Fellow bloggers, come join the party!!

I just signed up for this:

Read the description of this event here:

http://www.according-to-kelly.com/2009/06/drumroll-please.html

If you want to participate (and I hope you do!), send off your info asap since the deadline is this Friday. To summarize, you will be matched up with a blogging "partner" and each of you have until July 25th to send off a care package to each other. The package will consist of at least 3 of your favorite things that you want to share with somebody else -- you're encourage to be creative in the items you pick. When you receive your goodies, you are instructed to take a picture of them and post it on the swap website so everybody can "ooh" and "ahhh" over each other's things. As one participant said -- it's like Christmas in July. I can't wait to receive my package in the mail because I'm a little tired of only getting bills and circulars in my mail box. Now the big question is what am I going to send my partner? I have a couple things in mind but the pressure is on! Time to go shopping :)

VIDEO TITLE: "Are women born this way?"

As I told a friend of mine...

If Lee sees this, Nathan will definitely be an only child.

Garden Update #3

Our sunflowers are blooming! Yea!

And we have lots of bees. Boo!

Happy Father's Day!

I bought this t-shirt for Nate while I was pregnant. It's the only clothing I purchased before he was born. It came from a trendy kids boutique in Eagle Rock (you read that right). This was the first time he's worn it and it'll probably be the last, as it's a little tight. I might have to frame it because I love it so much. Nate does love his Daddy very much!!

Scientific Analysis of Gender-Specific Playtime

Girls = sit quiet and play with toys

Boys = climb over/on anything they see

Case in point:

His feet were up in the air so he could lay on top of his toy to play with the buttons on the other side. Didn't attempt to ROTATE toy -- that would have been too much trouble.

Sorry Kobe

This would be a perfect week to post a picture of Nate in a Lakers outfit, but, alas, he doesn't own any Lakers paraphernalia. It's shocking, I know. If you tally up his "sports" related clothing, this is what it looks like:

1 Boston Red Sox bib

3 LA Dodgers outfits (bought pre-Manny Ramirez scandal)

1 LA Dodgers rattle

2 Ouchita Baptist University Tigers outfits

1 Anaheim Angels outfit

2 New Orleans Saints bibs

2 New Orleans Saints outfits

1 Cleveland Browns bib

1 Cleveland Browns outfit

1 Seattle Mariners bib, blanket, and hat

1 UCLA Bruins hat (pathetic; this should say 4 outfits!)

and 1 ESPN sippy cup purchase at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol

Yes, it's a totally random list. And no Lakers attire. Shocking. I'm going to have to fix this asap. Stay tuned.

Garden Update #2

Somewhere in the middle of these giant sunflowers are our herbs and tomato plants. The sunflowers were suppose to be the mini variety but they don't look mini to me. At this point, our neighbors will have a better view of the flowers than we will.

These leaves are HUGE.

Tomatoes growing larger every day.

Perks of being a penny pincher

Now that we're living in Seattle (okay, we're still in Burbank but with this crazy June Gloom weather, it feels like Seattle), the nights and early mornings have been a little chilly.  Which poses a problem -- what should Nate wear to bed?  I anticipated a hot summer -- and I know I'll eventually get it -- that would have Nate sleeping in a shorts outfit or a onesie.  But we're on week #3 of mild daytime temperatures and chilly nights.  Nate's warmer pjs are getting smaller by the day as he gets bigger by the day.  I know you're probably thinking, "just buy the kid some new pjs and be done with it" but, hey, I'm a thrifty/practical gal and I cringe at spending 10 dollars on flannel pajamas he'll only wear for the next week or two.  Plus you know that the day I breakdown and buy him some larger pajamas, we'll have a heat spell (it's kinda like when you wash your car and then it starts to rain...)

Anyway, squeezing my 11-month old into 9-month pajamas was getting ridiculous so after looking at Targets pjs, I had a thought -- I should go to some thrift stores!  So last weekend, Lee stayed with Nate for an hour while I hit 3 Burbank thrift stores.  Boy, did I score.  I got 3 pairs of pajamas and several other items for Nate for under $17.  If I had bought new ones at Target, a single set would have cost me $9.  It was so much fun!  All of the clothes were in very good condition and were well-known labels.  

I've certainly shopped at thrift stores many times before but never for children's clothes.  The first 2 I went to were very clean and the merchandise was nicely displayed.  The cashiers were friendly and excited to see what people were purchasing.  The last store was a little on the scary side.  The store itself was pretty dirty and made me want to take a shower when I got home.  The cashiers there have an "I can't believe I work at a stupid thrift store" attitude.  But this was the most organized store I've ever seen!  Kids clothes were separated by gender, then by type of clothing (shorts, then shirts, then sweaters, etc.), then by color.  Wow.  I'll definitely be going back to that place -- of course, with a giant bottle of hand sanatizer and a face mask.  Just kidding...or am I???

My stash of 3 pjs, 2 pairs of shorts, 

1 pair of overalls, and 3 shirts.

Okay, so this shirt is WAY too big for Nate.  He'll wear it on his first day of Kindergarten in 5 years.  I just couldn't pass it up because I loved the camping motif.  It reminds me of Yosemite.

I actually bought these items a month ago but had to show them off.  

Look at the cute Letterman's jacket - love the white leather sleeves.  It was 4 dollars.  

This photo is not fake

Typically, Cheerios end up in his mouth, on the floor, or in the crevices of the highchair.  But I discovered a stray a few weeks back when I unbuttoned Nate's pants to change his diaper.  The diaper-changing process has become very mechanical so this random Cheerio caught me off guard.  "Grab the camera," I yelled to Lee.  And here we are -- yet another pic that will haunt Nathan the teenager in 15 years. 

Nate Dines Al Fresco

After a week of hazy weather and 2 days of rain (huh??), 

Nate and I decided to enjoy the sunshine during lunchtime.

Listen for his funny "chipmunk" laugh after each bite....hilarious.

Totally Awesome

Our church had an 80s party on Saturday night. There was great food, music (supplied by Lee and the cover band), trivia and costume contests. Good times.

I guess this is what I would have

looked like if I had had a baby in high school.

Lots of cool decorations.

Wow, it's Magnum P.I. !!!!

Everybody eating Numero Uno Pizza.

The cover band - 64 Slices of American Cheese.

Wow, it's Boy George!!!

The Band's opening number -- Jump by Van Halen

Lee Cook, Rock Star.

No panties were thrown but

several women told me "your husband is hot."

Good grief.....