Triple Threat!

A huge Thank You goes out to the Ver Steeg family who bestowed upon us this wonderful triple stroller a few weeks ago!!  I was so excited to be able to get out on walks with all the kiddos - freedom and sunshine were calling my name!  Then all 3 babies got sick over the span of 3 weeks... then it rained for 2 weeks straight... but the day finally arrived where everyone was well, the weather was beautiful, and all the naps, diaper changes, and feedings lined up perfectly for us to head outside into fall. :)

It was glorious weather with temps in the mid 70's, great sunshine, and a comfortable breeze (yes, I sound like a weather man...)  All the kiddos - and me!- enjoyed it tremendously.

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Fun Weekend!

For those of you that haven't taken a look on my Facebook album, I wanted to share Charlotte's latest photos!  We had so much fun with our little bug this weekend, there were many prime photo taking opportunities! She is such a little cheese for the camera.

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Charlotte Update con't...

Home Made Baby Food Advice

I have had many moms ask me about making their baby’s food, so instead of typing it over and over, I decided to blog about it here!  If you have any further questions or would like more information feel free to email me (jordan.lyons@mac.com)

My initial desire to make Charlotte’s food was strictly a monetary thing.  I was talking to the mom of one of the babies I watch during the day and she said she spends upwards of 100 dollars a month on baby food alone - not including formula!  I was amazed at the cost and was a little worried we hadn’t budgeted enough money to cover it.  So I started researching home made baby food and saw that other than the start up cost, which for me was minimal since I already had the majority of things needed, I could spend less than 20 dollars on produce!  After making it all up, I calculated that it would last me about 2 months!  Sure enough I just hit the 2 month mark and am just about out.  I did learn that this food can stay frozen for 8 weeks so the timing worked out perfectly. After I started doing my research I became aware of all the health benefits that come from making your baby’s food.  There are no preservatives like the jar food, you can choose the quality of the produce you use or if you want to go organic, you make your own combinations, and you know for sure what your baby is eating - no recalls to worry about.  Between the money saved and the health benefits, it is something I am committed to for Charlotte until she moves on to “big people food.”

Charlotte is 8 Months!

Charlotte is 8 Months old... my how time flies.  Yes, I just posted the 7 month update, but I'm gonna post this one on time!  Regardless of how recent the last update was posted, Charlotte has changed so much in just the last days and weeks I have plenty to report.

• She is a mover and a shaker!  Charlotte is full-on crawling now.  Wherever she wants to go, she goes.


• She is using her new crawling muscles to finally sit up straight and on her own! Previously she would sit up in a "tripod" fashion but now she can sit up from standing or laying down perfectly fine.  She does seem to prefer sitting up on her knees instead of her bottom.  This reinforces our belief mentioned below...


• Charlotte wants to walk more than anything - at least that is the belief that Jeff and I hold!  She pulls up anytime she can and tries to "walk" along whatever she is holding onto.  Many times, she let go and head the opposite direction, falling of course, but wanting to walk.  She works on pulling up on things more than she does her newfound crawling skills.  And if you give her the chance, she'll grab ahold of your fingers and take off walking across the room.  She  is awesome.


• We are getting ready to move onto new foods!  Since I am making her food, I make a big batch of foods to freeze that will last us 2 months at a time.  Her first round of food were the basic first tastes and not she is ready for the big time: mixed veggies, peas, peaches, broccoli, apricots, corn, potato, blueberries and zucchini.


• Teething seems to have kicked into high gear! The last few days we have been using up the ibuprofen and orajel as Charlotte has been in some pain :( It makes me so sad - especially since we have nothing to show for it! She has yet to have that first tooth break through.  I hope with all this work maybe they will all come through at once and we'll be done with it.  It has totally disrupted her slept schedule too.  She hurts and can't fall asleep, and now that she can pull up and stand she won't lay down in her crib - meaning she can't just lay down and cry herself to sleep.  Poor kiddo :(


• The teething aside, I still hold to the belief that she is the happiest baby ever.  Other than crying over her teething and her being sick a couple weeks ago, she doesn't really cry.  She is always willing to give you a big ol' grin and curl up in your lap to cuddle.  I am around babies all day - and not naming names, but babies that pinch me to the point of bruising, try to bite me constantly, and scream bloody murder for no apparent reason.  And none of these are from Charlotte.  Hopefully I'm not spoiled and #2 (no, nothing to report thank you very much) will be the same (knock on wood, cross my fingers, whatever works)

With Charlotte changing so fast, we'll see what happens this month![gallery]

We Sleep Like Kings

Jeff and I have been sleeping on our wonderful queen bed for years now.  Jeff bought it back when we were dating (I helped him pick it out of course!) so it is a good 5 plus years old.  The age isn't as bad, but the fact that it has been taken apart, moved, and put back up at least 6 times now had begun to show its wear.  The mattress was starting to permanently have Jeff and Jordan shapes and we were not getting good nights sleep from it.  We looked at moving up to a King but the cost of the bed, mattress set, bedding, etc, was just going to be too much at this time.  We decided to go ahead and look at getting just a basic queen mattress for the time being so we can get a good nights sleep and upgrade later.

As you read in the Labor Day post, we went to Mattress Inn here in Spring Hill and found a great sale they were having and we ended up being able to get a full King set with frame for not a lot more than what we were thinking of spending for just a queen mattress.  We did have to factor in new bed linens but between the savings going to places like overstock.com and Ross and looking at the long term savings of going ahead with it now, the King won!

The bed was delivered last Tuesday and linens came via UPS over the past week.  While we still need a headboard, the bed is wonderful!  We have slept many wonderful nights - and we don't roll over and hit or kick each other either!  Here is to many more comfortable and cozy nights in our big fabulous bed.

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Jeff's Birthday!

This past weekend my dear hubby had his 29th birthday!  We had a 3 day run of birthday activities to make up for the past few years where his birthday money has been used to pay for bills or groceries :(  He has worked so hard lately I was excited to be able to help him relax for his special day.

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So I have realized that Fantasy Football is just about luck. Yes, you choose your team during the draft, and yes, you choose your starting line up but from there? Nothing! It is totally up to your players and their teams. You just have to sit back and hope they score the points they are supposed to.

The last 2 weeks I have been slated to win both games by at least 10 points - great right? Well somehow I have lost each one of them. The first week my team did not score near what they were supposed to in the "predicted" column and the other team blew their predictions out of the water with 2 players that had unexpected games. The second game, while not as bad, the same thing happened. I have realized that there is nothing I can do when this happens. Once the games start I am set with my lineup. No matter what happens, I can't change anything. It's a roll of the dice.

Speaking of dice, I have realized that Fantasy Football is very much like Monopoly for me. Yes, you can buy your properties and choose if and where to build your houses and hotels but in the end it is up to the roll of the dice where you land. Where you land, you pay. period. Once everything is bought up there is nothing you can do but roll and play and see what happens. This is what frustrates me about Monopoly. I cannot play with friend or family as I can get really upset. You work so hard on the front end to just leave it up to chance? No Thanks. Sounds familiar I think...

We'll see how the rest of the season goes... I play my husband next week. (My husband who has beat the pants off every person he has played so far - but by my theory it can't be by any skills of his own....?? )