Calico

So I've got a whole bunch of posts I want and need to write, but for this moment, I need to say something about a REALLY cute crafty-ish blog I ran across yesterday:  Calico.  She makes these adorable things for children, and I really want to win her giveaway this week, so I thought I'd double my chances by sharing her site with all of you.  Feel free to check her stuff out, super adorable.

New Neighbor

So as I was cleaning my house on my birthday, I opened my front door to do something, when my mom noticed a giant spider hanging out on our doorway... He (or probably more likely she) hung around for a while, then disappeared yesterday. Too bad, I was really liking having him stay in the same spot... so I knew where he was, and thus where he wasn't as well. Fortunately, I did get a few pictures (though they're really not clear, as my camera is a little lacking on the close-ups side of things...so I'll just post one):

I'm pretty sure I've never seen a spider like this one in real life before--yellow with little spikey-like bump things on it's back, and yellow and brown striped legs.  I looked around for a little while on the internet trying to figure out what it was, but got too creeped out to actually find it.  He was probably about 1/2 inch long, and mostly kept to himself.  

*Jibbly-jibblies*

Back to My Birthday...

So despite the treadmill fiasco, I did have an excellent birthday, and I wanted to show off some of my great gifts... have I mentioned how much I love gifts? And lucky for me, I have some extremely generous family members. So, I took some pictures for you all. Enjoy my ridiculousness.


Ok, so Cory's sister Kimmy gave me some really good fall-ish smelling hand soap and lotion, my parents gave me a laptop cooler thing (my mom is going to pass her old compy on to me when she gets her new one... isn't that so nice of her!?!) and my sweet neighbor Catherine baked me some really yummy chocolate cookies. 

Cory always does such a great job picking out gifts--he gave me these two shirts that Hazel is modeling, and this really great new diaper bag, which I love.


My Grandma Wilde was apparently listening when I mentioned to her that I'd like to get a wagon instead of a double stroller, because it just seemed like more fun, and it is!  She gave me a brand new Red Flyer Wagon!  It's the ATW--All Terrain Wagon, so it has to cool big "air wheels," and it's 1.5x as deep as the original... so great for keeping those kids inside!  We took her on her maiden voyage on Wednesday, and it was fantastic.  We threw a pillow in the back and sat Janey up against that, then had Breanne sit in the front.  (We only had one mishap when I stopped a little suddenly and Breanne head-butted Janey in the face... but we've learned our lesson from that, and will be sitting better in the future... :))

And probably my best present...

Old dryer spot:

New dryer spot:

I know this doesn't look like that big of a deal, but we've had our washer in the basement and our dryer upstairs for the last couple of months.  Not that I'm going to complain about that--we still had it in our house, which we were grateful for, but I am SO excited to have it all on the same level again!  My dad and brothers finished the wiring and venting hook-ups for the dryer in the basement, so now everything is on one level again.  I am so excited, and thankful for their expertise.  

My cluttered but wonderful laundry area... I love it.  And now hopefully I'll get up the courage to tackle the stairwell, and make it look as wonderful as the rest of the house.  Someday I'll have to post a picture tour.

So one more time, thank you everyone who participated in my birthday, this was by far one of the best, and not just for the gifts, though those definitely helped.  :)

Interesting, interesting...

So I saw this on one of my new favorite blogs: Want What You Have.  No, I don't know the actual person who writes the blog, but I love a lot of her simple views on life, and have taken in a couple of her tricks, like making my own wipes, making my dishwasher soap go farther, and using vinegar instead of jetdry (don't try that last one, it didn't work for me, and just made my dishes smell like vinegar.  I'm still a little bit undecided on the dish soap, too.  But the wipes are great!  :).  She has a lot of really great ideas for making money go farther, and getting your life in order, and I just thoroughly enjoy her site.

Anyway, so I took this quiz, and was a little bit surprised by the results--I try hard to be a good housekeeper, wife and mother, but don't always feel like I'm succeeding... so my superior status was a bit of a shock.  At any rate, it was fun, take it if you want to... there is even a section for men to find out how they rate as husbands.  :)

77 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

A Little Bit Heartbroken

is how I feel today...

On Saturday night, I received a notice from SlickDeals (have I mentioned how much I love them before? They're pretty great) that Walmart was clearancing out a bunch of treadmills. Now, I've been wanting a treadmill for a while now, just to make running easier, since we have the two girls and all. So I looked at the treadmills, and found one that was originally 300.00, now priced at 60.00, that got great reviews. I was so excited, as was Cory, so we planned to use any birthday money I received for that, and bought one online. The great thing about Walmart is that as long as you have the product shipped to the store, shipping is free. So we were getting a treadmill for about 63.00! While I was stressed about where to put it, I knew that it was something we wanted and would definitely use, so it was worth it.

Except last night we got an email from Walmart saying they'd cancelled our order. They didn't give a reason why, but I'd guess it's because they ran out of stock before they took down the order site or something. For our troubles they're (obviously) refunding us our money, and also giving us a 20.00 e-gift card, but we don't get the treadmill. I am so bummed. Now I have to buy something online to use the card, and I don't get a cheap treadmill. So frustrating.

The picture is the treadmill we should have received. :(

Quarter of a Century

Yes, it's true--today I turned 25. So I will now list 25 things I love about myself.

Just kidding. I'm not quite that crazy. Yet. :) But I did have a great birthday, for which I'd like to thank all my family and friends. It is a wonderful thing to be loved, and I definitely feel that I am. So thank you all, and I hope you enjoyed the lemon bars and brownies, if you stopped by to visit.

Yummy.

In celebration of Janey's half-birthday, she finally got a taste of "real food"--rice cereal!  A few pics of her first bites:

The trouble with waiting until 6 months to start real food... they already know how to use their hands, and try to take the spoon away before it gets anywhere near their mouths!

First bite finally in... looks like she's loving it, don't ya think?

Second bite...

Analyzing the taste...

Yes, I do believe she likes it after all.

And just because Breanne wanted a picture of her eating her cereal too...

Janey is Six Months!

Sometimes I can't believe Janey could possibly be so old--the time has really just flown by since she was born.  She has been such a peaceful little baby, and has done wonders towards easing my nervousness about having more than one child.  I love her little laugh, her squeals and her smiles, and her latest cooing and babbling in her sweet little voice is enough to cheer me up whenever I hear it.  What can I say, I love this little girl!