What happens when you eat applesauce with your hands?

Christmas 09

Spike the dinosaur was a big hit. Merry Christmas to everyone and best
wishes for the New Year.

Santa Pictures!

Why do we think that kids like Santa?

Happy Birthday, Jack!

We can hardly believe our little man is 3!

Three years ago today we were enjoying our tiny baby boy in a hospital in Bitburg, Germany. And now he's a rambunctious, moody, talkative, hilarious, lovable boy.

Jack is trying very hard to prove the old wives tale that three is actually worse than "terrible two." To put it mildly, he's been very difficult lately. But, in the midst of testing boundaries and working our nerves, he remains charming and sweet. (Thank god, or we might give him away. Just kidding!)

Jack loves "school" two days a week and talks my ear off on the drive home about his friends and "craps" (crafts). When we're playing at home, he likes to drive his Lightning McQueen car (an early birthday and Christmas present from Memere and Papa Lou), play with puzzles, crash matchbox cars and read books. He continues to have mixed emotions about Ellie - in one moment annoyed that she is trying to play along with him but the next saying "I wuvs zhu, Ewwie" and giving her a hug.

In true birthday spirit, Jack sang to himself all day. Here's one performance for your enjoyment.



Happy Birthday, Jack! We love you!

An Official Announcement. Sort of.

As if it wasn't already clear, I suck at maintaining this blog. The Shopping Mama just takes all the computer time I have. And more, actually. I'd love to update this as often as I used to, but at this point it's not realistic. I have deadlines and responsibilities on the other blog (and Twitter and Facebook and the ShopAtHome.com blog) so all that usually takes priority.

The good news is that I often post about the kids - like Jack's soccer photos, Ellie's birthday party and funny things toddlers say - so when you want an Adventures of the Lord Family fix, check out The Shopping Mama. You never know, you might discover some awesome kids' toys, find something fun to buy or win something. Cheyenne did!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Jack & Ellie!

Away we go!!!

Five Fat Turkeys - a Thanksgiving Production

Jack's pre-school class "performed" a song at today's Thanksgiving Luncheon. It's hysterical. Jack was very eager to sing, as evidenced by his announcement he's ready to sing and the fact that he started singing before the music started.

Enjoy!



And, Saturday is Ellie's first birthday party! She turned one on Monday and I've been so busy since that I haven't updated this blog. The other has totally taken over. So, if you'd like to see how she spent her big day, check out this post on The Shopping Mama. And then Sunday Kevin and I hit the waters for a "media" preview cruise on The Oasis of the Seas. It's the new Royal Carribean boat and it's the largest cruise ship ever. We only have to pay for Kevin's flight there and everything else is covered. Ca-razy! I'll update when we get home.

More football

Watching the Tampa-Green Bay game. Tampa is 0-8, but the tickets
were free

Tampa Bay Football Game

More Ellie Walking!

Ellie is walking more and more every day. It's pretty amazing, actually. Here's some video from tonight of our little one strutting her stuff!

Just a little warning to the grandmothers - there are a couple spills. But, she's fine. She falls all the time.

Baby Steps

Southern Boy?

You know how people say Florida isn't really the south? Well, apparently Jack didn't get the memo. He has been saying a couple words with the most ridiculous southern accent. I think it's exaggerated for our benefit because we crack up and make him repeat words over and over again until we're hysterical.

Here's an example of one of our favorites - "down" - from an interview with Lightning McQueen.

"Uh Oh"

Ellie says a couple words but never seems to say them on command. What is that about? I did manage to catch her favorite phrase "Uh oh" the other day. Enjoy!

11 Months Old

Here are some photos of Ellie from yesterday! I can hardly believe she will be a year old in one short month. She's funny and into everything. She literally spends all day long pulling things off shelves and out of drawers. The positive is that she's really good at playing on her own. When she's not in the mood, Jack is always around to "occupy her" as he says.

Ellie now has 3 teeth: her two bottom teeth and one incisor. When that thing grows she's gonna look ridiculous. I think she's just trying to keep up with the times and heard that vampires are in.

Likes: Food, dancing!, taking 5 steps, speed crawling, climbing, the boob, sippy cup, high fives, saying "Uh oh."

Dislikes: Diaper changes, when people take away food, sitting in high chair for too long, sleeping anywhere but her bed.
As you can see, her hair is strawberry blondish light brownish and her eyes are still blue. And the cheeks are remain large and in charge.More pictures!

Not script Ohio, but stil cool.

We are Lucky

I have some 11 month photos of Ellie to share, and I will try to edit and upload them during nap this afternoon.

All I can think about at this moment is how completely lucky we are. Our little family is healthy and happy. We have two beautiful children who were born without complication. They grow and amaze us every day.

Others are not so lucky. The small F16 community has had more than its fair share of loss lately. While I don't any of these families personally, I feel like I do. The community is small - each is a friend of a friend. And because of the unique challenges of Kevin's line of work I feel an immediate bond for others in the same position.

Please send love, good thoughts and prayers:
(You can click on the name to read the family's blog or the relevant news article.)

The Sullivan Family: On September 22, 16 days after delivering a healthy baby girl, Sara Sullivan lost her battle with cancer. Brady and baby Chloe are adjusting to life without his wife and her mom. Here's a news story, too: Breast Cancer Claims Young Mom (Thanks for that link, Lesli.)

The Giglio Family: Captain Nicholas Giglio of Shaw Air Force base was involved in a mid-air collision on Thursday. Thankfully, the other pilot involved was able to land safely. Capt Giglio is still missing.

The Friedman Family: Katie died yesterday shortly after delivering a healthy baby boy. Her husband flies F-16s at Aviano (Italy), he went to the Academy with Kevin and now has two young boys to care for alone.

Now that I've thoroughly depressed us all, I'm going to hug my kids.

Future Models?

Obviously! And their time has arrived.

Like a giant loser, I've entered Jack and Ellie in the Gap Casting Call. But, hell, you get a coupon code just for entering so why not?

So while you're over there entering your own little one, can you throw a vote or two our direction?

CLICK TO VOTE FOR JACK & ELLIE

You can vote once a day until November 17. (That is code for bookmark the page and return every morning to vote for the Lord kids.)

I can submit a couple more photos. Do you have a recent favorite of either kid I should include?

Meet Nemo

To say that Jack enjoyed Disney World would be a major understatement. But of all the characters we met, rides we rode and shows we saw one is a clear favorite. The Finding Nemo Musical. How do I know it's his favorite, you ask?

Exhibit 1: This video of Jack, I mean "Nemo", singing "Big Blue World" from the musical and then telling me our names.



In case you missed it, Jack goes by the name "Nemo", Ellie is "Dori", I am "Mr. Ray" and Kevin is "Mr. Shark" - all characters from Finding Nemo.

Exhibit 2: School yesterday. Hysterical. Kevin took Jack to school in the morning. When he was preparing to leave the teacher said, "Jack say goodbye to your dad" (because, as usual, Jack had run off to play with not a care in the world). Jack said, "I'm Nemo!" to his teacher and turned to Kevin and said, "Goodbye Mr. Shark!"

It was more of the same when I picked him up. As all the other children we squealing "Mom!", my son saw me and yelled "Mr. Ray!" as he came bounding toward me for a hug. His teacher must have been corrected enough throughout the morning because she correctly said, "Goodbye Nemo" as we left.

This isn't the first time we all have to go by character names. For a while, I was always "Sally" to Jack's "Lightning" (Cars). And sometimes he is "Alex the Lion," I am "Gloria," Kevin is "Melman," and Ellie is "Moto Moto" (the fat hippo ha ha!) from Madagascar.

Oh, and when we were at Disney there was one day we were all princesses. Jack was "Aurora," my mom was "Cinderella," I was "Belle," and Kevin was "Prince Charming." Who was Ellie? "Princess Castle Sidewalk." I kid you not. I could not make this stuff up if I tried.

In any event, even with all the imaginary play and names we have had over the past couple months none have stuck quite like Nemo.

Phew, this was long. I'm off to make Nemo's breakfast.

Disney World Pictures

The trip was awesome, the buffets were even awesomer, and Jacks reactions to all the festivities was the awesomest. We are looking forward to our next family adventure.

Figured a little slide show would be a lot more interesting then just normal pictures.

Boy's Weekend

Kate is on her way to Vegas. She has only been gone for an hour and I
am already reverting to survival mode... Which means he wants to watch
Cars with his fancy headphones. At least I was able to get my iPhone
out of his hands for three mintues to make this post. Wish me luck to
survive without Kate and wish Kate luck at the big expo.

It's Not Possible...

for them to be any stinkin' cuter.

And just ignore that little scab on Ellie's face. She, um, had an incident the other day. What else is new? Oh, I'll tell you actually - she took two steps last weekend! I maintain that she is no where near actually walking. She is just brave, has no fear and tries to walk. Sometimes she gets lucky and gets a step or two in and sometimes she lands square on her butt in a second flat.

Jack started school last week and is loving it. I just love our conversations on the car ride home when I pick him up because he has all sorts of stories to tell. My favorite Jack moment recently was last Sunday. We were watching tennis and cheering, saying things like "Hit the ball! Go! Yay!" Well, after a whiff or missed point or something Jack said, "He not hit the ball. Dat's a bad choice. Dat's not a good choice." Clearly he's picked up something I've said when disciplining him and telling him something "is not a good choice."

Go Bucks!

Ellie's dressed up for the season opener and she's recently started dancing. In other words, this is quite a cute little video.



I think it's important you know that as I type this, Ellie is slurping up spilled juice off of her high chair tray. We're trying to get her used to a sippy cup. Apparently, it is easier to spill the contents of the cup on the tray and press her face into the tray. Always the lady, that Ellie.

Hungry Hippo

Here's a quick video of Ellie's impression of a hungry, hungry hippo. Or a vaccum cleaner. Yes, she is sucking up pieces of banana off her plate rather than wasting the time on the extra step involving her hands.

(Ignore the background noise - we were having fun with the Krols!)






So lady like. Not. She must be going through a growth spurt because she's been eating more than her father for the past couple days.

9 Months Old!

Miss Elizabeth turned 9 months old on Saturday! I can't believe she'll be one year old in three short months. She is, well, ridiculous. She continues to adore her big brother and has really started to try to play with him lately. She will just crawl around behind him and grab at the toys he's playing with. Jack alternates between ignoring her and getting utterly annoyed that the "Ellie Monster" is touching his toys.

Ellie weighs about 19 pounds, which might not sound like much, but Jack didn't weigh that until he was nearly a year old. She's a very good eater and has been tasting a lot of our table food if I cut it into small pieces. She still doesn't have any teeth, though. She may need dentures, apparently. She is addicted to those Gerber Puffs and will cruise along the coffee table if you place the Puffs like a trail to bribe her. But, seriously, if she's fussy, she calms the instant she sees the Puffs. It's hysterical in a my-child-is-food-obsessed kind of way.So, here's what you're all waiting for... the photos! Sadly, I really don't have a good picture with the "I'm 9 Months Old Today" sign. Yet. We'll cheat and try again when Kevin is around to help out.

All dressed up for her big photos and all she got out of it was a knot under her eye. Poor thing was on the losing end of a run in with the coffee table. I was terrified it was going to turn hugely black and blue but thankfully it didn't and actually looks almost normal now.

Dam, that's a big dam.

Hoover dam chillin with my parents.

Fountains of Fun

We were in search of something a little different tonight so we hit the fountains at Grand Boulevard in Sandestin. It was awesome! The shopping area itself is super fancy and there are lots of nice restaurants. We looked super classy showing up Saturday night with half naked kids to play in the fountains. But, whatever... it was totally worth it. Both kids had a total blast.

Ellie even got into the fun!
Showing off her new favorite trick - clapping!
Jack brought his new dump truck, that he has creatively named "Dumpy."
I love how totally adventurous he is in the fountains this year. Last year he was a little timid and not so into it. Now, he runs around like a wild man and has a great time.

Sasa's Here!

Sasa / Mama Lisa / My mom arrived Wednesday and we've been having loads of fun. Jack and Ellie are really enjoying the extra attention and love. We're going to miss her after she goes home tomorrow.

Here are a couple pictures from our trip to Seaside today.

Happy Birthday Kate!

Happy Birthday Kate! Today is Kate's birthday and for the third year in a row the Air Force has sent me away for her birthday. But I am sure Kate is staying busy with the kids and her mom and she has assured me that she will celebrate her birthday with a shopping spree at the outlet mall. In honor of Kate's birthday here is a picture of her on her very first birthday.

If you have a chance drop a line and wish Kate a Happy Birthday.

Another Project Down

So I finally had enough with the carpet and decided it was time for a change. So with the help of some friends (Aneel and Jason) I was able to remove all the carpet and tile from a good portion of the house and have Pergo installed. Check it out...

View from the Florida room looking at the dining room and entry way.The entry way from the dining room.

Lastly, the tv mounted on the wall with the wires through the wall...just for Louie.

Help a Mama Out

If you're not reading The Shopping Mama, now's the time to start. If you're reading The Shopping Mama but not entering giveaways, now's the time to start. I'm participating in a Get Cool for School giveaway bash with 7 other blogs and we have some AMAZING prizes up for grabs.

All the giveaways are open for entrants on all 8 blogs, which does mean your chances of winning aren't as high as usual. But I'm listing 2 new prize packages every single day for the next two weeks!

Here's why I'm begging asking for your support. The giveaway entry form keeps track of who entered from what blog. I am the newest blog participating and while I've obtained some good sponsors (think Stephen Joseph Gifts!) I really want to pull my weight and show them The Shopping Mama is a good, influential blog.

So head over and enter the Get Cool for School GRAND PRIZE Package giveaway today. Valued at over $600, it includes a $400 gift certificate to buy fall/winter coats, See Kai Run shoes, Stephen Joseph rolling backpack or luggage, clothes and MORE! Click here to enter all the Get Cool for School giveaways!


Other upcoming prizes include a PlasmaCar, a Keurig Platinum Brewer (and if you don't win that one, I'm giving one away on The Shopping Mama later this month!), Radio Flyer wagon, gift certificates to The Container Store and The Children's Place and tons more! There's seriously something for everyone.

It's been a while since I've posted about The Shopping Mama blog and things have changed as it's grown way bigger than I imagined. But, ask away if you're curious about anything or about how it works!

Not Sure What to Call This Post

So we debated whether or not to share this video... It's kind of crazy!

You may remember The Shopping Dada's Drifire review on The Shopping Mama? Well, the PR company for Drifire asked us to take video of each other answering some questions. They sent us a video camera and a list of questions. We recorded one another talking and returned the camera.

Here's the result. Don't make fun of us!


What do you think? I think I could have at least styled my damn hair. I also think my name is funny. Oh well.

I'm On A Boat

Curb Appeal

We totally sucked at documenting the awesome update to the front yard so you will have to take my word for it when I tell you that the new look is a major improvement.

Before: The front yard featured totally dated and overgrown hedges on either side of the front door. The hedges were so high that they blocked nearly half the lower window pane. Really, I've hated them since the day we moved it.

During: For some reason recently we started talking about updating the front yard. We discussed paying someone to pull out the hedges for us and were waffling about what to do. Kevin jumped full on on board the front yard renovation when a friend suggested he use the Tahoe to pull out the hedges. Man fun. So, ya, our friend Cas helped Kevin tie rope from the trailer hitch to around the plants. Kevin put it in drive and RIP! The hedges came right out. It was great fun and actually very effective.

After: Super simple, but we love it. It opens up the front of the house quite a bit. It's basically the same Camellia bush, two Japanese Holly, a Sabo Palm and lots of Aztec Grass. So, here it is... what do you think?


(And, yes, we know half our grass is freaking dead. It's stupid Florida centipede grass. We're working on it.)

Eight Months Old!

Little Ellie Belly is 8 Months Old! Well, actually 8 months and two days. We're such slackers! It was much easier to be punctual on the monthly photos with our first kiddo (and before The Shopping Mama blog).

Let's see... what can we tell you about Elizabeth. It can pretty much be summed up in two words: sweet and stinky. She is genuinely sweet (most of the time) and pretty darn laid back, even when Jack is shoving his hands in her mouth or "showing baby wuv." But, man, is she ever stinky! Seriously, the girl sweats like her father. She is literally drenched when she wakes from a nap and it's all a little smelly. Good thing she's cute.

Ellie was sleeping through the night - for about a week - but has decided that was just too boring. She's a very good eater and, if anything, I suck for not introducing more exciting options more often.

And a few more photos.
Exploring.

Crawling.
Hair.
Lounging.