A backpack for Betsy

I discovered last week that there is no reason for me to bring a diaper bag to daycare. It's bulky and unnecessary, I leave clothes, diapers and wipes in her cubby. I saw this at Hobby Lobby (it's the Me and My Bag brand) and decided it was the perfect size to pack Betsy's lunch, bottles, a couple extra ninnies and a snuggly toy. It was also super easy to embroider.

Last night as I was packing yo take Betsy to school today and I realized it would be handy to have a reusable bag to hold her lunch. School provides some snack food but I pack what I would feed her at home. She doesn't always eat it all but I would rather her have plenty of food than not enough. I whipped up this bag, and it's just big enough to hold a small yogurt, apple sauce, cereal bar and baggie of goldfish. I have tons of this light pink quilted fabric and brown trim. I'm using these same materials to make myself a stand mixer cover.






As for daycare, Betsy's second cousin Isaiah and first cousin William are in Betsy's class as of this week. When I left this morning Betsy had walked right over to Isaiah and sat down to play with him, no tears from either one.

The great Kindle debate.

I'm in the throws of a huge mental dilemma. To Kindle, or not to Kindle.

I am not a big gadget person. I'm happy to use the same cell phone until it breaks. I don't care to upgrade. I'm not an iPod user. I think they're great for people who love to listen to music, but I prefer to listen to books. I LOVE to read. I'm considering buying an Amazon Kindle. It's about $250 so I want to think long and hard before I rush out and buy one (or click on Amazon and eagerly anticipate it's arrival).

For me the pros would be: less clutter in my house (my book shelf is way too full, this would help the issue), small and easy to carry around with me, easier on my eyes (you can adjust the font size) and being able to listen or read to some books ( I listen to Audio books a lot too). Also you can download different books for free each week.

The cons would be: the cost upfront, would I miss being able to hold the book while I read it? what if I break or lose it? I' would still have the books backed up through the Amazon website so I could re-download them.

I guess I'll ruminate on this possibility further. If you have a Kindle, what is your experience with it? Has it been worth the money? Thanks for any feedback!

Betsy and the ball pit

Last night I arrived home to see a package by the door. Betsy received a belated birthday/Christmas gift from Granny and Grandbuddy! As soon as we ate dinner Ben took Betsy for her bath and I opened this box. It's so cute! A ball pit. I broke out our air pump and got this toy up in no time (about 5 minutes).

I went back to Betsy's room and helped Ben get her in a diaper then she ran in the living room and saw this set up. Her eyes got really big and she did her heavy breathing/squealing thing she does when she's excited.

Betsy didn't know HOW to play with this until we picked up the balls and threw them around and banged on the inflated structure a bit. She QUICKLY figured it out. In fact she kept throwing them at me until I redirected her to throw them into the ball pit.

Also, Betsy decided to STAND, not ride on her rocking toy. She's a climber on EVERYTHING these days. Yikes. I've seen her stand on this toy several times.














Curious Betsy want to look in every drawer and cabinet these days.



Finally, Betsy wore herself out after all that fun playing. Check out her new kitty pajamas from Uncle JD and Aunt Tiff.

Fingers crossed, again.

I just got called to interview with a local high school again! It's for my first choice of school district and school. It's the school where Ben, Mary and JD graduated. It's an English position. The school is about a mile from Betsy's daycare which would be SO convenient.

I really liked the principal when I interviewed there once before and I'm hoping this position is better suited for me. Send your positive thoughts and prayers to central Texas on Friday if you don't mind!

XOXO,
Shan

Color me green...

because I sure am jealous! Actually, color me gold and white because I'll be cheering for GT. Sweet Betsy even wore her GT socks to daycare today and she's telling anyone who'll listen about her love for GT. While I slave away serving the incoming student population of central Texas the rest of my family is living it up in Miami enjoying the festivities before the game. I wish we could have gone but it is impossible for me to take off this week of registration.

My parents are sharing a town house in Miami with Sean's family. My Mom tells me it's beautiful. Tonight is the big game...the Orange Bowl! Don't forget to watch and cheer for Georgia Tech. Look for little Lauren and our boy #79. What a cool thing for those two to experience.

Sting 'em Jackets!

Stand Mixer Cover

The big surprise at my parent's house Christmas morning was this Empire Red KitchenAid stand mixer for my Mom. All the professionals on the Food Network use these and my Mom is a good enough cook that I think she could hang with the professionals.

Bed Bath and Beyond sells mixer covers like this for a reasonable price, but looking at them I figured 1. It would be hard to hoop and embroider and 2. It looks easy enough to make myself in cuter fabrics.

This is what I came up with. I'm sure I could have made something a little more elaborate but I made it with only materials I had at my house. The inside is lined with red and pink heart fabric. This was fun and so easy! I can't wait to pick some new fabrics and make one for my KA mixer!

Update on daycare changes

Betsy had a great day yesterday with the exception that she ate a whole lot, but barely drank any milk. I sent three 7 ounce bottles to daycare and in her bag was one bottle with about 4 ounces left. When I dropped her off this morning I realized she didn't drink any from the other two (I thought they were empty in her cubby).

My plan is for her to drink large bottles in the morning and before bed. 7-8 ounces. She eats food all day, so if she's getting 15 ounces of milk between those two bottles I think she's doing OK. Not to mention she always eats a yogurt and a piece of cheese during the day so I think she's getting plenty of calcium.

Last night like a good southern baby, Betsy ate barbecue pulled pork. It was great, I made it in the crock pot. She loved it at first, then shared the rest with Madison. She also didn't care much for the broccoli and carrots with cheese made by Gerber. I didn't push it. She was SO tired after all that fun and hit the hay at 7:10 last night, which gave me a chance to watch the Fiesta bowl.