Tuesday, December 30, 2008

binky diaries:day three

Yesterday went SO well!! I am babysitting Brinnon and Samantha this week and Kason has been loving the playmates. He is doing way better with Samantha than i thought. When i watch Oliver im always afraid to let him play on the ground because well Kason is a curious child and he likes to touch the littles ones.. well he pretty much ignored her all yesterday which is good! yay.
onto the binkies.
Kason has been without Binkies since Saturday and doing fantastic. He went down for his nap and bedtime great! He didnt take his afternoon nap yesterday and i think it was because Brinnon and Samantha is here and wanted to play so we will see about that, but he is doing great. I have noticed though that without the binkies he is alot more talkative and emotional lol. he is starting tantrums now which is not tolerated here so hopefully that will stop sooner than later! lol normal toddler stuff though.
well i will have pictures up eventually, christmas went well but we are again without our computer so we will see...
anywho have a great day!

Monday, December 29, 2008

binky diaries:day two

5 minutes after my last post Kason starting coughing (we have bad colds) and it woke him up. he cried for about 10 minutes. i went and calmed him down and then he cried about 10 more minutes and then fell asleep! slept for a long time then woke up with gas pains, poor kid has been having a few issues with #2 again... after some meds and lovin he went right back down and slept until morning!
So yesterday was day two, also it was church which ment Kason needed to behave and be quiet. Yeah we usually end up in the foyer anway and let him play out there because he hardly ever lasts in the chappel. Well he did yesterday! Logan had to work, which is normal, so off Kason and I went and i packed our bag with books and quiet toys to keep him happy. It worked for a bit, then he totally had a great time "reading" the hymn book and he had a moment towards the end, but other than that he did wonderful! we did go home early because church is in the middle of his naptime and he never can last more than about 1.5 hours so its expected. only 3 months until he can go into nursery!!
we got home and he ate lunch and i put him down for nap. He cried for maybe five minutes and then he slept for 4 hours!!!
he played really well after that and ate alot of dinner which is always good! he went down to bed perfectly too!
so far we are doing great and going cold turkey on this thing has been WAY better than expected!
bring on day three!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

the binky diaries: day one

So today is the day we took the binky away.
Logan and I decided a bit after Kason was born that we didnt want him to have the binky forever. It always bugged us to see 3 and 4 year old running around with a binky in their mouth. So we said that we would take it away after he turned one and he was off the bottle first. Well he wiened off the bottle in a day and had no problems and did all this at 11 months! so we waited until the holidays were over so we could take the binky away on a normal schedule and not one that was packed with shopping, visiting family, short naps, going to bed late etc. etc. pretty much everything entails when you have a 1 year old.
So Christmas is over and away it went. I rounded them all up and stuck them up high and out of sight. Our first intention was to give it to him only at bed time and nap time for awhile then take it away at nap and bed time.. well today we went shopping... he was okay...
On the way there he dropped a toy on the floor of the car and started to scream for it (yeah we are working on the talking too lol) and usually he will stop screaming after a few seconds and stick in his binky.. well no binky.. so after a few minutes he stopped and looked outside and was fine for the rest of the time.
While at the store he got tired of toys and it was his nap time so he was extra cranky.. we cut that trip short and he cried in the car for about 1o minutes and fell asleep.. thats when i decided cold turkey is our way through this.. so no more binkies! not for naps or bedtime...
we got home and i put him in his crib... he usually will fall back asleep no problems well this time he cried for 35 minutes then stopped and then would start up again for like 10 minutes then be quiet again for about 20 then do it again.. this lasted 2 hours.. i turned the monitor all the way down until their was no volumn but i could see the lights turn on when he cried.
the rest of the day was fine.. he was tired but not horriable. Adam and Carrie went out on a date so i had Brinnon and Samantha and i was fearing his bedtime because i thought he would pull what he did at nap...
NOPE! he cried for 5 minutes.. like screaming cry but then stopped and is alseep! YAY!!! that went WAY better than expected! so hopefully he will forget his faithful friend and we will hear more talking and smiles with out the plug in! :)
wish us luck!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

grateful

for my mom.
its snowing
the roads are horriable
my regular laundry day at my moms has past
my clothes are piled up
and my mom tells me to drop them off before the roads get bad and she would do them
i love my mom
THANK YOU!

still alive

barely.
seriously today has been better but this stinkin cold Kason and I got has been kicking out butts. its horriable and i feel so bad for Kason because if i feel this bad i could only imagine how bad he hurts! its hard to breathe, walk, move, pretty much anything but lay on the couch and watch movies.
Also our poor computer got sick and pretty much died on us. My brother n law who is amazing at computers is checking it all out for us (thanks eric we owe you big time) and hopefully it will be okay and we will be getting that back eventually but in the meantime my dad is letting us use his laptop. so i wont be on here too much, especially with Christmas around the corner and getting things set up still and yeah our poor christmas tree that sitting outside our front door (long story but it envolves snow, no tree stand, more snow, and procrastination) so we are hoping to get that all set up and finished soon. Luckily i wrapped all but a couple presents on the first of december so we are finished in that department!
oOOoOo! we got SNOW yeah and a good ammount too! about 5 inches today and we are expecting much more tomorrow as well! i am excited about it! Kason walked in it today, well kinda. i put him down and he stood there and then i made him walk which i dont think he was too pleased about.. oh well :) im the mommy! lol
well its late and we are headed off to bed. see ya

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

need a few ideas?

Okay so this Christmas Logan and I are on a tight budget, as most people are. we both work part time, and for the month of December i'm not working.. so we are really tight this Christmas. Thats why i have been searching for ideas for inexpensive or no-cost decorations. We have some from past years, but not a whole lot. so i thought i would share here some of my findings :)
have a great day!
So this is a candy cane vase. Its candy canes with the tops cut off hot glued to a can, large soup can, cheap vase etc. etc. the directions are below. I think i will be doing this as soon as i can make my way to the store to get candy canes!
THE CANDY CANE VASE
1. Cut the top of candy canes to remove the hooked portion. (An angled cut will give you a more finished look.) Hot glue approximately 25–50 one-ounce candy canes around the outside of an inexpensive cylinder (like a coffee can) or square-shaped container until the outside is completely covered.
2. Tie a wide satin ribbon around the decorated container. Secure with a dot of glue if needed.
3. Soak blocks of floral foam in water until they are completely saturated. Place the blocks in the container, trimming them to fit.
4. Starting at the center, insert stems of carnations, roses, or tulips, keeping the flower heads at the same level to create a tightly packed mound. Enjoy your festive centerpiece!

Planning a dinner party? Look how festive those small branches look underneath the mug? this is way easy and cheap, especially if you live in the northwest and those type of trees are right outside!
Super fun and easy center piece!! You can get candle sticks at the local second hand store and just put those simple ornaments on top!

here are some more i found- no pictures though-
  • Make simple bows from Christmas print ribbon and pin them to your curtains.
  • Hang a collection of Christmas stockings on your mantle, a shelf or the wall (even if you don't stuff them). The more the merrier when it comes to nice christmas decorations.
  • Revisit your childhood. Cut snowflakes from white paper and hang them in all of your windows. ( i want to do this but from my ceiling with fishing line)
  • Buy a clear plastic shower curtain. Use a hot glue gun to attach Christmas decorations to the outside of the curtain. Don't use breakable ornaments - instead, try small wooden or plastic ornaments (remove any hooks), bows, garland, etc.
  • Use red and green 3-dimensional fabric paints to trace simple Christmas patterns (like stars, bells, Santas, stockings, etc.) on a white tablecloth.
  • Tie a red ribbon around a tall, slim drinking glass. Fill the glass with candy canes and display on a shelf or side table.
  • Purchase plain green or red place mats and attach Christmas ribbons, bows or small wooden ornaments with a hot glue gun.
  • For quick ornaments, hang Christmas cookie cutters with ribbon. Hang them on your tree or in a window so other people can enjoy your christmas decorations.
  • Decorate plain red, white, green or gold candles with 3-dimensional fabric paint. Draw stars, bells, angels, snowmen, etc. If you make a mistake, let the paint dry and peal it off, then start again.
  • Wrap indoor Christmas lights around a railing or banister. Secure periodically with tape. Be careful to tape down the electrical cord so that no one trips over it. (i think i will be doing this too..tonight!)
  • Wrap an assortment of medium to large sized boxes with Christmas wrap. Attach ribbons and/or bows. Pile the boxes in a corner from floor to ceiling. (how cool would that be? too bad Kason would distroy in minutes)
  • Sew scraps of Christmas print fabric into a patchwork tablecloth. Simply cut your fabric into square pieces and stitch together. Hem the entire cloth. Sew ribbon the edges, if you like. Make smaller cloths to cover end tables, night tables, TV trays, shelving, etc.
  • Cover an end table or a shelf with white paper. Arrange cut evergreen boughs on to cover the table top. Place tall tapered candles in glass candleholders here and there on the table top. Before lighting candles, be sure that the greenery is not close enough to catch fire.
  • Use pliers to bend coat hangers into a simple wire-frame tree shape. Wrap a string of outdoor Christmas light around the frame, attaching with electrical tape or duct tape. Stick the decoration in a flower bed or on your front lawn
  • Wrap your doors in Christmas wrapping paper and attach large bows make from fabric or purchased at your local craft store. ( i wanna do this too)
  • String a ribbon from one end of a wall to another. Attach the ribbon to the wall (at each corner) with thumbtacks. Clip Christmas cards to the ribbon with clothes pins. If the ribbon is too long, the weight of the cards will pull it off the wall, so tack it here and there with more thumbtacks.
  • Make basic sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. Before baking, make a hole toward the top of each cookie using a straw. Bake and cool. String a ribbon through each cookie and hang them on your Christmas tree. ( you could even dye the cookie dough)
  • Purchase a large glass plate. Paint the underside of the plate with gold craft paint. Dry. Place the plate on a table and fill with several white or off-white pillar candles of varying sizes.
  • String popcorn, cranberries, cereal, beads, etc. and hang the garlands everywhere. ( we do popcorn and i need to again... in Utah a mouse got ours!)
  • Add a few drops of food coloring to white glue. Put the glue into a squeeze bottle or icing piping bag. Draw simple Christmas star outlines on waxed paper. Pipe glue onto the paper, following your drawn outlines. Dry. Peel glue ornaments off of the waxed paper and hang in windows with thread or ribbon.
  • Twist garland or popcorn strings around railings or banisters and secure here and there with tape.
  • Replace your fish tank background mural with a piece of Christmas wrapping paper or a collage made out of pictures cut from Christmas cards.
  • Using a glue gun, glue candy canes, side-by-side (standing on end with their hooks at the top) to the outside of a terra cotta pot. Tie a red ribbon around the pot. Place a small poinsettia inside the pot or fill the pot with wrapped candy.
for more ideas you can google or go to this link http://www.allthingschristmas.com/decoration-ideas.php
there are 101 ideas!
hope this helps. Im off to create something before Kason wakes up and we go to my moms to do Laundry... i think we have old candy canes from last year somewhere... off to find!

Monday, December 08, 2008

I gave birth to a monkey boy

Yeah you read that right. Kason is a monkey. Full blown (not as hairy though) monkey! He quickly learned to climb the stairs at a young age and is now a pro at it. He loves to go to gym class and climb the soft stairs, tunnels, blocks etc. they have there as well as at Charlie's Safari. He loves the playground too. Well it should be no surprise to us that if we leave a box in the living room he would find a way to climb in. Infact he has also learned to climb from the extra toddler carseat we have in the living room unto the chair and look out the window (no worries he is always watched when doing this) He loves to climb in the the big round chair we have too and try to play with Dannon. (she thinks its her chair and shes the boss- yeah right girl!) lolKason also likes to find his baby monitor and play with it. He uses it as a phone and holds it up to his ear and gabbers away. Its pretty funny and cute. The picture above is his "mommy is it okay i have this face"mmMMmMmmm.. tasty!
Here are the curtians i made with some help from my mom! :) thanks mom!
i loved this fabric the moment i saw it and knew i had to make curtians from it.Kason met Santa!! Costco had a family and friends night on saturday where they opened their doors for family members and friends and the community too i think? anywho... they had Santa there and instead of samples they were passing out free pizza slices!! they also had a scavenger hunt and prizes.. it was alot of fun :)
Sunday night was Logan's work Christmas Party and it was really fun. It was black tie, but in the eyes of Costco black tie ment dress up nice. So i wore my really nice black dress (first time!) and curled my hair all pretty (i never took pics!! lol) and dropped Kason off with Adam and Carrie and off we went and had a great time. We had dinner and danced and laughed at the drunks! lol They had alot of prizes to win but we didnt win any!! so sad! oh well it was nice to get out and have fun... could not remember the last time logan and I slow danced!! yikes! i miss that and i want to dance more! in the rain. in the streets. logan wont let me lol. wonder why? :)
have a great night everyone!!

Friday, December 05, 2008

about time...

Yeah i know it has been a really really really LONG time!
Alot has happened, and luckily i have taken some pictures! bear with me here, im too busy and tired to proof them all or resize them.. just straight from the camera today!
I like us to get out and to the library often, Kason loves books. He loves to sit down and strum through the pages or eat them... he likes to eat them alot. lol here is Kason hamming it up at the library. he loves getting SUPER close to the camera and open his mouth HUGE like he's eating it lol.
At one of my baby showers Kason got this Thomas the Train toy. Until now he's been to small for it and i had it up in his closet. I finally grabbed it and brought it down and he has loved it ever since!
sorry this picture is blurry but still cute!
Our ward had a fall festival and As activity day leader i had to be there with my girls helping out in the booths we set up and ran. Logan brought Kason over after it started and he enjoyed it alot. He ate cookies and "played" games.
This is Kason as the "Ninja Shepard" lol! At the fall festival they had the kids dress up as characters in the manger scene for our christmas party in a couple weeks. They didn't want to mess up Kason's fohawk so they just tied a strip of fabric around his forehead.. it was super cute!
Kason's walking skills are outstanding and now he pretty much runs everywhere now and is brave and will walk away from us (we watch him no worries!) he usually turns back to see if we are watching.
After the carnival Kason got a good nap in and it wasn't raining so we met up with my friend Brooke and her daughter Breanna and went to a local park. It was getting dark but it wasn't freezing out or anything so we hurried up and got there so the kids could play
see it wasnt TOO dark or anything.. i hate how early it gets now..
And this is proof i have a friend! this is Brooke! see she is real!
Kason and Breanna going down the slide.. love kason's style!
Hello there kiddos!
Kason kept putting his face between the bars and laughing!
This boy loves to climb!
HELLO KASON!
He loves the swirly slide, but in the bend he would end up flipping and rolling down so Brooke would have to help (notice the hands)
When Kason gets tired he will lay down whever he is and rub his head into a blanket, pillow, our legs etc. etc.Kason just chillin on the blanket.
I love his big eyes!
I was looking through Craiglist one day and i found these for 5 bucks! and i offered 3 and she said YES! how cute? they are pretty much new hardly worn, or at least it sure doesn't look at way. They are a bit big, but he loves to play with them and when he stomps around in them its so funny and cute!Cute huh! foggie boots!
And finally i got to go see TWILIGHT!! and i have to say it was GOOD! i liked it alot, a few things bugged me in it, but they were minor.
This is just part of the group. In the picture from left to right (top row) Grandma Della, Aunt Jean, Amy, Mom, Me (bottom row) Aunt Erlean, Aunt Patty. We had 12 people in our group- missing from the picture is my aunt Cathy and her SIL Holly, My cousin Tommie (she took the picture), Carrie, and Logan! yes he went and he liked it too!
My mom and her girls!
Thanks giving was great. Logan has always played Turkey bowl (football) in Shelton since he was like 12? anywho so we headed on out to shelton to play (kason and i watched)
Kason all already to go! Logan had fun. He scored 4 touchdowns and Kason took a nap! I got to read more of book so it was all very wonderful! We then went to my Grandpa and Grandma McGuire's and had a yummy dinner and enjoyed being with family. Logan and eric checking out the black friday ads. It wasn't too long until we had a line of us going through the ads... the papers were passed from eric through about 7 people to matthew!
This is Maegan as you all know, my adorable sweet niece!
Maegan and Kason. Too bad i didn't take a picture of his cute outfit.. i will soon! :)
I have a few pictures of my grandma but she would kill me if i posted them, she was lying on the ground while maegan gave her a back rub.
Logan and I did the crazy up at 4:30am shopping on Black Friday. We scored though. And im happy to say all is packed and already done for christmas! go me!!
So its happened. Kason has figured out how to open the gate.. well just one. the Wooden Pressure gate. He figured out how to push his knee up to pop it up, then climb over it. He then did the following:
He has also gotten into taking off his socks.. i find them everywhere!
I must have only gotten video of it, but he has soda cans everywhere! and was trying to drink out of each of them! it was pretty funny and cute. i will upload video soon.How cute is he! He has been more and more personality these days.. didnt think he could get more! he is STUBBORN and im not surprised you all know me and how stubborn i am (yes i admit it) and logan is stubborn too.. so our kids are doomed! lol He is usually happy and loved to explore and get into everything!This is his new smile.. it has to be a McGee thing because i have pictures of Logan from when he was really little and he was doing that same smile, and there are pictures of his cousins doing it too!
If you look in the background of the last picture you can see my lastest finished project. I bought the fabric at Ikea back in March and FINALLY made them!! they are fun and funky tree curtians!! :) yay! i love them.
well thats all for now.. i will have more up soon!