That's Just Not Right!

So here is a post on things I feel "Just Are Not Right". To start, I went into the BabyGap because I am on a mission to find Austin some snow pants, apparently either I'm late trying to buy them or stores are not carrying them for kids under 1, so I'm in there and what do I spot other than the OUTRAGEOUS price tag on a pair of jeans that must have only used 1 yard to make.....Skinny Jeans for baby's. Really? Skinny jeans? Something in me thought, this isn't cool at all. Skinny jeans are an icon of "sexiness" so why would you buy them for your baby?! That brings me to my next, That's Just Not Right item.....bikini's for girls under the age of 16. I am SO disgusted when I see a 2 year old in a bikini, it's just gross! A bikini is meant to look sexy, so why do mother's put their baby girls in them?!? Another thing I think is not right, i had to bring on our Subaru to the dealership this morning and to me, a Subaru is a great family car, kids are safe, plenty of room for the dogs and gear but why on earth does the dealership not offer a kid's room? Not place for children to play? Not cool. My last rant for the day, as I was taking apart our clothe diapers, which claim to be make in the USA, I did notice the outer layer is but when I took a look at the liner...guess where they were made? Not the US, nope, China! So their claim of made in the USA should read "Almost Entirely Made In The USA"

This is just wrong looking....

Applying Like a Mad Woman!

Well we have started applying to Estate Caretakers positions. Most are looking for couples with Horticulture experience: Check-Landscape Hort. Program at UMO. They are also looking for couples with experience: Check-Managers of Compass Cay in the Bahamas. They also look for experience in computer software, IT services: Check-job I had in IT dept. at UMO and they look for people with construction experience: Check-Micah is super talented in anything to do with carpentry and construction since that is what he does everyday! So all in all, we are a well rounded, super Caretaker package! Plus we are looking to relocate and start a life somewhere exciting. I applied for 3 positions tonight, one in California, one in Texas and one in Maryland and I created a resume website to showcase just what we can do!

http://caretakercouple.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

Next, we are subscribing to the Caretakers Gazette where I plan on applying to just about any estate position nationwide!

Packing In Pain!

Well I have begun packing. It dawned on me that after we bought our home, I never really thought we would be moving so soon but here we are.....packing and moving during Christmas! But what is causing me pain you ask? Oh that would be my torn quad muscles from starting my at home work out dvd's, yes, I am that much of a loser that I have resorted to using at home workout videos. Yesterday I did "The 30 Day Shred" and it indeed shredded my body, I haven't been able to "sit" on the toilet instead I very gracefully fall 2 feet while wincing in pain from my "shredded" quads. Today I did my other video, Tae Bo and it kicked my ass beyond kicking. So tonight while trying to lift boxes, the neighbors must have wondered what on earth was going on at the Beaulieu's house this evening  as the only sound echoing through the streets of Etna were my screams of pain as I attempted to step down the 2 stairs to the garage.

On Second Thought....

I imagine that life is like a deck of playing cards, stacked all in order and sometimes life grabs that deck of cards and decides to play 52 pick up all over your once perfectly normal, routine life, setting things in motion for a big move. We had the ball rolling on moving to Alaska but then it hit us.....our house will be rented for at least a year, someone else is paying our mortgage, so what is stopping us from moving anywhere we desire? So Alaska could still be an option, jobs lined up and a somewhat reasonable place to stay but it's not our top pick, it's our "let's move there if we can't move to a cooler place" pick. So let me just explain how amazing life is right now, I'm sitting here staring at a map of the US and I just googled Top 10 Places To Live In The US, how cool is it that we get to just let ourselves be free and go where we want! We did do this years ago when we moved to the Bahamas but this is different, we have 5 months to go anywhere and build a life that will be so amazing, nothing will make us want to move after this! We thought about moving to another country but I think the US has great places to offer and it would be a lot easier to manage that than moving to Europe. So here I sit, googling where to live and day dreaming about our new adventure to follow our heart.
So where would you move if you were in our situation?

where would you go if you could follow your dream?

Austin's First Pair of Boots

Today marks the very first day Austin has EVER worn shoes/boots. My mom and dad bought him these beyond adorable boots from See Kai Run! So I put them on his feet for the first time and we headed into his music class super psyched to show off his new talent of walking, when I set him down to walk, he doesn't even know what to do now that there were foot covers on his feet!! I couldn't stop laughing, he was walking like he was trudging through snow and he was shaking his foot to fling the things off! So today we will be wearing them all day to get used to them but my god, was it funny to see him attempt to walk with his first pair of boots!

Here are his first pair!! Too cute!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Well the first official snow storm has hit here and it is beautiful out! Our dogs are rolling in the fluffy stuff, the ducks are loving it and Austin and I are just enjoying his first snow storm together all hunkered down and bundled up tight in our cozy house listening to Christmas music. Here are a few photos that I found that are so nice in reflecting a snowy day....

One of the best Christmas' I can recall is when we went to New York City as a family and were able to see the Big Apple all done up for Chritmas. The display windows at Macy's, the huge Rockefeller Christmas tree and skating rink right around it, the smell of roasting chestnuts from sidewalk vendors (though they didn't taste as good as the smelled!!) and just knowing that this was pretty much as good as it gets! I filmed out entire trip and made a short film from that experience and later gave it to my parent's as a gift...I will work on uploading that onto this blog because it really is a special little film.

Dance!

dancing around the house to this great tune with Austin!

And We're Off!

Well it has happened, we are officially moving! Our house is rented (well, tomorrow they sign the lease) and we are looking at a house to rent for ourselves until April, preferably closer to where Micah works which is in Stonnington and cheaper from our current mortgage payment, that way we can tuck a little away each month to make the big trip to.....

So now we just wait until April.

Oh Boy.....Now What?!

Well it looks like the ball may be rolling right off for us to get moving! We have someone who wants to rent our house right off, I have to stay in it though for Christmas, I just want Austin to have his first Christmas in our home before we move. So Now that we may have someone move it, I'm nervous! We not only have to find a place to rent for a few months that allow dogs and a dumb cat, but we have so much stuff to move and sell too. We have a car to sell and Micah has a 4-wheeler to sell, all before we move, so Santa has come early for us, in the blessing that we got our wish, to move but now......I'M FREAKING OUT A BIT WITH ALL THE PLANNING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!

My Christmas Wish List

So I am putting together my "Christmas" wish list for Austin and here are a few things I would LOVE to get my hands on! My mom and dad asked me the other day..."What would you like for Christmas this year?" and well, for myself the only thing I want is a gift certificate to Bangor Daily News so that I can start running an ad to rent our house!

So to myself, I would like:

For Austin I would love to get him these few items:

A Wheely Bug

A Recycling Truck Toy

New Clothe Diapers

For Micah, my husband, I would LOVE To be able to send him away for the weekend with a ski pass...

he could spend all weekend snowboarding up a storm!



For my family.....well if I had a TON of money, I would send them back to the Bahamas where Micah and I lived and pay for them to all stay a week at Sampson Cay....

So out of curiosity, who is going to volunteer this holiday season and do you think bringing a 10 month old along to volunteer is a good idea or a not so good one? I know it is a wonderful thought because he would be exposed to the needs of others less fortunate and it will help to teach him empathy but at the same time, do you think he is too young to grasp what we are doing?

Things I love and use all the time.....

so I put together a little list of items that my husband and I use all the time with Austin. Somedays I loathe spraying baby poop off of our clothe diapers but when they are all clean and I'm using them with our son, I feel great knowing I took the time to wash these and not resort to disposable diapers, we do however use disposables when we travel because I hate carrying a nasty, dirty diaper all day in our diaper bag!!


so here is the start of my list:

Baby Spoon



Clothe Diapers: Bum Genius 3.0

Disposables:

wipes:

Laundry Detergents: (rockin' green is for our diapers...)

  To clean toys and counter tops:

BPA free play mat:

Baby Carrier:

Beco Gemini

We did use the Boba:

Baby Food: (if I don't make my own, we always use this)

and his Gluten Free Puffs:



Toys: ( we try to make them too)

melissa and doug

                                                                                    Ikea toys

Nuk Brand bottles and Pacifiers:

                                                                          Shoes:

Body Wash and Diaper Cream:





Bedding: (organic mattress and sheets)

though we co-slept until Austin was 10 months and he still does come into bed with us, we do have the crib ready to go with these products even if he doesn't use it that often...

To clean our floors:

These sites are amazing...great info and products. I visit them regulary:

EcoMom Store

GreenBaby

GreenToys

BabyWearing

AskDr.Sears

These books are in my collection and we read them often:

                                                                     and Austin's favorite:

So here is the first of our list...more to come soon!