Henna

I got my belly "Henna-ed" and it was so much fun to sit there with my friend who was doing it and just laugh and relax for an hour or so.

She let me pick from several designs but the one with the baby feet stole my heart. Look how tiny and cute they are.

There were several pictures but this one showed off the tiny feet.

If you are pregnant you have got to do this!

The Henna is a mud and it is mixed with sugar and lavender. It smells so good and is very light feeling on your skin.

I enjoy looking at my belly now. Being at the end of this pregnancy that is not a very fun thing to do because I cannot believe how much my stomach is stretched. Now I just giggle when I see the design and remember the great time I had getting painted on.

The design fades slowly so there is time to enjoy it, take pictures and lift up your shirt to show friends and family...and blog viewers....

Through The Eyes of A Child

Have you ever downloaded your pictures and found one surprise picture or, say, 20 that you didn't take.

It happens to me a lot.

I actually adore seeing the pictures that my oldest son takes. Before I had my phone/camera I would develop pictures of Hot Wheel cars being held in his tiny hand. Now I find a sort of still life movie he takes one frame at a time of toys he moves a quarter of an inch and takes the picture as the toy makes it's way in and out of the "stage" where this action is taken place. Here are three pictures I found, they are a sample of the kind of movie frame pictures he takes.

These are the dragons that stared in this movie. Here the Green, blue and red dragons are all posed together.
This photo shows All the dragons a bit closer...ok very close. "Drag-ity Dragon"
Earlier this summer it was this shark that was the star of the feature. "Shark-ity Shark".

I hope this is an interest that I can help him along with and we can add music, words and more props. Until then I will enjoy the surprises he leaves me and wait for what my other two children will take pictures of and capture on screen.

Pretty Pretty Princess

I am a girly girl, I will admit to as much. I like the color pink, I love to dress up. I like to have my hair cut and styled, my nails painted and my toes in a very pretty painted color at all times. I don't mind panty hose and slips, I love perfume and jewelry. I like to coordinate, match and blend.

I do like to run, play tennis, ride my bike, debate, cook and garden. I'm not afraid to get dirty, messy and sweat. But if I had to pick, I'd like to be cool and be fanned... ha! I like to shop, craft, "do lunch" with friends and surprise my friends with gifts.

So how did I do as a mom of two boys?

Well, at first I was confused because I thought there was more to dressing and grooming them, no fancy hair, no diaper covers, and the clothing for the boys are very limited to pants, shirt, jeans, shirt, shorts, shirt. and at sometime around 5 it becomes camo for everything including pajamas. I did the longalls, the shortalls the blue bubble suits as long as I could but around three, the cute is over. My second boy is two I have another good year and then poof... all done with the adorable little boy clothes.

BUT guess who is on the way!!.... baby girl!! yipppp!

I am really getting into this now that the idea of having another child and having a GIRL has registered in my brain!!!

So.... I have been internet window shopping and look what I have found!! These are so fun!

oh my goodness! The pink the poof and the dressing up is just going to be a hoot! I have about a month left until she gets here and the fun will begin!

Yeah Girls!!

A Place for Toddlers

Gymboree!

This place is such a fun place to take a toddler!

When I was a first time parent I lived in Connecticut far away from friends and family. My hubby was at work and the friends that I had made before I got pregnant were at work too. So, when I was at home with my baby, I found that I wanted a new mommy social life and I needed it fast!! I signed up for classes for myself and oh....my baby. Did I mention that I very much needed the social interaction that these baby and mommy classes would bring?

I signed up my 6 month old, Benjamin, for Gymboree class, Baby Library time, Border Story time, Kindermusic, and "Mom's Cafe" at church. We had a very full month and busy schedule of an hour here and there each week. I was loving it and I bonded with Benjamin so much too going, doing and learning how to be a mommy watching him interact and play with other babies. I made some of my life long friends in those classes. I adore all of those moms and their children so much and we still keep in touch, our kids are now in the 3rd and 4th grade...sigh.

Now with baby number two things have changed. We live closer to family and friends. We also live in a neighborhood that is a kid haven with a park close by, a pool within walking distance, a lake and places to walk everywhere. The weather is beautiful most everyday and there is NO SNOW for 6 months out of the year!! Things are definitely different. My husband works from home and the hours are filled with the needs of the whole family. So the need to keep busy outside the home with classes has shifted.

But one thing I adored more than any of those classes was to watch my toddler be in his element. Where climbing and sliding and running and skipping, bubbles, music and dancing are all geared to his age and development. "Oh Gymbo, Gymbo, Gymbo. oh Gymbo you're the best!!!"

Ok I admit they push the brand in their songs, toys, chants and well jargon while speaking to us, but I drank their kool-aide years ago with Ben, it's just like old times for me now!

Bray Bray LOVED his adventure and I loved watching him scurry to each new thing to climb on crawl through and slide down.

We definitely had a Gymboree Day!

Sand with Holes in them

Please explain to me why we humans have the need to dig our way to China when we visit the beach.

I have see these holes at every beach I've visited. Sand holes can be found in Connecticut, the Jersey Shore, Hawaii, The Bahamas, Mexico, California, South Florida and at neighborhood lakes. It is not just a summer time activity either this happens at random times of the day and year. It is also not limited to just the young children, I have seen adults, teens and the elderly dig and dig and dig.

My oldest child likes to dig and then sit in his creation, like a fox hole or a nest. This one was wider and named "the crater" by our family.

The next question I have for you is, have you ever been walking in the evening or at night and come across one of these giant holes? What a moment that is. My heart always jumps at the site...what if I was not paying attention? I would have walked right into this thing...ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

Well, I have to admit I dug and dug in the sand as a child. It is fun and it's cheap entertainment and a great way to spend the day.

Are you a digger?

A Talent I Am Amazed By

I love to search the blog world, I always find someone who is doing something they love and are wanting to share it with others. One night as I was getting lost in my blog search I came upon this very talented balloon artist. She creates these balloons and snaps photographs of them. I would love to learn how to do these! I just wanted to share a few of my favorites. Tell me what you think about them.

Chicken Cheese Soup

Ok, I have to share this recipe now because it is so good and we are approaching Fall which for me means, Soup's On!!!

Ok it is SOUPER easy... (I could not resist the pun)

Chicken Cheese Soup

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup grated American Cheddar cheese

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Heat together the milk, water (in which the bouillon cubes have been dissolved) and canned soup. When hot, stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika. Serve when the cheese melts.

Like I said... so easy, warm and hits the spot! Enjoy!

gDiapers My Product I Highly Respect and Adore

gDiapers loves the Earth.

For the last 40 years there have been but two choices in diapers. Cloth or disposable.

That’s it. Now gDiapers offers a third option. 100% biodgradable*, flushable diapers.

gDiapers puts waste where it belongs, in the toilet. Not the landfill.

gDiapers have no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no smell, no garbage and no guilt.

In fact, our gRefills are so gentle on the Earth you can even garden compost the

wet ones in one compost cycle, approximately 50 – 150 days.

Just think of the standing ovation you’ll get from the planet.

Leave less of yourself behind.

While nothing truly biodegrades in a landfill, gDiapers plastic-free refills give you several

disposal options that no other diaper offers. You can flush, compost, or toss them.

Flush and you're putting poop where it belongs. Throw the wet ones in your garden

compost and in 50 – 150 days you've turned a wet diaper into a soil amendment.

You're actually giving something back to the planet and reducing your family's footprint.

Even throwing gRefills away isn’t the end of the world. After all, less petroleum

went into the production of gRefills, so tossing is ok, too.

All we ask is that you put the poop in the toilet first.

Still Shot

Do you ever just take a picture of your child and upon reviewing it you find it really says more to you than it did when you first took it?

I took this picture of my soon to be middle child and when looking over the pictures later I loved the view it shows of him looking a bit reflective.

I love it when a picture starts to talk. It is so rare that he is this still and this one semi-captured the moment without much blur.

One of My Favorite Places to Shop

Do you have a favorite place you love to shop? A place that when you walk in the door you get a feeling of luxury or desire or pure greed? A place that you wish that one day when you win the lottery you could just walk in and buy one or twelve of each and just go hog wild? (whatever that really means?)

I do! It's name is L'OCCITANE

It's a place that I found while I was living in Connecticut. I had only seen and smelled this product while flying on Delta. Then BAM! a shop opens in our West Farms Mall.

It is Fab-u-lous! I am not one that is highly sensitive to fragrance so to me walking in a store that has sprays and lotions and defusers don't bother me at all. Instead I am awakened and well, filled with desire to smell each and every one of these creamy, rich, natural products.

If you were to look into my brain and see the actual desire level, you would see that I am fighting a battle and restraining myself for social reasons. What I really want to be doing is more along the line of how a toddler would act in a toy store. I want to snort my nose up against the bottle and breathe in the lavender...and just leave it there. ahhhhhhh.... then honey verbena.... then a few coffee beans that they place around to clear the scent pallet so I can get a fresh new snort and move to the next fragrance. I want to sit on the floor and squeeze each lotion and smooth them on my legs arms and feet.

Holy Moly! It is so hard to stand there gently picking up a few bottles and sniffing lightly and quickly. Self Controlled me says, "Oh that smells nice" instead of "OH MY WORD THIS IS SO AWESOME, MORE MORE MORE!!!"

When we moved away from Connecticut we didn't have a store in our area until a few years ago.

Life is so good again! But how long do I have to put up this calm appearance? hummm

Try it you'll like it. When you buy it you can take it home and smear as much as you want and sniff as loudly as you wish!

What stores do this to you?

Going To Back To the Nice Restaurants Again, Well, Not Just Fast Foods

I teach Etiquette to children and I have found that these suggestions work when going to a restaurant with your children, so I wanted to share them.

Before you go to the restaurant

• Play games. With grade-schoolers, you need to walk the line between respecting their needs as children (who will be bored and fidgety if the wait for food is long) and getting them to respect the needs of their fellow diners, including their own parents. Keep a pair of dice (for playing math games) in your purse or pocket, and be ready to play "I spy with my little eye," simple clapping games, or tic-tac-toe.

• Pack it up. Let your child pack up her own tote with a book, some drawing and writing supplies, or another quiet, compact, and discreet source of amusement. Anything that makes noise (such as handheld electronic games), takes up too much of the table (board games), or just seems rude (iPod or CD player with headphones) is off-limits.

• Pick the right restaurant. Choose a kid-friendly restaurant — one that's casual, loud enough to absorb some noise, and with either a kid menu or a varied enough menu to appeal to children and adults. Let your child choose the restaurant once in a while, or at least consider her preferences.

If possible, make a reservation so there's no wait for a table. Or go some place fun. Fondue is an entertaining way to eat melted cheese — a favorite of many children. Restaurants that cook tableside can mesmerize kids, and you might even be able to introduce sushi by going to one of those places where you pluck the prepared sushi from little boats floating past the dining counter. (Your child might enjoy warm noodles more than your favorite sashimi roll.)

• Set some ground rules. If you establish realistic, age-appropriate guidelines at home, you're more likely to see your child following the rules when dining out. You've probably been preaching good manners since your child was a toddler, but starting now you have the opportunity to begin shaping lifelong habits.

Practice volume control and the way a speaking voice should vary depending on the surrounding noise. Talk about the differences between appropriate conversation for restaurant dining versus the family dinner table. Demonstrate the correct way to move around in a restaurant (this is good for a laugh too) — walking quietly and directly to wherever you're going, whether it's to the table, the rest room, or the exit.

Once you're there

• Don't dawdle. As soon as you're seated, ask for bread and butter. Don't worry about her filling up before the entree arrives — it's hard for kids to behave when they're hungry, and this isn't an every-night thing.

• Keep it moving.Don't expect your 5- to 8-year-old to wait through the adults having a salad course and appetizer while she just waits or nibbles on croutons. As soon as you sit down, order an appetizer you can share with your child, or skip the appetizers and go straight to the entrees, avoiding the gap between courses.

• Let them eat cake. Reserve certain special foods or drinks for restaurant dining only. Allowing your child to have something that's normally forbidden at home — soda, for example — will not only occupy her attention but will reinforce the idea that going out is a privilege.

• Put on the Ritz.To motivate your child to maintain some decorum while dining out, demonstrate more formal table manners than are expected at home. A linen napkin placed in the lap, while not that important in and of itself, is a signal that a restaurant is a serious place where children should be on their best behavior.

Whenever your child gets up (to go to the rest room, for example), remind her to quietly push in her chair. Encourage her to sit up straight and use silverware properly. For a really impressive flourish, teach your child to pull out Mom's chair when you first reach the table.

• Have them do the ordering.Bigger kids like to exercise their autonomy. Encourage your 7- or 8-year-old to order for herself, make healthy selections, and say thank you when the food is served. She'll feel more engaged in the whole process as a result.

• Strive for peace.The goal for parents, and children, is to have a positive experience when dining out. Accordingly, it's important to remember that your child is, in fact, a child. Each time the family eats out is a learning experience.

Avoid going to war over minor transgressions. A restaurant is not the place to have a battle of wills over a breach of etiquette. Instead of expecting perfection, just strive for progress.

• Focus on the big picture. One of the most enjoyable aspects of dining out, as your child gets older, is that it offers the opportunity for meaningful conversation. There's no telephone, no television, and no one has to get up to refill the drink glasses or replace dropped silverware. Kids love it because they can have whatever they want to eat. Parents love it because someone else cooks, serves, and cleans up.

Take advantage of the downtime to talk to your partner and your child. When you consider the value of an uninterrupted evening with your family, the meal is really just a bonus.

It's Ok To Play With Your Teddy Bears In A Chocolate Pool

Ok, so this is simple and cute and a hit with kids...I had to share! Rice Krispies are a staple at our house, look how darling this is!

Chocolate Pudding Dipping Pool

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Prep Time:

5 min

Total Time:

5 min

Makes:

1 serving

What You Need!

1 JELL-O Chocolate Pudding Snack

12 TEDDY GRAHAMS Graham Snacks

1/4 cup strawberries, sliced

Make It!

SPOON pudding into center of small bowl.

ARRANGE graham snacks and strawberries around sides of bowl.

DIP graham snacks and strawberries into pudding to eat.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Substitute JELL-O Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Pudding Snack for Chocolate Flavor.

Ways To Start Your Child's Day Off Right

I want to get my 3rd grader off and running in the mornings with a good energetic start. I started to think about his day. As a past teacher, I know that once the kids arrived in my classroom, I had things waiting for them on their desk to start right away. These assignments are called "Morning Work". They are usually required to be completed and turned in soon after they begin. The morning work sometimes includes copying things down from the board and then transferring that information back to their paper. So the skill of finding the item in one location then remembering it to then transfer that item to the paper without loosing their place at either location can require lots of concentration for the elementary aged child. If my child has to do required work as soon as he walks into the classroom I want to make sure he has had a good start to his morning.

He needs time to wake up and become alert, get dressed, eat breakfast, get some love from us and feel secure and not pushed off from us for the whole day. We have had days that we have hit the snooze and wake in a panic. We try very much to stay calm and not communicate angry sounds that are actually frustration at ourselves for sleeping in too late to give the morning a good start, that is hard to do sometimes. When our oldest started school we had a newborn at our house. We started planning the night before and set out the cereal, bowl, napkin and spoon on the table. We also made sure the night before that everything was in the backpack including snacks and money which was placed by the back door. We picked out the clothes for the next day and made sure shoes were near the door as well. Just these few plan ahead steps made the mornings run so much more smoothly. So I am always looking for more ways to get the day starting off right for him.

When I came across this information it really made breakfast time easier to balance and start his day off with a brain boosting way.

I hope this helps you as well.

10 Balanced Breakfasts

An ideal, nutritious breakfast contains a balance of complex carbohydrates and protein. Think grains, plus dairy, plus fruits. Examples of balanced breakfasts are:

1. granola cereal, yogurt, a sliced apple
2. scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice
3. veggie omelet, bran muffin, fruit with yogurt
4. whole-grain pancakes or waffles topped with berries and/or yogurt, milk
5. whole-wheat zucchini pancakes topped with fruit, milk
6. french toast topped with fruit, orange juice or milk
7. low-fat cheese melted on toast with a piece of fruit
8. low-fat cream cheese on a whole-grain bagel, orange juice
9. peanut butter and banana slices on an english muffin, milk
10. For a breakfast-on-the-run smoothie, see "School-Ade."

Of course, it's what you eat not what you say that impresses a child most. By treating yourself to a healthy breakfast, you model to your children that eating a healthy breakfast gives the whole family a smart nutritional start.

School Time Is Such A Rush

School-Ade: A Breakfast-On-The-Run Smoothie

Anytime is a good time to get your child ready for the SCHOOL-ADE advantage. Here is a Dr. Sears family recipe for a smoothie we give our children and ourselves for a quick and nutritious breakfast as they are hurrying off to school and we are rushing off to work.*

• 3 cups milk or soy beverage
• 11/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• 1-2 servings Juice Plus+® Complete or similar multinutrient supplement
• one banana
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup each of your favorite fruit, frozen (e.g., organic strawberries, papaya, mango)
• 2 tbsp. flax oil or 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
• 4 ounces tofu
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 avocado

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve immediately after blending while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake-like consistency

There are many tasty and healthy recipes included in The Family Nutrition Book.
Click here to learn more.

Back to School

Just who came up with the idea that at age 6 children should be forced to go to school? I just think that those people are crazy people....crazy I say!

This year marks 6 years of my child being at a school. We started him when he was 2, for some strange reason, and now he is going to be a 3rd grader, and it's just wrong.

Ok, so I get this way every year. I miss him before the month of July is flipped to on the calender. Sigh... I have always wanted the best for him and we paid tuition when he was 2 so he could go to an incredible Montessori school.

This week school starts and will continue until May. Such a long time to be away from my sweet kid... and for him to be away from his momma!

I have to get used to the live capture and release programs for moms. sigh.

He, on the other hand, is so excited that when he found his desk he also had his school supplies that we purchased from the school last year so they were all waiting in his desk for him. He spent a few minutes organizing his supplies. He spent more time sharpening his pencils...he is set for the new year, let me tell you! sigh....

He and I were leaving the school and he said that he knows this is going to be a great year... sigh....

letting go...who said that is a good thing? Hugging and not letting go feels better. :) sigh....

The boy loves to learn and school fits his need perfectly. sigh... sniff... he's all grown up...

International Literacy Day on My Birthday!!

Character

When I was single I was really careful to date people with character. I think that it's important to look at someone closely for a while and really get to know them. Dating several people at a time, to me, was a great way to meet lots people and see the characteristics in guys while seeing if I would like to know one of them better.

I was determined to marry a guy who was, of course, cute, funny, talented and just a bit different from the others whom I had dated in the past. Just who had I dated in the past? I dated the offspring from my families circle who were churched, wealthy and politically raised. All things that promised a great future and the nod from my circle. I was not against getting the nod from the circle, it just seemed to be a limited circle. Many of those men found beautiful brides and live happily ever after...I just wanted someone that I could claim on my own.

As I grew up in my circle, I was good friends with college guys who were adorable and admiring but just didn't have that certain something that made me want to have a relationship with them, something was lacking in their character. I wanted someone different. Someone quirky, a bit wacky, and a whole lot adorable. Someone soft and walked with a certain confidence who wanted to work together as a team. Someone with so much character that it would be very hard to walk a day in his shoes.

Did I ever snag a guy with character! He was literally hot, a real tiger...gggrrrrrrrrrr!!

I love you Allan.

If you read my post

If you are a reader of my post, please join my group and follow me. It's easy. I would love to see who is out there. ~

First Beach Vacation for Baby Boy

If you have ever planned a week long beach vacation you know that lots of high hopes about the weather being just right while you are there starts about when you pay the deposit and place the dates in pen on your calender. You get the people at church to pray with you about the weather and you check the weather channel's week outlook everyday leading up to your arrival date.

I checked my iphone weather application the day of our travel and the ONLY day that was to be sunny was the actual travel day and it was about 6pm at the time. sigh....

But guess what? The weather was perfect! We had our rain showers at night when we were all tucked in our beds and it made sleeping extra great!

The only stormy weather we had was when we attempted to take our toddler to the beach. Daily we packed everything imaginable that we all four might need while at the beach from flip flops and Crocs to sand buckets, beach towels, sunscreen in all numbers of protections and hydrating icy cold liquids in various choices. But once we made our first step onto the snowy white soft sandy beach our toddler, who by the way knows very few sentences screams, "ALL DONE".... not once mind you but 77 times!

It took until the next to the last day of our week long beach trip and several beaches until he got into the idea of sand and surf. THEN he could not get enough and didn't want to leave.

We all had a ball!

Pink Items for Baby

My sweet neighbor is letting us use her baby swing. I am really excited about this swing. It does so many things. 16 songs, 6 modes of speed, lights in the shape of butterflies, actual pink stuffed butterflies that are on the mobile...ahhhhh Oh, and two directional swinging patterns. This swing is ready for any kind of soothing that a tired parent could ever dream of. I look forward to trying it out with my baby.

Have I mentioned to you in a while that I am SO over this pregnancy? Yeah, I'm 7 months on August 3rd and I am ready for October to be here! I am ready for it to be over for two of the obvious reasons.

1. I am having a girl!!!! I have had two boys and I am so ready for the challenge of a new gender in this house to mix things up again.

We go to all kinds of BOY places, I'm so ready to start dragging them to some girl places or at least have someone to go with me to a girl place...

2. I am SO over this pregnancy! Now I know that I mentioned it because...it's right up there a few sentences. Wait...did you miss it again? I'm so over being the pregnant one.

But really how cute is this swing? It also has the option of being a plug in swing and not operated with batteries. If you have been a parent you know what a pain it can be to reach for a soothing item for a crying baby only to find it on it's last leg of battery juice.

So onward upward and outward I go...I am brave...I can keep this bun in the oven and keep getting bigger and stretched far far far far out. I will continue making the babies room look pink and get it ready for this tiny baby who is coming our way.

Celebration Time of the Evening

Sunset is my most favorite time of the day. I love how the sky looks so beautiful in all the different colors; blues, blacks, reds, yellows and whites.

How amazed I am by sunsets.

I love this time of the day too.

It is a time of the day where rest is near and family time is taking place. Dinner is being prepared and shared with loved ones, the work day is over and everyone starts to unwind. What an awesome thing to happen daily!

The sun sets and we are ready to stop our day and take it's beauty all in.

When we visited Hawaii the time of the sunset marked the beginning of the evenings celebration.

Texas Windmill

Flag on the hill

A burst of color

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

Where do you most enjoy sunsets? Do you have a favorite time or place for sunsets? Is there a sunset that you remember most? Share it with me, I'd love to know about it.

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Up close View of the Endangered Wild

What an amazing thing my friend from High School got to witness. I just had to share this.

She and her family had planned to watch the shuttle launch, but there was a problem with the weather which unfortunately delayed the launch.

Instead, what they got to witness was to me truly more amazing.

I don't know what these people's titles would actually be... The Local Turtle People? The Turtle Protection Program People? The Walt Disney Magical Moments Turtle Release Program? What? I don't know, but the only people I know that can top a shuttle launch would be Disney, so maybe they were representing the Florida Tourism Board and they were called in, "Cue the turtles!"

These are the three pictures I "borrowed" from her that don't actually have her children along with strangers in complete awe.

Isn't this just so amazing?

If only Jeff Corwin was around to do some narration about the life of a sea turtle and it's beginnings.

Just How Many Pictures Must Be Taken?

I got this little boy blue outfit for my toddler and just had to have a photo of him in it. I tried many things to get his attention and interest for a second so I could snap just one picture of him in his cute little outfit. I would love a framed photo of him in it maybe an oil painting that could be something to pass down to his family one day. All I need is a still toddler. So how many clicks did it take to get this one picture?



I just gave up. I'm thinking I will just take the outfit to the artist, take a picture that his is looking halfway at the camera, then one that he is standing in a heirloom painting stance and just piece that painting together.

Toddler....work with me here!

The Other Man, Well Let Me Explain

There are not that many men that will make me run out the door to greet him when I hear him pull up.

I adore my husband and I do miss him very much when he is gone from me. Do I run out of the door and greet him with excitement like I have not seen him in years, no... I do smile and feel a nice relief when I see his face. Sort of like a team mate or superman's arrival... a greetings of a sigh, a yeah and a kiss.

I adore my daddy and I love when I see his smiling face anytime I get to see him, but I don't run out of the door crazed with heart racing...

No that racing heart and crazed feeling is for one person only....

The Ice Cream Man!

I don't know what it is about the bell and songs that he plays but it pushes me into high gear and turns me into a bit of a freak.

I could be asleep, reading a book, or talking to a depressed friend...but once I hear the ice cream man's truck...all things stop and my focus changes within seconds.

So the Ice Cream Man shows up on our street this week and I once again turned into a 7 year old.

I sprung up from the couch. I rushed to the "just in case the ice cream man shows up some day this summer we will have change ready" jar and emptied it onto the counter and began picking out the quarters.

I ran out the door and barked orders from over my shoulder about the dogs and the children.... something along the lines of... blah blah blah, don't let the dogs escape, baby might need to be watched while sitting in a highchair....blah blah blah... I have to go and meet this guy now he is ringing his secret ring just for me... it's been nice, gotta go...

I love him. Well, the 7 year old me does and my 8 year old son is starting to act just like me.

On this visit from the ice cream man, my son was rushing around the house for his shoes and yelled... "I cannot find my Ice Cream Man"! I just laughed and laughed. We both took each others hands and leaped off the steps, sort of stopped mid air Jedi Knight style and did a high five before we landed right in front of the ordering window.

I hope that I raise my kids right and one of them makes Ice Cream Man their occupation. Every family needs a Doctor, Lawyer and an Ice Cream Man.

Sleep, My Favorite Activity

Sleep is one of my favorite things to do. I really do miss it so much during the day. From the moment I wake up my mental clock starts to count down to the hour in which I can return to the full body sprawl in my soft comfy bed. All day I cannot wait to get back into the bed and sleep some more.

I love to sleep.

I miss sleep.

I crave sleep.

I have been sleeping for years, so why I can't I sleep anymore?

Have I just lost my touch?

I have now added the Tylenol PM Sleep Tracker iPhone APP to my life. I have also downloaded the "How to get ready for sleep" and "How to make an environment more inviting to sleep in" from that same website.

Sleep is what we do as humans, it's basic we eat, work, sleep, repeat.

One reason I want to get this lack of sleep under control is because I am 6 months pregnant with my third child, and I am quickly approaching the newborn boot camp survival training sleep depravation stage of parenthood.

(Nooooooooooo, I don't wanna.....)

I have been searching for a solution to cure my pre- slumber deprived days.

The following recipe was taken from Tylenol PM's advertisement to be added as a healthy sleep inducing snack. I'm gonna give it a try along with:

*buying a small fan to add white noise,

*buying a humidifier to add moisture, so I wake with no scratchy throat,

* turn or cover my clock,

* dim my lights a few hours before bed,

* take a warm bath,

* install dark curtains,

* buying an upgraded mattress,

* buying high thread count sheets,

* paint the wall soothing a color, (apparently, white noise is ok, but white walls are bad)

* buying upgraded pillows

and last but not least,

* birth this growing child who makes sleeping in any position a very hard thing to do.

I guess after taking all of their suggestions and things are still not working for me, or if it is just too much trouble to make all of those changes I can always just pop a pill... lol

First things first for a pregnant woman though, FOOD!

Lullaby Muffins

They claim that Between the honeyed touch of sweetness, these muffins are practically an edible lullaby. (I guess if the edible lullaby doesn't work then there is always their edible Tylenol PM pill right? hahaha)

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/3 cup applesauce

2 large, very ripe bananas

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup milk or soy milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour (make sure it’s whole-wheat "pastry" flour or you’ll produce golf balls, not muffins), salt, and

baking powder.

3. In a blender, puree the bananas; add the

applesauce, honey, and milk. Blend well.

4. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until

just moistened.

5. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups, pour in batter, and bake 30 minutes or until tops are light brown and slightly springy.

Makes 12 low-fat muffins.