As I began to scan the kids, 5 boys, 2 girls, and tried to best guess their ages, I began to think to myself, “Bless this woman.” I know I could not handle that situation as gracefully as she was trying to keep her composure.  The mom, above anyone else, wanted to get the heck out of that store and take her pack with her.  I tried my best to help entertain the little one in the stroller from a comfortable distance, but there was a lot going on and he was easily distracted.  The mom was trying her best to keep her kids corralled together and she was losing the battle.  At any rate, another register opened and I went about my day.  I am sure the mom was glad I was able to go to a different line and I was glad since I no longer had to stand there trying to not look uncomfortable.   The mom and her pack left and I assume got into a large vehicle of some type, probably a 15-passenger van or something similar. 

This could be their family bumper sticker on the van…

So, what makes me want to write down this little story about the mom and her seven kids?  Well, so far Cason has been superb, all star baby and I know that at some point the streak will end.  I know that one day (probably sooner than later) Cason, or any other future children will inevitably have a meltdown or major tantrum in a store and I will be the frazzled mom trying desperately to look cool, calm, and collected, but really I just want to cry and run from the store with my kid(s) in tow…and I will want someone to be gracious with me and not be cruel or snippy or stare, etc.  Trust me, I will be wanting to crawl into a black hole when it occurs, so please be kind!    Today was an exercise of showing someone grace and sending out some karma vibes for when I need some good karma. 

And just in case you are curious, Pete and I have no plans to have seven children.  LOL! 

Y’all have a nice day!

Iris

Excited about our Merengue dance lesson we have later this evening…woo hoo Date Night! 

Thinking about all of the items on our house to-do list….where do we even start?!?

Writing a proposal for work.

Wondering what we are going to eat for dinner.

Thankful we have nice friends who will watch our son for us while we go to dance class.

Considering changing my work hours.

Wishing I could take a nap.

Hopeful we are making the right decision about moving, renovating, and renting.

Vowing to write more on this blog.

What about you?  What are you up to today?

Have a great week!

Iris

During my lunch today, I visited the Salvation Army.  I was digging in the shopping cart of items that had not been priced yet and came across two lovely cobalt blue swirled glass candle holder lovelies.  Yes, I am one of those people who has little to no shame when I thrift store shop. Don’t be afraid to dig away in those carts – it will be one less thing for the employees to have put on the shelves and it is one of those situations of go ahead and do it and ask for forgiveness later kinda scenarios, at least it is in my book.

These are Kosta Boda votive candle holders in the Atoll pattern.  They are BEAUTIFUL!  More information can be found here:  http://www.kostaboda.us/atoll/atolvotiveblue.htm 

Knowing I had found a treasure, I scooped them up and asked for the price. Drumroll please….$1 for BOTH!  So, yes, they definitely came home with me today.  Woo Hoo!  I found them online at Replacements.com and on Ebay in the range of $25.99 – 29.95 each.  TeeHeeHee.  You can buy them from Kosta Boda as well normally $50, but on special for $30. 

These pictures do not do these glass beauties justice.  I tried to capture the swirl look as well, but overcast skies do not make for great indoor pictures! 

Found any good treasures lately?

I cannot wait to get these in the mail and put them on some of my glass containers in the pantry, some on the toy bins in Cason’s room, craft room supplies, so on and so on.  Woo Hoo for www.GroopDealz.com.

GO NOW to purchase this deal…less than 32 hours left to purchase! 

We just got back from our beach vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama.  The waves were super rough, the current was gnarly, and the wind was gusty and blustery.  Outside of the beach conditions, the family visiting with Pete’s family was great and the celebration of my Parent-In-Laws upcoming 50th Wedding Anniversary could not have been better.  Pictures to come later this week after a huge deadline for work passes. 

Note:  I am in no way compensated for this posting, I simply love www.GroopDealz.com and know my friends, family, and blog followers will too. 

Hello!

I hope each of you had a great weekend; ours was splendid.  There was one minor rant while in Target over white shirts, but that issue is for another blog post.  Other than that, the weekend was superb.  The weather has become more fall-like, with crisp mornings, beautiful blue skies, and sunshine.  The sunsets have been gorgeous.  Purples morphing into warm yellows and orange sunsets. We caught one going over the Tennessee River that was lovely. 

Anyways, I want to get better at uploading pictures and keeping you all informed on what we are working on and how Cason is growing and being such a joy.  The following are pictures and videos on what the Williams family has been up to since Sept 22nd.  You have already seen some pictures from my birthday dinner on a previous post (here).  All of these pictures and videos were taken on my new phone, a Samsung Fascinate.  Pete bought me an awesome camera for my birthday and it takes AMAZING pictures!  I have many more to share, but I have not uploaded and edited those yet. 

Ok, ok, on to the pictures. 

SITTING UP

Cason is now able to sit up on his own, unsupported in the past two weeks.  He can go for long periods of time balancing on his own.  These pictures were taken on 9/22/2011.

“What Mom?” Yes, I am sitting here, all by myself. VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

WALLPAPER – JUST SHOOT ME!

My friend, Katie, and I have been taking down wall-paper in the kitchen.  I found some great glass mosaic tile on clearance at Lowe’s and will be doing the backsplash around the sink, stovetop, and two other countertop sections in the kitchen.  Here is the tile…$2.24 per sheet on clearance from $9.89 originally!  SCORE!

I am undecided on paint color for the remaining sections of wall space.  Here are my samples so far.  I am keeping the cabinets and trim color the same and am trying to avoid painting them if at all possible.  What are your thoughts?

TUMMY TIME & MORNING CRAWL

Cason is not crawling yet, but I think he is at least moving in that direction.  Here is a video on his progress.  This video was taken on the morning of 9/22/2011, right after Cason had his first morning bottle. He is very playful in the mornings. 

Morning Crawl

SWIMMING FUN

We had signed Cason up for Swim Lessons at our local YMCA, but have not been able to start the class yet, due to not enough people signing up.  We were already at the Y this last time when we discovered the cancellation.  We had our suits, were ready to go, so we played in the pool for almost an hour.  Cason LOVED it and was not scared of the water in the least bit.  I think Pete had just as much fun as Cason did.  Here is a video and pics to view, taken 10-1-2011.   

Swimming Fun VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

HIGH-CHAIR BABBLE

We have transitioned Cason to a high-chair now for most of his feedings.  He does really well in it and does not fight going in it, at least for now.  He is very excited about eating and gets very animated.  Here is a video to illustrate.  We think he could be the next E-Trade baby.     This video was taken in the morning on 10-3-2011.  The high chair is a “Duo-Diner” by Graco. So far I am pleased with it.

BATH TIME

We have been giving Cason his bath primarily in the kitchen sink using a plastic folding tub.  It has worked great.  With Cason being able to sit on his own now, we will be transitioning him to the “big boy” tub.  I have non-slip liners ready to go.  Here are a few bath pictures and one last video, taken 10-3-2011. 

Bath Time VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

SEVEN MONTHS OLD!

Cason is 7 months old today, 10-3-2011!  Holy Lord the time is flying by!  His 1st birthday will be here if I blink! Today he was feeling mellow in his green outfit, hand-picked by Mommy. 

Whew, that was a lot of pictures and videos!  Hope I did not overwhelm you, but I have discovered I need to blog when the mood hits me and on some days it will be a dumping of photos and stuff to get y’all wonderful friends and family caught up on how we are doing.  Many of you heard about Pete’s ear infection and subsequent eardrum rupturing.  He is feeling a lot better and is on the mend. 

So we are surviving, happy as clams, and looking forward to some family time this upcoming weekend.  Yea! 

Toodles,

It was a great night.  Thank you to Katie, Irma, Benji, Rudy, Tebra, Josie, Shane, and Pete for being a part of my birthday dinner.  Here are a few snapshots from the evening. 

Cason and I shared some sweet exchanges. Oh how that boy has my heart. 

Mommy’s Birthday! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Our friends, Irma and Benji joined us.  Cason has Irma’s heart too. 

Benji & Irma VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Our buddy, Rudy, celebrated with us also.  He is new to the sushi scene and struggles every time with the chopsticks.  It is hard for an old dog to learn new tricks.    LOL! 

My partner-in-crime in my home staging projects, Katie, also came to enjoy some sushi.  Cason is working on her heart.

Two pictures of the happy husband and wife – one of our usual self-pics and one that Benji took for us.

Shot of a yummy plate of sushi.  This is “Sushi Cake” and a Snowcrab roll.  Yum Yum!

One tired little boy.  A few tears were shed after a minor incident with a chopstick.    Momma to the rescue. 

Good friends, Good food, Great night…I am blessed. 

I chose Sunshine Yellow spray paint by Krylon in gloss finish.  I wanted a pop of color for my desk and knew this sunny yellow would do the trick.  I washed away the dirt first and then started spray painting it.  After a few coats of spray paint (I did not use primer on this piece), I added a cactus plant with some pea gravel and VIOLA, so much better! 

Here are shots from overhead and from a different angle. 

This peppy planter sits with 3 other plants on my desk.  Here are a few pictures of my other plants on my desk. 

In case you want to know the names of each plant, in clockwise order starting with the turquoise planter…

Mother-In-Law‘s Tongue or Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata), Buddha’s Hand (also called by many other names – Hooded Dwarf, or Hawaiian Hearts Elephant Ear, Chinese Taro, or Alocasia cucullata), a type of Barrell Cactus, and ???.  I do not know the type of cactus in the yellow planter.  Sorry! 

My that planter looks so much better!  Here is a side-by-side comparison. 

Definitely worth the $.25 I paid for it.  I had all the other supplies on hand.  I like the added pop of color to my desk.  Do you decorate with plants?  I have them all over the house, 9 in my office alone! 

I L-O-V-E our new coffee table.  It is a lot more kid friendly than our old one.  We needed a table that would be better for Cason to pull up on and walk around. Our old coffee table and end tables were hazardous to small children to say the least!   I wanted something softer and with storage.  Enter, our new leather storage ottoman.   

It has great storage space to hide all of our junk, in an organized fashion of course!

A boppy pillow, two blankets, basket of toys, ring toy, 15 magazines, two laptop desk pillow things, and a bumbo seat with table.  See, I told you it held a lot of stuff.

I love how both sides open up and the hinges are strong and you have to push down on the lids to make them close.  They do not slam back down.  Slamming lids would not work very well for my baby’s hands. 

I have a small basket on top to serve as a catch-all for a few of Cason’s toys, the remote, and drink coasters.  With both sides opening/closing, I doubt this ottoman becomes piled up with stuff, at least that is the hope.  I have the dining room table for my piles o’ stuff.    If you know me and have been to our house, you know what I am talking about.  The dining room table is my dumping spot. 

I found this wonderful coffee table/storage ottoman at T.J. Maxx last week.  The regular price tag was $400, but the T.J. Maxx price was $199.99.  While this price is more than I had intended to pay for a new coffee table, it serves our purpose so well and the leather is super easy to clean up when you have spills, slobber, and other baby stuff happening on it. 

Now, to sell the old coffee table and end tables on Craigslist.  Here is the link if you are interested in buying them. 

http://shoals.craigslist.org/fuo/2545478953.html

And I am on the hunt for new end tables.  Darn, I have to visit more thrift stores now.  LOL!

Happy Monday,

Source

Here are some before pictures of our spice cabinet situation.  The third shelf is pretty much useless for me, since I can’t reach anything on it. 

These cabinets are above the stove. 

This cabinet is to the left of the stove.

I took everything out of the cabinets and put it all on the stove. 

Yes, I am aware we have a ridiculous amount of spices.  We probably only use about 20% of these spices.

Besides my $1 3-tier shelf riser, I only wanted to use bins/storage containers I already had on hand.  I did not want to have to buy anything for this quick fix organization project.   I have a plethora of storage containers to pick from, it is a collection, trust me. 

Here are a few after pictures.  Quick, easy, and a lot less cuckoo for me! 

See the shelf riser on the bottom right?  I only used the first two risers.  Our cabinets are not tall enough to use the third row.  You can’t see the labels I made for the top left containers in this picture:  Bread Dipping Seasonings and Bouillon

Close-up of right side of the cabinet above the stove. 

I stored our extra Ground Cumin on the third shelf of the shelf riser.

Why on earth we have two full containers of Ground Cumin is beyond me. 

I have NEVER cooked with Ground Cumin.

Left side of the cabinet.

Close-up of the cabinet to the left of the stove. 

We use the bottom row for our rubs/spices we put on meats.  These are the spices we use the majority of the time.

The labels on these containers are ‘Peppers’, ‘Turkish Seasonings’, and ‘Dips & Sauces’.

We ended up with 4 jars of mystery spices that were not labeled.  I have lived here for over 2 years and we have never used them.  So, I tossed them out.   

How does your spice rack/cabinet look?  This was quick (took me less than an hour) and cost me $1.  That is my kind of organization – quick and cheap!  And a whole lot less cuckoo!

Hope you are having a great week!

Mommy took a few pictures of me this morning before I headed off to daycare.  I can make lots of expressions! 

Can’t wait to play with you!