Tag: mom

Dear Costco

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Along the lines of my Dear Cashier post from this week, Lindsey at SMB hit the nail on the head with this post! As well written and true as her article is, it’s the comments on her post that blew me away. “You should hire a sitter if you’re unable to perform simple tasks with your children present” was the first negative comment and it went on from there. As a former retail employee myself, I can say that her assessment of this person’s life is probably accurate – or at least some of the time. But I think the bottom line is this, the guy’s job is to be helpful and he wasn’t and that’s not ok. It is hard to be a parent and it’s really hard to accomplish a simple task like a Costco run with one kid, let alone two with one in the baby Bjorn. Trying to keep everyone happy, quiet,  from running away or being stolen is a job in itself – add lifting heavy objects a good foot from your body is damn near impossible.

PS – what the hell is wrong with people?!

Check out Lindsey’s post on Scottsdale Moms Blog and if you agree with me, let Lindsey know!

Auggie 2 and 3 months

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Phew! I can’t believe the little guy is already 3 months old! I didn’t get the post up at 2 months, but at least I got the pictures.

Augg is a rolling pin – he’s back to front, front to back, sideways when he sleeps and when he needs a better view of what his sister is doing. He is only happy when he has a view of the action – and by action I mean whatever is going on. It could be the fan turning, he doesn’t care, he just needs to see it. He is eating like a pie eating contest contestant and weighed in at 16lbs on his 3 month birthday. New Year’s Day night he slept for a 5 hour stretch and has been doing the same almost every night. I’ve been able to see what my face looks like without dark bags under my eyes for the first time in months!

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I have a sneaking suspicion that he is starting to teethe…fingers crossed he’s just drooling and putting his hands in his mouth for fun. He is working hard to master control of his hands – he gingerly reaches for bottles (shocker), his soft lamb toy and he has figured out how to make the ball spin on his bouncer.

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Baylor is is his favorite person, period. He likes me a lot, but I think it’s because I feed him. Once she can share her snacks with him, I’ll be history. He was thrilled to lay on the floor and watch her play with Minnie and Daisy.

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Thankfully, she is as thrilled with him as he is with her. I’m praying this lasts at least a few years…

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2 month pictures

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3 month pictures

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Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

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I found this recipe on Pinterest from the blog Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. It is DELICIOUS. Ridiculously easy and oh so good. Like restaurant quality. I used breasts once and it came out good, but not as good at the thighs. But don’t panic, the thighs don’t taste like dark meat. I also skipped the thickening process (because I’m lazy) and served over rice and steamed veggies.

I’m never sure about posting stuff you find on other sites and this was on Pinterest so I would think I could post it and I tried to find contact info for the creator to ask her permission but couldn’t find it…anyway, go to her site, it’s worth it!!

 

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken 

Dear Cashier

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Dear Cashier,

First, lets talk about what your job requirement ARE: greeting customers, ringing up sales, making change, bagging items and occasionally smiling at a customer.

Second, lets talk about what your job requirement IS NOT: commenting on customer purchases would be one amongst others I’m sure….

Now, that said, lets address the later. Yes, I am buying probiotics for my baby. Yes, it is a small bottle. Yes, he does have colic. Yes, it is quite expensive for such a small bottle. No, he doesn’t sleep very well. That’s very interesting that when you had children SIXTY YEARS AGO that you just toughed it out when your baby was colicy.

So now that you’ve gotten to offer your opinion, I think it’s only fair that you listen to my opinion: your opinion is not valid in this transaction. Please stop talking, ring the item and hand my receipt. Oh, and try to act like and adult when I say this to you rather than a petulant three year old. I already have one of those.

 

Sincerely,

Beth

Christmas Rerun

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Everyone was in the mood to have their picture taken (well the little girls were for awhile…) on Christmas Eve so we got some great family shots that were so festive. Although it was yet another reminder that I need to use my gift certificate and learn to use my camera in low light…

Don’t laugh – but when I saw this picture I said to Peter “We have TWO kids! We are a family of FOUR!”. I don’t know why but seeing all of us in a picture made it seem more real than 3am feedings. Did I mention I don’t sleep?IMG_4655

Cousin Zoe, Titi and Uncle Mike
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The BIG cousins (this is the point where the little girls and babies were not having it)

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PW pointed out that each cousin tortures the next oldest – can you tell who precedes Baylor? Thankfully Quincy doesn’t seem to mind.

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It’s too bad we don’t look anything alike…

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Three generations. Again, too bad they don’t look alike.

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Auntie Ali, Uncle Gary and Mason
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After the Christmas Eve festivities, it was time to put out Santa’s snacks – reindeer food on the lawn and carrots on the plate, homemade cookies with milk and a carrot “squeezer” for Mrs. Clause.

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Christmas morning came early – even for the kid who gets to nap at will and was the reason no one else slept…cousin Blaise was so awesome with Auggie – and it showed since Auggie was so happy to sit with him. No seriously, that’s a yawn.

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I love these:

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Noni and the man.

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Waiting for everyone to arrive to open presents got a little long…which apparently in three year old world means you convince your cousin to let you ride him like a horse. Also? Those are only about half the presents #firstworldproblems.

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Mason was ready to get his rip and tear on.

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Isn’t this cute? Nancy puts all their Christmas cards on the cabinets – adorable!

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Holiday Hangover

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Is anyone else exhausted? We had an amazingly fun and full holiday season that was all accomplished on 90 minute sips of sleep each night. Which I think is what has lead to me just needing a breath. And a nap. And an empty social calendar….and yet the social calendar is filled for January already!

~Bought a Christmas tree permit for Payson for the second year in a row and then went and bought one at a tree lot instead~

~Auggie turned two months old~

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~Didn’t loose two three year olds or a 2 month old at the Train Park for Christmas lights with the DeHavens~

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~Survived the preschool Christmas party that Peter described at the 7th ring of hell~

~Enjoyed Zoo Lights as a family of four~

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~Saw all of my cousins at the Schumann annual get together~

~Threw a holiday brunch for work friends~

~Watched Baylor sing “If it’s Christmas and You Know It, Ring Your Bells!” in the Christmas program at school~

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~Watched Charlie Brown Christmas soooo many times~

Wen Are You Going To Try This?

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Ok. We’ve all seen the infomercials for Wen Haircare. And we’ve all had the same thought; “Of COURSE that makes your hair beautiful…when you have a professional stylist!”. But damn if that infomercial isn’t tempting…

A few months ago I couldn’t resist so I Googled some reviews. All of them were the same: great product, horrible company. Apparently when you order directly from Wen, they enroll you in their monthly refill program and automatically send you a new bottle each month and bill your credit card. Insult to injury – it’s next to impossible to un-enroll in the program. Undeterred, I ordered from Amazon instead.

Not going to lie, this stuff is weird. It’s like washing your hair with conditioner. But you don’t use it like conditioner or shampoo, you literally have to rub your entire scalp for a few minutes AND then leave it to sit in your hair. But this stuff is amazing. I have super fine hair that tends to look scraggly when it gets too long. The Wen stuff keeps it fluffy and full, even past my shoulders.

I knew it was legit when my stylist asked what I was doing. I asked her in return if there was any down side to Wen – her thoughts were that she didn’t totally understand it, but from the looks of my locks, there was no down side!

I’m now about 6 months in and still going strong – but don’t throw out your other shampoo and conditioner. In my opinion, my hair needs a good, sudsy scrub about every 3-4 days. Maybe it’s just me, but I think Wen builds up a little after a few days. The true test will come in the next few months when the pregnancy hair starts to fall out. Fingers crossed that it’s minimal and Wen can keep what’s left beautiful….

Also, buy from Amazon. I’ve purchased 3 times now and never had any issues – just make sure you don’t buy from Wen through Amazon. Now go get infomercial hair!

Dear Santa

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Baylor’s list this year includes a baby Bjorn for her doll Shirley and a real camera.  Grandma’s got the Bjorn and we got her a really cool, kid’s digital camera – in pink of course. The thing that bums me out is that Santa is going to get the credit for the amazing present idea!

She’s also so much smarter than me – I started to write out an envelope and she informed me that she’s going to hand deliver it to Santa at the mall this weekend. I’d like to think I just don’t get enough sleep and not that the 3 year old is brighter than I am…

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Light It Up

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This week marked our second time to Zoo Lights at the Phoenix Zoo – it also officially made it a tradition for us . PW and I couldn’t believe how much better it was than last year and we loved it last year! There were even more lights, more displays and a new light show that was fantastic. And thankfully Jengo, the talking giraffe was back… among millions of lights, the animatronic giraffe is Baylor’s favorite.

I’ve yet to master the night time shot with my good camera – not to mention I was loaded up like a pack mule with Auggie in the baby Bjorn and a bag with all the family’s, ahem, crap (sweatshirts, hats, bottles, diapers, snacks, gas drops…). However the Iphone camera didn’t disappoint. I was a little jealous of the photogs with their tripods and obvious knowledge of adjusting the exposure on their cameras…

There must be 50+ trees like this all lit up in different colors. The one at the entrance must be 200 feet tall and electric blue – it’s amazing. This one was our favorite. It looked like it was wrapped in candy.

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PW and his girl

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The pack mule and the kids

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Jengo! There is a guy hiding behind the screen and he answers questions and talks to the kids – watching them freak out over the giraffe talking to them is priceless. Baylor is still singing “Jengo bells! Jengo bells!”.

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The lake has a huge sphere in the middle that changes color, spells out words, turns to flames, etc. Then the trees and some pillars in the lake all change color and “dance” to the rhythm of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was pretty amazing.

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If you go, buy your tickets ON LINE AND PRINT THEM OUT.  There is always a massive line of people waiting to buy and we always stroll right by. At least we think that’s what they are doing. There’s a possibility we’ve jumped the line every year…There were also carriage rides that took you to a roped off section of the zoo – it was too much time for us, but if you try it and it’s worth it, let me know so we can factor it in for next year!