Comfy Cooshee

After dinner the other night I was cleaning up the kitchen and dining area. I noticed that C had several kernels of corn in her booster so I wiped them up. It got me to thinking how much I love the booster seat we bought her, it has really come in handy. This is the Cooshee Classic Booster.


Originally, I had wanted one that was a bit more gender neutral in color, but this was all Babies R US had to offer at the time. Regardless, it is super easy to clean, soft, light weight, slip proof, and portable enough to take along to the in-laws or a restaurant. So for all you parents out there (or short people with little behinds) this is the seat to get post baby highchair.

Purse Personality

A woman's purse says a lot about her. So I'd like to take a moment to borrow an idea from http://b-mynext30years.blogspot.com/ and share the contents of my purse.

* Vera Bradley wallet w/ elephant pattern (Which I love way too much)
-- wallet size photos of C
-- various business cards
-- C's immunization record card
-- the necessaries
-- special activities card for EH
-- $3 (sad, I know)

* tissues
* receipt from Fruit Basket Flowerland
* cell phone
* 3T-4T sized Pull-Up
* diaper wipes
* hand sanitizer
* antibacterial hand wipes
* 1 mango flavored sucker
* chap stick
* last week's grocery list
* a collection of Motrin & Tylenol
* 1 Archer Farms fruit strip
* 1 pen
* small notepad w/ butterfly

So, that's my purse personality in a nut shell. I can't wait to convert over to my fall purse since it is much more stylish than my summer carry-all.

Family Time

Here's me soaring through the air on a zip line. Totally out of character, for me, but totally fun!



J lounging on the beach at Sleeping Bear Dunes.


C tossing rocks into Lake Michigan - the most fun thing in her world that day.


Well, we've been home from vacation for about two weeks and I'm just getting to this. To summarize, we took a couple of days off up North with my parents. The five of us stayed in a pleasant condo on the east bay - two bedrooms, two baths, and a tiny little kitchen. We spent the days exploring the lake shore and soaking up the sun. It was just enough time for everyone to mellow out into a proper vacation sort of groove.

Career Paths

I love being a teacher. Granted, I wouldn't mind teaching a different grade than I currently do. However, there are times when I feel that I was seriously uninformed/naive about what the professional job market held for me. I am especially feeling this way since we had a pay freeze this contract year. I thought my career path would be a wee bit more lucrative than it is. Not to mention what it cost to actually earn my Masters in Education, because so far it hasn't paid off.
Alas, as an adult I've come into my own more regarding my talents and interests. So, if I had to choose a new career path today here are some of the paths that I'd be more inclined to follow (not in any particular order):

1. Master Gardener
2. Nutritionist and/or Aerobics Instructor
3. Architect
4. Commercial design
5. Art teacher
6. Rockette (God wasn't working w/ me on this one)
7. Travel agent (one that does more travelling than working though)

Gross!

While on vacation in TC I can upon this item for children in a toy store. As I watched the promotional video, I was transfixed and horrified. The side of me that thinks science is actually kind of cool thought, "Neat! My students would love that for a science lab." However, the mom/anal retentive side of me totally won out. While standing in the presence of a store employee - I, {out loud mind you} which I've been known to do from time to time, said, "That is so disgusting! I would NEVER put that in my tub." Still horrified, now more from the fact that I just dissed one of their products aloud, wheeled the stroller right out of the store.

Anyway, I've decided to show it here for your viewing pleasure/disgust.

Would you put your kid, or yourself in this?????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlNN7tlmL64

Fizzle

Admittedly, I am little behind the 8 ball when it comes to the Twilight Saga. I first started reading this spring when the book club which I member in decided to read Twilight. It was at that time in which I became irrevocably addicted. I raced through the first 2 books. Then I stalled out before jumping into Eclipse because I was ignoring things of importance just to read and well - the hardcover wasn't cheap.

So for about the past month I've been going through Edward withdrawal and finally rented the movie. Ugh! I'm not sure it would've lived up to my expectations, but it didn't anyway. What a bummer. The actor/actress that play Edward and Bella are okay, but really I hope they fired the casting director based on the rest of the cast. Yuck! I will of course watch the 2nd movie, but it's just because I can't resist.

In the meantime, I picked up Eclipse at Sam's Club for about $11 bones and it is taking ALL of my willpower to restrain from reading it until I get my "must do's" done. I actually had to hide the book out of site in my night stand so that I'm not tempted.

So I will close with this statement, "Never judge a book by it's movie." - J. W. Eagan.

Curse you!

Curse you - you darn mosquito! I have tried to live in harmony with you. I have lit citronella candles. I have sprayed half a can of Cutter on my body. Still - you swarm and attack me while I attempt to enjoy the outdoors during these few enjoyable months that the Mid-West offers. You steal my blood and leave me itching like a lunatic! Curse you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where's the Benadryl cream!

It's a Thing of Beauty

Today we had our new driveway installed, which I have to say is a thing of beauty. You would agree if you had been able to bare witness to the old driveway. Good-bye old, cracked, faded, weeds growing up through it, yucky drive and hello smooth black asphalt. Imagine, Biscuit can actually ride a bike on this without falling into a pothole or spinning wheels through patches of loose gravel.

I have to say the price tag was a bit of a killer, but the beauty of a new driveway is softening the blow.

Zumba!

Tonight is Zumba night! I love this class because it tricks me into thinking that I am not exercising, but dancing my can-can off instead. Add in some flashing lights, fruity drinks, thumping bass, and it's a Saturday night out from my 20's - instead of an failing attempt to burn of baby weight in my 30's.

Although, it's logo says something like, "Dance yourself skinny" that has yet to happen, but again I only go once a week. I crave the upbeat Latin/salsa/shake your money-maker tunes and holy moses you work up a sweat (yuck). This is actually the 2nd time I've taken this class. I've been grateful to have some gal friends join me which makes it - again - more like a night out, instead of drudgery.

Everybody Zumba!

And this.... is my driveway

So, this is my driveway - presently. My hubby and father-in-law started digging it up today with Ye Old International. Pretty gruesome folks. Hopefully, we're getting a new one soon, as I have yet to be filled in on the details... Little Biscuit and myself pitched in here and there with the loose pieces. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Stamps

How much do I love the new Simpson stamps? A whole lot. I have a bit of a stamp "thing" anyway. I love to buy holiday stamps for Christmas, LOVE stamps for Valentine's day, etc. So, when I needed to send out something special the other day, I buzzed into the P.O. planning on getting the boring old bell stamps, and there they were. It made my day! I especially enjoy the Lisa & Maggie Simpson ones. It's the little things. Here's one for the United States Post Office!

Random Question

Which Ken doll would you date? Dream Date Ken (pictured left) or Barbie and the Rockers Ken (pictured right).

I deeply pondered this question one afternoon while playing Barbies with Biscuit. She fell in love with my old Barbies from the 1980's. Back in the day Dream Date Ken was devastingly handsome in his tux, which has since fallen to pieces. I got tired of seeing nude Ken laying around my kitchen so I got him this very A&F type short set and his legs look great! Barbie and the Rockers Ken has never really appealed to me because of his long hair. His jumpsuit (yes, a jumpsuit) has also fallen to pieces so I threw him in some old clothes which are a bit tight since they were actually made for Barbie. Anywho, his pecs were nice, I noticed a little bit more defined than Dream Date Ken.

I vote Dream Date Ken which works swell for me because the Hubby is kinda a spitting image. So, I'm curious who would you vote for? Perhaps there were some other Kens that fit the bill better for ya.