Freecycle, Baby!

I had a great lunch with the girls (you know who you are, girls) and was reminded I'm not writing as much as I should. Writing is hard work!! We had a great lunch in a new restaurant on Western Ave called Cafe Nova. Super Chic! I loved the atmosphere.

You know I'm a Freecycler, right? Well, I've given a few little, pretty unvaluable things away on Freecycle over the last year. Last week I cleaned out the little one's closet and put aside for Freecycle some clothes that I didn't think were worth saving. I posted them and had an immediate answer from someone about to be a grandma that wanted the clothes.

While I was waiting for the grandma to come pick them up, I thought and thought about the big box of gorgeous baby clothes in the garage waiting for me to come up with the time to Ebay them. I simply don't have time to Ebay anything and I just really wanted the clothes to go to someone who would especially appreciate them. Not certain that a stranger from Freecycle would be as grateful as I thought they should be (would they cry, or at least sniffle with appreciation?) I struggled with keeping them in the garage, benefitting no one, or giving them to this expectant grandma. Finally, I drug them to the front door to hand over. But, very sneakily, I hid them around the corner until I saw her to decide to give them up. Why, I don't know!! It had to be somebody that really needed them!

Well, I gave them up and I hope the new baby and family enjoy them as much as I did. I took a lot of pride in dressing Daniel everyday in a special outfit that came from friends, family, and of course, the sale rack at Dillards!

All of this to say that yesterday I posted a wanted ad on Freecycle for a stroller. I have the umbrella kind which is good for airports only. And I also have this big big stroller that is a combo with an infant carseat. Daniel has outgrown the carseat and the stroller is just a bit big for our needs now, so I asked the Freecycle world for a stroller of medium size with two cup holders and a basket. It's free, might as well be picky. Well, I got a response just a few hours later from a mom offering me her stroller that she barely ever used! I went and picked it up tonight and it is great. So cool! I'm going to Freecycle the old carseat and stroller combo for someone else now.

Big News! Aaron has a new friend!! Most of you know about B, Aaron's best friend in the whole world. B is okay but I'm so happy that Aaron has found James, a boy from school that also lives within walking distance. They have spent a couple of afternoons together at James' house and now Aaron gets up early all by himself to ride the bus to school with James. Soon, I hope to have James over to get to know him a little better. Of course, Aaron is still best buds with B. That may never change. I'm just glad to see him broaden his horizons.

Here are some pics of exactly what my family is doing right now (10:35pm, Friday night):


Daniel is sleeping in his bed. He fell asleep in the car on the way home from eating, thus no pajamas. He has one single sock on and no covers which is how he ends up no matter how many times we fix him.






Lucas is in his "bed" on the couch, clearly not sleeping. He has been relegated to the couch for the last several nights because his new game is to laugh and carry on to wake up Daniel.







And where is Aaron?? B's house, of course. It is Friday night so he is with his buddy. But we can still derive some information from this telling shot. This is the "picked up" version of his room...since everything you see on his bed started out on the floor, how can I argue?





Here's 3boyzdad, still drinking coffee. It's never too late for a cup of Joe!! Notice, shoes and socks still on, shirt still tucked in, completely together until time for bed. Sometimes I come home and put my PJs on at 6pm. Not him, no way.






Domino had her kittens about 3 weeks ago. This picture doesn't really show off how sweet they are. She had them in a box of toys in the garage one day. They were so precariously situated in the box I was afraid they would fall between the toys. So, I set her up in my bathroom with litter, food, water and a cozy blanket. She stayed there with them for a little over a week, I would say. Then, she moved them. Where to, you ask? My closet, of course. They are just beginning to walk.

Today I was thinking about how much I love not working. I won't say "staying home" because that isn't exactly what I do. This afternoon while I was watering my flowers, making my garden grow, I was just feeling so happy and grateful that I'm able to take this time off from work. It was sunny and warm and I could literally sit and count rose buds if I wanted to. So relaxing! I know it won't last, which probably makes me appreciate it even more.

I've been working out two days per week at the gym and there are signs up all over the place to "Get your free session with a personal trainer!" So, I got it, which did not include any exercise, just talking about my sedentary lifestyle, lack of daily vitamins and drive thru eating habits. Tomorrow I have my first actual workout with a personal trainer. He's a cutie...Hey, if looking forward to seeing the cutie helps me to work out regularly....I'm there! Supposedly, I am to throw out my scales and we are only going to manage body fat and inches. I'm going to be soooo buff!! I can't wait. We are also supposed to take before and after pics. If I lose the weight, I'll post the pics on the blog.

This evening I saw my neighbor, A, sitting out on her bench. She is an outdoor smoker so I went over to chat. She is a hoot and we talked for a couple of hours, I bet. The most hilarious story came out of it. She said our other neighbor directly across the street, (Mrs. B, the neighborhood watch system) reported to her recently that she had watched Lucas dig a hole in A's yard. This is entirely possible, I have no idea if he did or not. As I listened to the story I interjected that I would fill it with dirt if she needed me to. She told me to hang on till the end, when Mrs. B also reported that she later saw me over there filling the hole up. HA. That is hilarious, as I didn't even know there was a hole, much less tried to cover it up. Mrs. B came back to A the following day to report that another neighbor corroborated her story. ?? This is bordering on disturbing now, right? I never saw a hole or tried to cover a hole and two people saw me do it? This situation can really enlighten us when it comes to "Eyewitness" testimony!


Daniel had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was a great party, couldn't have been better. He had so much fun playing with the toys and people. He ate his first birthday cake and had a little birthday cake-goat tee beard. Then came the hangover. You know there is always a hangover that follows every party, right? Well, let's just say he had a tummy ache for a week afterwards. Too much party for that little guy! So funny. He is doing great now. Truthfully, he is also teething like crazy, and that may have been more to blame than his shamelss cake eating.