Fantasy Football

My husband is really having a rough fantasy football week. He is playing me. I'm winning. He has two guys playing in tonight's Monday Night Football game. Walking into the game, he was down 44 points.

Every time one of his players scores, he updates me on exactly how many points he has until he catches up and surpasses me while reminding me that my team cannot score any more points this week.

We are halfway through the third quarter. He's down by 34. I think it is safe to say that I, Pug Central, will win this week and upset the #1 team, Bob Nokes, in our league.

Take that, Mr. Bean.

Things You Should Know...

...about decorating for Christmas with a toddler

1. Verbal commands such as "stop" and "gentle" suddenly mean nothing when the glow of Christmas lights captures them.
2. Expect shrieking, screaming, jumping up and down, and possibly temper tantrums from your husband (well, if a Bears game is on while you're decorating anyway).
3. Empty boxes are fun to stack and knock down. Be sure the ones your toddler grabs are indeed empty.
4. If you have a toy shopping cart at your house, it is amazing what chores associated with decorating you can get your child to do.
   
5. If you have one of those ornaments that you touch to turn on and off the tree lights, be sure not to do so in the presence of your child. You will regret it the rest of the season.
6. Animal ornaments are a crowd pleaser.
7. When setting up the nativity scene, be sure to explain whose birthday it is. Inevitably your child will respond to the question, "Whose birthday is at Christmas?" with "Daddy!" *slaps self in forehead* We are working on correcting this although technically, she's right.
8. When chopping down your Christmas tree, picking a field that is without mud is desirable.
9. Mittens are also desirable.
10. When your toddler experiences Christmas for the first time (in her memory anyway), the reactions are simply priceless. Have your camera ready (and battery charged)!
    

Happy (Day After) Thanksgiving!

Things I'm thankful for this year:

• A husband who loves our family and sacrifices for us.
• The daughter God has blessed us with.
• The child God will be blessing us with in the near future.
• A job that understands my priority of being a Mom first and is okay with that.
• Cars that are paid for and (currently) work.
• A home we can afford to live in.
• The little things like my cupcake pans and trouser socks.
• And many other things I couldn't begin to list!
  

Happy (day after) Thanksgiving!

Thankgiving Eve

'Tis the eve of Thanksgiving, so I suppose I should think of some things for which to be thankful. (like how I made sure not to end that sentence in a preposition? )

I'm thankful that I don't have to cook the turkey.
I'm thankful for my dear sweet Filbert.
I'm thankful for my delightful Walnut.
I'm thankful for my precious Peanut.
I'm thankful for my boundless Cashew.
I'm thankful for godly parents who love me.
I suppose I'm thankful for 3 older brothers. ;)
I'm thankful for loving in-laws who are not the stuff of nightmares.
I'm thankful for my dishwasher (even though Filbert does most of the dishes.)
I'm thankful that Filbert does most of the dishes.
I'm thankful for my house.
I'm thankful for my bed. (I really love my bed.)
I'm thankful that even though times are tight, my children have never gone hungry. (I mean actually hungry, not whiny privileged American hungry which just means I want a cookie.)

Christmas Shopping

Normally by this time of year I'm finished with shopping except a few odds and ends. I feel so behind right now. I have items picked out for a few people, but not purchased. I have exactly 2 gifts purchased, and I have about 13 more to go. Sigh.

Anyone want to go shopping for me? (Mr. Bean is soooo lucky. I do all his shopping for him!)

Why the Bears Stink this Year

I blame the speckles. Whose idea was this? The shirts are much worse:


Let's start by firing the apparel designer. Maybe morale would be higher and the team would play better.

Where's My Tail?

My sister-in-law purchased this as a gift for String Bean's birthday:


The Where's My Tail? puzzle is made by Infantino and can be found at a pretty reasonable price. (For some reason, Amazon is listing this at $45 right now. I think it really should be $15 or less. There must be a glitch.)

Just this evening, we put together this puzzle 5 times before I called it quits. I cannot believe how quickly my 2 year old is matching the parts together. It is really amazing!

Gift Shopping with String Bean

A friend from church is adopting a toddler from China. Tonight, String Bean and I went shopping for her "toddler shower." I figured that String Bean would know what to get being that she fits into the same age group.

As we roamed the aisles of the store, she squealed in delight at all sorts of things. First, she discovered there was a purple dress on the rack and that I was wearing a purple sweater and that pretty much blew her little mind. Next, she found a sippy cup that was exactly like hers and attempted to drink out of it without success.

When we finally made it to the toy section, there were books to be discovered, toys to ride, balls to throw and buttons to press. We finally settled on some kids' kitchen ware (spatulas, bowls, colanders and the like). The great thing about taking her to shop for someone else is that I have a great idea of what to add to her Christmas list!

Two Year Stats

String Bean had her 2 year well check today with none other than my cousin (by marriage), Cindy!

For those of you who do not know, we've battled a weight problem since shortly after birth with String Bean. So, we are always eager to see if she's improved. Today she tipped the scales at 21 1/2 pounds! This is in the 1.6% for her age which is an improvement over 6 months ago when she was in the 0.5% for weight.

While this is great news, we are still forced to keep her rear-facing in her car seat due to the weight requirement of her car seat which is 24 pounds. If she continues to gain 1/2 a pound each month as she did the last 6 months, we are looking at having the option of turning her around in April 2010. Of course, extended rear facing is safer, so we aren't complaining. The only time it bugs us is on long road trips. She doesn't know the difference!

Other stats:
Height- 32 inches (10%)
Head Circumference- 18 1/4 inches (21%)

Giraffe

String Bean got a giraffe puppet for her birthday. We took it to the library with us today. What a thrill to see a display case full of giraffes. Even the librarians got excited for us!