Garage Sale Finds 7/29/11

So, this morning we woke up and Hannah didn't feel like she was on fire. I took her temp and it was 100.9-she is usually warmer when she first wakes. This made me so happy! She had slept all night with no meds and no waking. An hour later I took it and she had absolutely no fever whatsoever! After playing phone tag with the Doctor I wasn't sure if I should still come for her 10:30am appointment. I hadn't heard back from them by the time we needed to leave so I loaded up and headed over there. On the way the Doctor's nurse called and said I didn't need to come. Well, we were already in the car and it is a friday so why not stop at the community garage sale in the neighborhood just west of ours?!?

This is what we accumulated in our spontaneous trip:

I love knowing what kind of savings I'm getting so I will list here (in this order) the price I paid followed by approximate retail price and then a description or story of the item. You may not care at all, but I do! :)

1)The Kangaroo with baby in pouch-$1; $12; Hannah is really getting into Winnie the Pooh and there are Kanga and Roo as characters so I thought these could fill in for those characters. Hannah picked this out herself at the garage sale. She carried them over to me saying "hop, hop, hop".

2) 3 Winnie the Pooh Books-$.75; $7.50; More winnie the pooh books to read!

3) Once Upon a Potty-$.25; $8; my mom and dad read this to me and my sister Blaire when we were potty training. Our library has about 20 copies of it which we have checked out before but for a quarter, I couldn't pass it up. If you haven't read this book, even if you are potty trained, its a cute read.

4) Wings- $.50; $9; I have been working on a "dress up box" for Hannah for when she's ready for that in a couple years. I figure find good costumes and clothes now for cheap don't have to buy them at full price later. I already have a snow white, cinderella, sleeping beauty dress and some play shoes, pretty dresses and tiaras. Now I have wings.

5) Black Patent Leather Mary Janes-$2; $27 on OshKosh website (same brand)-she is always needing the next size up and these are in almost perfect condition! Good for winter.

6)75 piece set of Toddler Legos-$8; Amazon said $499.99 (I'm guessing that's a typo!!); $19.50; What kid doesn't "need" LEGOS?!

7) Two Elmo's World Movies-$4 total; $22 total; Hannah loves "The Best of Elmo 2" that we checked out from the Library so I figured she might love these too.

8) Purple Coat-$3; guessing $20; this is 2T so she will wear it this winter. And duh, we live in Denver, we need coats!

So I spent a total of $19.50. If I had bought these new and not on sale I would have spent $125! So I saved about 85% off of retail! WOO HOO!

The Open Space

One of the things Jesse and I loved about our house when we bought it was the fact that it didn't back to any other houses. We really like the view of the open space behind our house. Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall. We like looking out and seeing the field.

But what I don't like about living on open space is the creepy crawlies we get as visitors!

This guy caused quite a commotion yesterday. (for a witness please see my MIL, Sandy Clayburn, who was on skype at the time) The dogs were outside and started yapping and snapping. So I went to check and I see this snake sitting 3 feet from my feet, right outside our back patio door. I try to get the dogs to come back inside by calling them but they are too freaked out about the snake to listen. So I jump outside, literally throw cassie into the house, grab parker, run with him inside, the whole time screaming which causes Hannah to start screaming from across the room where she is still skyping. Then Maddy starts screaming from her bed upstairs where she was napping. The dogs are freaking out barking at the snake through the glass door. I take a pic and text it to Jesse then call him.

I tried to get my neighbor to come over and help me but he wasn't home. So I just watched Mr Snake- while feeding the girls lunch, still skyping and trying to calm the dogs down. He slowly made his way out the backyard and under our gate back to his home. Phew! Our yard is snake free once again. I hope it stays that way for a long long time! He should spread the word to all the other critters that we are not a "visitor friendly yard".

18 Months Old-Baby Book Entry

Height: 34 1/4 inches
Weight: 25.3 pounds


Sleeping Patterns-I sleep basically from 7pm-6:30am. I like to nap from 9-9:30am and from 12:30-2pm. We are working on transitioning to only one nap a day but I really like my morning nap.

Eating Habits-I love to eat (except when I'm sick). Spoons and forks are my latest challenge. I like the idea of using them but normally gives up after a few tries to use my much more efficient fingers. Mommy wants me to practice drinking out of a regular cup but I really like my sippy cup so I usually just make a big mess out of the regular cups contents.

New Foods I like-Nana just introduced me to plums and apricots. I love them! I also really like flavored yogurt, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, any fruit, and mommy's cereal.

New Discoveries I Made-I love balls. Throwing them, rolling them, swinging at them with golf clubs. I think anything thats circular is a ball. I've also just learned that you don't just have to walk forward; I can walk backwards too! Mommy always laughs at me when I do. I checked out a Winnie the Pooh book at the library and loved it so mommy gave me her old Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy. Now I've noticed that he is also on my diaper and on the calendar in my doctor's office. One of my most scary and exciting discoveries is all the airplanes that fly over my house. Sometimes I love them, sometimes they scare me. But I always point them out to mommy no matter how far away they are.

My Accomplishments-I can walk across the "shaky bridge" at the playground all by myself. I can climb a slide and go down it alone (if its small and mommy lets me). I can get on and off furniture without any help. I can color in a coloring book all by myself. I'm also pretty good at following directions and helping mommy clean up my toys before bed and naps.

Places I went-I went to my first water park, Pirates Cove, with mommy, daddy and our friends Sarah, Kyle and Holden Hunter. It was so much fun! I also went to Oklahoma City for my Aunt Lauren's wedding. I got to hold my mommy's bridesmaid bouquet.

Special Friends I Made-I haven't really met any new babies but I am starting to enjoy the friends I already had a lot more. I like to give hugs to my friends and sometimes I even share my toys with them. My closest friends right now are Maddy (because she comes to my house every wed, thurs and friday); Miles who I get to see a lot and he has lots of kitty cats and dogs; charlie who likes to play with my baseball and bat and shares his snacks with me; Holden plays with me while his parents and my daddy play softball; Brooklyn who doesn't interact with me a whole lot yet but she is learning to scoot so pretty soon we will be able to play together more-right now its just easy to take her toys and snacks.

Words I can say-
moo
neigh
quack quack
wooo (elephant trunk)
ruff ruff
baaa
oink
roar
fish
yes
daddy
doggy
up
duck
please
bye bye
hi
shoe
hat
hop hop (for bunny)
ball
elmo

And I (hunter) think she is just starting to say "what's this"!


Hannah girl, its been a great 18 months! I love you so much!

One Month!

July 26, 2011-18 Months

Hannah is 18 months old!

For some reason 18 months seems like a really big month "birthday" to me. I guess because the first year you really pay attention to each month milestone but then its just 1 year...18 month....2 year....3 year.....4 year. This is the last big "month" to celebrate.

Unfortunately she is very sick and there's not much celebrating going on but I still wanted to do a little update. Here are a few pics of our morning so far:

Don't let the smile fool you, she spent 30 minutes of screaming before the cereal and there were about 8 other pics where she was definitely not smiling. This is her first bowl of cereal EVER. She has eaten out of my bowls of cereal but never her own. Notice that she's not using the spoon and there's milk running down her belly

She had about a 10 minute period where she actually wanted to play with her "new bracelets" 

or old stacking rings

This is how she has spent a lot of the last few days. Or in my lap reading books and cuddling. In fact, right now she's sitting in my lap so I'm typing this one handed while she sits on my lap holding bunny and watching Elmo and the computer rests on the arm of the recliner. 

Stay tuned for my other 18 month update.....

Updates from June and July

Here are some pics and stories of the last month. I always think of little things I want to put on my blog but of course then 2 weeks go by and I have forgotten what I wanted to tell all of you. But here are some stories with pics to jog my memory.

 We planted some flowers and Hannah loves watering them with her little watering can! But they are thriving in our backyard so she must be watering them perfectly. 

 The kids all having a "sandbox meeting"-I'm big on hats and sunscreen! (L to R-Miles, Maddy, Hannah)

 I don't know what she is eating in this but she obviously loved it!!

 At my sister's (Lauren) wedding. She is holding my bridesmaid bouquet and looking adorable. 

 Mowing my Dad and Jimmi's yard the day after the wedding

 She got some little stairs so she loves to wash her own hands and play in the water. She's such a big girl!

 The kids playing in the water! Fun times in the backyard.

One night Hannah kept hugging and kissing Jesse. But everytime I tried to snap the picture she would move and it'd be blurry or not good. This is the best I got but it was a very cute evening!

We are working on potty training so she spends a lot of time on the potty and she likes company while she sits. During this photo she is watching Baby Einstein. (notice dolly has her own potty too) 

More potty time while reading books. 

Next week, on the 26th, Hannah will be 18 months old! I can't believe how fast this is all going! I will give an update next week with all the info from her doctors appointment and a review of the last 18 months. Stay tuned!

Cow Appreciation Day

Chick Fil A is great at giving away free food. I think everytime we eat there they are giving free food. This spring (I think it was march) they gave away a free Chicken Biscuit every wednesday. You didn't have to do anything, just show up. This was different. It was a free MEAL-that's right-MEAL. That means an entree, side and drink. And anyone dressed up got a meal; meaning, Hannah and Maddy both got their own meals. Though at breakfast I just had them share a Chicken biscuit and fruit. Neither of them could eat a whole meal on their own. So, the moment you've all been waiting for....the photos! (remember, you can click on the photo to make it bigger and take in all the facial expressions and nuances) 

Her lips are pursed because she was saying "moo" which really sounds like "mmmmm" 

 Ready for our free breakfast!

 Two little calfs (calves?) ready for their chicken biscuits!

(This is maddy, the little girl I watch Wed-Fri)

 They were both scared of the people who took this photo, so Hannah looked away and maddy made that face.

 These are "those" people. Honestly, I was a little scared too. I held closely to both girls. Fortunately they got their food to-go. 

 The marketing director for CFA came into the store and was smitten with our little calfs (calves?) and took this picture for the CFA website! She also gave us the two little toy cows in this photo. 

 Playing in the toddler area after breakfast. They loved this little treehouse. 

THEN....2 hours later, we came back for lunch. I'm not crazy, just like free food. 

Hannah was TERRIFIED of the cow: screaming, crying, and shaking. So we didn't attempt a picture. But I wanted a picture with the Cow. Maddy loved the cow. So much so that she wouldn't turn and look at the camera. She kept trying to move her head around mine to get a good look at the cow. 

This was an attempt at taking a pic with two one year olds. You can see how well it went. Hannah laughing and falling off the booth and maddy grabbing at my cow ear. 

For future refrence I won't be wearing a trash bag. I look huge! But I got a lot of compliments on my "creativity". Hah! A trash bag? Creative? 

Then it was time to play in this locations toddler area. No tree house this time but a wall of fun!

 Hannah does NOT like smiling for the camera right now. 

It was a great day! Then we went back for dinner....

JUST KIDDING! I was chick fil a'd out!

So, all in all, the costumes that were completely free and took about 1 1/2 hours to make earned us a chicken biscuit, chicken minis, hash browns, fruit cup, apple juice, coffee, water, two stuffed cows, a photo on the chick fil a website, an encounter with creepy cows, fun in a treehouse, a chicken sandwich, a spicy chicken sandwich (eaten by my friend shawna who joined us for lunch but isn't pictured b/c she didn't dress up and ate Maddy's free meal while Maddy shared Hannah's adult sized meal), chicken strips, three orders of waffle fries, another fruit cup, two sodas, milk, an experience with a wall of fun, and memories to last a lifetime!! Phew!

Warning: Lots of pics, stories and videos!

So, its been a while since I blogged! I'll make some excuses for that.

1) We were out of town for 5 days for my grandma's funeral and I didn't feel up to blogging while she was declining and we were mentally preparing for her death.

2) I am now watching 4 kids. I know, I know. You probably think I'm crazy. One of them is 8 years old and is only for about 4 hours in the morning and he lays on the futon in the basement watching tv the whole time. The other is the same age as Hannah and he is at random times, usually once a week. And finally is Maddy. See my first blog for info on Maddy.

3) I'm now working during the week so my weekends are free for our family and all the many activities we do which seem to take up the whole weekend. (You should see our lawn, we really need to be using the weekend for yard work b/c now we will be doing that tonight. We look like the amazon jungle!)

Now, here are some pics and stories from the last few weeks:

Hannah loves straws and does a great job of using them. This is the water cup I was given when I was in Labor with Hannah. It all comes full circle, doesn't it?!

She loves to dip, no not tobacco, but ketchup, jelly, ranch, whatever! If she can dip something, she will. Jesse and I were eating egg rolls with a sweet and sour dip and she wanted to dip the chicken from her dinner. She saw me eating ritz with jelly so she wanted to dip. So thats this picture-crackers in "dip".

We live outside these days. Its only June and I already have an obvious tan which is so rare for me. I put sunscreen on Hannah and I all day but these two pale ladies are turning dark. As you can see from the above "dip" pic we even have snack time outside. Our usual day goes like this: eat breakfast, watch a "movie" (20 minute video or sesame street), go outside and play till nap, nap, lunch, go outside and play or run errands till nap, nap, snack outside, play outside and walk to mailbox, color with chalk out front or walk out front till daddy gets home, come inside and play with daddy, dinner, bed. We live outside and here are some pics:

I always check on Hannah and open her bedroom door when I go to bed at night. This is what she looked like a few weeks ago. But she was out! I took a flash light in there and took this with the flash and she didn't even flinch when it went off in her completely dark room. So silly!

While we were in Wichita for my Grandma's funeral we went with my cousins, my sister Blaire, and one of my Cousin's kids to the zoo. Hannah had a great time even in the 100 degree weather and humidity. She loves the zoo!

And one day my cousin brought over their baby pool and all the kids played in the yard. Hannah loves having cousins to play with!

Hannah's new summer look: New shades and New sun hat! She's so stylin!

Now for the videos! I know, its what you've all been waiting for.

She is starting to do really well with the spoon which is wonderful for me, as the mess-cleaner-upper. Its also very rewarding for her. Spoons are great!

Hannah has also started loving throwing the ball for Parker and he seems pretty patient with her small throws. She loves her doggies!

Hannah playing with Parker

Well, thats all for now! Hannah has finished her afternoon nap and we need to get to the grocery store fast!