Little Miss Muffet....

So, this is a Banana Spider, and they are ALL OVER the place down here in Mobile, AL. This one happens to live outside our apartment.

I happen to be SCARED TO DEATH of spiders. Cockroaches and Spiders I CAN'T STAND, any other bug or creature I am OK with. Though, as long as the spider stays outside, I am good with her, otherwise it's bye bye spider.

However, these Banana Spiders are so big, that I already told Bill that if he ever came home to find me and the kids in the van, he would know one of those giant spiders go into the house.

But, this one is kinda growing on me, and in an attempt to not make my son scared to death of spiders as well, we have even given this one a name: Charlotte.

Yes, like Charlotte's Web. I'm liking the spider more already.

The Life Aquatic!

For the past few weeks, my toddler has been in a very wet heaven! You can find out why and how by reading my latest Toddler Product Reviews and learning why we are so excited to be on cloud nine living The Life Aquatic thanks to Spin Master!

Seeing if I can win a Bed...

5 Minutes for Mom has a contest to win a new bed set when you enter a picture of your child sleeping...this is my favorite of Little Dude sleeping next to Bill on the floor. I think it was from this past May and they just wore each other out playing! My awesome guys!

And so, keep your fingers crossed we win the Summer Breeze Set, cause that would be so awesome....

4 Months

I can't believe it has been 4 months already-where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday he came into our lives! What is even more unbelievable? He is sleeping through the night now!! Hallelujah! Though I am sad he is getting so big so quickly, I am ever so happy to get sleep again.

Happy 4 Month Birthday, JR!!!

My Perfect Dress at Shabby Apple

As a new mom, I hate shopping for clothes. Nothing fits, and it is hard finding clothes in those first few post partum months that make my body look fabulous, instead of "good for having just had a baby". It can be a bit alarming when you try on size after size, realize how much your body changed during your pregnancy, and how some of that just is never going to go back to "before". Thus, my newly founded hatred of the mall.

Never fear though, I have found a perfect solution to dreaded clothes shopping for moms everywhere!! Not only do I get to avoid trying to juggle two kids, all their STUFF, a double stroller (though awesome for keeping the kids from running off, you can't avoid the size), and stacks of clothes in every size possible hoping, er praying, that one item might fit, I get to help fight global poverty with my purchase! Now that is a shopping experience!

What is this wondrous place I speak of? The Shabby Apple. And trust me, their clothes and amazing accessories are anything but shabby!

Learn more about the Shabby Apple line of chic everyday, every night and every occasion dresses by reading the rest of my review! You can also earn a discount on your next purchase-learn the details here!

Everest

My friend, Steph, has wonderful posts up here and here

And there is some great Motherhood questioning going on here

To be honest, I am going to have to think hard about my answers-What do I excel in as a Mother? If you asked that about my crafty skills, or back when I was in high school, I'd have a whole slew of answers for you, eager to show off what I thought I did very well in. But now? I honestly don't know that I excel at motherhood. I do my best, I have fun doing it, but excel? There is really not much that I do that I feel would win me mother of the year. I often don't have the dishes done, or the laundry folded. Sometimes I forget the time and naps are late. And yes, sometimes when I work I turn on the tv to keep Little Dude busy. So am I a good mom? I don't know. I'm glad The Extraordinary Ordinary asked, but I really can't pin point anything that I am just super great at as a Mom. In fact, I would say I am all around mediocre.

And let's not even get started on what I fail at as a parent. I can think of many more of those than I want to admit. The biggest? Since having JR I fail at leaving the house. It's hard for me to get everything together and done and out the door without just feeling like the effort is not worth it. But deep inside I know it is, and so I keep trying, over and over again because I know someday I'll get it. And I fail at patience. Again, since JR, I know I have much less patience, and I try to blame it on lack of sleep, but really I know that it is just because I am overwhelmed with all the things I want and try to do with the kids, and get upset when I can't get them accomplished.

But you know, I think it is OK to be mediocre at Mothering, because my Love is bigger than Everest, and eventually I will make it to the summit. I know the view from the top will be well worth the climb.

And then, we will make it out the door without me forgetting half the stuff we need, enjoy a nice picnic at the park without anyone running away as I try to grab the baby and catch him, Little Dude wont fall while I'm not paying attention and bust his lip open, and I will come home to a nice clean house, dinner ready on time, dishes done, laundry done,....

Who am I kidding, the laundry will never be done.

Sweet Sunrise

Gosh, I don't know the last time I watched a sunrise; I had forgotten how amazing it truly is. This morning, JR's feeding timed up right before the sunrise, so I pulled a chair outside and nursed him on the back patio while we waited for the sun to come up.

It was just amazing, and filled me with so much inspiration for our world, our lives, and our future. Sitting there with my son-snuggling with him and talking to him-while watching the sun come up, just reminded me how very unimportant and insignificat things I stress about are.

As most of you know, my computer died this past weekend, and I ended up having to buy a new one. I did get all my files switched over, but I am still trying to learn where they are and figure out this Windows Vista (I had Windows 2000, I think...) organized everything again, and most of all catch up on all the TONS of work that piled up for me at Dakno. All of yesterday I was stressing out over how I would ever find the time to catch up on everything that had piled up on me.

But this morining gave me a breath of fresh air. Sitting, listening to the world around me come alive as the sun started to warm us all up. In the big scheme of the world, I am so small in insignificant, and I have all my needs and majority of my wants satisfied. I have a healthy family, lovely boys and a wonderful husband. We have jobs that pay well. In fact, I have the best of both worlds with my job-I stay home with my sons, and work when they nap or when I have extra time at night.

So, overall, nothing to stress about today, because years from now it won't matter if I had to let my boss know I couldn't finish a project on time. But it will matter that I spent the morning with my son, watching the sun rise.

Yes, I think I will remember this morning into my nineties.