My Version of the Story

Friday, October 9, 2009

Off to Maryland

We are off to see Zack in Maryland!! This is the weekend we re-scheduled from a couple of weeks ago when Drew was sick. We are staying through Monday, yeah! A nice long weekend.

But, let me tell you about the great find I spotted the other night while Christmas shopping.......

While I was wondering around the baby section, looking at toys for presents, I came across a great product that I so needed for Drew's car seat. Remember the other day I mentioned that Drew's new car seat still had a recline issue because of the incline on the back seat. Well, problem solved!! The item I purchased is a hard foam wedge that is placed between the car seat and the regular seat to create the incline the car seat is designed to have from the beginning.

This isn't Drew, but its a great sample pic of what I found!!

Perfect!! The car seat looks like what we bought it to do. And just in time for our trip. I was so worried to travel while Drew's head slumps over while he was sleeping in his car seat. Now, no worries.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Timeline Thursday

Mr. Curiosity 10/2/2009

Mmmmm, that's good 10/3/2009

Hey, how you doin? 10/4/2009

New toys, my feet 10/5/2009

Look into my eyes...... 10/6/2009

Checkin out the other kid 10/7/2009

What the heck mom?!? 10/8/2009

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Lay-A-Way

When I was younger, my parents used the lay-a-way system for gifts. No big deal. It was a way of them saving themselves from racking up their dept on credit cards. Then, when the economy rebounded, stores went from lay-a-way's to store credit cards and that option had disappeared.

Well, now-a-days I need the assistance to help reduce my credit card debt. So, I have been searching the local stores for lay-a-way plans. Can you believe it, not many have that option! But, I stumbled across our local Burlington Coat Factory that has one....all the time! Perfect!! I did see a commercial that K-Mart will have a lay-a-way for the holidays, but I already committed to head to Burlington Coat Factory.

Sears has a unique option, but it wouldn't work for me at the moment. Its like a Christmas Savings account, but in a gift card form. You can add money to this special gift card and use it for the Christmas season. Its a great idea, but I don't have the cash to add to it, to save it and then go shopping. I need the option to pick out my gifts, put a small down payment and pay a little at a time.

So, last night myself, my mom and Drew went Christmas shopping (yes, Drew got some of his shopping done off of his list too). It was great since it was during the week which means less people to deal with in the stores and easier maneuvering with Drew's carriage. We got a good chunk of our Christmas shopping done yesterday and I feel great that I've got it started. Its still going to be a small holiday, but I still want the kids to enjoy themselves!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Boys Night

Drew and Jayden was hanging out the other night. They are so cute together, but what a difference 4 months makes. Drew looks like a monster next to Jayden.

But, don't they look so cute together!!

What a size difference in their diapers too!!

Look at those adorable faces!!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Pick a Seat Already!

We are having issues with our car seat choices. Drew out grew his Chicco infant car seat since it only holds baby's until they reach 22lbs. Well, Drew's weight flirts with that limit we'd rather be safe then sorry we decided to install his big boy car seat about a month ago.

The next day after the Eddie Bauer 3-n-1 car seat was installed, I knew it wasn't right for Drew. The reason being, Drew still has to be rear facing until he is a year old, so the recline didn't meet my expectations. The reason being, the poor little guy was sitting straight up (just looking at him made me feel uncomfortable) and when he feel asleep, his head would bob in front of him. I'm glad we discovered this before a long trip so we could change the seat out.

I was thinking the reason the recline wasn't working very well was because of my mini-van middle seats. There is a sharp incline where your toosh rests on the seat and since the car seat is snug into the incline, it reverses the effect of the recline of the car seat.

My goal was to find a car seat with a deep recline along with all the usual safety features. So while we shopped around for another seat, we put Drew back into his infant seat. We would keep the Eddie Bauer seat for Jeff's car, since he has less of an incline on his back seat.

Well, I found a car seat this weekend I thought would be great. I spoke to the sales person about my concerns while pointing out the potential seat that I was interested in buying. He reassured me that the seat reclines like an infant seat and will be good until Drew reaches 50lbs. It is an Evenflo Triumph Advance Deluxe Convertible Car Seat. We even received a good deal on it with the coupons I was collecting and a very nice Babies-R-Us employee who gave us her discount.

We got the seat home, installed it (in the rain) and tried it out. Well, the recline wasn't what I had expected (because of the mini-van seat, again), but it was much better then the first one. Drew leans back maybe an inch further then the Eddie Bauer one, so when he falls asleep (already tested) his head leans to the side rather then slumps forward. I guess its better that way, but I just wish they would come up with a car seat, in the next weight limit class that could fit into the infant car seat base, since he has to be facing backwards for his safety.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Photo Contest

Its been done. I'm sure it won't be for first and only time. Drew has been entered into a photo contest. Its through the GAP store and IF he wins, he can win a spot in a GAP commercial, a gift card and show tickets to see the Lion King.

I'm just excited about the gift card possibility!

If you want to vote for the cutest kid in the world (OK, my world), you can log on to the GAP website and follow the advertisement to vote. You do have to sign up, but you can have access to the Disney website and submit your kid as a contestant too!!

Thanks to Charlyn who noticed the banner in the store's window and suggested the picture she adores from an earlier blog entry. Wish the little guy good luck!!