Pink, pink, Pink!

I am so excited because my man bought me a Asus Eee PC 2G Surf 800 MHz Netbook, and I can't wait for it to come in the mail!  And guess what? It is pink!

This little laptop is going to be perfect for blogging and other such computery stuff wherever I want to, since it only weighs two pounds.  And did I mention that it's pink?! :)

I put a couple more new things in my etsy shop that are also pink.  Here's a shamrock plaque with plenty of bling and glitter for the upcoming holiday:

And here's a personal favorite - since I love the color combination of pink and black!  It's a pink daisy plaque ready to be personalized for a girl's room:

Ah, these things have been keeping me pretty busy, but I haven't forgotten about blogging!  I have some very entertaining stories to share with you in the near future.

But for now . . .  a very neglected house is waiting for some TLC. . . 

Wordless Wednesday - Happy 90th Birthday!

Happy 90th Birthday, Great-Great-Grandma Millie!  We love you!

find more wordless fun here at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Tackle-It Tuesday - craft corner

For months I have had all my craft stuff in random boxes and baskets, stashed away in any corner or closet they would fit into.  I just didn't have one space dedicated to all my crafting things.  WIth starting my own etsy shop, I knew I had to have a place for all the drawing and painting and such.

So, I tackled a corner in our large bedroom.  We have a long built-in desk on one wall, and I put up another table next to it in that corner. Here are a few pictures of all my arts and crafts supplies in disarray:

With three small children, it was hard to find the time to devote to this project;  I ended up doing it over the course of the week.  Pictured below is the finished table.  This is to be used mainly for painting projects but can also be used for scrapbooking and such.  

The pastel boxes are labeled and contain felt, ribbons, stamps, embellishments, pipe cleaners, glue, stickers, stencils, etc.  The blue tray holds all of my acrylic paints, and the paint can holds my glue guns and scissors.  The shelf above is full of little bits of inspirations - two antique glass jars filled with various beads, fabric flowers, old buttons, and crafty objects; candles; a framed poem from my man; and a glass mug filled with all my paintbrushes.  I also put up my logo artwork for The Framed Frog.

On the built in desk, I organized my scrapping paper, paper cutter, and other scrapbooking necessities.  The floral portfolio holds all my chalk pastels.  The shelf above is full of photos, scrapbook pages, and drawing supplies.  All other craft supplies (yarn, sewing things, etc) are stored underneath the table.

I am glad to have finally got that done!  I love my little nook and want to start getting creative right now! :)

One other tackle achieved this past week was designing my etsy shop banner and etsy shop button.  I did all the art work, and my wonderful husband stayed up late to get it all translated to computer land. :)  Check it out and tell me what you think!

and more tackles are here at 5 Minutes for Mom. . . 

Not Me Monday #2 - Mall Mom

Welcome once again to Not Me! Monday!  Time for some more refreshing therapy at Mckmama's carnival.  Head on over there to see what she and everyone else has not been doing this week.  Or at least read mine.  And pretend you care!

I did not spend three days curled up on the couch watching tv and dozing off while my kids did . . . stuff.  I certainly did not lay blame to intense sinus pressure and horrible headaches to warrant such laziness. Not me!  I always know what the kids are doing (hold on a second here. . . {door slamming, feet pounding down the stairs, heavy breathing} . . .whew, okay, yeah, I knew my kids were all downstairs peacefully watching a dvd.

I did not throw a fit earlier this week because Comcast messed up our broadcasting for TWO days!  I certainly did not panic, wondering if I would get to see the next episode of The Bachelor that evening.  Of course I did not plead with my techie husband to fix it, fix it now!  And I did not spend the next day, watching the episode I missed on the internet.  Oh no, not me!  

On Thursday, I did not promise my kiddies a trip to the mall and McDonalds' if they behaved themselves at the craft store.  I did not have to buy a well-chewed piece of craft foam at said craft store.  And I certainly did not buy them candy at the craft store because I really wanted it and could justify it if I shared it with the kids! Not me!  At the mall, I did not desperately need my kids to get some energy out, and I was not the mom at the mall play area, shouting at my kiddies to run around like crazy and play harder.  Oh no, not me.  I did not give the woman next to me the evil eye when she said that I was crazy to be bringing my three little ones to the mall by myself and how certainly I would not be able to control them on my own.  Oh no , not me!

And at that lovely mall, I did not pretend to be interested in buying things at Gymboree and Stride Rite so that my kiddies could watch a video and play with all the toys in those stores.  Nope, not me!  I was not the crazy lady who would shout "On your mark, get set, go!" and encourage the kiddies to race each other to the next store to tire them out so they would nap when we got home.  Oh no, not me!  

And, if you happened to stop by a small church yesterday at the Oregon coast, the lady with the bright red accordion on stage was definitely not me!  Also, I was not the third member of a trio that was formed right before the service started, and I most certainly would not have made up the alto to a song as I went along.  Oh no, not me! 

Whew - that feels a whole lot better!  Sorry if The Bachelor and the accordion were revelations to you.  What can I say?  I have a ridiculous fondness for reality shows and I like doing things that are out-of-the-box.  Okay, so the accordion technically is a squeeze-box. . . 

Happiness Amidst Tribulation

Doesn't this little guy look happy?  Can anyone guess why he's sitting there?  If you guessed that he's in time out because he threw his breakfast all over the floor and dumped out his cup of milk too, you're absolutely right! (come on, you all guessed that, right?)

After I disciplined him and then sat him in this chair, he did look completely miserable and penitent.  Of course, bloggy-minded me thought I should get a photo of the repentant little fellow, but as soon as he saw the camera, his eyes lit up and the posing began.  Mischievous little man!

And if I know you all, you're feeling sorry for him and are wanting to give him a big hug.  Resist, I tell you!  That mess was not fun to clean up!

Ok, so I gave him a hug right after the picture was taken. . . he's such a charmer!

Top Pick for Kids and Mommyhood

First of all, I would like to announce that my customized art shop The Framed Frog is being featured as a Top Pick for Kids at A Blog of Goodies!  I was blessed enough to have Karen (the blog's author and author of 3 Garnets and 2 Sapphires) win my giveaway on my other blog The Scrappy Frog.  She and her family really enjoyed the artwork I did for her kiddies, and so she passed along some bloggy love and posted about me and The Framed Frog. :)  Hooray!

And now let me set up a little scenario for you:  The other day I was standing in the doorway of my laundry room, staring at the mountain of laundry that had to be done that day.  Through the haze of my sinus headache and general exhaustion that comes with seasonal allergies, I estimated that I had at least three loads to do.  Funny, since I had just done three loads the day before. . . I moved on to the kitchen and grimaced at the explosive mess there.  Apparently "getting my cereal myself" for Gabi involved spilled milk and scattered bits of princess cereal everywhere.  Not to mention all the dishes my dear husband used to eat breakfast, take his vitamins, and pack a lunch. . . As I glanced into the living room and saw the sea of shiny plastic toys and vast puddles of drool on any object the boys could reach, the baby started screaming.  You know, the "I am NOT going to be happy unless my momma holds me for a good long while" kind of scream.  My daughter was saying something about making it to the potty and only getting her panties a little dirty, and David was perched precariously on a very high, very unstable object.  (Okay, now that you've got this scenario in your head, please read the following article:)

I seriously hope that that letter was a joke!  If the Tacoma reader still has any doubts as to the amount of work a mommy with little ones at home does, I'll gladly change places with her for a day.  No, wait a minute . . . if she doesn't think it's much work, she may not be the best choice to watch my children. . . 

Not complaining though about those incredible blessings that God has given me!  I love each of them beyond words, and I am more than willing to cope with the fact that the housework is never going to be completely done and that they are going to "undo" everything I do during the day.  As long as I get to hold them, and kiss them, and play twenty rounds of Candyland with them . . . (ok, last one's a stretch!)

Wordless Wednesday - Perfect Picture Attempt

Okay, so it's rarely "wordless" when it comes to me!  The other day I was attempting to get a good photo of all three kiddies to send to Grammy and Pop.  Of course, getting my darling angels to sit still and all look at the camera at the same time is a little complicated.  Getting smiles is pretty much a bonus!

Attempt One:  Okay, this would have been perfect if David remembered where the camera was and if Gabi was not in the process of lifting up her skirt. . . 

Attempt Two:  Not too bad, although my suddenly-girly-girl decides to fix her hair and David has a sudden attraction to his foot. . . 

Attempt Three:  Finally David looks at the camera! and well, the others are pretty much absorbed elsewhere. . . 

Attempt Four:  Gabi pulls a classic and closes her eyes in a most angelic position.  Michael is blocking the paparazzi, and David, well, he's still focused on that foot. . . 

Attempt Five:  Let's all look in different directions, shall we?  And David, I think we've had enough of the "grabbing foot" pose!

Attempt Six:  Oh, wow.  They are all actually looking in the right direction.  Good job dropping the foot, buddy.  This could be our picture. . . Oh let's just try one more time to see if we can get some smiles. . . 

Attempt Seven:  Success! (and aren't they just too adorable?  I can say that right now because they are currently not destroying anything or raising the decibel level of my house!)

Check out more "wordless" fun at 5 Minutes for Mom! (I guarantee you that some of those ladies' posts aren't wordless, either! :)

Oh, and in case you still haven't voted in the "Just Horsin' Around" contest at 5 Minutes for Mom, please go and vote for Gabi's picture, number 19, here!  She would love that you voted for her!

Not Me! Monday

I have seen these little gem passing around different blogs and finally found its source at MckMama's blog.  It's a great form of therapy to admit (or not admit?!) to some great feats of parenting and general life.  You may not believe it, but. . . 

Yesterday I did not almost cry myself when my daughter ran off the church stage screaming and crying straight into her grandma's arms.  Nope, not me!  I did not wish that she had stayed up there and said her verse and sang her song because I knew she would be awesome at it.  Oh no, not me.  I certainly did not put my camera down in disgust and wish that she had wanted me instead of grandma.

The other day I definitely did not get frustrated with my sweet Michael's crying.  In fact, I most certainly did not dip his pacifier in cake frosting to keep him quiet for a while.  Not me!  That wouldn't be good parenting!

While my man was telling me a deep and fascinating story about the transmission of an Audi, I definitely did not tune him out and get blog posting done.  Oh no, not me!  I  am sure that would not be the behavior of a sweet and attentive wife.  

And I assuredly did not wonder why my son was disobeying me while I still had my boxing gloves on from working out.  Not me! I would never use any sort of intimidation with my children to make them obey.  I did not say "Are you sure you want to keep disobeying Mamma?" while waving my gloves around nonchalantly.  Oh no, not me!  That kind of behavior could land me on the Doctor Phil show.

On Saturday, I did not make several references to Starbucks and the fact that my coffee maker at home was broken while we were running errands.  I certainly did not act surprised when my man offered to stop by Starbucks for a much-needed caffeinated treat.  Oh no, not me!  

Not me!  Doesn't this make me sound like an exceptional wife and mother?  A woman committed to her family that would certainly not be typing this after she positioned her children in front of their favorite TV show?  Well, you know it - not me!

Happy Valentines' Day to My Man

I cannot promise this is not going to be a sappy post.  After all, it is in honor of my man, whom I adore and cherish beyond words.  So much of my blogging centers around my kiddies, and I tend to overlook the wonderful guy that God has given me.

Here we are when Chris proposed to me at the Yankee Candle Factory in Massachusetts in 2003:

I can't get over how young we look!  And how ridiculous I am to not be showing off my beautiful new ring in the picture! :)  

If you would have told me ten years ago (that's when we first met) that Chris and I would be spending the rest of our lives together, I would have been skeptical.  Little did I know how many blessings God had in store for me when He brought us together!

C - comfortable - Chris has a knack at making me feel comfortable even in the most awkward of situations.  

H - humor - This guy has the funniest jokes (even if they make me groan sometimes!)  No one can make me laugh the way he does!

R - rock - Besides Jesus, Chris is my rock and my resting place.  He is strong and steady when I am weak and faltering.

I - ingenius - The man is brilliant!  Not only does he conquer computers on a regular basis, but he also is a whiz at solving problems around the house.

S - spiritual  - Always keeping me on track and helping me be the best I can be for Christ, he demonstrates strong faith and commitment in his walk with God.

And here we are on New Year's Eve.  My, how time and three children have taken their toll on us! :)

And I love him more than ever!  Happy Valentines' Day, Babe!  

Love always and forever, Jeanette

Valentines Treats

Earlier, I was staring down some overripe bananas on my kitchen counter this week.  No matter how good we are at eating our bananas, there always seems to be a few extra that get too brown too quickly.  "Ahh, time to make banana bread again," I thought.  "NO, banana muffins sounds better.  Or what about strawberry banana muffins?"  I set about making up a recipe, and these mini muffins turned out so moist and delicious that I am going to have to make more for tomorrow morning.  

You need:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large mashed bananas

1 large egg

1/2 stick butter (melted)

1/4 cup strawberry yogurt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

To Make:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray. 

2.  Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork.

3.  With the mixer, combine all other ingredients (bananas, egg, melted butter, yogurt, vanilla extract,  and milk).  Beat until well blended.  

4.  Add in the dry ingredients and blend in on low speed.

5.  Put a tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup and bake for about 20 minutes.

I think this probably makes about three dozen mini muffins.  I used my 2 dozen mini muffin pan and then put the rest of the batter in my Williams Sonoma X's and O's pan (like muffins in the shapes of X's and O's).  

Also, today we were baking mini cupcakes for Valentines' Day (apparently we are on a mini kick!) and I decided to try something new for the frosting.  I flavored it with Koolaid!  I let the kids choose their favorite flavors - Gabi chose lemon-lime and David chose cherry. (ok, so the cupcakes look a little more Christmasy than Valentiney)  Basically you just add unsweetened Koolaid packets to a regular batch of buttercream frosting. (or if you're not a frosting purist, you can add it to canned frosting.)  My advice would be to add a little of the packet to the frosting at a time as you go and taste test it.  The first batch we made was the cherry flavor.  I actually was only doing a half-batch (2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup butter), but I added the whole packet of cherry flavor.  That icing is intense!  The kids of course loved the Pepto Bismol-like color and the crazy flavor.  So the lemon-lime batch I made with about only half a packet.  This is pretty sour stuff, folks!  We topped the green cupcakes off with Nerds for a totally kid friendly treat.  Because they are so BRIGHT! and so FULL of flavor, I am not tempted to keep eating them throughout the day.

I think I will use this method for David's birthday cake in April.  He has already informed me that he wants a dinosaur cake, and the colors and flavors of this frosting would be perfect!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Valentines Happenings

The kiddies and I have been spending the last few days getting ready for Valentines' Day.  I love all the crafts and projects we can do for this holiday.  And speaking of Valentines', I received another Valentine swap package in the mail yesterday.  Apparently the blogger I sent a package to wanted to send me a package too.  And here's my loot!

Heather of A Day with Jake was so sweet and sent little bundles of goodies for all the kiddies too.  They were thrilled with their character socks, boxes of chocolate, and fun pencils!  Their mommy was even more thrilled to see all the body lotions and chocolate! included in the package.  She even sent me a Choxie Creme Brulee bar (to die for!) and a bag of Lindt truffles.  I absolutely adore Lindt chocolate!  (so guess who's been working out longer so that she can partake of some of these goodies?!)  Please go check out Heather's blog here - she's a great gal!

And this cutest-little-guy-on-all-the-earth is now attempting to sit up on his own!  While we were busy cutting and gluing paper, Michael was having some fun with his silly giraffe toy. (until he would fall over and cry to be repositioned again).  Sniff - I can't believe he's going to be six months old on Valentines' day!  He's growing up way too fast!

The kiddies worked really hard on their Valentines for Daddy.  I think they did a great job!  You can find out how to make these pipe-cleaner valentines as well as the groovy collage hearts below at my craft blog, The Scrappy Frog.

And now I've got dozens of mini-cupcakes to bake for the weekend as well as several other projects.  Don't worry, Sara, your artwork is almost finished and will be shipped out to you tomorrow.  

Wordless Wednesday - Super Bowl fun!

How the kiddies entertained themselves during the big game:

Gabi and her friend Maddie playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie

Dancing. . . 

More Dancing. . . 

Time for an ice cream break!

Nice shirt!

And don't forget to vote for Gabi's photo, Number 19, here at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Also find more wordless fun here!

Go Vote for My Photo!

Last month I entered this sweet picture of my daughter Gabi in the "Horsin' Around" photo contest at 5 Minutes for Mom.

And it has been selected as one of the finalists!  So please, please go vote for Gabi's photo here - her picture is #19.  Thanks, and spread the word!  If we win, we will get to choose a rocking animal from A Rocking Horse to Love as our prize.  As I mentioned before, Gabi already has a rocking horse; so if we win, we know a family with two little girls who could definitely use a boost right now.  I am sure that they would love one of the cute rocking toys  from A Rocking Horse to Love!

Thanks everyone!  :)

Bunnies and Frogs

Recently I participated in a Valentines goody swap in which I was given a blogger's name and address to send some Valentine goodies to.  My name was given  to someone else as well.  This helped us get to know each other a little better, and Adrienne from Crafting Mom of 1 sent me a box full of the goodies pictured above. Don't you just love her handmade adorable bunny and heart barrettes?  I also was excited to get the vintage Valentine card(1942).  So precious!  Check out Adrienne's blog to see all of her crafty endeavors.

And then, my dear daughter Gabi asked me why I was painting all these "brains" (frames) for other people when she wanted me to paint one for her!  That's the kind of mom I am - putting other people's kids before my own. :) LOL  But this past weekend I put my other projects aside and focused on doing a piece of artwork for each of my kiddies.  They all share a room that is frog-pond themed (I know, big shocker there!)  Gabi decided she wanted a froggie princess, and I chose a froggie football player for David and a froggie construction worker for Michael.  The frames are decorated on all sides in matching colors, but naturally I had to get a little pink in for my only girl.  And here's how sappy I am - I wrote in teeny-tiny letters on each drawing: "i love you - Mommy".  :)

Happy Monday, y'all!

My Etsy Shop is Open!

Recently I held a giveaway of my customized artwork for baby nurseries and kids' rooms at my craft blog, The Scrappy Frog.  The response was great, and I have had fun making the artwork for the winning ladies.  One of the sets I made is in the photo below.  It's for three siblings that share a room and a love of cats and dogs.

And now I am selling my customized artwork on Etsy.  You can click on my Etsy shop button on my sidebar or click here to see the pricing and items offered.  

Because I wasn't busy enough taking care of three kiddies age three and under. . . :)

Fun For An Otherwise Boring Post

All right, so the alphabet meme thing is going around on several blogs right now.  MyKidsMom was kind enough to include me in on the fun (read - I didn't have anything great to post about anyway so this works for me!)

I will now share with you all ten things beginning with the letter "F" that I am rather fond of:

(apparently my obsession with frogs inspired the letter assigned me)

1) Football:  This includes watching football on tv, watching football at an actual game, screaming at the tv when my team is failing to do well, and competitively playing in two fantasy football leagues.  Oh, and I'm all about going outside to toss the ole pigskin for a while too. . .

2) Fudge:  Call them brownies, and I'll probably give them a try.  Call them fudge brownies, and I'll make them disappear!  'Cause I'm fabulous at magic and mostly filling my mouth with anything that has the word fudge in it.  (also a reference to a great moment in A Christmas Story.:) )

3) Fuzz:  As in the bristly stuff on my man's upper lip and chin.  I guess I am rather attached to that fuzz, as I hate it when he shaves it off.  The thing is, girls, he just looks so fine with that fuzzy face. . . 

4) Fazoli's:  Fast food - Italian food!  This restaurant has the best of both worlds!  Oh, how I miss their flaky breadsticks and fantastic fettucini!  And at such a frugal price!

5) Fine-tip markers:  Otherwise I would never get all that fine detail and filigree work done on my art pieces.  I need a pen with an eensy weensy tip to get all that fancy stuff just right.  

6) Frames:  Love them!  I have photos of the family and friends and other random things framed all over my house.  Big frames, small ones, and of course all the ones I paint for my artwork. . . 

7) Footwear: Ha!  I knew I could get shoes on this list somehow. A girl has got to keep her feet looking good.  A cute new pair of shoes does me a world of good!  

8) Fitness:  The Wii Fit has inspired me to find fractions of time to facilitate a fabulous figure. (if you aren't groaning yet people, you must have faith that I am going to stop using all these f's...)  I actually like working out - finding the time is a little hard, that's all.  

9) Friday nights:  This could also be termed freedom!  The three fiends go to their fraternal grandparents', and my man and I get some free time together.  This often involves a trip to Best Buy to play with all the latest gadgets or a frappucino at Starbucks. . . 

10) Friends:  Both bloggy and real, my friendships are important to me!  So here's a shoutout to all of you, my faithful friends, and a fanfare to all!  Thanks for holding me up when I feel like falling, and for telling me like it is - always.  Much love to you all!

Yeah, I know, I went a little overboard on the f's, but you have to admit it was more entertaining that way.  Okay, maybe not. . . 

So did you learn anything new about me through this?  Anything surprise you?  I will gladly tag someone else with a letter if they wish to play.  (and if not, that's totally fine - this alphabet meme has to finish off with someone, after all.  Oh, the fatality of it all!)

Wordless Wednesday - my budding musicians!

I know it is Wordless Wednesday, but I feel I must explain the hat.  Gabi has recently joined the Peewee Pirates Club at our church and has to wear her sailor hat to the meetings.  Since she got her hat, she has been wearing it EVERYWHERE, including to bed, as seen in the below

photo:

Check out more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Also wordless fun at Go Graham Go.

My Perfect Children

Last week I had one of those days when I was faced with running several errands with the kiddies.  I love getting out of the house, and I love my children, but I do not love the combination.  At this age, there is countless buckling of the kids in and out of their car seats, keeping two kids nearby while the third is unbuckled, loading and unloading of the shopping cart/stroller, finding the nearest bathrooms for potty trips and diaper changes, scrounging up a snack for cranky kids, etc.  And then of course, I am always a little anxious about my kiddies' behavior in public.  If running all the errands takes too long, someone is bound to be cranky and stubborn and an absolute joy to be around! :)

I realized that morning that I had to go to two different doctor's offices, Costco, and then Target.  I was already dreading the day!  I packed the diaper bag with extra bribes (fruit snacks).  (Don't be judgmental, people; fruit snacks have saved my sanity on many an occasion!)

This is basically how the day went:

1)  First doctor's office (in which I had to fill out a lot of paperwork and discuss some things with the receptionist) - perfect, well-behaved children

2)  Second doctor's office (in which a mean old nasty nurse made me hold down Michael while she administered his shots) - perfect, well-behaved children; even Michael barely cried during his shots.

3)  Costco (in which I did a lot of calculating to make sure I was getting the best deal on the items we needed and in which the kiddies and I ate lunch) - perfect, well-behaved children

4)  Target (in which I was again searching for the best deals) - perfect, well-behaved children

When an elderly gentlemen came over to me while we were eating lunch at Costco and told me how much he appreciated the children's good behavior and my "gentle" way with them (ok, laugh if you want but he said it!), I was shocked.  I suppose I shouldn't be shocked - after all, the discipline and instruction I use every day is to produce this kind of behavior.  I was so proud of them, and it made the errands go so much smoother.

I was thinking about this today while I was dragging my three perfect children through the craft store and David was crying loudly that he was "done" and that he wanted "gramma, not you momma!"  Gabi had opened up a package of stickers that I now had to buy, and Michael had just puked all over his car seat and outfit.

So, for one day, my children were perfect. . . 

Just Another Chaotic Monday. . .

I feel as if I've run up and down the stairs of my home today one hundred times already, and it's not even lunchtime!  It's just one of those days. . .

. . . In which, before I began my workout this morning, I weighed myself and discovered that I lost 5 pounds in the past week!  Woo hoo! - That was especially nice to see after having two weeks of some. . . ahem. . . weight gain.  My man and I started a "Biggest Loser" contest to see who can lose the highest percentage of body fat by the end of twelve weeks.  The prize?  $100 to spend however the winner pleases!  That money is mine! :)

. . . In which, I tallied the results of my giveaway at my craft blog The Scrappy Frog.  Go check out who won and please email me if you are interested in purchasing customized artwork for your child's bedroom.  (jfrogster@gmail.com)  

. . . In which, the following activities must take place at some point:  an estimated three loads of laundry, dishwashing from the Super Bowl party yesterday, more craft room organizing, the cleaning of three bathrooms, and the packaging of items sold on Ebay.   (to get me motivated, I read Life of Mom's post on making housework fun!  Not entirely sure it worked!)

. . . In which, I am proud to announce that the Mikester has his first tooth!  The sharp little bugger popped through yesterday and we have a happy baby once more!  Here's a weird tooth fact from the Frogster family for you:  Each of our babies has cut their first tooth on a holiday - Gabi at ten months old on Thanksgiving Day, David at six months old on Halloween, and now Michael at five months old on Super Bowl Sunday.  

. . . In which, I am still blogging when I need to be doing all this stuff!  

So happy Groundhog Day everyone (love that movie!)!