My life and all that goes with it

Moving my blog

2007-04-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to be using word press now instead of Blogger. So come on over to my "new" blog.

http://nowwhatelmo.wordpress.com/

BIL is home

2007-04-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

On leave. He got home tonight and gets to spend two weeks with my sister. They head off to Disney World next week for some R & R and then he heads back to Iraq. Hopefully he will be back for good in about five months. I hope it isn't harder on the both of them seeing him and knowing she has to say goodbye again. Anyway, we are just excited that he made it home safe.

Easter Basket

2007-04-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny dropped off the basket:

She found said basket:

Opening the basket and showing her goodies:

Hunting Easter Eggs

2007-04-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Looking Cute

2007-04-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

She loves to pose!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2007-04-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

We colored Easter eggs with Chayleigh the Sunday before Easter. She loved it although we wouldn't let her do much more than choose the colors. DH put the eggs in the colors, but she got to draw on them with a white crayon, so she was in heaven!

Thanks Liz

2007-04-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh got a spring gift from Liz, another BIOer.

She did a great job of finding Strawberry Shortcake stuff. Chayleigh had to wear it as soon as she saw it.

New Blog Template

2007-04-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Erin, I have a new blog. She did an excellent job, imo. Thanks a lot Sweetie. I really appreciate the hard work you put into it!

Potty

2007-04-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh peed in the potty today! Too bad it followed an episode of pooping in the tub. LOL. I cheered her when she showed me the pee in the potty and asked her if she liked it and she said yes. She also stated she wanted to do it again. Here's to small steps!

Happy Birthday

2007-04-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

To my DH. I just wanted to let the world know that he is celebrating a birthday. He requested not to celebrate it this year so he got some Dukes of Hazzard DVD's and a new cell phone and accessories for his gift. Not much, but he also got to download new ring tones, and that made him happier than most anything. Now when you call him, he has the Dukes of Hazzard blaring at you. Bwahaha. Anyway, Happy Birthday DH. I love you and I hope that you have a great day!

Dinner Time

2007-03-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

I try to let Chayleigh pick what she wants for dinner. Tonight she actually made some good choices.

She is eating Mac and Cheese, Broccoli and drinking V-8 Juice (aka Red Juice). At least she is getting her veggies in.

For Thomas Fans Everywhere

2007-03-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Thomas is not just for boys. Chayleigh decided that she HAD to have Thomas PJ's when I was buying some for a friend's little boy. So I took a picture of her for you Barb! I hope that Tripp enjoys it. LOL.

Easter Photo Shoot

2007-03-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures of Chayleigh last night for Easter. We send out pictures to the Grandparents. Normally I do Sears, but I just didn't want to deal with it this year, so I did it myself. This is one of my favorite pictures, but she wasn't looking up, so I will send out a different one.

Cleaning

2007-03-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ever notice how big of a mess a 2.5 year old can make? I swear most of today was spent cleaning the living room after she ran thru it. She is good at picking up her toys and all, but it was so annoying when we would get it all cleaned up and she would go get something messier out and dump it on the floor. Seems like today went by really fast. But then again, I guess all weekends do huh?

Reading

2007-03-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

So every night Chayleigh and I read the Going to Bed book. She loves it. It is always the last book we read, so she knows it is time to go to sleep afterwards. Last night she read it to me. It was awesome. She has the entire book memorized almost word for word. I think that she skipped about 5 words in the whole book. Either she is super smart (all moms say that though right?) or she just has a good memory. I am going with the super smart theory. LOL.

Zoo

2007-03-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo this weekend. It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so we decided to go. We get there and it is $11 for DH and Me or $53 for a season pass. We bought the season pass since we figure we will go at least 5 times this year. Of course we didn't realize we didn't have the camera until we were already looking at the birds. LOL.

Chayleigh loved it. She loved looking at the penguins and the meerkats. Although her favorite was definitely the Lemur's. At the end, we went to the gift shop and she picked out a Nemo fish and a Lemur. All the way home she kept saying, "I love you Lemur. I love you Nemo fish.". She is such a hoot.

Final Swimming Lesson

2007-03-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Was last night. She got a certificate of completion, which was great. I am sad that swim lessons are over. I was hoping that they would add another class for next session, but they decided to add four of the class after ours instead.

She started off hating the pool and ended up loving it. It was such a great experience, I would totally recommend it to anyone. It was great bonding time for the two of us as well. I will really miss it.

Thank Goodness for Google

2007-03-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last night Chayleigh stuck a sticker up her nose. It was a big sticker and she shoved it way high in there. Of course I didn't notice it until she told me it was there. I looked up in her nose and couldn't see anything. So I went and got a flashlight to see up in there. Sure enough, there was something in there. Looked like a little spec, so I tried to remove it with the booger sucker. No luck. I freaked out and called my mom, who told me to call Ask a Nurse. While I was on hold, I googled it. Lucky for me, someone had a child who loved shoving raisins up his nose.

Her advice for removing foreign objects in a child's nose is:
1. Plug the nostril that doesn't have the object in it.
2. Blow a hard puff of air into their mouth.
3. Collect the object once it is blown out of their nose.

I did it and it shot out of her nose like a missle. Thank goodness for Google or I would have had a $300 ER visit.

Needless to say, she isn't playing with stickers again for a while.

Swim Lesson #9

2007-03-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the second to last lesson. We got to do life jackets. Oh yeah, that went well. It was nice cause there were only three kids in the class, so Chayleigh got to scream to her heart's content. She absolutely hates life jackets. She kept trying to remove it. She was okay with it as long as she was jumping, but it was a no go on the floating. She is definitely a water baby now though. She absolutely loves the pool. We are going to have to come up with a substitute soon! LOL.

Reading

2007-03-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh has two favorite books. The Big Hungry Bear and The Going to Bed Book. This weekend she pulled them out and decided that since I was too busy to read to her at the moment, she would read it to herself. I hear, "They go in the tub. Soap all over. Scrub scrub scrub. They hang their towels up to dry." Those are two pages from the Going to Bed Book. I start laughing and so she did it again. Then she pulled out the other book and opened it up. The first page she read almost word for word, "Hello little mouse. What are you doing?". I guess reading the same books over and over pay off huh? LOL. Of course when I got the camcorder out to record it, she just kept saying, "I don't know Mommy.". LOL.

My brave little girl

2007-03-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

So we got home yesterday and I took Chayleigh's shoes off. I was trying to roll up her pant leg so that she wouldn't walk on it and she kept walking, so she tripped. I know it hurt her, but she fell, then looked up at me and said, "Don't worry Mommy. I'm okay.". I asked her if it hurt and she said, "Yes, but I am okay. I no cry.". She is just so cute now. I am starting to love this side of her. Especially when I tell her that I love her and she replies, "I luv you too Mommy.".

Swim Lesson #8

2007-03-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Only two lessons left. Chayleigh did really well today. She swam with the teacher. She was able to kick her feet and move her arms a few times at the same time, which is unusual. Honestly, I think it was accidental. LOL.

I asked when they learn to float and they told me that it doesn't happen till they are older, like 6 or so. I guess that makes sense. Still no word on the next classes. I asked how much it is to join the Rec Center and I would save $40 if I pay up front for the year rather than making monthly payments. But it is $600 a year. Or it is $10 per day for us to go. Therefore, I would have to go 60 times to make it cost effective. I am going to have to think about it I guess.

New Blog stuff

2007-03-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

I added haloscan, so now commenting is easier. However, I lost all of my formatting, so bear with me until I get it all put back together. Oh and Haloscan is easier to comment with. Even if you don't have a blogger account you can comment. So now no one has a reason to lurk! Let me know who you are. Stop in and say hi! LOL.

Sizing

2007-03-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Why is it that you can't just go to a store and buy a certain size and have it fit the same? Chayleigh is moving into 3T already and we have been getting new clothes for her and some of it is too small already. Other outfits are huge. They all say that they fit the same inches and weight though. Ugh. Seems like buying on clearance isn't always the way to go when sizing is so different.

Swim Lesson #7

2007-03-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Only three classes left. Chayleigh absolutely adores swimming now. She is getting really good at it too. Well they don't really teach them to swim, but at least she doesn't fear the water. In fact, she asks if I will toss her in the air and catch her underwater now. That is great fun for the both of us. LOL.

Tonight is the next swim lesson and she has been asking for it since we left on Tuesday. Nice thing is swim lessons are awesome without "Pissy Lady" being there. This class we only had three parents and three kids, so it was nice and easier to hear the teacher and get our kids to interact.

Swim Suit

2007-03-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

This is her new swim suit. She is so proud of it.

Another old picture

2007-03-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Four generations of women in my family. I was hoping that Chayleigh would get to meet my great grandma, but she died the year Shawn and I were married.

Family Fun

2007-03-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

I was going thru some old pictures because on a group I belong to we were supposed to post Prom and Graduation pictures. Anyway, I came across this old family photo. I just thought I would share.

Swim Lesson #6

2007-03-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Went excellent. Chayleigh didn't cry at all. She floated on her back without help from my shoulder. She blew bubbles. Moved her hands and kicked her feet. Never know, maybe she will start loving the water now.

Best news too. Pissy Lady's ds was a bear tonight. Guess Karma is a bitch huh? LOL. So needless to say, she wasn't around the group much cause he kept crying. Maybe she will think twice about being rude to other parents next time.

I am so glad that we did swim lessons. I called today and asked to be put on a waiting list for next session since the class is full. Chances aren't the best, but you never know. If it doesn't work out, I think we will try gymnastics in April and possibly May and then do swim lessons again in June.

New Snack

2007-03-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hostess came out with 100 calorie packs:

The new Hostess 100 Calorie Packs feature three mini Hostess cupcakes with filling, in three different flavors:
1. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing and creamy filling
2. Golden cake with chocolate icing and creamy filling
3. Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and creamy

I bought the Golden Cake with chocolate icing and the carrot cake ones. I really like the golden cake cupcakes and haven't tried the carrot cake yet, but DH said they were pretty good.

They are sort of small, but when you are craving sweets, it hits the spot. Best news is, they are perfect toddler size. LOL.

How much is your blog worth?

2007-02-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have never done this, so I was curious. It isn't too bad. Guess that means someone reads it huh? LOL.

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

Vocabulary

2007-02-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh has gotten so much better at speaking. For ever she pronounced her name "Laylee". This weekend it clicked that she can say it correctly. Now she goes around telling everyone, "I'm Chayleigh and I am a little girl". It cracked up the lady at Sam's Club tonight. I just grin and tell her that she is doing a good job. Guess we will talk about strangers at a later date. LOL.

My little girl is growing up

2007-02-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh is getting so big. At the end of the month we measure her height and this month we weighed her as well since we have the new scale that is accurate.

She is now:

36.5 inches tall
32.1 lbs

Swim Lesson #5

2007-02-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Went well. She loves swimming. She talks about it all of the time. I am not sure what we are going to do when they are over. I tried to enroll for the next two sessions and they are all full. Ugh. Hopefully something will come up so that we can go swimming because she MUST have her bi-weekly dose of "Ring a round the rosey" and "Humpty Dumpty" which are played there.

Swim Lesson #4

2007-02-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Went AWESOME. Chayleigh floated on her back. It was great. For some reason, only three parents and tots were there, so the class was much more laid back. Pissy Lady was one who was absent, it was great. I forced Chayleigh to float on her back at first, but once she discovered she could splash more on her back than on her front, she enjoyed it. Hopefully she does as well the next time too. Woohoo.

Swim Lesson #3

2007-02-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Went pretty good. She loves getting in and out of the pool. She even kicked off the wall last night. It was great. She still freaks out when trying to back float, so we tried it, then went back to front floating and kicking. As long as she has her ducky, she is a happy girl. At least there was very little crying this time.

Family Life

2007-02-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

I was just told that my step-dad has prostate cancer. Good news is the biopsy didn't show lots of cancer, so they don't think it has spred. Bad news, it is cancer. Not sure what they are doing now. They were given a book to read about options and go back to the doctor in a few weeks to decide what they want to do. This is a total shock to me as I had no idea. Guess they had been wondering about it for a while, but just decided to do something now. So if you have any extra prayers, if you could send them this way, it would be appreciated.

Meeting New Friends

2007-02-19T16:38:00.001-07:00

I met Monique and her dd Marissa this weekend. She is wonderful. Exactly like I thought she would be. She is so warm and caring. I was so happy to have met her.

I took a video of her dd (Marissa) and Chayleigh playing with balloons. I guess I forgot to turn on the sound, but it is cute anyway.

Swimming Lesson #2

2007-02-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Was a bust. Chayleigh was NOT happy last night. She screamed pretty much the entire time unless she was getting out of the pool and jumping back in. The only good thing that happened was that she will actually jump into the pool now with no care if I hold onto her, so at least she is getting braver. And to Ms. Pissy with the water baby, "You Suck". Not all kids like the water, which is what I "thought" swim lessons were for. I think that next week, Chayleigh will not be back swimming. She can practice bubbles or something else.

Meeting New (old) Friends

2007-02-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

I get to meet Monique this weekend. She is driving up for a baby shower in a neighboring town, so I get to go and meet her and the family. As well as her best friend and their family. It will be great fun to see how Marissa and Chayleigh interact. Since Marissa is almost potty trained, I am hoping that Chayleigh will want to do it too. LOL.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2007-02-14T08:34:00.001-07:00

Swim Lessons

2007-02-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

We started swim lessons today. I was worried that since it is from 6-36 months, she would be the oldest there, but she wasn't. There are four of us that have kids the same age, so it was nice. She got to float on her back, blow bubbles in the water, jump off the edge of the pool, climb out of the pool, and dunk under the water. All in all it was pretty good. She absolutely hates floating on her back, but loved the rest of it. 30 minutes sure flies by. She is already asking to go back, so Thurs can't come soon enough. If it goes well, I might have DH sign up for a morning class and take her in a month or so. That way he can have fun with her too. LOL.

Update

2007-02-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have been on this diet since January 14, and the first 9 lbs was easy. The last 1.7 lbs has been horrible. It seems like no matter what I do, I can't ever break the 10 lb mark. Well I did it! I have now lost 10.7 lbs (since I bought my WW scale, 13+ total from the beginning of the year). I am so happy about it, especially since I was not the best dieter this weekend.

I took Chayleigh to Starbucks on Saturday and she loved her hot chocolate. I wasn't so impressed with my coffee. I got the Cinnamon Dolche Latte sugar free of course. I guess I didn't realize it would taste so much like Cinnamon. LOL. I don't really like cinnamon. If you like it, then you will love that drink. Especially since you can't even tell it is sugar free. At least I can try it. Oh and I owe the experience to Sharyn, who sent me a Starbucks GC as part of my Christmas present. It was so nice to get that in the mail! Thanks Sharyn!

Buckle

2007-02-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Is installed. It was so easy. It took me all of two minutes from start to finish. Weird thing is, Babies R Us said that only one side is supposed to click. With this buckle, both do. It snaps together a whole lot easier. Guess tomorrow I will try it out when Chayleigh and I head to Starbucks!

Britax Update

2007-02-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

So I FINALLY got the buckle today. DH said that they rang the doorbell at 9am. Chayleigh had just woken up, so I guess at least it was good timing. Now I just need to figure out how to switch it out. They say that it is easy and I won't even have to remove the seat. Guess they don't realize who they are talking to. LOL. As soon as Chayleigh goes down for nap, I will check it out.

Oh yeah, I am home with Chayleigh this afternoon cause she is sick. Why is it kids aren't sick during the week, just the weekend?

Bad Day

2007-02-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

My BIL is with the 321st stationed in Iraq right now. Three guys in his troop died yesterday. They were all only 22 years old. Seems like such a waste. Two others were injured as well. What sucks is that the names were released to the media before the families were notified, so they found out by opening the paper this am. Lucky for us, BIL is okay. Still hits home when you hear it. If you have any extra prayers please send them to the families of these fallen soldiers. I am sure that they can use them.

529 Account

2007-02-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

So we belong to Upromise for Chayleigh. It is a great program. The only issue I had with it was that we already have a 529 so I didn't want to set up a new one. So I called them a few weeks ago and asked if I would ever get the money out or if it just sat there. They told me I could request a check in writing and that in 12 weeks they would send me a check. Nice deal considering it is totally free money. I opened the mailbox today and there was my check for $188.05. It was less than a month ago I requested it, so that is pretty neat. Now I just need to cash it and transfer it to the real account. LOL. If you don't already have an account set up for that, I really recommend it because it is so easy to use. Especially for those of us who live to buy online. Oh I have the Mastercard and I run pretty much all of the bills we have a month on it, so that helps to build up the savings too.

Happy 1st birthday to my blog

2007-02-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

A year ago today I started blogging. Hard to believe it has already been a year. I haven't been as exciting lately as I was a yaer ago, but I hope to change that. Thanks for sticking with me for the past year!

Picture of Chayleigh

2007-02-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this picture of Chayleigh. Well except for the gook.

Thanks Leslie for fixing this picture for me.

After she fixed it, she did some bonus picts for me. I love them all! What one is your favorite?

Black & White:

Soft: (My favorite)

Warm:

Through the years

2007-02-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

H-Gal got me all nostalgic with her Around the Calendar we go post, so of course I had to copy.

Feb 2005:

Feb 2006:

Feb 2007

No Go

2007-02-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well after tossing it around all weekend, we decided not to switch. We will call her and tell her that the uncertainty is just too much right now, but if she decides to stick with it to give us a call and we will sign on. We just don't want to have her get used to a new daycare and then a month or two later have to do it all over again. I am disappointed cause I think that the new daycare would have been a great experience, but it just isn't worth the worry.

New Daycare

2007-02-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure that we are going to switch her to the new daycare. We really liked the new lady. She is a certified preschool teacher and her house is pretty neat. It is totally set up for a daycare. The only concern we have is that she isn't sure that she is going to be able to make it work. She only has Chayleigh and her two grandkids. If she doesn't get more by the end of May, then she will have to shut down. Therefore, we will be needing new daycare again if it happens. Hopefully she gets a few more kids and is able to make things work cause Chayleigh and DH really liked her. I thought she was great as well, but DH is a lot harder to please than I am. LOL. Anyway, we are taking her there on Friday for a test run. If it works, we will give our current dcp notice and start at the new place.

The Name Game - A Meme

2007-02-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Although Leslie didn't tag me, I am playing anyway.

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Shawnie Leigh

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle): Shaizzle. Hmm, works for me.

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last): Schr. Yeah.

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal): Purple Cat. Not sure how that would keep me employed.

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on): Leigh Spice. I am thinking that sounds more like a stripper.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name): Chrshnel. Do I fight for good or evil?

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink): Purple Mocha. My secret super power is waking you up with purple chocolately goodness. LOL.

8. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, last letter of your moms middle name): Hrielah. Yeah, not even gonna try that one.

9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray): Vanilla Lace. Works for me.

10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name): Elizabeth Dale. Yep, should be able to disappear with that one.

I'm tagging Barb, Danielle, and Sharyn. I would tag Kristie, but she doesn't have a blog.

Congratulations to my SIL

2007-02-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

She got a promotion at work today. I am so happy for her. She has not gotten a raise in almost 5 years. Well today that ended. She was promoted to management and ended up with pay about 35% more than she was making before. She is pretty excited and I hope that it is the beginning of good things to happen for her.

TGIF

2007-02-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

This has been a horrible week. I am so glad that it is over.

The weekend shapes up to be a busy time. We are doing my mom and stepdad's birthday party tomorrow night. Chayleigh has earned another book, so we need to go to the bookstore. Toys R Us has their extra 50% off clearance clothing starting Sunday, so gotta do that. If the weather is nice on Sunday, I would like to also go to the zoo. We keep saying we are going to do it, but then never do. Supposedly it will be in the 50's which is nice zoo weather.

Oh and also tomorrow we have an interview with a new sitter. Not holding out hope that both DH and I will agree on her. Here's to hoping!

Diet Update

2007-01-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't lose as much as I wanted on SBD, but I did end up losing 9 lbs in two weeks. Now I enter into Phase 2 where I get to eat more foods. I am so glad. The best news is, I can buy premade lunches now and not have to worry about cooking or salads! Yippee. LOL.

Reward System

2007-01-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Is going GREAT. Chayleigh filled the jar on Tuesday and was able to go to the store and pick out a few new books. She was super excited. We started all over again and she is already a quarter or so on her way to a new book. She finally understands that good behavior gets her a ball and the bad behavior loses it. So glad that we tried it.

Our hairdresser fired Chayleigh

2007-01-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

She "J" asked that we not bring her back. "J" does not want to cut her hair anymore. The reason, Chayleigh cried when "J"cut her hair. Umm, she is two. Isn't that a normal reaction? Anyway, fine by me. Honestly, it is a bang cut. I should be able to handle that, right? Shit, yesterday sucked. LOL.

** ETA** "J" owns the business. She is an independent person whom DH has seen for 10 years or so. I don't like her and I won't let her do my hair. DH wanted Chayleigh to get hers done there because this woman used to teach at the beauty school, so she is good at what she does. Unfortunately, that doesn't include small children I guess.

Cherry Jello

2007-01-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am not allowed to make jello at home anymore. I was making it yesterday and dropped the bowl. It got red everywhere. Luckily the Magic Clean Eraser was able to get it off the counter/floor/dishwasher, but I did ruin one of my favorite shirts. DH was able to get the red out of my pants and the rug, but alas not my shirt. Oh well. Guess that is why they sell it ready made huh? LOL.

Yummy Recipe

2007-01-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

Even if you aren't doing SB, this is a yummy breakfast you can eat and Chayleigh LOVED it. Although I gave her regular syrup, I used sugar free (which only has 35 calories per 1/4 cup and imo doesn't taste that different).

Mock French Toast
1 c. part-skim ricotta
2 eggs
2 packets Splenda
2 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon (to taste)

Blend everything in blender. Spray frying pan with cooking spray. Cook each crepe over medium to low heat (it takes awhile to cook--don't touch them until they look sort of dry on top). They are very delicate and are sometimes difficult to flip. The trick is not to be too hesitant -- they bend a bit when you're trying to slip the spatula underneath, but just keep pushing and then flip quickly!

I made them small, so they didn't rip, but you can make them bigger if you want. One recipe is enough for you and your toddler. If you are wanting it for the whole family, I would double the recipe. Beware though cause your toddler is going to LOVE them. Chayleigh ate four and 6 strawberries.

Dieting

2007-01-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well I am joining in on the diet craze for 2007. I decided that by the time I am 30, I am going to weigh close to what I am supposed to weigh. Therefore, I have a bit to lose. I am joining my friend Barb on the South Beach Diet. I started on Sunday and as of today, I have lost about 5 lbs. I bought a Weight Watcher's scale from Costco on Tuesday and since Tuesday I have lost the weight, so I guess that is a good thing, right? Anyway, the scale is pretty neat. It has the ability to track four different users and sets mini goals for you. It is nice to see you getting closer and closer to the mini goal. I am about a third of the way there, so that is great. And the diet is getting easier. Bad thing is, this will be my first weekend on the diet and weekends are pretty hard since we tend to eat out a lot. The nice thing about South Beach though is that it is pretty easy to follow and the food isn't "that" bad.

Todays lunch was:
Mock Mashed potatoes (mashed cauliflower, cream and spray butter) - not to bad
Spaghetti Squash
Chicken tenders (not breaded) and a slice of swiss cheese melted on it.

Dessert is a cup of sugar free jello.

Yep, we get dessert. That is the best part. Oh and the fact that I am eating tons and tons of food and still dropping weight! Just wanted to do a little update about how my life is going.

Cute Outfit

2007-01-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

For you Barb. Sorry it took me so long to post the picture for you. Chayleigh loves her Minnie Mouse outfit.

Ball Reward System

2007-01-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the system that we have. You take them out of the silver bucket and put them into the plastic jar. Then she can play with the ones in the jar, but they have to be put away before bed.

When she fills up the jar, she will get to pick out a new book of her choice.

As you can see, she isn't doing as well with the system as she did the first day. She is only up to 11 balls out of like 20. Oh well. At least she is still positive.

Reward System

2007-01-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Taking the advice from my parenting board, DH and I decided to implement a Reward System with Chayleigh yesterday. It is a plastic jar (from the dollar store and has a lid) that she is able to put in bouncy balls. She gets one when she does something good or when we ask it. She will get two if she picks up her toys without asking. She loves it. However, she also learned yesterday that if she is bad, she loses the balls as well. When she throws a tantrum or hits one of us, she loses one. Yesterday she earned 14 balls. She went to bed with 8. All in all, I think it is pretty successful so far.

Hip Update

2007-01-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor yesterday and it was AWESOME. Her hip sockets are FINALLY starting to develop correctly. He said that both balls (the part that fit into the socket) are now the same size (which is a relief cause they weren't last time) and that both of her sockets are the same size. Her bad hip index is still a little high, but they are both within the normal range, so that was great news. He was very optimistic about it, which for Dr. Showalter that is uncommon. This is the first time I have left the office without crying because he said, "Although I won't guarantee there won't be another surgery, I am fairly confident that she won't need one". That was so great to hear. We are to have her continue to be the active kid she is and have her rechecked next January. He said that if her hip looks good next time, he thinks she is out of the woods. Yippee!!

Red Crayon

2007-01-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

And carpet don't mix. I got home last night and started picking up Chayleigh's toys and noticed that she had colored on our beige carpet with a red crayon. Being the Google Whore that I am, I immediately googled red crayon and carpet stain removal. It recommended using WD40 and then liquid dish detergent then rubbing with a towel until removed. Well note to self, don't improvise if you don't know what you are doing.

We didn't have WD40, so I used goof off. It got the stain out, but MAN the stench. So I used the liquid dish detergent. Well that got the smell out, but now I had liquid detergent in my carpet. Of course we don't have a steam cleaner or anything, but we do have a Rainbow.

I dumped huge cups of water on it and sucked it up with the Rainbow until it was no longer soapy. From start to finish, it took me about 90 minutes.

Good news is I got the stain out. Better news I got one hell of a work out. Bad news, while I was cleaning the carpet, Chayleigh attacked the kitchen vinyl with green and brown crayons. That I will leave to DH to clean.

It's National De-Lurking Week

2007-01-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was reminded of this when I went to Leslie's blog. I also stole the image from her cause it is cool and cause I can! I noticed that Alex and Sunita have it on their blogs as well.

So, if you are reading, please leave a comment. I want to know who is out there!

Could use some good thoughts

2007-01-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am taking Chayleigh in for her hip check. Tomorrow will be two years to the day that she got her cast on. The reason I am worried is cause the last two times we have gone in, there hasn't been much change in the deepness of the sockets. I am terrified that I am going to go in there tomorrow and he will tell me that we have to do another surgery. I know deep down that everything is fine, but it is still in the back of my mind. Anyway, if you have any extra good thoughts, would you please send them our way? It would be much appreciated.

Happy Birthday

2006-12-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to send out a very happy birthday wish to my dear friend Leslie. I hope that you had a wonderful day Sweetie and that your family was wonderful to you. I would hope that you got some good gifts as well, but not sure how they would be able to top your Christmas gift! LOL. In all seriousness though, love ya girl and Happy Birthday to You!

Jury Duty

2006-12-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

IS DONE! Woohoo. I made it through my month of on call status with only having to go once. Yay! So relieved knowing that I don't have to make that dreaded call anymore. Well at least for three years or until we move to another County. LOL.

Chayleigh and hotel entertainment

2006-12-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

She was totally facinated with the automatic door.

And the fish (I think there were 6 or so, but this was the best fish picture):

She refused to eat before she said hi and bye to them.

More hotel

2006-12-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Shots with the lobby Christmas tree:

Hotel

2006-12-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Portland for Christmas to spend with my dad and Grandpa. We stayed here. It was absolutely gorgeous!

The lobby:

The Elevators:

View looking down from our room:

Snow Day

2006-12-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

It snowed right before Christmas and DH took pictures of Chayleigh to show me since I was at work. She sure had a good time, but we didn't get a chance to go out and make a snowman cause we had too much Christmas stuff to do.

Cookie Decorating

2006-12-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

We decorated cookies tonight. Chayleigh went crazy with the sprinkles.

Strange Child

2006-12-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh got a baby bottle of candies today. My MIL decided that Chayleigh's baby needed a bottle, so she brought one filled with candy. She refuses to eat the yellow. Hey Leslie, do you think that Riley will want to be Chayleigh's friend? Since she doesn't like yellow, Riley won't have to fight her!

Great Desert

2006-12-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

I made the desert that Leslie posted about. It turned out great and it was super easy to make. I stopped by Dollar Tree and got the cups and bags and made up 6 of them last night. Oh make that 7 cause I had to eat one too. LOL!

The card that I made up with how to make the cake. It was too big to attach, so I just fold it in half and stick it in the cup.

Scrapbooking

2006-12-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well I decided that next year I am going to learn to scrapbook. I asked for scrapbooking stuff from my parents and my in-laws, so I am pretty excited. We did Christmas with the in-laws last night and I got a huge haul, so I am ready to go. Now if only I knew where to go to start. Anyone have any good websites I can check out to learn how to do it? I am excited, yet lazy at the same time. Now I have the books and the supplies, it is time to get started!

Christmas Card Etiquette

2006-12-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

If you receive a card from someone that you don't speak to anymore and took off your Christmas list because of it, do you send them one back or do you just ignore it and do nothing?

Santa

2006-12-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

We took Chayleigh to see Santa this weekend. She refused to go near him without Daddy. So, we got a picture of Santa, Chayleigh and Daddy. Oh well. At least we got a super big grin out of the deal.

Bragging Rights

2006-12-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

Today I went to pick Chayleigh up from daycare and she didn't see me at first. Then all of a sudden she looked up and was surprised, so she said, "Oh Hi Mommy". It was so cute. She went and grabbed her coat and pulled the hood off and said, "Oh no, I ruined it". I about died laughing. Not sure why she thought she ruined it, but I had her help me fix it and we went to get her milk from the fridge. She said, "Oh thanks Mama" when I handed her the milk and we started to leave. As we were leaving, the dc lady said, "Bye Beautiful" and she responded, "Bye Bootefal". Her vocabulary is just exploding. I was so impressed today I had to brag a bit.

Christmas Dress

2006-12-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a full view of Chayleigh's Christmas Dress. Oh and Sharyn after looking at it closer, I would agree that it is more burgundy than purple. LOL!

Craft Project

2006-12-11T23:06:00.000-07:00

We tried the craft project that Allison suggested. Here are our results. I think that Chayleigh did just as well as I did as I couldn't tell the difference at the end. She had a hard time not eating them as she was making them though. LOL!

Angel Tree

2006-12-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Every year we pick names off of the Angel tree at DH's work. It is like the Toys for Tots ones, but these kids pick toys and clothing items. This year DH picked out two 8 year old girls. Oh let me tell you, I had NO idea what to get them, but I think I ended up doing good.

The first girl asked for and got:
PJ's three pairs (yay for sales)
a clock radio that plays cd's
a watch

The other girl asked for and got:
a coat with gloves and a hat
some dolls
barbies and a playset.

Then for stocking stuffers I did the same for both girls:
chapstick (girly package of them)
a USA puzzle
a backpack (mini) full of cool erasers
some card games
and a package of rings/bracelets.

All in all I spent a little over $100 for both girls. Thought I did pretty good! Yay for the dollar store, which is where I got the stocking stuffers. LOL!

New Blogger

2006-12-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

I converted another one. Welcome to Bloggerland Sharyn!

Weird

2006-12-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

So, my mother in law called me on Tuesday to ask if they could babysit on Friday. Then wanted to know what we wanted for Christmas. So they are coming to visit with Chayleigh on Friday. Guess that it is true, speak of the Devil and it will call. Bwahahumbug (Just for you Allie).

Nevermind, she just called and cancelled. I am not allowing them to babysit anymore cause now I look like an idiot and beg my daycare to take her tomorrow even though I already told them to cancel it.

Chayleigh's Christmas Pictures

2006-12-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

We had Chayleigh's pictures taken on Saturday. The lady came to us and was awesome. Chayleigh doesn't like smiling for the camera, but the pictures still turned out great I thought! Best of all, for all 15 pictures she gave us (on a disk) she only charged us $40. Hell, I would have spent at least twice that if I would have known how awesome they were going to turn out!

Here are a few of my favorites:

The cutest thing

2006-12-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today Chayleigh burped and said, "Scuse Me Mama". And then did it again. It was great. We haven't really worked on excuse me, so I was impressed. She is good at saying please, thank you and you're welcome, but doesn't always do it right. She will say please right, but when it comes to thanks she says, "Thanks Mama, You're welcome" all at once. It is pretty cute.

When we went trick or treating, she would tell them "thanks, oh you're welcome" instead of trick or treat. Most people loved it and gave her extra for her good manners. LOL!

New Blog Template

2006-11-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Allison for my new blog look. I love it! Thanks so much!!

Monkey See Monkey Do

2006-11-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Leslie did a picture of her dd with pig tails, so I had to do one too. Thanks for the idea!

This is remarkable because normally she goes all wolverine on me and wails/flails/kicks and screams to avoid the comb and brush.

Yay

2006-11-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the 1st day of my Jury Duty month. Good news, all cases scheduled for tomorrow have been dismissed! Woohoo. That means I am free till Monday, which is great cause I have a lot of work to get done tomorrow. LOL!

Christmas Cards

2006-11-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, since I am getting ready to send out Christmas cards next week, if you want one, email me your address. Since I got my email added to the template (thanks H-Gal), you can just click the e-mail button and send it to me! I will take names until Monday, December 4. So if you want one, let me know!

Wow

2006-11-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Where has November gone? I can't believe that there are only 25 days left until Christmas. I still have no clue what to get Chayleigh. I haven't gotten our Christmas cards done either. We have a photographer coming to take some pictures on Saturday. I hope that they turn out good. If all goes well, I should be able to get our Christmas cards out next week.

Chayleigh is advancing so much. She pretty much talks in complete sentences now. Her favorite things to say are "Oh no" and "Where is ____". She loves to read her books and tonight was actually able to identify pink, green and red. I was SO happy. For some reason she has troubles with colors. Anyway, enough brag for now I guess. LOL!

What would you do?

2006-11-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my birthday was on the 18th. My in-law's didn't call, didn't send a card, NOTHING. I have given it a week and a half now and still nothing. I am PISSED. Am I wrong to feel this way? They have always gotten me a card/gift whatever at Thanksgiving. This year nothing. DH told me it is because I didn't remind them, and wouldn't let him remind them. They have known me for 7 years, why is it our responsibility to remind them?

They were supposed to call us on Thanksgiving to set up a time to meet over the weekend so that they could see Chayleigh. My FIL called on Wednesday and said that he wanted to meet on Friday, but we already had plans. I suggested Saturday, but he said he would talk to MIL and call us back on Thanksgiving, but didn't. My DH keeps telling me that if they want to see Chayleigh, they will call. I however, hate uncertainty. I don't feel as though it is up to us to not let them know her, however I don't want them to hurt her like they hurt me. Where do you draw the line? If it were you, what would you do? I know I am over reacting with this (gee, me over react?), but I guess that I have nothing better to do with my time.

A new funny

2006-11-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, I am one of "those" moms who yells their child's names when they are doing something wrong. So the other day, I yelled, "Chayleigh" and she looked at me and said, "Whhhaaaaattttt?" as she was walking towards me. It was so hilarious.

What American accent do you have?

2006-11-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Taken from Jeanne.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
North Central
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Changes are a brewin

2006-11-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

I was recently informed that one of my "friends" has been verbally attacking one of my best online buddies to another mutual friend, and on her blog. She is also saying horrible things about me, my dh, and our marital "issues" which is NONE of her business. This person is entitled to her opinions, however, I do not appreciate that she has to blab it all over the internet. This is not a person I wish to have as a friend anymore. I am tired of people who have nothing positive to say EVER. Therefore, I have made a new pact that if you cause me nothing but drama, I don't want to be your friend anymore.

End of rant.

Blowing bubbles with Daddy!

2006-11-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Chayleigh knows her name!

2006-11-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2006

2006-11-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

We started off the day with Chayleigh dressed in her "Candy Corn Queen" outfit. Chayleigh and DH's Dad LOVE candy corn, so they bought her that outfit.

Later that night, we went trick or treating in my mom's neighborhood and Chayleigh had a BLAST. She absolutely LOVED trick or treating. It took her a few houses to get the hang of it, then she was running up there with her cousins and yelling trick or treat like a pro. Of course since she was so cute, she got lots of extra candy too.

Playing with the flashlight:

Showing off her "prize" she raided from my mom's candy stash:

Posing with Mommy: