Friday Afternoon Shopping

I am a people-watcher, and it is amusing to me to see what people have in their baskets, buggies, and hands at stores on Friday afternoons. Folks are preparing for the upcoming weekend and their plans are clearly - and sometimes not-so-clearly - displayed by the stuff they are buying.

Some of my favorites:

The person: Older black guy
The items: Icehouse and pork rinds
Seriously...what else do you need? My brother said, "That's what you call keepin' it gangsta."

The person: Mid-40s woman wearing sweatpants and a sour look on her face
The items: 2 packs of hot dogs, 3 bottles of water, and chocolate syrup
First of all...where are the buns for all those hot dogs? 2nd of all...chocolate syrup...whatcha gonna do with that?? And why 3 bottles of water? Did she have 2 friends waiting on her? Would you need approximately 3 bottles of water if you were to eat, say, 2 packs of hot dogs?

The person: Late-30s, well-dressed white man
The items: Condoms. two boxes, different brands
Well, isn't that considerate? Offering some variety. Noticed you didn't go for the lube. Cocky, are we?

The people: 2 teenage boys
The items: Oreos, Rock Star energy drink, Pop Rocks, Coca Cola, Maxim
Obvious. They're going to have an Oreo eating contest just like the one you see on the commercials, and use the Rock Star to boost their energy for it. Then they are going to see if anything explodes when you mix Pop Rocks and Coke. Then they are going to read some intellectual articles.

The person: Mid-20s girl
The items: Midol, Tampax, YooHoo, various candies, Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
I just felt sorry for her. She needed to add Kleenex to the mix.

Pay attention to the folks around you when you are out and about on Friday afternoons...it is fun to guess what they're up to. I'm just sayin'...

Stuff Little Man Says

Our Little Man has been talkin' up a storm for a few months now. It is amazing watching him make connections and say more and more each day. I read that toddlers learn 10 words a day, whether they say them immediately or not. Isn't that something? In the last month, he has been saying a lot of sentences, too! I'm so proud of him! I know that y'all are going to sit there and roll your eyes and laugh at my teacher ways, but back at the end of March I made a list of all the words he was saying...it was over 100 words and phrases! Aaaahhh!! It's well over that now, I'm sure...I'll add to the list and let you know. hahaha!

Here's some stuff he says...some of these he's been saying for a long while now...others are new things he's saying!

"I love you." - I have already blogged about this one. :)

"I love you my monkey!" - He said this to his favorite stuffed monkey last night while we were headed home from dinner. So cute!

"Thank you my daddy!" - He said this to Andy while they were playing.

"Chugga chugga chugga chugga choo choo! All Aboard!" - Hubby taught him to say this while playing with his trains.

"Hey Mommy! I color!" - He peeped around the corner at me while I was washing dishes today and said this. I said, "That sounds fun!" He nodded and went back to his little desk.

"What are you doing?" - He came over to me while I was loading the washing machine and said this.

"Okay" - This is usually "okay okay okay okay okay"...when you are doing something like wiping his face or hands off and he's ready for you to be done. hahaha!

"Come back here!" - One of his favorites!

"Awkward" - I said this while on the phone with BFF the other day, and he said it over and over for the longest time.

"Bless you!" - If you sneeze, or if he sneezes, he's gonna say it.

"I got it!" - Self explanatory. ;)

"Thank you" - He's got manners.

"High five!" - He loves to give a high five!

"Monkey and a hug!" - He said this when he had monkey in his arms and then Daddy picked him up for a hug. :)

"No" - One of his favorites, and he's still sometimes confusing "no" and "yes." If I say, "Are you ready for a snack?" He'll grin and say "nooooooo" and then head to the kitchen. hahahahaha

"Mine!" - Self-explanatory. ;)

"What happen?" - He just said this at dinner tonight when I raised my voice in annoyance at Hubby. Gotta watch that!!

"Oh no! What did you do?" - This is always said together just like that. hahahaha! Love it!

He is at such a fun stage! He cracks us up every single day...we love our Little Man!!

I still say he's growing up tooooo fast, though. I'm just sayin'...

Potty Training!!

*I know I am a slacker when it comes to my blogging lately! It's harder to find 15 minutes to sit down and write a blog when I'm keeping the neighbors' kids, because there's more cleaning and catching up on stuff to do when they are napping. Not to mention that I can't think about much of anything besides peace and quiet by the time bedtime arrives! (Yes, I love these kiddos, but boy do they wear me out most days!) My last day with them is next month, so I should be bloggin' more this summer.*

**Disclaimer** This blog may or may not contain TMI. Just warnin' ya.

So, we have officially entered potty training. I bought his sweet little potty a couple of months ago, but I have been putting off the potty training. And then when our neighbor's daughter came back to stay with us during the days, I decided not to do it because I did not want to potty train her, too. (Not trying to be mean, just sayin'...)

However, he has had some poopin' issues lately, and I decided yesterday to put him on that potty and see if it could speed the force of nature. And it did. ;) He had been trying to go all day, with very little luck. I had put him in the shower (yes, he likes showers...he wants us to put him in there, then sit there and watch him play...he has the best time in there!), and I saw him start trying to go again. So, I pulled him out and put him on his little potty. He screamed at me and was so mad...but he WENT. I just sat there with my hands on his waist and talked to him and encouraged him. When he stood up, I showed him the poop in the potty and he was fascinated. I high-fived him, praised him, and put him back in the shower. He kept coming back over to peek over in the potty to check out the poop.

When I got him out of the shower, he squatted down next to the potty and got his face as close as he could to the potty without me telling him to back up, and he just stared at it. And he would say, "Poop!" "Potty!" and "Icky!" (He said icky because he was trying to put his hand in there, and I told him it was icky so he'd stop! ha!) He stared at that poop for the longest time. I kept praising him and then he finally looks up at me and says, "All done!" and shuts the lid and walks out of the room. haha!

This morning when he started trying to go again, I took him to the potty and sat him on there and he went some more. I praised him and he inspected it for a few minutes and then we flushed it in the big potty. Then a little while later he started trying to go again (I told you, he has issues...and, yes, I am adding more fiber, but this is inherited unfortunately.) I looked at him when I realized he was trying to go, and he said, "Go?" I didn't say anything, because I wanted to see what he was going to do. Then he said, "Poop potty". Aaaahhhh...really?? Can it be this easy?! Off to the potty we went.

So, I think it is safe to say that we are in full-blown potty training now. I mean, you can't just stop and start this stuff, right? So, a-pottyin'-we-will-go! Wish us luck!!

I never thought I'd be so happy that someone had used a toilet. I'm just sayin'...

"I Love You"

That's a pretty powerful sentence, isn't it?

My little boy said those three words to me this morning (accompanied by a huge hug). I am not going to lie...I cried...happy tears of course. It was the best feeling ever. I mean, I love a hug from Little Man and I get millions of them every day, but this morning when he added "I love you" to it, I just melted. I love that little boy to the moon and back and it was so awesome to hear him say that to me.

Sure, he's said "byebyeloveyou" all together a couple of times, but really only 2 or 3 times in the last few months that he's been talking. But, today it felt like he was saying it because he knew it meant something good. (Of course, he did the same with Monkey (his favorite, go-everywhere-he-goes, cry-when-Mommy-washes-it stuffed monkey) shortly thereafter, so I know he means it! hahaha!) *Did I just use parentheses inside of parentheses? Wow.

I can't wait for him to say it to his Daddy!! (And aaalllllll of his grandparents and uncles and aunts and everyone who is special to us!)

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

I'm just sayin'...

Prayer Request

Hey, everyone! I am writing asking for your prayers...

My BFF and her husband have been in the process of adopting from Russia for quite some time now. I am sure most of you have probably heard on the news about the woman who returned her child to Russia, citing that he was "mentally unstable." I obviously do not know the woman, nor do I know the events and incidents that took place in her home leading up to the child's return, but I am shocked that a mother would return her child this way. That's your child! He was not Russia's anymore...he was hers...and she just sent him back on a one-way plane ticket. It is a horrible situation, and one that I just cannot understand.

This incident created outrage in Russia, and they are now wanting the U.S. Government to sign saying that they will assist in regulating American adoptions of Russian children. I saw on the news this morning that they have formally suspended American adoptions until they can work something out with the U.S.

The article I read on CNN stated that U.S. representatives are going to Russia next week to try to work something out. They said that there was no reason for Americans in the process of adopting from Russia to be too concerned at this time, because they did not believe it would have long-term effects on the ability of Americans to adopt from there. Easier said than done, I'm sure, for those families like my BFF's who are waiting every day for a referral, not to mention those families who have already met their little one(s) and are eager to bring them home.

Please pray for all of these families, all the children, and pray that this gets resolved quickly.

My BFF and her husband are eager to have their little one(s) home. They are going to make the most wonderful parents, and I know their home is going to be a happy one! Their faith in the Lord throughout the entire adoption process has been inspiring. They know that He has plans for them (Jeremiah 29:11!) and they are trusting that He will bring them through this and give them the patience and peace they need as they await the day that they will bring their bab(ies) home!

So, please, remember my BFF and her hubby, and all of the families affected by this one woman's decision, and keep them on your prayer list. I know every one of them will appreciate it. I'm just sayin'...

Random Ramblings

Whew...the last week or so has been so busy! I'm gonna play a little catch-up with this blog.

• Strange happenings at Target: Why in the world am I always caught up in a Target adventure? Well, this one was dangerous! That's right. Dangerous. While shopping, I noticed a guy that I would classify as "annoying." He had a boy with him who was probably about 10 years old, and he was just acting crazy. He was talking to the kid while running up and down the aisles saying stuff like, "Oh! We should get some JuJu Beans!" I was wondering what the crap was the guy's deal, but went on about my shopping, chalking him up to one of the crazies you run into occasionally. Well, we ventured over to the Easter section and there was a Target employee standing next to me while I tried to choose between Milky Ways or Snickers. (In case you care, Milky Ways won. They're out of this world. Get it? ha!) The employee's radio went off and a voice said, "The previous customer has returned and is in the sporting goods section." Another voice said, "Are you sure it's the same man?" 1st voice: (sounding a little scared) "Yes. I am positive. Come to sporting goods." Well, being a human, I am nosy, and apparently so were the other people around me because we all start nonchalantly making our way over to the sporting goods section. (Before you say it, trust me...it's been said. Yes, I was an idiot for going over there...it could have been dangerous, blah blah blah.) Guess who the "previous customer" was? Yep...annoying guy who loved the JuJu Beans. He was up and down every aisle like a true ADHD adult male. He was all over the place. Employees were standing around and one girl actually had tears in her eyes. Enter Target Security Officer. Well, kind of...he stood at the end of an aisle in true action movie style, peering around toward the suspect. When suspect moves, security guy shoots across the aisle and assumes the same action movie pose at the end of the aisle, ducking his head back around the corner lest he be spotted by the suspect. The suspect keeps moving around all over and so does security guy. It finally hits me that I am an idiot and this guy could actually do something stupid, so I decide to get me and Little Man out of there. The other spectators watching everything apparently think the same thing. On my way to the front to checkout, I see that big, brave security officer had moved himself further away from the suspect while still maintaing the action movie pose at the end of various aisles. I really felt safe with this brave man on top of things. I got out of there and still don't know what in the world had happened. How's that for a cliff hanger? I got nothin' else for ya.
• I did not spray tan myself. I decide to just believe in the saying that "Pale is the new tan." Let's just hope all those folks at the wedding had heard that saying, too.
• At the rehearsal for the wedding, the flower girl tried to teach Alex how to skip. I am kicking myself for not having video of it. It looked like he was doing the Hammer dance. But, boy was he laughing and smiling and happy while he tried it! It was hilarious!
• The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast! Little Man's tux was huge on him, but he was the sweetest little ring bearer! When the flower girl dropped the petals, he stopped in the aisle and said, "Oh no!" Then he started picking up the petals. When we finally convinced him to come down the aisle, he stopped in front of the groom, spun around slowly, then ran back up the aisle. One of the bride's family members got him to come to her and then my mom got him and took him to the nursery. The ring bearer's pillow did not make it down the aisle with him, but his buddy Monkey did. :)
• My BFF did my hair for the wedding. Let's just say it involved a curling iron and a can of extra strength White Rain hairspray. Wooooooo. My hair did not move. It was super cute, and it went from wedding hair to Easter hair easily. When we got home Sunday night, I brushed it out, but when I got in the shower the next morning, it was like the water made it all suck back up into itself or something. It took me forever to get all the tangles out of my hair! Little Man was in the shower with me, and by the time we got out he had long brown locks like me since mine was shedding so bad while I tried de-White Rain it.
• Easter was great! We celebrated with all our family and friends. I finally found my son's Easter outfit at Dillards...and it wasn't a pair of khakis and sweater vest! It was a cute blue and white striped John-John outfit. He looked so sweet in it. I decided to go with that since I thought this may be the last year that we'll be able to really get away with the pretty baby-ish stuff. He loved hunting eggs...well, he loved opening them and eating the chocolate. (Yep, all the chocolate and dirt stains came out of the outfit! I am the Spray-N-Wash queen!)
• MamaSherry came and spent the night with us yesterday. We had so much fun going to the park and going downtown. Alex got up from nap this afternoon and was sad to see that she'd left! He walked in the living room and looked around and then looked at me and I told him that Grandma had to go home and he said, "noooo!"
• There's a new billboard up near our apartment. That billboard changes constantly, yet I never see anyone up there putting the new one up. WHEN are they doing it??? In the wee hours of the morning?! I am tempted to make random checks in the middle of the night until I catch them in the act. I mean, come on...with as much as it changes, I should see them up there, right?

Random thought from a song..."When your tree is breaking, just bend." I'm just sayin'...