Blessed By Signing Black Friday Deal!

Hey everyone, I know you all love a great deal and even better if it benefits your children! This holiday weekend we are offering some great Black Friday deals on Signing Time products. If you are needing some great gifts for your little ones or little ones in your life click on the link and place and order through my online store. Listed below is the dates and the deals Signing Time has going on :) Again click the link to make your purchases! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping!!

http://www.signingtimeacademy.com/pewjumper

• Friday, Nov. 26: 50% off purchases over $50
• Saturday, Nov. 27: $15 off purchases over $50
• Sunday, Nov. 28: FREE SHIPPING with purchases over $50
• Monday, Nov. 29: 20% off all collections, bundles, and sets

Birthday Bashes

Miss Madelynn Rene' has turned a year old! Her golden birthday and she loved every min of it! She loved the gifts, she loved the songs sung to her, she loved the cake, and most of all she LOVED her tutu! She tried to twill it-and she totally rocked it! Let me share with you some of her party excitement...

Madelynn's birthday theme was ladybugs and one of my Cafemom friends made white chocolate ladybug lollipops to share with our guests!!

Madelynn opening her birthday card.

Playing with her new baby, and her first baby with a paci!

Savannah decorated Madelynn's present in the BEST picture...the perfect FARM for Miss Maddie Moo

Madelynn loving her Leap Frog Counting Candles Cake

Speaking of cake...Happy Birthday Madelynn!!!

Madelynn likes to share...do you want some cake??

What a mess!! But she loved it!

Thank you to everyone who blessed Madelynn with your time and with presents. Madelynn got some AWESOME outfits, some girly toys (babies and a purse), a Christmas dress and an adorable purple bunny with big floppy ears!!! Thank you all again!

Hearty Bacon Potato Soup

It's cool out, the leaves are nearly all gone here, yet we still have green-ish grass...welcome to MN! Though I am not complaining. Madelynn's 1st birthday party, well 2 of them actually thanks to large families, is this weekend and it is going to be to GORGEOUS out 50-60's! I cannot wait (we've been in the 30-40's here lately). But with this fall weather comes some of my favorite recipes...Hearty Bacon Potato Soup being one of them. And I wanted to share with you how to make this yummy meal. We usually serve ours with homemade bread or french bread for dunking :) Enjoy!

Hearty Bacon Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 8slices bacon, cut into in 1 inch pieces
• 2cups cubed new red potatoes, cut into 1/2inch pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 8oz sour cream
• 1 1/2cup milk
• 1/4cup celery, finely chopped
• 1 can (10-3/4oz) cream of chicken soup, condensed
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp thyme

In a 3qt saucepan cook bacon over medium heat for 10mins.

Add potatoes and onions. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender (15-25mins).

Add remaining ingredients.

Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until heated through (10-15mins).

My baby girl is 1 today

I can't believe it! A whole year has past and my little Maddie Moo is a year old. Wow! Moments like these (birthdays) are so bittersweet. When Joshua turned a year old I had just (the day before) found out I was pregnant with Madelynn...I am happy (yet sad) to report that this 1st birthday I am NOT pregnant!!

Madelynn was born 11.01.2009 at 12:13 in the morning!

Today she woke up at the EXACT time to nurse and it was so lovely! I sang to her "Happy Birthday" and she hummed along as she ate-it was the best! She was up a lot last night, like the night she was born, nursing like crazy but for some reason it didn't bother me as much last night. I was with my baby girl, giving her the best I could a year later!!

Madelynn is the sweetest little 'mama' I have ever met and she is also the happiest little thing! Since she was about 4months old she has always worn a smile. It takes a lot to get her to cry (physically-blood draws, for example, don't phase her) but she is very sensitive emotionally (tell her no in a stern tone and she's crushed!)

She loves her "mama's milk", pasta, bread, eating 'big food', and baths!

She has been walking for 4 months, but only steadily and constantly the last 2. She has 5 teeth and knows 8 signs (milk, more, all-done, dad, bath, cry, sleep and hi/bye) and adores her brother-though the feeling is mutual!

Miss Maddie Moo still sleeps in a crib (this is huge as she is a MAJOR climber) yet ends up in bed with mommy and daddy come morning. Madelynn loves her carseat-usually falls asleep in it- and she will remain rear facing as long as possible (35lbs limit I believe).

But that is all I have time to say right now, my baby is one...and it is bittersweet!

Fall is here...

So fall, it should read 'Autumn', is here and now comes all the 'fun stuff' of family traditions. I say 'fun stuff' because though Dan and I have been married for 5.5 years, have had kids for 2.5years we are still working the 'kinks' out of the traditions we came from and how they will work, or not work, within our family.

Take Halloween for example...Dan grew up trick or treating, I did not. Now when I say that we don't celebrate Halloween most people assume that it is because of all the 'evil' that is associated with it. Though that may have played a small part in my mom not allowing us to celebrate Halloween the bigger reason was strangers. A stranger was described as someone who hadn’t come over to dinner, or who wouldn’t come over for dinner. Made sense to me and it has carried with me through the years. Growing up we didn’t have any neighbors on our block our age, so we weren’t friends with any one, therefore we didn’t know any of them. So we didn’t go trick or treating. It made sense to me and because it made sense I have a hard time moving past this thought when it comes to my children. How can you allow your children to take candy from a stranger ONE day a year and not expect them to do it another time?? Confusing if you ask me.

Then comes Dan’s prospective…wouldn’t it be a great way to MEET the neighbors? Is taking candy from a ‘stranger’ at Halloween any different than taking candy during a parade? That too makes sense…ugh! What do I do now?? I’m not good at this ‘make up new traditions’ thing…I like the way they were when I grew up, it made sense. Oh the joys of having your own family. J

Well, this year Dan has won and I will be taking my children trick or treating, along with my sister and her 4 children. Madelynn will be a MOO cow-fitting don’t you think?? And Joshua will be a brown bear. Though I will admit I am anxious about it, even though it’s still a week away, I know that it will be fun for them…I hope!

But I will leave you with this little poem-which is also a book!

Five little pumpkins were sitting on the gate.

The first one said, my it's getting late.

The second one said, there are witches in the air.

The third one said, ah we don't care.

The fourth one said, let's run, run, run.

The fifth one said, isn't halloween fun?

Then OOOOOOO went the wind, out went the lights and those 5 little pumpkins ran out of sight.

What's Happening?!?!

My house is a mess, my cupboards are bare and we move out on Sunday!! I'm so not liking this 'limbo' stage of moving...SO ready for next Wednesday when we will be in our new place and most of my stuff unpacked-I'm a little crazy! Our last move I had my ENTIRE house decorated and every box empty in 3days!!! Perhaps I am a little more crazy than just a little :)

I want to highlight some new, or not new, things that is going on with the kids before our move. We will be internet less for a few days so I want to do a final entry before then. Here's what's going on with the kiddos :D

*****MADELYNN*****

*is walking more and more BUT only when SHE decides she wants to. If I put him her on the spot to 'perform' then she won't do any new tricks :) She's such a stinker!!

*has decided that it is more fun to boycott homemade baby food and much better to try and eat with her hands foods that she can pick up. Now this is usually the cleaner method, I would rather just feed her things that I have made myself and pureed for her. Thankfully she's a nursing champ and would rather nurse more often than not.

*still does NOT have any teeth. She's not really showing signs of teething other than chewing on things and she continues to be such a happy little girl.

*can sign 'milk', 'hi', and 'dad'! Whenever she gets tired she signs 'milk' as she is always nursed before being laid down. She's getting more forceful in her requests so we have started to work on breastfeeding etiquette...something a 9month, nearly 10month old, doesn't quiet get...yet!

*gives the sweetest kisses EVER!

*****JOSHUA*****

*just transitioned from his crib to a toddler bed. It's been a rough road but everyday we are getting better. I didn't want to do it before the move, but we were unable to keep him in his crib and it became a safety issues so it had to be done. Tonight will be day 4 in this toddler bed...and I pray that he does what he did last night, or better (last night, 3 times out of bed and only 6mins of crying before he was asleep @8:15pm)

*is still addicted to his pacifiers, he calls them 'bees', and still sleeps with 1 in his mouth, 1 in his left hand and 1 in his right...3total.

*has kicked this 'attitude' into hyper-drive and now rolls his eyes, stomps his feet, crosses his arms and throws mini tantrums...thank you cousins! Oh how I do not like it when my kids pick up things from other children.

*is having a really hard time with his 4th-2year molar and it has been 'stuck' halfway in for a while now. Since it is giving him such a hard time he is back to being a biter :( Fortunately *I* am the only one he bites and has not bitten anyone else, never has, just me!

*is a lover of A-1 sauce, frozen peas, cooking, and baths!!

*loves to watch Signing Time!, The Wiggles, Barney, Yo Gabba Gabba, Toy Story and Jack's Big Music Show! The sad thing is that we'll be loosing some of these shows when we move as we will no longer have cable :( but are excited to get back to the 'basics'

Wordless Wednesday

Well it isn't completely wordless, but still...sorry for the lack of posting, life is a little crazy here as we get closer to our move (1.5weeks!!)

I have to share this photo with you...my sweet, sweet boy...