Wordless Wednesdays

Black Mail

My 1st night away from Boppers

Well everybody I survived my first night away from Boppers. I only cried a little bit when we left him at his Grands house. But once we got there, I was much better.

Hubs and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this past weekend by taking a trip to Tunica, MS with some friends. We stayed in a really nice casino hotel, the Horseshoe. By far the favorite part of the trip (except just spending time Paula Deens Buffet located inside Harrahs Casino. If you live anywhere close to Tunica, it is so worth the drive. It was 100x better than her restaurant in Savannah. There was so much food we ate until we were almost sick. Every recipe she has ever made on her show just about was on a buffet. So Paula Deens Buffet is a must and we will be coming back.

This was Hubs and mines first time to a casino and for gambling period. Oh boy was it an experience! We took $50 a piece and that was all we were going to spend. Well that lasted for a couple of hours bc all we knew how to play was the slots and we were to scared to play anything higher than the nickel slots. But seriously we spent $100 and had nothing to show for it.

There were people there dropping 1000's of dollars and losing it. We were just amazed that people can blow that much money. I need to be doing what those people are doing bc I have lots of better things that I could do with my money. The other thing that amazed us was the amount of handicapped and elderly people there.  I mean everywhere you looked there was walkers and wheelchairs. I think that if you have to have a walker then you dont need to be at a casino blowing lots of money. Just my opinion.

Getting to Know You

This is my first getting to know you but after seeing the questions, I knew I had to join over at Mann Land5.

1. Thong or Granny Panties? Well lets see b4 I had Boppers it was nothing but thongs but now that I have a mommy gut, I wouldnt say granny panties but boy shorts

2. If you see a guy with his fly down, do you tell him? only if its my hubs bc I dont need to be looking at any other guys crotch

3. Spanx or no Spanx? I just bought my first pair of Spanx and umm yea they are amazing.

4. Do you sleep in your sheets? Yes I do, Jersey Knit to be exact

5. What is your favorite Disney character? Iwould have to say mini mouse

6. Dream vacation spot? I would love to go to the Bahamas to one of those all inclusive resorts

7. What is your dream job? Stay at home mom

8. Who is your hero and why? Believe it or not, I dont really have a hero. Lots of people to look up to but no one that I would just say was my hero.

My letter to SuperNanny

Dear Super Nanny,

I just want to let you know that your back to bed method doesnt work. I have tried it for a week now and still no success. I have done exactly what you said to do and still no sleeping thru the night in his big boy bed. I mean how many times does it take bc on the show after like an hour the kids are snoozing away in their own bed.

Last night after sitting with my back to him and not acknowledging his screams he finally fell asleep (after 45 min of crying) at 8:45 pm. He then slept till about 1am so I told him it was bedtime and escorted him back to his room where once again I would sit with my back to him as he screamed for 30 min b4 konking out. I tip toe back to my bed and as soon as my eyes shut, I hear his door open and screams coming from his room. So once again I repeat the process. Same thing happens again and by this time its like 2:30 in the morning and mommy is pooped (daddy is no help bc he has to work he says...ughh dont get me started). Once again I repeat the process without saying a word to him this time. I mean seriously doesnt everybody know 3rd times a charm so its gonna work this time, right???  3:15 I once again hear screams coming from his room and this time here he comes into our room. By this point I am begging him to go lay in his bed. Doesnt work so I take him by the hand back to his room. This time Im not sure who fell asleep first me or him. I woke up in the floor and it is almost 5am. So I creep back to my bed and try to sleep. Hubs alarm goes off at 5:50. By 6 here comes Bopper back to our room screaming.

So Super Nanny what do you think about your dumb back to bed method now, yep it doesnt work. I think you need to come to my house and try to make up a new method.

Thanks,
A Very sleepy Mom

Party Pictures

Birthday Boy (he was so excited about the balloons)

Opening presents (we can officially build or farm anything lol)

The food table

The cake

What you saw as you pulled up in our driveway! Boppers big boy toys

Recovering from the party aftermath

So the party is over with. Weeks of planning and preparing were over within 2 hours. All that was left was a bunch of trashbags filled with wrapping paper, tissue paper, and toy boxes. Then the fun begins with all the clean up. I mean 10 little kids in your house plus family means crumbs and toys everywhere.

So the past 2 days we have spent trying to remove all the balloons, streamers and cupcake crumbs from the floors. Oh and trying to recover our brains from John Deere overload. 

But the main thing is that Boppers had a blast. He was so excited to have all his friends over. (this was the first party he has had that we invited other little ones) He loved all the gifts and did his new excited squeal with everything he opened. He got lots of tractors and "dump dumps" (bop language for construction equipment). Luckily we only had to return 2 gifts but I did re-gift one of the doubles he got. lol

Lots of pictures to come tommorow for my wordless wednesday post.

Writers block

So today I am having a major writers block. I start typing a post, then i re-read it and it sounds like crap so hello delete. Right now we have a lot going on bc well July is a big month for us. We moved into our new home last July, Boppers bday is in July, and on the 28th hubby and I have been married for 3 years. See told ya, July is a good month for us lol

Today we are getting ready for the big party tommorow. Finishing up cleaning the house, getting the decorations ready, etc. I need to tie a string on my finger so I remember to take lots of pics tommorow. Bc these are the moments that I hope to preserve forever.

Ok now I am rambling so I will stop typing and get back to cleaning. I promise lots of pics to go up Sunday!!

Today my Baby turns 2!

Sorry for another pic post but we have a special day planned for Boppers 2nd bday today. It is hard to believe that my baby is 2 today. I have enjoyed every milestone and I look forward to the next ones.

Wordless Wednesdays

The picture says it all as to how interesting my day is everyday. Never a dull moment bc this is what he does while I was changing the sheets on his bed.

Peer Pressure already??

So yesterday I took Boppers to daycare so he could play with his friends bc he is now at the age where he asks for them. Well on the way home, he said "Myles baby". I answered him with "why is myles a baby?" He said "poop pants".

I told him well are you a baby too bc you poop in your pants. He said "Bop Baby, Myles baby" Now the best part is refuses to wear a pull up and asks for a diaper bc he is a baby.

I was like great, he usually does so good in his pull up. The other child is almost 3 so they are fixing to start potty training with him but right now he is still in diapers. So Bop has alread succumb to the peer pressure of an older child and wants to be like him. Oh me, he trys to be so grown up even though he isnt even 2 yet. Where did my baby go??

1st Annual Blog Bash

Hey Ya'll!

Welcome to Rocking the MiniVan! Thanks to Not Your Average Teen for puttin on this great Blog Bash! I am a young mother to an almost 2 year old and a wife to a great man. I blog about lots of things going on in our crazy lives such as party planning, my off the wall family and friends, my sons allergies and asthma, and as you can imagine all the crazy things my 2 year old gets into and says. I look forward to meeting and finding some new great blogs.

1. Why do  you blog? I blog bc it is a great way to talk with other people who are going thru the same trials and exciting things that I am going through. It is also like a giant support group.

2. What do you blog about? As I said earlier, I blog on a wide range of things from allergies and asthma to cute things my lil guy does.

3. What do you find is the greatest reward of blogging? I would have to say my mommy support group aka my bloggy friends.

4. How long have you been blogging? I havent been blogging long, just since March. So I am a newbie lol

5. Story behing my blog title. I am only 26 with one child and I drive a minivan. My friends all gave me a hard time when I turned down a Tahoe for my Dodge Grand Caravan. Until they saw all the great space and such good gas mileage. So they kidded me that I was rocking the minivan.

Party Planning Week has begun..

So this is the big week that Bop turns the big 2!! So everything is ordered, and invite are sent out. Now its on to deep cleaning our house b4 30 someodd people arrive this coming Saturday for the dirt bash. I wanted to have it strictly outside so that way I didnt have to worry about anyone destroying our house but yea well its a scorching 90 something around these parts, so I have decided being the good hostess I am that I would let people come inside.

Here are a some of the great stuff I have gotten for his party so far.

1. His invites. They were made by the awesome JessaZG.

2. I found these great party favors on Etsy. It is homemade sidewalk paint already packaged cute and everything. Go check out Sidewalk Sensations

I will be posting pictures of the events leading up too and of course the big day this week.

            

Baby Shower Drama

Background: Hubs cousin is having a baby in late August. We hang out with them once in a blue moon.

Fast Forward to about 2 months ago: I asked Hubs aunt (baby mommas mom) if her family was going to give her a baby shower and if they were then I would like to help bc there wasnt enough people on our side of the family to give her one. She says no they arent, that she was just going to have one shower and I should contact BB (code name).

Fast Forward to this month: I get a voicemail from BB saying I owe $35 for Hubs cousins shower. That there budget was only $500 (who spends that kind of money on a baby shower). I was shocked bc I didnt know anything about babyshower. I call her back and leave a message that I wouldnt be sending her any money.

Today: I get a facebook message (darn that facebook) from BB saying I need to send her $35 for baby shower. I send her one back saying I am confused as to why I owe her $35. Very rudly she responds by saying somebody told her I wanted to help.

My response was first off why would I want to help with a shower that I was not involved in the planning of or knew anything about. Secondly, BB you know what they say when you assume something. So please dont assume that bc somebody said I wanted to help means I am helping. Since the first convo with Hubs aunt, my MIL and I have decided to go in together and get her a gift. Once again another reason, I am not helping with the shower.

Ahh drama, which seems to follow BB. (Her child used to go to daycare with Boppers but had to be asked to leave bc she kept making herself throw up) Do I feel bad for not helping?? Um no bc she didnt help with my shower nor did she even come to my shower.

Wordless Wednesdays

If there is any doubt that my lil Boppers isnt all boy, I will show you his pics from our playtime outside this week.

Yep that would be his mud mustache. Muddy Hitler lol

Making more mud.

A boy and his dog.

Facebook can be dangerous...to your marriage

Im back finally, Boppers still isnt sleeping thru the night but it has gotten some better.

Ok, ever since this happened I have been writing the blog post in my head. About a week ago, my Hubs was on Facebook and a woman who he used to work with at the school system here (keep in mind she still works there) sent him a chat message asking for a favor.

Being the computer techie guy he is, he gets lots of can you fix my computer questions but this one was out of the ordinary. She asked if there was any way to unsend an email. So Hubs told her that once she hit that send button there is no way to retrive it back.

Now to the best and most concerning part, was then the lady began to spill why she wanted to know that question. (I think she just wanted to talk to someone) She had been surfing Facebook and found her old high school boyfriend. First off  this lady is married and has been for years. After finding her ex boyfriend on Facebook she sent him a email that she said she regrets.

Hello lady, your married and so is the exboyfriend. So why would you even think of emailing him. Once she sent the email, she was worried that his wife would come kick her butt so she wanted to try to keep him from getting the email.

People Facebook can be dangerous, to your reputation and your marriage. Be careful how you use it.

Ok so that was my Public Service Announcement for the day!

MIA in the bloggy world

Ok so I have been missing in action the past couple of days but I promise to be back going strong next week. Between all the events during the holiday weekend and Boppers not sleeping at night (yep he is up right now laying next to me as I type and its 10:07pm). I have been using nap time to get things done and at night when I lay down I just crash.

For some reason, Boppers wont stay in his bed and comes into our room at all hours of the night. We have been trying the Super Nanny method of taking him back to his bed but it isnt working. Anybody else going thru the same thing or have any tips how we can keep him in his bed at night??

Boppers picks up the ladies

So my almost 2 year old, has officially become a ladies man. He has girlfriends everywhere we go. He has one at walmart, one at the pharmacy, and everywhere else.

I mean what can I say, he is cute and very witty for a 2 year old.

He know even has pick up lines..."hellwo ladies, woo woo" then he gives them the magic wink with both eyes.

If this is any indication of whats to come, then we are in big trouble. Ive already told him that if I didnt like the girl he brought home, I was going to tell her to go home. No hoochies in low cut shirts and booty shorts allowed at our house. Hopefully he will be a better judge of character and we wont have to deal with him bringing home a girl like that.

Well Boppers just walked into our room (he was supposed to be asleep for the night) so Im gonna have to call it short tonite. More to come about "No Hoochies in our house rule"

To cloth diaper or not...

I have a friend who just found out that she is having twins. She is contemplating the differences between cloth and disposables and needs some advice from other mommies.

We used disposables for Boppers (yep we helped make a hole in the ozone layer) so I gave her my pros and cons list for those but she is wanting to know the pros and cons of cloth diapers.

She is a single mom and she is only 20 years old (yes she is gonna need lots of prayers and support). So becides cloth being cheaper in the long run, what are the other benefits and dont be shy what are the cons as well?

Also, if you have any other tips and advice for her about twins, single mothers,etc please feel free to comment or email me jlbhowell@gmail.com.

Thanks girlies, I told her that yall rocked and could totally give her advice.

My baby is getting big...

Today I came to the realization that my baby is almost 2. It just hit me like a ton of bricks.

What happened to this sweet tiny little baby? Where did the past 2 years go??

I blinked my eyes and he was stitting up. (yes that would be spit up on his outfit, hello I told you I was a reflux warrior)

Then I went to sleep woke up and he turned 1.

Now he is getting ready to turn 2. ~tears, tears~ Everybody always told you that your kids grow up so fast but you dont believe them until you have kids of your own. Then you look back and say they were right. I dtry to take tons and tons of pictures so I can remember everything but then sometimes I leave the camera at home (kick myself). We have thought about getting a video camera but were not sure if we would use it enough to justify buying one.

How do ya'll capture all your lil ones precious moments?

Wordless Wednesdays

Today I am going to show off my pictures of our wonderful Hilton Head vacay! Oh I wish we were still there.

On our way to the pool.

Playing at the mall

Family pic the night b4 we left

Its 100 degrees outside, dont leave your kids in the car~ A mothers rant

Today I am on my soapbox so please excuse me!

So here in TN it is so stinking hot! Everyday it has been in the upper 90's with the heat index above 100 degrees. No its normally not this hot in this part of this area in mid-June (which means I dread what July and August has in store for us).

So heres my soapbox speech, Parents and guardians of children, PLEASE whatever you do, dont let your children play in the car or leave them in car for any amount of time. I am so upset bc while watching the nightly news, it was like a list of young children that had died in cars bc of the heat.

1. Toddlers Death in Car
2. Child dies in Hot Car

Those 2 were both just within an hour or so drive of where I live.

I mean, what are parents thinking??? Thats the point, I dont think they are thinking at all. You know how hot it is and would you want to be left in a hot car. Then hello dont leave your little child in the car!!!!

Ok Im stepping down from my soapbox for today. But promise me, peeps use common sense when it comes to your children!

Sweet Moments on Fathers Day

So I have to tell you the sweet moment that melted my and Hubbys heart.

With Sunday being Fathers Day, Boppers and I got up early and were going to surprise Hubby with donuts and choc. milk for bfast in bed. So we start getting ready and I had told Bop that today was Daddys special day and that we were going to surprise him.

So after getting ready, Bop goes into our bedroom and opens the drawer to pull out one of Hubbys old wallets. Then he goes to the drawer where we keep our spare change and fills his wallet up with change. While doing this he tells me that, he pays for daddys prize (aka surprise). I know, I know he gets his sweetness from me lol

But wait it gets sweeter, we go to the store and get our donuts. I set him on the counter to pay and he pulls out his wallet and begins counting his change (2, 3, 6, 9 ok so we need to work on numbers) and the whole time he is saying " I pay, daddys prize".

Oh man, I wanted to burst into tears right there. Boppers knew he loved his daddy and HE wanted to do something special for him. That was the best gift we could ever give Hubby bc Boppers did it himself.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday Blog Hop Time-Its a Social Parade

Thanks everybody for stopping by my blog today! Please leave me a comment if you found me from a Blog Hop so I can follow you back!! Hope you enjoy!

Mommy Separation Anxiety

First off today, I just wanted to thank all my followers today for being such awesome bloggy friends.!!!

Ok so, Boppers has been going through some severe Mommy anxiety for the past couple of months. Not to sound like a "bad mom" but its a blessing and curse. Now I will explain that statement.

Its a blessing bc I love the fact the he wants and needs me so bad. I am so thankful that he is "mommys boy" and I wouldnt have it any other way.  I love making his boo-boos better and cuddling with him at night b4 bedtime.

But, sometimes I just wish he would let his daddy change his diaper or fix his cup. He screams and crys everytime I drop him off at daycare even though I know 10 min after I leave he stops crying and plays. I cant get anything done around the house, I even have to cook with him on my hip (which really wears a mommy out).

Not to mention, I am also kinda concerned bc he wont even play by himself. I have to be down in the floor with him. I dont want him to become super dependent. Or be that 12 year old kid that is still hiding under mommys skirt.

Sorry folks I had to vent today bc sometimes I just get overwhelmed.

Wordless Wednesdays

The day after we got home from vacay we went and got Bops new pup pup, Hoss. He he had to hold him the whole ride home.

We ate at the famous Paula Deen resturant. It was good but not worth the long wait.

He loved "cooking" in the sand. We made cheese everyday lol

This was Ben's 1st experience at the ocean. At first he was sort of timid but then he didnt want to leave the "wa-wa"

Exczema

Ok so while we were on vacation, Boppers had an outbreak of exczema. All under his arms, on his thighs, on his chest, and even on the palms of his hands. I dont know what caused the outbreak, could be the heat (but oh wait its hotter at home than it was at the beach), an allergy to something, who nows???

He has had exczema before but never this bad.

 This is what his hands look like, yuck right??

It itches so bad that it wakes him up at night. The dr gave him some cream and prescrition of a benedryl type med to help with itching. But I dont want him on all this meds, so does anybody have any tips about exczema??

Back to the real world

Hey everybody!

I am finally back to the real world today after a week long vacation in Hilton Head, SC! To follow up on my previous post about my fear of the really long car ride with the Boppers, He did great!! We left out Saturday morning at 2am hoping he would sleep till like 7 (his normal wake up time) and this would have 5 hours of driving in behind us. Well, that didnt work lol. The lil toot only slept like 45 min on the whole ride of 10hours. I think he was so excited about the beach and there was so many things to see (i mean he might miss something wonderful if he fell asleep right??). Other than not sleeping, he did better than I could have asked for.

We stopped about every couple of hours and let him run around. So our normal 10 hour drive actually took us like 14 hours. But that was ok bc in that whole time we only had like 1 meltdown. My tip for fellow mommys who are fixing to travel with little ones is 1st stop and let them stretch their legs and 2nd I took an old back pack and filled it with little toys, snacks, and coloring books so when he would get tired of something I would just pull out another surprise.

Oh and did I mention we didnt even turn on our dvd players!!

Well anyways Im glad to be back home so I can sleep in my own bed but I do miss the beach!

Meet a new Blogger...mommyofaladybug

Babies Babies Everywhere


We have a one year old. She is the best thing God has ever done for us! She is our world. Now the questions becomes, When is the next one to come? I used to always say I never wanted my kids to be to close in age. My sister and I were 2 years apart growing up and had an awful relationship. I didn’t want my kids to go through that. Then in the last 2 months we have a new niece, a best friend had a baby, and so on and so on. Its babies babies everywhere!!!! It gives you (me) baby fever! All I think about now is babies. Then to myself I start saying, “Is it to soon? Would they get along? Maybe it’s a sign!.....” So how do you know when it is right to start planning for another child?

I tried to talk to the husband and see what his thoughts were and he says the infamous husband saying, “Whatever you think honey. I will go along with it.” In my head I am saying but will he really or is this his way of telling me ok drop it I said what you wanted me to now next topic. Haha I love him but that he does sometimes.

Then I talk to friends … Friend # 1 says, “Another One? Really? One is enough!” (She has a bad pregnancy and delivery that makes her think that way. She isn’t against kids or anything. Lol) Friend #2 says, “Oh now! My brother and I were a year and half apart and we got along great and were so close.” Friend #3 says, “ At least 2 more years. They need to be spaced out. Think about the future. Cars, Proms, and College.” So friends = no help! Everyone has great points (Except for the just have one. I definitely want another one!)

So then came family… Family = DRAMA Enough said!!!!!!

So the lingering question how soon is to soon to have another child after your first one?? Blogging may be the best way to get a helpful answer. We will see….

Awesome guest post from JessaZG

CRAFT RAGE: A LETTER TO PRECUT FOAM STICKER SHAPES




Dear Precut Foam Sticker Shapes,



Hi, how are you? Good? That’s nice. Anything new? I heard your selection

of shapes and themes has extended, congratulations if that’s true.



Enough with the small talk, I am writing you for a reason. As you well

know, the two of us have never really been close. I’ve always been

standoffish about how you look and feel, not to mention the colors you are

available in (do you even know that there are these things called earth

tones? Why do you insist on staying within the obnoxious neon color

range?) Adding to that my issue with stickers, I will not call it a fear,

I am not afraid of stickers, I don’t like them, I never had. To say I fear

stickers would be to say I run from them, I do not run, I just ask very

nicely, yet firmly, that no, I would not like a sticker. I have a good

reason for not liking stickers too. Have you ever looked at the back of a

sticker? All that hair and dirt and uh, ew. Just ew. No thank you.



Sorry, back to the topic at hand, I don’t like you. There I said it. I

have always danced around the issue with parents and teachers because they

chose to buy tubs of you in various themes to use for craft projects, but

I am done playing. Precut Foam Sticker Shapes, I will no longer be

indifferent to your existence, no, I will say it loud, I think you are

horrible.



You are horrible the way Heather (the brunette one) in Heathers was

horrible. A scheming popularity climber joyful at the death of your craft

friend glitter, you step in and put on the red scrunchy of being colorful

and so easy to use and you convinced people that you were the way to make

a project easy and look good.



You take advantage of mothers and teachers who want a child’s craft to

look the way the real thing looks. To take away the game of guessing if a

drawing is of a dog or a tree. You and your precut smugness have taken

away creativity!



Okay I may be going a little to far in saying that, but seriously, what

use are you? How do you improve art? What do you teach kids other than how

to remove the backing from a sticky thing? No matter how hard I try, I

cannot think of one thing you do to improve a craft project.



Now I know most kids like stickers (me being the exception as previously

discussed) God knows why, but children are drawn to sticky things like

moths to the flame. Sticky things, glitter, led lights and nail polish.

But that does not mean their sticky fetish should be addressed through

overpriced poorly colored pieces of foam.



Do you know how mad I got when one of the kids gave me her art folder from

school and 85% of the work was paper with a bunch of foam stickers? Do

you? You are assisting in project laziness and I’m sorry, but art projects

are not that hard to think of. Really.



See Precut Foam Sticker Shapes; see how ragey you make me? Can you taste

my pointless rage? My problem is that people are going with all these

prepackaged crafts instead of just letting kids at it to do their own

thing. I hate that there is this Martha Stewart mentality of things

needing to look nice (but I don’t hate you Martha, YOU are my hero, we

would get along, call me?) If you want something to look nice do it

yourself. If you are concerned about junior using crayons or paint or

markers because you don’t want those things to end up on the wall,

SUPERVISE THEM or better yet, MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHERE THEY CAN AND

CANNOT WRITE and have a can of paint around to patch things.



Sorry, I totally got off topic there. This letter is to inform you, Precut

Foam Sticker Shapes, that I will no longer keep my hatred of you quiet.

You suck.



Regards,



Jessa zg

Life before children..

So we are on vacation on the beautiful Hilton Head Island and having the best time ever!!!

Well, we are with another couple and they are newly married with no children. Hubby and I have been cracking up at the differnce between us and them. We are usually up and going by at the latest 8:00am (we are at the beach by 9) and well 9 rolls around, then 10. Finally the other couple wakes up. I dont even remember the last time I slept that late.

Now its time to get ready to get dressed and go out. I can get Boppers and myself dressed and ready to go (showers and everything) all before they even have their clothes on. If I had that much time to get dressed, I dont know what I would do with myself.

Ohh the days before children. I wouldnt go back to those days for anything (ok maybe I would like some more sleep) because Boppers is the best thing that ever happend to us.

Guest post coming soon!!

leaving for the Beach!

We will be leaving for the beach at 2am Saturday!!!

I have 2 guest bloggers that will keep the blogging going while Im relaxing on the beach. Your going to love them!!! One of them is JessaZG. She is so freaking awesome and oh so talented. If you havent already checked out her art, you need to go buy some. http://www.jessazg.com/

The other one is one of my close friends here in this small town I call home. She has never blogged before but I am trying to get her to start. I told her that all cool moms should blog. So we have to show her how awesome the bloggy world is.  She has the cutest lil girl you will ever see, too.

If you dont already follow me on Twitter (@rockingthevan), you should start bc I will be tweeting the whole way about how Boppers is making it in the van for almost 10 hours. I also promise to post some pictures up while we're there of how wonderful the beach is (jealous???).

Hope everyone has a good week!!

Steriod Meds

Ok so if you didnt already know my lil guy has severe asthma and allergies. And because of this he is sick a whole lot. (it happens when you are allergic to life).

On to the point...well he has been on so many steriod medications, I am worried about it affecting his growth (since he is only 23 months old). He has been on an oral steriod for about a month and today he had a steriod shot (that makes 2 he has had this month). Thats alot of steriods for such a lil guy.

But he has to breathe so we have to keep his airways open. So what do we do?? Does anybody out there know of any non-steriod meds we could use?

~He also takes pulmicort (asthma controller med), singular, allegra, and prevacid (for his reflux) oh yea and a cream for his exczema. Yep my child is a druggie.

Why do weekends go by so fast??

I lay here and it just hit me, the weekend is almost over. (thank goodness this is a long weekend so we have one more day) Sunday nights after I put Boppers to bed it always makes me sad bc we will all be back to the grind the next day. Even though I am at home for the summer, during the week we have lots to do.

Hubby goes to work so I feel like part of our family is missing. Boppers and I have to clean and this week we have got a list a mile long of things to do bc we leave for vacation on Saturday morning. So on Sunday nights about this time, I always get a little bummed. Just ready for the next weekend when we can all be together and just hang out and play.

Maybe Im weird (at least I admit it, right?)  but I feel like you blink your eyes and the weekend is gone. I guess my parents were always right (even though I hate to admit that), that time flies when you are having fun.

Help my toddler is hitting

Ok so Boppers has found  a new way to express his anger, hitting me. Yesterday, I told him he could not take his tractors outside to play so the normal tantrum began. He flung himself in the floor and began to cry. So I got down on his level and made him look at me and tried to explain to him why he couldnt take his tractors outside and that this is not the way we act when we dont get what he wants. Then the dreaded happend, he pulled that arm back and hit me in the face.

He has done this before and I would take him to time out and explain to him that we dont hit people and that its not nice. But yesterday, he hit me out of total anger.

Heli Girl had a great article about hitting but I have tried all those methods and nothing has worked. (oh yea, he is stubborn and hard headed)

And to make it worse, he only hits me. I mean I the one who feeds, bathes, and plays with him, so why me?
Has anyone else had this problem? If so how did you get him/her to stop?

Wow, another award!! I mean I knew I was good lol

The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom gave me this great award and I am so excited. If you haven already read her blog you def need to check it out bc she has some hilarious posts.

Wow, I feel so honored that somebody thinks I am Trendy. I am working on a good acceptance speech but for now this will have to do.

Here's what you have to do with the award!
•To receive this award, promise to share this with 10 other BLOGS that you think are Trendy too.

•Post about your award in your blog.

•List your Top 10 Trendy Blogs.

•Share with them.

•Leave a link to the Trendy Blog Button.

•Tell them they need to give this award out to 10 as well.
 
 
Here is my 10 people I would give the award to:
1. As the Forest Grows
2.Confessions of a First Time Mom
3. Guessing All The Way
4. Mommy of a Monster
5. Stepping on Cheerios
6. Not Super...Just Mom
7. Four Better Four Worse
8. A Mothers work is Never Done
9. The Improbable Housewife
10. Litany of Brittainy

Kids Toys

Since I am a thrifty (well at least I try really hard to be) momma, I am always looking for Boppers toys on sale. I love to find a great bargain, it just makes my day. I buy alot of his toys at Goodwill (bc that store freaking rocks) and at yard sales, well because he outgrows toys so fast and since he is a boy he is so rough on them. But for special times such as Christmas, birthdays, or rewards, I will bit the bullet and splurge and get him the new latest and greatest gift.



If you are like me, then you will love The Kids Toy Store. Their website is so easy to navigate and oh did I mention that have lots of great sale items. If you haven’t checked it out before you need to stop by and look at all the great Baby Einstein stuff they have on sale this week.



They also have the cutest toy boxes. If you are a baseball fan, they have the cutest team toy boxes I have seen. They also have cute firetruck and barns toy box. Oh me, if only I would win the lottery bc I could totally spend lots of money here.

I would love to have this Guidecraft Barn Bookshelve, will you please buy it for Boppers?? I mean he really needs this for his playroom. Gosh I love spending my imaginary money on this great website. Go check it out and window shop or enjoy the great sale items at The Kids Toy Store.



I was paid for this review but in no way did the compensation affect my opinion.

Wordless Wednesdays

I havent shown off my Boppers pics in awhile so today I thought I would show you how cute he is (no Im not biased or anything)

I know this is lil blurry but I took it with my phone. This is his sheet tent that consumed my den for days.

Yesterday we played in the worlds smallest pool. (I had no idea it was that small till I blew it up

Here he is swinging on his "park". ahh contentment

Never make friends with your Doctor...

Alright everybody, I am back (did ya miss me, bc ya know you did). Boppers is feeling better finally but getting over this mono could take up to a month. Now for the Pediatrician post I promised you......

Ok, It all started when Boppers was born and we thought we had found the best Pediatrician in the world. He was so personable, that you just couldnt help but like him. He is a Duke University graduate so he and the Hubbs totally hit it off. We soon became friends with his wife and children as well. We would go over to their house, they would come to ours, etc.

Well our poor Boppers stays sick alot and has a lot of problems (thankfully nothing too serious). He has GERD, asthma, and severe allergies. Back when Boppers was still  T-Tiny, we had to get smart with the Good Doc bc I dont think he took Boppers spitting up serious. Then when he saw the ulcers in his throat, he finally started taking us serious. Then he had 8 ear infections in a span of 6 months and once again he would do nothing proactive and just saying he would outgrow this. Finally after the 9th ear infection, he finally referred us to an ENT. Now onto Boppers asthma, we feel that he isnt proactive. Hello, we know Bops cycle, green nose then cough then asthma attack. So why not stop the green nose b4 it goes to his chest??? This whole time we stick by him bc "he is our friend"

Well Hubby has a new office and located in the same building is  a childrens nurse practitioner. I really like her and last time Boppers had an asthma attack, she gave him a shot that opened him right up (nope Good Dr never gave him this).

Fast forward to this Thursday, Boppers appetite had been diminishing over the past couple of days and he had started coughing in the night. So my Mommy instinct said he needed to go to the Dr bc something wasnt right. Hubby said to take him to the "Good Dr". So I did bc I am a good wife and I do what my hubs says lol

So we loaded up and went to the Dr. He looked him over and said "its just viral" (which he always says about everything). So we walked out his door and went to the nurse practitioner. She looked at him and said his lymph nodes are swollen so lets test him for strep. Sure enough it came back positive. She gave us an antibiotic.

24 hours later, Boppers was worse and at this point he hadn't eaten anything in 2days. So we went back to the nurse practitioner. As we were walking in, we meet a girl and her son that go to our church and she said her lil man had mono. Boppers and her lil man had been together in nursery and had the same symptoms so we tested for mono and sure enough he tested positive for mono.

So what do we do?? Do we tell the Good Dr?? Hubby is worried that he will lose his friendship but I dont care I think he should know. This is the reason you dont become friends with your Dr but if something ever goes wrong, it puts you in between a rock and a hard place.





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Vacation in less than 2 weeks.

We will be heading to Hilton Head Island, SC on June the 5th. I am very nervous bc it will be an almost 10 hour drive with a toddler. Boppers has never been on that long of a car ride.

Also I am worried bc I am an overpacker and well we wont have alot of room for luggage in the van bc not only will us 3 be in there but another couple is going with us. So luggage is going to have to be a minimum. (thank goodness I have van though bc if not we would have to drive 2 cars)

My last worry is knowing what to pack.  We have never gone anywhere with boppers for more than 1 night. So how and the world am I going to be able to remember to pack everything he needs plus being short on luggage space. Do I bring lots of toys or wait and buy some there??

Oh me, I am a worrier. I think thats part of being a wife and mommy.

Alright fellow bloggy friends, do you have any tips for me?? What to pack, how to make the car ride better?? or do you know of some great things to do while in HHI or around that area??

Please help me so I wont have more gray hairs from this trip lol

Blogging Break bc Boppers is sick.

hey everybody,

I will be taking a break for the weekend bc Boppers has strep throat. Which means all of my free time will be spent cuddling. But dont worry come Monday, I have a great post about the drama at our ped's office.


Update: They diagnosed Boppers with mono.

Puke in the Tub...

How could you not read this after seeing the title??? I mean "Puke in the tub" is so captivating lol

So tonite Boppers was making motor boat bubbles in the bath tub and got choked....after coughing and gagging....up his supper came. (BtW, I have never seen hubby move that fast to get out of the way of anything) OMG, it was so nasty and then up it came again. Hubs is gagging at the smell and Boppers is crying bc it upsets him when he throws up.

I grab him up and stick him the shower to rinse the nasty off. I let the water out of the tub and what was left was a nasty slimy mess left around the tub. (sorry about the yucky mental pic) So after getting Boppers settled down, we whipped out my new Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-clean Power sprayer.

Not only did it quickly remove the funky monkey mess but it took away puke funky smell. Hubby even said it smelled good so that means it smells great. Scrubbing Bubbles did an amazing job once again!

I recieved a sample of this for testing purposes because I am a BZZAgent. This review was 100% mine and not influenced  by the product maker.

Going out with my Boots on...

Ok so we live on my Hubbys family farm but we dont actually farm it ourselves. My hubbs dad used to be a farmer back in the day but now we just sharecrop it out to another local farmer. Well Boppers has decided that he is a farmer. He is addcited to tractors, animals, etc.

The poor boy told us that the prize he wanted for poop in the potty was a combine lol. (how many almost 2 year olds do you know even know what a combine is) He can also tell you what crop is going in the field. He is his Popaws boy because the hubs nor I know anything hardly about farming. (oh but we are learning)

He started off at a young age with his 1st pair of boots(side pic he was only 4 months old) and now everytime we go outside, he has to have his boots on. Bc what farmer is not complete with out a set of boots on.

I found this great website with more of those cute Johnny Popper boots (like in the pic). Rocky Top Leather is the website. Everybody who sees these cute lil boots just loves them and I have found that this website has great prices and a wide selection (they even have pink Johnny Poppers for that little cowgirl).

Johnny Popper Boots are perfect for the lil kid who thinks they are farmers (aka Boppers) bc of their John Deere colors and emblem. (in these parts of the woods we bleed green and yellow) Wow that sounded redneck.


This is my honest opinion about this website and there product. I am being paid to post this review.

D-List Blog Party 2010

Hey everybody from D-List!

Thanks for stopping by my lil corner of the bloggy world. I am also excited about this Blog Party bc I love meeting new people and finding new blogs to follow.

About Me: I am currently a SAHM but I will be returning to work this fall as a teacher after being off of work for 2 years. I have a handsome almost 2 year old son, who I call Boppers, who is all boy (tractors, trucks, dirt and worms). I am married to a wonderful man and we have been married for almost 3 years. I live in a small town in Tennessee on the family farm.

Boppers and Me! (you try to get your toddler to look at the camera lol)

Will he outgrow this??

Ok mommies out there, my lil Boppers right foot turns in real bad. It has also turned in but here recently, he has started tripping over them more and more. He will be 2 in July and some people have said that he will out grow it but I am very worried. (yes I am a very paranoid 1st time parent)

People are starting to ask us about his little feet being turned in so bad. I want to correct this before he gets to old. One person told us to buy him high top Stride Rite shoes and the others have told us to let him run barefoot. I dont know what to do or am I just being paranoid????

My 1st award!!!

My acceptance speech....First I would like to thank Nolie over at http://www.noliesplace.com/ for giving me this award. Then I would like to thank my family for being supportive of my blogging adventure. Last but not least, I would like to thank all my followers! Yall Rock!!!

The rules for this award are to answer the questions given to you with the award. Then make up ten of your own and pass it on to seven other bloggers.

1. Why do YOU blog?  I blog because I love to meet new people. I enjoy sharing my stories of my life with other mommies who have gone through, are going thru, and will go through in the future the same experiences I am having. It is like my giant support group and brag brook.

2.What are 3 must read blogs of yours?  Of course Nolies Place, Heir to Blare, and Pioneer Woman

3.  Coffee or Tea?  Hello i live in the South so Sweet Tea!!

4. You have one night to yourself and $500 to do as you please and you must spend the $500 on yourself. What are you going to do?   Oh man I havent spent that much money on myself in the past 2 years lol. So lets see, I would go get a massage, get my hair and make up did, and buy a new dressy outfit.

5. What is your opinion on “Reality” tv? First off, I love the Duggars! Other reality shows, I dont really get into to bc the fam and I are almost always on the go and I hate to miss episodes bc then you feel so lost.

6.Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Hopefully right where I am but with Boppers a baby brother or sister.

7.  What is the best thing about Canada? Umm I dont know bc I have never been there. But Ive seen pictures and its a beautiful country

8. Where do you want to live when you retire? Hubby and I are going to travel when we retire.

9. What is your dream vacation?   a cruise to the Bahamas. I have always wanted to go there, even when I was a little kid.

10. Are you now doing what you wanted to do when you were growing up?  Well when I was growing up I changed my mind about what i wanted to be, but yes teacher was one of my ideas.

I pass this award on to the following people:
1.Kate @ http://www.thesavylittlewomen.blogspot.com/
2. Lora Lynn @ http://www.vitafamiliea.com/
3. Jamie @ http://www.lovetoshopmom.como/
4. Jen @ http://www.ronjenworld.blogspot.com/
5. http://www.stepping-on-cheerios.blogspot.com/.
6. http://www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com/
7. http://www.activitymom.blogspot.com/

Here are my questions for yall (and yes I am going to re-use some of them):
1. Why do you blog?
2. What  is your favorite food addcition?
3. If you had the whole day to yourself, what would you do with your time?
4. What made you decide to be a SAHM or a working mom?
5. What would be your dream job?
6. What show do you secretly watch that no-one else knows about?
7. Wow, Im having a hard time coming up with these questions.
8. If you were on extreme makeover, what would be the 1st thing you would want them to change about you?
9. Big family or small family?
10. What 2 blogs can you not live with out?

I must have been crazy to take my toddler shopping

So yesterday I learned my lesson after taking Boppers on a pretty much all day shopping trip. We left our house at 10 am and had to drive an hour b4 we get to our destination (yep thats said when you have to drive an hour to a target.) Once we got there we ate lunch and then I took Boppers to my moms house for him to lay down and take a good nap b4 we hit the stores.

He took a really good nap (which you thought would have helped) and then we hit the shops. 1st stop-Goodwill. There I found him lots of cute shirts and pants. After about 10 min he was ready to get out of the buggy so we took a break from the clothes section and let him go to the toys. He drug out every toy they had (im sure they were glad when we left lol) and he then found a baby carriage on wheels and proceeded to take off running down the aisles as fast as he can with the carriage.

My mom chased him for like 5min so I could look for myself something. Well that didnt last long bc all of sudden he pops out from underneath the clothes rack and screams MOMMA!  So I bodily held him and glanced thru the rest of the clothes fast while he was pulling every tag off. Then we  finally were done with the 1st stop. We left and stopped at Burger King and got him a cheeseburger, then on to TJ Maxx.

Wow TJ Maxx was a blur between trying to hold him and keeping him from running like a maniac through the store. He has now decided that hiding under the clothes rack is his new favorite thing to do. Then he thought he should be able to push his trucks up and down the aisles. I glanced at everything hastily to say the least.

Then on to the dollar tree we went. He actually sat in the buggy this time but I had to bribe him with a new cup, coloring books, and a new ball (ya gotta do what you gotta do sometimes). By this time it was almost his bedtime and I just knew that as soon as we got on the road on home he would crash. We head back to my moms to get my "swagger wagon " aka van and my mom cant find my keys. We had to dump her purse out in the middle of her driveway. After about 20 min of searching and almost going back to TJ Maxx bc we were just sure they had fallen out there, we finally found them. By this time its an hour past Bops bedtime so I put his jammies on him and we hit the road.

15 min into the drive, hes still awake....30 min in the drive, hes still awake...35 min into the drive, he decides he should just start screaming and crying. Finally we made it to our town and yep he is still crying. Pull into the driveway he is still screaming. So yea, he screamed for the last 25 min of our drive non stop (I was about to pull my hair out lol)

So this is why you never take a very busy, active toddler boy shopping lol

What a week...

This is a very eventful week around our house for me. Yesterday being Mothers Day, today is my birthday and Saturday is my college graduation. So as you can tell I will be very busy and poor hubby has lots of gifts to buy. lol

College graduation..oh me, I never thought I would make it. I spent my 1st 2 years at a community college (which is where I met the hubby) where i was an accounting major. Then moved to Small Town, TN to be with hubby and finish my degree at a 4 year University.

Once getting to University, I changed my major to elementary eductaion. Im doing so I lost all my classes but like 4 hours (very depressing when you look at my class checklist) in the transfer/major change. Then after starting all over again, during the next 3 years I got married and had a Boppers.

After 6 long years of college, I have finally made it to the end. I will graduate with a degree in pre-k through 6th grade education degree this Saturday. Last semester, I almost didnt make it due to missing too many days between asthma flare ups, ear infections, and hubby and I had the flu but luckily I made it by the skin of my teeth (I made my first D's). I am so excited to finally be done!! Know I have to sit back and see what the good Lord has planned for me.

My New Jam!!!

Ok peeps, after seeing this video, I knew that this would be my new theme song! I love it!!!

Creative Genious/ Boppers New room design

One reason I love blogging is getting to meet new peeps and when Jessa from http://www.jessazg.com/ and I started exchanging tweets about "old school" Nickelodeon shows, I knew we were going to friends.

If you havent already read about her from Heir to Blair and the totally cute SILHOUETTES that she hand draws (yes I am uber jealous of her artistic talent) then you need to go check out her site http://www.jessazg.com/.

So anyways back to the point, after us talking back and forth on twitter for awhile, I asked her about making a silhouette for Boppers new "big boy room" and one thing led to another and I told her I was needing help trying to decide how to decorate his room. I wanted it to be something that he loved bc well I hated my room as a child (it looked like somebodys garden threw up on my walls with a combination of a pink nightmare).

Jessa was like "I would love to help you, I love design' (see i told you she was a creative genious). So after emailing back and forth, talking about what I wanted and then her taking my ideas and running with it. This is the color scheme she came up with (and trust me that was no easy task bc the hubs wouldnt let me paint the Duke University blue walls)

We decided to go with lots of earth tones (aka dirt bc well he is a boy).

So Tuesday night we hopped on Skype (gotta love technology) and hammered out the details of Boppers new vinatge tractor room. (we also did a lot of just talking too but hey were girls and thats what we do lol)

We found so many cute things on Etsy (the best place in the world) and we also found some funny stuff on there not related to tractors at all (i.e. The Willie Warmer and that is exactly what you think it is lol)

Jessa is so awesome and I am so glad that I met her. I cant wait to get started on Boppers room (hopefully this weekend) bc I know the design she did is going to look awesome. I promise I will post pics along the way of the big boy room makeover!!

Success on the potty homefront!!!

Ok peeps so yesterday I was telling you about Boppers no poop on the potty dilema but this morning he came and told me "poop" (I honestly thought he had already gone in his pants so I started telling him how it was yucky to go in your underwear) so i ushered him off to his bathroom and when I pulled down  his pants carefully (bc well if you do it to fast you will have poop fall in the floor, trust me). Much to my surprise there was nothing there so I sat him on the potty and not 1 min later HE WENT POOP IN THE POTTY!!!!

I was so excited that I started screaming for joy and clapping (I probably scared him to death). So this afternoon he got to go to the tractor store and pick out one toy. He was so overwhelmed with all the tractors he just walked around forever touching everything.

Tonite he went Poop 2 more times in the potty so hopefully (crossing fingers, toes, legs, etc) we will be potty trained!!!

Tales from potty training..

Our big beach vacay is quickly approaching so potty training at our "crib" is getting serious. (if you havent read my previous post my goal is to not take diapers on the trip)

I know, I know he is really young to be potty training but he honestly started showing interest on his own about 4 months ago and we have just been letting him go as he wants (no pressure). The hubs and I were both potty trained by the time we were 2 as well.

Fast forward to now, he has been dry all weekend (minus after waking up in the morning) but we just cant seem to get him to poop in the potty. He is getting some better, he will now actually sit on the potty for more than 2 seconds. He will come get me and say poop potty and we will go sit for 10 minutes and NOTHING. Then I promise 15 min later he will go in his underwear. So he feels the need to go but I swear I think he is afraid to poop in the potty.

Is there any way I can show him not be afraid to poop in the potty??

"I Love You-Now Hush" Book review

I had the opportunity to review this great book, “I love you –Now Hush” and bloggy friends, it’s hilarious. I would compare it to “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” but with a southern drawl. The 2 authors, Melinda Rainey Thompson and Morgan Murphy ( which are 2 of the South’s funniest voices) put together this collection of essays about the nature of men vs. women. Melinda first tells the woman’s side of the story and then Morgan rebuttals with the men’s side of the story. They both give their sides of the story to such things as household chores (my favorite part of the book) and why men don’t read the directions and women do.

Ya’ll I was nodding my head and agreeing with everything that was said in the book and the authors dish it out in such a humorous way that I would have to take a break from reading it because I was laughing so hard. So many times throughout the book, they would both “hit the nail on the head” with their reasoning in behind the mind workings of men and women. I cant say enough, this book is a great read esp if you enjoy southern, pithy humor. Oh and did I mention it is a great price, only $16.95.





The opinions expressed above are that of my own, and were not weighed upon by receiving such merchandise.

So my dad married a...cont.

So to continue the saga/on again off again soap opera also known as my dads and my relationship....

When the Hubs and I left for our honeymoon, that was the last time my dad and I spoke until Boppers was born. If you didnt already know the Hubs and I found out we were pregnant only after being married for 3 months (no, we werent trying so we were shocked but very excited; it was all in the Lords timing not ours) and did my day now I was preggo, im sure but of course still no phone call or visit. Even though we werent talking, that didnt keep the *step momma* from talking about me and spreading rumors. She was still telling people that I stole from them even though my dad told me they found the so called stolen object. Also during this time of non-speaking, they moved and to this day Im not sure where they moved too. (same town still but thats all I know)

The day I went to the hospital to have Boppers, I sucked up all pride I had and called him and said, "hey just in case you wanted to know, your grandson is being born" and he said "ok" and the 10 sec phone call was over. He did show up to the hospital with so called step-momma in tow, but he wasnt even gonna hold Boppers, he said he was "dirty". So my BFF grabbed a hospital gown and threw at him and said now you can hold him.

After that night, he didnt see Boppers till Christmas and Boppers was born in July. I mean how can a grandfather go that long without seeing his grandson, esp when we only live an hour apart??

TO BE CONTINUED.......

Read more: http://www.mylivesignature.com/wizard2_2.php#ixzz0mVh2YuF3

Wordless Wednesdays

For today's Wordless Wednesday post, I thought  that I would show you pictures of the Hubs and I's first child, our weenie dog, Mervin. The hubs gave him to me as a bday present wow almost 4 years ago. He was our baby until Boppers came along. Thankfully he has done so well with Bop and has not minded the attention loss at all. So on to the cute doggie pics....

Yep, when he was a pup I would take him to work with me and he would sleep on my mouse pad.

Isnt he the cutest weenie dog you have ever seen?? He looks just like his daddy! lol




Read more: http://mylivesignature.com/wizard2_2.php#ixzz0mQDFD7If