thanks for asking...

Everyone keeps asking about sweet Lyla's little head. Yes, it's crooked. Sort of. She has some "boding" - I think that's what the doctor called it - of the skull. Simply put, there's a knot on one side of her forehead. One ear is further forward and one side of the face fuller. Funny, but it's hard to see in 3-D and easier to see in the mirror.

Anyway, we go to a specialist tomorrow to hear our options. I think a little helmet is the most common solution. Thanks to all who have called and emailed to ask. Sorry I'm slow in replying. I'll keep you posted.

She's still the cutest baby I know. =)

just some photos

We've spent the last week in Kentucky visiting family. I'll post details later, but here are a few photos to enjoy.

I heart CVS...

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a sucker for a bargain. I love to find the best deal on everything - really, it's only a bargain if you need it, but I frequently find myself "needing" most good deals. A marketer's dream, I am.

So, for those who have a CVS Pharmacy closeby, I'm convinced it's the best deal around. First, you sign up for their free member card - then you get "Extra Bucks" every few months just for buying the things you need, along with various coupons attached to your receipts each visit. Last month, they had a special where if you purchased $30 worth of Huggies brands (which by the way was on sale), you got $15 extra bucks. So I buy the Huggies stuff first, then the coupon prints right there and I instantly use the $15 for the rest of my purchase.

Then there are the prescriptions. Of course, being a mom of two little ones, someone always needs something. I filled a $15 antibiotic prescription and got a $25 gift card!

In the mail this week I received a 25% off your entire purchase coupon!!! For anyone who understands the price of diapers, children's allergy medicines and eczema creams, you can appreciate my excitement. I mentally mapped out my store trip numerous times to be sure not to miss anything. I need a better social life, I know.

To ensure no distractions, Kevin watched the kids so I could go alone. A cart full of diapers, wipes, lotions, and TWO mascaras later, I had saved $68 (including the $25 gift card)!!!! Yippeee! - the checker said I got a better discount than even the employees. Apparently, only a "select few" got the special coupon - and this lucky lady was one of them! That's right, show me a coupon and I'll show you the money!

Because I know you're all eager to get the car started to head down the street, I'll end my post here.

Happy shopping!

mama's got a brand new do...

Well, I did it. I got what I like to call the "mom cut," though I currently know no mom's with such a do. It's the one where you know a woman must have wild kids at home and she has no time to "fix" her hair. I went for a trim, honestly, and I still couldn't tell you what transpired. I just came home with a lot less hair. I know what Janet on "Three's Company" must have felt like now (well, except I don't live with a busty blonde and a gay man). Oh well, it's just hair - you get more. Unless you're an aging, balding man I suppose, but I digress...

Trust me, the cut is much cuter with Lyla in the photo.



Sorry no color mom, but black and white is much better on the skin when there's no time for makeup (good thing they don't have a "mom face," right?). Owen dressed himself, so the shirt is on inside out.



And then I had to include this sweet photo of my blue eyed girl (click on it to enlarge and see the bright blues).

fishy business....

Uncle Bryan took Owen to Target today and somehow ended up at the pet store. They called to ask if Owen could get a fish. Not wanting to get the "meanest mom of the year" plaque, I agreed - if they would get a fishbowl and food too of course. Two hours and a small AQUARIUM later, the fish arrives, Owen gets his photo made, we eat dinner, and the fish meets his maker. Turns out Barrington water is not fish friendly. Since Owen thinks Heaven is such a fantastic place (because you can eat peanuts there), he's okay with it all. I suppose we'll be at the pet store in the next couple of days.

And of course, I had to take some new photos of Little Lyla too. Enjoy!

scissors...

A couple of friends recently relived the story of their daughters finding the scissors and of course, giving themselves a haircut. One ended up with a mullet. Seriously. You'd think this would motivate a mother of a preschooler to take heed and hide said instruments in her own home. Oh, but no, I DID just have a baby right? So I forgot.

This morning Owen strolled into the kitchen with holes in his pajama pants - one on each side. When I inquired, his response was a huge smile (bursting with pride) and "look Mom! I made POCKETS!" Because everyone needs pockets in their pajama pants, right?

The scissors are safely away now. Take heed you mothers out there.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Owen and Lyla were super sweet Valentines yesterday!

Reading Owen's shirt...the ladies love it!




She loves her daddy!



sweet girl...

Couch to 5k...

Well, it's official. I need to lose weight. After three months, I can no longer claim "I JUST had a baby." Now, it's more like I RECENTLY had a baby. So I've decided to take up exercising on our treadmill - the one that's doubled as a second closet bar for a couple of years now. I found this program online called "Couch to 5k" that's meant to get a person slowly acclimated to running. I've just completed the first week - all three days of it. To celebrate, I'm baking a Paula Deen Bag Lady chocolate pound cake. hehehe. Sad, but true.

say it ain't snow...

You really have to see this to believe it. The snow is still coming down.




No need for a cooler...



my attempt at taking a photo at dusk in the snow (the flash reflected on the falling snow)...


We spent some time making Valentines


Owen's block tower...

Happy Birthday Grammie!!!

Happy Birthday to Grammie! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

this one's for you mom...

My mom is not a fan of black and white photos. She'd rather I take my kids to a big box department store photo studio to pose in front of a fireplace, frosted snow painted backdrop than to ever have their faces altered gray through my lens. So, I've decided to post them - unedited COLOR photos! Enjoy!

cousin Gracie...

Lyla LOVES Gracie! Some of her first smiles were when her cousin held her a few weeks ago. She didn't stop smiling the whole time!

sweet tomato...

Anyone who knows me well knows I LOVE tomatoes! So imagine my excitement when I found an adorable little sleeper on clearance covered with my summertime favorite. I think Lyla's expressions sums up my satisfaction. She's two months old now - just had her first round of shots yesterday. She was much braver than I. We suspect she may have some food allergies as well (eczema at such an early age is an indicator - along with big brother's long list of them). Let's hope we're wrong this time!

(Just a note for grandparents and all else who can't stand the small photos - click on the image and it'll get larger)

the best kind of snow....

Just after the new year, we had the best snow - just the right texture for a snowman! Owen and Papaw built a little family of them. It seems we've received several "snowman kits" over the last few Christmas seasons, so it was nice to get to put them to use!

catching snow flakes...

I KNOW it's been forever since I updated this - please forgive me! I promise to post some photos of Lyla soon. For now, enjoy these of Owen and our neighbor Ray in the snow yesterday. It was one of those soft snows with big, beautiful flakes - you just have to stick your tongue out and catch one!

Sweet, sweet baby...

Here's our little Lyla Joy - http://ruff811.cmdwebsites.com/?slideshow=meet-lyla-joy-ruff. She arrived last Wednesday, November 28th at 11:49am. Of course, we are in love already.

family of three no longer we'll be...

No baby yet. I'm scheduled to be induced next Saturday, December 1st. That said, this was our last weekend as a family of three. Owen had a fantastic Thanksgiving playing with his cousins. We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday just hanging around the house. After five hours of contractions on Saturday, they just stopped and I went back to waiting.
I love Christmas movies, so this was the perfect weekend to be on the couch. Turns out, Owen is much like me in his liking of the season. We've watched Elf, A Christmas Story, the Wizard of Oz and Max and Ruby's Christmas. I never realized "A Christmas Story" had so much profanity in it!
We had some snow here in Chicagoland over the holiday - not enough to make a snow angel though, much to Owen's disappointment. The forecast is calling for more snow this week, with accumulation likely on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Looks like Lyla will come home in a blanket of white.

Jesus flies kites...

At dinner tonight, Owen began to talk about Jesus. A friend had told him yesterday about a man who died and was buried in a neighboring town. Friend said "that's not good," to which Owen replied "yes it is good if he's in Heaven." You can imagine my tears welling up.

Anyway, I was telling Kevin this at dinner and Owen chimed in saying, "Heaven is good and maybe Jesus is flying my kite." Took me a moment, but then I remembered - he was flying a kite last week with Uncle Bryan when the string broke and the kite flew away.

At least someone is enjoying the kite. =)

I vant to show you some pics....

After literally months of anticipation and countless drives by the "Halloween House" on our block, the day has come and gone - though the sugar high wears on. Monday Owen settled on being a "cute little vampire" who's "scary" (all his words), so I finally decided to go and purchase the items needed to create a costume. All he really wanted was the teeth with "drippy stuff," aka blood.

So without further adieu, here's our little vampire...

lucky shot

Owen rarely looks at the camera, so this was definitely a lucky one.