Quick Tip and Some Happies

   




      I get excited when I hear of great things that save me money--I'm a frugal kinda girl and a good deal gives me the same kind of high as finding a fabulous pair of new shoes. So when I heard of this fab little trick to save us from having to buy baby shampoo over and over again, I was thrilled. So I thought I'd share it with all those other frugal mom's/dad's out there who also gasp at the price of the much needed and very necessary baby wash. I'm sure Johnson's won't be thrilled that I'm passing along this secret info, but here it goes...

If you have one of these foam pump baby wash bottles -like the one pictured above (or probably really any of those foam dispenser bottles that kids use to wash their hands), make sure it's empty.

 Fill the little foam bottle with about an inch of the normal Johnson's baby shampoo.

Fill up the rest of the bottle with water.

Voila...perfect foam and only an inch of shampoo used!! I'm probably more excited about this than most..but really, it's these little things that bring me such darn joy.

I woke up the other morning, however, in a complete funk. My throat was sore, I hadn't slept well, it was a work day, I had nothing to wear and I forgot to make my lunch the night before. Bad news all around. As I dragged myself out of bed to the sound of my little one crying at the edge of her crib I tried to crack a smile as I pulled her out of bed and kissed the top of her warm little head.
"Morning sunshine", I said as I tried to snap out of it. It didn't work.

Terry came in to get his morning kisses from his girls as I was getting Mya dressed. I tried to pretend that I wasn't in a bad mood, but he saw right through it (as he always somehow does).
"I'll finish getting her dressed, you go get yourself ready" he said to me. So I headed to the shower to the sound of him talking to her and tickling her as she giggled loudly enough for our whole neighbourhood to hear. You can't help but feel better after hearing those sweet little giggles..but I still wasn't completely cured.

I continued to get ready as Terry fed Mya breakfast downstairs and got her ready for daycare. As I brushed my hair and finally found something to wear that somewhat fit this pregnant belly, I heard those little feet coming towards me from in the hallway.
All I heard was "Mama, Mama" (those new little words just melt my heart each and every time)..and I stuck my head out the bedroom door to see her smiling face in the hall searching for me.

I decided in that moment that I had to get out of my funk before continuing on even another moment of the day. So I kissed Terry goodbye, grabbed my girl and cranked up the radio to whatever song happened to be playing (thank you Black Eyed Peas). I swung that little baby around on my hip, singing at the top of my lungs, dancing and spinning her around as her smile reached past her cheeks. She laughed, smiled, clapped and squealed in delight. I laughed with her as I put her on the floor and watched her spin around and around to the music, clapping, smiling and enjoying every last minute of her crazy mother's attempt to put herself in a better mood. It worked though.

I was 15minutes later than usual getting to school that day because of my impromptu dance party that I threw for myself, but it was totally worth it. I didn't want to leave Mya at daycare knowing that I was grumpy and I didn't want my kindergarten kids to come into a classroom with anything but positive energy from me. Back when I was a kid I remember always knowing when my teachers were in bad moods...and because of that, I always vowed to not let my students ever think for a moment that I was in a funk. Kids always take it personally no matter what.
 
So in the end, I showed up at school happy, dressed, lunch packed and ready for my little kiddies to come piling into the school. Sometimes...you just have to sing and dance in order to make the world right again.

And to finish off...a few other recent happies:

1) Chicken walking down the road:

Mya's grandma showed up with this little chicken costume that she found at a thrift store (tags even still on!) for Mya to wear this October...but come on...if someone shows up with a chicken costume you gotta put it on right away. This little girl loved it--even though I'm sure our neighbours were scratching their heads watching this chicken run up and down the sidewalk in April.

What good timing...Terry got home from work just in time to be greeted by a little chicken.

2) Fish Fry!

Our church held a fish fry tonight, so we got take out and Judy came over and we enjoyed a ridiculous amount of food...I mean a ridiculous amount of food. Delicious.

3) Puddle jumping:
I think it must be instinctual...no one ever taught her to jump in puddles..she just naturally started stomping.

5) Practicing for when her new baby brother or sister arrives. We'll have to teach her that milk doesn't go in the nose...but it was a good try regardless. Oliver's such a good sport.

6) Shopping at the Gap--flipping through the racks like a pro, checking the prices and deciding if it's worth it or not.

And the rest of the night will be spent working on the details of a baby shower I'm throwing in a couple of weeks...I love the excitement of more babies to come!  Have a good night!