Easy Monday....So Far.....

I just wanted to post about my "Easy Monday".

I am sitting here at the dining table (where I do all of my posting from) and I am still in my pjs. Yes, it is awesome....12:05 p.m., still in my nightgown and slippers.

Jude is outside playing with the dog. I can see him through the window in his little blue jacket. He has already eaten lunch of quesadillas and carrots with ranch. He has already enjoyed watching 101 Dalmations. He is now trying to come inside.

Summyr is napping. She has been asleep for about an hour and a half. She still needs to eat lunch, but until then, I am enjoying the fact that she is resting. When she rests, I rest. The only downside to her still being asleep, is that she needs her diaper changed....I dont want to wake her up just for that.

I know that it sounds like I am just enjoying myself....that maybe I have not done anything productive today, but that is just not so. Here is a list of what I have done so far:

• Cleaned Summyr's high chair
• Taken out meat for dinner
• Started preparation for tonights dinner (cutting onions, bell peppers, taking out other ingredients)
• Cleaned out laundry room
• Folded laundry
• Made Jude's lunch
• Fed the dog
• Dressed both kids
• Straightened up Summyr's room and organized her diapers on the shelf
• Wrote an email for MonaVie
• and Sorted through mail

Now Jude is sitting next to me, playing with Play-Doh. I still need to eat lunch myself, now that I think about it. We also need to run to the store to get a red bell pepper and some limes. Being a Stay-at-Home Mom has its perks....days like this.

Slow....Easy....Relaxing....Monday.

Now I Must Post About Jude....

There are so many things about Jude that I could write. He has been with us for almost 4 years...much longer than Summyr....so there is much more to write.

Jude is SOOOOOOOOO Smart. I cannot keep up with half of the things he tells me about. He is into outerspace and the planets and spaceshuttle. I cant wait to take him to the Johnson Space Center....he will love it!

He has a fantastic imagination. He can be whoever and wherever he wants in a matter of seconds. Lately he is BuzzlightYear or a Pokemon, or even Bumblebee. He his so detailed with his descriptions of the characters, and never misses anything. Oh, and he will make sure to correct you when you are wrong about the way you "fight" or "fly" if you are playing with him.

He has book smarts. He can count to 20, say all of the alphabet, knows all of his shapes, colors, etc. He can even WRITE all of the letters and some of the numbers!!! He can write his NAME!!! In upper and lower case, mind you. Can you believe this? I know we cant. He is currently working on picking up some sign-language, and has picked up an interest in science. All on his own! He knows his phonics...can associate the letter sounds with the correct letter, and can even give you a word to go with the letter. All at 3 years old....we might have a prodigy on our hands.

Jude is very independent. Well I would like to think so. He can dress himself, put on socks and shoes (velcro or slide-on), brush his teeth, put on his pullups, start a DVD for himself when he wants, shut the car doors when he gets out, helps pick up after Summyr, is my number one diaper-runner, can put on his backpack by himself and carry his lunchbox, can eat almost everything without having us cut it up for him (except for drumsticks), can help "fold" laundry, ride his bike, walk the dog, and even makes up his own language. He is an awesome kid!

Our "Big Kid"!

Jude Mykel 5/31/05

Some Things About My 1 Year Old....

These are just a few things about my daughter that I wanted to write:

• She does not like her pizza cut up....she is a big girl now and eats it like one.




• She will ask for a drink from your cup, but turn it away as soon as you put it to her mouth.




• She loves to run squished up banana through her hair....not easy to clean up.




• She is 16 months old going on 16 years old.




• She is becoming "motherly" and will kiss and pat her baby dolls.




• She is becoming "bossy" in her own way...she will tell you no!




• She is afraid to fall while walking, but not afraid to fall off the couch while climbing.




• She will make her opinion of something known to me, you, and everyone else in the room!




• She can be sweet and loving, and pinch you at the same time.




• She has a very unique personality.....enough said.




• She is my spitting image....I am very proud!




• Daddy says, "She is definatly one of the most Beautiful babies I have ever seen. I mean I have seen "cute" babies, but she TAKES THE CAKE!"

She is our "Princess".

Summyr Ann 7/7/07

Horrible at Blogging....

If you cant tell, I am horrible at blogging.

I spend too much time on Facebook.

And, I spend a lot of time taking care of my family and cleaning up this house!

Don't forget Skippy!

I don't know if anyone even reads this blog.

A lot has happened since I last wrote.

Jude got really sick with something and had to be put in the "hostible" for a couple of days. This was a really trying time for me because the same day he was admitted, Stephan had to go out of town on business. I was exhausted and was truly blessed by our church family, who came in and helped me out so much with meals and taking care of Summyr. Jude is back to normal by the way, and the doctors were never able to figure out what made him sick or what exactly he had.

In early October, we signed up to be distributors of MonaVie. This is a juice made from fruit. 100% fruit I might add. Drinking 4 ounces of of this juice a day gives you 13 servings of fruit. Who wouldn't want that? All that fruit in 4 ounces!!! The main fruit in this amazing drink is the acai berry....from the Amazon. MonaVie has really changed our life, and our health. As an added bonus, its about to change the contents of our wallet, too!

Halloween. All I can say is that I am glad it is over! I know that sounds bad, but this year was so stressful. I was dumb enough to think, that since we were broke, I would just make the kids costumes, and save a couple of bucks. Well after 3 weeks of working on Jude's Optimus Prime (Transformers) costume, I had had enough! I did finish it though and it turned out GREAT! It was the hit of the Fall Festival at church and I kid you not, people are still talking about it! Oh and I only spent $2.00 to make it.....for the red and blue spray paint. I made Summyr's costume as well. It only took me an afternoon and six dollars to make her princess ballerina tutu. She was so cute, and its a costume that she can wear over and over.

And here we are in November. I am enjoying the weather changing everyday. Sometimes, after the kids are asleep, I take Skippy for a walk in our little neighborhood. I love to walk in the dark and feel the cool wind swirl around me and hear the crunch of the leaves and acorns under foot. I am trying so hard to get in the holiday "spirit" this year. I think I might just be able to....I hope.

The Original Skippy Sak.....made by me.

So, those of you who read this that don't have Facebook, have not heard about my new project.

First of all, I have a very entrepreneurial bone in my body somewhere. It is what has caused me to be so creative through out my life. Now that I am older and have more resources I can act more upon creating my ideas and not just thinking about them. In the past I have made Hairbows, Diaper Cakes, Gift Baskets, and many other things, that if I had just stuck to it, might have made me a millionaire by now! But my mind seems to be very sporatic and I am still looking for my nitch. My current project leans more to pet lovers and the booming pet product market. After you read this and see the pics, you might want to get one for the furry friend in your life. That is my hope....oh, and I want to let you in on my life as well!

Skippy Sak is a soft, warm, and snuggly blanket especially made for small to medium breed dogs, older dogs, and even cats. Essentially, this is a blanket, made by hand, for small/older dogs that need extra warmth. The blanket can be made of 2 or 4 layers of fleece fabric, and is assembled 100% by hand in my home, in the form of a "sack" so that the dog can burrow and sleep inside of it to stay warm. They are also completely reversible, so that if you chose the 4 layer design, you are getting two Saks for one price. I just made one for our 7 year old Doxy named Skippy...so I decided to name this project after him. Not only is it great for the winter to keep little dogs warm and toasty, but it also serves as a nice soft spot to lay on top of when the weather gets warmer. You can even put a small cushion inside of the Skippy Sak and your pet will have a soft, warm bed. If you, or anyone you know might be interested in purchasing a Skippy Sak, let me know. I can send you price info and can pretty much make whatever design or color you want; even team colors and available team logo print. Finished size is approx. 18 by 26 inches and all Skippy Saks are completely machine washable.

I have been keeping busy. If you like what you see, or you know somone that might, let me know. You can email me at: theabuzeides@hotmail.com if you want one! I will send you a complete pricing sheet so that you can view the options. As a side note, these would make great Christmas gifts for that little fuzzy friend in your life!

I Got the Potty Training Blues........

The title says it all!

I am exhausted after today. I went to 3 places this afternoon while Jude was napping, trying to find and anatomically correct doll that could drink and pee, hoping that it might help. Well after 3 hours of searching, I finally found a "boy" doll with no boy parts, mind you, but I was tired of dragging Summyr from store to store in the heat, so I bought it. I also had to get some party supplies for the "Potty Party". I decided to go with the Dr. Phil approach. He suggests getting the doll, showing the child the doll drinking and peeing on the potty, and then having a celebration for the doll for peeing in the potty and not in his underwear. Well it all sounds great, but I had no idea how much work and energy went into having such a shin-dig.

When I showed Jude the doll, he was kinda leery at first, but after a few minutes, he and "Baby Jude" became fast friends. Jude fed him his first drink of water from his bottle, which by the way came out of the doll a lot faster than I was expecting it to!!!! So we "rushed" the doll to the potty and a little water came out. Jude was excited that he had peed in the potty, so I suggested that we throw "Baby Jude" a party for using the potty. He was like, "Huh?", but once I pulled out the streamers and the balloons and party horn-blower things, he got even more pumped. I put up the streamers in the little nook where we eat and added some balloons....nothing fancy....and then we pulled out the horns and started to blow and shout, "Hooray! Baby Jude pee peed in the potty! Hooray!!!". We danced around the room singing a song about using the potty and Jude was convinced to go to his room and get a pair of underwear for himself.

Okay, here is where the exhaustion started to set in. After rushing the doll back and forth to the potty 4-5 times, Jude finally decided that he could now determine when the doll needed to go potty. Now, keep in mind that all the while this party/potty training session is going on, I am trying to cook dinner and watch Summyr. And dont forget, every time that baby goes potty, we have to celebrate by dancing, blowing horns, and singing!!!! Did I forget to mention that the party horns sent the dogs into hiatus....they were running around barking and howling throughout the house!!! Can you picture this in your minds???

So now Jude says that his baby needs to "poop". Ha! I am prepared for this. I bought a bag of Tootsie-Rolls while at Target.....we have really been struggling with this area of the training. So, as stealthy as I am, I told Jude to put the baby on the potty so he could poop, and while his head was turned, I slipped a tootsie-roll into the potty. Let me tell you, Jude was impressed by this doll! Not only could he pee in the potty, but he could even poop in it also!!! Of course, now we have to celebrate again....and of course, now baby has to go poop AND pee every time he sits on the potty!!

Well by 6:30, I had had enough potty training for the afternoon, and so had Jude. He was still in the original underwear, no accidents, until I sat down to write this!!! He said he doll needed to go to bed, so we put him in fresh underwear and put him in Jude's bed. The advice says that once the child loses interest in the "game" with the doll, its best to back off and try again later. Trust me, I am happy that the doll was tired....cuz I am too.

Oh Boy! What Was I Thinking!!!!

So about a month ago, I decided to help Stephan out by watching some kids. Well, stupid me, I thought I could handle watching my kids, plus 3 MORE!!!! And all under 3! Wow, I dont think that I have ever been so stressed out in all of my life. We need the money to make ends meet for the time being, but I dont know if it is worth it. We are waiting to find out if Stephan will be getting a new job next week; one that will be paying more. So hopefully my pain is short lived. Oh by the way, Jude will be starting school next week!!! Its only Mother's Day Out, but it is a really big deal for us! We are so proud and excited!!!! Here are some recent pics!!