Shopping savings July 7, 2009

I’ve wanted to build up my food storage and also save money on our grocery bills so last week I started coupon collecting and following some advice I got from a recent Relief Society enrichment.  Eric still does the day-to-day shopping, but on my lunch breaks I head off to collect the stock-up type puchases.  I did okay my first week out, but today I did a lot better!  I paid $36.19 and managed to purchase:

• 6 jars of Skippy peanut butter
• 10 pouches of tuna
• 4 6-pk of Hershey’s bars (it is s’mores season after all)
• 9 boxes of Kellog’s cereal
• 3 bottles of Heinz ketchup
• 2 bottles of Ragu spaghetti sauce
• 8 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and
• 1 box of Jolly Time microwave popcorn

Wa-hoo.  I saved $88.19!  I was really excited.  It broke down to be $14 in store coupons, $8.50 in manufactures coupons, $7.80 in bonus buy savings and $57.89 in preferred savings.  Now, it is true, it took up some of my time to collect the coupons, map out my plan and then carefully collect it from the store so I was sure I was getting the right stuff, but in the end I think I paid me back for my time and a little extra.  And I’m hoping it gets easier so it will take me less and less time.  If you’ve a mind to you could get to the store before Wednesday and get a lot of the same savings.  Let me know and I’ll send you the details.  I love finding things we need at low, low prices.  How can you beat a box of blueberry frosted mini-wheats for 67 cents? Or a box of Kraft for 38 cents? Yum.

Wasn’t he with you? July 7, 2009

So I spent the week away from work this past week and we all moved around the house working on things here and there and with all the goings on, Asher managed to find himself unattended for a few moments and took the opportunity to make some mischief.

You might wonder why our toilet is out seeing the light of day and why Asher is posed on its closed lid with an ice cream-shaped bottle of bubble bath.  It is because two days before this pictures was taken Asher flushed a bottle like the one pictured (the actual one was safely tossed far from grabbing fingers and is now on it’s way to take up space in the landfill) and it managed to worm it’s way through the porcelain twists and turns until reaching that final backward ‘L’ bend and wouldn’t go any further.  Of course, we caught him flushing but didn’t see anything except for half of the remaining toilet paper roll he had put in on top of it.  We hoped all would be well but the next day when it was stopped up we suspected there was more than the paper in there.  We did an inventory of the nearby bath toys and wondered about a squirting duck or frog, but when we could find only 3 of the 4 bottles in the set we had a pretty good idea.  Of course, this was the day before we were expecting overnight visitors from out of town.  We plunged and plunged until we broke the plunger.  We went to the hardware store and bought a real plunger and plunged some more but to no real avail.  And so, after consulting the Internet and finding reports of many other frazzled parents in similar circumstances, Eric charged up with a wrench, ripped the toilet from it’s sealed up stance, carted the toilet to our backyard where he tipped and turned it, allowing the bottle to follow its course backward and again see the light of day – probably for the last time.  The toilet is back in place, albeit with a running leak we can’t figure out (clean water into the tank, and not the opposite thank goodness) and our confidence in conquering household bathroom projects was boosted.  Thanks, Asher, for the opportunity to learn and grow and to overcome our misgivings of remodeling the bathroom.  Now we just need a crash course on tiling and we’ll be set!

And so just a day later, Asher wandered off downstairs and settled in behind his Dad sitting in the computer chair, cuddled up to Macey, found a blue marker and decided to add some style to he and Macey’s exteriors (and the chair mat, too).  Yes, this picture doesn’t do justice to the artist’s work, especially on his own, chin, cheeks and arm (you can tell he’s right handed since it’s totally clean).  But it does give you the right impression.  Of course, Eric thought Asher was upstairs with me, and I thought Eric knew he was downstairs with him.  Anyway, it was really considerate of Asher to use a washable marker so it all disappeared with only a little rubbing.

And so we almost felt compelled to buckle him to something solid, with no markers in reach, but overall it seemed to have gotten out of his system and we enjoyed the remainder of the time mishchief free, for the most part.  Oh, the fun you can have on a stay-cation!

Dog’s best friend June 29, 2009

Since Macey has come to stay with us, Asher has become her fast friend around the table.  They both know better, and most times we are proactive and lock Macey away for meal time.  But there are a number of occasions where we’ve caught them both in the act.  Macey will often stand at attention near Asher with her eyes intently watching his movements.  We’ve caught Asher throwing food to the ground for her, filling his fork/spoon and lowering it to her, holding his cup down for her…

The other day Eric walked back into the kitchen while Asher was at the table eating and when Asher saw him he immediately started signing “STOP” over and over to Macey.  Oh-ho, not quite so innocent as he thought we might think, but it was a good try.  Macey will do the same, when she’s caught she switches to a casual and relaxed look like, “nothing going on here, guess I’ll go to sleep” and close her eyes.  And boy does her head hang low when we call their game and send Macey away until Asher’s finished eating. 

In some ways, I find it a wonder that Asher feeds her people food from the table.  It’s certainly not something that he’s watched done to learn how- quite the opposite.  And although he does possess his Dad’s mischievousness, his behaviour with this does not really fit that category.  Maybe they came to a mutual agreement, Asher has agreed to do his best to make some portion of what’s fed to him available for Macey and in exchange Macey will remain docile while Asher uses her as a step up to the bed, couch or chair.  Whatever it is, it seems to work out for them.

Freezing time June 13, 2009

How do these kids keep growing up so fast?!  It really is wonderful to have growing and developing kids and I’ve enjoyed each stage of development, hardly wishing for the next phase to come faster but relishing the delights of the present.  Montana is off for a sleepover with one set of her loving grandparents and while driving home tonight after dropping her off we were talking about her first sleepover – how long ago it was, how much she’s grown, how little she missed us.  Hooray for grandparents and hooray for family sleepovers and hooray for sleepovers at grandparents’.  It is a fun time for the grandchild, as a fondly remember, and its fun for the grandparents, too, I’m sure.  I love having Montana come home from a visit to either of her grandparents’ home and hear about the fun they’ve had and the time she’s spent with these special people.  Thanks grandparents!

Needless to say, it was little too quiet at home with her gone, but I enjoyed having the time to spend some one-on-one time with Asher (even if he did talk on the play phone the entire time I changed him into PJs.  However he was talking to had some funny things to say!).  And so tonight I face another weekend, one where I’ve got full coverage for one of my two.  What can I get done?!  Eric is planning on some sprinkler system work – ahh, the endless work of home maintenance.  Yet, I’m contemplating whether I should paint the bathroom or if I’ve got the gumption to start painting the bedroom – ahh the endless work of home development.  But what about just kicking back and resting?  Reading?    I always want to end the weekend with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.  But too often I just get paralyzed by indecision on what to do that Saturday comes and goes without any progress anywhere.  Or I’m going, going and exhaust myself and sometimes leave things halfway finished.  I face this same cycle every weekend to work or to play, and how hard.

So I’m taking an informal poll – In your life, where is the balance between work and play on Saturdays?  Is Saturday’s the day set aside to do the dusting, laundry, home projects?  Or do you sleep in, watch Saturday morning cartoons (not that there are any good ones anymore), make lemonade, go as your fancy takes you?  I can’t wait to hear – maybe you can help me find more balance.

In the meantime, I’m posting a picture of Montana during a recent game of “Freeze tag”.  Grandpa let her sit frozen for sometime while he caught his breath.  She and I played it a few nights ago and I finally begged off and switched to Red light, Green light so I be still for a rest.  She hardly eats, where does she get the energy?! 

Flown the Nest June 9, 2009

This morning I decided to take my life back under some semblance of control, since it feels that it has been running wildly out of it for weeks and counting.  Admittedly, it was a rough start to a day for being one where I’ve declared it’s back in control (since I was slow to get out of bed and slow to get out the door and slow to start my work day) but sometimes isn’t the start of it just thinking it and then feeling it?  By lunch I was walking around with a bit of bounce and sense of accomplishment and I’m happy to say that it has just continued to build as the day has progressed.  And it has allowed me to be focused and gotten a lot done.  Now, I’m already slipping, since I told myself to target 10:00 for shutting off the day and curling up in bed with a book, but I’m still awarding myself points for sitting down to do this post (which is something I keep delaying and delaying).  I finally faced why I was delaying – so many things to catch up on and my blogs get too lengthy as it is and the time I have to invest is too much.  So, I’ve decided to make a list of the things I’m delinquent on and then I’ll just sprinkle pictures and details here and there in short spurts. We’ll see how this new tactic goes.

And so here is a list: a trip to Oregon, Easter, Asher’s glasses, inaugural Game Night, our new dog Macey, Sister’s Day, Montana’s pre-K school, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Brian’s wedding, Summer fun, and on and on and on.  And with that said, lest you think my post titled infers a “one flew over the cuckoos nest” theme, I’ll continue with the story behind it – an annual spring event that’s culmination concluded this past week. 

Growing upward outside of our kitchen window is a plum tree that brings a special gift with each season, especially if you are bird lover (I guess if you’re not then you may view this as a gift-giving tree in only one season when the juicy, sweet treats ripen in the late summer).  During nearly each of the 7 springs we have lived here, a pair of robins have built their nest and raised their young right outside of our window.  We have a front row view of the pair scouting a site, building and shaping the nest, patiently and intently waiting, feeding their babies with increasing appetites requiring double-duty and endless foraging for food, cleaning the nest and overseeing the launch into the world outside of the nest.  Here are pictures from this year’s clutch – at least four blue eggs were laid (we saw three live babies being raised and Montana found one cracked egg with yolk in the grass).  It is a delight and privellge to watch them grow so quickly and rhythmically year after year and a reminder of the treasured gifts that were created in nature by a divine hand. 

 

Apr 15 – Scouting for a site

May 2 – Nest construction

May 27 – waiting for lunch

May 27 – Lunch has arrived

May 27 – time for a rest (notice the mud on her beak from her recent worm-catching?!)

May 30 – Feathering out

Jun 6 – One day out of the nest

 

The Texas Bluebonnet June 2, 2009

So, I’ve been told a lot about Texas, and learned a lot about the culture first-hand; although I’m sure I still have a lot to learn. Since the bluebonnet is the state flower and you’re not allowed to pick them, I’ve been told the only thing to do with them is get your picture taken in them.  It wasn’t too hard either.  There is a large field in our community that I often saw people doing just that.  Trevor said he even saw some people with a large yellow couch -I think it was yellow- in the middle of the field to add to their photo shoot.

This was an experience I wanted to have, as I have seen many and liked how it looked, but wasn’t certain I would get complete cooperation from my other half .  Luckily, Kevin and Kristy came to visit one weekend in April and Kristy had the same plan and thought the same of her other half.  So, after church Kristy went and took her girls in their dresses, and then took some of Eliot and I, and then we allowed the kids to get into more comfortable clothes and we took just a couple for fun.  Here they are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I think it’s pretty evident in Eliot’s crumpled eyebrows that she wasn’t quite into this experience.  She kept talking about the fire ants and didn’t want to get bitten.  In this second one she was asking to be done.  I don’t remember specifically what she said, but I must have thought it was funny.

 

I wanted a few of Eliot by herself, but you can see that the chances of that were probably less than those when she was sitting on my lap.

 

 

 

 

Enter cousins, and wardrobe change!  Look at the difference it made to our little girl!  I’m not certain of the details, but she sure was enjoying it more with them.  Oh well, it’s still a great picture, even if it’s not one of mother and daughter.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this next little sequence of cooperation.  She did her best to pose as we asked, but wasn’t quite comfortable smelling the flowers so she kept watching us for the “you can stop” que.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, it was a great experience.  We decided we would hit the field much earlier next year as a lot of the flowers were already starting to wilt.  Maybe with one year under her belt, Eliot will do better with her fright of the fire ants.  Thanks to Kristy for her great picture-taking!

Next post: our San Antonio trip!  I’ll set my goal to have it done before two months pass

An inspirational dream April 24, 2009

So I meant to sit down on Tuesday when the experience was so fresh, but I’m sitting down now instead – and I’ve set the timer because I still have a number of things on my list for tonight and will need to get some sleep too.

Well, as you may know I am hardly a fan of You Tube.  So I was less than thrilled when Eric asked me to sit down to spend 7 minutes and 7 seconds of my already short-on-time busy Tuesday morning while I was trying to get breakfast, get set up for work, get prepared to help out at Montana’s school.  And when the video started out with a somewhat backward, yet confident and cheeky 47 year old woman that was seemingly being humored by judges in front of an audience ready to laugh at her attempt to perform I was even more apprehensive.  But how I was touched by the performance that followed.

As “I dreamed a dream of time gone by” went floating through our kitchen I got goose bumps up and down both arms.  Judge 1’s eyebrows went to his hair line, Judge 2’s jaw dropped to her dress line, Judge 3’s excitement and shock couldn’t be contained, and the audience exploded in energetic applause.  By the second line of the song my eyes were filled with tears and I couldn’t see what was happening, but the sound continued to pierce me.  It was lovely.  And then Asher couldn’t contain himself and began singing right along and my tears spilled out.

Well, my timer has gone off three times so I need to move along, but it is enough to say I was touched and we played that video probably 5 more times that morning and then 5 more throughout the day (and yes, Asher sang to every one).  It was a moving tune, sung in a beautiful voice from someone courageously pursuing a dream.  And even better, the judge’s honesty about the cynicism and skepticism was endorsing to the experience.  I don’t follow American Idol, Americans Got Talent, (or anything but the Office, really, and I’m at least 6 episodes behind on that!) but I thoroughly enjoyed watching those specific 7 minutes from Britains Got Talent.  If somehow viewing this has escaped you, I would say it is worth the time and will brighten your day (my favorite version is 7:07 in length).

As for the rest of life, things are just fine and I’ll try to set aside more time soon to catch up.

Happy Easter! April 22, 2009

Shocking, I know.  Who would have thought I could publish two posts so close together?  I must be mismanaging my time again .  Oh well!

I wanted to get this picture up and show off this great cake Eliot and I were so proud of.  I was mostly impressed with it because it was so last-minute and not very well planned out, but it turned out WONDERFUL!  We spent the day with our friends Seth and Marsha, and had a great time.

While Easter has always been an enjoyable holiday for me -I think mostly because of the memories of being on Grandpa’s farm- the past couple of years have taken on a deeper appreciation and celebration.  Our family loves to talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the opportunities we have as a family because of it, and how we look so forward to being with Morgen again.  We haven’t specifically created traditions for Easter since Morgen’s passing, but the day just feels different than Easters passed.

Most times when we go to the cemetery we put new flowers on Morgen’s grave and bring home the old ones.  Eliot enjoys “planting” the plastic flowers in the back yard and recently Trevor made a “flower box” in the corner so there’s a designated place for them:

Along with the flowers you’ll probably notice a wooden one.  That’s a “Build and Grow” project from Lowe’s that Eliot made.  It’s a rain gauge and she LOVES to see the container fill with water.  Also, you’ll see a CD.  That’s the top of the a wind chime Eric and Leah’s family sent us on the one-year anniversary of Morgen’s passing.  It’s on a shepherd’s hook that they gave us and we take it to the cemetery for a while to hang stuff, and then bring it back home when we switch stuff out.

Here’s a little picture of Eliot’s dance performance this month.  From left to right is Brinley, Faith, and Eliot.

A short update, Baby3 April 20, 2009

Here’s a couple pics from the latest ultrasound:

 

We really enjoyed the visit when we got these pics because we were able to “record” a DVD to bring home and show Eliot.  She is so anxious to go to the doctor with me and see the ultrasound.  I mentioned it to the doctor and he suggested this as an option.  During the time we were recording, the baby did what the lady described as drinking.  The baby would cock its head back and open it’s mouth wide, then stick its tongue out a few times and swallow.  It was so interesting to see the movement so defined and exaggerated.  It was a new experience for us.  When we watched the DVD with Eliot she really enjoyed hearing the heart “beeping, because that means you’re alive.”

Things seem to be going well so far.  It’s taken me longer to post these pictures than it should have; the ultrasound was 03 April.  My next appointment is this coming Friday so we’ll see if I can post about it sooner than a month late .  In the next couple of weeks I’ll be having the 18-week [I'm used to it being done at 20 weeks, but this practice must be different] ultrasound to check everything, so I’m sure I’ll have more pics soon.

Overall, we’re doing pretty well as a family.  Trevor no longer has an evening job so we’re enjoying more family time together.  Eliot just thinks it’s wonderful that Trevor only works at “2HM Hill” and will be home for dinner.

Eliot’s last dance recital was earlier this month (but I haven’t reviewed the pictures so that will have to wait until next time).  Her teacher will no longer be holding classes, and I’m not sure we’ll look into another location so for now that’s falling to the wayside.  It’s been fun for us both .  She would go to class and I would go to lunch with friends (their daughters were in the same class).

We’ve been spending a lot of time with our friends Seth and Marsha lately, and while it’s enjoyable and a mutually beneficial friendship, it may be causing some problems with Trevor’s list of home improvements.  For the past week or so we have enjoyed several evenings in their enclosed back porch, enjoying the cool quiet air, bug free.  Several times since we’ve lived in this home Trevor has mentioned how he’d like a patio in the backyard to be able to lounge.  However, since he’s “tasted” of this luxury of lounging without the bugs, his mind is starting to plan.  If you know Trevor well enough, I’m sure you know where this is going.  The past few times we’ve gone to Seth and Marsha’s, Trevor has taken measurements of their porch, and looked closely at the door and windows, and asked Seth to see the pictures of it during construction.  He’s looked a little at outdoor furniture, and even more closely at projectors with DVD players and pull-down screens to watch them on, though he says that’s a lot farther off in the future.  He’s looked at the constrution of our covered porch area and tried to decide if that’s large enough to just enclose, or how he would increase the size without needing a building permit to complete this project… and this is only a the things I’m aware of.  I’m sure there’s lots more to his planning mind.

Trevor’s personality is very much focused on finishing things, as well as immediate satisfaction.  Not only does he want this enclosed porch for his enjoyment, I know he wants it because he has a lot of pride in himself and his abilities when he’s able to accomplish something large.  I often observe him to be much like a bull, preparing to charge.  When that bull zeros in on a target, it races full boar until it makes contact and accomplishes what he intends.  Trevor is very much like that with projects.  He must think about it all the time, with little distraction, and runs full-speed and agressively completes the project until it is D-O-N-E.

We’re enjoying the weather warming, but for Eliot it’s still not enough.  She REALLY wants to go swimming although we tell her it will be a little too cold still – mostly the water.  He response is that she’s wearing flip-flops and she’s not too cold.  Kevin and Kristy are coming to spend some time this weekend and I told Eliot we’d see if her cousins want to brave the pool with her.  We’ll see how it goes.

Happy Brother’s Day March 26, 2009

Today we celebrated our first ever Brother’s Day and had an enjoyable time.  Yes, it is a made up holiday and mostly an excuse to spoil our kids, but it wasn’t really my idea.  Last June while Montana and I were out shopping for Eric for Father’s Day she said, “So we’re giving presents to Dad for Father’s Day…small pause… And Asher and I gave you presents for Mother’s Day. ..another small pause… When is Sister’s Day?”

Well, Eric and I considered it and thought it would be a fun way to celebrate the importance of being a brother or a sister.  Our family is organized such that we can have a Brother’s Day 6 months from Asher’s birthday and a Sister’s Day 6 months from Montana’s birthday (since both kids have birthday’s later in the year we thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a day earlier in the year to provide a reason to give them things they can enjoy in the coming summer months).

Montana was a delight to help with the gift buying, wrapping and giving.  Last night she sifted through some card making supplies to make a lovely card with a message of love for him.  She wrapped and labeled the gifts and then arranged them for him to find in the morning.  She squealed when she told him it was Brother’s Day and helped with the unwrapping (and most times actually waited for him to ask for help before jumping in).  He got a new book - Gossie and Gertie (two ducks that could be siblings having fun together), and some new cars and a Little People Garage.  He was very, very excited – what’s a boy without a car in each hand?!

Montana helped to continue to make the day special by playing with her brother even more than usual and I heard her tell Eric she couldn’t do her housework today because it was Brother’s Day!  I talked her into it by saying that we could go out for a fun adventure tonight if we could think of something that Asher would enjoy doing.  We went and tried out Jumping Jacks – an warehouse full of inflatable slides and bounce houses.  Whew!  What a workout.  Asher loved it, along with the rest of us.  He was fearless with the slides and wanted to go more quickly than any of him could tow him up.  He tried really hard to climb up himself but mostly had to resort to frantically signing, “Up! Up! Up! Up! Up!” Here are some pictures from the day, sadly there were focus issues from slides but I think you can get the drift.  Enjoy – and Happy Brother Day to mine and all the brothers out there!