I can't believe I'm about to say this...

I'm bored.

The secret is out.

Those were forbidden words in my household growing up.  They were promptly followed with a list of chores to complete.

Beck has figured out how to go to sleep without me.
My housework is under control thanks to a cleaning schedule (don't laugh at me, I'm a scheduler).
It is yucky outside.
I don't have money to spend on anything that is not a necessity.
I have baked, crafted, read, studied, played the piano, been on facebook, been on pinterest, prayed, practiced the motions for my Good News Club songs.

Okay.  That was a pretty pitiful list and not very becoming.

So what is a girl to do when she doesn't have money to spend and needs to stay at home while her baby gets his napping schedule down?

As promised-part 2

And here are (almost) the rest.

 This is Beck's impersonation of Fonzi (with his thumb up).

 He totally looks like he got caught pulling out the baby wipes.

 Everything these days goes in his mouth...everything.

For the last picture, I am going to try to upload a video!

As promised-part 1

Blogger is not working with me today (shocker!).  So here are the first two pictures of Beck.  There were 13 comments so 11 more pics should follow.  I will try again tomorrow!

By the way, these photos are the work of Photography by Lexanna.  I could not believe how many pictures she took in a short amount of time.  If you have a little one and you are in the upstate, check her out.  We stopped for Beck to eat, change his diaper, and even for a nap.  Couldn't have had a better experience!  She has also taken pictures of Jeff and me in the past and we used them on our Christmas card.  She has tons of cute ideas for poses and we just had a fabulous experience.

Lurkers - Unveil yourselves

It has come to my attention that people are actually reading my blog!  However, only the same 3 people comment all of the time.  So I have an incentive for commenting.  Beck just had his 3 month pictures made and I have access to them right now.  For each person who comments (just say hi!), I will post a picture of Beck that you haven't seen before.  You do not have to sign in to comment.  Just comment as "anonymous" and then put your name (first name or nickname is fine) at the end of your comment.  You have about a week or so!  Happy commenting!

Muffins and Birthdays and Baby Showers

Oh my!

One of the things I wanted to be able to do while being a stay-at-home mom was help my other mom friends when they needed it.  And I got to do just that this past week.  Alyssa spent the day with Beck and me because her school does a staggered schedule the first full week of school-meaning she only goes on certain days so that her skill levels can be assessed.  She stayed with us on Wednesday and we had a muffin-palooza!  We made 4 batches of muffins for the teachers at our church's Christian academy.  

 Alyssa is quite the baker.  If she did not need supervision with the oven, she really could have done the whole thing on her own.  Which was good because Beck was having one of those "please hold me every second" kind of days.

 Scooping the muffin batter into the cups, with less spills than I make

 doing a little stirring dance :)

On to the birthdays...

This Saturday was Eli's 3rd birthday.  We had a blast celebrating with him at his Spongebob (or "pun-bob" as Eli likes to say) birthday party.

 Throwing diving sticks for the big boys to fetch

 Beck, Jeff, and Eli showing us his age

 And just in case you didn't know, he's 3!

 my little family 

 busting into some gifts

 Beck and Eli's grammy

And finally the baby shower...

My best friend Carolyn is expecting a baby girl, Grace, in November.  She and her husband moved for his new job, but she too will be staying home so we plan to do lots of visiting.  We had her baby shower on Sunday.  

 She is just a pretty pregnant lady!

 Grace's nursery is Pooh-themed so we following suit for her cake

 my decorating skills...or lack thereof

and that's what we've been up to!

bwe-3 months

Beck is....

sitting in his Bumbo seat

enjoying tummy time

talking to himself in mirrors

sucking on his fingers

sticking his tongue out

playing with tags

enjoying the view from both a horizontal and a vertical position

making spit bubbles

did I mention that he likes to make spit bubbles

ggrrroooowwwwwiiiiiinnnnnnngggggggg...he is in 6 month pj's, some 6 month clothes that don't stretch, and 3-6 month clothes for everything else.  26 inches and 14-15 pounds.

trying to hold his bottle as he downs 5-6 ounces every 3-4 hours from a medium flow bottle nipple

rubbing his eyes when he is sleepy

balding on the sides, but still so cute.

Oh yes...the most important...SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!  From about 8:30 to 7:00 or 7:30.  It is such a blessed thing.

A good book

Last night I finished a good book.  I know it is a good book because I have been anxious as I approached the end.  When I finish a good book, I always have mixed emotions.  I usually read stuff that has a happy ending, whether it be a novel or a book about adoption, so of course I feel happy and fulfilled.  But then I immediately begin to mourn.  What will I read now?  Will the next book make me feel this good?  Do I try a new genre?  I usually end up going to bed a little grumpy for a few nights, mocking the next book that I finally chose to begin.  You'll never be as good as that last book I read so don't even try.  However, in my life I can count on one hand the number of "bad" books I have read.

Anyhoo, tonight I must choose a new book.  Hopefully a good book.  Maybe even great.

By the way, the good book I just finished was The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels-A Love Story by Ree Drummond.  Loved it.