Recovery

Whew.... the holiday's sure can wear a Mommy out. The week before Christmas I was busy working long days while trying to remember if I had everything I needed for the big day. After plenty of last minute trips to the store we officially had everything we needed, and more. It really is amazing how much extra money you can spend during the holidays, it's as if once the Christmas spirit grabs you, you could give all day long. I was excited to see how little Max would react to Christmas this year, last year he had no idea what we were all doing, but this year I knew it would be different. He caught on very quickly that there was cool stuff inside all of those wrapped gifts, and un wrapped and played like a little trooper. He even clapped once all of his presents were un wrapped, as if to congratulate us on our choices. I would say Christmas was a huge success, even though after a busy day when we asked Max if he loved Christmas he said "no mom" I let this one slide since his new favorite phrase just happens to be "no mom" I know he had fun, and is still having fun with more toys than he needs, but is sure happy to have. After Christmas I was quick to take down all the decorations that just three weeks ago I was so excited to put up, but once it is over my spirit is gone and I want my living room back. I wrestle with the tree to get the Christmas lights off and my hubby takes it to the back yard, I am just hoping I got all the ornaments off....  but with a "unique" tree like I had it would be hard to miss them, there were plenty of holes to see through. After cleaning up pine needles for the thousandth time I decided I will return to a fake tree next year, I think, that's where I am with it right now anyway. My living room looks huge, and most of the presents have found a new home, now I just have to get me back on track. I need to get back to the gym, and back into a daily routine. Maybe that can wait until after the new year..... I need something to be my new year's resolution right? Now it is time to plan our little Winter Park getaway, which is where we have decided to bring in the new year, sounds good to me! A nice soak in the hot springs will wash away all of that holiday stress, I hope.


Kelly Callahan

The Haircut

This week has flown by, between work, my birthday{yay} and play dates I am in shock that tomorrow is Friday. Today was an especially amusing day, so I decided to share. Max had his little buddy Dylan over to play {or maybe I had his Mom over to talk...} either way the boys were running around the house like mad men playing with every toy they could find. We tried to keep their focus on one thing, like building a Lego tower, or setting up all the cars on the pretend streets. But, nothing seemed to hold their attention. We were fine with that, it is always good to deal with our crazy boys together and we were happy to have our on and off again conversation. As we were looking through a cookie book to plan a day of baking we should've noticed that the boys were being a little too quiet, but we didn't, we just kept talking and planning away. After a little while the boys came up and we headed downstairs to see the mess they had made. Nothing looked too bad, then we saw the bottle. Max was drinking juice from a bottle and now the top of the nipple seemed to have disappeared.... as we looked at it we knew only scissors could have done this. Sure enough, in a little medical baby kit that I had bought when Max was first born there was a little pair of safety scissors, how Dylan found this I will never know {they were calling his name} We let Dylan know that we don't play with scissors and quickly move on.We finish cleaning up the toys and say goodbye to our friends. Max sits down to watch a show and I start dinner....then Daddy comes home and is wondering what is all over Max's sweatshirt....looks like hair..... uh-oh.... looks like Dylan cut Max's hair.....wow, how did I not see this before. I really need to look more closely at my child, because this was pretty obvious{okay REALLY obvious}, and I was totally oblivious to it. As we look closer there are a ton of bald spots all over his head. I call my friend to let her know and we both get a good laugh out of it, she says sorry, which isn't necessary, since I apparently provided the scissors. I guess from now on I need to work on my child proofing skills. I had forgotten about the set, and was totally un aware that it came with scissors, I figured it just had a baby brush and a boogie sucker {you know what I mean} but no, I left scissors in my child's room, way to go mom. After a buzz cut and a shower we are back to normal, just with a little less hair, but hair grows back. I figure we all learn lessons everyday and today I learned to pay more attention.... bad,bad mommy.

Kelly Callahan

My New Tree

For as long as I can remember the day after Thanksgiving was the day we brought out the big boxes. Were these presents or treats? No, it was our tree. Now our tree did not look too glamorous in its box, but as soon as you matched up all the colors and spread the branches about a thousand times you ended up with a perfect little pine tree. Now, I have realized that not all trees are created equal, and apparently a lot of people already know this. My employer was nice enough to get me a fresh tree from the mountains. I don't really know what was in my head {most likely it looked a lot like my perfectly shaped fake tree} but lets just say the tree did not match my mental picture. The funny thing? People made comments to me about how great of a tree this was,how hard it was to find one "like this",  so I took it home to set it up. Turns out trees don't grow perfectly straight, or perfectly shaped {go figure} It took us about an hour just to get the tree to look somewhat straight{ did I mention I don't get home from work until 9pm?}. I then did my best to wrap around the lights and hung a few ornaments. I figured I would leave the rest until the next morning since it was getting late. As I came upstairs the next morning I saw a sad sight, my poor tree was slumped against the wall, all that hard work and the damn thing didn't even want to be kinda straight. I mess around with it for awhile and finally get it back to how it was {I think} I finish putting on the ornaments  and take a look. I think this tree will grow on me. No it is not the perfect shape, no it is not lush and full, but it is fresh and made by nature, it is unique. Yes, unique is the perfect word. Let's just hope this unique tree decides to stay in place this time. I really don't feel like setting up a tree everyday. We'll have to wait and see if this fresh tree will change my mind and have me searching the mountains for a perfect tree next year, or will I be searching the after Christmas clearance for a nice lush, perfectly shaped tree in a box? Only time will tell.

Kelly Callahan

Not My Day...actually...Not my Week

This week has been kicking my butt. It seems between my new job and my toddler who has entered the terrible two's I have been exhausted. It is crazy how adding more hours at work and a new attitude from my little man can throw me for such a loop.  I feel like everything I need to do in a day is a new challenge. Just running to the store for milk can take an hour,an hour that I feel like I don't have. I try to squeeze so much into a day that I feel like there is no way to catch up. I am sure this will change....I hope so anyway. And not only did I have my normal "challenges" this week, I also got a sick hubby, and a sick Little man. Cleaning up throw up and dealing with some crazy fussiness {from both hubby and toddler} can be very exhausting. I also had to miss a day of work, which I am not happy about. I have only been back to work for three weeks with this family and I already had to take a day off...not good.  At least it is Friday. I just have to make it through today and then I have two days to relax....wait, no I have two days to catch up, I need to do everything I didn't have time to do this week, or just put off doing. Today was filled with laundry, the really fun kind, the kind you get to do after a day of a toddler throwing up. My morning was consumed with cleaning and it is now almost time to head to work. I will most likely be home at 9pm, which won't give me much time {or leftover energy} to accomplish too much. We'll see if I can get better at doing it all, it has to be possible, right? Be a good mom, good wife, good employee, good cook, good cleaner, every freakin day......I can do it, if there's a will there's a way.

Kelly Callahan

A Snowy Day

You would think on a snowy day I would be relaxing with some hot cocoa and baking cookies....nope, not today. It all started out fine, a lazy morning of cartoons and toast, but then the first bad news call came. My hubby is coming home sick, he feels horrible. Then as I was cleaning the house my little man starts throwing up all over the carpet, I feel horrible for him, but also for me{I have to clean all this up} I cover the couch with old towels {I never knew why my Mom never threw away towels until I had a child} and I make a comfy spot for my little man to rest, what does he do? He starts jumping on the couch, somehow excited by the towels that are now covering it. I do my best to make him sit still, Bubble Guppies finally does the trick. I get to work cleaning up the mess....yuck. Did I mention that there was some throw up that I did not notice on the kitchen floor that I proceeded to slip on and fall on my butt as I hurried for towels?{that was fun} I then call my boss to give her a heads up that we may not be coming in today, she happened to be with her Niece, who would love to watch Hannah, so that problem solved itself. I then call my friend to tell her we could NOT go out to lunch. Now the challenge is to make my little man rest, he seems un- phased by his throwing up, but I'm not, I want him to relax {not a word in a two year olds vocabulary.} I am hoping there is no more throwing up today, but I have prepared myself for the worst. We'll just have to see how it turns out. As I watch the snow pile up outside I am happy that we do not have to drive to work, yet I would much rather go to work than have a sick child. I guess I will just have to make myself relax, maybe I'll have that hot cocoa{but with a hint of Kahlua}. I just want everyone healthy, we have some fun stuff coming up {most importantly my Birthday :)} And we do not need any germs around to ruin our plans. Here's hoping for a relaxing day with no more "messes"

Kelly Callahan

A Relaxing Birthday

Today my little man is officially two years old. It is still crazy to think that two years ago today we were just welcoming him to the world {and trying to adjust to the instant change that happens when you have your first child} He has changed my life in so many ways, yet I cannot picture my life without him! Since Max already had his big celebration I didn't have much planned for today. I decided to skip the gym since he is still not a huge fan of the childcare {I couldn't make my pumpkin cry on his Birthday!} So instead we made cinnamon rolls {Now I have to go to the gym tomorrow.} and watched some cartoons. We then went to play in the bouncy castle that has not left our backyard. Max loves it so much that we decided to leave it outside until their is snow in the forecast, then it has to be packed up {they give you the smallest bag in the world in which to squeeze a huge jumpy castle, can't they just accept that we do not have the "packing" skills that they do and give us bigger bags?} After all of our jumping we made a gourmet Mac and Cheese lunch {I was good and had a salad} I haven't decided if we will go anywhere before work, it is really hit or miss, even if I take Max to a place for him he still may have a break down. And I am trying to avoid break downs today. Even though we work tonight we will still have fun, we are planning to go out to dinner with the little girl I watch and my hubby will even tag along. One nice thing about my job is that we have the flexibility to do what we want to on some days, and today worked out well since the lady I work for needed us out of the house anyway. Last night, on Birthday eve we decided to get Max's picture taken with Santa.... well Max didn't like that idea, so I had to sit next to Santa with him on my lap {Santa was a little strange, he just kept repeating a line from the Rudolf song and never moved his head...} The good thing is we went to a little picture studio, so they will do their best to edit me out, thank god. Since we were at the mall I decided to stop into Banana Republic to try on the dress that my soon to be sister in law picked for her Bridesmaid dresses. I asked the lady if they had the dress and they didn't, so I decided to try on a similar dress. She said "so....you are a size 6?" WHAT??? I look like a 6??? NO way lady. I said very politely that I usually wear a 2, unconvinced she puts a 6 and a 4 in the dressing room {okay lady, I'll put it on and show you} I slip into the size 4 and open the door to show her the dress, she looks very surprised and says "is that the 4??" Yes it is, and as you can see it is too big. She finally gets me the size 2 that I originally asked for and it fits, as expected. She looks at me in the dress and tries to fix her mistake by saying it must have been my coat that made her think I was a 6, and that I looked great, too late lady. I leave feeling large. The whole way back to the car I ask my hubby if I look like a 6, he has no idea what a "6" looks like, and assures me that I look fine. I am still a little upset that I looked 4 sizes bigger than I am, maybe I need a new coat. So for any sales ladies out there, don't guess sizes, if you are wrong{especially if you guess too high} you will make someone feel bad about their body for.... well so far just one day, but we'll see. Back to today, looks like we'll have a nap, and maybe an attempted trip to Target for a new toy for the Birthday boy, we'll see. I will make sure to pick a more slimming coat for our dinner out tonight, and I'll get the salad. Happy Birthday Max, I hope you end up having a great day, even if we relax for most of it.

Kelly Callahan

A Windy Party

When I first started thinking about Max's 2nd Birthday party it was a month away. And somehow it still seemed to sneak up on me. Luckily I was on top of getting the goodie bags done early, and I managed to order the food {yes, it would be possible for me to forget this detail} I even crossed my fingers for a sunny day..... I should've said a sunny, warm, and wind free day. After all my planning and all my searching for the perfect little dinosaurs to hide in the yard it was finally party day. As I went outside to set up the bouncy castle I realized how "breezy" it really was outside. Okay, it was more than breezy, but maybe if I used that term I wouldn't yell at the WIND as much as it threatened to blow over my castle. I finally got the stakes in the ground and was able to move on. I had fun filling the yard with little dinosaurs {lots....I bought 120} My hubby returned home with the food I had ordered and my items I had put on his last minute list. We were also making s'mores, and that wouldn't work very well with no firewood for the fire pit. We seemed to have it all together, the house was clean { which seems a little silly since you know you will have to re-clean after having toddlers over} the food was here, the yard was ready. As the first guests arrived I realized how cold that stupid "breeze" really was. Before I knew it the party had moved inside.....which is okay.....but, I do not have a big house so this could not last long. I talk everyone into venturing outside with promises of lots of dinosaurs and yummy s'mores. Once the kids realized how many dinos they were finding the temperature did not seem to bother them. The warm fire seemed to draw people over to the s'mores building station {which would've been a lot cuter if I could've set it up how I had planned, but the wind was not a fan of my decorating} After s'mores we were back inside to eat our dino cake and open presents. Max's older friends were happy to show him the art of unwrapping gifts. I sat in the middle of the craziness trying to thank people for their gifts as the cards and wrapping paper went flying by. Max had a great time, his friends left happy, and Max had plenty of toys to keep him busy after all his friends were gone. I guess I should just be happy that it didn't rain, wind I can handle {kind of}, but rain would've ruined the day. I feel like I learn more after each party, so when Max is 10 he'll have a pretty awesome party :)

Kelly Callahan

The Switch

Lately we have been dealing with a little man who does not want to go to sleep. He is now big enough to climb out of his crib so to prevent him from falling from his crib we have had to begin the dreaded switch from crib to big boy bed. I was not excited for this day, and now I really know why. I don't think he has been to sleep before midnight in over a week. His new routine is to stay up as late as Mommy and Daddy and go to sleep with us. It is really cute to see him curl up in the middle of our bed, but I sure do miss my nightly showers ALONE. Last night was not a typical Friday night for us. We used to have a nice dinner as a family, have some fun, put Max to bed, and watch a movie and relax. This Friday? Well, we started with fajitas {my favorite} and then a trip to Target, which used to be my favorite store, but when shopping with an almost two year old nothing is a favorite anymore. After dragging Max around to get what we needed I was trapped in the toy section as my hubby went off to look at whatever he needed {lucky} Max may not be old enough to tell me what he wants for Christmas or his Birthday, but stick him in the toy section and you'll have plenty of ideas. Of course I was not going to buy his gifts right then so it was quite a struggle getting away from the toy isles. After spending too much at Target {this hits me hard, since I try so hard to budget all week long, with smart shopping, and my coupons, and then I feel like we blow it with a stop at Target} We stop for some well deserved ice cream and headed home. It should be about bed time for my little man, but he is nowhere near that point. I try once to put him in his bed and lets just say that didn't go well. So at 10pm my baby boy was upstairs watching cartoons as I made and filled the goodie bags for his Birthday Party next weekend. I was proud of my cute little bags and since Max was still wide awake I moved on to cleaning. After cleaning the kitchen, finishing the laundry, and picking up the living room I decide that it is time for bed. I scoop up my little man and we head downstairs. As soon as he is sure both Mommy and Daddy are in bed for good he falls asleep immediately. We were awakened the next morning by the tree trimmers. Our trees really needed some love after the heavy snow. It is a little sad to see how many branches had to come down, but I guess our front yard looks bigger now. One of our trees in the back was almost cut down completely {I think they went a little overboard, but that's okay} I knew they were coming today but was still surprised by the sounds in the morning. After our morning entertainment of watching them trim the trees and put the branches into the "tree eater" {Max loved this part} we had some lunch. Max was playing quietly in his room when I realized maybe this was too much silence, when I went to look he was not in his room, but instead he had climbed on our bed and fell asleep. This is so cute, he had decided he was tired and had gone to his favorite sleeping spot. Now Max is asleep downstairs, Daddy is sleeping on the couch, and I am online wrapped in a blanket. Hopefully after Max's nap he'll be in a good mood for a dinner out and then maybe he'll sleep tonight {ha} I guess I at least know that I will accomplish a lot every evening if he continues his new sleep schedule. Which is good, since I have a list for myself to finish before his party. I am just hoping we have a dry day, since my plan is to have all the kids have fun OUTSIDE, since my house is NOT big enough for everyone....so my fingers are crossed. I plan to wait to get Max's Birthday presents until next Saturday morning, I know this seems like I am cutting it close, but I get paid on Friday and he'll be better off if I wait. I have also decided to order his cake and the food for the party, this may not be in my "thrifty" style, but it sure does fit into my work week quite nicely. Much of what is left is last minute, balloons, last minute cleaning, and setting up the yard for a Dinosaur hunt. Hopefully my plans for a great party at home work out. As long as Max has fun I will be happy and I don't see anyway he wouldn't, so I guess I have already succeeded.

Kelly Callahan

First Week Back

I was happy to be back to work this past week, and it was an amazingly easy week. I now watch two older girls{7,11} after school until there parents get home. Not only do I have all morning to do whatever Max and I want to do or need to do, but I also get payed well. I still have time to do all my Mommy chores and take Max fun places, all while making a little extra money, and who doesn't like extra money?? Of course my first week of work I had to ask to leave early, I didn't have to leave early but I wanted to be to Boo at the Zoo on time on Friday so I asked anyway. They had no problem with it and I was out of their door by 4:30. We grabbed some Taco Bell and headed to the Zoo. It was a little colder than I would've liked for a night of outdoor fun, but I couldn't do anything to help that. I dressed Max up as a cute little tiger and made sure to give him plenty of layers to stay warm. Now, Boo at the Zoo after dark is a special event at the Zoo with limited ticket sales. I feel as though the Zoo gets a little greedy though. Some of the lines for the treats were so long that there was no way a two year old would stand still the entire time, or even for half the line. I would rather pay a little more and have a lot less people there, this year it was just a little too crowded. My next complaint about the event? Well, we all pay for tickets, well not Max this year since he is still under two. But My hubby and I both payed to be there so you would think we would get to enjoy all the perks right? Well, not exactly, some of the people handing out the candy were very rude about the candy that was not theres and would only give candy to kids. Now, if there was a limited amount of candy {I can see the giant boxes behind them, they won't be running out}I would want the kids to get the treats and not me, but if there is enough candy for everyone and I PAYED to be there I think I deserve my candy bar just as much as the little tiger at my side. Of course we never made a big deal of this, just complained as we walked away from the "mean" candy hander outers. I guess I just wanted to feel like a kid again, which I still did since there were many nice treat givers, but it would've been even more fun if everyone let us all participate. All in all the night was a success, we didn't lose anyone and we left with bags full of candy. Now it is time to carve our pumpkins and put the gravestones in the yard, just in time for Halloween. I am excited to continue our fun tomorrow as we trick or treat with our friends, I hope that Max is excited to be a tiger again, and maybe he'll catch on to saying trick or treat, maybe.

Kelly Callahan

What is That Smell?

This all began so innocently {doesn't it always} Max had some sniffles, no big deal, he's a tough guy and he'll be over this little cold in no time.  Then as Max was still just sniffling my hubby got sick, it started with a cold and then it just kept getting worse, ending with him in bed for three days. Finally my hubby was getting better and Max still just had some sniffles, but then it happened, I started to get a cold. I convinced myself it was nothing much and I'd be fine the next day. Well, the next day I woke up with no voice and it felt like I was swallowing razor blades....not good. I went to the doctor which was VERY exhausting as my son tried to break everything in the waiting room, and then proceeded onto putting his hand in the fountain they have and soaking the floor. As I try to tell him to stop everyone looks at me with sad eyes, my little bit of a voice made me sound very sick, so I am sure they felt bad that I was chasing a two year old at the same time as fighting off whatever I had. This is better than them all being annoyed at my little mad man making such a mess and a ton of noise. I think this is why we were called back so fast. Once in the room Max was restless, why would we just sit in this little room? He wanted water, then he needed to was his hands, then he wanted a snack, then he wanted to wash his hands again. Finally the doctor arrived and took a look at me. Max sure didn't like her touching his Mommy, but he got over it. It turns out I had a sinus infection which was causing all my problems. I am prescribed an antibiotic and some cough medicine to cure me and we happily leave the office. I then get to chase my son around the grocery store as we wait for my prescriptions, I really don't see how this takes so long, but we did some laps and eventually I got my medicine. This is when I first noticed it, what was that smell? Everything at the store seemed to smell "off" I figure this is just the store and head to McDonalds to get Max a happy meal, because there is no way I am cooking. We get the happy meal.... and it smells bad. We get home and you guessed it the house smelled bad. I pick up a little, take out the trash, and then have to lie down. It still smells. Turns out one of the symptoms of a sinus infection is that it messes with your taste and smell. Now it makes sense, nothing tastes good to me and everything smells bad, why couldn't it just make everything smell good? I make it through my sick day thanks mostly to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That night was bad, I couldn't sleep because I felt so awful, the next day was not very nice either. I was surrounded by bad smells and a poor little toddler who was sick of cartoons. Luckily last night when my hubby got home he took Max out to play and give me some time to just rest. Last night was another sleepless night, this time due to my fever. I tried to cool myself off with a wet washcloth, but I think my mom does it better, then I realized I'm the mom now, so I have to fan my own face when I get a high fever. Funny how when you are sick you just want someone to take care of you, does that ever change? I took care of myself and made it through the night. Today I finally feel as though I have turned the corner and am headed for recovery, which is awesome!! I am not 100 percent yet, but wow do I feel better! Its about time, and its good timing, since I am now working tomorrow afternoon, and I have had plans for a fun night on Saturday that I do not want to miss! I just have to do my best to rest while chasing around a toddler. I just hope that I get my normal nose back soon, I am pretty sick of everything smelling and tasting so bad. I want to enjoy my dinner out this Saturday, so I better be able to taste it! { And yes, Max has sniffled his way through all of our sickness, if only we all responded to this "bug"like he did}

Kelly Callahan

Back on Track

Today turned out to be a home day, Max rested and watched cartoons, and Mommy got a chance to sit down and tackle her giant pile of coupons. One thing I know about my coupons is that if I put off sorting and clipping for even a few days I end up putting it off much longer, and before I know it my pile is VERY overwhelming and I just don't want to deal with it. But you know what happens when my coupons are in such chaos? You guessed it, I miss deals, and I DO NOT like to miss out on deals. I need my coupons to be very organized so when I see a sale I can simply look up my coupon and go to the store. As much as I hate not having my coupons easy to access I hate organizing them just as much, one week at a time is not bad, but when you are three weeks behind it is quite a large task. But today was the perfect day to deal with my stack. My hubby was home sick, Max was resting, trying to avoid getting sick, and then there was me.... what else was I going to do? As I started to tackle the pile it seemed to be going by pretty fast. As I looked at the clock I realized I must just be in my "coupon zone" because this was taking much longer than I thought. Either way I eventually reached the bottom of the stack and it felt great to know that all my coupons had there spot in my little binder {okay, really big binder} I am now ready to see the ads on Sunday and get my new coupons. It is very easy to get out of the "couponing" lifestyle. It does take time and patience, and if you get behind, or it has been awhile since you have saved a lot at the store, it is easy to just let the pile grow out of control. But I just knew that I can NOT go to the store and pay full price, last week I saved 52 % and that didn't even seem good enough for me. So I know if I tried to shop without my coupons I sure wouldn't buy much. I think my trip to Rite Aid reminded me how important it was to me to get my great deals, so I knew I had to make myself sit down and get myself organized. I am also getting back on track, or I guess just on a track, with my work out plan. For once I think I might actually stick to it. I joined the gym as planned when we moved and guess what? I have been going!! I know its crazy, but true. Max has even gotten used to the child care there, sometimes he wants to stay and play when I come to get him. I have been going two to three times a week, which is WAY better than not going at all. As long as I can keep myself on track I think I will be looking better by.... well lets just say by next summer I won't dread going to the pool. That gives me a long time to reach my goal, and if I reach it early I'll just be even more happy with myself. Now, if I can just coupon my way through Max's second birthday party we will be in good shape {still can't believe he will be two!} I look forward to another week of sales and coupons, and my last week without a job. Things are going well ever since our move, and I sue hope they just keep getting better, who wouldn't?

Kelly Callahan

Gotta Love Rite Aid

I am sure I am not the only one with a weekly habit. Some people go to starbucks or maybe let themselves eat out once a week. But what is one of my favorite little habits? My weekly trips to Rite Aid. Now, before I began my little coupon habit I never went to Rite Aid, I mean, why would I, everything cost more there, and they don't have a lot. But as soon as I figured out there "UP Rewards" I was hooked. For example, last week I had a great coupon for covergirl makeup, so of course I stocked up, I ended up spending a total of nine dollars on 4 eye liners, 2 eye shadows, one foundation, and three powders, oh and a pack of pez that Max wouldn't put down {my trips are always at least a dollar more if Max is with me} as my receipt printed I also got a ten dollar "UP" reward, so I spent nine, but they gave me back ten. Now to some people this doesn't equal free, but for me it works out great because I know I will be back the next week to get the new deals and I will have ten dollars to use towards whatever I buy in the store. So with my ten dollar "UP" reward I came back this week to take advantage of all of there products that were "free" after the UP reward. I got, hand sanitizer, Burts Bees cough drops, one pack of cold medicine, throat spray, nasal mist, and an assortment of other cold and flu products. I knew I would eventually need these things as the winter hit, so I figured I would buy them now. I ended up spending 20 dollars {this may sound like a lot, but the cold medicine alone is usually 12 dollars, and Max was with me so he had to get his juice} So before you wonder why I think this was a good deal I will add in that I got $21.50 back in UP rewards to spend next week. So to me I may have spent 20 dollars this week, but next week I have 20 dollars to spend on whatever is on sale, or whatever I may need that I can buy there. As long as you keep up with their weekly sales and remember to use your rewards you can end up with a nice weekly cycle of free to next to nothing buys. Some weeks will be better than others, like this week was just okay, I may have got a lot but I still spent 20 bucks, but next week I hope to get a lot and spent under a dollar, since I will be using a large reward.  I can't tell you why I have so much fun doing this every week, maybe I am crazy, but if it keeps me happy then I will keep heading to Rite Aid. Actually, the only thing I miss about my apartment is that I had a Rite Aid a couple blocks away, and now I have to go to Boulder just to get my deals, it seems Walgreens has taken over Westminster and left no room for my favorite drug store. Who knew one day I would look forward to my little trips to Rite Aid, but once I started having so much fun with my coupons on my groceries I guess this was bound to happen. I am sure Rite Aid counts on people never using their rewards or letting them expire, but they are out of luck with me, I will be there every week, so they better get used to it.

Kelly Callahan

Leafing a little Late

Okay, usually when you look at a picture of the beautiful aspens changing color it does not include snow. Well too bad, my picture does. We love to go look at the changing colors every fall, but we always seem to remember how much we love this about one week too late. Last year we didn't have snow, but we could tell that we missed a lot of the leaves {the bare trees were a dead giveaway} So this year as we headed towards Mt.Evans and we began to see the snow fall we realized we had done it again, we came a little late. As the visibility started to diminish we were worried that even if some leaves were still on the trees we weren't going to be able to see them. The snow started to slow and as we made our turn to towards the mountain we were happy we decided to brave the weather and continue with our tradition. It was so nice to see the bright leaves of the aspens up against the freshly fallen snow. It turns out we saw something even more beautiful by being a week off schedule. We weren't the only ones up there either, there were tons of people pulled over and snapping pictures {they probably laughed when they saw the only camera I had was the one on my phone, but I can't find my camera charger, so it had to do} We had a nice relaxing drive through the mountains and Max slept the whole way{I'm sure when he woke up he was wondering if we had gotten out and done something fun without him, since when we got home he seemed confused about our little drive to nowhere}. As we were starting our trip home Max did wake up in time to see the snow falling, this made me very excited for the snow to make its way down to our house, because Max is going to love playing in a backyard full of it! We topped of a great day by having dinner at our favorite BBQ joint, where I got plenty of "glares" from the older couple next to us. Once Max was asleep we watched the movie that I rented last Tuesday and called it a night. So as it turned out we did ourselves a favor by being a week late on our adventure. We got to do "leafing" a whole new way, and it was great. Sometimes the best days can be created out of nowhere, and yesterday we sure created a good one.

Kelly Callahan

Rain without the Umbrella

I think last night was one of the first times I REALLY realized I was actually living in my house. As the rain was falling and the dog needed outside, all I had to do was open the door and wait for her to come back. This may not seem very special but this was not always so easy. I would have to make sure I was dressed warm enough for the weather, get my shoes, find the umbrella, and walk down three flights of stairs only to stand in the rain and wind and wait for my dog to do her business. As I looked out at our yard I was so happy to be here. It has only been three weeks, but it seems I can't even remember not pulling out of my own driveway or simply walking in my front door with all my groceries. I think its that I don't need to remember the bad things of our old living situation, I might as well just be very happy with where we are now. Not only do I love my yard and my driveway, I also love my new location. I am now closer to everything I love to do with Max. My new location is also better for my new job. I knew everything would be better once we moved, and here's proof : Just two weeks after moving in I got a job offer. It is only part time, but it pays well, and it won't stop Max and I from doing everything we like to do. We are happily getting used to our new life in a house. It is amazing to think that somehow we had all of this stuff around me crammed into a two bedroom apartment.... because we are still wanting more space. There are only two boxes left in the house, they are my "junk" boxes, you know that junk you can't get rid of but you also don't have a good place to put it {more like hide it}. The third bedroom still needs some organizing, but overall the home is put together, which is great. As the rain continues today I look forward to watching the snow fall in the backyard, and it is nice to know I won't have to get all bundled up to take the dog out anymore, she can brave it on her own now. Sometimes small things make you realize how happy you are about the big changes in you life, and last night the rain helped me see how happy I really was about this move.

Kelly Callahan

The Carpet Cleaner vs. Mom

As I looked around the apartment this morning I couldn't help but to feel happy, although I am stressed out and overwhelmed by this move, today I realized I am still very happy about it. As I thought about where everything would go in our new home I glanced at our couch. Now we bought this couch 5 years ago, and it was great. All my couches before had been hand me down couches, so this beauty was my first new couch. Thinking back I am surprised we were buying new furniture when we were just dating and living together, but it all worked out {obviously} I was so excited the day it was delivered and it looked perfect, just perfect. It is a nice little sectional with a small chaise lounge off one end of the couch. The pillows were such a fun look, since they could be moved around to give the couch a "new" look. Then I remembered how sad I was when we could not use the couch as a sectional in our apartment, it just didn't work well in our living room {nothing works well in this living room, currently the couch is blocking the fireplace}As I started to get excited about having the couch used as it was meant to be in the new home I started to look closer..... the cushions were looking less than clean and just this morning my son had mushed some banana onto one of the pillows. Not only did they look dirty I knew they must be, my son likes to take the pillows off and jump on them. I now know that my next couch will be leather {easy to clean} and it will NOT have pillows, it will have cushions that STAY on the couch at all times. Knowing that there was not a new couch in my near future I realized I needed to do something about this mess in front of me, how embarrassing would it be to have people come see your new home just to see mashed banana stains on my couch {I think it would be VERY embarrassing} So I decided my only option would be to pull out the carpet cleaner and use the attachment to clean all the cushions and pillows. This seemed simple enough, I had done it before. Well this time I was boxed in, literally. With little to no room to move and with a toddler trying to ruin my efforts it was not as easy at it had seemed in my mind. I begin with the cushions. I go to pull the trigger and not only does the cushion get covered in the cleaning solution I do too. I guess the upside to this situation is that it is getting on the cushions, not just going on me. I try to adjust the little spray nozzle but it is no use, it seems if I want a clean couch I will be getting a spray down as well. As I spray, scrub, and suck up all the dirt my jeans are getting soaked. I soon move onto the pillows,this is when the machine makes a funny noise and stops sucking {which is a very important feature} I turn to the machine and see my toddler at the controls. Thanks Max, now mommy has to un-confuse the machine which now thinks I want to clean the floors. I end up having to un plug it and start over. After switching the controls way too many times I finally get my suction back. When I turn to use it I see that my son has taken the two pillows I had finished out to the deck, normally this would not be a big deal, but since it rained last night all of his chalk marks are wet and now getting on the pillows. I now decide it is nap time for my little man, I don't think I need his help to finish my project. As I get to the last pillow I run out of cleaning solution, of course, half a pillow to go and I have to go re load my cleaner. Once I have finally finished the pillows I prop them up and hope that they will dry FAST, because I just know it is going to be near impossible to keep my little guy off the couch all night. As I look at the pillows I feel better about the appearance of my couch, but still really want that nice brown leather one I just happened to see online last night. Why is it that we always want more? I mean, I have a couch, can't I just be happy with it? I wish I was happy with it, I really do, but when we bought it kids were not even on our minds, and so we did not pick the best sofa for durability. My only hope is that my next couch purchase will be a smarter one, one that can stand up to Max longer, and be easier to keep looking nice. But its not just me, my husband wants a new kitchen table. And I am sure there are many people out there who are just waiting until they can up-grade their current possessions. I guess I just need to learn to love it for now, knowing that eventually I can get a new one. A new one that will not leave me battling with the carpet cleaner. At least today I came out the winner, it never got the best of me, I stood my ground and now the couch is clean. Round One goes to Mom.

Kelly Callahan

10 Pounds Later

I have decided that moving may be a great way to clear out, but it sure is not good for my figure. You would think with all the packing and running around I am doing I would be looking good, but no. Instead I am eating more fast food, snacking WAY too much, and gaining weight like a bear heading for hibernation. I may be slightly exaggerating, but I assure you my pants are much tighter today then they should be.  I figure once this move is over { four days from now everything should be officially moved} I will MAKE myself get back in shape. Now I do realize I am doing this backwards. Usually people start working out around January, fearing the bikinis, but I am fearing the tight pants, and I refuse to buy new pants, no way. I want to join a gym, but my hubby will fight me on that one {I don't have a very good track record of using my gym memberships} I just have to convince him that I will go, a ton. I have my motivation, they are cutting off circulation to my lower half as we speak.  I figure with enough motivation I will stick to it{ yes, I said I was going to start working out three months ago, but now I have gained more weight, therefore I have more motivation} I hope that once the move is over it won't take too long to get settled into our new house {so happy I can say I have a house now!} I am sure I will be quick to have everything un-packed just like I started packing a month in advance.  I like to have things clean and looking tidy....so looking around me right now gives me a headache. I am surrounded by boxes. I can see things I should clean but can't get to them. I figure I will just have to go crazy for the rest of today and then get through tomorrow. As soon as Friday morning gets here I can breathe a quick sigh of relief as I will finally be able to load up my car and drive some things to the house. It is funny, three months ago I was so excited to move, I had no idea where I was moving, and hadn't even added up all the costs. I am still excited, but I sure hope we stay at this home a long time. After paying for rent at our apartment, a deposit on the house, a pet deposit on the house, pro-rated September rent on the house, setting up trash service, hiring movers, and add on having to fix my car.... this month has been rough. I told my hubby that at least October will seem cheap :) Maybe in October I can start to beg again for my "stockpile" shelving. I really want one place to put all of my items that I get for free or REALLY cheap. He says there will be plenty of room in the home for my stuff without buying the shelves I want....but I disagree... maybe once I fill the Living room with piles of Shampoo and razors he'll head to Target and get me what I want :) With the amount of money I have saved on toiletries alone I could by  A LOT of shelves. All in all I have probably put about 30 dollars into a very impressive stash of shampoo and conditioner, soap, razors {for me and my hubby}, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. When the cost of one of my hubby's favorite razors is normally 12.99 I say that even his stash of 8 new Gillette Pro Glide razors should earn me some shelving. But who cares what I think....he thinks I am a little crazy with my couponing, yet he sure doesn't seem to mind asking me for a new razor and having me pull it out of thin air for him...we'll have to see how long it takes me to get my true stockpile area, I'd give it a month, tops. Well, I better get back to packing, and I need to hide all the sweets from myself {I happened to get free chocolate at Rite Aid today...not a good freebie for me right now, but I couldn't say no.} I will go try and hide from the chocolate and pack some boxes, and in about 10 pounds this move should be over.

Kelly Callahan

The Poodle Lady

Let me set the scene for you...... There's me, taking my black lab Moxy on a walk, with my toddler who likes to run. We start our walk at our usual fast pace {okay, I start chasing Max} We turn our first corner and there she is, the poodle lady, of course at this point I never expected anything bad. Then Moxy saw it, she saw the poodle{she does not like poodles} As she saw this poodle she decided she HAD to be closer, much closer. At that very moment we were standing on top of a little hill, covered in loose dirt. So as Moxy decided to yank her way towards her poodle any guess what happened to me? Yep, I went down fast, as I was being dragged down the little hill on my side I was telling Max to wait for me. I finally regained control of my crazy dog and glanced up at the poodle lady, and what was she doing? Was she asking if I was okay? NO. Was she heading the other direction to remove the source of my little disaster?NO. Was she offering to help me catch my toddler as he ran away from me?NO. She gave me a weird, almost nasty look, and continued to walk right past our little disaster scene without saying a word. Really? So silly me, feeling very stupid, and in shock of her silence apologized to her...why did I do it? Not sure, I guess when I don't know what to say in certain situations I turn to saying sorry. She still just glared, not picking up her speed. After telling my dog that she should NOT pull me like that I collect my child and we go back down the hill {on our feet this time} to a little grass area for Moxy to do her business. As I looked down at my scraped up leg I started to realize how rude that poodle lady was and how much I wish I didn't apologize to her. And then.... guess who came back, yep the poodle lady, she didn't even bother to walk around us, she walked right by, almost like she wanted to see me fall down again. I held my dog VERY close as she passes, at her slow pace, like she owned the place. Wow, what nerve, first you don't even bother to say ANYTHING to me after I am dragged down a hill, then you give no effort to get your dog away from my dog, and THEN you walk right back by?? Well Poodle Lady, I am sorry that I interrupted your nice walk in YOUR apartment grass. I am so annoyed I think I'll just move, yeah that's what I'll do, I think I'll pick up keys to a house on Friday morning and then I'll be out of here. That sounds good :)

Kelly Callahan

I'm Convinced

Alright, I am convinced now. We've made the right choice. Last week at this time I was so worried that we had rushed everything and made a bad decision. One of my worries was that there was something out there that was better or cheaper, or both. But now that I am 7 days away from my move in date I am sure we made a good decision. All week long I have looked all over the internet at homes for rent {we don't officially sign papers on the house till tonight} I felt I had to look, just in case there was that "perfect" house out there I didn't want to miss it. But after 7 days of looking I came up with nothing, really NOTHING. I then realized that if my friend had not seen the sign for the home we are moving into I may not have any home to move into at all at this point, and if that was the case I would be a lot more stressed out right now {and a lot less motivated to pack} I guess we were meant to have this home, small but nice. And I just found out that once our apartment is upgraded it would cost just 90 dollars less than a whole house, with a back yard and a garage! So with rental prices climbing I am feeling better about our decision and I am so happy that we found it. I did not want to wait until the last minute to find a house, two weeks in advance works much better for me. To celebrate my happiness today I decided to do a coupon trip {coupons always cheer me up even more} So today Max and I headed to Target with a plan. Nothing too exciting but it all worked. We got : 6 Scrubbing Bubbles toilet wand starter kits, 6 scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaning gel wands, 2 of the hubby's favorite Gillete Cooling Lotions, 4 big boxes of Playtex tampons, and two little trains to keep my shopping partner happy {clearance of course} My total spent was 34.22 {felt like less because I had a 5.42 return right before} My total savings? $61.72. Now, I have saved this much before, but never at Target. Target is very coupon friendly, it is just hard to get good enough coupons to use for great deals there. But  finally my coupons and store deals worked together. Now this may not sound fun to you {shopping for toilet cleaners and tampons} but this shows you how logical my coupon habit can be, there will always be a toilet to clean {sadly} and I will need my "Lady" products every month {again,sadly} these are all items I would purchase anyway, and by buying them in bulk I have saved a lot of money and will not have to buy them for a long time.{ at least a lot longer than usual} I was very excited about my trip and sad that my coupon partner in crime is on vacation in Mexico {poor her} and I couldn't call her to tell her the deals so she could go have a coupon trip too! This reminds me of another great thing about moving. When I find these great deals and want to run off to the store to cash in on my savings I can just call my coupon buddy, and being that we will live three blocks from each other, we can go together! And coupon shopping with a partner is just that much more fun! Another big accomplishment today was reserving the movers, this makes the move even more "real" we have movers set to come here at 2:00pm in just 8 days. I was lucky I called when I did {really lucky, since I was planning on booking them tomorrow} they only had ONE slot left for the Saturday I wanted. At first I was sad not to get a morning time, but soon realized that no matter how "ready" for the move I think I am I will be happy to have the extra time that morning to pack and even take over small trips of breakables and clothing myself.  This will be better for the movers too, they will have less stuff to get around and it will be easier for them to do there jobs quickly.{I hope so, since they charge by the hour} We have never hired movers before, I guess it was a luxury that we couldn't afford, and to be honest we really can't "afford" them now, but it is well worth the money to not have to do this move, it would be near impossible to move some of our larger pieces of furniture{remember, I live on the third floor} So for the sake of our sanity and our backs and knees we decided to splurge and pay people to do the hard stuff. I think I will enjoy this kind of moving, I will have the easiest moving day I have ever had, and that's nice to say.

Kelly Callahan

Feeling Boxed In

With eight days until we start to move out I am sure you can imagine how many boxes are currently surrounding me. There are packed boxes, half packed boxes, big ones, little ones, heavy ones, and light ones. As the piles of boxes grow I am finally starting to see empty space where we need it, in the pantry, and in the closets. As my husband came home last night I am sure he thought I had accomplished nothing, but as he went to get a cup from the kitchen he realized I had been very busy. The kitchen is about 75% packed as is my closet. I only left things we would need in the next eight days, or things that were not fitting well into my boxes. I seem to get little bursts of "packing" energy, then its gone...all gone. When my energy is gone I pace the apartment looking at all there is left to do and wishing I could get some of these stupid boxes out of my way! If only it wouldn't cost even more to have the home sooner it would be great to be able to take over little trips, even just to make a path{a bigger path} Why do I need a bigger path? I always stub my toes, now this is when the apartment is clean and organized, so just imagine what my poor feet are going through now {my hubby finds this amusing, but my pinkie toe does not agree} So my feet will be happy when we have a new home, where I can un-pack {yay} and get organized all over again. I still think this has been a great way to help me clear out. I finally donated things I had been for some reason holding onto for..well forever {yes, I donated the skinny jeans,with all my "anxious" eating I feel they are a dream that was gone with my last pint of ben and jerrys} My neighbors either think I am crazy or they have caught on that we are moving. They see me walk out so many times with so many trash bags I must look like a hoarder. It feels good to toss something in the dumpster, knowing that that is one less thing I will have to move and later un-pack. I also received good news from the Apartment manager today {nice to have a nice conversation with them} They will be turning our little home into a "premium" apartment. This means they will charge the next person A LOT more rent than we are paying. Why is this good?{not like we get any of the new "perks"} It is good because they will be replacing pretty much everything in the apartment, so they told me not to worry about cleaning things like the oven,fridge, carpets,or blinds. This is great news. Who wants to spend all that time deep cleaning things you will never see again? Not me, and now I don't have to.  This will make the cleaning ,once all of our things are out, go by super fast. It seems that part of me is still in denial that this is actually happening, for three years I wanted to move and it never happened so why would it work out now? Well, it is working out and we are moving, so I better get used to it. I know I will be a tiny {tiny tiny} bit sad to leave the place where so many memories were made but I will be more excited to make more memories in a house. I guess I won't be convinced that I have a house until moving day, and since that is only eight short days away, I will be convinced very soon.

Kelly Callahan

10 Days to go Crazy

Okay... 10 days and we have the keys to our house. Wow, so in ten days I will say goodbye to apartment living for good. I remember when I was 18 and all I wanted was to live in an apartment, and now, seven years later, I just want out. My problem today is that I am out of boxes, this is only a temporary problem, my hubby will have a car load of boxes for me when he gets home from work. Until then I feel like I am stuck. I can clean, but as I clean things I know I should be putting them in a box. I know that the rest of this week will be better, I will have plenty of boxes {I hope} and I can get everything that we don't need in the next ten days into boxes. Then I just need to be creative about where I stack my boxes. They can't be too low because Max will climb up them like a mad man, but I don't want them too high where they could tip over onto Max....hmmm, we'll see what I come up with. The more I think of our new place the more happy I am with our decision. I know it is not as much space as I wanted, but as I stubbed my toe on the wagon in our bedroom last night {yes, Max's wagon is in our room...what do you expect, I have NO room here} I realized I will be able to put Max's wagon in the garage, along with his jogging stroller, and his Power Wheels truck{which is by the kitchen table}. Then, I realized I will have third bedroom, which will have the bed that has been in storage for a year, and will have a spot for a desk {we now have our computer in the living room.} I want the "living area" of our new home to feel like a model home, no more random things around, and I really think in this home I will be able to find a spot for everything. And if it doesn't have a "true" spot, I will have the storage area under the stairs to put my random things {you know, stuff you don't need right now, but you can't get rid of} Dinner is made and Max and I had fun making rice krispie treats, so I don't have anything at the top of my list for today....so I guess I should do some deep cleaning, fun huh? I also have to get a hold of the dummies at our Apartment building, I went down to their office three days ago, sat down with the leasing lady to find out what EXACTLY I owed for pro rated rent this month. she told me, I wrote a check. Well, today I got a note on my door saying I was short on rent. Well, if I pay the extra amount they want me to I would be paying a full months rent. So obviously some not so clever person didn't look very close at my file... I am not here the whole month so I am not paying for the whole month. Ugg, they are not so bright here at Silver Reef, which makes me even happier to be moving. I think I have gotten over all my "fears" of the move and am ready to go, I am just ready 10 days early.

Kelly Callahan

I Should Be Excited Right Now

What I should be writing right now is YAY, we got a house! But nope, that's not what I am wanting to say. I am worried and stressed. Why? Because I now realize that next week I will be writing a very large check to a woman I have met once and who gave me her business card. She had keys to the home, so she must be the true Property Manager right? And yes its true not everyone is on the Internet, so it isn't strange that I don't find her there. But still, how am I going to trust this lady? I guess it will just be a leap of faith, and I will of course save every single piece of paper work if something were to go wrong. So lets assume this lady is Legit and I am signing a lease next week on a home I will get.....in 14 days by the way. I am still not jumping with joy....why? Well, then I have to second guess myself, did we make the right decision? It all happened so fast, we heard about the house yesterday, viewed the home yesterday, and were approved for the home today. I guess in the "renters" world of homes this is how it goes, since half the homes I call about are already taken. But were we to hasty in our decision? Is this a good home for us? It sure doesn't have as much room as I wanted in a home, but I didn't see many in our budget that did. The location is PERFECT, so that is a big deal, and it does knock a lot off my checklist {the one I made when I said I wouldn't be too picky about a house} It has a garage, it has a driveway, a big one at that, it has a yard, it has three bedrooms, it has a laundry room, but no basement, and only one true "living" space. But how much space do we really need? It is a HOUSE and that is what should matter, I will no longer be dragging bags and a toddler up three flights of stairs, I can let the dog out in the yard, I can have an "extra" bedroom. And this place has upgrades... stainless appliances, new carpet, new paint{and its not white!} So I should be happy right now, right? So why am I stressed out? I must be scared to leave the comfort of my little apartment....no that can't be it, I don't really like this place.... maybe its the money, well it could be, but I am good at saving so I'm not too worried. Maybe it is just the fact that in 14 days I have to get all the stuff from here to there....yuck. Even though we will have movers to help it still seems an impossible task. Then we have to get everything out of storage, yet another impossible task. But I know that in 18 days I will be happy. I will have a house, be across the street from the park, four blocks away from my best friend, and enjoying our new life without sharing walls. I just wish I could press the fast forward button and get to that time, the time where everything is moved, un packed, and organized.....tuff luck, I'll just have to do my best to be prepared for the move and take it as it comes. Hopefully all goes smoothly and quickly and we can relax before we know it {okay so I can relax, My hubby doesn't seem at all affected by what is coming} Today I payed our last rent payment to our apartments, it was nice to know I would never be living so close to my neighbors ever again. Wish me luck for the next 17 days, I have a feeling I'm gonna need it.

Kelly Callahan

Who's Crazy Now?

Let's think back to June..... I think many of you probably thought I was crazy {my husband would agree with you} when I started looking for places to live and started to get organized....well now we are down to 20 days and we still have no place to live, so how crazy was I again? If we had it my way I would've signed a lease on the Arvada home I saw in June that was available for September....but no, that would be "crazy" we'll have so many more choices once it gets closer. Is this close enough? Where are all my choices? I don't see too many, sure their are some homes that I would settle for, but I rather have a home that I really WANT to live in {I know, I am crazy} And yes there is still "the house", the one I have wanted for two months now but the landlord likes to drag his feet and I still have no clue if we can rent it. I am going to tell him if we can't sign a lease this weekend then I give up, he can look for someone else to put up with his stories. Speaking of stories, if you are bored and want too much information from someone just start calling people with homes for rent on Craigslist. Today I was stuck on the phone with a guy who I think just wanted to "chat" his home was not even available when I needed it {and I told him this} He seemed to think that if I heard his life story I would decide to move two months later. 20 minutes later I finally got him off the phone {after he made sure that I would "call him back"} It is interesting talking to different landlords, you never know who'll be on the other end of the phone, and sometimes you know you don't want the house simply because of their attitude. I just hope that by this weekend I am either signing a lease on "the house" or that I have found a perfect rental online and I am signing a lease for that. As long as I know where I am moving by next week I will be happy. Then I can schedule the movers {thank god} As for now I have completely stalled in my packing efforts, with no place in mind to take the boxes to I have lost my motivation. And I am running low on boxes, which sure doesn't help. I think tonight I will focus on playing with trucks and blocks, and then have fun at bath time, aww yes that sounds just perfect.

Kelly Callahan

The Best Way to Clear Out

Want to know the best way to clear out all of your clutter? Just move. As you start packing you may just throw everything into boxes....but then you realize two things 1- you will have to carry every box you fill down three flights of stairs {this fact will vary depending on your location} and 2- You will have to un-pack and put away everything you put in that box. These things really make you start to question if you really need something that has been hidden in a closet for three years or more. Yes, it may be a very nice piece of fabric, but will you ever use it? Do you really need it? No. And those "skinny" jeans I have saved since before I had my son, will they ever fit? No. As I fill my home with lots of "stuff" with all my coupon shopping, I start to realize how much of my other stuff I don't really need. Why did we keep a broken humidifier? Would we take it in to be repaired? Ha,No.Lets just say I had to make many trips down to the dumpster once my new mind set kicked in. That is one perk of Apartment living, you can always take out the trash, it doesn't have to sit in the garage or in the side yard, you can toss it whenever you please. I don't think that small convenience is going to keep me from renting a house though. I am now less than a month away from living in a house, not sure what house, but that's just a minor detail :) The big thing is I will no longer have to walk the dog 4 times a day with a toddler, I won't have to get the groceries up three flights of stairs, yep, with a toddler. Max and I will have a back yard to play in, people can come to our house for dinner! Wow, this is going to be great for my social life! I just can't wait to use the phrase "I'll be upstairs" or "just put it in the basement" it'll be great! My husband thinks I'm a dork for being so excited, maybe since he isn't here as much he doesn't realize what a great change it will be, and oh yeah, he doesn't walk the dog, or get groceries, so he doesn't have those complaints. So as I continue to clear out our apartment I will be doing it happily, knowing that soon I will have a whole house!! Oh, and if you know any dumpster divers, this would be a good week to hit up mine :)

Kelly Callahan

Wanna Play?

So, last night as I ventured out to walk our dog {my only alone time outside of the house, most days} We did our usual circle around the apartment buildings. We started walking by the pool and volleyball area. As we passed the volleyball court I remembered playing in High school {just in gym, not a team, I suck at sports} I realized how long it had been and as my thoughts wandered I heard a girl in an itsy bitsy bikini yell out to me " Wanna Play?" What? Me? But I'm on my way back to my apartment to watch my crazy man and make dinner for the family. Then I realized she had no idea about any of this, to her I could be a college girl who lived here with her dog, and maybe needs some friends. I kindly said no, but part of me wanted to tie the dog to the tree and just sneak in a game. They wouldn't want me to stay long anyway, since I would be horrible, but maybe just one game.... but no, I needed to get back inside{can't leave two toddlers by themselves for too long } As I walked back into reality I saw my husband playing with my son and realized I rather play monster than volleyball any day. It was nice to be asked though, made me feel like I don't look like a
boring Mom, one who cooks and cleans, and considers a fun night out a trip to Chuckee Cheese. Nope, to them I could be a fun college girl....not to say I'm not fun, just not fun to them. I am sure a lot of people would find my routine boring, but if they knew how much fun Max was they would want my "job" in a minute. I saw how much my life had changed in what seemed to be like no time at all. I used to randomly go to the pool, or play volleyball, but now I take random trips to Target, and going to the pool is almost not worth the struggle to get there. I love how my life is now, and I know those girls wouldn't know why but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Kelly Callahan

27 DAYS?? Really??

The last time I actually sat down to post a blog entry I had 40 days until we are hoping to move. Now, I have 27 days.... that may seem like plenty,but after spending a half a day packing my closet I began to worry. How did I even fit so much stuff in there? And why do I buy so much junk? I mean, yes I do coupon, so I buy LARGE quantities of certain items, but not junk. I only get a lot of an item if it is free or cheap and if I know it will be used. But behind all my stockpile items were piles of...well just stuff. Some stuff I wanted, some I didn't, and some I just didn't know what to do with {like the baby stuff, no way to know right now if we'll be having more} I managed to dig through my closet and play with my little guy all at once, he was very happy to see my "treasures" and he even "helped" put things in boxes. Seven boxes later it was lunch time. We made some grilled cheese and took a break. I then tackled the medicine shelf....have you looked through all your medications in awhile? Well, for me there was a lot, I mean a lot of expired medicine to toss. And some may have not been expired but was tossed none the less {like yucky looking Pepto} I guess I just toss things in there and forget about them, and I guess I do that a lot. Now that it was nap time I got to my dreaded Monday task....cleaning the floors. I then cleaned the kitchen and put a chicken in the oven. As I looked at the clean counters I came to the conclusion that I deserved some ice cream. After my ice cream I knew there was much more to do. Next was to go through the cabinets under the sink in the bathroom. I am hoping when I have two bathrooms everything will be neater, but no promises. I managed to trash a lot of "stuff" and the rest is neatly organized into open top boxes, in case we need anything down there in the next 27 days. I am sure my hubby will notice the clean counters and he'll smell the chicken, but I doubt he'll notice how much has been organized and packed, too bad. He'll be happy once he decides its time to pack and notices how much is already done. As far as the house goes I think, think, we will get the house in Westminster that I have wanted the whole time. The land lord is very SLOW moving, but I think we will  be able to sign a lease in the next two weeks.....we'll see. I am not too worried though, since every day there seems to be a new listing on craigslist that is "available now" so if the house I want falls through {hopefully not} we will have "a" house to move into. As I looked at all the boxes I realized that I was a little, just a little, sad to be leaving. Why? Well, my husband purposed to me here, I came home from my wedding here, I brought my baby home from the hospital here, my little guy had his first Birthday here. So, a lot of memories were made here, but leaving doesn't erase the memories, it only opens the door to new ones.

Kelly Callahan

40 Days and Counting

As we know, I am very excited to move out of my apartment. But.... as time gets closer to our move out day {40 days now} I feel more anxious than excited, why? Because I still don't know where I am going to be taking all the boxes I have packed up. I have my mind set on one house, and there is really no reason we won't get the home, but I will not feel better until I have a signed lease in my hands. I am not sure why the land lord is choosing to take his time, he has someone {that's me} who is willing to sign a lease and write him a check, and he keeps putting off a time to meet. I figure by the end of this week I need to know for sure. So, if he can't make it a sure thing I will be looking for other homes. Of course I have already had my eye out for other places to live, but I feel I shouldn't spend too much time looking and driving around if in a couple of days I may be able to sign a lease on the home I want. There is only one downside to this home.... it doesn't have AC, now I can deal....even though I am sure you will hear me speak differently of this once I am typing my blog in a hot house, but as far as I know I'll be okay. The problem is only a problem because of my hubby. My husband is obsessed with AC, he blasts it in his truck, and in the apartment. I have to turn my vents away in the truck because he leaves it on so long and strong that I actually have goosebumps when it is 90 degrees outside. I am not sure why he has to have it, he never had it as a kid, and maybe that is why he needs it even more now. Who knows, all I know is that he was not too pleased when my little dream rental did not come with AC {although he should just be happy I stayed in our budget} I also think ahead 40 days and I am in shock, if it isn't the house I want it will still be a house that we are moving into. This is crazy, for the past four years all I have known is three flights of stairs and one level living. I will not miss the stairs, but at this point it is nice not to have to worry about my little man being at the top of the stairs and me being in the kitchen{ yes I know baby gates will be an instant fix, but its still a weird thought for me} And, I will have a backyard....you mean I don't have to walk our dog early in the morning or late at night? I can just let her out? Wow, this sounds great, when we first got our pup we lived in a town home, we had an outdoor area but no grass, so this yard thing will be new to Moxy too.  I think I am so excited about all the space I will have I haven't stopped to realize its really going to happen{REALLY!} for the past two years I thought we'd be moving but something always came up to make us stay, but this year the papers are signed and we are outta here, new home or not! The apartment people even came by to see the apartment and tell me what to clean, and they actually told me not to worry about the carpet, since they would be replacing it. Did this stop me from scrubbing the floor when my son dropped his red Popsicle last night? No, I figure I want it looking nice for my last 40 days! They seemed happy that I had not destroyed the apartment in the past four years {which I am sure many college guys do} They didn't come up with much for me to do....of course they didn't look very closely, and when the home is empty I am sure I will be scrubbing all the corners to avoid ANY extra charge. For now I will continue to get organized, and prepare myself as best I can for the move.....thankfully we will be paying movers for the hard stuff, but it will still be a pain in the butt. I better get back to my Monday routine.... Dinner is prepped, banana bread out of the oven, laundry done, floors done, but the dishwasher isn't going to unload itself so I better get to it. Keep your fingers crossed that I will have a signed lease by next week at this time so I can breathe easy { at least for a minute}

Kelly Callahan

Job Hunt, Mom Style

Okay, we have all looked for jobs, but looking for a job as a Mom is different. You either have to find a job the will pay enough to not only pay for daycare but to be worth your time { I personally do not want to put my son in daycare, so this was not an option}, or you can find a job where you can bring your child along {few and far between} My obvious mission has been to find a nanny job. I had a great job, but they so rudely decided to put there kids in daycare instead of paying me. Since I lost my job I have found it very hard to find families who are open to me bringing my son to work with me. Sure I've had an offer here and there, but there is no way I will work for next to nothing just because my son is with me. As I send out application after application I start to wonder why I am even wasting my time. Then it happened, two hours after applying for a job I actually got a response, now I did not get my hopes up, many of my responses simply say "thank you for your response but at this time we are looking for a caregiver who will not bring there children to work with them"  But this time was a pleasant surprise, someone actually loved my profile {did they somehow miss the part about having a 20 month old?} And, they wanted to talk on the phone later that night. I was very excited, even though part of me is not looking forward to working all week, the other part of me likes money {weird, I know} I have a long and what I thought to be a good conversation with the Mother, and she tells me she will talk things over with her husband and they will call me the next morning if they would like to set up a time to meet in person. The next morning I was very anxious to see if I got my phone call {silly because I don't even 100 percent know if I want this job} Well, I got my phone call and set up an interview for...TONIGHT. My interview is now in 3 hours and I am not too nervous. I figure if this job is meant to be then I will get it, and if I don't then there is something better out there for Max and I. I am only worried that my little crazy man will break something in their house, they have a 5 month old, so they have not yet baby proofed. I am sure they will get some tips tonight from Max on what needs to be put away or locked :) I will just be happy to be at the end of this process, if I get the job, great lets start work, if not, I will get back to my routine of sending in applications every morning. Now I have to relax and get dinner ready so we can eat before we go, hopefully the hubby will be home in time for our early dinner. Part of me thinks it is about time for things to go my way, I haven't had the best of luck lately so maybe I will get a job, and then get the house I want too. Maybe that is asking for too much, but it is all possible so we'll see what happens. Now it is time to play with cement mixers while trying to get dinner in the oven, and before I know it time will answer everything.

Kelly Callahan

Just Get Me Home

Today started off great, we woke up at a decent time and were off to meet our friends at the mall. After a little shopping, some lunch, and some time in the sand box, it was time to go to one of our favorite stops. Sprouts. Nothing too special, just a local place to go get great deals on fruits and veggies { and our stop for yogurt covered pretzels} As we began to drive to Sprouts we were stuck in some construction traffic. I didn't mind, I had my music on, a happy kid, and the air conditioning was blasting. Then I heard it, one sound a girl{ I'm sure guys don't like it either, but they pretend to be less worried} doesn't want to hear, the little "ding" your car makes when it is turning on a warning light. The "ding" is so polite, you would think they would make it more dramatic, especially when it is saying "Turn your air conditioning off or your car is going to over heat!" I see my warning light and notice my car is running a temperature. This has never happened to me before, but I use common sense and turn off my air conditioning and roll down the windows {not that the hot air outside helped much} We reached our destination with no major issues and I shopped for our veggies with no worries for the drive home. I guess I thought my car would work out its problem in the lot{typical girl thinking I guess}.... My car was obviously sicker than I had assumed {or wanted} as soon as we start our journey home the little light comes back on, and this time I wasn't even trying to run my air. As I am now at least 30 minutes from home I realize we might have a problem here. I call my husband, and what does he ask me? When did I last check my coolant level....{ha, really? my what? that's his job} Anyway, I remind him I am a female and he changes his plan of attack. He then tells me to turn on the heat. Great, heat. It's 98 degrees outside and I am turning on my heat. As I focus on the the little temperature level, it has fun bouncing between the black and red lines. Every time I stop at a light the heat level goes up, so I did my best to make it through those yellow lights. As I stay on the phone with my husband he continues to tell me what could be wrong, and tells me if it dies not to touch the radiator cap { he has to be out of his mind if he thinks I would touch anything if my car broke down, honestly I would have to look around for the hood release button} As he is telling me all this, all I want to know is if the car can get us home, of course he doesn't know. As I get closer to home my eyes keep scanning my little car thermometer, it keeps inching into the red, now it is just teasing me. We finally make it home and I had the biggest glass of iced tea I could make myself. My little man has a glass of cold milk and we recover quickly. My husband then tells me not to drive my car again until he looks at it. He must think I am stupid if he thinks I would go out in that thing again, I don't like to set myself up for a disaster {well, not on purpose anyway} He then reminds me that we have a nice and new{newer} Ford F-150 sitting outside.....hmmm, do I want to drive our monster truck? No thanks, I think we'll just stay home. I love the inside of the truck, because it looks so sleek and new compared to my little dodge{ and my little guy loves it for its DVD player}, but it is just too big for me. I might have to try it out though, especially if my car is still sick next week. As much as I hate my car sometimes, I hate car payments more, so I don't want to buy a new car when I have a paid off car {call me crazy} And as my father pointed out, they don't have coupons for cars....too bad.  So let's all hope my little car can be fixed quickly and without using up our moving money. As for now.....I'll be here, unless I decide to take out the truck, in that case, watch out.

Kelly Callahan

The Puddle

Of all the things that I thought might go wrong today, I never thought it would be a stupid puddle that was the end of me. But boy was I wrong. We were off to meet our friends for a fun day at the "beach" at Bear Creek Lake, my little man was having fun in the water, digging with his shovel, and even sat down to eat some lunch. But then it happened. He saw the puddle, the big puddle on the sidewalk. At first I assumed it was harmless, he's walk through it once and that would be the end of it. But no, not only was this puddle the best puddle ever {according to Max} but it was also VERY slippery. How did I find this out? Well, my little guy was walking towards the puddle as I followed behind, then he went for it, he ran in, he slipped, he fell. Ouch. But he jumped back up before I could even scoop him up, I said let's go and waited for him to follow. As he began to follow he changed his mind, turning and running back to the puddle, slip, fall, ouch. Now both legs and somehow a foot were scraped up. We were done with the puddle. But, he wasn't so thrilled with that decision, and everyone there was going to hear about it. As I carried him back towards our towel and toys he screamed as loud as he could. As soon as I would put him down he would make a break for the moss covered puddle. I tried taking him to the lake {a big puddle, right?} Well, he wasn't having it. I told him we could look for fish and frogs, this distracted him momentarily , but then he was bolting to the puddle again, and again, and again. As I stood in the lake holding my crying child, I realized this was not going to work. As much as I wanted to stay and have fun, and maybe even talk to my friends for more than a second, I knew we had to go. I sadly said goodbye, and we packed up our stuff to go. Max cried as we walked by that stupid puddle, and I wanted to too. Why couldn't we have a fun "beach" day? Why did we have to have a bad day when we had planned a good day? I guess this is all just par for the course and I should be getting used to it by now. At least I have friends who understand why I can never finish a conversation, and why I can't always stay, even if I want to.  I wasn't just sad for me, I was sad for Max. If only that puddle hadn't of caught his eye he would've had a fun day. So today is not blamed on me, or Max, it is blamed on the puddle. I am sure we will go through many more meltdowns, for many different reasons, and I am okay with that. Why? Because I can't avoid them, and as soon as my little guy says "mommy?" and gives me a kiss, I forget all about his little fit and we start fresh. I am also hoping that one day he'll grow out of it....one day.

Katherine Callahan

Since when do I kill the bugs?

Okay, I think most of us girls remember yelling for Dad when we saw a bug of a bug of any kind {okay not rollie pollies, I loved those} But you know what I am talking about. Well I recently noticed that when there is a bug on the floor or on the wall in our house I {yes ME} am the one who is rushing at it with a shoe or paper towel. Just last night my son was brushing his teeth in the bathroom and started saying "bug, bug" I told him "no hunny bugs are outside" Well silly me was wrong, there was a nasty little pincher bug crawling on the bathroom floor, my smart little boy kindly pointed it out as I smashed it with toilet paper. He seemed a little upset that he no longer had a bug to watch, but I was so grossed out that I washed the bathroom floors. I HATE BUGS, yet I have now taken on my Mom responsibility to deal with them quickly and without fear {well without showing fear} I am now more thankful than ever that everytime I would yell at my parents to get the bug they would take care of it for me. I guess my time was always coming but I just didn't want to admit that it was now my duty. I just hope that I never have to be the one to catch the mouse thats in the house....or worse. If there was ever a snake "problem" I don't think I could do it, my Dad may be getting a call. All the more reason to move closer to Boulder, in case of any rodent emergencies, my father won't be too far away. As far as moving goes we are actually moving forward in the whole process. We have had our "walk through" with the apartment people, so they could tell me what to clean, we have an appointment to see a house in Westminster this week, and I have already started packing. When I realize how mu ch I can actually pack ahead of time I have to pause and ask myself if I really need all this stuff, and most of the time, I do. I may not be using it in the next month and a half, but I will use it sometime in the future, so I am not going to get rid of all my belongings just to make it an easier move {although it is tempting} I have been cleaning and packing most of the day, but my son and I took a much needed break to go down to the pool. He loved getting out and splashing around, and so did I. I have to make sure to make plenty of time for him and not get too caught up in my moving frenzy. There is only so much I can do in advance, but I know I will be very happy that I started early as moving day gets closer. We have actually moved up our moving day, simply to be more "attractive" to people renting out their homes, many more people will wait 17 days into the month than those who would wait 24. Even though in the long term it wouldn't make a huge difference, it seems to be a big deal to the land lords I have talked to. So our countdown is now down to 53 days. I know this sounds far away, but as fast as time goes, I want to stay ahead of the moving game. Now that my little man is napping I will fold his clothes and bake some brownies, you know, "mom" stuff :)

Kelly Callahan

A house will fix it

Obviously I have been very anxious to move {I am sure I point out many down falls of apartment living} I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, we will be moving in 68 days {yes, I counted} I have turned in our "notice" to our apartments letting them know they can have their stupid apartment back in September. I then realized we have lived here almost FOUR years. Wow, that is nuts, and it sure wasn't the plan. But I figure we saved a lot of money by not paying new deposits and paying movers the last four years. I also realized that we have accumulated a lot of "stuff" in the last four years, and another tenant :) I keep hearing myself say that all I need is "more space" or we just need "a garage" or if only we had "a basement" or " a yard" ...... if only we had these things my life would magically be easier. So I got to thinking, am I putting to much pressure on this new home of ours? Can a house really solve so many problems for me? I sure hope so, because as I begin to dig through my closet I just keep thinking "if only I had more space" so hopefully when I do have the space I will be pleased and finally feel organized. At this point I feel as though I can only clean to a point, and then there is just nowhere else to put things, so its either a stack here, or a stack there. Maybe I just need to get rid of more things, but it seems I donate all the time and a little troll keeps bringing stuff back in and putting it in my closet! Yet another stresser on me at this moment is finding a home. I know that usually homes don't go up for rent until about a month before they need new tenants {many property managers have informed me of this when I call about their August listings} but, I want to know where I am going to live, I feel like waiting until a month before is cutting it close, even though I know there will be plenty to choose from {well I hope there is} I still feel like my life is up in the air while we have told our apartments we are leaving yet have no place to leave to. I guess I'll feel better in about a month when I can finally start looking at real options for a nice place to settle down for awhile {well, I hope we will find a place who would like people to stay more than a year, we'll just have to hope for the best} I don't see why they wouldn't want good people who take care of the home and pay rent on time to stay, unless they just love that big old deposit they get with each new tenant. I figure I will slowly dig through my belongings and start to pack things I do not need right now{like our winter coats....its SO hot out lately I don't even want to see them} I am going to try and not stress too much about the move, and the fact that we don't have a place to move at this moment in time. I can only hope that my future home will solve my problems, whatever home gets the job has some work to do.

Kelly Callahan

Another Monday

Most people may dread Mondays for the traffic, the new work week, or just waking up early.....Me? I dread cleaning the floors. Monday is the day I scrub the floors, and I mean scrub. I am on my hands and knees trying to make my stupid apartment cheap cheap floors look nice. This is not an easy task. I usually finish the kitchen floor while my little man is playing in the morning, and have to wait to do the bathroom when he is taking a nap. It is NOT possible to clean a bathroom with a 19 month old running through every two seconds climbing on your back as you try and keep his little hands away from the cleaners. Today I started with the kitchen floor, put together some puzzles with little man, vacuumed, and did the dishes. After playing with some trucks it was time to get organized for the grocery store. I am doing my best to save as much money as possible with my coupons so I take my time to plan my trips. If I stick to what is on my list I end up saving a lot, but if I pick up my impulse items we're in trouble. I get together a LONG list and a BIG stack of coupons and finally get my son out the door. We go to the King Soopers that is a little further away simply because they have the carts with the TVs in them, these big trips would not be possible without this amazing invention. I start up the Mickey Mouse Club and get going on my list. 60 items later I am ready for the checkout. I carefully select the nicest looking gal and hope for the best. She was very nice and didn't mind scanning all my coupons. I glanced up once while she was scanning only long enough to see my total was over 110 dollars.....uh oh. But after my Sooper Card and coupons my new total was 61.98. I was very happy. I had just saved 49% off my order. I had bought enough food for 5 meals at home, and plenty of snacks. {and way too much cereal} I just love thinking that before coupons I would spend over 100 every week and never get anything extra, and now I spend less and get MORE. So fun to see my little stockpile grow. My great finds lately have been at rite aid, I have been getting free toothbrushes, free toothpaste, free razors, and free air fresheners. These items last a long time and I don't feel crazy having a lot of them because I am sure I will use them. I am happy to have my coupons skills for the next 6 months, why? Because for the next 6 months we are going to try and buy ONLY what we truly need. This means no little extras, no ordering pizza, and no going to get ice cream :( So I feel like I will still be having my fun by getting my deals and freebies every week. We need to save what we can for our move {since I insist we will be hiring movers} and for some new furniture { our couch is looking very sad, it will soon be the "basement" couch} As far as me finding another job, well... I have been applying like crazy the past week, but so far .... NOTHING. But, all I can do is try. I know not everyone is open to a nanny who brings her own Tasmanian devil to work:) Wish me luck on saving and making money....we'll see how it goes.

Kelly Callahan

I'm Back

I am happy to say my computer is finally working. This makes me very happy! While I had plenty to write about I was trapped with a computer that would not connect to the Internet! But now it is fixed, thanks to my hubby, and I can vent once again!

Well.... where should I start? I guess I should fill you in on our Sand Dune adventure. Ever since I went to the Sand Dunes with my Dad and had an amazing day building sand castles and running through the stream I had always wanted to go back. Now that I have my own little man I had a good reason to drag my husband 4 hours away to a big sand box. Now the trick with the sand dunes is to get there when the stream is flowing {only a couple of months a year, due to the snow melt in the mountains} and when it is warm. This is tricky, and we almost missed it this year. The snow pack on the mountains was lower than usual so the stream was drying up faster. So what did I see after a four hour car ride with a 19 month old? Well, just a lot of sand. I almost cried. But then I saw a glimmer of hope. If you looked up stream a little ways {okay a lot ways....but it was worth the walk} you could see a huge group of people along the stream bed, as the stream disappears it retracts back towards the mountain, so if you walked closer to the mountains there was a little water, really just a little. We take the hike towards the people through the hot sand as I promise my husband that Max will love having the water. I was right. As soon as my little guy saw the little streams of water he went nuts, splashing, jumping, screaming{ this was a new one, he isn't a screamer....well wasn't, until he noticed how fun it was} The families that had been there since the morning had dug holes and made "pools" to trap the remaining water. It was a clever idea and they were nice enough to let Max play in the water they had trapped. He was doing great until he got thirsty....he decided to bend over and have a little sandy water, well, Mom didn't like this idea which made him mad, very mad. I tried giving him his water bottle, but it just wasn't as appealing as the gross sand water he was playing in. We eventually got over it and he continued to play with his sand toys. Once the wind picked up we knew it was time to go. When it gets really windy at the sand dunes you don't want to be there, all that sand pelting your legs really hurts! After taking our LONG walk back to the car we try and get the sand off of us and Max. This was easier said than done. When you see pictures of all that sand I think you know that if you go play in it you will be covered in it for quite sometime. We make some Sandwiches in the car and have some pasta salad before heading to our hotel. This is where I got nervous....remember my last hotel experience? I do. No tub, crying baby....bad. Well, Max was very excited to see the hotel room and this hotel had a great pool area that he had a blast in. I was happy to wear him out some more for the night ahead. After a very slow dinner {slowest service ever....but the food was good, and Max was good, so I was still happy} and a bath...yes a bath, we had a tub! Max watched a little TV with Mom and Dad and we put him to sleep in his pack and play....and....wow he went right to sleep. I was in shock! He woke up once at about three am, but after a nice warm bottle {way to go hotel for having a fridge and a microwave} he went back down until 8. Then it was time to start the next leg of our trip. We were off to see the Royal Gorge and walk across the bridge. I was a little nervous to walk across since I am afraid of heights... but I knew I would do it, its just a bridge right? Well it is just a bridge, but wow is their a long drop down! And as a walker I REALLY didn't like when cars drove by us, making the bridge sway and creak....ehhh. Max had a great day looking at the animals and riding the little train. We had a great day and were ready to head home. We debated staying one more night in Colorado Springs and then going to the Mountain Zoo in the morning, but we didn't want to push our luck. We had an amazing little family adventure with no melt downs {thanks in part to the car DVD player we bought} So we headed home. This little trip went so smoothly I was amazed. We had a great time and it made me look forward to more great getaways in the future. And as my little man gets older I know it will just get better.

Kelly Callahan