It’s finally time for our ‘lil blog to grow up and have it’s own special place on the web! Thanks to our awesome web butler, ‘lil Burghers is moving to lilburghers.com, effective immediately! If you are following us through Twitter or Facebook, nothing will be changing for you. If you follow us on Google Reader, head over to our new home and add us to your subscription list. Thanks for the follows, comments, and love!

(While you’re at it, go ahead and follow our web butler/friend Jon–he’s blogging about life and technology over at L337Inc and about his twin girls over at Marlowe Twins! Thanks for all your help!)

Miss you, Rin!

Poor kiddo. She understands that Froggie is now in Heaven with Buddy, but she keeps asking when they’ll feel better. About a month ago, Froggie played dead and scared the you know what out of us when Mr. Burgher went to retrieve him. The other night, he wasn’t himself, but we thought he was just molting (frogs do that, right?). Sadly, on Tuesday night, A had to ask Daddy if she could come down to say goodbye to Froggie. When she came back upstairs to finish the bedtime routine, she announced, “Froggie is dead, I told him goodbye”. So sad and sweet all at once.

…and then there were 8.

(PS, if you saw Mr. Burgher’s fb post about eggs? They were fake! She laid them, but they aren’t fertilized. I guess this kind of catfish does that?)

(I used random.org and comment 6 was the winner.)

Beware. This post is not exactly G-rated, but it is real parenting, let me tell you.

“Long ago” when A was a baby, I took her in the shower with me and she turned into a kid that hates baths and loves showers. Thank you single motherhood. Even today, she prefers showers but takes the occasional bath to help Daddy out. When she showers, she can now go in alone and ask for help soaping and scrubbing. Easy enough.

Lil Man has been bathing, so he wasn’t privy to the joys of a quick, refreshing shower…until Saturday. There was a meltdown that prevented me from shopping before Family Fun. The meltdown required Mama to hold him. Normally, we would let him have a moment, bit this wasn’t going away. For fear his back arches would turn into an injury, I just did what he wanted and held him.

Well, life had to go on. I told him to hang on, cause he was going to be introduced to the shower. This first experience wasn’t spiritual like it was for A, but lil Man did enjoy squishing bubbles on my face. He loved being wrapped in my bath sheet (while I froze) and snuggling under our covers as I found him clothes.

Privacy just goes away when you are a parent.

It, of course, gets better.

When I had A, I shared a 3 bedroom house with my friend M. My room was the master, so I never had to shut the bathroom door. When Mr. Burgher and I got our first house together, there was only one bathroom. It wasn’t uncommon for one to have to brush their teeth while the other showered or read a magazine. Moving to a house with two baths didn’t change much…you’ve been warned.

On any given moment, it is not uncommon for an adult to read a magazine, a child to throw forks in the tub, a child to be washing her (not) dirty hands, and two dogs to be begging for attention…all in 6 square feet of space.

I guess we should be flattered, they love being around us and have picked up some healthy habits. Now if only we can teach them to shut the door and not have to accompany the adults everywhere.

Cause sometimes, a parent just wants to read an ever loving magazine.

I wish we could have more days like this one! Let’s just freeze time, ok?

We’re going to make it a point to each have more special alone time with each kid. It’s important for our bonding, and definitely made an impact on ‘lil Miss A.

Yesterday, we spent time at the I Made It Market! Jr and Family day at Bakery Square. We took around one of our favorite totes to hold our goodies:

After our day out, I went on our big grocery trip. We’re talking “massive”, happens every other month big. The cashier and bagger were awesome. Somehow, I almost ran out of space in all my bags and there was a near grocery bag incident; however, I quickly explained the Challenge importance and found extra space in a lighter bag. About 20 tote bags fill later, I was checked out and on my way back home.

2 months’ worth of staple groceries packed into tote bags and the Durango!

Next, it was time for ‘lil Miss A and I to go to the Tote Bag Project’s Anniversary Celebration. A was hyped up the most, jumping all over the Crazy Mocha rugs (and she was the one drinking water) and pulling the raffle prizes. She was the lucky winner of a pretty nifty re-purposed license plate purse.

Afterwards, she asked for a hamburger and fries (what is it with us and Tote Bag events/Wendy’s or Pens games/Wendy’s?), so in we went with our trusty dinner to go tote. She proudly put the tote on the counter and we easily got the food in the bag. Since it was her food, she happily carried the bag over her shoulder and out the door. I think the lessons learned have even filtered to the kids!

(If you’d like to see more photos from our day, check out our Earth Day Flickr set and the TBP Anniversary Celebration Flickr Set! Keep in mind…I was using this day to get used to my new 50mm lens…so there’s definitely a learning curve in the photos!)

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All in all, this Challenge has been a great insight for us, and we will surely think more about using reusable bags more often than not. We are thankful for the sponsors, pledges, and donors who we’ve inspired this week. Tote Bag Project? Thanks for letting us join in the fun!

These milestone monthly onesie stickers are great! I have so far used 3 of the stickers. The pack I chose had a “0″ month for newborn, and while I didn’t get to use it on the day of baby Harold’s birth (because I hadn’t received them yet) I used them as soon as I could. 

Don’t you just love the cute little dinosaur.

Each month the dinosaur is different.

These hand designed stickers are super cute and so easy to use. They come packaged in a cellophane package and each month’s sticker is on it’s own backing. 

They come off very easily and are a cinch to apply to your baby’s onesie. As they are transparent you can choose whatever color plain onesie you think will complement your design. When you are done taking your pictures the sticker comes off easily and can even be reused. I decided to put mine on a sheet of computer paper onto which I will then write any special memories as they happen in the coming month. I plan to keep the papers in baby Harold’s baby book. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with to reuse your stickers. (It is almost Earth Day after all).

There are so many designs to choose from. Check out the Picky Sticky site. There are choices for boys and girls and even neutral stickers for those who prefer NOT to know the gender of their baby beforehand. In addition there are First Milestone Stickers and Belly Stickers for pregnant mommies. I think these would make a wonderful baby shower gifts and right now they are on sale (the sets that are usually $19.95 are currently $12.95).  They also offer free shipping for orders over $20.00

Don’t forget to check Picky Sticky out on Facebook and on their blog.

Of course, as a part of my Baby Shower Celebration you have a chance to win a set of your very own Picky Sticky Monthly Milestone Onesie Stickers. Just fill in the Rafflecopter form below. I have to mention that I know I do not usually have so many entries on my Rafflecopter forms. However, these wonderful ladies are helping to share my Baby Shower Celebration and I offered them a spot or two on said form. Remember, you don’t have to fill in every entry (there are only 2 mandatory entries) but each entry you complete increases your chances for winning and I would love for you to follow these great ladies who are helping me.

Disclosure: I received  a set of Picky Sticker Monthly Stickers for free as a part of my Baby Shower Celebration. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and will be good for my readers.

This giveaway uses Rafflecopter–please go over to the original post on Tots and Me to enter!

(In case you’re wondering, I turn the bag inside out because it has a plastic outside, making it easier to clean.)

Oh, caught a cool tote in action at work today. The owner told me they always use totes for groceries because it just makes sense.

And sadly, leaving the Big Screen, I saw this bag floating around as we drove:

Limited chances to slip up, but we are continuing to do well. Today is the last day, but there are lessons that are going to stick with us for a long time.

‘lil Burghers 5, disposable bags 1