Bragging Rights...

I just scored this $90 dress from Strasburg Children for $29 on ebay. Thank you, thank you, no applause please ;)

Rock a bye

Kissy Kissy

Nice little Saturday.

Today we got up, had breakfast and then headed out to run some errands after Finley woke up from her morning nap. We went to the library to get some more books to read to the kids at the YMCA. We went by the post office to mail some things, but the line was out the door so that will have to wait until Monday. We went to Subway for lunch(I'm back on the wagon) and then we ran to the grocery store and came home. I went back out to go by this store that was having a sale and got Finley a really cute little smocked dress with ballerinas on it. Joey grilled chicken and tilapia for dinner and now we are just relaxing with the little bug and enjoying our evening. I think Joey and I will watch Couple's Retreat after Finley goes to bed. We'll see if we can stay up that late. All in all a great day!

Thursday's Thirteen

1.) TODAY WILL BE THE DAY!!!!

2.) Finley aka Damien has started doing this deep-throated growling thing. It is truly scary and when I'm home alone with her and she does it I get a little freaked out. Video coming soon.

3.) Finley has learned how to give kisses. It is the cutest thing ever! If you say give me a kiss, she will lean towards you, mouth wide open, and give you a kiss then smile shyly. Haha! It's great!

4.) I'm really excited to get an Easter dress. Every year as long as I can remember I went to buy an Easter dress to wear to church on Easter. It is a long-standing tradition and now I get to pass it on to Finley;)

5.) My 10 yr. high school reunion is coming up. You know how when someone brings up someone you went to high school with there is always some little story or tidbit you remember about them that they probably don't remember or were never aware of? I wonder what people remember about me? Not sure I want to know;)

6.) I went to get my license renewed. My picture wasn't horrible!! That's when you know it's going to be a good day.

7.) The man in front of me at the license office turned around when he heard Finley babbling and smiled at her. He only had 2 or 3 teeth. I can only imagine what she will say when she's 4 and something like that happens. "Mommy, why doesn't that man have any teeth?" How will I hold it together?

8.) That reminds me of the time I was in a public restroom and heard a little girl in the stall next to mine ask her mom where babies came from. I remember the mother's exact words..."Lord help me" she said.

9.) We buy Finley's formula at Sam's and it comes in a huge can. Today we got a can and it will be the last can of formula we buy her. Normally I would be sad that she's growing up, but I will not miss spending a fortune on formula. Yippee!!!

10.) Why do all the candy-giving holidays come right before bathing suit season??? Why??? Christmas, Valentine's, Easter...it's a conspiracy!

11.) My new advice for a mother-to-be. Invest in a really nice camera and some photography classes and learn to sew, smock and monogram. This should save you at least $5000 a year.

12.) I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!!

13.) There is a huge sale going on at Gymboree. I mean, huge!! There are clothes for 99 cents. I went today and I stood in line forever because women were in there buying heaps and heaps of clothes. The girl told me to call tomorrow because they had tons of stuff in the back that they were going to bring out and price between $5-$10.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Bossy!

Here is a video of Finley bossing Joey and I around as usual. We aren't sure who taught her to throw up gang signs/the finger, but until we break her of it we're staying on the good side of town.

Such a slacker...

I have been such a slacker in the blog department so starting today I promise to update it at least every 3 days even if it's just a picture. Speaking of pictures, this is the only one I took all weekend! Shame on me!

We had a great week! Monday, we just hung around the house and relaxed. It warmed up a little outside so I took Finley for a long walk in her car. Tuesday was Fat Tuesday. Joey and I tried to get into Mardi Gras when we first moved to Mobile, but we can't seem to stir up any enthusiasm for moon pies, beads and parades. I wanted to take Finley to one of the parades over on the Eastern Shore, but it was too cold so we decided against it. When she's older I definitely want to take her to NOLA for Mardi Gras. When I was little I lived there and went to all the parades so I want to take her at least once so she can experience the parades and have beignets at Cafe Du Monde. YUMMM! Tuesday night we left for Birmingham and it was a quiet drive up. Lots of deer again. Wednesday I went to lunch and did some shopping with my friend Jennie and her baby Scarlett. She is precious!!! That night, Joey's brother and Laura and the kids came over. Finley loves her cousins. Anna Grace is so good with her. We were all sitting around Finley watching her throw apples all over the kitchen (Sorry Grammie!) and AG said, "Finley is so fun to be around." She's 7. How sweet is that? Thursday I went shopping with my mom and we got Finley some really cute things. We got her Anywhere chair from PB for her birthday gift from me and Daddy. My mom bought some things for her house and they gave her some gift certificates which she gave to me so that was awesome and really helped out! I got a couple things for her Easter basket, a bathing suit and cover-up, another little outfit for Spring and then Cici bought her a pair of shoes. I can already tell my weakness for summer is going to be bathing suits. They have got the cutest bathing suits for little girls. I also got her some shoes to go with her Easter dress on sale. Oh and I'm so excited that Easter falls early this year because we will be in Bham for her birthday party so we can go to our church where Finley was Baptized! Yea!! Pastor Tom will be so excited to see her! Thursday night I went to dinner with my bestie, Kristen. Friday I just relaxed at my mother-in-law's house with Finley and started packing up. We left Friday night and the drive home was good. Lots of deer again. I actually look for them on the side of the road and it really helps pass the time. Sad, I know. Saturday Joey was playing golf and got a call from a realtor that wanted to show the house. Luckily I had cleaned the house before I went out of town so I just had to straighten up and vacuum. The guy who came to look seemed to like it and he was being transferred here for his job so I'm thinking he has to make a decision quickly. I would love to hear back from the realtor saying he is interested. We shall see! Saturday afternoon I went to Andrea's baby shower and it was really nice. She got lots of good stuff. It was nice to go to a baby shower and see the mommy-to-be getting BOY things. My friends are having little girls like it's going out of style! While I was there, I saw an old sorority sister I haven't seen or talked to in forever and we decided to crash another sorority sister's bachelor/bachelorette party in Biloxi since we are so close. She recently moved down here and we are both kinda lonely so we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see our AOII sisters. We headed to Biloxi after the shower and met up with a bunch of UAB/AOII friends. It was lots of fun!! We laughed and talked and hugged and it was great! We couldn't stay long because I had an hour long drive home and Jaime had another hour drive after that so we headed out kind of early. Still it was great to see friends. I feel so much happier in general after I have spent time with friends. Friends are chicken soup for the soul;) Today we are just hanging out. I may go to Michael's later and see if they have anything cute I can use at Finley's birthday party which is in 6 weeks!! When in the world did a year go by without my noticing. I just had Finley a couple months ago, I swear! Oh it goes by so fast!!! I hope everyone has a great week! I'm hoping for warm beautiful weather;)

Our would-be anniversary...

In honor of Valentine's Day, here is a really embarrassing picture of Joey and I back in the day

I always tease Joey that Valentine's Day could have been our dating anniversary if he hadn't messed it up. We met in January of 2003 in Accounting class at UAB. A mutual friend of ours asked me to come sit with him and his friends on the first day of class so I did. I was sitting one person down from Joey and found out later that he asked that person to switch seats with him so he could sit by me. I cannot in a million years picture Joey doing that, but apparently he did because a few days later he was sitting by me. We just talked in class and occasionally saw each other out. Anyway, a few days before Valentine's Day Joey called me and asked me what I was doing for Valentine's Day. I told him I had plans with this other person. I remember telling my friends later that I wasn't sure if he was asking because he just wanted to know or if he was asking because if I didn't have plans he wanted to ask me out. I was hoping it was the latter;) Our first date was the next week and we've been together ever since. So, that's the story behind our would-be anniversary.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY JOEY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Snow and an early Valentine's Day present!

It snowed today for about a minute and a half. It started coming down really hard while Finley was taking a nap so as soon as she woke up I threw some warm clothes on her and took her outside only to find that the snow had turned to icy rain. She was barely awake as you can see from her yawning picture. Boo!!! Oh well, it was nice for a little while.


Last but not least, my awesome hubby and daughter gave me my Valentine's Day present early. I got a stroller! I've had my eye on it for a while now. I'm so excited! I've been strolling Finley around the house in it;) Thank you Joey and Finley!!! I love you!

Thursdays Thirrr....five.

1.) I got to see Finley's 9/10 month pictures yesterday and they are AMAZING!!! I highly recommend Johanna Cosby. I cannot say enough good things about her or her work. Now all I need is more space for picture frames. Maybe I'll have the pics made into wallpaper ;)

2.) I decided not to make the Cowgirl Cookie jars for Finley's bday party favors. They are going to cost like $80 to make. That seems like a lot for party favors. I think I'll just have decorated cookies instead.

3.) Did anyone watch Taboo last night? There was a guy on there who has been having a monogamous relationship with a silicon doll for 10 years. Yes, a doll. He cleans her, puts on her make-up, dresses her and props her up wherever he is an holds her hand. Also, in case you were wondering, he says she is a really good kisser.

4.) Finley is talking up a storm. The funniest is when she motions towards something while babbling like she is trying to explain something to me. I can't wait to hear what her little voice sounds like.

5.) You may have noticed that I haven't put up any WW updates. I've been slacking lately. I haven't gained any weight back, but I haven't lost any either. Anyways, it's none of your business so just back off!

Wordless Wednesday.

What a little angel! The same little angel who hit me in the face today when I told her, "no, no".

Coupon Craze...

This post was inspired by something that happened today at Walgreens. I don't usually shop at Wal-greens, but it was on my way home from running errands. The guy who checked me out offered me a free body wash using a coupon they had at the register. Like an idiot I said sure and when I got home and added it up I had actually spent $2.00 more than I would have had I told him no. I'm more annoyed at myself than I am at him because I fell for it. The manufacturers are going to get their money no matter what and they can package things pretty cleverly to make sure that happens. Anyway, it got me thinking. I'm a little suspicious of this "coupon craze". When I really think about it, I'm just not sure people are actually saving money. This is not a criticism, no ma'am, but rather a "hmmm...I wonder." Of the people I know who use coupons, they usually have to drive to at least two or three places, to use the coupons they have because they are for different stores. Gas isn't cheap. Also, when the coupons can be used on different days they have to go to the store on that day even if they just went yesterday or the day before. More gas. When I look through the paper, I browse through the coupons and I rarely see coupons for things someone truly needs. So, I'm just wondering if anyone has ever really figured out the true savings when you include traveling to different stores on different days, factor in how much stuff they buy that they don't really need and also the time, which in my opinion is just as valuable as money, they spend finding coupons, clipping, organizing, etc. I guess I'm just thinking that if I were really trying to save money, I wouldn't buy things I didn't need even if I had a coupon. I usually buy the off brand also unless I really think the name brand is better. I never see coupons for off brand products so I wonder if they are cheaper than name brands even if they have a coupon. I'm not a brand snob though;) Some people just like to buy the name brand and I really do understand that. Now, if you are couponing to save money on things you are going to buy anyway, that's a different story. So many people are clipping coupons now, it makes me think maybe I'm missing out on something great. You would think it if wasn't worth it someone would have written a book or something about how it's all a huge rip-off. I shop at Wal-Mart. I buy all household cleaners, groceries, diapers, formula, shampoo, conditioner, everything at Wal-mart. I know that sometimes grocery stores will have stuff cheaper if they are having a deal, but then when the deal is over, do people still shop there or do they shop somewhere else? That's the kind of stuff I wonder about. I guess I'm thinking I can shop at Wal-mart (buying mainly off brands) and buy everything at pretty low prices all the time or I can clip coupons for Publix and buy stuff at really low prices sometimes and really high prices other times. Maybe it all evens out. I'm too lazy to really sit down and try to figure it all out so if anyone has any facts or theories on the subject I would love to hear them. For those of you who do coupon, Happy Couponing!!!

Quite possibly the easiest chicken recipe EVER!!!

This was really yummy! It took less than 5 minutes to prep the chicken.

Mix 2 cups of french fried onion rings (the kind in the little can) with 2 tablespoons of flour in a ziploc bag and crush.

Beat 1 egg and coat chicken breast with egg and then coat with onion ring mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Voila! I got this off a tv commerical for the onion rings ;)

Sunday's Seven.

I skipped Thursday's Thirteen so here is my make-up ;)

Sunday's Seven

1.) I really, really, really hate it when people don't use their turn signal. It's so easy, but people REFUSE to do it. I will never understand why.

2.) The only part of the Superbowl I'm interested in seeing is Carrie Underwood performing the National Anthem. I love her! Oh and I also want to eat some Rotel dip.

3.) Finley is starting to show signs of oppositional defiance disorder. I don't know what you call it when a 10 month old has it. Maybe it's called stubbornness.

4.) I'm officially ready for warmer weather. I do like cold weather, but once I'm over it, I'm over it.

5.) I'm a little too excited about the white flare legged jeans I bought Finley today. There are so many wardrobe possibilities that I can't even wrap my head around it.

6.) Please keep praying for our family. We're still waiting on that "thing" to happen for us.

7.) I can't get enough of watching Finley dance. It is so cute! Anytime music comes on whether it's the radio, the tv or a toy that makes noise, that girl starts gettin' down!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Party favor idea.

I really want to give out party favors at Finley's birthday party, but the children who are invited are mainly little babies who can't have tiny toys. I thought about doing cookies that matched her cake, but babies can't really eat cookies either. So, I decided that the party favors needed to be for the parents. I'm not very creative, but I'm a great imitator;) I looked online and found a really cute party favor idea that matches her party theme so I'm going to give it a try and hope for the best. I don't see how I can possible mess this up, but you just never know. I wanted to share the idea because it would work for any occasion. The website even has a template you can download to make the labels. The entire website has great ideas and tells how to do everything. I'm definitely bookmarking it!

www.bakerella.com

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

I am so torn about parting with Finley's baby stuff. We do not have room to keep all this stuff!!! Our closets are overflowing!!! I know that one day we will have another baby and may need some of these things, but am I really going to store all this somewhere for 2 to 3 years? Most of it is pink. What if I have a boy? Will I want to let my little boy play in a hot pink exersaucer? Will it be all dusty and gross by that time? Will they still work? Not to mention, Finley didn't really love playing with any of the things mentioned above. She would sit in any of them for 5 to 10 minutes tops. What if I keep all this stuff around and my next baby is the same way. This morning I had had it and I called a consignment shop up the street to see if they would take it and they said I could bring it all by tomorrow. Then as I was wiping everything down and washing the cloth parts I started getting sentimental about getting rid of it all. That is not like me at all. I throw everything away. I keep very few things around for sentimental value. I am constantly cleaning out and consolidating our things. Just ask Joey ;) But, now I just don't know. It would be nice to make a little money (if they are able to sell it) and have some closet space, but are those two reason enough to get rid of it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

10 months.

Finley is 10 months old today and I can't believe it has been that long since she was born. It feels like it was just yesterday.

As of today she can...
feed herself with her fingers
hold her own bottle
drink out of a sippy cup
crawl like a champ
she took a couple steps twice this weekend
she can stand by herself
she can say dada, mama, mmmm (as in yummy) and hi.
if I'm getting her dressed and she's being cooperative she will switch whatever she is holding to the other hand while I pull that hand through her clothes and then switch back so I can do the other arm. I was amazed when she did that.

she loves to eat...
waffles
pimento cheese
Gerber graduates puffs in any flavor
grits
any bread
bananas
crackers
turkey dogs
actually, she will eat mostly any table food except peas. She's not a fan of peaches and strawberries either, but I think they are too sweet/bitter for her now.
Nutrigrain bars (Thanks Heather!)
Cheerios
Baby Mum Mum

she loves to...
play outside
go for walks in her push car and wagon
take a bath
crawl away from mommy and then look back to see if I'm chasing her.
play with any kind of electronics that aren't hers
she'll let me read her a book if she's tired
play with other babies
dogs
play Cici's piano and her toy piano from Grandad

Next up is her 1st birthday!!!

A whirlwind tour...

You know when the media uses that term "whirlwind tour" to describe a singer or band that just got done with a busy concert schedule? Well, the Dambro family just got done with a whirlwind tour and we are all exhausted!I think it was one of our best trips to Bham ever! For me, anyway! I got a much needed dose of friends and it was wonderful. I feel like I'm back in the loop somewhat. Finley is tired too. She has already gone down for a morning nap and she woke up at 7am. Unfortunately I have to go to the post office so I will be forced to get out of my pajamas today :(

Finley and I left Wednesday night about 7:30 and she slept the entire way! Yay! I actually don't mind driving at night. She sleeps so it's nice and quiet and when I leave in the middle of the week the roads are empty so I can put my cruise control on and just ride. The only thing I don't like is that all along the way I kept seeing deer eating grass on the side of the interstate and they were so close to the road!! There were tons of them! I saw at least 50 on my way up. I wouldn't see them until I was already pretty close and I kept worrying one would try to cross the road and I wouldn't be able to stop fast enough and I couldn't risk trying to swerve and losing control of the car so I guess I would just have to hit it. Geez! I really hope that never happens!! Anyway, we got to my mom's house and got her inside and brought everything in. Finley went back to sleep pretty easily. Thursday we went to eat lunch with my mom and then Finley got her 9 month pictures taken (she'll be 10 months tomorrow so we're a little behind). Finley was really good and I can't wait to see them! That night I went to dinner with some friends from high school and we had lots of fun laughing and catching up. Friday Joey joined us after his hunting trip to Marion. That night we grilled steaks at my mom's with some family friends. I'll go ahead and tell you that I did not follow WW this weekend and I'm not even weighing in today because I know I blew it. I'm going to do good today and weigh in tomorrow. Saturday we went to Waffle House for breakfast and then we went to Best Buy and a couple computer stores so Joey could look for some gadget. We went to his mom's for lunch and she had hamburgers and brownies for dessert. Finley played with her cousins and we all just sat around and "visited". That night Joey and I went to dinner with my bestie, Kristen, and her husband. I miss her so much!! Then we went and met up with some of Joey's fraternity brothers down in Lakeview. Sunday we got up and started doing laundry and packing up. I took Finley to Amy's baby shower and she had so much fun. She played with my friend Tiffany's little girl and she crawled all over the place. Now that she can crawl, once we get somewhere and she gets comfortable there, she wants DOWN!!! She had some yummy cake and little pimento cheese sandwiches, which we discovered that she loves. Amy looked ridiculously good. It's really not fair. She was the equivalent of a pregnant Heidi Klum. I was 40 lbs. heavier, swollen and pimple faced. It's just wrong!! Anyway, she got lots of good stuff and I can't wait to find out what she's having. For the record, I think it's a boy because she is just as skinny as ever, but with a little basketball belly. We left the shower and went by my step-sister's house and saw Mimi, Natalie and Aunt Cheryl. We played with the doggies, Max and Henry, too. Then we hit the road. Our next stop was Prattville to see my cousin and his wife and kids. Staci and I watched some of the Grammys and she made a roast for dinner. Joey had gone ahead of me when I went to the shower and hunted a little since it was the last day of hunting season, thank goodness! He and my cousins came home and we all ate and the kids played with Finley. We left there about 8pm and she slept the whole way home and went to sleep pretty easily when we got home. Now you know why we are all so tired!!! It was a really great weekend though!

We have a pretty uneventful week ahead which is GREAT!!! I hope it warms up so Finley and I can spend sometime outdoors. I hope everyone has a great week!