It must be love

Why else would I go to Walmart at 4:30 this morning? Last year was my first time to hit the Black Friday sales. Kim is such a bad influence on me, still. She and I made a full morning of it last year. This year, it was just me. There are 3 stores I want to go to: Michael's, Walmart & JC Penney. Ronnie has to work today so that makes it a bit difficult to manage the shopping with Paige.

Michael's opened yesterday 6pm to 9pm. I did my shopping then. Paige stayed home with Ronnie & I went to Michael's. I got more scrapbooking stuff. Everything I got was 50% off, plus my coupon for an additional 20% off my entire purchase. I did pretty good.

Walmart had a Kitchenaid stand mixer for $130 starting at 5am today. Ronnie has wanted one for years. Literally for years. We've just never been able to afford the $250 price tag for a mixer. For $130 he can have it as an early Christmas gift. Mainly since it's the only gift he'll be getting this year. I got there at 4:30. People were already grabbing the smaller items and throwing them in their buggy. There was no way for me to get a buggy through the crowds. I grabbed the 2nd to last Kitchenaid, made my way to the back to get a gallon of milk, then checked out. I was home and back in bed by 5:25! I was able to walk through the checkout. Everyone was still arguing over the $88 Barbie Jeeps. That place was an absolute madhouse!

JC Penney has some good sales tomorrow and some nice coupoons in the paper today. If I go, I will wait and go tomorrow. There's some nice boots half price, and some not too thick sweaters for only $9. That's my kind of shopping!

Who else braved the Black Friday crowds? What good bargains did you get? I'm off to get more caffeine.

Our Thanksgiving menu

I know a lot of people expect us to have this huge, elaborate menu since Ronnie is a chef. We could. But, we really don't want to. My family is all getting together at Uncle Little Erie's new house to have a huge meal together. Just your usual Thanksgiving meal: ham, turkey, dressing, gravy, green bean casserole, gumbo. You know, traditional stuff.

We started our own tradition last year: Thanksgiving at our house. We invite over some friends, let the kids run wild, & have a meal. Last year was more traditional: turkey, duck, green bean casserole. This year? This year we wanted to do something a little different.

Our menu:
BBQ Chicken
Meatloaf burgers
Hot dogs (with chili, sauerkraut, relish, onions, the works!)
Mac & Cheese (Kraft)
Baked beans (Bushs)
Green bean casserole (gotta have it!)
Brownies (Betty Crocker)

That's right, we're grilling out for Thanksgiving. Something small and simple. Between now & the end of the year I won't see a whole lot of Ronnie. This is his busiest season. I knew that when I married him. Instead of killing himself making a huge meal for us, we decided to go easy & fun instead. It may be one of his last days to sit back & chill.

Too much Trading Spaces?

I'm not much for reality TV. Trading Spaces, Top Chef & Project Runway are about as far as I go. But I really like those shows. I DVR 'edTrading Spaces last Saturday and sat down Sunday to watch. Paige curled up on the couch next to me with her doll and a book. After about 30 minutes she asked to go see Aunt Wii.

Off she went next door. She curled up in Aunt Wii's chair with her to snuggle. All of a sudden I hear huge amounts of laughter. Paige had gotten up in the chair, looked around and announced, "Your house is really beautiful. I really like what you did with the lights."

As long as she doesn't start telling Daddy to pack his knives and go, I think we're safe.

Paige's first movie

We went to see Madagascar 2 yesterday. We told Paige we had a surprise for her & got her in the car. When we got to the movie theater there was a huge stand up for the movie. She immediately ran to it and started talking about her animals. She loves Madagascar 1, so we thought this would be a great movie for her first one.

We got our popcorn & found seats. Paige kept watching the commercials on the screen asking where her animals were. The theater slowly filled up with parents & kids. By the time the movie started, there was no empty seats left.

I wish I could say that from the first moment she was mesmerized. I think Ronnie and I were both hoping for this. It didn't happen. She sat through the previews asking where her animals were and wanting to hold the popcorn. When the movie finally started she was staring at the screen. About 45 minutes into the movie, she had to potty. Just past an hour into it she was so fidgety and walking around our 3 seats that we had to leave. This child who will sit through an entire showing of Madagascar or Cars at home, couldn't sit through it at the movie theater.

Paige talks about seeing her animals and says she liked the movie. I guess when it hits DVD we'll pick it up and watch it at home. Ronnie and I were both really looking forward to this, and were a bit disappointed. We'll get over it.

Now for my Walle disclaimer. I did think the movie was beautifully done. I love Pixar. And I LOVE Mickey Mouse. Disney is the best in my book. The movie had a good morale to it. I just think it was a bit boring to sit and watch. Especially for kids. When it got to a part I thought was good, I told Ronnie we could just start it there for Paige. Then it would get dull again. I could see why she lost interest in it. I was just looking for more from this movie. I had big expectations going in. I have HUGE expectations for Toy Story 3. I really hope I'm not disappointed. And the fact that I have to wait until 2010 just makes it worse!

Walle

Are we the only ones out there who were bored by this movie? I was super excited for it to come out. Pixar was doing a movie about robots. In space. How cool! Ronnie and I were both so ready to see it. We almost took Paige to the movies to see this one. But, at the time we didn't think she would have sat still for the entire thing. We were right.

Like most Disney movies, I pre-purchased this one at the Disney Store. I picked up our copy this week. We were going to save it for Christmas, but after the few days Paige had we thought she could use a pick me up. We got her early from daycare yesterday, popped popcorn, made lemonade, and turned the lights off. By 10 minutes into it, Paige was fidgeting. By 20 minutes she was asking to go play with her toys. We turned it off.

After Paige went to bed we tried to finish it. Ronnie dozed on the couch while I read a book. Neither one of us could get into this one. For us, it's Pixar's first flop. Now, Toy Story 3 better be good!

My title is too long

I wanted to call this blog: "A recently potty trained 2 year old who hates to poop on the potty has explosive diarrhea. What fun!" I just thought that was too long to put up there.

Paige's fever turned into explosive diarrhea yesterday. My headache went away, but is back today. There's a nasty stomach bug going around and we were lucky enough to get it. Yeah us. I must say she's been really good with the bug. She would run to the potty when she needed to go. Much screaming, crying & begging would commence once she was on there. Paige was pretty vocal too! :) We only lost one pair of panties in the whole sickness. Not too bad. There was no way I was cleaning those. They just went straight in the trash, and Paige went in the shower for a cleanoff.

The bug now needs to make it's way around the house. Ronnie and I aren't feeling so good today. Paige? She's doing great and is back at daycare today. The fever broke yesterday morning and she's doing fine. I don't think she's contagious anymore. That's one thing I'm very diligent about. If anyone is contagious they do not go to work or school. I'm sitting on the couch now.

What a day!

I woke up with a headache. I took a couple of Tylenol and started wishing it away. Yeah right. Paige woke up feel kinda punky. No fever, just not herself. Usually she wakes up at warp 5 and doesn't slow down. This morning she just wanted to be held & snuggled. She mostly gets herself dressed these days, with a little help from us. This morning she just laid on the bed and let me dress her. All the time asking for Daddy who was getting dressed himself.

I left work early with a migraine that just wouldn't stop. I wanted to leave before my eyes got too sensitive to light and I couldn't drive. Came straight home, crawled into bed & stayed there. I had my bottle of esgic close by. (It's a migraine medicine.) One didn't do the trick, so I popped a second one. I slept for a couple of hours & started feeling a bit more human. Or at least like I wouldn't rip anyone's head off for breathing too loud. The ice pick being slammed into my head was reduced down to a small hammer.

Ronnie came home around 3 with Paige. Daycare had called. My little girl had a temp of 102 & just wasn't feeling like herself. She gladly snuggled with Mommy on the couch. I kept a constant stream of Diego and Dora going to keep her happy. Paige, the child who doesn't like medicine, actually asked for some. That's how I know she doesn't feel well! She says nothing hurts. And aside from the feeling sluggish, she's acting just fine.

Ronnie had to work tonight, and Aunt Wii had church, so it was just me and Paige. With my headache and her fever. What a combination. She's tucked nicely into bed. I'm about to head there myself, along with my bottle of esgic. Paige will be staying home from daycare tomorrow. Hopefully she'll feel better, and so will I.