Free Cold Stone

I like all things free. Yesterday we got free ice cream at Cold Stone. They were supporting the Make A Wish foundation to which we happily donated.

After donating, we colored our stars which were being placed on the walls of the store. Richard drew a pretty flower. Isn't that cute?

Yummy ice cream! And even yummier because it was FREE!

Musical Baby

Gabriel is so musical. In fact, he'll be coming out with his first album next month. Here's a sneak preview.

How smart are you?

My father-in-law, Bob, sent me this link. It's a visual vocabulary test. It flashes pictures and you have to pick the correct word to describe the image. I took it once, and got an average score. I took it a second time and got below average. Ugh! Although I must say, I got the hard architecture question right, but not the easier question. Guess I don't have a good vocabulary, but I know my math and engineering!

See how smart you are, and let me know. By the way, Bob's score was 2720!
Name That Thing

Lucky Me

I have recently had some luck winning things. I like to enter sweepstakes and giveaways from various places. Richard keeps hoping we'll win the HGTV dream home.

What I have won in the past 6 months:
-$15 gift card to Kohl's
-$25 to use on personalized invitations or cards
-24 volume series on Great Moments in American History - written in short story format for young kids

-baby blue crocs for kids

-$10 Amazon gift card
-$8 off at Albertsons

How to Work Out with a Baby

I'm no longer doing the Insanity work out. Go figure. Richard still works out before coming home, but it was too much for me to juggle. I had to feed and change the baby, put the baby in the car and drive to work, then hope he stayed content while we worked out. I often ended up on the floor with him instead of working out.

So now here's my new work out routine. Feel free to steal it if you wish.

Jog with baby
- This must be done in the morning immediately after baby is fed and changed. Make sure to put sun screen on baby and/or jog in directions where the sun won't shine in his face.
- Towards the end of the run, when baby looks sleepy from all the jiggling of the stroller, start talking and making funny faces. Waving of the arms, blowing bubbles and loud siren noises especially help to keep baby entertained. People may think you're crazy, but mommies are aloud some slack, right?
- It is especially helpful to run errands while you're jogging. I often end a run at the grocery store, Rite Aid, the salvation army drop-off, etc. People try to get rid of you quickly when you're sweaty and breathing hard, so you can often get things done faster!

Sit-ups
- Lie on the ground. Place baby on stomach and sit up toward him giving him a kiss at the top of your sit-up.
- When baby gets tired of that, lie him on your shins as they're horizontal in the air and continue with sit-ups.
- Have a rag handy for the slobber and spit up that you will get on your face.

Push-ups
- Lie baby his back on the ground, and do push-ups right over him. Give him a kiss each time you reach him.
- If baby kicks his legs into your stomach, this gives you an ab workout at the same time!

Lunges
- Let baby play of the floor of his room. Do lunges immediately outside the room so that you pass the door often. Each time you pass the door, make funny faces and loud noises to keep the baby entertained.

Squats
- Hold baby in your arms, and squat until the baby's legs touch the floor. Sing a silly song and bounce as you're going up and down. Having a mirror in front of you is good, as the baby can laugh at how funny you look doing this.

By now it's time for the baby's nap. Change his diaper (again), read him a book, and put him down. After all this is done, you can shower and get ready for the day. When you're done getting ready, the day will be half-way done, and you will have to squeeze in all your other activities/errands before the baby's second nap.

I try to do this 4 days a week. So far, so good!

Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday Cake

I recently made a 1st birthday cake for our friend's little boy, Liam. It was a Hungry Caterpillar themed party, so I made the matching cake. I also made a smash cake for Liam to match.

Homemade HDTV Antenna

I've had an HDTV for over 4 yrs, but never bothered spending the monthly fee with the cable company to have HDTV stations.  And now with Gabriel, we don't watch much TV.  But with the NFL season starting, I thought I'd try out this homemade HDTV antenna. Cardboard, duct tape, aluminum foil, staples, a 75 to 300 ohm matching transformer, and glue... I could do this.  After all, I do have a degree in Electrical Engineering.  I wasn't going for pretty (as you can see in the picture), just wanted to see if the antenna would work.  It works fantastic!!  I get all the local stations in HD (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) along with a number of others.  Now, do I make another one that is pretty?  Sarah probably doesn't want this cardboard box sitting next to the TV.

More Gabe and Tabe (I just can't show them off enough)

Every kid needs embarrassing photos, right? Here are Gabe and Tabe squeezed into a pink bathtub.

Me holding the babies.

Play time. This is one of the best toys. It helps babies to sit up, by giving them something to focus on.

9/11 - Thanking our Protectors

It's hard for me to imagine it's been 10 years since 9/11. I remember exactly what I was doing. I was getting help from my high school calculus teacher (yes I was still in high school). The TV in our classroom was playing the live scene of the towers, and we stopped and stared as they came crashing down. I saved the newspapers and TIME magazine the following day so that I can show my children some day when they are learning about what happened.

Each year since the 9/11 attacks, our church congregation writes thank you cards and the kids color pictures for the men and women who protect us. This year, our family volunteered to deliver them to a local fire station. We picked up some cookies on the way, and drove over to deliver the goodies. The firemen were very happy to receive a gift and especially the cookies. They also told us to bring Gabriel back when he's a couple years older to show him the station and the trucks. That we will definitely do!

To all those who protect us from harm - Thank You!

Family Photos

Cloth Diaper Photos - So Cute!

Double Stroller and other Gabe and Tabe times

I love my double stroller. When Tabor was visiting, he and Gabriel got to ride in it together.

Gabriel seemed to enjoy pulling on Tabor's ear.

Hey, those are my pajamas! Get your own!

We love the beach!

Gabriel still loves Tabor's ear.

Gabriel races Tabor

What do you get when you combine two teenage boys, HEMI engines, and a red light? Answer: Smoke and tire tracks. Well, we have two babies learning to crawl and a book about belly buttons. Ready, set, go!!