Monday, February 28, 2011

2.28.11 :: 3 months & 50 months

3mosQ
Quentin is 3 months old today. (Since there is no 30th of this month)
♥ 3 months old and has slept through the night 4 nights in a row. ♥
♥ Jamie was looking at this photo tonight and then at the same time, we both said "It really shows that (you/I) have lots almost 16 lbs"... It was too funny. It really shows in my face. ♥

50mosS

Sean is 50 months old today.

feb28Qfriends

This afternoon Quentin had some of his friends over again. (Would you believe that Quentin is the 2nd oldest here, and the smallest!) Playgroup started out as a bit of a disaster, people not sure what was going on, etc... But I think we have it all sorted out and hopefully there will be one Monday that we can all be there. Today, it was all boys. I cannot wait to get our new couches, the ones we have right now have an ugly couch cover on it and pictures of the boys aren't coming out so nice. I also hope to maybe get some curtains to go over the ugly blinds. Oh, the joys of owning a house.

bigswimsuit

I tried on the 3-6 month swim suit on Quentin and it's ridiculously large on him.
Though, if its our only option, it's doable.

passedoutQ

Just for laughs, I took this above photo.
Bottle, remote control, passed out... typical male?

QSbed

Just before bed, I had Quentin in Sean's bed while I helped the boys get dressed after their bath. Sean decided to place animals around Quentin and then say "Where's Quentin?" It was too cute.

mackseantongue
My silly boys.
What a good day it was today.

Today's Link Love:
- I think it's silly someone is selling Garden Faucets on Etsy. Giggle.
- I love this pom pom tutorial.
- This wall art is very sunny!
- This video of a boy "singing" I'm Yours is too cute.
- I love this earring tutorial. So simple.
- I love this blog post announcing the sex of their baby. Very creative!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

2.27.11

Quentin is awesome. He slept a third night in a row, all night. I put him down sometime around 10:30 pm last night after his feeding, and he slept right through until just before 8:30 am this morning. Sleeping through the night at 12 weeks old? I'm loving this. Praying for a repeat tonight again. We slept in together until mid-morning today.

MackIntosh

After I got up for the day, Jamie wanted to nap, so I took the kids into Quentin's room while I organized some baby toys (I wanted to see which needed to be ran through the dishwasher (to clean) and which were good to go into his toy buckets in his room. I also went through all of Quentin's bibs and made a donate pile and a trash pile (some were really bad from being used since Sean needed them & then Mackenzie)). After we cleaned & organized in Quentin's room, I brought the boys down to the dinning room so that we could do all of our puzzles. Sean & Mack recently decided that it would be funny to dump our puzzle books (we have a handful of them that have about 5 puzzles in each, at about 12 pieces per puzzle). They had dumped every single one out, so we had to sort the pieces by puzzle and by book and then put them all back together. This killed some time before lunch, and I'm glad it's all organized again.

cachecoeur
I pulled out Cache Coeur to see if it would fit Quentin, and it does. It's too bad he was born too small, the Cache Coeur is something that would have been fantastic for him to use as a newborn to keep warm. I am going to go through our other hand knits to see what else will fit Quentin now (before it's too late).

neckup

Quentin is doing well with his neck control. It's still not perfect, but it's certainly getting there. We've been having tummy time lately, and he's doing good. Once he really starts to control his head better, I'll start using the Bumbo more.

Today was catch up on laundry day, however, I still feel like after doing about 6 loads today that I have another 6 loads more to do tomorrow. It never ends. And once you are done all of it, you wake up the next morning and the baskets are starting to fill up again. I never thought I would be doing this much laundry with a family of 5. I guess with a newborn even though they wear tiny clothes, there is still a lot of it. It's insane. Sometimes I wish the laundry folded itself. It's a long and tedious job. I think what I hate more than folding it - is putting it all away.

I have a new feature on my sidebar, which you can now subscribe to my blog via email. I set it up a few days ago and tested it out and it works. So if you want to never miss out on my posts, you can enter in your email address on my sidebar, it'll email you a confirmation link and then it'll email you daily (I believe in the morning) with my latest post! Pretty neat if you ask me.

Don't forget that you have until tomorrow night to enter my contest for a free copy of this book.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

2.26.11

Quentin was really good to us again last night. He went to bed around 9:30 and got up this morning just after 7 am. I fed him and we both went back to bed. Jamie let me sleep in with him this morning while he took the boys to their skating lesson. The extra sleep is really doing some good. I'm hoping that I'll start to feel back to normal now that Quentin might actually be sleeping through the night.

newredcouch

This afternoon Jamie picked up the sofa bed from his step-aunt & step-uncle. It's in great shape, and now we have something for guests to sleep on if we should have any. We'll be getting rid of 2 couches from our basement that are destroyed (under couch covers) but I have to call the city to find out how to get rid of large items. It's actually a cute sofa bed, though eventually we'll replace it for something a little better than Ikea quality. But for now, it was free, and appreciated.

chaptersPTC

This afternoon I went with my sister to our local book store to see author Catherine McKenzie. I met her last year when she was there for a book signing for her first book, Spin.

signedarranged

This time I got my copy of Arranged signed. I think Catherine forgot that we'd met in the past, because she wrote "Good to finally meet you" in my book. Oops! I'm in the middle of Arranged right now, just under 100 pages in and I'm really enjoying it. Once my other contest for Toss, Keep, Sell is over on Monday, I'll announce on Tuesday my contest to win a copy of Arranged. Don't forget to go over to the other post and enter the contest to win a copy of Toss, Keep, Sell.

quentindoor

I've been trying to figure out what to do with Quentin's door, since the letters that I have on Sean & Mack's door, I cannot find anymore to do the same. I finally picked up some art & craft supplies and put this together for his door. I hope he likes it. I think it has the same color fun like Sean & Mack's door.

burtsbaby

I ran out of Johnson & Johnson's Head to Toe Baby Wash during Quentin's bath, so this time I tried Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo & Body Wash (which I have a few samples of). I've always been a fan of their lip balm in both the tube & tin. I was actually quite impressed with the baby wash, and will definitely use it again.

Today's Link Love:
- I absolutely love this picture of these sextuplets.
- And this one too of them.
- I love these preschool packs.
- This pancake recipe looks really good.

Friday, February 25, 2011

2.25.11

Last night, Quentin went to bed around 9:20 pm just before my sister and I started to watch Grey's Anatomy. (We waited 20 minutes in, so that we'd avoid commercials and could zip through them). Quentin slept until almost 7 am this morning. It would have been a beautiful night rest, but unfortunately a certain 4 year old had an accident in the middle of the night and called out for me to change his sheets/pjs, and take him to the bathroom. (He still has accidents once in a while). I am praying for a repeat tonight of last night's sleep pattern... let's hope it wasn't fluke.

QRmusic

This morning Quentin and I had music again. Quentin is starting to be more alert when it comes to noises around him, and I hope he is enjoying the music class. The guy who sings is quite fun and he even does some Beatles songs.

QuentinNateMat

After music we were invited out to Quentin's friend Nate's house for lunch.

floormatQN

We spent the afternoon hanging out and chatting while the babies also just hung out. It's been a crazy busy week full of play dates and I started to feel run down by mid week. I'm not sure what next week entails, but I am hoping there is a bit of rest in there.

My in-laws came over for dinner tonight and after dinner, Sean asked his Zayda Marvin (Jamie's dad) to play poker. Marvin asks Sean if he knew what a pair is. Sean thinks about it for a few seconds, and then responds "Yes, it's a fruit". It was priceless.

Today's Quick Link Love:
- Pampers Gifts to Grow 10 free Points: SEP3PGW7NRKYWX.
- This Billiard Tee Tutorial.
- Don't forget you have a few more days to enter my contest for a free copy of this book.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

2.24.11 :: 140 weeks old

140wksM

Mack is 140 weeks old today.

This morning I took Quentin to the CLSC to get him weighed and he is now 8 lbs 15 oz (4060 grams or 4.06 kg). We're still under 9 lbs - yet so close. I'm sure by tomorrow he'll be 9 lbs. We ran into the nurse that saw us at our house after he was born and she was happy on how much he has been filling out. He looks so different from the baby I brought home from the hospital.

After the CLSC we went by a mom & tot group that my friend is apart of and visited with them for a while. It's a nice group of women, and even though it's a group associated through their church, it doesn't bother me, since they don't really do religious stuff at the mom & tot gatherings. The girl who introduced me to the group, her son took swimming lessons with Mack for a few sessions (we'd arrange it together). Right now because Mack is 2 and a bit months older, he's in the next level of swimming, but hopefully the session after we'll be able to put them into the same class together. She's really sweet, and due with her second son around Mother's Day. It's really amazing how many people I know that all have the same sex children.

QJoyfeed

After lunch we headed into the city and visited my friend Joy who is a crocheter who just got into knitting. While there, she cuddled Quentin and I attempted again to seam the sides of Wyatt. I'm having an alignment issue. Trying to align them up straight right now is failing me. I'll work at it again when I am not frustrated. That's a better idea.

qsporwyatt
I finally got one side of Wyatt almost perfect, so I left it be. I still have one more side to seam and then I finally have a finished object. Then I'd like to knock out 2 more of this sweater, for Sean & Mack.

While in the city, before returning home, I stopped at a store that carries Kushies Reusable Swim Diapers, as I needed for Quentin's swimming lessons which are starting soon. I had called Kushies head office in Toronto to find out where in Montreal usually stocks these swim diapers, and then started calling around to find out who had size small in stock. I had ransacked all our boxes of stuff that Sean & Mack have outgrown, but to find that I only had size Medium (14-25 lbs) and Size Large (25-40 lbs). Quentin really needs the size small, which is for babies 6-14 lbs. He'll probably be just over 9 lbs when we start the swim class and the size medium is ridiculously large on him. Now that I found 2 swim diapers for him, I now need to find a one piece swim suit (like this one) to put on him to keep him warm in probably 0-3 month size. The 3-6 month one that we have (from Mackenzie) is also ridiculously large on him. (Now, I recall, I made do with the medium size one for Mack, who at 2 months old was already 10 lbs 11 oz). I don't even know if I can find one in 0-3 month size, but I am going to look/ask around.

meboysfeb2011

This evening my sister came over for a bit to have dinner, (I got to try Gluten Free pasta which my sister made for her dinner since she is now Gluten Free having been diagnosed Celiac, and it wasn't that bad). My sister got to spend some time with the boys, and after the boys were in bed, we watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, but I found myself nodding out by the time it got late. Now, of course I have second wind.

Today's Link Love:
- This Similac App for my iPod touch (or your iPhone).
- The color of this yarn stash.
- This Toy Bag Tutorial.
- This Peek-a-boo Toy Sack tutorial.
- This Photo idea called "Back to the Future". It may not be in English, but it's quite neat.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2.23.11

EandJ

Today we had a visitor from an old neighbor of mine. She came over with her daughter who was born 7 days after Quentin. I haven't seen her... in years. I know she came to one or two of my birthday parties at our new house after we moved, because I have pictures of her in the house that we moved to after we were neighbors, but it is probably not since then that I've seen her. We even went to the same high school for one year (I was in the 9th grade and she was in the 7th grade) but I switched high schools after the 9th grade, and we never ran into each other there.

QandJ

Her daughter is absolutely adorable. Quentin's been loving all his play dates. I can't wait until he's old enough to actually play at a play date. In due time.

It was really nice just to have someone over today and not do much but have some tea, eat some muffins and chat. I've been feeling a bit run down lately, and trying to catch up on some sleep. We're constantly running around (life with 3 boys and not wanting to stay in), and I think it's finally catching up to me.

Today's Link Love:
- This Stashes & Tiara's Game.
- Love this music video.
- I'm hoping to find my size small Kushie swim diaper for Quentin's swim lessons starting soon.
- I heart this camera.
- Baby trashes bar is funny yet not.
- I love this postcard.
- I love this crochet gnome hat tutorial.
- I love this water color sketch book tutorial.
- I love this pin cushion.
- I really want this cover for my Boppy Pillow. Target won't ship to Canada though, bummer.
- This weekend we're getting this sofa bed (in red) for free. Jamie's step-uncle & step-aunt don't want it anymore, and offered it for free. It's in great condition, and we were actually looking to get a sofa bed, which we don't have - for guests.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2.22.11 :: 12 weeks & 216 weeks

12wksQ

Quentin is 12 weeks old today. I can't believe he's almost 3 months old. Since there is no 30th of February (or even a 29th) he'll celebrate 3 months old on Monday the 28th this month.

216wksS

Sean is 216 weeks old today.

lovespoohchair

Quentin's starting to notice things, like toys. He's not exactly playing with them yet, but he is definitely noticing them. I can't wait until he starts to play with toys, I'm very excited for that stage already. He's almost there, I'm sure.

poohchairQ

Qdiaper

Quentin is definitely filling in a lot since he was first born. It's amazing how much he's changed in the last 12 weeks. He still may be tiny, but he's definitely growing.

Wyattflat

wyattfolded

I finished Wyatt's knitting last night. It just needs to be seamed and probably blocked. I actually think it will fit Quentin now or very soon. Hopefully I'll have an FO with Quentin wearing it very soon. I wanted to seam it today, but time ran our and I actually ended up taking a very long nap this evening, crashing just after 7pm and just waking up now. It was a much needed nap, I was beyond exhausted almost at the point of feeling run down. I was hoping that the nap would give me some energy, but I still feel exhausted. Hopefully some rest will do some good.

Monday, February 21, 2011

2.21.11

playfood

This morning I spent cleaning the house & preparing food for Quentin's guests.

playweek1
He had 4 of his friends over to play.

week1play
Quentin was actually the 2nd oldest there (and the smallest one). Kyle & Nate are 20 days younger than Quentin and Mia is 21 days younger. The only one who is older, is Katie, who is almost 6 weeks older than Quentin. Quentin had a good time with his friends over. We're trying to figure out if we'll have this a weekly thing, or bi-weekly. Some of us want weekly and the rest bi-weekly. Maybe we'll just do it weekly and whomever can come weekly - will. You know? Maybe that's the way to go? We were supposed to be a few more moms and babies today, but a few people got sick over the weekend.

Qclosecutie

Quentin was in such a good mood this afternoon, we played on the floor by my bedroom patio doors. I love the light that comes in there through the windows. Good natural light.

Qfloorcute

Qknitbag

Quentin is getting a little too big for the Baby Wrap photo prop I knit. The last time I photographed him in it the lighting wasn't so good, and I wasn't happy with my photos. I then forgot about it for a while, and went to pull it out today, and alas, he's getting a wee too long for it. I'm going to put it away in my photography prop box. I still have dreams of photographing other people's newborns.

RobynQ

b4dinnerplay

I love that the boys can play very nicely together while I prepare dinner.

wyatt95percent
As of this afternoon (daylight still out) I had just about an inch left on Quentin's Wyatt. I was able to finish it tonight and now all I have left to do is seam up the sides. I am hoping to have a finished object for you tomorrow. (Depending on when I actually get it seamed and if there is still daylight out for a photoshoot with it. I actually believe that it will fit Quentin now. I don't understand the sizing on the pattern. The sizes are NB-9 months, 9 months - 18 months, 18-24 months (which is starting to make sense) and then 2/3T, 3/4T, 4/5T, etc. How on earth is a NB the same size as a 9 month old to fit into the sweater? And what 9 month old is the same size as when they are 18 months old?

wyattcloseendToday's Link Love:
- Love this Pleated Fabric Flowers Tutorial.
- Love this shop's window.
- Love this Boppy Cover tutorial.
- Love this Crock Pot Blog.
- 17 free (or almost free) Kid-friendly winter activities.

Q & A with Leah Ingram

Q&A with Leah Ingram, frugal living expert, founder of the blog Suddenly Frugal and author of more than a dozen books, including her latest Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In (Adams Media, 2010).

Q: Why did you write your newest book Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing?

A: I wanted this new book to serve a dual purpose: to help people get their homes organized, and discover ways that they could get cash for their clutter. This book grew out of my earlier book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less, which grew out of my blog Suddenly Frugal. That book was written for recovering spendthrifts--people who use to spend, shop, and dine out freely, and then when the econo
my tanked, suddenly needed to live frugally. This was the plan my husband and I needed to follow in 2007 and how I ended up starting my blog Suddenly Frugal. I know from being one of those recovering spendthrifts that, thanks to my "shopper-tainment" days, when I went shopping when I was bored, I had more stuff than I needed so plenty of clutter to clear out.

Q: If you've already written a book on frugal living, why write another one?

A: The secret to living frugally is to continually reevaluate your spending and saving, and find ways that you can cut back on daily or regular expenses. But here's what most people don't realize: after a while, there's nothing left to cut. And when there's nothing left to cut, you've got to find ways to bring in more money. I'm lucky, in that I'm a self-employed writer and I can always take on additional assignments to bring in more income. But most people don't have that luxury or don't have the time to get a second job. Hopefully, Toss, Keep, Sell! will help them figure out ways to put more cash back in their wallets.

Q: Where did the idea of getting cash for your clutter come from?

A: I realized that most of the posts I'd done on my blog that talked about getting cash
for my clutter or cash for my trash were the best received. Also, I'd done a survey on Suddenly Frugal that revealed this: 92% of my blog readers had sold their clutter for cash and would do so again in the future.

Many of the people who took this survey have used more than one selling method to sell various household items. When they sold stuff, they most often held a yard sale (74%) or sold stuff on Craigslist (51%). Of those items they were selling and making money from, furniture (43%) and clothing (19%) sold the best. One reader added a comment to the survey that she’d made nearly $3,000 from selling her old furniture.

Q: If your readers are already selling their trash for cash, what new information will the book provide?

A: While I include some tried-and-true methods for selling your stuff and making money from it, I also offer options readers may not have considered but which definitely have the potential to bring in big money. For example, did you know that you don't have to live on an estate to have an estate sale? One person I profile in the book held one in her suburban tract home and took in $4,000 over two days.

Q: Besides cash for clutter, what other benefits will people get from reading Toss, Keep, Sell!?

A: I want this book to help people clear out their excess stuff and love living in their home again. I’ve been there, and I know how it feels to have someone drop by unexpectedly, only to end up running around and closing off the rooms in a disaster state before you answer the front door. Because clutter usually isn’t limited to a single spot in the house, I’ve organized this book so that the chapters go room to room. I’ve suggested tasks you can do to slowly—but surely—to get your house, life and “stuff” in control over time.

----------

Leah has provided me with a copy of her latest book, Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In, to give away. A while back I read her novel Suddenly Frugal, and loved it. To win a copy of Toss, Keep, Sell! all you have to do is comment on this post only until the end of the month, and on March 1st, 2011, I'll announce a winner. Thank you Leah for this opportunity.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

2.20.11

bottleholder3rd

I finally finished another bottle holder for Quentin. This is his 3rd. I need to make an adjustment on the elastic on top, to better hold the bottle in place, but it's usable for now, until I get around to doing that. I now have one for my diaper bag, one for the kitchen (where he uses it if I'm baking/cooking and he needs to eat "now") and one in my bedroom that I use if I'm in the middle of folding laundry or getting ready (and he needs to eat "now"). I'm actually thinking about making another one, but I'm not entirely certain he actually needs another one. I did promise someone else I'd send them one, so I'll probably end up making one more for the house. It really takes no time at all to make, it's the hand sewing at the end that takes the longest time, when time is precious to begin with. I'm running low now on this Sesame Street material, which I love. I am not even sure where it's from (maybe Fabricville) and I'm not sure I could even get anymore.

seancutiefeb20

This afternoon I took all 3 boys on 3 errands. It's not that bad going on errands with all 3 of them, Sean walks next to me, Mack goes in the cart in the seat and Quentin's bucket fits into the bottom part of the shopping cart. It's actually not that bad, and they behaved themselves today. Who knows if next time will be as easy.

chocoholicM
We ended our day with visiting with family and celebrating my step-brother-in-law's birthday. There was chocolate cake involved.

seancake

QsleepKarens
Quentin was quite content just hanging out - asleep - for the most part of our visit.

Today's Link Love:
- Love this Dragon Slipper Tutorial.
- Loved this Ladder Stitch Tutorial on Youtube (Sewing).
- 10 free Pampers Gifts to Grow: NC3XPM9YRD49EMT
- This adorable lunch sack tutorial.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

2.19.11

yellowsubseanskatingknitatskate

This morning we all headed out to skating lessons. Sean is skating faster and faster these days. All he needs left to learn is how to stop. He stops right now by either falling or going into the boards. I hope they start working on stopping soon. I got some knitting done this morning while at the rink since Quentin sleeps through skating lessons.

mackholdhandzmackskateride

Mack this morning was all about holding his skating teacher's hand. He's such a flirt. His fave part of the lesson is when him & his buddy in the group get to hold onto the bar and the teacher takes them for a ride. Mack had a bit of a lazy day today at skating until he finally skated a bit on his own today. I caught a bit of it on video.

JManitamelnoahwillsean

After skating we headed to Jamie's step Aunt & Uncle's house to see some family. Jamie's step-brother is in with his wife & son (above in green jacket). The boys had a field day playing with their cousins. It's amazing how many boys are in the family. It was nice to see Jamie's step-cousin and her son who is approximately 7 weeks and a few days older than Quentin.

qauntiesQdebblissjack

It's always nice to see Jamie's step-family.
Quentin was rockin' his new sweater today.
It fits him perfectly.

tableboysboystable

Tonight Sean had his friends over for a sleepover. It started out with 3 friends. 1 friend went home as he has been having some bad nights lately, not sleeping in his own bed. The parents didn't want to chance him waking up in the middle of the night and freaking out (not every kid is ready for a sleepover). We ordered in pizza, and they ran around our basement playing hockey. They destroyed our playroom, den & basement. There are toys everywhere. It's fun though. I will have a huge mess to clean up tomorrow morning. They watched some Spiderman and had some popcorn. They all wanted to watch Sesame Street before bed. One friend went home just before the boys went to bed, and now I have 4 boys asleep in our den on the floor. Sean, Mack, and 2 of Sean's friends. I am praying that everything goes smoothly all night, that no one wakes up. They are so cute in their little sleeping bags. I used to have sleepovers when I was a kid. Those are some good childhood memories. I hope Sean builds some nice memories with his friends. One of the parents said that if this works out, next time they'll have it at their house - and Sean could go there to sleep over. That would be absolutely amazing. Hopefully things will keep going smoothly until morning.

emiseanhocksleepoverkids

Today’s Link Love:
- My new funky find.
- This crochet owl baby hat. It’s too freakin’ cute.
- I love this homemade cake mix tutorial.
- I love these bibs for boys.
- And these booties for boys.