p-ray's poster giveaway

so i've gotten quite a few emails asking about the alpha poster seen in the nursery post. it's an 11" x 14" print i made custom for p-ray's room.

i am so happy with the way it turned out & i wanna share the love. sooooooo......

i'm going to be giving away a custom alpha poster to a blog reader!

how is it custom you ask? just show me your colors & i can adjust it accordingly. for example, the image below has oranges & blues incorporated as opposed to the more neutral color scheme i chose for parker's room {think pinks & purples, or neons or black/white. whatever your heart desires}.

sweet.


don't have any need for nursery art? enter anyway! c'mon, it's free stuff. give it away to a friend's-brother's-pregnant-aunt. or maybe just use it as a placemat for your dog dishes?

the point is, i want to know who's out there. i get a pretty decent number of hits to the blog every day & i wanna know who you are.

so, here's how to enter:

1. become a follower of "i guess you could say we have..." on google friend connect - 3 entries
{already a follower? just mention that in a comment & i'll give ya the entries}

2. vote for "i guess you could say we have..." in the top baby blogs - 1 entry/day
{i can't see who voted, so just tell me you did in a comment. i trust ya.}

3. comment this post & tell me how long you've been reading & how you found us - 2 entries

A winner will be picked one week from today, september 6 at 10:00 pm pst using random.org.

and if you couldn't care less about an alpha poster, or nursery things, or giving away something that cool to someone who might like it, just keep on lurking & living in your shadows.

p-ray's poster giveaway

so i've gotten quite a few emails asking about the alpha poster seen in the nursery post. it's an 11" x 14" print i made custom for p-ray's room.

i am so happy with the way it turned out & i wanna share the love. sooooooo......

i'm going to be giving away a custom alpha poster to a blog reader!

how is it custom you ask? just show me your colors & i can adjust it accordingly. for example, the image below has oranges & blues incorporated as opposed to the more neutral color scheme i chose for parker's room {think pinks & purples, or neons or black/white. whatever your heart desires}.

sweet.


don't have any need for nursery art? enter anyway! c'mon, it's free stuff. give it away to a friend's-brother's-pregnant-aunt. or maybe just use it as a placemat for your dog dishes?

the point is, i want to know who's out there. i get a pretty decent number of hits to the blog every day & i wanna know who you are.

so, here's how to enter:

1. become a follower of "i guess you could say we have..." on google friend connect - 3 entries
{already a follower? just mention that in a comment & i'll give ya the entries}

2. vote for "i guess you could say we have..." in the top baby blogs - 1 entry/day
{i can't see who voted, so just tell me you did in a comment. i trust ya.}

3. comment this post & tell me how long you've been reading & how you found us - 2 entries

A winner will be picked one week from today, september 6 at 10:00 pm pst using random.org.

and if you couldn't care less about an alpha poster, or nursery things, or giving away something that cool to someone who might like it, just keep on lurking & living in your shadows.

easy like sunday morning

i'm gonna start this off with a disclaimer. we don't really prop our baby up on the couch & let him just sit & watch tv... that often.


no, seriously.

i had just put parker down for a second before sitting & feeding him, but this father/son football watching moment was just too cute not to capture. or too pathetic. really parker? this engrossed in sports already?

looks like he's already well on his way to becoming sam's best football watching buddy. ah well, what are sons for, right?

and yes. despite the belly on that baby, he still needs his meals. what can i say... the kid likes to eat.

& i usually try to keep this blog pg-rated

...but today i might have to make an exception.

i walked into the office this morning & found parker's ol' sock monkey buddy hanging out like this:


why do i get the feeling i was being seduced? i shouted for sam to come see, who was equally stunned.

i quickly picked sock monkey up & put him back in the nursery, but needless to say it's been a little awkward between us all day.

& can i let you in on a little secret?

i like it when restaurants mess up my order. yes, even when i find dead (cooked) lady bugs in my food. this happened.


i like getting a free meal on account of the restaurant's mistake. granted, now it means i have to scratch this particular thai restaurant off my list of places i frequent, but hey, a free meal is sometimes worth discovering a bug nestled in your plate after you've had a few bites.

oh c'mon. it's not that gross. clearly she was cooked & sterilized. people eat bugs all the time.

& last night sam & i had a lovely dinner at the olive garden. after bringing our meals out all mixed up, we got to pick a dessert to take home - on the house.

score: nielsons -1, olive garden - 0.

why do things taste so much better when they're free? & unexpected? or when they're layers of chocolate cake & chocolate cheesecake smothered in a creamy chocolate ganache & sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings?

oh yeah, that whole thing about losing the baby weight & getting back in shape... that's what mondays are for.




have you voted for us in top baby blogs today? we're totally in the top 100 now. fist pump!

easy like sunday morning

i'm gonna start this off with a disclaimer. we don't really prop our baby up on the couch & let him just sit & watch tv... that often.


no, seriously.

i had just put parker down for a second before sitting & feeding him, but this father/son football watching moment was just too cute not to capture. or too pathetic. really parker? this engrossed in sports already?

looks like he's already well on his way to becoming sam's best football watching buddy. ah well, what are sons for, right?

and yes. despite the belly on that baby, he still needs his meals. what can i say... the kid likes to eat.

& i usually try to keep this blog pg-rated

...but today i might have to make an exception.

i walked into the office this morning & found parker's ol' sock monkey buddy hanging out like this:


why do i get the feeling i was being seduced? i shouted for sam to come see, who was equally stunned.

i quickly picked sock monkey up & put him back in the nursery, but needless to say it's been a little awkward between us all day.

& can i let you in on a little secret?

i like it when restaurants mess up my order. yes, even when i find dead (cooked) lady bugs in my food. this happened.


i like getting a free meal on account of the restaurant's mistake. granted, now it means i have to scratch this particular thai restaurant off my list of places i frequent, but hey, a free meal is sometimes worth discovering a bug nestled in your plate after you've had a few bites.

oh c'mon. it's not that gross. clearly she was cooked & sterilized. people eat bugs all the time.

& last night sam & i had a lovely dinner at the olive garden. after bringing our meals out all mixed up, we got to pick a dessert to take home - on the house.

score: nielsons -1, olive garden - 0.

why do things taste so much better when they're free? & unexpected? or when they're layers of chocolate cake & chocolate cheesecake smothered in a creamy chocolate ganache & sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings?

oh yeah, that whole thing about losing the baby weight & getting back in shape... that's what mondays are for.




have you voted for us in top baby blogs today? we're totally in the top 100 now. fist pump!

flashback friday

today i'm starting what may or may not be a regular friday thing, depending on my mood. but i've seen people do it on other blogs & i'm gonna give it a go because that's the kind of control you have when you get your own blog. it's an amazing amount of power. i pretty much know how obama feels.

anywho, for today's flashback friday i take you waaaayyy back. way back to may of 2006.


graduation day. sam & i both graduated from washington state university (go cougs!) in the fine little town of pullman, wa. those were the days. not that these aren't the days too, but those were some days.

we had been married for 5 months by this point, and lived in our first little apartment for $420/month. it was right under beasley coliseum where we could walk 2 minutes to class, the rec center, sam's intramural football/softball/basketball games, many many cougar basketball games, & of course cougar football games. so many fun memories in pullman.

one of my favorite memories is walking home between classes through wind, rain, & snow during the horrible pullman winter to meet sam at our apartment for grilled cheese & soup lunch. this happened often... we really liked grilled cheese & soup. and it was cheap.

we moved from pullman the day after graduation to begin careers in our field; civil engineering for sam, wildlife ecology for me. graduated life has been good to us, but it's always fun to take a look back at the beginning.

and that was my first flashback friday! this is probably the beginning of something awesome. or a one hit wonder. either way, it was a good time.



top baby blogs... vote! vote! vote!

flashback friday

today i'm starting what may or may not be a regular friday thing, depending on my mood. but i've seen people do it on other blogs & i'm gonna give it a go because that's the kind of control you have when you get your own blog. it's an amazing amount of power. i pretty much know how obama feels.

anywho, for today's flashback friday i take you waaaayyy back. way back to may of 2006.


graduation day. sam & i both graduated from washington state university (go cougs!) in the fine little town of pullman, wa. those were the days. not that these aren't the days too, but those were some days.

we had been married for 5 months by this point, and lived in our first little apartment for $420/month. it was right under beasley coliseum where we could walk 2 minutes to class, the rec center, sam's intramural football/softball/basketball games, many many cougar basketball games, & of course cougar football games. so many fun memories in pullman.

one of my favorite memories is walking home between classes through wind, rain, & snow during the horrible pullman winter to meet sam at our apartment for grilled cheese & soup lunch. this happened often... we really liked grilled cheese & soup. and it was cheap.

we moved from pullman the day after graduation to begin careers in our field; civil engineering for sam, wildlife ecology for me. graduated life has been good to us, but it's always fun to take a look back at the beginning.

and that was my first flashback friday! this is probably the beginning of something awesome. or a one hit wonder. either way, it was a good time.



top baby blogs... vote! vote! vote!

one year ago today

one year ago today, wednesday august 26, 2009, sam & i got some news that would change our lives forever.

i thought we were going to the reproductive specialist for a routine follow-up appointment & was not really looking forward to it. i was seeing this specialist to find out why i didn't have periods like a real girl. or, at all. yeah... it was weird. the specialist told me i was working out too much (i was training for an olympic distance triathlon at the time) & sent me to a nutritionist. the nutritionist blamed it on thyroid problems.

either way, i didn't really feel like we were getting any closer to an answer or solution & was dreading this appointment.

the doctor wanted to do another ultrasound to see what he could see. i'd already had 4 & they had led us nowhere, but whatev. little did i know, this ultrasound would be very different.

within 30 seconds of scanning, the doctor started laughing. "no way," he said. after what seemed like forever he finally said, "well, i can see why you haven't had a period recently... you're pregnant. yup, i'd say about 5 weeks pregnant."

i never expected we'd be leaving that appointment with 2 ultrasound print outs in hand, showing our little miracle baby. or rather, our little miracle ball of cells.



fast forward one year, & we have a 4 month old. exactly to the day.

parker has blessed our lives in so many ways & continues to amaze us as he grows & picks up new things every day.


this month he is so much more aware of his surroundings. he'd rather grab & pull on my shirt, scrape his nails across my skin, or turn & smile at me than nurse. he's discovered his fingers. like, really discovered them. they never leave his mouth & he loves sucking on his thumb. his fingers are constantly grabbing at whatever is around him & it goes straight in his mouth. he is so strong. he stiffens his whole body to be lifted & flown overhead like an airplane with his dad, which makes him laugh so hard. he loves to sit upright & thinks it's so funny to sit in his bumbo & play with toys. he has really gotten into being read stories this month. he gets so excited & kicks his legs during his stories, & reaches for the books to "turn the page." unfortunately, he has picked up on the tv when it's on (which is only a little bit in the evenings), if it catches his eye he is memorized. he already prefers sportscenter. he's changed from zantac to prevacid for his relux, but still spits up. a lot. blech. he thinks these new meds are so tasty. he comes up with a new noise everyday & thinks these new noises are so funny. his current favorite is to growl while on the changing table, & then he waits for you to growl back at him. he is big enough for the jogging stroller (finally!) & loves to go for runs. he just watches the scenery go by, or takes a nap. he loves his baths, although he takes them very seriously. he kicks his legs super hard and flails his arms, all while concentrating very hard. he's still sleeping 9-11 hours a night with one feeding between 4-6am, but is struggling with bedtime. we're trying to figure out what works for putting him down & haven't quite found the perfect time just yet. we haven't had him weighed yet since his 4 month appointment isn't until the 30th, but he looks bigger to me everyday...


... and he is still so dang cute.






ps: have ya voted for our blog in the top baby blogs directory lately? we are so close to the top 100, i can taste it. it tastes delicious.

one year ago today

one year ago today, wednesday august 26, 2009, sam & i got some news that would change our lives forever.

i thought we were going to the reproductive specialist for a routine follow-up appointment & was not really looking forward to it. i was seeing this specialist to find out why i didn't have periods like a real girl. or, at all. yeah... it was weird. the specialist told me i was working out too much (i was training for an olympic distance triathlon at the time) & sent me to a nutritionist. the nutritionist blamed it on thyroid problems.

either way, i didn't really feel like we were getting any closer to an answer or solution & was dreading this appointment.

the doctor wanted to do another ultrasound to see what he could see. i'd already had 4 & they had led us nowhere, but whatev. little did i know, this ultrasound would be very different.

within 30 seconds of scanning, the doctor started laughing. "no way," he said. after what seemed like forever he finally said, "well, i can see why you haven't had a period recently... you're pregnant. yup, i'd say about 5 weeks pregnant."

i never expected we'd be leaving that appointment with 2 ultrasound print outs in hand, showing our little miracle baby. or rather, our little miracle ball of cells.



fast forward one year, & we have a 4 month old. exactly to the day.

parker has blessed our lives in so many ways & continues to amaze us as he grows & picks up new things every day.


this month he is so much more aware of his surroundings. he'd rather grab & pull on my shirt, scrape his nails across my skin, or turn & smile at me than nurse. he's discovered his fingers. like, really discovered them. they never leave his mouth & he loves sucking on his thumb. his fingers are constantly grabbing at whatever is around him & it goes straight in his mouth. he is so strong. he stiffens his whole body to be lifted & flown overhead like an airplane with his dad, which makes him laugh so hard. he loves to sit upright & thinks it's so funny to sit in his bumbo & play with toys. he has really gotten into being read stories this month. he gets so excited & kicks his legs during his stories, & reaches for the books to "turn the page." unfortunately, he has picked up on the tv when it's on (which is only a little bit in the evenings), if it catches his eye he is memorized. he already prefers sportscenter. he's changed from zantac to prevacid for his relux, but still spits up. a lot. blech. he thinks these new meds are so tasty. he comes up with a new noise everyday & thinks these new noises are so funny. his current favorite is to growl while on the changing table, & then he waits for you to growl back at him. he is big enough for the jogging stroller (finally!) & loves to go for runs. he just watches the scenery go by, or takes a nap. he loves his baths, although he takes them very seriously. he kicks his legs super hard and flails his arms, all while concentrating very hard. he's still sleeping 9-11 hours a night with one feeding between 4-6am, but is struggling with bedtime. we're trying to figure out what works for putting him down & haven't quite found the perfect time just yet. we haven't had him weighed yet since his 4 month appointment isn't until the 30th, but he looks bigger to me everyday...


... and he is still so dang cute.






ps: have ya voted for our blog in the top baby blogs directory lately? we are so close to the top 100, i can taste it. it tastes delicious.

if you're wondering...

...who's house that is with the clothesline of diapers strung across their entry way & front door, then, welcome to the neighborhood.

if you're a cloth diaper-er than you know what's up. sun drying is the THE BEST way to dry/disinfect/bleach/get-rid-of-stains/make-your-cloth-diapers-last/ be "green" that there is. who knew nature could be so useful?

i just don't recommend putting it off until late afternoon when the sun hits your house from the west & you have to resort to hanging your clothesline in the front of the house as opposed to the back.

unless you like the whole pwt look. which, apparently... i do.

if you're wondering...

...who's house that is with the clothesline of diapers strung across their entry way & front door, then, welcome to the neighborhood.

if you're a cloth diaper-er than you know what's up. sun drying is the THE BEST way to dry/disinfect/bleach/get-rid-of-stains/make-your-cloth-diapers-last/ be "green" that there is. who knew nature could be so useful?

i just don't recommend putting it off until late afternoon when the sun hits your house from the west & you have to resort to hanging your clothesline in the front of the house as opposed to the back.

unless you like the whole pwt look. which, apparently... i do.

why going to the bathroom at my house is like being in australia

i've blogged before about how i left my heart in australia two years ago when sam & i spent a couple weeks in sydney. seriously, the most gorgeous & amazing place i could have ever imagined.

and, i was fascinated with their toilets.

you see, i'm an ecologist & i work in water resources. australia has been in a state of serious drought for about a decade now & they have learned how to be pretty smart with their water. this includes duel flushing toilets.

sure, you see them around here every now & then, but why it took so long for this to catch on in the states confuses me.

i even took this picture of the toilets in our hotel in sydney. half circle button for baby flushes, & the full circle for big daddy flushes. why hadn't we thought of these earlier?


well, things have changed around the nielson household.

sam was doing some grocery shopping at costco on friday & came home with some $19 gadget that he was pretty proud of. props to sam. it was a duel-flushing-toilet-adapter-device. yes, that is the technical name.

for $19 he switched out our old flush handle, installed this cool 2-button flusher, stuck some weird thing in the tank, calibrated the flushing, & voila! duel flushing toilet.

i know those instructions were lame, but i left all the technical stuff up to him. he is an engineer after all. now i have some street cred when it comes to all my "save the planet" speak.

boo-yah. (oops, there went my street cred)



just in case you didn't believe me, you can see for yourself in the above picture. and yes, i just wrote a post about toilets flushing, posted a picture of my potty-place, & then you read it. awesome.

and now for some things that make me laugh

on to something else equally random. these have both been around a while, but they get me every time. enjoy.




guess who else thinks these are incredibly funny? p-ray. just look at him.


now if one of those four pictures didn't make you smile, i'm not sure what would. i mean c'mon, that guy has four popped collars!





ps: have ya voted for our blog in the top baby blogs directory lately? we're climbing fast & have our sights set on world domination. thanks for your help.

why going to the bathroom at my house is like being in australia

i've blogged before about how i left my heart in australia two years ago when sam & i spent a couple weeks in sydney. seriously, the most gorgeous & amazing place i could have ever imagined.

and, i was fascinated with their toilets.

you see, i'm an ecologist & i work in water resources. australia has been in a state of serious drought for about a decade now & they have learned how to be pretty smart with their water. this includes duel flushing toilets.

sure, you see them around here every now & then, but why it took so long for this to catch on in the states confuses me.

i even took this picture of the toilets in our hotel in sydney. half circle button for baby flushes, & the full circle for big daddy flushes. why hadn't we thought of these earlier?


well, things have changed around the nielson household.

sam was doing some grocery shopping at costco on friday & came home with some $19 gadget that he was pretty proud of. props to sam. it was a duel-flushing-toilet-adapter-device. yes, that is the technical name.

for $19 he switched out our old flush handle, installed this cool 2-button flusher, stuck some weird thing in the tank, calibrated the flushing, & voila! duel flushing toilet.

i know those instructions were lame, but i left all the technical stuff up to him. he is an engineer after all. now i have some street cred when it comes to all my "save the planet" speak.

boo-yah. (oops, there went my street cred)



just in case you didn't believe me, you can see for yourself in the above picture. and yes, i just wrote a post about toilets flushing, posted a picture of my potty-place, & then you read it. awesome.

and now for some things that make me laugh

on to something else equally random. these have both been around a while, but they get me every time. enjoy.




guess who else thinks these are incredibly funny? p-ray. just look at him.


now if one of those four pictures didn't make you smile, i'm not sure what would. i mean c'mon, that guy has four popped collars!





ps: have ya voted for our blog in the top baby blogs directory lately? we're climbing fast & have our sights set on world domination. thanks for your help.

and so it begins

parker has officially learned to grab. grasp. tighten his grip, & ... pull.

all my necklaces, earrings, & hairs are officially in danger.

i think he thinks that if he makes a face as innocent & cute as the one seen above, i won't mind. yup. he's pretty much right.

photo credit goes to my awesome sister gina & her awesome camera that i covet.

and so it begins

parker has officially learned to grab. grasp. tighten his grip, & ... pull.

all my necklaces, earrings, & hairs are officially in danger.

i think he thinks that if he makes a face as innocent & cute as the one seen above, i won't mind. yup. he's pretty much right.

photo credit goes to my awesome sister gina & her awesome camera that i covet.