Southern Domestic Goddess

How are you decorating your house this year?

2009-11-10T08:05:00.001-05:00

Like the one on the left or the right? LOL

Let's add this to my ever-growing list ...

2009-11-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

...of reasons I hate doctors.

Jackson and I have been in Alabama visiting my family for the last few weeks. While we were there, my grandmother (Nanny) had knee replacement surgery. She is doing well and was moved to the rehabilitation center today.

I would still be there with her, but we had to come home because Jackson has speech therapy. They insisted that if he didn't have an appointment for three weeks that they would take him out of the system and make us start over with the referrals and evaluations (which took about a month last time). So we made an appointment for today (and 6 more throughout November) and drove 5 hours back to Georgia yesterday afternoon.

This morning we got up, got ready, and drove the 45 minutes to our therapists office only to be told that Jackson no longer had an appointment there. Our speech therapist QUIT 2 weeks ago and was supposed to call and tell us that, but she obviously DIDN'T. They don't have a new therapist yet, but when they do, they'll call and let us schedule new appointments.

I was so mad when the receptionist told me this that I almost cried because I was trying to keep from screaming at her. I kept telling myself that it wasn't her fault that the therapist hadn't done her job, but really? It kind of was. I mean, when someone quits, you can't expect them to care that much about what they are leaving behind. Shouldn't someone from the practice have called the patients just in case?

She said she was sorry that she "inconvenienced" me, but it was a bit more than that (even though I know she couldn't have known all of the story). If it wasn't for this appointment that they insisted was so damn important, I would have been able to spend a few more days with Nanny while she was in the hospital.

I am so pissed right now that I could just scream!

Handmade Toddler Christmas Gift

2009-11-06T04:21:00.002-05:00

I am making a few handmade Christmas gifts for Jackson that I want to share with you. The first one that I did are Alphabet Bean Bags which I have seen people use for many activities in Tot School. These were super easy to make! All you need are some scraps of fabric, iron-on letters, and beans or rice.

Hopefully I will be posting some more ideas soon!
If you have any ideas to share, put a link in the comments and I will check it out!

TMI Thursday: Strip Club Surprise

2009-11-05T02:14:00.002-05:00

Join us all in humiliating the crap out of yourself every Thursday by sharing some completely tasteless, wholly unclassy, "how many readers can I estrange THIS week??" TMI story about your life. Or hell, about someone else's!

The other night my husband and I started talking about strip clubs. Somehow he was surprised to learn that I would *not* like to go to one. It's not that I have a problem with seeing people naked, it's more that I am easily embarrassed and would be too busy worrying that someone would try to touch me, try to convince me to get a lapdance, or worse. (Before you tell me I'm being ridiculous, let me point out that I have read many of *your* TMI strip club stories and now have a fear of being teabagged in front of an audience).

Also I pointed out that I just don't think I could feel comfortable there because of the germs. Now, I'm not generally a germaphobe, but still. All the talk of strippers picking up items with their vaginas just has me freaked out. To which my husband replied...

"It's like going to Sea World. If you want to see the show, you just have to know that you might get splashed."

A few weeks later, my husband (a Navy submariner) left on deployment. A couple of days into their deployment they stopped and were allowed to leave the boat for a few hours. Most of the guys just went out to dinner since they didn't have much time, but some of them went out to a strip club. They were having fun and Ben (yes that's a pseudonym, and no, not my husband) was even getting a lap dance.

It was all great and wonderful until the stripper leaned over and squirted breastmilk all over his face.

And that? Is why I'll never go to a strip club.

WW: Fall Fun!

2009-11-04T04:13:00.002-05:00

We took A LOT of pictures this week. Here is Jackson in his new cowboy PJ's...

Here he is warming up with Aunt Jamie at a Fall Festival.And here he is in his Auburn gear for the annual Tailgate Breakfast at our church!

Of course Nanny was in her Auburn gear too!

BookSwim Giveaway Winner and Coupon Code

2009-11-03T03:59:00.001-05:00

The WINNER of the BookSwim giveaway is

SabbieBee

who said...
Books have been my best friend since I was small. I remember reading the Bobsey Twins, the Ramona Quimby books and many more. I couldn't wait to go to the library at school or in the summer head to the Public libray. One book I remember the most is a book called Mandy about an orphan and a little secret cottage.

Now I don't really have a favorite book. I JUST LOVE TO READ!!!!!

Congrats SabbieBee! Please email me at cassie at jmcgraw dot net and I will send you your code for a free 3 month membership!

Bummed that you didn't win? Don't forget that you can use the following coupon code for $10 off your membership (That's one month free on the light reader plan!!)
Coupon code: SOUTHERDOMESTICGODDESS10

Thank you so much to BookSwim for sponsoring this giveaway.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T02:10:00.001-04:00

Tot School: Halloween edition

2009-10-29T04:50:00.001-04:00

Jackson is 16 months old.

This week in Tot School we focused on Halloween!

We read I See a Monster (A touch & feel book), Clifford's First Halloween, Ten Little Mummies, and Where is Baby's Pumpkin?

We played with our monster puppet

(a great find from the dollar section at Target).

We made a handprint spider.
(I've seen these all over the place and all I can say is
black paint & toddlers do not mix! I don't care how "washable" the stuff is!)

We made footprint ghosts (much easier and less messy than the spiders!)

We sang "If you're a ghost and you know it": (found here)
(to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it")

If you're a ghost and you know it,
Then say "Boo!"
If you're a ghost and you know it,
Then say "Boo!
If you're a ghost and you know it,
and you really want to show it
If you're a ghost and you know it,
say Boo!

Additional verses:
If you're a cat and you know it, then say "Meow"
If you're a bat and you know it, then flap your wings
If you're a skeleton and you know it, then shake your bones

This post was also submitted to Learning through Love.

WW: ROAR!

2009-10-28T04:04:00.001-04:00

My mummy says I'm sweeter than this candy

2009-10-25T17:31:00.003-04:00

My aunt getting Jackson ready for church this morning :)

Tot School: L is for Leaf

2009-10-22T04:58:00.005-04:00

Jackson is 16 months old.

This week we did a leaf theme this week.

We went on a nature walk to gather leaves, then made some of them into a collage.

Handprint fall tree with finger paint.

Jackson enjoyed using the foam pumpkin stickers last week so much that I went back and got the leaf stickers too. I put glue on the paper in an L shape and he pressed the pieces of paper down on the glue for this picture.

We read Fall Leaves Fall! and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (mostly we just looked at the pictures and talked about them! The stories were a little too long for his attention span).

Fingerplay: (found here)
Little leaves fall gently down
Red and yellow, orange and brown (flutter hands as leaves falling)
Whirling Whirling around and around (turn around)
Quietly without a sound (put finger to lips)
Falling softly to the ground (begin to fall slowly)
Down and down and down and down (lie on floor)

Other skills:
This week we worked on putting his rings on and off of the stacker and putting his shapes in and out of his shape sorter (with the lid off...we tried with the lid on and he just got really frustrated). He did really well! Next week we are going to work on stacking and lining his blocks instead of just throwing them around the room!
We also went to the Hands-on Children's Museum. (I posted about this yesterday, check it out here).

This post was also submitted to Learning through Love.

WW: Children's Museum

2009-10-21T00:11:00.000-04:00

We took a trip to the Hands-on Children's Museum. There was so much to do! We will have to go back soon. These are just some of the things Jackson did...

He played in the kitchen...

and in the castle...
and in the grocery store! and in the baby ball pit...(that was his favorite!)

Thanks for stopping by! And don't forget to enter my giveaway for a 3-month membership to BookSwim, the Netflix for books!

BookSwim 3 month membership GIVEAWAY! (and coupon code)

2009-10-20T01:05:00.002-04:00

I am so excited about BookSwim, the new website that is like the Netflix for books! I'm sure if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know I read ALL the time. I love finding new books and new authors, but I hate not being able to find the books I want at my local library, or having to wait weeks for books that I've put on hold! And I refuse to pay full price for a hard back book, unless it is something really amazing.

BookSwim is the solution to that. Just like a Netflix membership, you pay a monthly fee to have books shipped to you each month (free shipping!). You keep the books as long as you like and when you return them, new books will be sent to you automatically. And if you decide you love the book, you can purchase it for a members-only used book price through the website!

Giveaway:

I am giving away a FREE 3-month membership to BookSwim!

To enter: Leave a comment below telling me something about books: your favorite book, what books are on your reading list, etc.

Additional entries: (leave separate comments for each entry!)
1. Follow me and/or subscribe to my blog.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway.

Contest ends Tuesday, November 3rd.

Coupon code:
BookSwim is offering ALL of my readers $10 off of their membership using this code: SOUTHERDOMESTICGODDESS10

Thank you so much to BookSwim for sponsoring this giveaway.

What makes you happy?

2009-10-19T09:24:00.006-04:00

A few things that make me really happy right now....

Jackson sleeping. I say this because he hasn't been sleeping well at all these last few days. He has stayed up until 1 am for the last three days in a row and hasn't been napping either. I rock him and rock him, but every time I try to put him down he just cries :( So when he does sleep, it makes me VERY happy!My new camera! I got it for my birthday and I love it. It has this smile detection feature on there where you can press a button and focus on your subject, then as soon as the subject smiles, it takes a picture (and will continue to take them each time he/she smiles until you turn it off!) I had no idea you could do such a thing, but I am so happy to have it. You dont know how many times I have tried taking pictures of Jackson and been just a second too late or too early to get a smile, and end up with 25 bad photos! Plus it is such a cute color!

Also, my new favorite TV show: Glee! I finally started watching it. It's so corny and over the top, but so fun and catchy. I just love it! And if you like Glee, you should follow Sue Sylvester on Twitter. Yes I know that is a character not a real person, but her tweets are hilarious! Like this one: Sue Sylvester just found a solitary gray hair. I'm going to find the bastard who put it there and sue him for defamation of character...

A few other things that are making me happy today:

Jackson walking.
Taco soup.
Cooler weather.
My new jacket.

So bloggy buddies....what is making you happy today?

Walking

2009-10-18T14:14:00.000-04:00

This is the best video that I have been able to get of Jackson walking so far. He's walking more and more every day. I am so proud of him!

Decorating for Fall

2009-10-16T00:29:00.001-04:00

Last year I was in such a funk that I didn't decorate for any holiday all year long. I was such a Grinch! (I was also sleep deprived from having a baby with colic and hated the super small apartment that we were living in!) But this year I'm so excited by all of the holidays coming up. Here are a few of the decorations that I've put up so far. (I haven't even tackled the holiday boxes in the storage space yet...I might just wait for Christmas to bother with those!)

Tot School: P is for Pumpkin

2009-10-15T00:20:00.002-04:00

Jackson is 16 months old.

We did a lot of pumpkin activities this week! We talked about pumpkins, the color orange, and the letter P.

We read "Where is Baby's Pumpkin" by Karen Katz.

He made a pumpkin patch with foam stickers. I got a huge thing of them at Walmart for $5. We made a pumpkin patch for all the grandparents! I got this idea from Little Moments.

He made handprint pumpkins.
He sponge-painted some P's.

He had a pumpkin/orange-themed dinner.Sweet potato jack-o-lantern, pumpkin shaped grilled cheese, & orange pudding (sugar free vanilla pudding w/food coloring).

And of course, we visited the pumpkin patch!

WW: Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-14T03:23:00.001-04:00

Fisher Price Review & Coupon: $20 off!

2009-10-13T07:32:00.000-04:00

The Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table is an interactive learning table that teaches letters, numbers, counting, colors, shapes, more. It has settings for both English and Spanish. The table has a variety of music--from sing-a-long songs to instrumental sounds. This toy is recommended for children 6 months to 3 years old. Jackson LOVES this toy. It is one of the only toys he has that keeps his attention for a long period of time, and no matter what he is playing with, he will keep going back to the music table throughout the day. I like it because the music isn't as annoying as the music on many of his other toys!

The Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony™ is a fun toy that hooks up to the TV. There is a wireless connection that allows your child's movements on the pony to change the music and scenes on the TV. There are 3 levels. Level 1 teaches action and reaction, level 2 teaches letters and numbers, and level 3 teaches game play, word recognition, and counting. This toy is recommended for children 12 months to 3 years old.

Jackson has been playing on level 1 and he loves the farm animals! They sing and make lots of sounds that really keep his attention. He hasn't really figured out how to bounce on it quite yet, but he loves using the rolling thing on the pony's head to change the music.

Just in time for Christmas shopping, Fisher Price is offering my readers a special coupon! Go here to receive a coupon for $20 off your next $100.

Thank you for letting me share my honest opinion of these toys with you.
Thank you to Fisher Price for providing me with these toys to review.

Maybe he knew we were decorating for Halloween

2009-10-12T06:17:00.000-04:00

This? This is what I came home to the other day. He was sitting on my front door frame. The scariest thing is that I didn't even see him until I was unlocking the door and he was thisclose to my face! I was too scared to try to kill it, and so was my husband, so I just used the back door (TWSS!) until he went away. Well, he's still hanging out on my front porch but I'm trying to ignore him.

I wanted to put my hand up next to it so you could see how gigantic this thing really is (bigger than the palm of my hand), but I'm not quite that ~~brave~~ stupid.

Action Jackson

2009-10-09T02:19:00.001-04:00

Jackson has grown up so much in just these last two weeks! In addition to walking, he also got 2 new teeth AND weaned himself off of his pacifier (I gave it to him one day and he just threw it on the ground and never cried for it again. no pacifier fairies necessary!)

A few pictures from our time at home...

At the train show with Pop Pop.

Getting tickled by Granny.

Playing ball!
(Aunt Jamie showed him how to bounce it like a basketball and that's all he wants to do now!)

TMI Thursday: A weekend with the girls...

2009-10-08T02:07:00.001-04:00

I spent this past weekend with my college roommates. It was amazingly fun. Here are some of the quotes that I remember/wrote down.

Kristin, me, Liz, Em

Me to Kristin: I'm gonna cuddle with you later tonight ;)
...a little while later...(right before bed)...
Kristin: I've gotta fart. and poop. at the same time.
Emily: Don't shart!
Me: I changed my mind about that cuddle time.

Talking about the crotch of her panties...
Emily: "So that's why I'm not changing in front of you guys. Because no one should see that unless we're in the clutch."
Kristin: "Where the hell is the clutch? Tell me, because I don't ever want to go there with you."

Liz (i.e. the only one of them who has never seen me butt nekkid): Cassie, I wanna see your boobs.
Me: Nah. You don't want to see them, they're just not the same anymore. They're a little saggy since I had the baby.
Emily: I've always had saggy boobs. Good thing I have big nipples to compensate.

Kristin (while taking a shot): Goodbye night! I'll hear all about you tomorrow.
Liz: "It's not you, it's the fact that you don't have a penis."

And some random Emily quotes, taken completely out of context, of course.

I wanna be WILD!
I've got something funky on my finger.
I just got wet and I don't know why!

WW: A Halloween Bug

2009-10-07T02:40:00.000-04:00

Jason's aunt sent Jackson a butterfly costume for Halloween. This isn't his actual Halloween costume, but we put it on him anyway. He was not happy!

We're Home! and a birthday surprise

2009-10-05T21:19:00.006-04:00

We had a lot of fun in Alabama, but I'm glad to be home with my hubby! Jackson started walking while we were there. For the last week or so he has been taking one or two baby steps, but this weekend, he started getting up and walking all the way across the room! I am so proud of him :) Hopefully, I will have a video up soon.

My birthday is coming up in a few days! Jason's mom surprised me with a birthday lunch and cake...isn't it pretty?

They ended up feeding Jackson a lot of cake and ice cream AND Vienna sausages. So he wasn't feeling too good....

This was much, much later, AFTER he threw up all over the place. Poor thing!

Engagement Party

2009-10-02T04:31:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the pictures from the engagement party that I threw for my sister and her fiance this past weekend. For more pics, check out my sister's blog.