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!

Mother's Day Card

Fill in the blank card from my 3 1/2 year old:

I love my mom because she gives me food.
She makes my favorite food which is mac n cheese.
Once day when I am a grown up I will buy her a cheezit.
God made mommies because I don't know.
My mommy drives slow.
When my mommy prays I feel good.


I can't wait for the cheezit!

Check Your Books at the Door

My friend has her children hand over their books as they walk in the door from school every day. WHAT!? you ask? Yes, it's true. The children are not allowed to read until their jobs, homework, and even sometimes playing with friends is done. She doesn't have to kick her kids off the TV or the Wii; she has to limit their reading time. I use to say that if you have to have a problem, then that's the one to have!

Until I entered her world.

Staying up two hours past bedtime...
Using the bathroom for 30+ minutes...
Setting up a camp chair in the sun because mom said "Go outside"...
Fibbing about how much homework is in the backpack...
Missing dinner and asking, "Why didn't you wait for me?"...

TO READ!

It's still not the worst problem in the world, but it can get annoying at times.

But here's the rub: I know how they feel. I would rather read than do the laundry or the dishes, too. And I stayed up until 3am one night last week to finish our bookclub book. Obviously, I'm being punished by having children take on my bad habits! :-)

Moderation in all things, right? I guess I need to adopt that as my motto.

You're not feeling down, are you?

Click here.

I dare you not to smile!

Have a happy,
me.

MARCH

March started off with three commemorations: my birthday, AM's birthday, and our house's birthday! Four years ago we moved to the east coast. We still aren't quite used to the climate. I wonder if this will be the year I figure out how to garden.

The birthday girls:On my birthday nine years ago, I was doing all I could to relax and keep that baby in, so she could have her own birthday. (Of course, at that time we thought she was a he. We never did get a Caleb--unless you count our little nephew.) She cooperated, and was born at one in the morning!

This year, our birthdays fell on a Friday and Saturday: perfect! My honey pampered me on Friday (even took the day off work!!), and we pampered AM on Saturday. We went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore in the morning. It was really fun. Then we came home and rested a bit before partying some more in the evening. (We had gotten up early and the birthday girl got car sick.) She requested lasagna, garlic bread and root beer for her birthday dinner. Quote from our nine-year-old: I really liked the presents. I loved my dinner. I especially liked the root beer. It was sooo good! I also went to the aquarium which I saw many animals, and I also got sick which that wasn't good."

Here are some photos of her day:




The professional photo at the top of this post was taken a week before her birthday. It is very appropriate--she's an avid reader!

Shimmy, Shake & Wiggle

Turn up your volume, and get ready to chuckle!



This girl's got STYLE!

Here's one more, just so you can watch baby sister do her own little wiggle: