A long time overdue...

A haircut! (This picture is so classic Finn)

It's also a long time overdue for me to up the security on here. You now have to have

an invite to view my blog. I hope it's not too much of a pain for everyone to set up a Google ID, but at least now you can post comments! (seriously--post comments!)

Green Options

I found a new website today that I thought some people might find interesting:
www.greenoptions.com

What a Week!

This week has been so full! Lots of ups and downs and new things! It was Scott's birthday on Friday. He is 28! It reminded me of the first birthday he had after we got together. We had started dating about a week before that, and he felt awkward telling me it was his birthday since we just started dating and he didn't want me to feel obligated to go buy him a gift or anything. I was so embarrassed that everyone knew except me! Anyway, I think he had a pretty good b-day this year.

Kinley started sleeping in her own room this week. We've had her in a bassinet next to the bed at night, but she is SUCH a noisy sleeper. I finally decided it was time. The best part is, I've only had to feed her once each night! She has gotten so much bigger just over the course of a week! She is holding her head up so well! I think she is nearly ready for her Bumbo chair! She loves to sit up on your lap now. Where did the time go with that one? How is she already getting so much more mature? Here she is having "tummy time."

Also, Scott got a really cute video of her laughing. She first did it for me on Monday, then he got her to do it some more:

Finally, the really big news this week is about Finn. He used his potty twice this weekend! I am so excited! My friend Becca let us borrow her potty doll, so we started by showing him how that works. Then we've basically just been letting him run around pantless through the house so that he can use his potty easily. I'm going to have to make a few less outings this week in order to keep him near his potty and really drive it home:

New Survivor Series

My mom sent me this, and it was just too funny:



The Next SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks. Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes .
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids ; keep his assign ed house clean , correct all homework , and complete science projects , cook , do laundry , and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives , and send cards out on time--no emailing .
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment , a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment .
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house , planting flowers ou tside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done .
The men must shave their legs , wear makeup daily , adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes , keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed .
During one of the six weeks , the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings , church , and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them , dress them , brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birth day, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
The last man wins only if... he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

Finn-tastic!

Finn has been doing all sorts of cool things lately. I really like playing with him right now because he's doing some really fun stuff, like building "castles":

He gets a little OCD with the blocks sometimes though. I'll look at what he's making and sometimes all the red blocks will be put together, all the blue ones will be in another structure, and so on.

He's been a little obsessive about his stuffed animals too. He loves to find a hat for each one, and then put them to "sleep" in our bed. It's really adorable. He'll tuck each one in (and usually Scott too--he likes to play this game with Daddy) and then he'll make the pretend snoring sound. Very adorable!:

He's been rolling with quite a large entourage lately (and all their hats). I think Stitch is his favorite, but he's also got a baby doll, a few teddy bears and a lion. You know he's related to me because he tries to grab ALL of them when he moves rooms. No second trips!

Another thing he's been doing lately is singing a bunch of new songs. I think 2-year-olds must get songs stuck in their heads just like adults, because he'll randomly start singing some song that I haven't heard in a week.

Family Day! (part 2)

We went out to tiny Wheeler, Texas this Saturday to have a family reunion of sorts. My grandfather and his wife came out to visit and it gave some of the cousins an excuse to meet up! We all have little ones and it was great to see how much they all have grown! Finn had a good time playing with his cousins. I'm not sure if my family wants pics of their kids on the internet, so I won't post any pictures of them, but they were all pretty stinkin' cute!

My dad (he's probably the biggest Red Green fan in America):

A classic Finn photo. He loved his candy cane (and everyone else's):

My mother and her dad (my Papa):

Me and my sis:

Papa and Glenda opening gifts:

Yummy and Low-Fat!

I bought a smaller crock-pot last week, thinking I would use it more since it's, well, smaller. This is the first recipe I tried out:

2 lb. Turkey Kielbasa
1 c. applesauce (I was out, so I just pureed a couple of apples)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Mix applesauce, brown sugar and garlic in crockpot. Slice kielbasa and add to pot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
We served it over brown rice and it was pretty yummy! I know Scott had his doubts when he heard it had apples AND garlic, but he liked it. Finn wouldn't eat it, but he doesn't eat anything unless it starts with "chicken" and ends with "nuggets."