Austin's room

We sacrificed naptime today but it definitely was worth it! The same wonderful person (http://www.jennyburgei.com/) that did Baby X's room came back today and did Austin's.

Isn't it awesome?

Sprinkler fun

Nothing says summer like running through the sprinkler.
Especially in your underwear and sandals!!!

Fortunately it was Austin and not me!
Enjoy the pics!

Pay per post

In my constant attempt to make extra cash, I signed up with a company called Pay Per Post which pays you to give your opinion on your blog. This is a really cool company that offers you "opportunities" to review websites, products, services, and companies that will pay you for your opinion! A fellow blogger told me about the site and how easy it is to make extra money so I've signed myself up. It is FREE...doesn't cost me a dime, and seems pretty easy so far. Some people are making some serious money through Pay Per Post and I'm hopeful to become one of them. I can earn money from the comfort of my computer chair just by reviewing review cool stuff and sites on my blog. As an official web addict I think this will be a great fit for me! How easy is that?!!!! So far I am still learning about the process and all the opportunities but it looks like it is going to be a great way to make extra money. Payment is really easy…they pay you through your Paypal account. (which everyone should have, right?!) . When you sign up you are required to give your tax information so that all of the payments are legitimate.

As a newbie, I’ve been spending time in the forum section trying to learn the ins and outs of pay per post blogging. They have a forum section that includes all sorts of tips and FAQs about the process and how to do everything correctly. There are a lot of helpful tips and people on there and I need to really sit down and go through it all to make sure I’m up to speed.

The opportunities that are available to me are based upon the content of your blog and how popular it is. The more traffic you have, the more advertisers want your opinion! So be sure to check here everyday for updates on everything, okay!? THANKS!!!

what's happening around the compound?

Many thanks to those of you that read faithfully and email me with responses, comments. I definitely appreciate it. (Especially those of you in that wonderful town of Boulder, CO. Send me some crisp Colorado air, ok??!!)

Anyway, here is what is happening around the compound:

*Austin continues to grow like a weed and seems to have more energy than I ever imagined!!

*Baby X is also growing, which unfortunately means his mama is growing too. Too bad she is growing in all the wrong spots and might have to end up naming him "Hiney"!!!

*Daddy Mike is working hard and will hopefully sell lots of stuff this month because someone (ahem) really enjoys buying stuff.
Like this.....
LOVING IT!!!!

thank you DM!!!

(pic courtesy of Verizon Wireless)

**Grandma and Grandpa are doing great and will someday come visit us at our house. (hee!hee)

**We don't see our Compound cousins very much but we hear they are very busy with their lifeguarding jobs. Hopefully they will come visit us very soon. :)

**The weather is atrocious and the lawn is dead, even though I seem to waste tons of money each day on watering it. I think I am sprinkler obsessed.

**Someone in the house is still addicted to celebrity gossip and can't get enough of the Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan trainwrecks. I must admit that the first website I check each morning is http://www.tmz.com/.

Try it out, you'll be addicted too!!!

******
That's the update from our end. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

Nice fishy

It's not Nemo, but Austin still had a great time with Crystal the fish today. They sat together (yes, that is technically a shelf....but is that really important? ) and had a grand ole time chatting.

What were they saying? I have no idea. Maybe it was something like this:

Austin: Do you think people are clicking on ads?
Crystal: Probably not, but you should have your mom ask again

Austin: I hope they do, because I don't like hearing her complain about how she isn't making any money.

Crystal: Yea, and we are close to homeless, so hopefully someone will chip in and help us out.

Ok, so I exaggerated that last one a bit....but did you laugh?

ummmm.......

she sent me the picture, so it must be ok to post!!! (right?)
Here is Austin learning some new tricks from cousin Kristin!!!

Is that what they teach you in college these days??? :)

uh oh...

Austin helped me open a gift for Baby X today, and I think he liked it a little too much!

He is starting to understand the concept that mommy is having a baby, but his arrival is really going to rock Austin's world. And that makes me so sad!!!!!!!

My little boy is growing up and will have to share the spotlight for the rest of his life. (sigh)

I think I need some ice cream to make me feel better. :(

weekend wrap up

We had a great weekend on the compound..how about you?

We did a lot of this.....

and tons of this.....

and a little bit of this......

and we played outside a lot too, including the pool. (mommy dodged harpoons and therefore couldn't take pictures)

How about you? What did you do???

sneaky little man

How DO they learn this stuff? I was busy preparing dinner (stop laughing!) while Austin decided he was going to help himself. He hauled his chair all the way over to the fridge and was in the process of climbing to open the doors when I finally caught him.

Too cute, isn't it??!!

crazy contest!

You can't knock a mama for trying! There is a contest going on and I just had to enter it....all I needed to do was post this:

"Over at Ashwin’s blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!"


Winner will be announced on 8/20. Let's hope it's ME!!!!!

Milkers line up

Austin drinks milk like it is going out of style. He chugs and chugs as my wallet cries out in pain. You see, I only buy him organic milk because I am one of those people. :) Maybe we should invest in stock with Horizon?
You can check out their great products here:
http://www.horizonorganic.com/products/index.html


In the meantime, the great people at http://www.5minutesformom.com/ are giving away $300 in Horizon products. Check it out here and keep your fingers crossed that I win!!

http://www.5minutesformom.com/1990/horizon-organics-contest/trackback/

shopping

We went shopping with Grandma today and Austin actually sat still and let me shop! (for a good twenty minutes!!) I'd like to show you some good pictures of him sitting in his Kohl's cart, but unfortunately I forgot my camera. I guess I could have taken pictures with my phone, but that would involve actually knowing how to use the camera function. Oh well....let me tell you about it instead.

Today was senior day at Kohl's so I decided to brave it with Austin because I need to shop---with Grandma's senior discount! :) Normally, I hate shopping....but right now I have an intense craving to buy stuff. Some people have food cravings, I have shopping cravings. The UPS man comes everyday with a new package for us and this piggy squeals with delight!!

See...this is what we have in our living room. Empty UPS boxes that were filled with junk, I mean STUFF!!!!

Anyway, Austin rode in the cart and "ooohed" and "ahhhed" while I piled in things we really don't need. He scored some new toys (of course) and has already forgotten about them. (of course!) Grandma did her usual Kohl's-thing and will most likely return all the stuff she got. (just kidding G-ma!)

After about an hour, Austin had enough of the cart and I allowed him to get out and walk around----while holding my hand, of course!! I mean, what kind of parents let their kid roam the shoe aisle, touching everything within his reach??? Certainly not this one! (ahem)

After shopping we went to lunch and Grandma got to discover the joy of eating in public with Austin. For some reason he feels compelled to talk non-stop with the wait staff. They try to be polite, but I know they are thinking "shut this annoying snot-slinger up.....and please leave me a big tip".
I know, because I used to be one of those waiters.

So...that was our day. How about you?

Pictures you ask? Ok, here are a few from the past few days.

Thank you!

Thanks to all who came out to Baby X's shower today!

It was a great party with lots of fun (and surprises!) for everyone. :)

So far the winning name for Baby X is "Mulva".
Uncle Jimmy offered $10K!!!!!! I think that would make a great deposit to his first piggybank.
Anyone want to challenge that?

heat wave

It's just too hot to doing anything but this.....

Too bad we only get to do this for 1.2 seconds before we are up and running again!!!

*****
The countdown is on until Baby X's arrival, which means we'll need to come up with a name. Mike wasn't too hot on the idea of me selling the naming rights, but I think it could work. What do you think? How much would you pay to name him? :)

we're back!

We had such a great time at the beach----it's a bummer to get back to the compound! Here are a few pics of our trip .

We started our trip with a visit to Cheryl and her adorable family. They were kind enough to feed us dinner, ice pops, and let Austin trash their house. :) He had a great time playing with her boys and I think he was pretty bummed when we drove away.

The first two days on the beach were not very successful since Austin is --(was)---deathly afraid of sand. He did not want to be anywhere near it nor did he want anyone he knows to be on it or near it. Fortunately the waves were louder than his screaming!

He spent a lot of time in Aunt Terry's lap, which made him very happy.
(I've actually never seen him sit so still for such an extended length of time. Maybe I should line my house with sand??)

By the last day though, you couldn't get him out of the water or off the beach. He cried as we left. Then again, his mommy was crying too....so that might have tipped him off that beach trips ending are a real bummer.

More pics to come....must do laundry now..... (sigh)

we're at the beach....with really SLOW internet.....so you'll have to wait for more updates! In the meantime, visit the archives and click around!

:)

what a long day!

We are having Austin's room painted, so naptime was a no-go today.

Well, at least the "official" naptime!!!

When Mommy took Cisco to the vet, Austin learned the art of couch napping.

Hmmm...I wonder who taught him that?

*****

and I know, you are all worried about Cisco, right? He is fine. It was just time for his yearly "cost me a fortune hot-spot" visit. He's on the mend, but he isn't happy about it! (see the shaved spot on his neck)

Happy July 4th!

We hope everyone had a great July 4th! We went to a fair, ate ice cream and stayed out way too late!! Austin had a blast though, so that is all that matters. :)

Forget Little Tikes, bring on the cardboard!

ok, so I've spent a TON of money on fun and cool toys for Austin. Little Tikes, Step 2, Thomas the Train, Elmo.....you get the point, right?

Forget all of that because all it really takes to amuse him is a handful of cardboard boxes that Daddy Mike duct-taped together!!!
Hours of fun and enjoyment.
Entertainment literally in a box!!!!

My little wahoo

Austin is a hoo in-training and is proud to wear his school hat. Remember how expensive that college tuition will be----so click around!!!! :)