I like to plan ahead

On May 26th we are taking off and flying to New Orleans. Traveling is usually no big deal but I am starting to freak out. Because when I say "we" I don't mean Andrew, Colin, and me. This time it is just Colin and me.

I am honestly OK with bringing Colin anywhere (unless children being present are frowned upon). Bringing a 6 month old onto a ship for 5 days and sharing a cabin? Bring it. Four to five hour flight across the country while allowing Colin to be a lap child so he could fly free? Been there done that.

But this time I am all alone. I started stressing about what to do when I had to go to the bathroom and no one was flying with me to hold Colin. Or when I just need someone else to hold him to give my arms a break. So I went to Southwest and saw that the Fun Fares were super low. Like, $88 low. I thought about it all night and this morning I booked him his own seat. Only for the trip to New Orleans, not back since Andrew would be there with me.

I then felt calm. I can put Colin in his car seat and I will have two free hands to dig out whatever I need from his diaper bag. And if I am lucky and he falls asleep I can actually read gossip magazines a book while en route.

Then I realize I would be hauling a stroller AND a car seat through the airport...alone.How in the heck do I juggle a stroller, a car seat, a diaper bag, and a baby as I go through security. Does the car seat even fit through the x-ray machine!?

So in a month or so expect to see a post on how to get through security with everything but the kitchen sink with ease. If my experience turns out to be a scene in a comedy (which face it, when stuff like this and this happens I assume God planned my life out to be more of a comedy than a drama. I am thankful for this though.) then the post will be more of a what not to do.

My Little Drummer Boy

Uncle Will give Colin his first drum lessons. I have a strong feeling that there might be a drum kit in Colin's future.

FREE

I really don't have much to say except that I got formula free. Yep, this is exciting my world. Thanks to a little pricing error at Publix and their policy to give you the item free if it doesn't ring up correctly scored me a free can of formula. That stuff isn't cheap so it is reason to celebrate. Only thing that could have made it better would have been if they had given me all four cans free. But 4 cans at the sale price of 3...work for me!

And, speaking of the price of formula, I hope to only be buying it for a couple more months. Well, really one since I already bought what I needed for May. That will be a nice chunk of change back in my wallet. Not to mention the fact that I won't have to measure and shake C's milk anymore. It's the little things that make me happy.

It's done!

I have finished painting and redecorating my room today! I tried to take a picture with my little camera that has a panoramic option and it turned out bad, but if gives you a sense of the way my room is shaped and laid out.

Here are some better photos!

And can you believe I found the bedding and accessories at Wal-mart? My least favorite place EVER!

The curtain I believe because one is a bit longer than the other and the curtain rods are the same height. Hmm...I think it will only bother me and my OCDness.

5 of 10

Yesterday I started tray number 5 of 10 for my top teeth. That means I am HALF WAY DONE with the top Invisalign treatment!!! When I compare my 1st aligner to my current one it is hard for me to see much of a difference. They are clear so you practically see through them. So I decided to take a picture of my teeth and then go search for one of my teeth previously.

The following photos are VERY close up photos of my teeth/mouth. Just in case those kind of photos gross you out.

June 2008

April 2010

For the record, it is very hard to find photos of my teeth with a big smile from straight on. At least old photos. I didn't like to smile big. So that is why I had to go all they way back to 2008. And I really don't remember my teeth being that shade of NOT white. Gross...

After comparing this two picture I can totally tell a difference! I have been able to feel with my tongue that they were starting to even up along the bottom but that is all I could really tell. But from the pictures I am actually excited to see the my arch is widening and my teeth don't point inward as much. My mouth looks so much less narrow.

I am already happy with the current results - I can't wait to see how they look 5 trays into the future and without the attached buttons! (The buttons are the little bumps you see on some of my teeth.)

There isn't much to see on the bottom - I am on tray 5 of 27 so I have quite a ways to go.

As much as I wish I had conventional braces as a teenager I am happy with how this is going to far. Dr. Togrye told me that my results wouldn't be as perfect as if I choose metal braces but this is working for me! I have really sore teeth anywhere from 1 to 3 days after each new tray and sometimes come with headaches. Cleaning them has been easy and it really isn't that much of an inconvenience.

Busy Weekend

We had a pretty busy weekend but I like it like that!

Friday night we had some friends over for dinner. We hadn't seen either couple in quite a while so it was a lot of fun! We didn't stay up too late as everyone had a busy day the next day but it was so nice to get together and enjoy conversation over some yummy food! Colin had his first taste of pasta bake and loved it. I think I spoiled him with the homemade sauce because now he rejects pasta with Prego Sauce on it. Bad move on my part!

Saturday we headed to the Nashville Zoo! It was a bit of a disappointment after visiting the San Diego Zoo just a few short months back but it was a nice was to spend the day! Colin enjoyed watching the animals and getting to pet a goats. He loved staring at the llama in the petting zoo also!

Saturday afternoon during Colin's nap Andrew and I rearranged our bedroom (which is a ton of work - we had to unassemble the bed and reassemble). Then when Colin went down for the night I started to paint the bedroom. I only got half of the trim done but it was a first step!

Sunday was an exciting day as we got to go to the airport to see Bates come home!! I brought my camera but never took a picture. I wanted this to be my picture for the day for my Project Life album. So when ML post some pictures of Bates' homecoming I will just have to steal one of those. (Or any friends can e-mail me a great shot of ML and Bates!) He is a cutie! I am so excited that 1st: Mary Leigh got to bring her son home!! And 2nd: Colin has a boy close to his age to play with! It just seems like everyone was having girls!

Sunday afternoon I was able to paint the majority of the bedroom while Colin napped. I am getting good at painting! And this paint is awesome. I purchased the Valspar Signature paint from Lowe's that has the primer included...and it is amazing. I for sure thought I would have to do two coats of khaki over my jade green walls but one coat covered no problem. And I bought 3 gallons and I don't think I will need to use it all. I will paint the hall with any leftover. This paint is awesome. I will stick with it for any future painting projects!

I put on my new bedspread and set up my bong lamps. That is what they look like so that is how we refer to them. When I brought them in the house the first thing Andrew asked me is where I was able to find the two bongs. See - way out of my comfort zone.

Now I am battling a killer headache and a case of the Mondays. Tonight is leftover lasagna, workout at Curves, and then DWTS as I iron clothes. Mondays are rough but I enjoy Monday nights.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Since we moved into your house almost three years ago my bedroom has looked like this:

(I would like to add I do have night stands and lamps. They just aren't pictured here. And yes, I never purchased curtains.)

I love my comforter but white just isn't practical. Especially with a black dog. I am happy with every other room in our house except for our bedroom and master bath. So I am changing it up.

I picked out some funky lamps!

To go with some new bedding! This lamp is way out of my comfort zone but hopefully I end up liking it all.

This will be a long process. You know, because now I have to make sure Colin is taken care of. I can't just up and paint like I used to be able to! And all I have purchased is a bed set and lamps...so I kind of need a few more things. But in a few months (hopefully less) I will FINALLY have a completely decorated master bedroom.

You have seen this

Well, this is what it looks like from the other side:

Makes me laugh out loud.

And yes...that door is gross. That's what a baby sticking their hands and face all over one side and a dog jumping on the other side will do. I clean the side Colin sticks his face to regularly.

Today's Random Thought

Every time I wash Colin's clothes I have a freak-out moment. No joke - every time.

Because every time I start folding them I think, "These look really small. Oh crap. Did I shrink his clothes? Oh no no no no no no.  I don't want to buy more. Crap crap crap."

This is followed by me holding them up to other clothes hanging in his closet to size them up next to each other. Sometime seeing if I can stretch some that looks really small. If he is next to me I hold it up to him.

Then I realize that I previously folded adult clothes...so these are going to look oddly small. Freak-out over.

But it happens again the next time. It is a vicious cycle.

BUT - Gymorbee. I swear those do shrink up a bit. Because how can 12-18 mth clothes fit him so perfectly already?? OshKosh doesn't appear to have much shrinkage after washing.

How to spend the day

Sometimes I feel like I struggle to find things to entertain Colin. He mostly likes to speed crawl from one sharp corner of furniture to an outlet. OK, I am just kidding about that. But his favorite thing to do it just move. Non-stop. He wants to explore.

We borrowed a toy from my Mom's house this weekend  (the Busy Ball Popper) and I didn't realize how much Colin loved it. I brought it back this morning because it sounded like we were at Chuck E Cheese's and there was no volume control, but he loves picking up two balls and banging them together. This makes me excited because he doesn't clap yet but if he dropped the balls he would be right there!

So in came my creativity. A ball pit.

Now my house really is Chuck E Cheese's. I intended on purchasing the turtle sand box and filling it with the balls and giving us something to play with outside, but they were sold out and I couldn't find one. So I opted for the $6 kiddie pool instead and I can move it inside or out. Not really the look I wanted, but it serves it's purpose!

Any other suggestions on forms of entertainment? He is still a little scared of the grass, but getting better!

Oh, and we have tooth number 6!! (I think...he only lets me in there occasionally) And some killer seasonal allergies. Colin sounds so congested but at least once all this stuff is done blooming it will begin to clear up. Benadryl is out friend right now.

And check out the new recipe under the Weekly Recipe tab!

He will now know which one his his

That is what Andrew told Colin when I put his name up. "Now you won't get lost. You will know which room is yours."

I got Colin's name and giraffe up on the wall yesterday! My replacement came in and I went straight to work. Only problem - the same thing was happening as last time! I used a hair dryer like the demonstrator suggested and it did help but still took me nearly an hour to get up on the wall!

I added the giraffe at the end and he went up effortlessly. You would have thought he was created for the sole purpose of being on Colin's wall. There was no way he wasn't going to stick. So it definitely wasn't my paint (which I was afraid of) or the adhesive since they would have been cut from the same material.

In the end we figured that the font for his name was just so wide compared to the small lines of the giraffe that it was causing the problems. The backing paper is so sticky that only one edge of the letter would be off as I tried to roll the paper to the other edge and it would end up pulling the letter back off the wall.

I will buy these again but I will be a little more selective on my fonts. I couldn't avoid it this time b/c I wanted a masculine font for the yellow walls but for other places in my home I will be happy with a more feminine looking font. I LOVE IT!

And I put the extra giraffe at the bottom of his door on the inside (see it?).

Oh, and the love for the golf club is no fluke. He was just as excited to play with it last night as well. There may be a tiny golf bag in Colin's future. Maybe Mommy needs to learn to play. And she wants a pink bag if this is going to happen. =)

Beans and Cornbread Had a Fight

Colin had his 9 month check up yesterday and did so good! He had one shot and had to have his finger pricked for a blood sample. But with Puffs in my hand for both of these he didn't even shed a tear. This kid will do anything for Puffs or Cheerios.

He weighed in at 21lbs 6oz and 28.75 inches long. This puts him at just above average in both measurements. He has been in the 80-90th % in the past to maybe his rapid rate of growth is slowing down and he will stay in the current clothing size for a bit longer. Maybe the entire summer. That would be awesome as I just spent my Gymbucks yesterday. =)

He is growing just fine for not being too terribly interested in baby food. He will eat yogurt no problem but just isn't super interested in being spoon fed anything else. So Dr. Lowe said to just keep a few jars on hand but to offer him table food at meal times. So last night he had white chicken chili, cornbread, and peaches! He didn't touch the chicken but when he got the white beans and cornbread in his mouth he seemed to enjoy it! And canned peaches in the mesh feeder was a big hit also!

We are also starting to have some luck with a sippy cup. I only bought 5 thousand different kinds and he is finally getting the hang of one: the straw cup with his name on it (that Julie made). He doesn't drink from it much, but now instead of chewing on the straw he will suck up some water. Baby steps...

He also loves his Daddy's golf club. He spent a good part of the evening just banging it around on the driveway.

Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?

If you live on the Cason Lane/Blackman side of town you have probably seen this guy. These pictures loaded small, so be sure to click to enlarge to get the full effect.

Does this make you want to stroll into the cafe for a cup of coffee?

Creepy Clowns just don't make me think "Latte." What were they thinking when they came up with this marketing idea?

I had to take a picture.