Wordless Wednesday: My dumpster dive find

I rescued this chilly fellow from a bleak future of sitting all sad in a landfill somewhere. He is my friend, I will hug him, and love him, and call him Frosty.

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Bloggy Goodness... it's giveaway time!

It's time! I've been waiting since last fall to have my turn at giving stuff away and it is finally here. This is so much fun! I actually won two giveaways last year. Not to mention all the great blogs I got to read along the way. The carnival at Bloggy Giveaways is the whole reason I actually started blogging, so it seemed appropriate to give a little something back to the blogging community.

Ok, now to the goods. I'll be giving away two prizes. First item is this book by Muffy Mead-Ferro called "Confessions of a Slacker Mom". My sister gave me this book and it made me feel much better about being the complete slacker I am. Thanks sis! Seriously, it was a great little read and hopefully it will help all moms to remember that we don't have to live up to sister Suzie or neighbor Nelly's standards, just our own.



Secondly is a hand made decorative frame, made by yours truly. You can either hang it up, or stand it up like it's shown here.

Now for the fine print.

• Winners will be drawn and contacted on February 3rd.
• Winners will be chosen at random.
• I will ship item to respective winner, so therefore contest open those in the United States only.
• You do not need a blog, but I do need a way to contact you. So if you don't have a blog, leave me your email in your comment.
• In the event that a winner cannot be contacted or has not responded by February 8, a new winner will be drawn.
• Now please read carefully. I'm going to make you work a little for it. To enter, please post a comment here either stating how you are a slacker mom (or dad) OR something that you believe in (God, unicorns, world peace, UFO's, whatever). You can do both if you like, but duplicate posts and posts that do not submit at least one of these will not be counted, sorry.

I'll go first:

I'm a total slacker mom because I've been known to extend the 3-second rule for letting my child eat something that fell on the floor to a good minute and a half!


I believe that someday we'll find it... the rainbow connection.


See, now that wasn't so hard. And you only have to do one of those! Have fun with it and thanks for visiting!


Check out the hundreds (and I mean HUNDREDS) of other giveaways currently going on at Rocks in my Dryer.

GOOOOAAAAALLL!

Thursday Preston had his first soccer class. It seems that my little guy is just nuts about anything sports related and soccer is no exception. And while Mr. Ricardo tried really hard to teach a few "skills" to these energetic 3-5 year olds, I think they all enjoyed running and kicking the ball the best. Thus you're going to see a lot of blurry little arms and legs.

Ok, here the ball is blurry... kid just a little blurry.


Doing "drills" around the cones.


Working on balance.

More balance (Mr. Ricardo is the tall one).

Working on "cover of Sports Illustrated" pose.

As a mother of a very active little boy, I need to get better at taking action shots. In this particular situation the lighting was really low and I needed to use zoom to the max as I was trying not to look like the paparazzi from the bleachers.

Wordless Wednesday: Spoon Hanging

Preston perfecting the art of spoon hanging

(Notice the hands are not touching the spoon)

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One for the brag book

Ok, I said I wouldn't make this a "my kid did this", "look how cute/smart/great my kid is" blog. But here we go the second blog in a row where I dote on my cute/smart/great kid.

Preston seems to have this uncanny ability to recall random bits of information. Although for him I'm sure it's not all that random. I mean in the first three years of life all information is pretty important, right? I'm probably just really jealous since I can't remember what I had for breakfast.

Anyway, this evening in the car Preston is trying to get me to look at something important. Yes, something more important than the actual road in front of me. *sigh*

Me: What is it honey?
Preston: There, right there mommy!
Me: That building?
Preston: No. Up there. (Probably pointing but how would I know?)
Me: The sky? Yes, the sunset is pretty.
Preston: No, not the sun. Right there, that line.
Me: Oh the telephone pole?
Preston: No. Remember mommy at the car wash?
Me thinking: Is this a new topic? When was I at a car wash? Did I pass a car wash? Eh?

This conversation continues at this pace for several exchanges until it finally dawns on me. Waaaay back in November I took the car to a new car wash where the attendant kindly removes my car antennae so that I may proceed through the wash. Today is the day of all days that Preston decides to discuss this with me.

Later this same evening right after hugs and kisses, prayers and a tucking in, Preston decides to gives us a little physical science lesson that he learned several months ago. Mr. Ricardo (who resembles Marion Barber of the Dallas Cowboys) teaches a few classes at the Rec. Center that Preston attends a few days a week. During one class, Mr. Ricardo demonstrates how gas in one balloon floats and the other just has air. It wasn't so much that Preston remembered that one balloon had gas and the other had air, but he remembered what color each balloon was and how the "green" balloon got stuck above one of the cabinets and Mr. Ricardo couldn't reach it.

I won't even go into how he remembered a specific Christmas detail from two Christmases ago. Or how he figured out how to work all 5 of our TV remotes. I wonder if he remembers what I had breakfast?

Oh, to be 3 again

I am convinced that 3 is the age to be. My son, Preston who is in fact 3 can attest to that. While he may have the world at his fingertips, you'll probably find those same fingertips all over my newly cleaned windows. No longer a toddler, this pre-schooler has got it made. Just the name "pre-schooler" alone says it all. No responsibilities, nobody but your mom to tell you what to do - and let's face it, she's kind of a pushover - naps are mandatory, and your most challenging decision is whether you want to play blocks or trains.

Of course with each passing year new growth and acheivments present their own set of challenges. Check out some of these developmental milestones by the end of age 3 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Imitates adults and playmates

Unfortunately this one leads to, "Preston, please don't say [fill in blank]. I know mommy just said [fill in blank] but you don't say it."

• Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates

Found myself saying this at the park today, "It's ok to just wave at your friends, you don't have to hug each one of them."

• Can take turns in games

I think it is safe to say that most 3 year olds understand this concept they just refuse to accept it.

• Understands concept of "mine" and "his/hers"

Of course, if mine means I want what he/she has, and what is mine cannot be his/hers.

• Expresses affection openly

Nothing wrong with that, we should all do it a little more.

• Expresses a wide range of emotions

Is whining an emotion? How about pouting?

• By 3, separates easily from parents

Far too easily, if you ask me.

• Objects to major changes in routine

Objects to just about anything that wasn't their idea to start with.

We're not quite even to the halfway point of 3 and it's been an adventure, but one I wouldn't miss for the world. Yup, 3 is definitely the age to be. Unless of course you're 4, that's pretty sweet too.

Wordless Wednesday:Raspberries

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