I love my little son so much, and I am continually amazed at what he has learned and does, but one speech pattern he has been doing has amused me more than usual.  Noah will often ask me for a snack and it seems like he is always eating.

We have started a shelf for him on the bottom of the pantry that contains snacks that he can access himself and eat when he gets hungry while mom is busy cleaning/studying/writing etc.  He is usually pretty happy with the granola bars, raisins, fruit cups (he even goes to get a spoon and brings me one upstairs too) and other snacks. He also knows where yogurts are in the freezer and cheese and baby carrots in the fridge  However, there are times where the kid wants something a bit sweeter to whet his whistle and he has found a new way to try to get me to give him all sort of treats.

"Mommie, I'm hungry."  I tell him he can go pick something out. "Maaayyybe, something round?"  He motions like a circle.

"Like a carrot chip?"  I ask, knowing what item in the pantry he wants.

"No, something rounder?  And big?"

"Oh- you mean a cookie?"

"Yeah, a cookie.  That's good."  This isn't the first time that he has been able to use his words to verbally trap us.  When he used to be less adept at articulating words he would ask for something he knew we wouldn't normally be about to do, and then we would repeat it to clarify that we were hearing it correctly.

"A movie?"

"Okay."  As if were the ones who had thought of it.  No Buddy, we were just clarifying, not offering.

Now, he has gone a step further and is using adjectives to try to get his point across.  He just walked up to me a few minutes ago and asked of the double chocolate cookie dough I made a couple days ago, but haven't quite made it to the oven, and which I was sampling a little while ago.  "What did you do with the dark stuff?"

It is so interesting to hear how his language is developing, and that he is seeing these words as alternative ways to describe something that he wants, or one reason that he likes the object of his desire.  Yes, the cookie dough is dark and  chocolatey and yummy, and he knows somehow if he appeals to that aspect of the object, he just might have a better chance of getting it.  I'm curious if he is showing this because he is taking after mom in writing, or if he is taking after daddy in his ability to sell.

As anyone who has read this blog knows that i love me a good printable. In fact, by far my most popular Pinterest Board is dedicated to Digital Freebies that have made my life easier, or are just something enjoyable.

Recently, I have been scouring the web for an editorial calendar for my blogs and social media.  I have used an social media calendar int eh past, but never found one that worked well enough for me to stick with it. Until now.  One of the best parts of my discovery is that the graphic designer that created the blogging calendar is a fellow Minneapolis resident.  I always love to send a little linkage to a fellow Minnesotan.

Ekcetera Design Studio is a local graphic designer and creative and she is offering not only a free social media planning calendar template, but she also has a free e-book as well as some great simple tutorials for small businesses and social media for those of you who are newbies to the whole social media management game.

I've changed a few of the fields in my version of the template since I don't particularly use YouTube all that much (hopefully in the future.)  I also prefer to have a printed version of the calendar to work with and scribble on and cross out, so I had to scoot a few things in order to make it all fit on one standard sheet.  For the most part though, the logic of the organization for this social media calendar trumps by far what I was using in the past.  Be sure to check out Ekcetera Design and let her know that I sent you. ;)

The Minnesota Westons have been on the move once again.  We have moved out of our little bedroom community and into a suburb of Minneapolis that reminds us more of our life in MI, and gives us many of the amenities and the lower crime rate that we need in a home.  Now, our old place wasn't a horrible city to live in, but I think that our part of town was a little less nice than others.  Most of us on our street had been robbed at some point-- thankfully just stuff from our cars and yards, although one of the neighbors did lose 2 snowmobiles.  The thieves drove right up into their yard and hooked the trailer to their truck and drove off.

A train derailment happened about a 1/4 of a mile away- thankfully carrying corn and not anything flamable.  Our place was tiny, had termites and after we left we found out that it was near 7 Superfund sites. As you can probably guess, we are very happy and blessed to be in our new home and adjusting to having more space and have happily cozied up for the winter.  We are still getting settled, but I am going to try to post a small house tour on here soon.

Noah has a few new things as well, he has started "School" as much as we are doing it.  He is actually at his local Co-Op right now, which is wonderful because it gives me some time every other week to run errands or have appointments that would otherwise be difficult with him along. Or just to sit and study in the lobby of the church that hosts us. At first he wanted to know that I was in the building with him, but now he barely blinks when I leave and is planning on being a "Daddy" with one of his little girlfriends there.

One further new is for me: I entered Grad School a little more than a year ago.  At first I was reluctant to talk about it because quite honestly, I wasn't sure if I would be able to cut it and to make it through with Noah and moving and all of the other stuff going on in my life, but now I am looking at the home stretch and I have less than a year and my thesis to complete!  Strategic Communication Management is an intriguing field right now as we make the move in online communication from using social media as fun to using in a more deliberate way to enhance our business and social lives.  I am hoping once I am done to get back into teaching at the Community College level, and to continue to consult with businesses regarding their content marketing needs.

After all of those changes it is nice to finally be getting established in our new routine, and thankfully, the new routines are proving to be more enjoyable, productive and meaningful than anything before.