here's your random picture for the day. will was two months old in this picture. he was dancing to shakira's "hips don't lie". HA! oh my gosh, that was almost 7 months ago.

i just made $7.00 from craigslist! woo-hoo!

will can turn himself around in a sitting position now. still no crawling.

the classic "mad will" face

this is one of the many faces of will. he's cute even when he's mad.

i've come to love this face (only in very small doses, you understand - and if he's not hurt, of course).

he's not so into the swing as you can probably see. i think i'd be a little nervous on this swing too.

a time of mourning

i am mourning the loss of my favorite magazine - domino.
march 2009 will be there last issue.
i don't even have a subscription, but i'm really sad about this. it was such an inspiring, fun, happy magazine. and not very expensive.
the first one i ever bought was on my honeymoon. i guess that's another reason why it's special to me. haha.

domino - i hope you re-emerge when the economy gets better!

but, until then, there is the book - see picture!

he's a soprano - eek

he can't crawl, but he can do this

when i was seven weeks pregnant they did an ultrasound - will was the size of a grain of rice and we could see his heart beating on the computer screen.

i don't know what you believe, but i think everyone should at least know about the following so that you can act if you feel led -

there is the potential for a new bill to pass that would require doctors to perform abortions even if that goes against their religious beliefs. of course this would affect nurses involved in the procedures and pharmacists who would be required to give morning after pills. my brother is an OB and my dad is a hospital pharmacist so this is hitting close to home.
right now those in the medical profession are protected from this because of the Conscience Clause.

"The Conscience Clause was implemented by former President George W. Bush to give physicians and nurses the choice to act according to their conscience — to not participate in abortion procedures if it conflicts with their personal convictions." http://beheardproject.com/

this is from an email from my dad -

"If you see fit to add your name to a petition against this, please call 1-877-989-2255. You will talk to a real person at the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice). Just tell them that you would like to add your name to the petition that is concerning the conscious clause and that you are against what the president is trying to accomplish. They will ask you a few questions and probably ask for some money but contributing is not a requirement. The open period for public comment is 30 days and that time ends in about a week. So, if you are going to do anything, do it quickly.

Also, I have not looked into this, but there is a website called beheardproject.com for ages 15-30 to speak out against this also. So, if you qualify and feel led, you might want to express yourself on this website.

All of the above info is being gathered by the ACLJ, which has offices in Washington and Europe, and it is a bonafide link for any of us to support the sanctity of life among other issues. You can research the ACLJ at ACLJ.com."

President Obama - where are you leading us?

Food for thought - I once heard someone say that if God condones the immoral behavior of the USA then He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

I don't think God apologizes for anything.

steady diet of giggles

so, yesterday was a rainy day (and a day when will decided he didn't want to take full naps), so i resorted to baby einstein videos. while looking through my small collection of baby dvds and vhs, i realized something horrible.

i accidentally bought a barney tape!

what had happened was i had picked up a sesame street Kids Favorite Songs video at the thrift store for 50 cents along with Baby Shakespeare (which is pretty cool). turns out there was never any Kids Favorite Songs - it was Barney Safety!

okay, so i know a lot of kids out there love barney the dinosaur and i know he's really nice and all - but, i have always vowed that i would never let my children watch Barney - because I don't want to watch Barney.

let's face it - he's just too nice. a little creepy.

check this out -

studies conducted by Yale researchers Dorothy and Jerome Singer have confirmed that episodes actually contain a great deal of age-appropriate educational material, calling the program a "model of what preschool television should be."^[1]

One specific criticism is that

"his shows do not assist children in learning to deal with negative feelings and emotions. As one commentator puts it, the real danger from Barney is denial: the refusal to recognize the existence of unpleasant realities. For along with his steady diet of giggles and unconditional love, Barney offers our children a one-dimensional world where everyone must be happy and everything must be resolved right away."[

I agree with that last criticism. anybody want a free Barney Safety tape?

10 oz. and the letter q

will just had 3 T. of rice, some squash and a few spoonfuls of applesauce for dinner. plus 5 1/2 oz of milk. i put him to bed 30 minutes later and he cries and won't stop - this is unusual these days. so i go give him 2 1/2 more oz of milk. acts like he wants more. put him down thinking surely that was enough. he continues to cry very hard for awhile so i go back in there with 2 more oz. and some babyorajel. he downs the milk, is not crazy about the orajel, but finally begins to calm down. so after 10 oz of milk and his dinner he is finally asleep. surely he will sleep through the night tonight - we've had a few rough nights this week because of a new tooth.

on a different note. maybe you elementary school teachers can help me out with this one. does the lower case q not have a tail in handwriting anymore? is it just a circle with a straight line now, like a backwards p?

more than enough

What if you’re right?
And he was just another nice guy
What if you’re right?
What if it’s true?
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it’s true?

What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you’re wrong?
What if there’s more?
What if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?

song by nichole nordeman

ode to will

thank you, my will
you are a gift from God
you encourage me in so many ways
you've gotten me into reading again
you make me take walks in the park
you make me remember that it is important to eat my fruits and veggies
you make me listen to classical music because i heard it was good for you
you remind me how vital sleep is to every human's mood
you make me realize what bad posture i have when i see you sit up so nice and straight
you make me live on a routine
thank you my little love bug

ps. i still can't believe you have blue eyes

my little sweetheart - 8 months old!

coupon mom

i've recently rediscovered my love for coupons. i have a coupon organizer but sometimes i get really lazy and don't always file them right or just don't bother looking in there and forget about them. but, i caught a little bit of doctor phil - i think it was on monday - and they had a lady on there talking about how she cuts her grocery bill in half by using coupons. so, i was reminded of the power of coupons and now i'm on a mission - to see how low i can get our grocery bill and still live well.

the lady they had on there was frugalcouponmom. i went to her website and found out about The Coupon Clippers. has anyone else heard about this or tried it? i am so curious. i think i will try it next week before i go shopping. you think i'm a dork don't you? well, wait until you hear just how dorky/nerdy i've become about grocery shopping. you would be too, if you had to buy diapers and baby food and you and your husband were unemployed for several months.

a few months ago, i had just gotten back into making my weekly menus and doing my shopping list from that. let me tell you - this may sound crazy at first and so not fun, but it is so worth it! before i would always be thinking throughout the day - okay, what are we gonna have for dinner? what am i gonna do? but, now with the menu, half the work is already done. and i don't end up throwing a lot of food away that i forgot to use. that's just throwing away cash, my friends!!!

first, i look at my kroger ad and circle the things i need that are on sale. i plan my meals according to what i have and what's on sale for the most part. i make my grocery list in categories - produce first - dairy last. i pull out all of my coupons i'm going to use and put it with my grocery list. then i head for the store.

are you laughing now?

it seems highly anal, but i am so easily distracted, esp. in a store and this helps me tremendously. saves a lot of time too, and when you have an infant, time is PRECIOUS!

ready for the really nerdy part?

i now am putting together a spreadsheet of what grocery items i purchase most often and the best deals i can get them for per ounce or lb. or whatever. muhahahaha. does anybody else do this who is reading this? i would love to know - you would be my hero.

i hope this has not scared you, but rather inspired you to save money on your grocery bill. think of what you could do with the extra cash! not to mention, you are being more environmentally friendly, efficient, and a better steward of the money God has given you. yes, God gave you that paycheck, now be smart with it. :0)

go ye therefore and clip coupons!