April Goals Check-in

Weight Lost:  4 lbs Total: 23 lbs
Only 7 lbs to go to meet my year goal!


Books Read: 
The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers by Angie Fox
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
Royal Blood by Ellen Schreiber
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
Hunters Moon by Lori Handeland
 Dark Moon by Lori Handeland
Bobbie Faye's (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey (re-read)
Bobbie Faye's (Kinda, Sorta, Not Exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey

Recipes: Honestly, I didn't try anything new. This has been a crazy hectic month, especially with Jason's new work schedule.

Other goals met:
We went to Savannah twice this month. Once with a friend from high school and once with my family.

I downloaded Photoshop Elements and did a few layouts.  I'm getting a lot better at it! But there's so much to learn.  I might post some layouts I've done later.

And the best one- We paid off the Jeep! And it only took 2 1/2 years LOL.  I guess that's not too bad. 

Goals for May: 
Eat better and exercise more and hopefully lose a few more pounds!
Get Jackson's second year scrapbook completely up to date.
Plan Jackson's birthday party (he turns 2 in June!)

WW: A tribute to the college years

Don't forget to enter my NEW children's book giveaway! 

{No real problems we needed to drown
But we'd try our best anyway}

We all kind of went our separate ways

but I swear it seems like yesterday...

We had a keg in the closet, pizza on the floor

leftover from the night before

Where we were going, we didn't really care

We had all we ever wanted.

--Kenny Chesney

A new start

Jackson was a late walker.  It got to the point where every time someone called me the first thing out of their mouth was, "Is he walking yet?" I hated it because I strive to be the kind of mom that doesn't stress {too much} over things like that, the kind of mom who KNOWS that all kids develop at different rates and just because he doesn't do everything exactly when "the checklist" says that he should, doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with him. But getting worried looks and questions from people when I told them that he was still crawling just put more worry and stress in my heart.

So at 16 months, when he just got up one day and started RUNNING around the damn room {and hasn't stopped yet, I might add} I posted a video of him walking on Facebook.  It was a little Here, now STFU and leave me alone, if you will.

But now, at 22 months, he still isn't speaking. And the worrying? it's back with a vengeance.

Sure, he babbles. He makes random noises.  But none of that has turned in to actual words yet. He no longer mimics me.  On a few rare occasions, he has said mama, but not regularly, not consistently. 

He's gone to speech therapy twice a week for the last 6 months. He's already gone through 2 therapists, one who just up and left without giving us any notice whatsoever, and one who I'm pretty sure had no idea what she was doing. She would give me advice like, "Just talk to him more, maybe read to him more often." I'm pretty sure that if I read or talked to him any more then I would be plagued with a constant sore throat.  And when I asked her if she thought he just had a speech delay or if it was something more serious (my eyes tearing up as I asked) she said, "No, babies this young aren't even supposed to be talking yet."

If that were true then why would he be in speech therapy? And why are all of the other kids Jackson's age (and younger) talking up a storm? So like I said, she had no clue what she was doing.

So after mounds of paperwork, hours of being put on hold and given new numbers to call, and weeks of waiting, we finally get a new speech therapist today.  I've talked to a lot of other moms that have worked with her before, and they all say she is amazing.

Is there something truly wrong with Jackson? I don't know. I hope not, of course.  I keep reminding myself that my husband didn't start talking until he was almost 3 and that is definitely a factor. But with each day of not speaking, the worry (mine) and frustration (both of ours, as he throws tantrums because he can't communicate) builds.

I can only hope that today might be the start of something good. 

Let's Dance! Children's book giveaway!

Thanks to the wonderful people at ABRAMS books, I am giving away 2 children's books that will encourage your little one to get up and dance!  Here is a little bit about each book:

Ballroom Bonanza:  A Hidden Pictures ABC Book

By Stephen Harris and Nina Rycroft, illustrated by Nina Rycroft

 

About the book

In this colorfully and flamboyantly illustrated large-format alphabet book, animals from around the globe have gathered for a dance contest in the world-famous Tower Ballroom. Who will win? The camels dancing the conga? The flamingos dancing flamenco? Or the penguins doing the polka? And what are those mischievous monkeys up to? Turns out they’ve stolen the band’s instruments—twenty-six in all! Once the reader finds all of them hidden within the artwork, the grand finale can begin.

Ballroom Bonanza is an ideal primer to teach children about some of the most popular styles of dance, while offering a look at musical instruments to inspire young Mozarts—all while helping teach ABCs to aspiring readers and writers.

My Friend Maya Loves to Dance

By Cheryl Willis Hudson, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

About the book

A young narrator tells readers about her friend Maya, who absolutely loves to dance. In this rhyming picture book, Maya attends a lively dance class. She can’t get enough of dance: the costumes, the grand entrances, the pirouettes, the music, the final bow, and the magic of recitals. She even loves the hard work of practice. But why doesn’t her friend dance, too?

The pages themselves seem to dance, thanks to the charming verse of Cheryl Willis Hudson and the vibrant colors and motion of Eric Velasquez’s paintings.

 

GIVEAWAY: I am giving a copy of each of these books to one lucky reader!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment telling me a song that makes you just want to get up and dance!

For extra entries: (Please leave a separate comment for each!)

Follow my blog or subscribe by email. +1

Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. +2

Add my button to your sidebar. +2

Blog about this giveaway. +5

The fine print: US Residents only please. This giveaway will end on May 14th at midnight, and I will announce the winner on May 15th. The winner will be chosen by random.org

These books were given to me specifically for this giveaway. No other compensation was received.

Children's book giveaway winner!

The winner of my children's book giveaway (chosen by Random.org) is #72- Carolina Girl Mommy! 

Congratulations! 

Thank you to all of you who entered.  Don't be too disappointed if you didn't win- I've got another children's book giveaway coming up tomorrow!!

Don't Forget!

Today is the last day to enter my  Children's book giveaway!

The winner will be announced tomorrow, so stay tuned! 

WW: I'm Lovin' It

eShakti review

I am the kind of girl who loves new clothes, but hates trying on mounds of clothes only to find that nothing fits properly. My body is a weird shape. I'm heavy on top and skinny on bottom, and even though I've lost a lot of weight recently, I'm still constantly "between sizes." If something actually fits across my chest, it's too big everywhere else.  If jeans fit my waist, then they are baggy on my butt and hips and vice versa. 

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a representative at eShakti.com about doing a review. I had never heard of them before, but I checked out their website and fell in love.

Here are some of the reasons that I was SO happy to try out their clothes: 


They carry sizes 0-26W AND you can customize your size. When you pick your shirt, jeans, etc. you put what size you normally wear. Then, you give them all of your measurements so they can customize the fit JUST FOR YOU!
 From the website:    We ensure that no woman is told we don't carry her size.  We offer every size, on all clothes, at all times. 

You can also customize the look of your clothes. Do you like that shirt but want a higher or lower neckline? Long sleeves instead of short? etc. You can have it!  


This is the shirt that I received.  Honestly, I think I should have ordered it a little shorter, but I really love it! I am so happy with the quality of their product, and I will definitely order from them again.

About eShakti: 

Our Mission:

To make every customer look her absolute best by providing amazing drape and always carrying any size she wants, and by letting her change the style too to suit herself.

Our Vision (for the future):

The customer determines what she wants to wear, and tells us and we make it just so. Like any other store, we also offer her a very large selection of styles to select from. She sees them and also sees trendy ideas and suggestions to create her own preferred look. She chooses.

To buy: go check out eShakti.com! First time customers get $15 off their order!

I was given this product to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.

Tot School: Jungle Animal Boogie

Don't forget to check out my Children's book giveaway!

Jackson is 22 months old. 

Books: Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
Animal Boogie (click the link to check out a free animated video of this book) We read the book and watched this video a lot! Jackson practiced his dance moves ;)

We played with Jackson's stuffed animals a lot (he has a lot of jungle animals ;) naming & describing them, making their noises, etc. (I mean, I was. J still isn't talking but he did have fun!)

Music:
Song: 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Jackson played with his new xylophone (an awesome $2 consignment store find!)

And he played with his karaoke machine LOL- this was a Christmas gift from Nana that we had put away for awhile and just got out again.

Art:
Hippo Do-a-dots (found here) (I also printed the zebra puzzle but I think he is still too young for it)

I tried to do a few sensory paintings with Jackson this week.  He painted the spots on a giraffe with a sponge. He didn't know what to do with it at first, but he eventually got it!

He painted zebra stripes by dragging a pipe cleaner across the paper.

And rolled a ping pong ball around to make tiger stripes.

We also played with playdough for awhile. I made snakes for him but he was really more interested in playing with the rolling pin!

Gross motor skills:
Jackson learned to catch a beach ball! This is my favorite pic from this week!

Just FYI, we will probably be doing a lot of "review" stuff this week (i.e. I'm not planning a theme or any real new things) so I probably won't be posting next week.

I am...

guest blogging today over at A Modern Day Ricky & Lucy. Check it out for a funny story from my days of teaching 6th grade!

A few giveaways

There are a lot of great giveaways going on right now, and I just wanted to let you guys know about a few of them.

First off, don't forget to enter MY giveaway for 3 wonderful children's books.

Little BGCG is giving away a $50 Target giftcard!

Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House is giving away a Pirate Ship Water Table from Little Tykes, a Rock Crawler Bounce House AND a Countryside Cottage Playhouse  from Step 2!

J. Leigh Designz is giving away a  Neighborhood Fun Playhouse from Step 2.

The Winey Mommy is giving away a Little Tykes Sand & Water Fun Factory Table.

So check them out and good luck!

WW: Backyard Playdate

Don't forget to check out my Children's book giveaway!

Nana sent Jackson a VERY early birthday present! He has been having a LOT of fun on it!

In our neck of the woods, it seems to have skipped Spring and jumped right into Summer! So yes, we already have the baby pool out.

I don't know if you can tell from these pictures, but Jackson &  Makenzie are running around trying to catch bubbles. The bubbles are hard to see though.

Animal Boogie Book Review

The Animal Boogie {Barefoot Books}

Can you boogie? Down in the Indian jungle, the children and animals are learning about actions like leaping, stomping, shaking and flapping while meeting different jungle creatures. Book with CD editions include song sung by acclaimed children's performer Fred Penner.

Ages 3 to 7 years
Illustrated By: Debbie Harter
Sung By: Fred Penner

I was so excited to get a chance to review this book! It has 2 of Jackson's favorite things: animals & music! He absolutely loved this book! The pictures in Animal Boogie are so bright and fun and the music is so catchy that it is hard NOT to enjoy it.  Though I must say that I don't think the book would be nearly as fun without the CD ( I am NOT a good singer! LOL) 


We love this book so much that it is the basis for all of our Tot School activities this week!

 You can buy The Animal Boogie from Barefoot Books. You can also get a supplement called The Animal Boogie Fun Activities with coloring pages, sticker sheets, and more!


Not only that, but they have turned the book into a free animated video for you to check out! Barefoot Books will have more popular stories available as videos in the coming months.

Spring Swap Goodies!

I participated in Short Mama's Spring Swap. Erin was my partner and I received my package in the mail today! Look at all the goodies!

• Peeps! 
• Starburst flavored lipgloss
• bubbles & sidewalk chalk for Jackson 
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris 
• India's Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope
• herb seed packets 
• a Bounce dryer bar (I absolutely LOVE these things!)
• sunscreen
• and my absolute favorite part -a bottle of Strawberry Wine. YUM.

Thank you so much Erin!

Tot School: Spring theme part 2

Don't forget to check out my Children's book giveaway!

Jackson is 21 months old. 

Books: The Best Nest by PD Eastman
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Music: One Green Frog (click for video)

See, See, See - fingerplay
See, see, see (shade eyes with hands)
Three birds are in a tree (hold up three fingers)
One can chirp (point to thumb)
And one can sing (point to index finger)
One is just a tiny thing. (point to middle finger, then rock baby bird in arms) 

Art: 

Jackson painted this egg carton caterpillar after we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

He used his spring stamps to make this picture. 

And we made this footprint chick (I've seen this on so many different blogs and it was just too cute not to do!)

Shapes: I printed off this birdhouse shape page  and helped Jackson match some of his shape toys to the ones on the birdhouses.  

Zoo: 
We put a birdfeeder up in our backyard but the birds fly away before Jackson really gets a chance to look at them. So we headed to the zoo, where we spent a good deal of time in the aviary. Jackson loved watching the birds but as soon as we let him out of the stroller he started chasing them!  We were also able to see the newest exhibit: the penguins. You can hardly see them from this picture, but they were playing in the water.  

 

Non-themed activities: 

Fine motor: I got out some ping pong balls to see if Jackson would like putting them in the paper towel roll.  It was surprisingly easy for him and he loved doing it! He played with these for about an hour. I finally took it away when he started just throwing the balls around the room. 

Outdoor play: 
Since it has been so warm this week, we also did a lot of swimming, sliding, swinging, playing ball, and blowing bubbles!