The Apple's of my Eye -

It's back to school time and here is a picture of my little 2nd grader and a proud big brother!!! 

Just pictures, thats all!

Morgan & me at the dermatologist scheduling my surgery

I love when she snuggles in my neck and falls asleep

So sweet (nap time)

My gym - time to work out

Daddy & me just hanging out

Morgan personally tells you what she thinks about this 'eating cereal" stuff -

(Mute music below before play --- its a very cute video)

Sorry it is so dark, we had the lights dim and didn't think fast enough to turn them up when video taping her.  But you will totally get the idea and a giggle from it. 

Her first cereal -

Hallelujah.....

My little Morgan Paige ate cereal for the first time yesterday, but wait that is not the exciting part.  My little Morgan Paige SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT (from 9:00 pm - 7:00 am).  Yes she did!!!  I woke up around 6:00 am and looked at the clock, I liked to panicked.  Is she okay, while starring at the monitor trying to focus my eyes to see if I saw her breath. I was so proud of her. In fact I was so proud of her that I wanted to go in a wake her up, but I didn't I waited.  For the first time both me and Hunter were up before baby girl.  Around 7:00 am she starts wiggling around, I couldn't wait anymore so I go in there and she just starts smiling at mommy and I took a picture of the first morning of the first time she slept through the night. 

My other 'Rockstar"

Hunter attended a "Rockstar" theme birthday party Friday night.  It was a last minute invite from a friend of ours who could bring guest. So Hunter being the master of creation that he is, he quickly came up with a rockstar outfit.  And I have to be honest..... I think it totally rocked!!! He took a basic white shirt, cut the sleeves, drew a simple design on the front that said "rock on" and added a tie, spiked his hair and added some black eye-liner to his eyes.  

ROCKSTAR!!

 

My Escape -

I like Pina Coladas

Getting caught in the rain

And the feel of the ocean

And the taste of champagne

I like making love at midnight

In the dunes of the Cape

Today's Quote 

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.

Today's Quote 

When faced with a challenge, look for a way, not a way out.

How to Clip Your Baby's Nails

Step1

Buy a good-quality infant grooming set. Make sure your set includes infant-sized nail clippers and blunt edged scissors, as well as infant nail files.

Step2

Clip nails when your baby is in deep sleep when you can clip safely without your little one squirming around.

Step3

Depress the fingernail away from the skin. Apply slight pressure on the skin under the fingernail making the nail stick out.

Step4

Trim the nail in one motion along the curve of the finger. Cutting the nail straight across or with three short clips may leave sharp edges.

Step5

Check your baby's nails two to three times a week. Toe nails do not grow as quickly and need to be clipped maybe once a week, but your infant's fingernails will grow fast and need frequent clipping.

I also have learned that if I take her outside while she sits her the sling (harness), that a few things take place:

1.  She is entertained by the outside surroundings.  Morgan loves to be outside.

2.  The light is much brighter and I can clearly see her nails.  I also use the baby clippers with the magnifying glass attached to it. It really helps!!!

3.  I can walk around slowly and talk to her, relaxing her while I trim her nails. If your baby is like Morgan and a light sleeper, then clipping while she sleeps only wakes her up and makes for a cranky sleepy baby.  

I also learned to file her nails in the "buffing" motion after I trim them, just to add a little softness to those sharp edges or little corners you miss.  Use the soft side of an adult nail file such as the one in the picture.  

Happy Nail Trimming -

Sometimes I just miss the simple days:

Hanging out with my girls and doing a bunch of nothing!!!! 

This was at our 10-year High School Reunion (2 years ago October) 

Today's Quote 

You are my friend when you can guard my failure, challenge my thought and celebrate my success.

Is she looking more like mommy now? (should I say YET?)

Me (age 2), Morgan (4 months), Hunter (age 3) and Mark (age 2)

Is 'GREEN' my color?

Im so cool in my shades!!

I actually see me in these two pictures (above) and her hair is turning so blonde!!!

Doing yoga, and I found my toes! 

We all just wanna be a "Rockstar"

By the way, I am 17.2 lbs, 26 Long and my head is 41. I am 19 weeks old (almost 5 months).

(I know I need to find a new 'background' but this is the only place I have that provides that pretty natural light at the house)

What Makes a Really Great Babysitter?

As sweet as Mary Poppins, as firm as the indomitable ladies of "Nanny 911," as approachable and fun as grandma... How would a dream babysitter's personality profile read? We asked iVillagers, "What do you think makes a person a truly great babysitter?" Like a certain well-known nanny, your responses were "practically perfect in every way."?

Talent: A good sitter should bring all the love of a mommy, the patience of a saint... and the cooking skills of a five-star chef.

Trustworthiness: She'll follow and enforce the rules of the family — even if the kids complain about it.

Maturity: A good sitter has to be able to relate on the kids' level... and on a level with the adults.

Tolerance: A good sitter doesn't mind when the kids get messy and dirty.

Preparedness: A great babysitter will come ready with activities that will keep the children's interest.

Charm: Do your kids get excited when they hear the sitter is coming over? That's a good sign!

Attentiveness: You want someone who will engage the kids mentally and not just sit them in front of the TV — or worse, sit herself in front of the TV while the kids run around crazy.

Playfulness — within reason: She or he needs to be able to play with the kids (rather than just overseeing what the children are doing), but also know when enough is enough.

Focus: No, they don't need to be on your phone, and no, they don't need company... if they have visitors, they aren't spending time with your kids.

Thoughtfulness: Being willing to please the parents is a good trait for a babysitter to have! Our best babysitter so far not only put the kids to bed on time, but also cleaned up before we got home, which we really hadn't expected of her.

*Cleaning up before parents get home is a HOT topic.  Parents feel that when you babysit children age 3 years and up, and that can pretty much entertain themselves at times, have more time to clean up around the house after the kids, before parents get home.  This also goes for children 3 and under if the child still naps.  You can clean while the child sleeps. 

I am hearing more and more through word of mouth about what parents are wanting, so if you want to be called back and referred out, be sure to do the babysitters check list above!!!

Happy Babysitting!

PS:  Babysitters should take a CPR class. 

Today's Quote 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

My New Toys

I love her smile in her bumbo chair.  Click on pictures to zoom in and check out her pretty smile.

My new playmat and bumbo chair

My new mirror

My new jumper/swing

Mama's (Girls) Night Out -

Me, Susan and Val went out for some karaoke Friday night.  

Fame finds four-eared feline

The owners of Yoda — a cat with four ears — could use a couple of extra hands to answer their telephones.

Ted and Valerie Rock said they've been inundated with television offers and media inquiries since their son posted a photo of their smoke-colored cat on a Web site. That turned the four-eared feline from a suburban animal oddity into an instant Internet celebrity.

The Rocks, from the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, have fielded calls from “Good Morning America,” “Fox News” and “The Tyra Banks Show.” The cat's photo has graced the London Guardian and a British tabloid. The Daily Mail said if Batman had a cat, it would be Yoda.

“It's amazing,” Ted Rock said. “For the past few days, our phone has just been ringing off the hook.”

Yoda's extra ears give him a hint of a devilish appearance. The Rocks said they found him in 2006 while watching a Chicago Bears game at a Blue Island bar.

Some in the bar were passing the then-eight-week old kitten around, making fun of his extra set of ears, mocking his appearance and calling him names such as “Devil Cat” and “Beelzebub.”

It wasn't quite love at first sight, but the Rocks felt sorry for the cat and offered to adopt the kitten from the bar's owner, who kept the animal caged atop the bar for his customers' amusement.

The price of a mom: $138,095

A new report assigns a salary to a stay-at-home mother, based on the jobs she does in a normal week.

What's a mom worth?

According to one new report, $138,095 a year.

That's the figure in a report by Salary.com, which calculates the wages that would have been paid a stay-at-home mom in 2007 if she were compensated for all the elements of her "job." That total is up 3% from 2006's salary of $134,121.

Moms who have jobs outside the house would earn another $85,939 for their mothering work, beyond what they bring home in existing salary.

The job descriptions that Salary.com used to determine a mom's salary includes 10 jobs that moms do on an average day: housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO and psychologist.

Plenty of overtime:

In calculating a mom's wages, Salary.com looked at the "overtime" that both working and stay-at-home moms put in each week.

"Mom works multiple jobs and rarely gets a break from the action, working an average of 52 hours of overtime," said Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com, in a statement.

According to the Salary.com survey, stay-at-home moms work a 92-hour week, with more than half the workweek spent in overtime.

Working moms, meanwhile, logged more than nine hours of "overtime," with an average 49-hour "mom" work week -- on top of their full-time paying jobs.

For the Salary.com survey, more than 40,000 moms quantified their hours per job description; Salary.com benchmarked the median salaries for each job to the national median salary for each position as reported by employers.

The final salary was calculated by weighting the salaries and hours worked in each role.

A little update:

So tomorrow is the first day of 2nd-Grade!!!!  Yeap it is here!!!  Hunter's new teacher is Mrs. or (Ms.) Dusky.  Although Hunter is excited, he was very disappointed to learn that his crush Madison has been moved to another school.  

This weekend Hunter had his first "Travel Team" (Florida Jr. Panthers -Mites) tournament.  I was so proud of him.  He and his team worked really hard and skated with heart.  They lost the first game to an older team (and bigger players).  Then won the next game on Saturday.  Then Today they were down 5-0, came back in over-time and still lost, but lost 10-9.  Go Jr. Panthers!!!

Tomorrow Morgan will start her first day of cereal!!!  

She is rolling over like she is a mouse in a wheel.  Well actually not really a good example, for she rolls over on to her tummy but she has yet to roll back over onto her back.  However she has the roll over onto the tummy like a cat falling off of something and landing on its feet.  Does that give a good vision?  LOL (flip-flip-flip)

Morgan got a bunch of new things this weekend.  Mommy ordered her a play-mat, one of those that are like foam and are wide enough to play on.  This way she can roll and play and not worry about her hitting her head on our hard marble.

I also got her a jumper/swing. One of those that you hang from the door frame.  Yea she totally loves it.  

Then I also got her a exersaucer, but one with a little bounce support where her feet are.  It hasn't gotten her yet but should be here this week.  She is getting so active, we are getting into the entertainment stage....which as any parent knows starts about now and doesn't end for a very long time.  LOL 

By the way as for Morgan and her "separation anxiety" she was experiencing for those two weeks.  Totally gone!!! Yea, it is pretty crazy, but she is fine with people again now. She will let others feed her again now.  I am so relieved because from what I was told by experts and also by reading online, this is something that could have been a very long process to grow out of.  Wow, am I lucky!!!

So for the last 2 weeks weeks Morgan has gone into the child-care building at church so I can finally sit up near the front during service and not in the far back in the baby sound proof room. 

Morgan also ever night for the last week has been sleeping in her big crib in her own room.  Yeap, she has been doing great in there and only waking up still about once during the evenings, but that may start to change this week once we get her eating cereal.  I see sleep in my future!!!!  Yea!!! 

I go on Thursday to meet with a specialist in Mohs Skin Cancer Surgery.  I was referred to him to do my surgery on my face by the specialist that did Mark's surgery back in November.  

Oh almost forgot. I had a wonderful time in AZ with the family and working on the Kawasaki Jet Ski Photo Shoot.  It was only 200 degrees (okay so it was 115) but it felt like you walked into an open oven at 425 degrees it was that hot.  I have pictures to post, but this past week just sort of snuck on by and this week is already looking busy, but I will try to get them up.  

I think that is it, as least that is where we are today!!!!

My Jr. Panther had his first tournament this weekend

Hunter Brackett #10

Just Because-