Ode to Walmart

Dear Walmart,

Over the years, we've had our ups and downs. You've always been my go-to for any and everything. But I'll never forget that one time, the night before Easter, when Jeanine and I were shopping and they announced that you were closing. You let me down then...we didn't think that could ever happen! But my attatchment to you grew even deeper during college. You provided not only my groceries and school supplies, but countless hours of entertainment, and possibly even the setting for a few dates.

There is some competition. Target is only a few miles away and, it pains me to say this, has WAY better clothes. Don't worry, their prices aren't as good. So you are still the object of my budget-conscious affection.

And today you really came through. You see, I have a two month old son. He eats A LOT...and formula is like gold around here. Thanks to some wise advice, and the encouragement of my Pediatrician, I have come to have a great appreciation for your Parent's Choice brand formula. It is $11 cheaper per can...that's almost half the price of the fancy stuff! Not only that, but rather than give any gross details, let's just say it makes baby's tummy happy. Even at half the price, formula ain't cheap. So to see any of it wasted is frustrating to say the least.

And waste has been a problem with the leaky bottles I cannot seem to get away from! Who wants to see all the formula wasted away either coming out between the nipple and the ring during mixing or travel, or simply pouring all over baby during feeding? I started with Avent bottles, and although I think I've found the trick to stop the leaking, it shouldn't be rocket science (especially not at $16 for two bottles!)! Then I got some Evenflo bottles ($10 for 3). Those didn't pour when tilted, but they leak when shaken, and don't travel well. Today I came across the Parent's Choice bottles for the first time. At 97 cents a pop, it was worth a shot. And wouldn't you know, not a single leak?!? Granted, I haven't traveled with it yet, but I'm giving it five stars so far.

So thank you Walmart, for once again making my day with great prices, and topping it off by providing some quality products as well. Today you did not disappoint.

Steak 'n Shake

A late night college student's best friend. Stereotypical home of waitresses with poor dental hygiene. But that's to be expected.
But at the Steak 'n Shake where we live, I've had enough ridiculous experiences that it finally earned a place on the blog. Now let's be real. I don't have the highest expectations from a waitress at Steak 'n Shake. I'd be okay with average service as long as the food is good. But lately, every time I'm there I walk away shaking my head and trying to figure out what in the world just happened. Let's recap tonight's experience, shall we?
The "Have a seat/Seat yourself" sign was turned sideways leaving new customers confused from the moment they walk in the door. After waiting a few minutes, Kevin decided to seat himself. Only then did someone decide to show us to a table.
Our waitress seems pretty decent *sigh of relief*. That is, until Kevin decided to add an extra order of fries after we had already ordered our food. She looked at him like she had never heard of a french fry before. When we decided to order a dessert, Kevin asked her for a menu. She pointed to an advertisement on the side of the table and said "Well, we have these." To which kevin responded, "Is that the entire dessert menu?" Of course it wasn't. Weird.
I forgot to mention that while we waited for our food, at least two other customers had to walk up to the window and ask for something they didn't receive or had been messed up (something I've had to do there myself previously). What really boggles my mind is that the place wasn't crowded, and there were at least 5 waitresses. They simply had no interest in doing what their jobs entailed. Ridiculous.
Last but not least, we stood at the counter several minutes waiting to pay for our meal. Remember, the place isn't crowded...we were the only ones standing there. Several employees noticed us standing there, and simply ignored the fact...didn't even say that someone would be right with us. It took the cashier finally getting her head out of her butt and break away from what I'm sure was a thrilling conversation to check us out. I have never been closer to walking out of a restaurant without paying.

More Favorite Things

• Bumbo - No, this is not a flying elephant, it's a baby chair. We were blessed to have one given to us recently, and it did not disappoint! Granted, Chase is still a little small for it. But it's great to sit him in when he doesn't want to lay on his back, and mommy needs to use her hands for something else. I keep it on the kitchen counter and he watches me cook :)
• Cloth Diapers - Another item I fought against. But my mom insisted that I buy some, and she was right. They are the perfect burp cloths! All the cute, colorful ones are way too small and not nearly as absorbant. Plus, I don't really care if these get dirty or stained...and they're all white so I can bleach them clean. We never leave home without one...definitely a good investment!
• My Backpack - I am officially on my third diaper bag. Shortly after Chase was born, I decided that I didn't want to carry both a purse and a diaper bag. My first diaper bag didn't have enough pockets to accomodate this. The second one had plenty of pockets, but wasn't big enough. I finally settled on a backpack, and it is perfect! It has two main compartments (I use the smaller one for my stuff and the large one for his stuff), and plenty of little pockets as well. Love it! Bonus: because it's not girly or awkward, Kevin doesn't mind carrying it either.
• Pack and Play - If you travel AT ALL, these are worth every penny! Because we're in a temporary living situation, we're using ours as a crib. But we've also traveled multiple times, and this baby is the best! It's simple to set up/tear down, doesn't take up a lot of storage room, and lightweight enough that you can move it around very easily. PS - We went with a simple model without all the bells and whistles (no changer or tiny bassinet that vibrates). It does have a feature that allows you to raise the floor/base so that you don't break your back picking up/putting down baby. This model was about $90 cheaper than the fancy ones, and I can't see why you would need that stuff, anyhow.
• Parent's Choice Formula - aka Walmart brand. After paying $20 for a can of the fancy stuff, I called my pediatrician and they said that they highly recommend this formula. They even gave me some free samples to try (yes, please!). Not only is it $8-$13 cheaper than the name brand stuff, but Chase poops better when he's on it too. Score!
• Car Mirror - I LOVE this! It hooks to the headrest in front of Chase's car seat so that I can see him in my rearview mirror. It's a little hard to get used to at first, because all you want to do is watch baby. But once you learn where to focus, it's great. Especially when he spits his paci out and you have to reach back and put it in his mouth. (I've become a pro at driving with my right hand reached behind me)

Two Months!

Chase's two month birthday was yesterday. I just can't believe how fast it is all going by! He went from being my tiny little thing who slept all the time, to a giant chunk who fights sleep like he's going to miss something (a Webb trait, by the way).

Today was his two month checkup. Another positive review from Dr. Flowers! He weighed in at 10lbs, 14oz and is now 22.5 inches long! We were actually a little surprised, because we all thought he would be in the 11lb range. But I'm not complaining. That means he gets to keep wearing all of his adorable 3 month clothes, which he now fits into perfectly! He also got his next set of vaccinations today. One oral, two shots in his left leg and one in his right. He definitely showed us how good he is at screaming! But thank goodness daddy was there, and he didn't take too long to calm down. Poor thing.

Resting on daddy's chest after he finally went to sleep this evening.

2 Month Updates:

His feedings have leveled off somewhat. A full feeding is 6-7 ounces, but he occasionally cluster feeds now (eats a couple ounces at a time, rather than takes a full bottle) which drives mommy crazy.

I have officially packed away all of his newborn clothes. They are all too short now thanks to those two inches he's grown! So I am loving all of the cute outfits that he fits into now. I'm just a little sad that he'll outgrow them so quickly :(

Sleep has been an interesting subject around our house. Nighttime has been pretty great. He's been sleeping through the night most nights. He tends to wake up after 7-9 hours, take a bottle, and then sleep for a couple more. So YAY for sleeping through the night! Unfortunately, daytime sleeping is still a bit torturous. He has definitely inherited Daddy's personality trait which says that if I sleep, I'm going to miss something. He might fall asleep 5 times during the day, but as soon as you put him in the crib to settle in for a good nap, he's wide awake again. No fun. Especially when he gets over-tired and is fighting it. So hopefully this will improve shortly.

But spending more time awake definitely comes with its perks. He is developing such a cute personality! He smiles all the time, especially at mommy and daddy! And he loves to carry on a conversation. Goo's and coo's are happening all the time!

He still doesn't have much interest in toys. Although he did discover the mobile above his swing for the first time this morning. I caught him talking to them while I was getting ready this morning. I'm pretty sure he got mad because they weren't talking back, though.

I'm LOVING getting to spend every day with him! I can't imagine handing him off every day to go to work. Last night we left him with my parents for a little over three hours to watch a movie. It was the longest we had been apart, and it just about killed me! I'm so thankful for a husband who is doing everything in his power for me to be able to stay home and raise our little man!

Frank

If you follow "the Bachelorette" you know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you haven't watched this week's episode, STOP. Watch it. Then come back.

Since episode one, Frank has stood out as my favorite contestant. He's cute, funny, quirky and I love the way he and Ali clicked. He has slowly succumbed to a state of paranoia, however, and it has definitely been interesting to watch. He's always stood out as a favorite with Ali, and she never made any attempt to hide it. Yet week by week he seemed to question her feelings for him more and more. Tonight finally explained what's going on with him. If you don't watch, he admitted that he still had feelings for an ex-girlfriend, went to meet with her, and then decided that she was right for him, not Ali. After this revelation, he went to Ali in Tahiti and was completely honest with her about his feelings.

Now I'm sure it upset some people, but I was actually pretty proud of ol' Frank tonight. He was man enough to be honest with both Ali and the ex-girlfriend. It would have been really easy for him to just continue leading Ali on for the sake of the show, or make some sort-of silly last-ditch effort to get her to choose someone else. But instead he manned up and told Ali the truth. His sad lack of communication skills aside, I have to give credit where credit is due. Granted, it wasn't the popular choice. He upset Ali and it obviously hurt him as well. But he did the right thing. And Ali ended up being the one to ultimately prove her immaturity. I'd say this is one of my favorite Bachelorette moments thus far. Good luck to Frank and Nicole.

PS - Did anyone else notice the subtle drama created by the flower in Ali's hair? It was beautiful as she walked up to Frank's room, began wilting as their conversation took an ugly turn, and she ended up dramatically pulling it out of her hair and throwing it on the ground. Classic.

It's All About Me

Well, at least this post is.

Chase will be two months old on Monday. I can't believe how time has flown by! But this post is supposed to be about me. I'm officially 3.5lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Woo hoo! I am looking forward to getting those last pesky pounds off. Then, of course, there's the issue of the 8 additional pounds I would like to lose before our cruise in November. We'll see. I'm just glad to be nearing the end of my baby weight.

I always promised myself I would not be getting a "mommy" haircut. I am willing to admit that I'm pretty vain about my hair, and love it being long and pretty (at least to me). But a week or so ago, Chase began discovering his fists. And he has a serious death grip. So between that and daily temperatures in the 90's, I randomly decided it was time to cut my hair. I jutsified it as not being a "mommy" cut, because I wasn't doing it to make my life simpler or easy...just less painful and sweaty. So seven inches later, here's the new 'do. (picture coming after I fix my hair tomorrow. lol.)

Before (sorry, all my close-ups are on the other computer)

after

I made my first grocery trip with Chase this week. I used to really enjoy grocery shopping when we lived in Loganville. I had a system...Walmart for the basics, then Publix and Kroger for the sale items. It took a few hours, but I enjoyed finding the best deals at each store. It's a little different here. The stores aren't all in a row, and the worst part is...no Kroger (my favorite!). But I used the backpack for Chase, and it went pretty well. Took a lot longer than usual, but I'm looking forward to developing a new grocery routine.

In a couple weeks, I will start watching a friend's son two days a week. He's almost one, recently walking, and so cute! I know it will be a challenge having both he and Chase, but I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will be great for everybody. Definitely something to keep me on my toes, and teach Chase to be around other kids and Carter to be a big brother (did I mention I'll be keeping his soon-to-come baby brother starting in December?).

I'm just realizing that I don't have anything else to say about myself...wow, life has certainly changed!

Changes

I read last night that the only constant in a baby's life is change. That statement could not be more true. Today's subject of change: sleep patterns.

Chase has always been a really good sleeper. Note exhibits a, b, c...you get the picture (I have a hundred more but I won't post them all).




And lately he's been sleeping even better at night. Three feedings in the night have turned to two, and then one. I'm not sure what constitutes sleeping through the night, but Thursday night he slept for seven hours! But here comes the trade-off. Friday was torture! He was grumpy all day. Wide awake when he would normally nap. Screamed bloody murder in the car (some of that was needing to boo boo (poop) and having a hard time). Didn't want to be put down. If you could manage to rock him to sleep, he would wake up the minute you set him down. He didn't actually settle down until 6:00 or so (leaving us to enjoy our movie in peace...thank goodness!). But it was definitely a long day.

Same story today. We had one feeding last night, and today he is fussy, fussy. Didn't want to lay down, didn't want his swing, wasn't having the Bumbo seat. He is finally snoozing in his crib with the lullaby music from his swing playing next to the crib. And I am tired. This phase is more exhausting to me than when he got up three times a night. At least then he would snooze some during the day and I could nap or get things done. But this having to be constantly held thing is not cool.

Oh well, I guess that's just one of the joys of being a mom. As we've all heard and said before, "this too shall pass." I just hope it's sooner rather than later.

PS - I know I shorted you on the vacation stories, but I'm tired. For the rest of the stories (and some really cute pics), check out Kelly's blog!

Seriously...

I just have to tell this story.

Today after church we headed to Travis' parent's house for lunch. While walking from the car to the house, a bug flew in my ear. I wasn't sure that's what it was, so what's my first reaction? Stick my finger in my ear. Nothing. Still not sure, so I go inside. But I can hear it flapping around in there! I don't want people thinking I'm crazy, so I keep quiet for a second. But the flapping continues, so of course I begin freaking out.

I'm getting scared, because it sounds like a house fly or something...I mean, it's so loud it's got to be huge! They're telling me not to stick my finger in my ear...oops! And now everyone is discussing the best way to fix the situation (while I alternate between squealing and hitting myself on the other side of the head, the way you would when trying to get water out of your ear). The suggestions were q-tips and tweezers with the aid of a flashlight. If I wasn't freaking out already, the thought of someone taking tweezers to my eardrum was definitely doing the trick. Thankfully someone had the presence of mind to suggest pouring peroxide in my ear.

I still wasn't comfortable with that, but I was willing to try it to get the flapping to stop! So Kevin and Kelly grab the peroxide and a towel, and the fun begins. Just a moment after they poured it, the little sucker floated right to the top. And it was tiny! About the size of the tip of a pen!

I was slightly embarassed, but definitely glad to have the noise stop! Could this have possibly happened to anyone else? PS - you should have seen me wrapping my hair around my face/ears to avoid another incident the next time I went outside. lol.

Vacation, Part II

The second part of our vacation has begun, and we are having a blast! We are down in Key Largo spending time with Kevin's sister, her husband and their three kids. It was a LONG trip down here, but we spread it out over two days and finally arrived Tuesday evening. I'm posting a few of my favorite shots, but to see all of the pictures check out my facebook.

Wednesday we hit the pool. We had a blast enjoying the three pools which included a pirate ship/mini water park, small pool, and an olympic sized pool with diving boards. The kids had a blast and we stayed long enough to give every nice pink cheeks. Some highlights of the day: chase slept in his tent almost the whole time...and mommy and daddy got to relax and enjoy themselves. Blake went down the slide by himself...and then didn't want to stop! Kourtney is working on diving off the diving board. McKenna swam the length of the olympic pool and back. And Kelly and I branched out and each jumped off the high dive (my fear) and dove off the low dive (her fear), as well as swimming one lap in the olympic pool.

Thursday we slept in (well at least Kevin, Chase and myself did). Then we went up to Homestead and hit the mall and Buffalo Wild Wings. I think the best part of the day was changing Chase's diaper at dinner. Not usually something positive. But any diaper change that involves 4 diapers, all the wipes in the diaper bag, a second outfit and requires one mommy and two helpers who can all be heard laughing from the other room is a moment to remember. After that, we did a little more shopping and then came home to relax.

Today we hit the beach! We drove about 45 minutes away to a place called Sombrero Beach...and it was beautiful! The men went kayaking, and Kelly and I set up camp with the kids. Chase slept the whole time except for one feeding...woo hoo! It ended up being a perfect day. We had a spot under a palm tree with a little shade, and it was nice and overcast so the sun wasn't beating down on us. We spent a LONG time hanging out in the water with the kids...so fun! Afterwards we ate at a nice restaurant on the water, and took some more cute pictures.

Not sure what we're doing for the rest of our time, but so far we're really enjoying ourselves!