X-Mas in September

With a coffee mug in my hand, comfortable shoes, and cash I set out to find the best toys for Daniel at resale shops on Saturday morning.
The first, a church sale in a rich neighborhood, I found a few good things but the true gold mine was 5 minutes away from my house. The annual park district kids resale in Hoffman Estates. I almost missed it figuring how good can it be but then I told myself "I'll just stop by". It was pure insanity, women and men running around grabbing toys like they were FREE and tossing them into their own laundry baskets.
My heart started to pound, since I finished my huge mug of coffee AND treated myself to a Starbucks I started to shake and then sweat. I grabbed an empty box and started filling it with...well, STUFF. I was so excited I made about 5 rounds down the same aisles just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I was getting dizzy and finally called it quits.
The result? $30 later I had amazing toys and a pair of shoes for Daniel to enjoy.
Let's go through what I got:
1. Noah's Ark little people with all the animals
2. Leap Frog train that teaches numbers, alphabet, songs, etc.
3. 2 books
4. Watering can for the bathtub
5. Police car
6. Fire truck
7. Alphabet blocks by Melissa and Doug
8. Globe stuffed with a sun, spaceship, moon, planet (you know when he starts learning Science this week, :))
9. Xylophone
10. Leap Frog that talks and teaches, colors, numbers, alphabet (really neat)
11. Discovery toy ball tower
12. Ball spinning thingy
13. Brand new shoes for $1.00

Aren't these cute?!
Daniel was a little overwhelmed with all the new stuff so we had to move a lot of the old stuff to the basement. We rearranged our furniture down there and he now has a second playroom down there. It's amazing how much money you can save by buying gently used toys. I had money left over for diapers, which by the way cost more than all those toys combined.
I paid $30 for everything and I know one of those toys (Discovery Toy ball tower) is like $40 alone. I was so happy!
Later on we went over to my mom's for dinner where the men got competitive AGAIN with bean bag tossing. I forgot to take the camera there. My mom and sister were shocked I forgot it since they know I always drag that thing with me.
Sunday, we went out to breakfast at Panera and then pretty much relaxed.
I've decided to spruce up our master bath and do something fresh. I'll post before and after pics. It's nothing major but I feel like it needs a little change especially since we haven't had one single bite on the house and I figure we'll be here a little while longer. I'm calling it "The fresh and crisp look".

5 Years of Bliss!

5 years ago today on a beautiful sunny day Ryan and I took the plunge.

Marriage is a lot of work and sacrifice but worth every effort when you get a card like this.My mother in law said Daniel ate half of the cheerios off of this.

Happy Anniversary honey!!!!

Pow Pow Power Wheels...Now I'm driving for real!

Anyone remember that jingle from the commercials for Power Wheels?
I've been singing in in my head ever since my sitter got Daniel his first power wheels at a garage sale for $5 this weekend. With a sparkle in his eyes he got on it right away, he also pushed it, but it was not until we charged the battery (old version) that he got to experience the pure joy of pushing a red button and zooming off without having to burn any calories.
I always envision Daniel doing things a certain way and then he completely does things his OWN way.
The video below is what really happened.

Ryan is against toys that a kid doesn't have to use any muscle to make them work but using a thumb is work, isn't it?

Here he is sitting on it and liking it the morning he got it.

Here he is with his poker face playing it cool.

Then he pushed it outside.
And then we showed him how it worked...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Grandparents Day!

Since last year I forgot about this important day, this year I was determined to remember. The thing is, I don't think the rest of the world including Factory Card Outlet and Hallmark recognize this holiday much either. The small section of cards was pathetically displayed at my local Gold Crown store. There was not one balloon to be found with even a mention of Grandma, Grandpa or Grandparents. Perhaps it's because I used to work at a Hallmark that I expected for this to be a bigger deal. And really why shouldn't it be? Grandparents are wonderful. They are the people that take the burden off of us when we need it most. Daniel has wonderful grandparents that love him so much so today it was all about them.

After a 2 hour nap we started the day with visiting my parents. Short and sweet. With "Bunia's" meatballs in his tummy he was ready to continue the day.

"I'm done with being cute"
Then we met Ryan's p's at Kiddieland. We were supposed to go there for Father's Day but if you remember that day started the beginning of Daniel's croup and not only did we miss the park but our vacation was also delayed.

We started off slow with a 20 minute stop at a tractor that pulled a fire truck. Hmmm...

There is a farmer in this kid ready to work the field.

We proceeded to "dump" him into a bin full of germs and drool, otherwise known as the ball pit.

This child has cameras in his eyes all day long.

Daniel enjoyed his first ride on a carousel or merry go round (we can't decide if there is a difference).

He took 2 train rides around the park because with a 17 month old your choice of rides is pretty limited. We were determined to get our moneys worth.

He's wasn't sure about it at first but as soon as it started to move he was fine.

He tried to bail at first.
"Choo, Choo"
The park will be closing its doors this month forever so it was nice to say goodbye to a place that Ryan took his first train (32 years ago) ride just like Daniel today.D passed out in the car after enjoying some potato soup and fries at a "traditional" local burger joint.

Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas for everything you do! We love you!

Picture perfect

The past week has been beautiful in Chicago. The sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and there is no humidity.

Enjoying the park on yet another perfect day.

We Remember...September 11, 2001

Bath Time Fun

Bath time around our house starts at 7pm, for Daniel that is. It consists of 2 towels, lotions, a diaper, pajamas, bubble gum toothpaste, songs and LOTS of bubbles and toys for the tub. I wanted something different for him to play in the tub with so yesterday I bought him water crayons to use. Although, Ryan thinks it may teach him it's OK to draw anywhere (he speaks from experience as he drew all over the walls when he was little and received his first spanking for it) I felt it was worth it.
Daniel loved it, for a total of about 5 minutes. Still, they worked pretty well and washed right off. If you notice his name is written on the tub behind him. More ways to encourage those letters and colors! Tonight we practiced a new hair do and of course blew lots of bubbles that landed on Daniel's head and created a perfect photo opportunity.