While the jury is still out on how long it will take us to adjust to the new routine I'm convinced that going back to work rocks. Remind me of that in a month when I want a day off to do NOTHING. :-)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Bye Bye Pacifier

A couple days ago I was beginning to ponder when The Hulk would have to give up the pacifier. He and Mr. Binkferd as we call the pacifier really only spend time together during naps, bed time and major meltdowns. But I figured we at least needed to say farewell in a couple months when The Hulk turned 1. Well there has been a change of plans.

It seems that today The Hulk had a brilliant idea to shove all of Mr. Binkferd into his month. The whole dang pacifier. He of course did this when Miss Liz was out of the room changing another kiddo's diaper. So when she came back he was struggling for air and vomiting all over. And Mr. Binkferd was logged in his throat. Nice!

So Miss Liz called me very upset at work. She got the pacifier out and thought The Hulk was okay but wanted me to make the decision. I felt so bad for her. She was terrified. So I went and picked him up a little early and he was happy and find when I got there. But we didn't bring Mr. Binkferd home with us. We threw him away.

And this evening I gathered all of the pacifiers up and we put them in a bye bye Binkferd box and threw them away. No more little choking hazards around here. Nothing like giving it up cold turkey. The Hulk actually did well at bed time without his friend. He jabbered in there for a lot longer than usual but he never cried about it. I figured we would have a few nights of crying but I'd rather have that then a choking baby. So we will see how it goes.

Who would have ever guessed a pacifier would be a hazzard....

Clickin Mama

Baby Love

Oh I love little babies. The chubby little faces and the full lips. The tiny toes and long skinny fingers. The way they look when they cry. So out of control and angry yet still cute and cuddly. Oh how I love taking pictures of little babies. And luckily there always seem to be little babies to take pictures of. Here is my niece Kerrington. It's amazing that she is three months old now! She started out so little only a little over 4 pounds. Now she is close to 10 pounds and turning into a chubby baby. She isn't to sure about the picture thing but she can't roll away from me yet so I can still get a decent pic or two of her.

Happy three month birthday baby Kerrington.



Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Whatcha Doing


Okay I know I said the puzzles were going away now that I have a job. And they are. I don't have much free time now to be working on puzzles. But I did have this one already started. And you know you can't put a puzzle away without finishing it. So I had to finish it. It took me awhile. This one was a little tricky. Odd shaped pieces. Lots of the same colors. But I fought with the puzzle. I cursed the puzzle. And ultimately I beat the puzzle! Finished! And now it is all put away, hiding in my closet. And I'm now back to the full time mommy, full time working, full time busy mode that doesn't involve lots of puzzle putting together.

Clickin Mama

Scary Monster

My niece Mattie is obsessed right now with scary monsters. Except she says it more like scerry monster. She is convinced that a scary monster lives on my back patio. It is actually the train horns that she hears outside but no matter how many times we tell her that she doesn't believe us. In her mind it is for sure a scary monster. So this weekend when the scary monsters were being wild outside I gave her a monster wacker so she could fight them off if need be. She was thrilled! Who knew that a fly swatter could double as a monster wacker and make a 2 year old feel so powerful. Here is the little monster wacker in all her monster wacking glory. Silly kids!





After all the scary monsters have gone away Mattie does other things
to help out. She will rub her Aunt Heather's feet to make her feel better. And she will also get your boots worn in for you. Oh the amazing skills of toddlers. So creative, helpful, and funny....



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Is He Your Baby?

"Is he your baby?"

"Is that your son?"

"He must look like his father."

"What a cute boy, I bet he looks just like his daddy."

"Who is his Dad?"

"Did you adopt him?"

These are just a few of the questions that I get asked when The Hulk and I are out and about. Awfully personal questions don't ya think? Questions I figured we would get asked occasionally but questions that I dread. Questions that can stop me dead in my tracks and make my stomach turn. Questions that can at times push me to the brink and make me want to scream. Questions that leave me wondering how in the heck to answer them.

Without a doubt The Hulk is my baby. He is my "real" child in every sense of word. I really am the one that can stop the tears, fix the food, do the bed time routine and give the best snuggles. He really is the one boy that can melt my heart and motivate me to be the best person I can be for him. We really are bonded and attached in a way that I can't always describe with words. There is a depth to our relationship that I have only known with two other people in my life, my own mom and my sister.

And yes The Hulk was adopted. I adopted The Hulk in July. There was a court hearing that legalized the act of adoption. However, he is not my adopted son. He is just my son. The adoption was an event it does not define our relationship. He is in no way less real than a child I birthed myself. The process of adopting a child was like a very long pregnancy and that last court hearing was my labor. He is mine and I was blessed that adoption is how he came to me. But I don't define our relationship in terms of that event.

And as far as his father I think he does have one. I think he has a heavenly father. The father that brought him to me and the father that will forever guide his life. Does he have an active Dad in his life. No he doesn't but his relationship with his heavenly father is more powerful and deeper than any earthly relationship could ever be. I may not be able to give him an earthly father but I will forever attempt to build and strengthen his relationship with the one father that really matters.

So those are the answers in my head and in my heart. But those answers are hard to give in grocery stores and gas stations. So I've started coming up with some quick answers to deter people from asking personal questions in the future. Here are my favorite inappropriate responses.

"Is he your baby/is he your son?" Sometimes I say no I just found him on the curb and other times I say no is he your baby? That always stops them dead in their tracks.

"He must look like his dad/who is his dad?" To this I use the response of I'm not sure, I don't remember that night very well. If a man is asking the who is his dad question though I have found that saying don't act like you don't know, I have been waiting for you to claim him for months now works well to get them to walk off.

"Did you adopt him?" I have several responses for this one. I enjoy the no I just picked him up at the cabbage patch response the best though.

While I joke and I'm a bit inappropriate at times I know in my heart that The Hulk was meant to be mine. He is meant to be my son. What other little boy could make my heart so happy and my laugh so loud....



I know lots of you that read this blog have adopted your children. What do you say when people ask personal questions?

Spring Fever


We have had a couple of really nice days the last week or so. Beautiful days. One day it even got up to 68 degrees! We have been able to go outside and swing and go on walks. It's been wonderful! And then about the time we get used to it the cold comes back. But the spring fever just won't go away. We are ready for spring. Our trees are ready for spring! They look so bare with no leaves! We are hoping that it will come soon and stay. The bright blue skies, the pretty flowers, the green grass. Hurry up spring. The Hulk and I are waiting....

Monday, February 9, 2009

Not Me Monday



It's another great Monday! And that means it's time for Not Me Monday! This is my chance to be brutally honest and live to tell all about it! So fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms inside! Lets get ready to take the Not Me ride!!!!

I did NOT set four alarm clocks on Wednesday night so I wouldn't oversleep for my first day of work on Thursday! I was NOT at all worried that I would sleep in because I have NOT been sleeping in past 8:00 for the past couple months....

I also did NOT cry and cry on Wednesday night because I was worried about my sister. I did NOT want to drive as fast as I could to be with her and say screw the new job! I did NOT cry myself to sleep from sister guilt!

I did NOT make myself cinamon toast, eat it and then when I was cleaning up the kitchen realize that it was really ground cumin I had put on my toast rather than cinamon.

I did NOT find a raisin in my bra when I took it off one night this week. I also did not find a whole cherrio in The Hulk' diaper this week either. I do NOT spend time wondering how in the hell we get food in such odd places....

I did NOT pay the toll for the drive between Heather's place and mine with a $2 bill, $1.00 worth of dimes, and 85 cents worth of nickels. Nope I'm NOT broke at all!

So those are the things I did NOT do this week... How about you????

Clickin Mama

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Valentine's Theme

Had to do a little switch with the blog this week. Valentine's Day is coming up. Since I don't have time to decorate the house I might as well decorate the blog.... If you want to decorate your blog for free visit The Cutest Blog On the Block and check out all the awesome themes they have!

Clickin Mama

What A Weekend!

Wow it's been a wonderful weekend. It got off to a rocky start with Heather being so sick but it has ended up being a wonderful couple of days! We had lots of company this weekend and had a really great time. Heather's bestfriend Kelci and her mom Della came to stay with us. And my cousin Sara and Aunt Adair came today. Sara does premier designs jewelery shows and I agreed to host one. So some girl friends came over and we had a good time looking at jewelry and hanging out. And then after the party Sara (who is also a hair stylist) gave me a trim and The Hulk his first haircut! Yes my baby boy got that hair hawk cut. And no I didn't get a little emotional about that at all.







So here are some pics from the hair cutting bonanza! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

Clickin Mama

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Random Picture Challenge 5.0

This weeks Random Picture Challenge is to pull from your March 2008 picture file. You pick the picture that is 5th from the end of the folder. Well I'm thrilled to present this picture!!!!



This picture is of The Hulk, his birth mom Katie, and I the day that I adopted him! It was taken by Katie's mom just shortly after all the paperwork was signed and not long before we left the hospital. It is one of my all time favorite pictures! In fact it is framed and in The Hulk' room. I think it really shows how much both of his mom's love him and how much we care for each other. It's a mutual respect really and a bond that few people get to share with one another. So this picture really represents the true blessing of adoption in my life! Okay enough mush! Go enjoy the rest of the challenge participants posts!

Clickin Mama

Sister Stories

Well my lovely sister Heather has had a horrible week. Early this week she had a minor outpatient surgery. It shouldn't have been a big deal really. But she developed all kinds of side effects and has been really sick all week. So last night things were getting lots worse so I took off after work and went to her place to be with her. After another pain filled night of no sleep she had a procedure done this morning to drain fluid out of her body. The excess fluid was causing pain, nausea, and shortness of breath. Well that dang girl had almost two liters of extra fluid removed! Crazy! And now she feels like a new girl.

It's amazing really what fluid does. I was watching them drain the fluid and as they got more and more out she started looking better and better. Her color came back, she started breathing like normal, she quit crying! It was like she was human again. Poor kid! And since she is feeling so much better the doctor said she could come home for the rest of the weekend. So now she is back here with me and we are just going to enjoy a fun relaxing weekend. She is still sick but doing so much better. So we are gonna kick back, relax and enjoy the fact that her fluid filled belly is now empty!

Praise God!

Clickin Mama

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Brain Fried

Well the first day at the new job was very good. I had a great day! It was so nice to spend some time with grown ups. But I'm a little fried in the brain. Honestly, I'm exhausted. So since I'm tired and don't feel like typing all you get today is some bath time fun pictures. Check out my little water baby!!!



Making Cereal For Baby

As promised here is another post about making baby food. I do make The Hulk' cereal. He likes it much more than any baby cereal out of a box. And it is a lot healthier for him. You may think this would be a difficult process but it's so simple. It takes about 12 minutes start to finish. Here is how to do it.

First select the grain you will use. My three favorites are steel cut oatmeal, brown rice (not the instant kind), and millet.

You will need 1/4 cup of any grain of your choice. I am using brown rice in the pictures shown.



Put your rice in the blender and grind it into a fine powder. It usually take me about 1 1/2 minutes to get mine ground up. I use the pulse feature and that helps.



Put 1 cup of water in a small pan on the stove and bring to a boil while you grind up the grain.

Once it is boiling add the grain and mix with a whisk. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.



Once it gets to the consistency you desire just spoon it into little bowls and refrigerate.




Some words of advice.... Don't freak out if it gets to thick or to thin. If it's too thick just add a little water and stir. If it's too thin just cook it awhile longer and it will thicken up. Also serve the cereal within 3-4 days. It's not so good after that. You can mix anything in with it, fruits, veggies, etc. As your baby gets older you can also mix in beans but we will talk about beans next time... Certainly email me or leave a comment if you have any questions.