Family Pictures 2009

A photographer friend took our family pictures this fall.
Location: Civil War battlefield & cemetery site.

I am very pleased with myself for orchestrating the outfits. They all actually look good together! At least I think so. If you don't, keep it to yourself. ;-)

Our youngest, 2 1/2 years, was very uncooperative. Zero smiles. When we got the CD of all the photos, she kept pointing at the screen while saying,
"She wasn't happy. She wanted her Mom & Dad. She didn't want the pictures."
I agreed.

Overheard in the Car

Observations by the four-year-old; comment by the two-year-old.


NE: Ewww! It smells like crabs in here!

Me: Crabs? You think so?

NE: Yes! I think Daddy and Uncle Matthew got crabs and ate them in the car on the way home from the airport.

Me: chuckling and confused (Uncle Matthew is half-way across the country.)

AE: Yah, it stinks! I think Uncle Matthew pooped in here!

Me: laughing so hard I'm crying


Of course I had to call Matthew, and inform him that our two-year-old thinks he needs to work on his personal hygiene.

Our First Break

Boys will be boys, the saying goes. And ours has now officially been inducted into the
Royal Order of Boyhood.

He broke his first (and hopefully last!) bone.

Being left-handed, this left elbow break was a bit inconvenient. The writing difficulty was nothing compared to the torture of missing out on PE at school, though!

Some lessons learned:
Humans cannot fly. Gravity is real. Showing off can get you hurt.

I was inside, and didn't see the actual event. But from eye witnesses I've gathered that the kids were taking turns swinging really high and jumping out of the swing. ED said that this particular time, he thought while in mid-air, "Wo. I'm really high. This is going to hurt." It did. He landed just right (or wrong), and heard the crack. It was a Saturday. We got to spend four hours in the Emergency Room.

Misnomer

Names our fourth child has been called:

Noomee


Nemo




Namer or Namee



Nawmee


Nay-Nay



Nie-oh-mee


Nummy




Numer



Wyoming

and last, but not least,

Mary
(multiple times by another four-year-old)

It's Late

And my hubby is asleep. And for only another 2 1/2 hours. So, I really shouldn't have the computer on eight feet away from him.

But I told myself that I'd post something today, so here it goes. Obviously, it's going to be quick.

We got a new computer over the weekend. While the added memory and speed of the processor are GREAT (our dinosaur was a whopping five years old), the transfer has been a bit challenging. Our printer still isn't connected right. We need to install a new "driver"? I used to think I was computer savvy. I'm not even pretending anymore.

Sshhh. Don't tell my mom. She still calls me with computer questions. (Though she probably won't anymore after reading this!)


A friend and I swap houses once a week to clean. I've said it for years, "It's easier to clean someone else's house than my own." You've probably said it, too. Well, we're not kicking against the pricks anymore! And I love it!! My Tuesdays are now pretty tiring, though. It has been a long time since I cleaned for three hours straight without getting distracted. And, OH, what can be accomplished in three short hours! My life is now a whole lot less stressful.

Part II

The two-year-old is currently choosing to whine and play in her crib instead of sleep for the second day in a row. I'm not OK with this. At least I know she can't get into anything. And I can turn down the baby monitor, so I can pretend she's sleeping. I guess this just means she'll go to bed at a decent hour for the baby sitter tonight! Yes, I just said baby sitter. We thought this crazy busy year would be date-free out of necessity. But we're meeting at the temple--30 min from D's work & 2 hrs from home--for a stake-wide meeting. He got 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night; do you think he'll stay awake during the meeting? :-)

LL turned six last week! She's a big first grader. (not size-wise, just meaning "grownup") Being so young, we almost didn't start her last year. Then we almost pulled her out at Christmas. Then we almost had her repeat kindergarten. All of this unbeknown to her, we thought. But her behavior and the teachers kept convincing us that she's fine right where she is. Just yesterday she came home declaring that she's glad she's not in kindergarten anymore because they're babies. Maybe all of that "almost..." last year wasn't such a mystery to her? Last night I announced that it was reading time, and she asked if I would read a book to her. Before I could respond, big sister AM said, "No, remember? You can read all by yourself now!" LL just replied, "Oh, yeah" and went over to the bookshelf. I do still read to my children, though. Don't you worry.

NE, who turned four last month, continues to tell me every day that she's almost old enough to go to school on the bus. In fact, yesterday at the YMCA she announced to the Kids Gym staff that it's almost her birthday. This might be a very long year for her. Preschool starts next week, so I hope that will stave off the blues. She has a style all her own, and knows exactly what she wants to wear and how her hair needs to be done. I usually don't fight with her on such things because, heck! you're only four once! And she gets her fashion sense from her father, anyway. (That came out sounding like an insult, but it's really supposed to be a compliment. I get the most comments on my clothes when my husband dresses me!) NE is currently taking swimming lessons and practices blowing bubbles in the bathtub.

AE has taken a chapter from NE's book. We now have two mess-maker extraordinaires in the family. There are little scribbles on every flat surface of the house, and books are not safe with her unsupervised. She wears a skirt everyday (or "kurt" as she calls it), and sometimes matches. Boy, have I gotten lax! Or maybe I've learned that this phase doesn't last very long, and I'd rather fight about what food goes in her mouth than which outfit she picks out. It's not like she's wearing halter tops and fish net stockings--I do still purchase all her clothes! She is in the very fun (sarcastic) stage of "no, I don't want to wear a diaper, but no, I also don't want to go potty in the toilet." The other day while I was changing her poopy diaper, she kept telling me, "Don't, Mom!" I told her that I wouldn't have to wipe her whole bum if she put her poop in the potty instead of in her pants. She then proceeded to walk around the house asking everyone if they put their poop in the potty. Are we turning a corner? Only time will tell. I really haven't wanted to push the potty-training thing (are you noticing a parental pattern here?) because she is only two, but when she talks about it so often, I think I may as well give it a go. Stay tuned.

Not MIA Anymore

I've been neglecting this blog for so long that I'm out of the habit of even clicking on it! I hope to change that forthwith. You may not care, but my kids are growing up and I need to document their comings and goings somewhere.

So, the biggest item of note is that D has begun his residency/internship. He is now officially the busiest man alive, and survives on 3-4 hours of sleep four nights a week while working two full-time jobs. I am doing my best to remember some wise (and quite comforting) words spoken to me right before this crazy schedule began: "As you worry about your husband's schedule, realize that it is temporary." I didn't expect this person to say "as you worry". I expected "Don't worry!" But that wouldn't be realistic.

ED just started piano lessons today. He loves being in fifth grade--king of the school--and acts like he has everything under control (except for his bedroom!). As a fifth grader, he will get the opportunity to participate in the "news" on TV and raise the flag out in front of the school. Privileges galore! He is now our most voracious reader. We were very surprised by a reading aptitude test result putting him at two grade levels below where he should be. Either he doesn't test well, or the test was inputted incorrectly. Something's up! Even though I've inquired about it, I don't really care. I know how well he reads.

We finally convinced AM to get her hair cut in a really cute A-line bob with it stacked short in the back and hitting just below her chin in the front. It is fun and sassy--just like her personality. After a summer of swimming, her hair was pretty damaged. She has more homework than the other two combined, and brings home a very heavy backpack almost every day. Gratefully, she's one of those that thinks schoolwork is fun (crazy!), so there's not much complaining.

And that's where this installment ends. To be continued!

Loving Being Frugal

I've been meaning to write about my latest love: couponing! I continue to be amazed about paying less (or nothing!) for an item just because I handed the clerk a piece of paper.

This love has been growing for quite some time. After researching and playing around a bit, I am almost at the point where I refuse to pay for certain items. Like deodorant. I currently have a stash of seven roll-ons and four sticks, each of which cost me less than 10 cents!! What a rush! And I'll never pay more than $1 for a box of cereal again. There's just no need with the sales and coupons available. I have approximately 20 boxes in my son's closet (because they won't all fit in my pantry!), and the most I've paid is 89 cents. Half of them were free!

The whole idea of using coupons has always intrigued me, but I've only recently learned how to use them effectively. Thanks to a bunch of great blogs, I now find out what's on sale, which coupons to use, where to get them, and then I go and save A BUNDLE!

It means that my shopping cart looks a little odd, though.

Take my recent trip to Walgreens, for example. I purchased 11 packages of diapers, four toothbrushes (something else I'll never pay for again!), three rolls of paper towels, four boxes of cereal, and two cans of nuts. With the sales and coupons and "Register Rewards" (money back), the receipt says I saved $49.78. I paid just $3o.83!! If divided evenly, that's just $1.27 per item! $1.27 for a pkg of diapers. Yeah, I'm good.

So, I thought I'd share some of the sites on which I have come to rely, because though I am bragging a bit here, I couldn't do any of it without the help provided by these great sites!

Money Saving Mom is by far my favorite. She alerts you to various deals, and outlines how to shop at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid. She often lists the best deals at Target and Wal-Mart and other national chains.

BeCentsAble has a feature called Grocery Gathering that I rely on heavily. It lists which blogs outline the best deals for local stores. (i.e., there are two blogs listed that tell me what to buy at Bloom, two for Giant, about ten for Safeway, etc.) I click on the blogs, scroll through the listing of the best deals and which coupons to use, print off my list, and off I go!

Ebates pays as you shop online. It takes just an extra click or two to find out if the site I need is associated with ebates. Very simple! I had a $10 off coupon code for JCPenney (it's actually still valid, if you're interested: GR8DAD), so I went to Ebates, searched for JCPenney, and then I was in. Easy as pie. I got $10 off at JCPenney, $5 for signing up with Ebates, and 40 cents for doing the shopping through Ebates. They pay you a percentage of your purchase.

What has been especially fun is that ED and AM, my 10 and 9 year olds, are getting into it. They are great helpers in the store! I give them the coupon, and they find the item. They are excited about it, too. "Wow, Mom! You mean just by giving them this coupon, you can get stuff for free?" AM helped me find a bunch of deals at Target the other day. With the sales, manufacture coupons, and Target coupons, we were almost paid to take items off their shelves! She came bounding in the door, shouting to D to come see our haul. I've never seen a nine year old be so exuberant about mayonaisse and salad dressing!