Run, Daddy! Run!

Charlie and I are proud to announce that Nick ran his first half marathon on Thanksgiving! He completed the race in just over 2 hours. We couldn't be there to cheer him on because it was too early and chilly for us, but we couldn't wait to give him big hugs and kisses when he got back home.

Nick has been training for this event for months now, and I have been so impressed with his dedication and drive considering he is not a runner. He has been eating healthy and working out like a mad man in order to get ready. I wish I could say that it has inspired me to get into the gym, but that's what New Year's resolutions are for, right? During his training, Nick lost 25 pounds! He weighs the same as the day we started dating nine years ago. Charlie and I love the new and improved Daddy!

Charlie giving Daddy a victory hug after the race

Ready to run!

Fun with Friends

Charlie and I had special visitors last week. My best friend, Lisa (aka - Auntie Pooh), and her daughter, Alex, came to see us last Thursday. They just moved from Miami to LA a few months ago, and it has been 5 months since we last saw them. This might not seem like a long time to most of you, but trust us, it is toooo long to go without seeing this duo.

We spent our first day together hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Pomerantz's house. There was a lot of playing, talking, singing, and eating to be had by all! Charlie and I even got to take part in Shabbat dinner. Charlie got to wear a yamaka for the first time.

Day two was spent over at Casa de Shaw. Charlie's grandma and grandpa came over to see the girls. Alex showed off all of her big girl talents to everyone. She was born March 13, 2007 and is exactly one year older than Charlie. We were all amazed by how much she can do. Alex can count to 5, name her colors and shapes, knows her animals and sounds, and can tell you some of the letters and their sounds. I am such a proud auntie! Not only is she smart, she also has the greatest personality. It nearly brought me to tears each time she asked me to "pay" with her.

Our third and final day with our friends was spent at The Wiggles concert at Gwinnett Arena. Yes, I took my 8-month-old to a concert....AND IT WAS GREAT! I had never watched The Wiggles before this weekend, and now I am hooked. Grandma Ann, Lisa, Al, Pie(Lisa's niece), Charlie, and I had a blast dancing and singing along with The Wiggles. After the concert, we went over to Lisa's brother's house for dinner. Lisa's brother, Brian, came into town from Athens to cook for us. We enjoyed a gourmet meal with everyone before we had to say goodbye.

Lisa and Al headed back to California earlier today. I have been pretty pouty all day, and I miss them already. Lisa has been my best friend for ten years now, and we have spent the last five of those years separated by distance. Our friendship has really stood the test of time if you ask me. We have experienced a lot together in ten years, but sharing motherhood with her has been the most rewarding experience. I am so fortunate to have her to guide me as I raise Charlie. I know that she is a great mom to Alex, but seeing her in action made me realize just how wonderful she is in her role as mommy. Al has turned into a beautiful little person as a result. I hope that I can be as nurturing, patient, and loving a mom to Charlie as Lisa has been to Alex.

Alex feeding Charlie some of her home cookin'

The Wiggles ROCK!!!

Auntie Pooh and Al

This video is a little dark, but you can still make out Al dancing to her favorite Wiggles song...too stinking cute!

You can see even more pictures from our fun visit on Grandpa Michael's Kodak Gallery.

Meet the Newest Super Hero

You may have heard of Captain Underpants, but he is nothing compared to Captain Diaper Head! The following is a result of a long, rainy day, a fussy baby, and a desperate mommy. In the end, baby and mommy were amused for well over 30 minutes.

TROUBLE

Now that he is crawling, Charlie is managing to get into some interesting places. Here he is attempting to eat the cord to the baby monitor...lovely!

Splishin' and a Splashin'

This kid L-O-V-E-S bath time. The mere sound of the faucet being turned on makes him go nutty. He refuses to sit in the tub. Instead, he lays on his belly and "swims" from one end to the other chasing after his toys. The more splashing the better!

Mommy, what did you do to my hair?!?

Is there an Olympic event for bath tub swimming?

My Favorite Thing

Stocking up on the essentials with the help of Coupon Mom!

I may not be Oprah, but I do have a favorite thing that I would like to share with you. As I have mentioned before, I am on a mission to save money now that we are down to one income. With the help of friends and some amazing websites, I have learned a lot about the world of coupon cutting and shopping sales. I was getting so excited about all of the coupons that I was accumulating, but at the same time I was getting overwhelmed. Each week my pile of coupons would grow and grow. I found myself spending way too much time cutting coupons and looking at store circulars. Just in the nick of time, my mom turned me onto a great website called Coupon Mom. It does all of the circular searching and coupon comparing for you. The site does have a lot of information and can be a bit intimidating at first. Below are directions to access, what I believe to be, the greatest part of the site:

• Click on the link above.


• Click on "Grocery Deals by State" in the left-hand column. You will be asked to log in or create an account. It is quick and free!


• Once in "Grocery Deals by State", click on the drop down window to choose the store and state that you do most of your grocery shopping. Click "GO".


• You will be given a list in alphabetical order of all of the sales going on in that store for the week, the percentage saved, whether or not there is a coupon available, and the price with coupon. You can also arrange the sales by each of these categories as well. For example, I put all of the sale items in order from greatest percentage saved to least.


• Then you can go through the list and click on the items that you are interested in buying.


• Once you are done, click on "Display Selected Deals" and you will see a printer friendly list of all of the items that you want to buy with a grand total for how much you will spend and the percent that you will be saving.

This site has saved me so much time and $$$, and it makes it very easy to compare stores to get the BEST possible deals. Last week, I shopped at Publix, Kroger, and Wal-Mart and saved an average of 43% on my groceries!

The site also has free e-books that are fantastic guides for coupon cutting that I recommend reading too. It is also a good idea to read through the information presented on the "Grocery Deals by State" page before looking at the sales in each store.

I hope that you find this site as beneficial as I have and that it helps you spend a little less next time you are at the store.

Eight is GREAT!

Today Charlie is 8 months old! I don't have a picture to share because he has been in his pajamas all day (see previous post). Check out the album to see updated pictures from the month of October.


The biggest change this month has been the fact that Charlie is now a crawler. This has opened up a whole new world of wonder for him and worry for us. He isn't too terribly quick since he prefers to army crawl rather than get up on his hands and knees. He will rock in place on his hands and knees, but he hasn't figured out how to put everything into motion. Nick and I have quickly realized that NOTHING is safe on the floor. It doesn't matter how many toys we have out for him to play with, he is going to be more interested in our shoes, drinks, food, etc. He is particularly interested in cords and wires. As I tried to pay some bills yesterday, I had to pull him out from under the computer table half a dozen times because he was trying to gnaw on the wires. Last night, as I was making dinner, he made his way into the kitchen to see what I was up to. It is crazy to see him move around like that. Needless to say, the baby proofing has begun.


I am so happy to report that Charlie is still sleeping very well at night and is now taking longer naps. Ever since 10/15 he has been falling asleep without my help, and he sleeps through the night until around 5:00 a.m. He eats and goes back to sleep until around 8:00 a.m. This has been great for both of us. His naps have also gone from 30 minutes to close to an hour. He is much more rested these days, and I can actually get some things done around the house.


Charlie has two more teeth. He has a grand total of six chompers now...four on the top and two on the bottom. Between the teeth and the crawling, Charlie doesn't look like a little baby any more. I have no idea how much Charlie weighs right now. He is still small compared to some of his friends, but he is wearing 9 month clothing. I don't think we will ever have a chubby baby, but he is perfect in our eyes. Nick and I often go into his nursery at night to watch him sleep. Afterwards, we talk about how fortunate we are to be his parents and how beautiful he is. Our hearts swell with pride each time we look at him, and I can't tell you how much he has changed our lives for the better. The last 8 months have flown by, but they have been the happiest time in our lives. We are blessed to have Charlie and we can't wait to see what the future will bring.

TLC

Charlie has come down with his first cold. He woke up at 1:00 this morning screaming, and I found him covered in vomit. It was so bad, that I had to give him a bath and call Nick in to help me change his sheets. He was pretty stuffed up, and I think the drainage from his nose made him throw up. I spent the rest of the night sleeping on his floor so that I could keep and eye on him. He woke up every hour or so, and would look over to see me on the floor. I would tell him that it was okay, and he would go back to sleep. He has been sneezing and coughing all day and just hasn't been himself. Poor little fella! We managed to make it eight months without any illness, so I guess it was about time. Hopefully, with rest and a lot of TLC he will get over this cold quickly and be back to himself in no time.

Halloween

Charlie had a very eventful first Halloween. We invited our playgroup pals over for a costume party at our house. Charlie was a lion. It doesn't get much cuter than eight babies dressed up in costumes! I had a lot of fun planning the party and decorating the house. The mommies feasted on Terrifying Tacos, Spooky Spanish Rice, Creepy Chips and Salsa, and had Green Slime to drink. Of course, we took a ton of pictures of the little cuties. It was a great time with our friends!

After our party, we stopped by to see Grandma and Grandpa so that they could see Charlie all dressed up. Since he can't have candy just yet, they decided he needed a Halloween present instead. Can you say spoiled?!?

I can't wait until next year when I can take him out trick-or-treating!

Party Decorations

Cutest Lion EVER!!!

Wait until you hear my roar...

The Play Group (L to R): Chloe H., Tate, Mackenzie, Charlie, Chloe A., Collin, and Matney...our friend Michael was not there for the picture :o(

Mommy and Charlie

The Pumpkin Patch

We took a family trip to Burt's Pumpkin Patch last week. Charlie had fun looking at and tasting all of the pumpkins. He was especially fond of the bark chips that the pumpkins sat on. After our trip to the pumpkin patch, we headed over to Amicalola Falls. We ate lunch at the lodge there and walked over to the top of the falls. It was a great trip.

Our little pumpkin!!!

Riding in the wheelbarrow is soooo much fun!

That's a BIG pumpkin!

These things are yummy :o)