Christmas Lists

For those who have asked, each of the kids has an Amazon Wish List (so do hubby and I), and I'll put the links below.

And just FYI, I use the wish list feature at Amazon because it's easy. However, I don't believe they have the lowest prices on everything so if you plan to purchase, don't feel obligated to use Amazon, find a lower price somewhere else! But if you do purchase somewhere else, please let me know what you bought for which kid, and I'll take it off the wish list so we don't get duplicates!!

Trevor

Blake

Isabelle

Me

Me & Hubby

Also, the sizes all 3 kids are wearing are listed under their pics on the right side of the blog. Honestly, the boys don't really need any clothes at the moment. Izzy is quickly growing out of 9m things, so anything winter 12m would be great (clothes and jammies).

7, 7, 7 months....ha ha ha ha ha!

Another month has flown by. Where has the time gone!

Izzy's pretty much mastered sitting and LOVES it! I'm sure she enjoys the new and better view of all her brothers antics. She sits and plays with all kinds of toys for ages, until she tips over, and the she's off around the room.

She's great at getting around the room via rolling, scooting, and a modified army crawl. She also gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth for ever... it's only a matter of (short) time until she gets the "real" crawl figured out. Turn your back for 2 minutes and you might find her under the kitchen table or heading for the front door!

We've continued to try lots of new foods, including: sweet potatoes, peas, pears, oatmeal, and butternut squash. She loves them all (well, the peas are a strech!) and has come to like the applesauce too (with a little sugar in it!).
She's also discovered mirrors and thinks the baby in the mirror is lots of fun!

She still loves big brother T, and he LOVES her!
She's up to 17 pounds now and seems to be growing like a weed!

And she's generally one happy, quiet baby!

Great Deal on a Britax Frontier

I've become very attached to my car seats. In fact, I'm very unwilling to let my kids go anywhere without being in a 5-point harness. Why do I require my 5 1/2 year old to still sit in a 5-point harness and not a booster?? I mean, the booster would be SO much easier for me to move from car to car, and SO much easier for the boys to buckle themselves into, and SO much easier to fit into my car and still have room for other people, and SO much cheaper. (Where is that sarcasm font when I need it??).

Here's why... Kyle David Miller.

So no, I'm not buying a booster seat any time soon. Get over it!! But I'm still also a cheap-ass very frugal person. So when a friend told me about a way to get a Britax Frontier car seat for a great price (I think it's close to 45% off!!!) how could I resist. And I thought I would share with you! Here's what you do:

1. The Frontier is currently on sale at Amazon for $195. Go to the site and print out the price. (Frontier in Rushmore, or choose Red Rock, Canyon, or Sahara).

2. Take the printout to Bed Bath & Beyond and have them price match.

3. Use a 20% off coupon to get the price down to $156.

In my case, they didn't have the seats in stock, so they were glad to order it for me and ship it to my home. I've heard it's possible you'll have to play shipping which is $16. Total = $156 + tax if they waive shipping, or $172 + tax with shipping fee. Original price $279.99 + tax

So, now Blake has a fabulous new car seat, and Izzy will soon be residing in his Britax Boulevard, rear facing, until she's probably 3 (or reaches the weight limit of the seat).

Go get a good deal and keep your kid safe for longer!

Success?

Wednesday morning I visited the local hospital for a routine follow-up. Yes, my routine follow-up was at the hospital. That's because it was a follow-up to confirm that the Essure procedure I had done in July worked.

For those of you, who don't or won't click on the link above, the Essure procedure has ended my ability to get pregnant. Yup, the inn is closed, the hotel is out of business, no more babies are living in this body.

So I went to the hospital, met my midwives there (gosh I love those gals!) and got set up for the test. The radiologist who performed the follow-up, came in, took a lot at the x-ray screen, and said, "Success!".

But as I drove home, it made me start to think. Yes, hubby and I talked about this procedure, and planned it, and it was not a surprise. We've planned for years to have 3 children and no more. I'm very content and happy with our family just the way it is. And I'm thrilled not to have to think about birth control or worry about accidental pregnancies.

But it was definitely interesting to hear the radiologist say "Success!". I've successfully ended my abilbity to get pregnant and bear children. And yet, I still know SO many people who would give anything to have the success of getting pregnant. I could wish that me taking my name out of the proverbial hat would increase their chances....but sadly, I don't think that really has any impact at all!

Oh well, I could still be a surrogate.....and maybe I will one day!

Halloween in Pictures

For those who may not know.... Mario Brothers. Or more correctly, Mario Kart Wii. In which, Mario, Luigi and numerous other characters drive race cars on various tracks. It's the boys new favorite game, and it became the halloween theme! So Trev & Blake are Mario & Luigi, that much was easy. I became Princess Peach, since I knew I had easy access to a dress (she was the princess in the castle at the end of the original Mario Brothers game). And in Mario Kart there are banana peels on the race course that make the cars spin out. So Izzy became a banana to fit in with the family theme!

Luigi (Blake) & Mario (Trevor)
Luigi, Baby Banana, & Mario
Princess Peach & Baby Banana

Blake had a halloween party at preschool. He was super excited and had a great time. Here's a picture of all the kids. I think the R2-D2 costume was my favorite (standing on the left) but his hat/head was too heavy for him to wear without his mom holding it!

During the party, they played lots of games and sang songs. Here's Blake and our friend Maddie.
But Blake's favorite part of the party was definetly snack time... followed closely by the goody bags!On Friday, Trevor had his class party. More games, singing, stories, and treats!On Saturday, we carved pumpkins before going trick or treating. Turns out the pumkins had REALLY tough skins, so Daddy needed to use his Roto-Zip to carve the designs!
But they turned out just fine anyway! This is Blakes original creation...
And Trevor's one-eye'd creation.
We had a crazy, happy, busy, fun, wonderful Halloween!!!