Spots!

No, not on me (which happens quite a bit, darn allergies) they are on the baby!

Yesterday she had three small spots on her shoulder. By the evening she had a crescent shaped band of them across half her back. This morning they had spread to her feet and legs. She even had them in her belly button. So first thing, I thought ok here is the chicken pox that every kids gets eventually, it's just her time. So we go to the doc.

Listen to this, Scooter has strep and that caused eruptions! And if shes the type to erupt once, she'll continue to do it. The doctor today said her throat was a little red but it wouldn't hurt to swab it and see what it picked up. I really didn't think she was sick like that because she was so perky today. So now she is on antibiotic and benedryll for the spots. I have to keep them itch free so she won't pick at them. Poor thing.

Chugging juice. She was running a low fever and was drinking lots (as yes, I cropped the mess out of the picture!).

Dad's little shadow.

Getting ready to leave...Tickled that PaPaw put her in the seat not Mama (mama is old news).

4 seconds later

If your kid breaks out like this, it could be strep!

Aren't they awful? She has more everywhere except her face. They are even all over her scalp :(

Self portrait, she is very interested in my camera. I am going to get her a Fisher price one very soon.
Son, you got a panty on your head.

She left it on for 30 minutes and cackled the whole time.

Dancing in her undies in the middle of the mess she made. My kid is so skinny!

Bye for now!

Ike Pictures

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

Money Money Money (and things I bought with that money)

(she is rushing the camera!)

It feels really weird..I have money again.

Bought Citi stock last week during all the lows, got it for 15.44 on average.

Sold it on Friday for 20.75.

I didn't get it at the low of 12ish or sell it at the high of 22ish but I am tickled.

Why?

Because I had a lot of it. Drumroll please...I have recovered my stock account and I am 9K ahead. Remember that at the low, I was 33K in the hole. Made me SICK! The Carnival rebounded and has been very steady for two months. Then the Citi thing just kind of happened. I still have a batch of stock that is 23K in the hole (blah!) that I can take as a tax deduction for 2009 after I use up my adoption credit this year.

What am I going to use it for? Why retirement phase one! High overview - don't work for corporate America anymore, but find a job with health insurance. Actually go to work and help people, make the world a better place.

They took 50 pieces this morning at the store (some were too light. I have to take them back in the spring) and I picked up several items from their dollar racks. After 90 days if you don't pick up your stuff the store keeps it and marks it $1. Note to self - don't forget to pick up my stuff! I got several things to resell. I got two black dresses that are designed for nursing, a motherhood cotton outfit in a 3x, a pair of gap jeans, motherhood khakis and a motherhood denim shirt. They all look brand new and they were just $1 (I can take maternity items to the kids sale in the spring).

I also got a nwt george rumba skirt, a CUTE limited two short floral skirt, a pair of gymboree cargo shorts, an adorable old navy baby hippie top, a pair of justice shorts, a gymboree beach hat, a gymboree beachy romper, and a Gap wrap around skirt. All this is too big for the baby or I'd keep it, so it's tagged and ready for the sale next spring too.

I got a super cute skirt that she can wear with a white tshirt. Too bad they didn't have any dollar things in my size (I am totally ok with used clothing for myself, I just rarely find it). At a yard sale on the way home I got her a old navy zip up jacket, an oshkosh skirt, the kind with stars on it (they had that whole star theme going awhile back) and a yellow summer top.
(the other three things are in the wash, I love taking pictures of baby loot!)

Also went back to the big baby consignment sale and things had thinned enough so you could see new stuff. I got the baby this cute blue hooded dress for winter that I'll probably put over jeans ($1.50!). I also got three bows from my favorite local bow maker, $4.10 for all three, it was buy two get one free day :)


And here it is, the best thing I got today! I spent 20 minutes scrubbing off the crayons and markers from the previous owner and that little stink took apink and green crayons and scribbled all over it lol. THIS is why I don't spend $50 (or even a $120 for a white set I was going to buy) for things she'll be using while holding crayons :) $5 :)



She also got a pair of used fake crocs in periwinkle for a buck, a new pair of hot pink fake crocs for $4 and REAL crocs too! Paid $30 for 2 pair and I have bids in on brown and dark pink mammoths.


So what did mama get? Zero zilch nada! How is that fair? :)

Bye for now!

Bargains Galore!

Well I managed to drop off 99 clothing items (crazy huh? yes I counted!) and several misc toys/blankets to the first consignment sale today. I managed to only buy three things at the presale too!

Our community yard sale is Oct 4th! I have so much to do in two weeks! Everyone loads up their covered parking space with all kinds of things. I am going to beg and borrow the neighbor's spot too and also use the uncovered spot next to it lol.

I am primed to take in the adult clothes on Sat too. You'd think that 200 pieces of clothing leaving my house would of made a dent...nope not a bit. I keep wondering where it all came from BUT a few months ago I was keeping a lot more stuff. Now? I'm keeping just a teeny tiny amount :)

I got to see the solid black boy kitten that I gave away yesterday! He's so pretty, he's an indoor spoiled kitten. He is getting really big and his fur is so shiny he practically glows in the dark. He's squishy and a little fat. I tell myself he remembered me (ok, I know he didn't remember me), but when I grabbed him by the scruff and laid him on my arm and petted his belly like I did when he was a kitten, he purred :) That's my boy!

Pictures...
New swim suit, the other one from the yard sale was too little. This was marked down to $3 at Dollar General if anyone needs one.

WAGON! She loves it, just $30 at the consignment sale. It retails for $75 on Amazon so I got a great deal. You can tell by the white wheels and logo, it is in really good condition. I pulled her around in the parking lot tonight, she had a lot of fun :)



This is the face I got when I begged her to smile!


Don't you love it when you buy something a year in advance and they fit at the right time? These were 75% off last year and I guessed the size and for ONCE I was right! Every baby girl needs pompom boots!
2 shirts, the top one is velour and was $2, the bottom one was $1 :) I think I picked out the two least expensive items there!
Look at how cute the dollar shirt is!

I saw my stuff mixed in with everyone else's and I was pretty happy with my quality and prices compared. If 10 is perfect, my worse stuff was a 5 and was priced half of everyone else's (the two tops I bought were an exception!). The bulk of my loot was a 7 at 3 prices and my 10's were like 5 prices (did you follow that?). I am hopeful that very little comes back to the house. But if it does, I'll just stick it in the yard sale for half off the marked price.

Someone is sitting on a ton of Citi stock that recovered nicely today (ok it's me! I am going to make a ton!....wait..did I just jinx myself?). Bye for now!

Chevy Volt: The future is electrifying

The extended-range electric vehicle that is redefining the automotive world is no longer just a rumor. In fact, its propulsion system is so revolutionary, it's unlike any other vehicle or electric car that's ever been introduced. And we're making this remarkable vision a reality, so that one day you'll have the freedom to drive gas-free.

Chevy Volt is designed to move more than 75 percent of America's daily commuters without a single drop of gas.(1) That means for someone who drives less than 40 miles a day, Chevy Volt will use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions.(2)

Unlike traditional electric cars, Chevy Volt has a revolutionary propulsion system that takes you beyond the power of the battery. It will use a lithium-ion battery with a variety of range-extending onboard power sources, including gas and, in some vehicles, E85 ethanol(3) to recharge the battery while you drive beyond the 40-mile battery range. And when it comes to being plugged in, Chevy Volt will be designed to use a common household plug.

Chevy Volt. Fully Charged 2010.

(cool huh? and I didn't even get paid for posting this. My commute is 16 miles RT including taking the baby to school. All my stores are 10 miles or less from the condo. My house is about 14 miles from the condo. So basically if I give up my sports car urges, this would be a fantastic replacement considering our area has extremely low electric prices.)

What did you have for dinner?

We had leftovers and beans = YUM YUM! :) (this is her "my mommy is a moron look)


then we had yogurt

and maybe this is why my camera only works part of the time - jab jab


Wookie is here in the condo with us now, that makes me happy. He stayed under the bed for about a week but now he is better. He mostly lives in our room and creeps out to say hi in the evenings. He of course sleeps on my head at night (sigh)

The bi-annual children's' consignment sale is this weekend, I have to drop off my stuff on Thursday. I hope to take 100 things; toys, movies, clothes, etc. Also, Saturday is my consignment for adult clothes drop off appointment. I can only take 75 things and I have 90 ready to go. Once I get my account set up with them I can drop off extras every Monday morning. I want to have it all there by the end of Oct.

THEN maybe I'll have enough free space at the house to really start tackling the junk. I have moved 75% of the things that will be sold to my house from here. I think I have missed the yard sale window for this year so I am going to price everything and split it into three piles; spring consignment, yard sale and craigs list. Normally Ebay would be in that mix but I feel like their fees are just too high. Maybe I'll have an indoor yardsale? Everything for sale - house too! :)

Had lots of fun on Friday in Knoxville!

Gas prices are at $4.09 here - eeck!

Carnival stock is really high right now for some reason, I'm not buying it. Why? Every time i buy it over 38.50 I get stuck with it for a long time! Broke down and got some Citi stock today as it tanked. I am optimistic that in the next 2 weeks it will recover $2 more than what I paid for it and I'll meet my goal. If I make 5% every month and roll it into the next month, I'll get to go into semi retirement when I am 38 (Oct 28, 2012!). I say semi because we'll need health insurance. But maybe I'll get a job where I help people. Anyway, I did over 10% for July and then again for August. I've only done 2% for Sept so far, so go Citi stock - go!

Bye for now!

Well Baby Visit and House Hunting

Today was Natalie's 18 month check up, we were a month behind! She now weighs a whole 23 pounds and is 33.5 inches tall. She is basically a 9 month width and an 18-24 month in length. I call her my skinny minnie :)


A blurry action shot of her running around in my shoes!


Yesterday we went to look at another house. Tri level on 2.6 acres. Mountain views and in a great neighborhood. Enough land for fruit trees and a big garden. Cute on the outside but a dump inside. Like 30K easy to fix dump. For about an hour today Dad was willing to put in an offer for their tax assessment but I think he has changed his mind again. I can easily buy the place myself but I don't want to do that if he doesn't want it. But I found his view and I had my hardwood....for just a fleeting moment. Oh well, I guess I'll just rot away in this condo (hate it).

Tomorrow is Amy's birthday and I'm headed to Knoxville for a girl night out sort of thing. Scooter butt is going to Nana's house.

Bye for now!

Pee pee in the potty - woohhooo!

She shoots! She scores...err pees...in the potty that is!

Natalie's daycare has a little bathroom attached to the room. Since she is the smallest by 6+ months, all the other kids are in some sort of potty training mode. Her first week there, she could tell me when her diaper was dirty (handy and annoying all that the same time). All the other kids are daytime trained so I can see why they'd love to have her trained too. I spoke with them a little bit about it, not to force her but to see if she is interested. I know she is fascinated with the potty at home, so maybe it's time?

I went to the consignment store last week, check out my goodies for $9 plus tax...
Aloha!
For the cruise hee hee hee
For next summer, a little carters dress she'll wear with capris to protect her knees.
Old navy capris for now :)
Gymboree skirt for now too :)

She is so rough on her clothes that she didn't have enough to make it through our Dec trip. As is, I have to do a load of laundry on the ship, but at least now it's just one and not like three.

hehe check out the braid! She lets me fix her hair now, braids are my favorite. She is also holding her 33 cent giraffe "jerry". She carries him everywhere :)

Loving on jerry


Sleeping with her 33 cent Pottery Barn bear.

Cooked and assembled 148 meals for Meal on Wheels today in record time!

Ok that is it for now - bye!

Boomsday 2008

I haven't been in like 15 years so we loaded up the baby and went. We arrived in Knoxville about 5pm. It was hot. Like my flip flops melted hot. We were ill prepared for the event. We should of brought chairs and a blanket. We should of brought 20 waters with us. There were hard core boomsday-ers there, they had a canopy, lots of chairs, lots of food...water..think of us but the opposite! Lucky for us, they sold food or we wouldn't of made it!

Ready for fireworks! Hate to tell her it's another 4.5 hours!

The best leash ever!

Pretty blue and white
More blue and white
Part of the Rocky Top orange display.

Tons of curlies

HeartsAnd blurry smiley faces!

I have video too, since I do like my fireworks I'll add it to the sidebar after I edit it :)

Went to Goodwill today to waste some time before we met my Mom to shop. I got the baby a Gund pink bear with a Pottery Barn Kids tag on it. It was the big $28 size. I also got a little giraffe and a Lilo beanie with the tags. All three for ...$1...tada! They all just came out of the dyer (don't worry, I wash stuffed animals all the time, they are major crud catchers!) and they are cute! I also got a new with tags baby gap sweater with a cat on it for next winter for $1.97. So an excellent junk day at Gooodwill :)