The Skinny on the Skimmy's

Am I???

2010-03-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

I think I'm starting to feel kicks!!!! I'm 15w2d. I felt my first real kick with Charlie at 16w3d.

I can't wait. It will feel more real. We will be finding out at 18weeks what this little bug is. A boy or a girl?? Thoughts?

Happy Birthday Dan! He's the big 3-0! I think he's as awesome as the day I met him. I can even say I love him more and more everyday!

I'm a lucky woman.

P.S. Charlie is good and says hi to all you followers. LOL

Charlie's Words

2010-03-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

I figured that it would be a great time to make a list of the words Charlie has in his vocabulary right now. Now some of these only I know what they mean- but they still count!

Ball
momma
mommy
dada
Pop E
shoe
backback
apple (Boppy)
cheese
water
juice
chocolate
sucker
Go Go
Bye
Hi
No No
car
Choo Choo
more
please
ut oh

Charlie also has all of his animals down- cat, dog, snake, monster, devil, monkey, lion, bear, seal, duck, sheep, pig, horse, and I'm sure there are a few more.

He knows his arms, nose, eyes, ears, throat, legs, toes, belly button, tummy, head, hair, fingers, back and butt.

This is such a fun age and it's amazing the things he remembers and knows!

So Many Updates

2010-02-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's been really hard not to talk about what has REALLY been going on with the Skimmy's so I took a little break. WE ARE PREGNANT! I'm 11w4d.

For those of you that don't know- Dan and I have suffered 3 miscarriages while trying to complete our family over the last 3 years. 2 were before Charlie and one was after. We thought we had figured out what my issues were but unfortunately the doctor wasn't able to answer any questions with our last miscarriage. For anyone that hasn't gone through them- they are extremely heartbreaking. Not only because you lose that child, but because you are emotionally in pain along with physically. It is also a very lonely period of time as so many ignore you instead of saying that they don't know what to say. These are children I have lost. I will always think of them and what "could have been." Yes, I can function day to day but that doesn't mean I forget. It's also terrifying not knowing why your body is causing this to happen. The only reason we have come up with is: late and weak ovulation with poor lining.

Anyway... I can and probably will touch more on our struggles later. But I need to keep writing or this post will be 10 pages long.

I have been feeling pretty good. Not lots of energy and because of my past problems I am suppose to take it easy. No exercise, no heavy lifting, and I'm on a medicine that should help me stay pregnant. I am not even allowed to walk around the block at this point. Things should lighten up in the next few weeks. A few headaches and a little upset tummy... but nothing I'll complain about! It's all very much wanted!

Last Friday the Farmington Area Mom's Club put on an event at Pump it Up. It's basically an indoor bounce house. It's a lot of fun and Charlie was thrilled to be there and go down the slide. He was even more excited when Dan walked in! Daddy was there on his lunch break to play with him! It was a fun day until after dinner Dan complained of a headache and a stomach ache. I gave him some Tylenol and some Pepto and let him be. We went to bed and at 3:30am I heard Charlie crying. I went in his room to find that he had vomited all over his bed. Poor thing!!!! I changed him and woke Dan up to help with the bedding but Charlie was wide awake. We headed to the couch to cuddle and watch Brother Bear (his favorite movie right now) but he kept getting sick. Charlie keep throwing up until about 9:15. He kinda was quiet all day and moved pretty slow but ate some crackers and kept them down. Dan still felt rough.

Tuesday morning rolls around and I wake up and sit on the couch. My head goes right between my knees because I feel like crap! Dan went off to work and finally at like 8:30am I called him to come back home. I was already getting sick and couldn't imagine chasing Charlie around all day alone. Dan came home while I spent the day in the bathroom. My sickness lasted until about 3:45 when my friend Lisa offered to drive me to the ER. I got sick a few more times there and needed 2 IV's to get fluids in me fast enough. They retested my levels after 4 bags of fluid and I was getting better but my heartrate was at a constant 142 and my blood pressure was too low. I also started getting a fever. They decided to keep me. Dan came and dropped some overnight items off and I waited for a room to open up for me. The next morning I was spilling protein into my urine so I couldn't leave until that was clear and I could keep some food down. Dan didn't feel well this day either so Charlie was off to my in laws for the day/night. I was released at 4pm and slept most of the day.

Friday we got the call... we got my Mother in law sick :-( man this flu was deadly!!! (Thankfully she was feeling better the next day)

Dan is still feeling a little under the weather- but he played in a volleyball tournament all day yesterday and probably didn't have the best diet. (he did come in 2nd place!!!) Congrats Dan!

Today was Amanda's baby shower! How much fun. It's been awesome to see her belly grow and to watch John and Amanda get more and more excited. It's hard to think that was me 2 years ago and that it's happening again to me now. Amanda got amazing gifts and is really blessed by the family and her friends. Can't wait for that niece or nephew to show up in about 9 weeks!!!!

I'll end this now because it could go on and on and well... it's relax time for momma!!!

My Kid

2010-02-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

I love his kid!!! He's my little buddy and makes me laugh and smile everyday. We just had a big tickle fest and now we stopped for some pretzel rods and water! I ate my pretzels and he broke his in half and just handed it to me!!! Anyone that shares food with me is the best!!!!

Short and sweet today but I am just bursting with love for him and I can't imagine my life without him in it. (Dan's ok too!!! :-) lol!)

Now we are off to Carl's Golfland for a visit and to take Charlie's Fun Aunt Robin out for her bday lunch!!! Happy Birthday Robin!

One Of My Favorite Recipes!

2010-02-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

Before I can't ever find this again- I wanted to post this so I always have it!! It reminds me of the side dish that the dorms made at MSU when I was in college! YUM!

-----------------------------------
CROCK POT BROCCOLI & RICE CASSEROLE
-----------------------------------

1 sm. onion, diced
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. quick cooking rice
2 c. water
1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 (5 oz.) jar sharp cheese spread
2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped broccoli, partially thawed
1/4 lb. Velveeta cheese
Corn flake crumbs, browned in butter (opt.)

Combine all ingredients except corn flake crumbs in crock
pot. Stir thoroughly. Cover. Cook low 7 to 10 hours or high
2 to 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle crumbs over top.
If crock pot comes out of your crock pot, brown under
broiler for extra crispness. I double this in my large
crock pot. Great for pot luck.

Staying Busy Doing Nothing!

2010-02-02T17:30:00.001-08:00

A picture of Charlie's first hot chocolate (ok barely warm because he doesn't like hot things!) We had just played outside- he loved the snow and the drink!

The Skimmy's have been busy!!! But have nothing to show for it! Today Charlie and I went to Aldi to get some things we need to make a friend dinner. The FAMC makes a new mom 2 weeks worth of dinners when a new baby is born. Well, I signed up for tomorrow- she's a vegetarian so we are making Minestrone Soup. Of course Aldi didn't have everything I needed so I ran to Kroger tonight. Charlie was kind enough to go with me to get an oil change this morning also. I might have a leak in my tire so I'm sure that will be an errand tomorrow!!! I always seem to have tire issues. Thankfully I'm very familiar with Discount Tire and the places around there we can walk to while we wait.

Tomorrow is swim class. Charlie will kick his legs in the bathtub flip over and kick some more. He loves to have his ears under water and have me talk to him! We talk about blowing bubbles in the pool and he won't do it in the pool yet, but he will in the bathtub. The other day he said "Mamma" and then did it! No clue where that came from but it's cool that he actually pays attention during class.

This weekend I'm throwing a baby shower for my friend Jes. I hope it's a great time!! I doubt she likes games- but she gets no choice! I have some fun ones planned. Nothing gross, no smelling dirty diapers or eating baby food. I'm looking forward to some good food, good friends and CAKE!

Having 2 other couples over on Sunday for The Super Bowl. Dan's going to make chili and we'll have all the fixings! My high school friend Paul and his girlfriend are coming over- they said they are bringing cupcakes. I asked no more questions! We LOVE cupcakes! :-)

Enough rambling... off to make that soup!!!

Well I Tried.

2010-01-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

I was really trying to be good about posting often so that this blog was more fun to read. But then life got away from me.

I went to the doctor's this morning and was told I have my normal case of asthmatic bronchitis again. I have a new inhaler. Hopefully the steroids will help with all of my coughing in the next 24 hours or so.

We went out and got a Wii today!!! Yahoo!!! Dan and I sat on the couch tonight (yes the same couch and same level of the house) and played for a few hours! That stupid fitness test told me I'm 76. NICE!!! Darn baseball game gets me every time! I plan to work on that though... maybe I'll be 49 by April Fools Day??

Yesterday I put Charlie down for the night. He must have been tired because he pointed to his bed once we got into his room. Then I asked if he wanted me to cover him up with a blanket. He pointed to the one he wanted. Then as I turned to close the door behind me he says "Bye" and waved! lol It was so cute that I couldn't stop laughing and I kept making him do it over and over. He NEVER asks to go to bed let alone says bye when I leave him in there! Maybe Charlie is turning over a new leaf?

Bedtime for me- hopefully I can prop myself up enough that I can sleep and not cough all night! Wish me luck!

Dinner Tonight

2010-01-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Kristin's recipe but I just wanted to make sure I had this saved somewhere!!! I hope it's yummy- I didn't start it when I wanted to so we are all holding off for dinner. I'm HUNGRY!

Chicken & Dumplings

In the crock pot for 4 hours on high, then 90 mins on low.
3 frozen chix breasts
2 cans cream of chix soup
1-2 cans chix broth (just enough to cover the chicken pieces)
1 chicken boullion cube or packet
garlic powder
salt
pepper

90 mins before done (on low):
Take out each piece of chicken and shred it, place back in crock pot.
Then, cut 1 can french bread dough loaf into tiny pieces and toss into crock pot. Stir occassionally for the 90 mins.

Brrr it's cold out there!

2010-01-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

It is so cold here in Michigan that I am just doing anything to keep Charlie busy. We would both go insane if we stayed in the house everyday. Yesterday we had a friend of Charlie's come over and play while his mom had things to do. Today we are going to open gym at the church behind our house. Tomorrow is swim class. Thursday is a trip to Jungle Java and Friday is a trip for me to the dentist- Charlie will go to his Aunt's house and play with his cousin. I can't imagine how parents get through the winter that don't get their kids active in activities. Thankfully Charlie does well in public activities and that really helps!

We will try to stay warm and get Charlie tired enough for a good nap everyday!!!!

Follow Up Pictures

2010-01-04T18:40:00.001-08:00

Ok ok... it looks like I'm never going to get the time nor energy to tell all the stories I wanted to from last week. But I will upload some pictures so that you can see more of what the Skinny is on the Skimmy's!

Cookie Exchange for FAMC- Charlie helped!

Swim class ended- Dan joined us for the last class and took pictures!

A visit to see Santa at the mall- no one else was in line so we had like 5 minutes with him. Charlie sat and listened to him and when I walked up to get Charlie back he was holding Santa's thumb!

FAMC Santa Brunch

The nightly Advent Calendar! One of my favorite parts of the season this year!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Charlie's make shift ball pit!

Charlie's trip to Urgent Care and the ER. We thought he had bit through his lip but really he cut the outside and bit his lip inside. He was fine!! But thankfully his first ER trip turned out to be ok!

And then NYE! Charlie stayed at my mom's house and we went to dinner and then back to Jes & Alex's for games, drinking and some Wii!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-02T21:10:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's 2010! Boy my life has changed a lot in the last 10 years! I didn't even know Dan in 2000. I had no clue how great my life would be back then.

I haven't gotten that I promised full stories... but I'm still catching up on sleep from a fun New Year's Eve Party at the Bizzle House. I also am spending time with Dan before he heads back to work on Monday.

We are watching the MSU Alamo Bowl Game. Already watched MSU win in basketball tonight too! Go Green!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2010 and thank you for your friendships. I have been doing a lot of thinking of my friendships- I love the support everyone gives me and I hope that you feel supported and loved by me.

Stay Tuned...

2009-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that have happened since I last posted. I don't even know where to begin. They need some time dedicated to the posts so bare with me as I need to find the motivation and time!
Here is just a small example of what's been going on with the Skimmy's. (Today is a Wed and all of this is from Sunday night on)

- An overnight stay at the in laws
- A drive 2 hours north in the snow to Charlie's Great Great Grandfather's Funeral
-Charlie being at the Funeral (it was 2 hours long!) (sneak peek... he was under the pew growling like a Tiger for a short minute)
- Charlie falling and blood
- A trip to Urgent Care with Charlie
- A trip to the ER with Charlie
- Being sent home with a sticker and a band aid for souvenirs
- Charlie's first fever of 102
- Dan & Kim get date night at a Piston's Game
- Charlie gets an overnight trip at Gram E and Pop E's house

and that brings us to today. I'm hiding in the house and regaining the normal life I thought we had! Some friends (Megan & Jeremy) will be over tonight for game night!

Tomorrow is NYE so be safe everyone and have fun! I'll probably not be able to post until 2010!!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2009-12-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to celebrate Christmas with Charlie this year! He's starting to understand unwrapping presents. We are heading to my in laws today for a Polish Dinner and will be there until bedtime for Charlie probably. We will head home and wait for Santa. Tomorrow morning we will do Christmas just the 3 of us and then my mom will show up for brunch!!! I'm going to be making a prime rib for dinner tomorrow night- wish me luck!

Merry Christmas and I hope you have a safe few days!

Sorry Charlie, No More!

2009-12-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was gave Charlie a bath. As soon as I set him in the tub- he did his normal- peed. He saw the stream going in the air and was watching it. As soon as he was done Charlie looked up at me and signed "More." Um, Charlie I can't make it do it again!!! For about 4 minutes he kept signing "more." Poor little guy just wanted to see the fountain some more and it was gone!

A Well Rounded Charlie

2009-12-21T19:12:00.001-08:00

As Charlie's mother, I try to expose him to a wide variety of people, places and things. One of them includes going to the local retirement center. The Farmington Area Mom's Club does holiday activities at the American House about once a month. We have gone trick or treating, given goodies for Thanksgiving, gone to dance and visit and then today we went for Christmas.

Some of the residents remember Charlie. One woman today asked if he was there for Halloween and if he had a cape on. Yup, he was a vampire. A couple other women remember Charlie and myself and I think look forward to his visits. One older woman who I found out today had a bunch of children- all boys- enjoys watching Charlie because she just wonders were I get the energy to chase him! He loves to run around the center. In fact I chased him up the ramp to the rooms and then he dodged into someone's room and I had to catch him in there!

There is a man that I have found sitting in the same chair every time I've been there. I don't know his name but he is the first I go and say hi to. Today he seemed pretty good but last time we were there he was having a bad day and didn't even want to talk to me. He didn't remember Charlie and I and told me he didn't sleep the night before. I know that he lived in Farmington his whole life and that his family picks him up for lunch. He loves the burritos at the restaurant which he couldn't remember the name. This man tells me that he sits in that same chair everyday because it's his job to open the doors for lunch. You can tell that he looks forward to his job. I see my late grandpa, Elmer in him. He seems so kind and loving and you can just see in his eyes that he was a strong man when he was younger. I don't look forward to the visit there that he's not sitting in his chair. :-(

It's awesome that something so small as a visit with the residents puts a smile on my face and I'm sure their face too. I hope that Charlie appreciates that we do this someday. I would love for him to be understanding, thoughtful and respectful of everyone he meets. As his mother I feel like my job is to open up the doors for his heart to settle in.

Bay City Family Xmas!

2009-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the big family Xmas party up in Bay City. I love my family to pieces because everyone gets to bet themselves. And boy do they!!! We were missing my Uncle Carl and Aunt Leanne, Becky and her family, Mike and his fiancée. There were 17 adults and Brody, Maddy, Ally, Cammy, Grace, Mia and Charlie running around providing entertainment for the rest of us.

Dana was nice enough to host at her new house. It fit us all and there were tons of toys for the kids to play with. Charlie loves playing with his 3rd cousin Brody who is 8. Maybe it's because Brody will play BALL with Charlie for hours and hours! Charlie received some wonderful gifts from the family and was excited to wake up this morning and play with them some more. We just need a bigger house to fit everything in!

Let's see where the strange parts started...

Was it when Katy left to go ride the mechanical bull she has been talking about all night? - nah that's normal
Was it when we decided to take a family picture on the stairs? (the nice one is above) and Aunt Linda & Dana decided to flash the camera? nah that's normal also
Was it when Uncle Tim who had had his fair share of drinks wanted to play soccer in the kitchen and knocked over the wine glass and it went flying? And yes, of course I was standing right there wearing a cream sweater! nah that seems normal for us too.
Was it when Aunt Sue mentioned that her earing hole closed up and she wanted my Aunt Linda (who is a nurse) to poke a new one? Here were the items we had on hand, rubbing alcohol, a starter stud earing,ice cube and a piece of cheese. Can you see where this is going? Yup- Aunt Linda used the cheese where most people would use a potato! I couldn't stop laughing!!! OUCH! Aunt Sue is a true woman to go through that pain. I offered her a shot and she said no thanks!
Was it when I taught my family a dirty hand gesture which then was taught to my cousin Dana's daughter! If she accomplished it successfully Dana promised her $5! Mia who is 2.5 showed us immediately that she could do it! We started clapping and it scared her to tears- Dana gave her $10!
Could it be when Charlie was showing the bigger kids how to throw balls and kick a soccer ball? It's funny how amazed people are by how well he can do this at the age of 19 months!
Was it my cousin Tim's Fiancée that couldn't say no to the Jim Beam shot and then was later found in the kitchen scrounging for food because she was drunk!?!?

My guess... it was all of the above which made it another great family Xmas!

I miss seeing my family more. They are so welcoming and make you feel like you just saw them last week when really it's been a year! I also love that they make fun of Dan and refer to him as Skinny instead of Dan even after all these years! We are hoping to plan a cousin's Snuggie bar crawl!!! Katy and Dana are 2 of my best friends and basically sisters to me. I could sit and tell stories with them for a whole weekend. We would laugh and cry and probably drink a lot!

The Reason Behind the Title

2009-12-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

It was brought to my attention that I have not addressed the title of this blog. Some may understand but my newer friends probably have no clue what Skimmy means!

When I met Dan in college he was 6'4" and 170lbs. His nickname was Skinny. I was called Kimmy by everyone and so we were Kimmy and Skinny. It got too hard for people to say over and over again so someone shortened it. We then became The Skimmy. It stuck and most of our college friends call us this to this day. So if you want the skinny on the Skimmy's you just have to read this blog! :-)

A trip to Lansing

2009-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Today Dan played in the Annual Holiday Tournament at MSU. I drove separate so that Charlie and I could sleep in a little!!! I drove to the gym and Charlie thought it was the greatest place ever. BALL, BALL, BALL!! He was able to run around and kick, hit and throw balls! He probably enjoyed the attention from all of his dad's friends too! The only meltdown was when Dan was playing and Charlie wanted to play too. He couldn't understand why Daddy was so close but he wasn't allowed to run out and play with his dad. Maybe someday soon he will realize there are lines on the floor that he can't cross over!?!

After playing at the gym I drove Charlie to visit his grandma (my mom)for the afternoon. He had so much fun!! My mom found my old music instruments and they made some loud music together! I think my mom is shocked at how busy Charlie is. One minute he wants to read a book, then it's time to throw a ball, eat a snack, empty her spice rack etc. Charlie loves that my mom's cat Joey actually stays in the room if he's in there. He doesn't seem to mind the hisses or the few bites he's gotten. He just keeps going back and petting him, pulling his fur and giving him kisses.

We did find out today that Charlie likes Split Pea Soup -YUCK! He wanted to eat that over the Arby's I had brought back for dinner. After dinner I waited for the phone call from Dan that he was done playing so that we could go pick him up. Once we heard that it was time to head back to East Lansing I started loading up the car. Since Charlie was there for naptime I had brought in the pack n play. (Charlie took a 2.5 hour nap for grandma!!) I got out to the car and I heard my mom yell "Charlie!" I turn around and he's standing on the front porch in his pj's waving bye bye to me! (It's a big 25 degrees outside!) That little guy followed me out when the door didn't close fast enough. He thought I was leaving so he waved to me! So in the last few weeks he's not only climbed out of his crib, climbed over a baby gate but now snuck out of my mom's house!

This week Charlie will get to go see Santa!!! I can't wait for the blog post to follow that. Will he bite, punch, kiss or hug Santa this year?? :-)

Charlie's Potty is here!!!!

2009-12-09T17:47:00.001-08:00

No, I'm not potty training him, but probably someday right? I did however find a great deal on the potty I wanted for him so I figured it could sit in the closet for a while. It is the Bjorn and I got it for 50% off!! So I ordered it. (Actually 2 of them- one for each floor.) Charlie was excited when he saw it! It wasn't because he knew what it was but probably because it was something I actually let him play with!

I put it on the floor and asked if he wanted to sit on it.

Then I told him he needed to turn around.

I decided to stop taking pictures of Charlie sitting on his new potty. He carried it into the Living Room and I heard a thump! So what would any mother do? I took more pictures!

Charlie was fine- cried while I laughed because he was stuck in it!!!

Thankfully he got really excited when he realized that the potties came in a BOX! (a new word now! Thanks Amazon.com!) Dan, Charlie and I played with the box for about 45 minutes. Charlie kept signing more when Dan would close it on him and he would pop out! I threatened Dan not to throw this box away for a few days! This will be great entertainment!

Daddy made Chili!!!

2009-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure how Charlie would feel about Chili since Dan makes it a little spicy... I don't need to say more- just look at the pictures. I think he loved it!

Advent Calendar & Some Pictures!

2009-12-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

I figured you guys would rather see some pictures of Charlie than something I have to say!

Ohhh... real quick. My favorite thing so far about the Christmas Season is the Advent Calendar. Charlie gets to open a door after dinner every night. I sit on the kitchen floor and he comes and sits on my lap. We look around for the number for the current day and we open it. Inside is a little piece of chocolate. However, before he gets to eat the chocolate (which he does say now!! So my child!) I talk to him about what the picture is that we just opened and he kisses the picture. I don't know how that started but it's kinda feel that it just makes him stop and be thankful for each day that we do this. Now, if you have ever seen Charlie eat a cupcake (more like inhale) this is the exact opposite. He will hold that little piece of chocolate in his little fingers and lick it. Actually this sounds cute- but it's not. This just makes for more melted chocolate all over his hands and he doesn't understand that he can't go in other rooms until it's gone. So for that last two days after about 10 minutes of him licking the chocolate Dan has held his hands down and put the chocolate in his mouth. We are mean parents aren't we?? We actually make our child EAT the chocolate!! ha ha oh well... we gave him his chance and after a while he just needs to eat the slimy bit of goodness. I love doing this every night and I can't wait to do it for years to come with him! (at some point I'll let him just do it and won't make him sit on my lap- but not until he's like 17!)

onward to pictures...
I thought it was too quiet- I found him out in the Florida Room playing cards!

Even though Charlie is always on the go- he does love to color!

He already likes to lick the spoon when I bake!

Dove Chocolate Discoveries

2009-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

I just realized I've never posted about the little side job I do. I wouldn't call it a part time job because I only work when I want to! I've been doing these home parties since April.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries (DCD) was created by Dove Chocolate because they wanted to do home parties for making candy. Well, that niche was so small that they decided to branch out a little more and more and more. The company is less than 3 years old and with Mars backing Dove up... I just see even better things for this company. I am amazed by how much it has grown in the short time I've been around.

Some of my favorite items are the Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothies (add Malibu Rum and it's like an Almond Joy!!!), The mousse of course, chi tea as a dip, Sea Salted Carmels and my #1 favorite: Cinnamon dusted milk chocolate covered almonds!! OMG the almonds are so amazing!!!!

I am glad that I get out of the house a little bit, make some extra money and can use this company to help others. The Farmington Area Mom's Club just did a vendor night that I helped put on this week. We had 27 vendors and it was $10 to have a table. We also asked for a donation from each vendor to put into our raffle. Our raffle and the profit from the tables helped raise $390. While that is great and all... I haven't mentioned what the $$ is going toward yet... our 2 families we adopted for Christmas! I really felt something for these two families. They were both single mom's of younger children. One of them had 4 year old twins and she left her abusive husband in the middle of the night. She basically is asking for the essentials. Laundry Detergent, bed sheets, a new fry pan etc. I'm so glad that we raised enough money to hand over a gift card to Target for anything that we don't get donated to us by our members.

I'm glad that DCD could help me raise money for these families. It makes your "job" just that much more interesting and important.

oh yeah... here is the website if you need anything!!! I didn't want to post my full name so if you want to see my personal website for DCD let me know! http://www.dove-chocolate-discoveries.com

Wow here come the holiday's!

2009-11-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

Man... holiday's seem to come up on you faster than the year before. After a great Thanksgiving weekend it seems like Christmas will be here in no time! I'm actually excited for everything this year. I think it's because Charlie is going to be interested in what's going on and he likes to open gifts- it's a good thing since I keep finding him deals! I can't help it. Charlie is at such a fun age and I can think of so many things that I know he would love. Play food, Match Box Cars, Balls (of course), Crayons and paper, trucks, blocks, etc. etc.

In the next week I have so much going on! Dove Chocolate Discoveries will keep me busy this week also as I have 2 vendor nights to have parties at. Lunch date with a friend on Tuesday, retake of pictures tomorrow for Charlie. Oh, let me share that story!!!!!!!!

I took Charlie to Portrait Innovations to take some 18 month pictures and a fun Christmas picture. He wanted NOTHING to do with having his pictures taken. So many distractions - kids, people and balls. It was SO bad that the photographer told me we should just reschedule. It will be slower tomorrow and she will remove ALL of the balls before we get there. Yes, my child needs special accommodations because of his obsession with balls. Wish us luck tomorrow!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! (I didn't get a single picture of Charlie on Thanksgiving :-( sorry!)

Black Friday & Being Thankful

2009-11-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm getting excited to venture out on BF this year! My friend Lisa and I are gonna hit the stores. I don't know what I'm shopping for and I don't even know where we are going. Oh well... it's the thrill of it that I'm looking forward to! I haven't been in years. Well, I take that back, I went last year but it's to Kohl's and Target and I went at 8:00pm. It didn't count!

Today I am thankful for my mother in law, Laurie. We went to the zoo yesterday and out to lunch. Then she took Charlie for the night! Dan is off hunting so this meant about 28 hours to myself!!! I had the chance to pick up around the house and then go out with Lisa!! We went to BW's for beers and dinner. YUM! It's been a long time since I've had the chance to just go out and think like an adult! We had adult conversation and actually we didn't talk about Charlie or Benjamin all that much! It was very much needed. I slept in the middle of the bed, slept till 10:30am and read the paper in my pj's. I should be cleaning more but man it feels good to just do NOTHING!!! I do plan to shower and go to Laurie's for dinner time to pick Charlie up. I'm sure by then I'll miss him more than I do now! (ok ok I do miss him but I'm enjoying this!) So- today I'm thankful for wonderful family that realized that I needed a break and took Charlie for a night! I hope Dan is having fun "hunting!"

Today is Thursday.

2009-11-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

We were diagnosed with H1N1 on Monday. Since then I have been to CVS to pick up drugs and a quick trip to Kohl's yesterday to remain sain. WHAT am I gonna do today? It's cold out, I have a headache and really shouldn't be out in public. We are bored!!!!! We are lonely!!!! hmmm any suggestions? I should clean but I don't have the energy yet for that. How much TV can a 1.5 year old and his mother watch??

Oh yeah... and Dan is going hunting this weekend so Charlie and I will have more QT together. We will be leaving the house by then!!! RIGHT? :-)

Oink Oink

2009-11-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I started getting a sore throat and a cough. It gradually got worse and Monday I couldn't take it. I called the doctor. I know how fast my cough goes right to my chest and turns into bronchitis. I used the "I'm Charlie's Mom" and I got in at 11:40! I was really surprised how the appointment then proceeded to go... "I'm going to have you tested for the flu." Ummm what? I have a cough and a sore throat. But I guess some of the other symptoms I described fell into flu or piggy flu. Headache, sore throat, dry cough, tired etc. So off I went to get tested. About 10 minutes later it came back as negative! GREAT! However Doctor walks into the office and says, "Yes it came back negative, however, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck- I have to call it a duck." I am back on the nebulizer, cough meds with codeine and Tamiflu. Because of Dan showing some signs and living with me he's also on Tamiflu and Charlie too. Charlie got the liquid version (which he loves!!!) He always asks for more!

That reminds me... I forgot to give Charlie his second dose tonight. Augh, I think I'll go wake him up for it. Bummer!!! But I'd rather him wake up for a few minutes than get really sick!

oink oink. H1N1 has hit our house! (I'm feeling much better today just really really tired!)

Free Sample!

2009-11-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

a href="http://www.dunkinathome.com/?src=blogtag" target="_blank">

Life is too short

2009-11-08T17:46:00.001-08:00

Today I went to the funeral for a 19 year old KID. That is what he was. Yes, he was a kid because of his age- but he has parents- he is their KID. You could hear his father sobbing above the almost 1,000 people that were there. That sound will haunt me for the rest of my life. I couldn't imagine losing Charlie. I couldn't imagine not being able to look forward to his future. To see what kind of man he is gonna grow up to be. One thing about Ryan... you knew he was gonna be a great man. He already was. His life ended too short and my thoughts and prayers go to Ryan's parents and to his 2 sisters.

Another thing... he had been drinking when he was killed. In fact he was killed by a bus that he was hiding under. He was hiding under because he didn't want another MIP. While we realize that it's silly now. These are all silly things that any of us could have done. It was an accident and now he's gone. It could have been any of us.

I made sure to hug Charlie a little tighter today and tell Dan how much I love him.

We've been busy!!!

2009-11-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

While I've had a lot going on and reasons to post... I've been a tired mommy! It all started last Thursday... In town there was an H1N1 flu shot clinic going on. I feel this is important for Charlie and I wanted to make sure he got it. They were asking that only certain risk groups got it and so Dan and I did not get it yet. We got in line at 4:40 and didn't get out of there until 8:40- yup 4 hours standing outside in line waiting for Charlie to get a shot. He was so tired and cold but I did get one picture of him with his daddy right before he got it.

We had wanted to get pumpkins this night but since the line ended up being so long we went the following night. Well, sort of. It was raining and the place we were gonna get them from had like 10 pumpkins left over (Oct 30th at 5pm) so Dan got out of the car and picked a pumpkin while Charlie and I pointed from the car! We went to carve the pumpkin after dinner and of course it was rotten. Charlie kept wanting to stick his hands in the guts but they were GROSS! Still glad we had the chance to do this as a family. Here are some pictures!

So... now we are at Halloween. Dan's parents came over along with my mom for the traditional Sloppy Joe Dinner! My grandma had 5 kids and on Halloween all the cousins would come over- grandma made sloppy joes because they were filling, cheap and easy! My mom made them for me for every Halloween and now I'll do it for Charlie! (I know my cousins do it also!) Charlie is still coughing a lot and not feeling his best so we did let him go trick or treating but only to like 15 houses and once it got colder we brought him home. He LOVED it! He had his mom and his dad by the hand and was running from house to house. He just looked at everyone in masks and didn't show fear at all. One kid even tried to scare him and Charlie basically laughed at the kids effort. It was another great holiday with Charlie! oh yeah- Charlie LOVES pumpkins and calls them pumpbump Pictures:

Saving money!

2009-10-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Since I've been a SAHM I'm really into saving money anyway I can.

Here are some of my tips!

- I follow various money saving blogs.

http://hip2save.blogspot.com/

http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/

I also have a few local ones I follow that tell me about deals at my grocery store.

- I save my pampers points. ( had a post about it earlier)

Inside the bag is a sticker with a code- enter the codes and you can get DC toys

-I use Swagbucks to search online- super easy and uses google!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/TheSkimmy

- I buy 3 newspapers most weeks

Yup -3- 1 for each person in my family. We will go through saran wrap that much faster because there are 3 of us so I will need to buy it 3 times as much.

- I stock up on items

At any given time I have 2 months worth of diapers. I figure out where the cheapest diapers are when I have good coupons and I stockup. That way I never run out last minute and pay full price. (BTW- Similac is really cheap at Target this week)

-I meal plan (nope I haven't done it yet this week!! oops!)

- I share coupons with friends

My gf has a dog and I have a cat- makes sense- she gets the dog coupons and I get her cat ones!

-I buy the smallest size available

Yup--- I don't go to Costco (unless I want roses!!) With coupons and sales I actually spend less than buying in bulk. I can normally get things free buy getting the trial size!

My dad... cont.

2009-10-23T06:11:00.001-07:00

Hi,
Well......hum.....I think my Spell Checker's on the fritz, or the damned thing would have told me I misspelled Charleigh's name. Just can't trust these newfangled gadgets. Love, Dad

LOL this was awesome to read first thing in the morning!!! A few have asked me to have him as a guest writer. We will see... he might be too busy??? I mean come on he does have a golf game to keep at below average!! :-)

My dad...

2009-10-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

I got this email from him. Interesting info and I crack up at how he spelled Charlie 2 different ways throughout the email. We will forgive him... he's retired.

Kim,
Your blog is really cool. Nice job with the writing---your personality comes thru in a really special way.

Some things of note:
-I, too, had asthma as a kid---doctored for it from about Charley's age 'till I was about 17.
-Charlie's Great Grandpa Miesner had asthma and, later, emphysema which hastened his death. Developed asthma while in basic training during WWII
-At about age 3 your life's goal was to be a maid. No kidding. You REALLY wanted to be a maid.
-If you'll recall, one of your favorite jobs while in college was cleaning toilets. Remember yur favorite toilet bowl brushes?

Sooooo, Charlie comes by all this stuff legitimately. ............a little biology, a little role modeling, and a lot of Charley learning to be the Charley he wants to be some day. How great for you and Dan to be able to watch him unfold a bit each day! Love to the 3 of ya Dad

Poor little monkey

2009-10-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Charlie Monkey is sick with the croup. While this might just be something annoying for any other kid... it's a big deal when it comes to Charlie. The doctors have almost given in to the idea that he has asthma. We knew from day 1 that he would most likely have it. Dan had it growing up as a kid and I get bronchial asthma as an adult. He had 2 strikes against him right there. For his first bday Charlie has bronchitis and was on a nebulizer. After going to the doctor yesterday we went back to Wright & Fillipis and bought our very own nebulizers. Thankfully we have been able to control his attacks right now with drugs and haven't had to use it but it's nice to have. Nothing is scarier than seeing the look on your childs face when he can't catch his breath and having an attack. Poor little monkey. But... it's good that the doctors are being proactive and realize this is serious. A friends baby has croup right now and they didn't do anything for her. I'm happy to give my child medicine. It helps and will hopefully knock that cough out of his system faster than without.

So we are just having a snuggle day at home today! I showered and put my pj's right back on :-) Charlie is still in his and walking around with a play phone up to his ear and chit chatting to whoever he "called." (Probably daddy because he's at work)

Here is a new picture of Charlie from 2 nights ago. He is my little monster :-)

And here is a sneak peak of Charlie in his Halloween Costume!!! A smiley vampire!

Charlie's Future

2009-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Every mom wonders what their kid will be when they grow up... a doctor, lawyer, business CEO. I don't wonder- I know. Charlie is going to be a janitor. He LOVES to sweep, vacuum, pick up lint from the carpet, and loves to empty trash cans. (Especially the one in his room- then he just throws the dirty diapers at his mom!) Today we had the carpet in the Florida Room cleaned. He was in awe of these guys working! He couldn't keep his eyes off of them and had a big smile on his face the whole time. One good thing about his obsession is that if it's ever a rainy day and I need to keep him busy- we just start cleaning!!! I just hope that when he grows up he is the owner of the janitor service and not just a minimum wage worker!! I'm so proud!

Scary monsters in the bathtub.

2009-09-29T12:52:00.001-07:00

I am a mean mom. Yup. I know I am. I have a child who growls at his shadow on the bathtub wall.... I growl back. He is terrified of his shadow. No, it's not his normal shadow- it's only when I give him a bubble bath mohawk! Charlie will jump off of a couch, cut his lip, or even run full speed into a wall and not cry, but as soon as he saw himself in the bathtub he cried and needed to be picked up. The worst part about this... I've growled back more than once. I thought the first time might be a fluke- nope 2 different baths and he's been terrified! Poor kid. This is just the beginning of my meanness I'm sure!

The purpose of this blog

2009-09-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

I have thought for a little while that it would be fun to write down just random things that are going on in our lives. I would love to be able to go back a year from now and re-read the funny things that Charlie does or say. BTW- Charlie is 16 months old. His birthday is 5.2.08 and is one funny little boy. I don't want to forget the random things that go on in my life with him right now. I also would love a way to put my thoughts onto paper and maybe get some advice when needed. Who knew that I would ever say "You do realize that you just ate your toe jam don't you?" See... it's those things that I want to come back to and laugh at years from now! Thanks for reading the blog and I hope you get to see a little into our lives!