Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Tater Beef Bake
Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner (Scrambled eggs with cheese & veggies and homefries)
Wednesday: Italian Sausage Subs
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Fish & Chips

The weather has FINALLY cooled off enough where I can plan on using my oven each night. (From May through September it's just so darn hot in our part of the country that I only do meals that can be grilled outside, cooked in the Crockpot, or made on the stove top.) So for the next few months I'll be doing casseroles on Monday instead of slow cooker recipes. The Tater Beef Bake is a new recipe from simple & delicious magazine. I'll report next week on its success or failure!

Foto Friday Flashback

Bittyman at 6 Months

Scroll down to my last post and you'll discover my little men still look like twins birthed four years apart - but fraternal, not identical. Bitty had a lot more hair than Itty, who only now has grown some little blond wisps, and Itty's eyes are a much brighter shade of blue than Bitty's were.

Happy 6 Months, Itty!

How far you've come!
And from a fellow blogging Mom, a
6-Month Breastfeeding Award for my sidebar!

Not Hailing the Redskins

I'll be eating crow all week after the Redskins' loss to Daddy's Packers, so no Menu Plan for this Monday.

But to reward those who surfed by, some pictures from the weekend:

Yay! I can sit in the highchair!

Foto Friday

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday: English Muffin Pizzas
Wednesday: Baked Ziti
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Grilled Basil, Tomato & Cheese Sandwiches and Soup

It's a gorgeous fall day so I'm off to the park with the boys. I'll link to the Chicken Fajitas recipe during nap-time.

Thanks, as always, to Laura at Organizing Junkie for hosting!

Happy Birth Day, Vinnie!

The boys cousin Vinnie was born to Aunt Cristie and Uncle Tony early this morning. Vinnie, although over two weeks early, weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds, 3 ounces and 21 inches long!

Vinnie has a touch of pneumonia and is on IV antibiotics but the prognosis is for a speedy recovery and he should be heading home with Mommy on Wednesday.

Congratulations, Aunt Cristie, Uncle Tony and big sister cousins Evelyn and Tori!

Foto Friday

Do not adjust your Outlook calendar. Halloween is still almost 4 weeks away. But don't bother telling Bittyman that.



Ittyboy is our mild-mannered alter-ego. He was going to wear the pea-in-a-pod costume that Bitty wore at that age, but I may do a superheros theme and get this costume instead.

I WON!!!

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it... I'm about to lose control...sorry, former cheesy production-singer side coming out!

I won First Place in Splat Creative Designs' contest! Many thanks to Lindsey for generously donating her time and talent!

Look for a new and improved Adventures of Bittyman and His Sidekick, Ittyboy, soon!

Contest Time!

Splat Designs is generously giving away custom blog template designs. So if you're a blogger and would like a fancy new look, check it out!

I really want my blog to have a theme like this. Yeah, how cool would that be? So I either need to win this contest or come up with the funds to pay for a custom job - and sadly there is no budget category for 'Blog Templates' in my Quicken program.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Taco Soup
Tuesday: Caesar Rotini
Wednesday: Veggie Burgers
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Picnic Dinner w/Friends (Probably fried chicken meal from Albertsons!)

Last week's Saucy Cheeseburger Sandwiches was a new crockpot recipe and a huge hit. (Huge hit defined as a meal where Bittyman asked for seconds!) No new-to-me recipes this week but two family favorites with links included.

Side dishes are a starch and vegetable/salad - whatever I have on hand. So unless it's some fantastic recipe worth blogging about I won't be posting sides on my Menu Planner.

Good eats to all!

Foto Friday

More pictures from last weekend's classic car show:

Brotherly Love


Spiderman PT Cruiser


Teething Baby Boy

Pachelbel Bedtime

Oh. My. Gosh. I haven't laughed this hard in months! Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu planning is the only New Year's resolution for 2007 that I've actually kept. I was tired of walking into my pantry at 6:00pm every night and trying to figure out what to make. Not only was it stressful but I fell back on the same dishes - so I also resolved to try at least one new recipe a week. Now I'm less stressed, have a greater variety of meals and as a bonus, our grocery bill has decreased at least 20%.

I've gotten delicious ideas from Menu Planning Monday, hosted by Organizing Junkie. I've decided start participating in hopes of organizing my menus and recipes. So with that said, I introduce:











Monday: Saucy Cheeseburger Sandwiches, Corn, Coleslaw
Tuesday: Vegetable Quesadillas (Thanks, Bird's Nest!)
Wednesday: Italian Sausage & Pasta, Spinach Salad
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Fish & Chips
Saturday: Steaks on the Grill, Baked Potatoes, Fruit Salad
Sunday: Pizza

I plan and do my grocery shopping on Friday so we're stocked for the weekend (and thus less likely to eat out because the cupboard is bare). Monday is my Crockpot night and Thursday is always leftovers because Daddy works late. Sunday during football season is pizza and other finger food that we can eat while watching the Redskins and Packers play.

So what's on your menu this week?

Foto Friday

Taken today at our local classic car show - how cool is that?

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Itty is:



And a Bitty flashback:

Happiness is...

fitting into your pre-pregnancy jeans!

What's in the Water?

Between myself and my local Mommy friends, we have 12 sons and 4 daughters.

Bittyman's preschool class? 16 boys, 4 girls. (God bless his three teachers!)

If you'd like a bottle of XY-fortified drinking water shipped to your home, please use the PayPal donation button in the sidebar!

Bitty's First Day of School

After having such a blast at Vacation Bible School this summer, Bittyman was constantly asking, "When do I get to go to school again?"

We hadn't planned on doing preschool - frankly I don't think Bitty needs it from an educational standpoint. He is working on phonics, can count to 100, does basic addition and subtraction, works the computer better than Daddy does... (yeah, yeah, we get it, Vicki - the kid is a smarty pants.)

But gosh, does he love being around people. I can't take him anywhere without him chatting up everyone he meets. (Cute, but not when you're trying to get through Costco quickly knowing that Ittyboy has a limited window of sleeping in the carrier.)

So when we learned that our city parks and rec department offered a state licensed preschool program (i.e. excellent curriculum, student-teacher ratio AND affordable) we joined the hundreds of other parents in our community trying to vie for a spot. Application packets had to be postmarked not before a certain date and classes were filled by the order received. So we were at the post-office late one night, Priority Mailing our packet one mile to the rec center, praying for a spot.

Our prayers were answered and Bittyman is now attending preschool Tuesday & Thursday from 12:15 - 2:30pm. Today was his first real day. (We all had 'orientation' last Thursday night. More for the parents than the kids I think!) As I signed Bitty into class he took off without even a wave goodbye, sporting his brand new Star Wars Lego shirt. He immediately found a classmate who was also wearing a new Star Wars Lego shirt and they got to work discussing the video game and movie.

Mommy stood outside the doorway with the other Moms as we all fought back tears. I'm proud to say I made it to the minivan before breaking down. Didn't want to embarrass the Bittyman.

God Bless America

Foto Friday

The best thing about having a second child is seeing the bond between the siblings. Itty absolutely adores his big brother - no one can make him smile bigger or laugh harder. Especially when big brother 'plays' with him as they were doing in this picture. For almost 30 minutes, Itty sat in the corner of the chair mesmerized by Bittyman's antics.

(Remind me of these days a year from now when Bitty is throwing a fit because Ittyboy has destroyed his Thomas the Train layout...)

Not Again

Mattel Inc., Recalls 800,000 Lead-Tainted Chinese Toys for Third Time

This is getting ridiculous. And we have yet to receive the forms we're supposed to fill out and return with the Go Diego Go toys from Mattel's first recall.

Anyone care to join us in a Mattel boycott?

Ironically, as I was typing this post, I received an e-mail from the RC2 Corporation (makers of Thomas the Train), updating me on the status of Bitty's recalled Thomas trains. One click and I was directed to a web page listing all of the toys we had returned and the scheduled shipping date for their replacement. (In the meantime Bitty has received a complimentary train AND a refund check for the return postage.)

Mattel could learn a few things about customer service from RC2.

Foto Friday

No new photo, but an explanation of the photos posted on Wordless Wednesday.

About a month ago, when we walked into our local Super Wal-Mart,we were accosted stopped by a woman gushing over my gorgeous boys. She was,of course, an employee of their portrait studio.

She peeked my interest with the teaser "$5.88 for 35 Photos" package. Ittyboy was in a good mood and he hadn't had any professional pictures taken yet so I bit.

The catch was the $5.88 package only applied to the first picture shot. Although I was hoping to catch one of Itty's trademark open-mouth smiles, I was still thrilled with the top picture.

The picture of me holding Itty above my head? Totally candid. Had I known I was going to be photographed I would have run a brush through my hair, but I love Itty's huge grin as he grabbed my shirt. The photographer was so happy with the shot she gave me a free sheet in exchange for permission to use it in her portfolio.

And the final photo speaks for itself. Men will only pose for pictures for so long! (But the look on Bittyman's face as he tries to hold his squirmy brother and cheese it up is priceless!)

Wordless Wednesday

Contest Crazy!

(Yes, I realize I missed Foto Friday. I was too busy celebrating our 11th Wedding Anniversary. I'll make it up this Friday, promise!)

I'm almost tempted not to post about this contest because I love the prize so much and don't want anyone else entering, thus lessening my chance to win...

But that would be bad contest karma, wouldn't it? So surf on over to Musings of a Housewife for your chance to win a GORGEOUS Eliza Grace bag!

Contest Time... Again!

(Yes, I realize it's been a bit contest crazy around here, but you won't be complaining if you win one of these prizes!)

Sniffing newborn's head,
a primal urge takes over--
try not to eat him.
- from Haiku Mama

I thought I was the only Mama with the urge to devour her sweet-smelling baby! What a clever haiku (a mode of Japanese poetry with a 5 syllable/7 syllable/5 syllable pattern for those who have forgotten) from a gifted blogging Mom.

Absolutely Bananas is giving away two copies of Haiku Mama. If you write your own haiku and post it in the comments section you'll get an additional entry. Here's mine:

Writing a haiku
while nursing at the keyboard—
Multi-tasking Mom!

Flex your Mommy braincells and go enter the contest—and post your haiku in my comments too.

Parenting for Profit

Note to self: Next time a Matchbox car sneaks its way into my shopping cart, it may be a cash cow for Mama if I can eBay it with a clever auction!

Contest Time!

The gals over at Apples' n' Oranges are giving away a really cute 'babes in black' onesie. Surf on over and check out all of their items!

Contest Time!

Lorri is having a contest at The Mac and Cheese Chronicles! She's giving away two different planners - and you know how I love anything having to do with organizing!

Foto Friday - Happy 4 Months, Ittyboy!

Although Daddy brings home the bacon and Mama provides the milk, no one, and I mean no one, makes Ittyboy smile more than Bittyman.

Today the boys 'played' cars - and by 'play' I mean Bitty buried Itty in Little People vehicles. And while my first instinct was to lecture Bitty on the dangers of being rough with the baby, the lecture would have been drowned out by the sound of Itty laughing HYSTERICALLY as his big brother smothered him with love.

Foto Friday

Itty's Theme Song

Remember the Jim Henson show, Dinosaurs? Well between his big eyes, chubby thighs and enormous grin, Itty is our own Baby Dinosaur - Gotta love him!

Foto Friday

Let's hear it for the boys!

Contest Time!

Think I can go 2-for-2 this week?

Apples' n' Oranges is giving away a cute "give peas a chance" onesie.

Ittyboy would look adorable in this - and it would be quite ironic as I still don't give those nasty little veggies a shot at my palate!

Recalling Summer of 2007

What I will recall most of all about the summer of 2007 is, well, all the recalls. First it was the Recall of Thomas the Train Wooden Vehicles and Train Sets Components. Just announced yesterday is the Fisher-Price Toys with Lead Paint Hazard Recall.

Not only did Bittyman receive several of the recalled Go Diego Go! toys for his birthday, but we just gave one the recalled Dora toys as a gift.

Now I'm no rocket scientist, but doesn't everyone know that lead in paint isn't safe? And haven't we known this for, like, a few decades?

So far, RC 2, makers of Thomas the Train, are winning the customer service award. This week Bittyman received a letter from their CEO and President, apologizing for Bitty's inconvenience and informing him that they are working as fast as possible to replace the 8 trains he shipped back. In the meantime, RC 2 enclosed a 2006 Limited Edition Toad as a token of appreciation for his patience and loyalty.

The Fisher-Price website has pictures of their recalled products... but the link to the page where a form must be filled out in order to "receive a brochure to assist you in identifying whether your product is affected" and "receive a pre-paid electronic merchandise return label to send back your product, if it is affected" is not working.

Apparently the employee who put the lead paint on their toys is also in charge of their website.

I Won!

I'm an Organizing Junkie (one of my favorite blogs even before today), held an online contest and I've won a year's subscription to the new periodical, Organize Magazine!

Could I have won a more perfect prize? Organizing is one of my passions. I almost cried when The Container Store in my town went out of business. One of my favorite possessions is my P-Touch Labeler. And I actually follow the FlyLady system. (Except I had to unsubscribe from her hourly e-mail reminders to banish clutter - they were cluttering my inbox!)

Many, many thanks to Laura at Organizing Junkie for hosting the contest.

Foto Friday

Now I'm no child development expert, but I thought that was pretty amazing coloring from a 4-year-old boy!

Foto Friday

Bittyman attended his first Vacation Bible School this week. Four hours a day of games, art projects, music and chocolate treats (judging by the mess on his mouth when I picked him up each afternoon).

Since this was the very first time Bitty had been involved in an activity away from Mom and Dad (other than his weekly Sunday School class) I had a huge list of projects I intended to accomplish with my Bitty-free time: Painting the kitchen, a deep cleaning/purging in Bitty's room and making tie-blankets for the boys.

But instead I spent the week showering Ittyboy with undivided attention, trying to cherish each newborn moment before it's gone.


In the blink of an eye they will BOTH be attending Vacation Bible School. Then I'll have no excuse for white kitchen walls. But for now I'm proud of those walls. They mean this type-A personality took time to stop and smell the baby.

I'm 3 Months Already?!?

Foto Friday

We enjoyed a festive 4th decked out in our Old Navy Flag T-shirts/Onesies. (If only I knew how to work the timer on my camera I'd have gotten a family picture!) Despite the heat we headed to the heart of town to watch the fireworks then stopped at Baskin Robbins for 3 of their 31 flavors. (Itty got his flavor from Mommy - Peanut butter fudge milk!)

God Bless America

I grew up just 13 miles outside of Washington DC. Every July 4th we'd head to the Naval Annex parking lot and watch the amazing fireworks over the skies of our Nation's Capital, just like those pictured above.

On this day more than any other I'm homesick. No city celebrates the 4th like Washington, DC.

This year we'll be enjoying the local firework show from the comfort of our air-conditioned minivan as the temperatures here in the desert soutwest at 9pm will still be in the triple digits. Excessive heat warnings and newborns don't mix.

God Bless America and God Bless our military and their families! Happy 4th of July!

Foto Friday

Got Books?

This is my new favorite website. No gimmicks, no spam, no advertising - just a way to swap your old books for new ones. Simply create an account and start posting the books you are willing to swap by their ISBN number (the number on the back above the bar code). You earn 3 credits for the first 9 books you post. Use the 3 credits to request your first 3 books from other members (who ship the books at no cost to you).

When another member requests one of your books, simply print out a 'wrapper', tape it around the book, put media-mail postage on it ($2.13) and send. When the member receives your book you'll earn another credit to use.

And yes, it really works. I've already shipped off one book and received another!

So clean off your bookshelf and get some new (to you) books for your summer reading pleasure! Click on the link above and you'll help me earn additional credits. Itty spends a lot of time nursing so I need more books!

Blog Business

I started this blog as a way to keep friends and family updated on Bittyman's life. Obviously my mission now includes the adventures of his little brother, Itty, as well.

I included a PayPal donation button on my sidebar in case someone wealthy happened to come across my blog and decide to subsidize my stay-at-home Mom lifestyle. (Sadly that hasn't happened yet.)

There are also links to Amazon which would earn me money... if anyone ever clicks through them. (So if you're going to shop from Amazon, surf here first and search using the Amazon button so I get credit, por favor!)

I've now discovered a more important reason to blog besides bringing a smile to the faces of those who love Bitty and Itty - Winning free stuff! 5 Minutes for Mom is sponsoring a July 4th Giveaway with a bunch of great prizes for those who post a button on their blog's sidebar. (The contest is also open to those who don't blog so surf on over!)

Just don't plan on winning the new Land's End swimsuit. That's all mine, baby!

Foto Friday

I'm Clean!

Thanks to Ms. Wendy and the loan of her super-cool glider seat:

So those of you who forgot my birthday are off the hook... for a bouncy seat anyway. Only Starbucks or iTunes gift cards will get you back into my good graces now!

Hell Is

our Fisher-Price Kick 'n Play bouncy seat dying. (And yes, we tried replacing the batteries. The seat plays when kicked, but there's no bouncy in the seat.)

Sunday was my birthday. (I can hear the collective "DOH!" from here, judging from the number of birthday cards that I received.) But it's not too late to make amends. I'd like this for my birthday.

Don't think of it as a gift for Itty. Think of it as daily showers-in-a-box for Mommy.

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing Daddy, Grandpa I., Grandpa E., Uncles Tony, Bob, Tom, John, Andy, and Tony (yep, two Uncle Tony's) a relaxing Father's Day!

FYI

Recall of Thomas the Train Wooden Vehicles and Train Sets Components

If your kids have any trains or vehicles from the Thomas the Train line, check out the link. There has just been a recall of 26 different items due to lead in the paint - 1.5 million toys in all.

Bitty was bummed to learn he has 8 of the recalled items, including his favorite Red Hook & Ladder Truck. We packed up the trucks and trains and will ship them back tomorrow. The items are supposed to be replaced within 6-8 weeks but I have a hunch it'll be Fall before Bitty receives his new trains. Every kid in his playgroup has at least 2 recalled items. Sir Topham is going to be busy on the Island of Sodor processing all those trains!

Flashback

This morning I showed Daddy my latest photos of Itty, including the one I posted yesterday. Daddy immediately exclaimed, "that picture looks just like the picture of Bitty at Mammoth Lakes... wasn't he about the same age?"

Sure enough, this picutre of Bitty was taken when he was 8 weeks old:


Call Ripley's - I have twins born 4 years apart!

Happy Two Month Birthday, Itty!

Obviously we've got another little cheeseball on our hands! Thanks, Uncle Tony & Aunt Cristie, for the great Harley Davidson onesie!

Foto Friday

This week we're enjoying a visit from Daddy's older brother and his family who drove all the way here from Green Bay, WI. Bittyman had never met these four female cousins and he's basking in all the attention. He has since proclaimed, "I love my girls."

He is especially smitten with Diana, who is just 6 months older than Bittyman. And from the looks of it, she's got a cousin crush as well.