Life with a Two-Year Old: Store Names

See that little cutie pie right there? He makes my heart soar! :)

So I posted this on Facebook a few nights ago but I wanted to put it in a more permanent place so I could find it later and remember it.

Since Bug is my little shopping buddy (he's literally been with me on like 98% of my shopping trips in the last 2 years...) he's very familiar with "stores". In fact, just about every morning he wakes up and the first thing he asks is usually, "Go to stores?" If not that, then he either asks, "Go to school?" or "Go to church?" It's how he determines what day of the week it is, I guess. lol.

So here recently, he has developed his own names for some of the stores we frequent:

CVS: "ABC stores" because of the big CVS. He always points out the letters on the signs and shopping carts.

Food Giant: "that my G stores" he says because he recognizes the big G as being the first letter of his name.

Kohl's: he calls this one "ABC stores" too. Must have something to do with the all capital letters on the sign like CVS.

Walmart: "star stores" because of the big star between Wal & Mart on the sign

Winn-Dixie: "Daddy's Stores!" because Hubs works there!

I love how every store is plural too. LOL!

Life with a Two-Year old: He wants a "buggy"

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with seeing the savings but this had a buggy in it, so it's relevant!

As you may know, my son, know on the blog as "Bug", is two and a half. And he's my little shopping buddy. I do 95% of my shopping with him. The perils of having a husband that works nights/weekends - I don't have the luxury of leaving Bug home on Saturday morning while I go shopping, because Hubs is either at work or asleep because he didn't get home until nearly 1am from work.

So anyway, being a "bargain shopper", you know that you never go to just one store. So we go to a lot of "stores". Sometimes I have to find creative ways to make it seem exciting because when we're on our way to the fourth store of the day, Bug's just not into it.

So one thing I play up is the buggies (shopping carts, if you're not from the South) at the store. CVS has the buggies with the cars on the front (Bug thinks it's a "firetruck"...so we call it a "firetruck"...), Publix and Winn-Dixie have "race car" buggies. And Walgreens and Target don't have anything special on their buggies but at Target he can help me push and at Walgreens (because I usually don't have much to get) he gets to sit in the "back" of the buggy.

So I use all these things to entice him and curb a meltdown at the next store. "Look! It's the firetruck buggy! Stop crying and you can drive the firetruck..." You know, that kind of stuff!

Well, Bug's Meemaw was over here the other day and she asked him if there was anything he wanted for his birthday. He told her, "I wan it buh-dy." I asked him to say it again. He said it again. I said, "You want a buggy?" "Uh-huh!" He said, "I wan it buh-dy!"

Totally random. He has never mentioned wanting a buggy before!

So....he's getting his very own child-sized shopping cart for his birthday!

My crazy Bug!

Toddler Talk Thursday - Vacationing with a Toddler

I'm so excited to be the feature blogger this week for Toddler Talk Thursday!! How did I get to be the feature blogger? Well, I suggested a topic for this week and it was picked to be the topic! YAY!

This week's topic is: Vacationing (or traveling in general) with a Toddler!

The first trip we took with Bug was to the beach when he was 9 months old. And not because I thought taking a 9 month old to the beach sounded like fun, but because my cousin was getting married and my dad was paying for the trip. :)

So while the wedding was beautiful, the family times was great and the beach was gorgeous...taking a 9 month old to the beach was a nightmare:
That was a our trip in a nutshell right there. That was 4 minutes and 37 seconds after we set foot on the beach the afternoon we got there.

From our family to yours...

Have a blessed day!

Celebrating the Resurrection!

This Easter is particularly bittersweet for me. 

It falls on the anniversary of my mother's death. 

Oh, how wonderful to be celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and also, in a way, celebrating the resurrection of my mom - the day she left this world to suffer no more.

But it's also a hard day too because it still hurts.  :(



I hope you all are enjoy a special day with your families today!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today would've been my Mom's 53nd birthday.

She passed away in 2008, just 32 days after her 50th birthday. She battled cancer for 26 months. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. IBC is a rare, vicious kind of breast cancer that has a 5 year survival rate of under 10%.

Today, in honor of my mom and her life and her battle, could you take a minute to visit The Breast Cancer Site and click the button. They donate money for every click made to fund mammograms. I get nothing for you clicking the button.

They also have a store where the proceeds go to funding breast cancer research. I've been wanting this beautiful pink titanium ring. Maybe I'll ask for it for Mother's Day...

Announcement, Announcement!

Hubs used to work for Bruno's/Food World.  He started as a cashier in high school and worked his way up to a corporate auditor by 2009.  But in the summer of 2009, he was laid off (which was the reason for the birth of this blog) because the company was going bankrupt.

He was not able to get another job in the grocery business at the time.  He has since held two jobs, neither of them in grocery.  He truly loves working in the grocery business and hasn't been content with the job that he's had since August of last year.

So imagine how ECSTATIC we are that yesterday was his orientation for his NEW JOB and right now is his first day at that NEW JOB!

Would you like to know where his new job is??

Drum roll, please....

Happy Birthday, Hubs!

Today is Hubs' birthday!  :)))

I won't announce how old he is, but I will say that he is closer to 30 than I am!

I love you, Hubs!

Don't forget about the birthday freebies posts I did a few months ago.  If your birthday is coming up, you need to check them out!

Just a picture...

Sometimes I wonder if I share too much or too little about myself on the blog?  There really is a real person behind this blog.  :)

You may have read that last Friday was mine and hubs anniversary.

I really liked this picture we took that night:

So, yeah...that's me...and the hubs. :)

February 18th

TEN years ago on this very day I met a boy who changed my world.

Us at Prom - April 2001

SIX years ago on this very day, I said, "I do".  And he did too.

Our Wedding - 2/18/05

Me!

I took this picture the other day and really liked it.  So I thought I'd share it!  In case you were wondering who was behind the blog, there I am right there.  And with me is the very reason my heart keeps beating!  :)))  

If you've read the blog for a while, you know I refer to him as "Bug."   The day we brought him home from the hospital, he was just a tiny little thing all curled up in the carseat.  I said, "He looks like a tiny little bug."  And it stuck.  :)))

Toddler Talk Thursdays!

It's been a while since I participated in Toddler Talk Thursdays and I hate that I never seem to have time for it because it's a fabulous idea for a blog hop!  I know that most of you follow my blog for all the money-saving madness but a lot of you out there are moms just like me and it's nice to share about our kids!

Toddler Talk Thursday was created as a place for moms and dads of toddlers to come together over a weekly topic and share ideas, go-to toys, or products. It is a great way to meet other bloggers of toddlers. Each week the topic will be different; we invite you to link up, share your weekly Toddler Talk!

This week's toddler talk is about loveys!


Bug has ALWAYS been a "blanket baby"!  He looooooooooooooves his blanket!  We have three that are all similar (not exactly the same, but similar) and he is equally happy with any of them and has been known to carry two around at the same time!

Even at a just a few weeks old, he was attached to his blanket.  He would get fussy and everyone around me, eager to give the "new mom" some "advice" (read - tell the dummy what to do), would tell me, "oh, he's hungry" or "have you checked his diaper?" when I knew what he wanted.  To be wrapped in his blanket so he could go to sleep.  ("Wow" everyone would say, "that's all it takes to quite him down?")

Here he is at close to 5 months old with one of his blankets.  It's funny...he still sleeps like that!  :)))




For Christmas last year (2009) we got him "Boo Bear" which is one of those loveys with the bear head and small blanket attached!  at 14 months old, leaving the house with "Boo Bear" was much easier than leaving with a blanket.  And he was going to moving up to a new class in daycare where constant blanket dragging around would not be possible, but a smaller lovey to help in the transition was perfect!

I can't believe I don't have a better picture of him and Boo Bear that I can easily find.   

This was last summer when we turned his carseat forward facing - he was loving it! - so I snapped some pictures.  He's got Boo Bear in the seat with him.  :)))

He doesn't carry Boo Bear much anymore (read - it's not a life or death situation if Boo Bear doesn't make it out of the house with us).  He will drag one of his blankets around the house most of the time and he MUST have it at bedtime/naptime.  And occasionally, will ask to take it with us in the morning - which is fine.  When we get to school, we leave it in the car, tell it "bye", and it's waiting on us again at the end of the day.  (Oddly enough, he gets by without it at naptime at school just fine!)


My little boy is growing up!


Thanks for reading my Toddler Talk Thursday!

My Favorite Pictures from Christmas Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Here are a couple of my favorite pictures I wanted to share!

Happy Birthday...to ME!

Twenty-seven years ago today, I was born!  :)))


And, of all things to happen, I'm snowed in on my birthday!  No birthday lunch date, no birthday shopping.  Just snow.  And ice.  Which is the main reason I can't get out.  Every road between me and the stores is closed.

Sooooo...happy birthday to me...

All About Me - Day 29 - Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the next 365 days

Wow, this post is kinda difficult because our hopes, dreams and plans for the last 365 have not played out the way we wanted.  We had planned on me being able to work part time by the time Bug turned 2.  But since my husband lost his job twice in 14 months, I was faced with "have $7000 eye surgery or lose your eyesight" and one of our cars completely died back in the summer, Bug's 2nd birthday came and went and I still work 40 hour weeks with no end in sight.


The plan for the next 365 days is survival.  We've refinanced our house to lower our payment, we have disconnected our satellite TV and removed all the extra features on our cell phone.  My husband and I aren't getting each other gifts this Christmas.  He was fortunate enough to only be out of work for a week in July when he was laid off.  But the job he has does not bring in what his other job did and he is looking for something else but there is nothing out there.  So the plan is to survive on what we've got.


My hope for the next 365 days is prosperity.  That Hubs will find a great new job, we can get some major debt paid off and plan a nice little vacation.  Oh, and also that I can be a part-time stay-at-home mommy.  :)))  I'd take that over the vacation.

My dream for the next 365 days is expansion.  This is my "dream" meaning, nothing short of winning the lottery would cause this to happen.  I want to build on to our house and make room for another member of the family.  We both know we can't afford another baby right now.  But I want another one, maybe two more before I'm done having kids.  However, I've always had this "no babies after 30" rule.  I turn 27 next month.  Time is ticking!

Keep dreaming!

All About Me - Day 28 - What's in my purse?

I think the question here is what's not in my purse!
Wallet
Keys
Day Planner
Checkbook
Cell phone
Chapstick
Lotion
Stickers (for when the line at the store is a little too long for my 2 year old)
Restaurant coupons (So that I always have them with me.)
A small pharmaceutical company so that I have a remedy for any ailment/injury that may come up while we're out.
Half a dozen pens (they seem to multiply in my purse).

That's pretty much it.  I don't carry makeup with me.  I either put it on before I leave the house or I don't fool with it.   If I'm not carrying the diaper bag, I'll have a diaper and wipes in there.  And maybe a sippy cup.  And a stuffed animal. 

All About Me - Day 27 - My Worst Habit

My worst habit?  Ugh!

Bad time management skills?  Biting my fingernails?  Staying up too late at night?  My tendency to let things get a little too cluttered?

Is that enough bad habits for you?

(Sorry to disappoint!  I don't drink, smoke or swear!  LOL!)

All About Me - Day 26 - My Week in Great Detail

Oops...this was supposed to be yesterday's post!

I won't spend a lot of time on it, because honestly, my week in great detail is basically my day in great detail on repeat.  With an all too short weekend tacked on to the end of it.

Seven Days of Thanksgiving - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful so not only the six things I've mentioned in the previous days but I am also thankful for all the many blessings that are too numerous to name.


A roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on the table, the list goes on...

So today, I hope you all are abundantly grateful!

All About Me - Day 25 - My day in great detail

Well, today is Thanksgiving so it's not a typical day.  How about in the interest of learning about me, I'll share with you a typical day in great detail.

Between 6:30 and 6:45 (usually) - get up and start getting ready.
Between 7:00 and 7:15 - get Bug up, dressed and eating breakfast.
7:30 - Finish getting ready, find Bug's shoes, make sure Hubs gets out the door with everything he needs, head towards the door
By 7:45 - be getting in the car to leave
8:00 - at work, drop Bug off in his classroom, start morning prep
8:15 - 8:30 - morning staff meeting
8:30 - 11:30 - Class.  I teach a half day 4K program.
11:30 - 12:00 - Get the kids out to car rider line, clean up classroom
12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch break!  This is usually when I go to CVS or Walgreens  ;)))
1:00 - 3:00 - Office work, lesson planning, etc.  Get ready for the kids in the afterschool program (5K to 3rd graders)
3:00 - 5:00 - Work with the kids in the after school program.  Eat snack, play games, do homework, etc.
5:01 - Go down the hall, grab Bug and go home!  :)
5:20ish - Get home, play game, read a book or do a puzzle with Bug.
6:00ish - Settle Bug in with a cartoon so I can start dinner
6:45ish - Hubs gets home.  We eat dinner
7:00ish - Hubs entertains Bug so I can relax (blog) for a few minutes.  Gives him a bath.
7:30 - Bug's Bedtime routine starts, brush teeth, PJs, book, song, prayers, goodnight!
8:00 - 11:00 - Blog, laundry, dishes, etc....
11:00 - BEDTIME!

That's my typical weekday....