RIP Dear Camera

Well it's happened. Our camera died. Part of me is sad and part of me is ecstatic, as it means we finally just have to break down and get a new camera.

I'm not entirely convinced that the camera is completely dead, however. When I turn it on, the lens comes out, goes back in and makes a few clicking noises. Then, in the bottom left-hand corner a little "E18" pops up.

I just looked up "E18 Canon error" on Google, and apparently this is a very, very common Canon problem. So common, in fact, that there is a Wikipedia entry for it.

Either way, it's time to get a new camera.

So, without further ado, I'm looking for suggestions on great cameras. I'm just looking for a little point-and-shoot (for now...but oh how I long for an awesome digital SLR - I love to take artsy pictures when I can!) What do you have? Why do you love it? What do you wish it had v. doesn't have? I'm pretty partial to Canon's, but I'm willing to listen if you've got a great camera to brag about. Let me know!

Hi-eeeeee!!!

So about 10 months or so ago I posted a blog entry entitled "Our Social Butterfly". I would have used that for this blog, but I didn't want to be redundant.

But truly, we have a social butterfly on our hands...with one condition. He has to be the one who says hi first. If a stranger says hi to him, he gets all shy and quiet. However, if it's on his terms, he'll yell across a store (which he did today) "HI-EEEEEE!!!!!" And will just keep saying it until the person says hi back or until they walk away.

I do think this has something to do with the fact that it's one of the few words he has perfected. Although, his vocabulary is expanding every day. Sometimes he'll say hi and bye to things/people who aren't even there.

It's funny how some people react with a big smile, a wave and a hello back. And others react as if they didn't hear him (which is entirely impossible). But I also love how he doesn't care what the people look like or what they're doing. If you're there, you're getting a hello.

I do wonder how long this will last. Is this truly a part of his personality or will he grow out of it somewhere down the road? I guess that's part of the journey!

Coastin' in the Ghetto Cruiser

Gabe: Did you leave the car window down last night?

Me: No

Gabe: Are you sure?

Me: Well, unless I accidentally hit the button on my way out of the car.

We came out of my parent's house on Sunday morning to find the front passenger window ajar about 2 inches.

We tried to roll it back up once we started the car, but all we heard was clicking. As we started our way down the driveway, we noticed that it was slowly going down with every bump we hit.

Hmmm.

We still had a good 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to get home and we knew that the window was not going to make it. So we improvised . . .

I'm proud to say that it held up the whole way home, with just a slight cool breeze coming through the small gap at the top. I believe we hit a new high of classiness, don't you? Don't worry, it's been shuttled off to the mechanic. We're no longer shaming ourselves on the highway. I was just glad that we didn't have plastic flapping in the wind - now that's classy!

Wa-wa

While one might think that "wa-wa" is Caleb's cute way of asking for water, I'm here to tell you, that it's just not the case.

In fact, this statement can be heard at just about any breakfast-time, lunchtime and dinnertime meal. Followed by insistent pointing to the freezer door.

He doesn't want water, my friends, he wants a waffle. Two, if you'll let him. Three...but, well, that would be crazy.

I'm not sure how this happened. I had a box up in the freezer as a backup to the classic toast with jam. But he seemed to prefer the waffles.

"Oh, she must put butter and syrup on the waffle" you must be thinking. Nope. He eats them plain. And I gave up on toasting them a long time ago. He's just not patient enough for that. So now he gets microwaved Aldi waffles, almost every morning.

Considering he hasn't been eating very much lately, I'm just excited he's eating. However, I am quite certain that he's going to turn into a waffle one of these days.

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! Wow, you don't realize how many mothers you have in your life until you want to visit all of them in one weekend! We did a lot of traveling this weekend, but honestly, what's new?

My Mother's Day was wonderful! I got to sleep in and was awakened by my two boys with smiles on their faces and breakfast in their hands. Gabe had made cheesy eggs, cereal, a banana and a donut (Entemann's Original - my absolute favorite!), along with juice and some hot spiced chai tea. Yum! It was certainly a breakfast made for a queen! Gabe gave me two restaurant gift certificates to use specifically for taking out a friend and having a quiet meal with no distractions. Who wants to go? If you butter me up, I just might take you! And my son got me a family membership to the Miller Park Zoo. We are definitely going to have to go there a lot this summer to see the animals! All in all, a great day! Here are some shots from the weekend:

Two peas in a pod

Bubbles!!

Mommy & Caleb (17 mos)

And I would have pictures from the other side of the family, except no matter what I do, they won't flip to be right-side up, so I'm choosing not to frustrate myself and others by posting them.

Free Stuff!

I love free stuff! Who doesn't?

I just got home from my MOMS group this morning. We had our annual MOMScycle, which is basically a huge garage sale, but everything is FREE!

I got there a little late, so I might have walked out with more, but seriously, I'm thrilled with what I was able to get. And I totally could have taken home more toys, but we just don't have that much room.

It was actually a bit amusing because there were probably 8 long tables worth of girls' clothes and about 3 tables of boys' clothes. Clearly girls' clothes are more fun to buy.

But here's a shot at what I walked away with:

A new winter coat for not next year, but the following; a grey hoodie for next spring; a Clifford board book; 3 mini trucks/cars; a sweet black truck hauling a porsche; and of course, the new fire truck. Caleb was more than thrilled with that find.

And in the spirit of free stuff, I thought I would hook you up with some of my favorite sites that have free stuff, good deals, online codes, etc:

www.moneysavingmom.com - I love this site! It's addictive. She just had a baby, so the posts may be slow going for a little while, but she is always finding the best deals!

http://www.dealigg.com/stores_show.php - also fantastic! This site basically has every store you can think of listed and then gives you a list of online codes you can use to go shopping for percentages off or free shipping. Sometimes they include in-store coupons, but it's mostly online.

Caleb's Crib

So, the crib that we bought for Caleb has been recalled.

The notice I received said to STOP using the crib IMMEDIATELY! Well, we're still putting him in his dangerous wooden crib.

I've called the company, and they're sending us instructions along with pre-paid boxes and such to send it back. But we won't be getting a voucher for a new one until they receive our package.

So now we have to decide, again, what kind of crib we're going to get. This was such a headach e the first time around...I'm really not looking forward to doing it again. And now whatever we find, won't match the changing table we have. Not that it matters, because it really doesn't, but it did make it cozy in his room.

We're also going to have to decide where he is going to sleep from the time we break down his crib until we buy a new one. I have friends that have moved their little ones to a mattress on the floor. Maybe we should do that so Gabe doesn't have to put a crib together, just to take it down again. But I'm not entirely convinced that Caleb's ready for that big boy move yet.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Until then, he's still in his delinquent crib (don't worry, I'm not very concerned...obviously.) Stay tuned!