YOU ARE NOT LOST

HOUSE OF ROSE still exists!

Visit my new domain:

http://houseofroseblog.com

My Husband Rocks!

Ok, so once again...I can honestly say I am ONE LUCKY CHICA! If you missed this last post, Husband Hack: Part 2 you NEED to click here!

I now have my very own domain: http://houseofroseblog.com/

I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but never had the time or the knowledge so I am so grateful that hubby has done it for me! THANK YOU BABA! It may take me a few days to figure out how to manuever on this new wordpress site, but rest assured, you are going to love the new site!

This will officially be my LAST POST on http://jeffandmandyrose.blogspot.com/

No worries, House of Rose will still carry on....it will just carry on under a new blog address. I will now be doing all posts on my new domain HERE! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have me listed on your blogroll...update the information to reflect my new domain http://houseofroseblog.com.

Deal? Deal.

Thank you ALL for the birthday wishes! It has been such a great day and more fun to come! Make sure you check out my new blog so you can see what hubby's 2nd gift to me was!

Husband Hack: Part 2

I interrupt this normally scheduled broadcast to give you this very special announcement:

My wife's B'day is today!

That's right, my wife is trying to catch up to me and is turning the age of 28! Let's all sing...."Happy Birthday To You......". Okay, my singing is horrible so I'll continue to the point of this husband hack. I invite you on a short journey to what Daddy Rose got Mommy Rose for her birthday. If you didn't get this yet by visiting her blog, Mommy Rose is kind of tough to buy for, so I had to try and be creative. Let's see how I did. Ready to find out? Just click here to end your curiosity.

A few announcements....

First, Kelly, from the Webb family had her baby today! Mason Ray Webb was born at 4:29pm. Congratulations Kel and Tom and big brother Logan! (You will have to read her blog when she starts posting about her labor...because it literally lasted like a millisecond!)

AND

A Tale of a Southern Belle is giving away a cruise to the Bahama's....and no...it's not a joke!!!! Is this not the best giveaway you've ever seen? GO SIGN UP NOW....or DON'T....then I'll have more of a chance of winning.

The Bachelor: A Twisted Ending

So I was just reading one of my favorite blogs, Make Mine a Mojito, and I was stunned by her post!

If you are a Bachelor freak...like me (and Mrs. Mojito)...you are gonna die when you read this. Let me just start by saying...if you like surprises and happy endings DO NOT CLICK HERE! If you do, you will be thoroughly disappointed!

I thought Jason was a good guy. Boy was I fooled. You will be too if you read this.

Dinner with friends, swimming attempt #3, & be my valentine recap

Since I didn't get to do much of a weekend recap, and I had lots to share, I thought I would still try and fit it in.

Two of my favorite people came to town this weekend...Courtney and her fiance Brett of course! I have known Court since I was little little. Actually, her brother Lee and I were bf's forever. Lee was one of J & I's roommates in college. Ohhh the stories I could tell on that kid! haha!

Brett, Court, me, & J

C & B were in town to do some "wedding planning" with her parents (that are honestly like my 2nd parents). We all had the chance to go to dinner! We even got a babysitter for the night! Woo woo! This is Lori's "I don't want to be on your blog" pose! She was literally like..."NO, don't take my picture for the blog." Of course, you knew I would have to post it! Oh and so you can see what a MILF she is! ;)

Les & Lori

Court has finally gave in and started her own blog! I am so excited she has joined the blog world and I will now be able to blog stalk her! You can check out "Leave it to Oswald" here!

Saturday....well....you guessed it. Saturday was swimming 101 for the THIRD time! I was almost positive that P was going to put me in a bad mood for the entire valentines day. Can I just say....I WAS SOOO TOTALLY WRONG!!! He loved swimming this time!

I have no idea why, but he was a different child this time in the pool. He stayed in the water the ENTIRE 50 minutes. He smiled. He laughed. He kicked. He went under. He blew bubbles. He jumped off the side. He played. IT WAS FANTASTIC!! You have no idea how happy I was! I even have a video of him going under that I'll try and post later. And he even trys to swim and blow bubbles in the tub now!!

Saturday night, as I already reported, J cooked me a nice romantic dinner! It was super yummy! He did such a great job! It was a lemon chicken pasta dish.

We even had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Wait, I should say...I....even had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert...because there were 5....and I ate them all! Tubby tubby! Yea....all of those....went in to my belly. OOPS!

And that Victoria Secret box I was talking about.....here is what I found in it....

There was even a little slow dancing in the living room. Again, since this post needs to remain PG 13 I will have to stop there. :)

The Bachelor: Episode 7 - hot dog analogies only get you so far

It's official. Tonight Jason had to narrow it down to 2 girls. The FINAL 2 girls. One of which will be his future wife. No pressure Jason. Ha! Wait, you did sign up for this (again) didn't you?

The 3 women each got an overnight date with Jason in New Zealand. Again, realistic ABC. New Zealand is where I had ALL of my first overnighters. Ahem, dad if your reading, don't worry....I didn't have that many overnighters. Anyway, back to Jason and the ladies.

His first date was with Jillian, who he picked up in a helicopter to tour the New Zealand mountains. Jason felt that they were definitely "best friends", but could it be more? My favorite line from him on this date was when the helicopter landed on a ridge in new Zealand and they both got out... talk about scripted ...

Jason: "Just Jillian and me alone. We were literally the only ones around for miles and miles"

Right. Except for the helicopter pilot and the camera crew filming every minute of your time together! Oh...I forgot...those people don't count.

The second date with Molly consisted of bungee jumping. This is the part of the show where (if I were Molly) I would have grabbed my things, said "c-ya", and gave the camera's a big peace sign. I don't care how cute you are or how much of a connection I have with you....I am NOT jumping off a ledge hundreds of feet in the air only connected by a cord. Done. Over. Peace Out. Thank goodness Molly is more adventurous than me because she was up for the challenge and wanted to do it a 2nd time! There is still something about this Molly chick that annoys me though. She is just too proper for me.

His last date was with Melissa. Melissa dropped the big L-bomb on him and he seemed to be digging it. The last time a guy dropped the big L-bomb on me after the 42nd day.....I changed my number! Oh wait, no I didn't...I married him. Shoot. I guess I like that kinda thing too. Jason seemed to be concerned that he still hasn't met big M's parents, but honestly, I think he has such a connection with her that it isn't going to matter. After all, he's not marrying her parents. Plus, he made a comment that Melissa reminded him of Deanna and his ex.

In the end, he sent Jillian back home to Canada. I liked Jill. Although, I got slightly annoyed every time she called Jason "babe". It just didn't fit. Anyhow, he confessed to Jillian that they were on the "bf" path. She didn't seem to be listening too much because instead of taking the rejection....she just kept pouring her heart out to him. I'm always wondering to myself why these women do that. Do they think "hmmm let's see what I can say to make him change his mind"? I mean, ladies, its national television and he just axed you....why would you try and convince him to change his mind? He obviously did not choose you for a reason. ACCEPT IT....and move on to the 'cry your eyes out' limo ride. The faster you get that over with the faster you can realize how blind you were for the last 6 weeks.

Next week, the double M's get to meet Ty! And I'm assuming next week is when Deanna makes her big Season 14 debut???? I have yet to understand what she possibly has to say!!!!

Oh and remember when I predicted who he proposed to based on hair color and nails? It's a brunette with fake nails remember? I guess that leaves the big finale no secret...M from Dallas must be Jason's future wife. Unless Molly dyes her hair and gets fake nails before the rose ceremony.

Baby Bathtub Safety

So I figured I better start taking all the pictures I can of him in the tub....I am pretty sure as soon as he can start talking sentences....he will not let me snap anymore naked shots. :(

My little boy is growing up. NOOO!

Since we are talking bathtubs here, I thought I would do a little "BATHTIME SAFETY" lecture. Here are a few safety tips to remember when bathing your baby/toddler:

1. Never leave your baby unattended during bath time. NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND! Not even when you're just filling the tub with water. Play it safe by staying within arm's reach when your baby/toddler is around water, whether it's in an adult or toddler tub.

2. Remember, bath seats do not mean your baby will be safe alone. Bath seats give a false sense of security. Many tub drownings have involved bath seats.

3. Plan ahead. Make sure you have everything on hand before you start the bath. You don't want to have to scurry for a washcloth or towel while your baby is in the tub.

4. When bathing your baby, fill the tub with as little water as possible. Two inches is a good amount. Be careful about scalding water. The water should feel warm, not hot. Before you put your baby in the tub, test the temperature. If you're using a thermometer, baby bath water should be between 90 and 100 degrees. But again, test it out with your hand and use your best judgement.

5. If you need to leave the bathroom, take your baby with you. Don't rely on older children to watch the baby for you. Make this rule as stringent as strapping your baby into her car seat every time you drive.

6. Always empty the bathtub immediately after bath time. Babies can drown in as little as one inch of water.

7. If your baby has graduated to a regular bathtub, attach rubber strips to the bottom of the tub to prevent slipping.

8. I have read that you should not leave a baby/toddler unattended (at ANY time) until they have reached the age of 5 years old. Some websites say 4, but let's play it safe!

9. It's important to communicate to your baby/toddler's caregivers, spouse, and the baby's grandparents about these safety tips. Better yet, if they're new to bath time, tell them not to give your baby a bath while you're away if that's possible.

10. All it takes is a split second for something unexpected to happen.

About 100 children under 5 years old drown in bathtubs in the United States each year. Most of the deaths occur when the child is left alone.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...be responsible when your child is taking a bath! I know I NEVER take my eyes of P when he's in the tub!

Taking a walk...

Thank goodness the snow has melted and it's getting warmer. Almost. Sorta. Well, for a day or so it was warm. We took full advantage with a little sunday stroll. Two dogs and a toddler. This is why I love Spring. I wish it would hurry up and get here.

J was in charge of the dogs and I had the P man. When J got tired of dragging around 2 dogs (or letting 2 dogs drag him around), he decided to let P walk one of them. I wish you could see from the front. P had the leash in hand and Holly was pulling his stroller. Very safe. Ha!

I have the day off today for President's Day so I am hoping to get some serious blogging done. We'll see. My "to do" list is quite long....and it involves a lot of Elmo video's. :)

My romantic hubby

As if this wasn't sign enough that it was Valentine's Day...my pretzel I was eating today...just happened to be in the shape of a heart when I looked down. awww. All day J has been acting..."blah". I kept asking him where we should go to dinner. No response. Kind of like he could care less! I was so FRUSTRATED!!!


Little did I know he had a big romantic dinner planned for me! I should have known my "very romantic" husband wouldn't leave me hanging on the biggest LOVE day of the year. He even hid all the ingredients at his office until tonight. Smart.


He is in the kitchen right now cooking me up a surprise.

The tv is on Sirius XM Love Songs. There are candles on the dining room table. We are kidless for the night. I saw chocolate covered strawberries in the refrigerator. And his present for me, is in a Victoria Secret box.

I gotta keep this post PG 13 so I'll leave it at that. Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy P is back!

This was my lil P man yesterday.

Laying on the floor with CG and Miss K while mommy got ready for work.

A RARE rare rare occasion.

He never sits still, so I instantly knew something was not quite right.

A mommy's instinct is always right....P had the 24 hour flu bug.

Puking.Fever.Not Eating.Lethargic.

He was actually holding the towel up by his face (mommy's orders) in case he had to throw up.

Thankfully, today I have my happy P back! He woke up feeling like a rockstar and so far is playing like a normal 19 month old!

We have a his 18 month wellness check today so we will get to see how much he has grown! Dr. L will also get to see his nasty burn marks and probably wonder if I am the worst mommy on earth. :( Gosh, I am still feeling bad about those darn burns!

Snow Days!

J's version of snow boots. His camo army boots he wore in Iraq...in the DESERT! Far from snow boots when most of their miles have been tracked in the sand.

And...who plays in the snow in shorts?

It's a good thing he didn't get sick after this. I would have hated to say "I told you so".

Bear with me....

........I'm doing a little blog makeover. Nina made me a new header and I am playing with different options! Feel free to let me know what you truly think.

Also, REALLY good news about J! CNBC called him today and wants him to fly out and be on a show called "On The Money". Yea, for real. CNBC. The show is on at 9pm CST right before Mad Money. Not sure details yet, but I will keep you posted!!!!!

Oh and I sound like a man in the fake smile video because I lost my voice for 3 days and was just starting to get it back. I really don't sound like that normally. :) I HAD to disclose that.

my lil entertainer

P is an ENTERTAINER! He loves to be taught tricks and to perform (yes, kind of like a dog but smarter). So his latest and greatest trick....

"Give me your FAKE SMILE"

He has many versions of his fake smile. And I don't even have to ask now. As soon as I bust out the camera, he starts the fake smile.

This one is the "hurry up and take the picture, I can't hold this fake smile much longer."

Trust me, it's better than...

Mean Face

And those of you who have seen his real smile...know it doesn't look anything like his fake one.

I couldn't resist. This is a video of him flashing the fake smile in full force. He thinks it's funny and I can see why...it TOTALLY is!

boo boo update

Here's a little picture update on the burns.

Don't they look painful?

I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM!

I tried to bandage them, but it wasn't having any part of it. I gave him a little tylenol and burn spray and that seemed to help some.

I thought he was oblivious to the pain yesterday because I kept asking to see his boo boo and he kept pointing to his boobies! OOPS! But, today is a different story. He hurts. Mommy feels bad. :(

The Bachelor: Episode 6 The Dead Dove

First things first, I have been puking since 6am. I have no idea why. I am just now feeling good enough to open up my lap top and jot down all my thoughts about last night's episode of The Bachelor. Sorry it's delayed.

This week was hometown dates. Jason got to meet the family's of the 4 remaining women.

He started off in Canada where he was introduced to Jillian's family. Jillian has been one of my favorites ever since the hot dot analogy surfaced in episode 1. However, this week changed my opinion of her a little. She finally opens up to Jason about her mother's battle with depression. *RED FLAG* If I were Jason I would have been thinking, "hmmm, I wonder if it runs in the family?" I mean, do you want to take the chance of marrying someone who has the potential to be depressed for years? Uh, yikes. That would be a no.

Then it was off to Molly's hometown in Michigan. There is just something about Molly that I don't like. Maybe she's too preppy. She just never seems to get emotional. I saw the most emotion out of her when she claimed "I will NEVER bring someone home that my parent's don't LOVE!" Really? Your parent's have that much control over you? Aren't your parents suppose to love whatever makes you happy. Maybe I was raised differently. I do, however, like her dad's advice of "Just remember what I said. If you get in that limo...don't cry." This could possible explain why we see no emotion from Molly. Her dad has drilled it in her head since she was probably 3! Although, I think she will need the advice for next week because I definitely see a limo ride in her near future.

After Michigan, Jason headed to California to meet the crazies...I mean Naomi's family. This might have been the weirdest hometown date in the history of The Bachelor. First, Naomi's mom had Jason hula hooping..."be one with the hula hoop". As if that wasn't weird enough, she busts out that a dove killed itself on her windshield and she kept it in the fridge in a paper bag so they could give it a proper burial. Jason had the honor of doing the eulogy. I could have sworn I was going to see Ashton Kutcher come out of the bushes and scream "You've been PUNKED", but unfortunately, Naomi's mom was serious. It was not a joke. Oh Naomi, you should have known at that very moment....your chances were over. And then Jason gets cornered by Naomi's dad Hector who lectured him on his thoughts on JESUS. Now, I love Jesus people, but how inappropriate for her dad to push it down Jason's throat. And even more funny, because Jason is Jewish. Needless to say, CA was a bust and I am sure Jason could NEVER see himself introducing Ty to these crazy people.

Back in Dallas, Melissa's parents refused to meet Jason. How supportive of them. They were not comfortable with the "publicness" of it all. Instead he met some of her best friends, who also had never met Melissa's parents???? Do her parents live in a bubble? How is Jason suppose to propose to someone when he's never met her family. Having just left Naomi's wacko parents he was probably wanting to make sure Melissa had normal parents. Unfortunately for Melissa, I think this is going to hinder her chances. Although, I do still think she could get the final rose.

In the end, it was Naomi (thank god) who was left rose-less. The crazy family did it for ya sweetie. If you had any chance of winning Jason's heart....it was gone the second he met crazy mom, Hector, and the hula hoop clan. Sorry.

NEXT WEEK is the episode I have been waiting all season to see. DEANNA RETURNS!!!!!!!!!! However, here is what I just read:
It was all scripted. Deanna doesn't really want Jason back. She is dating Ace from The Real World. ABC set it all up to add drama to the show. Yea, that sucks, because I really wanted to watch Deanna get HER heart broken when Jason said "see ya!".

Does this explain it?

I wish I had better news, but really...the face says enough right?

I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "swimming sucks mom".

Okay okay, so it looks like all he did was hate it, but he actually did better than last time.

He stayed in the water for 30 minutes (instead of 20). Not bad. But, not good being the fact the swim lessons are 50 minutes. He went under TWICE. Not by choice, but hey, it was part of the lesson. When he wasn't whining, he did really good with the kicking on his back.

However, when it was time for all the kids to "jump" (which means jump off the side of the pool to their mommy's).....he made his escape. I set him on the edge of the pool so he could "pretend" to jump to me and the second he got out of the water......he RAN to daddy who was sitting and observing. That was it. The end. OVER. I tried to get him back, but he wasn't having it. So to avoid making a huge scene I let him be done. Afterall, 30 minutes isn't terrible right? I have to admit, even I was kind of getting tired of the pool after 30 minutes.

I am REALLY hoping this swim lesson thing gets easier as the weeks go on. May 2nd, is a long time to have to deal with this.

What to do if your toddler gets burned...

This morning was NOT a good morning.


P tripped and fell.


Yes, typical.


But, this time...what he fell in to was not just the floor.


He fell on top of my chi iron (for those of you who don't know what a chi is - it's a hair straightner).


And yes, it was ON...and H O T! :(


I was right behind him so I was able to grab him up before it got really bad. But, he did get 2 burns. It's hard to see in the pics, but he has one on the middle of his palm (that has started to blister) and one on his forearm. Poor lil guy. He cried for 3o minutes!


Now he keeps coming up to me and wanting me to kiss his boo boo.


I had no idea what to do for him...so of course, I googled "what to do if your toddler gets burned".


Here's what I found out:

1. Quickly cool the area by submerging it in cool water 10 to 15 minutes. P wouldn't let me run it under water so I got a cold wash cloth and gently dabbed the burns.

2. Dry the area and cover it with a sterile bandage. If your toddler is uncomfortable, give him the appropriate dose of acetaminophen (baby tylenol) or ibprofen to ease the pain.

3. If the burn starts to blister, apply an antiseptic ointment and cover the area loosely with a nonstick bandage.

*Never try to break a blister. Blisters are an important part of the skin's healing process.

*Don't put butter, grease, lotion, or powder on the burn. All of these could increase the risk of infection.

*Don't use ice, which can further damage the skin.


I hope this doesn't happen to your toddler, but in case it does, you'll be more prepared than I was.

swimming, cleaning, and dog sitting...OH MY!

I forgot to post these pictures from the wedding last weekend. I was too busy posting pics of the bride and groom and of P man! Not much going on in the Rose household this weekend.

A friend of mine from work was in a severe car accident on Friday morning with a semi, but is thankfully alive and doing just fine! She is sooo lucky!! I am glad she is ok!

P's second attempt at SWIMMING 101 came this morning. I plan to post on that later. Let's just say....it went better than last time...and I'll leave it at that for now.

We have some people coming to look at our house this afternoon so I have been on yet another cleaning frenzy. Selling a house sucks!

We are babysitting my parent's boxer this weekend so we have a house full! Between P, Klaya, and Holly...there is never a dull moment.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend. XOXO

Toddler safety 101

Hey P.....

I'm pretty sure that sticking the plug up your nose is not gonna create enough of a charge to get my laptop working. Unless your boogers have super magical powers that I don't know about.

I'm pretty sure that not every mom let's their child play with electrical cords.

And I'm pretty sure that when your cooking dinner, doing laundry, talking on the phone, and blogging all at the same time....you will let your child play with whatever holds his attention.

*DCFS Disclaimer: The cord was not plugged in to the electrical outlet. Do not come knocking at my door please. I typically do not let my child play with electrical equipment. Only when I am desperate.