:: these feet... ::

:: are made for walking -- well today Jacob took his actual first steps from one side fo the family room to the other ::

:: If I were to guess I would say that he will be walking by Monday, we're excited but also a little wary as everyone says "you'll regret wanting him to walk" but I don't think we will (I know my back won't!). He is such a good little gaffer and obedient most of the time, plus he has been getting into stuff since he could crawl (at 7 months) so I really don't think it will change that much ::

:: But keep checking in on us to see the progress of our little {big} walking boy ::

:: What would you buy with $120? ::

So here is my predicament; I won “The Pot” of $120 at our Happy Housewives event on Tuesday night. Now to most this wouldn’t be a predicament, but here are the rules:

You must spend 100% of the money on yourself…not your home, your children, your husband, your pet…YOU!!! You must share with the group what you did with your money the following month. If you win the draw, you will then host next months event.

Hosting the next event is not my problem – it’s spending all the moola on me and in the next month! Now you all must be thinking if I had a $120 to spend on me it would be gone in a second at the spa and lunch out with a friend…right and normally I would jump on the opportunity to do the same. But with this money I want to get the biggest bang out of my buck – so I am stuck, do I buy one big thing or a few small little things.

:: Shawna Factoid ::
You may not know me that well and that’s okay – but one thing about me is that I am cheap okay maybe frugal is a better term for me. I don’t often spend money on myself except if it is totally on sale or a really good price and typically these things are found down in the States. And often times you can find me handing something back to the cashier at the register. Now Paul is not that way at all – he says buy quality the first time and you will never have to replace it, true, I agree --- however that’s not fun for a girl who’s fashion, style and size (depending on post/pre/pregnant body) changes with the seasons!

So here is my predicament – what do I buy something “big” or a few small things?

Here are a few items I have in mind:

:: $100 @ Lululemon ::

:: $15 @ Target ::

:: $41 @ Mac Cosmetics ::
:: $17.50 @ Target ::

:: $20 @ Target ::

:: $20 @ Target ::

:: $16.09 @ Target ::

** A few other things I would like to invest in, a pedicure (or two if I got them done at the beauty school), stampin-up stuff/Michaels craft supplies, buying myself a Starbucks gift card for treats when I'm out running around and maybe even a cute trench coat (for Fall) to go with the boots :) **

P.S. I asked the group if I could spend it on a double stroller as that would be a luxury item to me – but they voted no as they said I would probably buy one anyway!

Any suggestions or thoughts as to what you might buy with the money if you had it would be greatly appreciated!

:: I need to post this so I can put it in my profile - dumb blogger, or dumb Shawna - I'm not sure :) ::

:: Cold Turkey ::

:: Well, almost a week ago we went "cold turkey" on Jacob and his soothers - one morning he woke up and decided that he no longer wanted to give up his soother...so he remained in bed as he doesn't get his soother unless he is going to sleep. He didn't like that so Paul and I decided that it was probably time to take away the soothers all together. Jacob has never used his soother for any other time than nap and bedtime, however if this attitude continued we would be in big trouble as he was becoming more dependent on it. And I don't want to have to worry about having two different sizes of soothers in my purse once the second baby comes along, so the soothers disappeared ::

:: To date we have been successful in remaining soother free and he is now falling asleep at all naps and bedtimes with out the aid of the soother. It was a little rough for the first few days (a lot of crying) but once the third day came along he was fine. I knew if I made it to day three we would be successful - so on day two I just kept on saying to myself...I just have to make it to day three....one more day! He is so cute about falling asleep now, he will close his eyes really tight (almost like he's squinting) and he smacks his lips together and plays with his tongue and then yawns and that's it - he's out. It's a new routine for us but it seems to be working well and he is sleeping like a dream ::

:: Now I'm soother free for 4 months and then we will be back at the soother game with the next one - oh well, at least I get a bit of a break :) ::

:: Happy Father's Day :::: Daddy's are the best and my babies father is truly one to be celebrated ::

:: Paul is many things to both Jacob & I and this Father's day we could not let a moment go by without telling him how thankful we are for his devotion, honesty and of course love ::

:: Paul you are more than I could have imagined in a Father to our children and to top it off you are my best friend ~ Thank you for doing life with me ::

:: All our love, Shawna, Jacob & Baby ::

:: Family Photo's ::

:: We were supposed to go to Crescent Beach to have some family photo's taken by a friend, but due to to unforeseen circumstances they were unable to make it. But that didn't stop us - We borrowed Jordan's super-duper camera (thanks Jord) and headed down to the beach to capture us three before we expand into four! ::

:: Thanks to Mom Mac for being our Photographer and to Dad Mac for being our entertainer for Jacob - The photo's turned out great and thankfully the weather turned out as well! ::

:: Here are some of our photo's from the beach ::

:: Please vote on your favorite family picture - I can't decide! ::

:: FYI - I'm 21 weeks pregnant tomorrow ::

:: Our newest toy ::

:: Okay -- Not OUR but HIS newest toy ::

:: Tonight we headed down to Bellingham to pick up a early Father's Day gift for Paul - This is what we got ::

:: Yes, he is spoiled...however we do need a lawn mower and I had put away too much money in our property tax account and it was just enough to cover the new mower (Praise the Lord!). We got a stellar deal on it through KMART - yeah, go figure they sell Craftsman (usually only sold by Sears), but their prices on Craftsman stuff were amazing in comparison to SEARS, weird huh!!??? But I'm not complaining! And to top it all off, we didn't even have to pay duty at the border - Praise the Lord (again)! ::

:: So here he is with his new toy ::

:: Happy Father's Day Babe ::

:: Our Walk ::

:: Yesterday once Paul got home we headed to our local park (about 2 blocks from our house) - It's just a perfect little park for toddlers...and of course we had to bring his "kaaa" (aka: car). He loves riding it and pushing it himself but he's not very good at steering it :) ::

:: Here are some pictures from our adventure ::

:: Opinions Please ::

:: Okay, I am in need of your opinion. I am in my SIL's wedding on September 8th and I will be a full eight months pregnant (such a beautiful sight, I know!). And I cannot get the dress the other BM's are wearing altered, it is just going to cost too much moola. So here are my options ::

:: This one is a two piece with a full length skirt - I will have to cut the skirt down to tea length to match the other girls and I would add spaghetti straps to ensure my bust stays perky and to also match the other girls dress'. This outfit would cost $170.00 prior to alterations. I prefer this one because it is a two piece and I'm afraid that if I wore a one piece dress I would look like a puffy sausage! :::: Second choice is made of the same material as the others dresses and I would have to also have it hemmed, however this one is only $120.00 ::

:: Any thoughts, opinions, experience would be much appreciated ::

:: It's now a home ::

:: I don't know about you but there is just something about baking (for leisure) in a new home...I really don't think my house is a home until I have baked in it. Who knows where this comes from - but I assume it comes from my Mom always having baked goods around the house, it just makes it feel like a home! ::

:: So on Sunday while the boys were napping I decided to take on Martha Stewart's "Lady Baltimore Cake" ~ This is how it turned out...it took almost a whole dozen egg whites but It was/is truly delish (I would not recommend this for any time-crunched Mama's - total time spent on cake 2.5 hours) :: :: Paul was truly excited about trying it - the filling has pecans and raisins, it's not overly sweet but not savory either - Just perfect! ::