Cosmetology In Her Future?

Last week, Natalie cut Liam's hair. 

And I had just been thinking that we should let it grow a little.  /cry!

I was not home to witness the event, but Kevin swears it all happened in the span of 5 minutes as the kids played upstairs.  I guess my makeup bag was the draw as there was makeup littering the floor as and the tiny (very POINTY) eyebrow scissors were missing.  Thank GOODNESS there was no major harm in the making of this haircut.  And to her credit, she did try to do an even job!  Unfortunately the millimeter long hair on top and back of his head will just have to grow out to match the rest of his hair. 



She desperately wanted a haircut herself, so I just decided to get them both taken care of when we went in to get Liam's head fixed in case she got any more wild ideas!

Could It Be...

that my 20 month old is going to potty train early? 

Or was that just a one time teaser? 
One can only hope!

Intervention Update

So about a month ago I came clean about my love affair with grocery shopping and the exhorbitant amount of money I spent on consumable goods. 

During the month of February I realized that I'd already spent $661 at grocery stores, Costco and Target by the 21st and was determined not to do anymore shopping until March.  However, I found myself needing to stock up on meats and produce before month's end as my husband decided to join me on the Atkins diet.  The total for the month?  $961. 

/fail

I knew I could do better.

This month isnt over yet, but I'm on target to do MUCH better.  My mantra this month is "only the essentials".  I'm not stocking up on anything (since I have such a stockpile anyway) and I'm barely looking at the grocery ads.  For a long time I'd tried to do the "extreme couponing" that you read about on so many "mommy blogs".  People can really cut their expenditures in HALF by playing the coupon games at local grocery stores and places like CVS and Rite Aid.  However, I found that I was spending MORE money by attempting to do that.  I would get a good deal, but then I might buy too much of something and then not plan a meal utilizing it.  It ends up sitting on my shelf not getting used and then just adding to the food budget for the month.  So my new approach is just STAY AWAY FROM THE GROCERY STORE.

It's working pretty well.  Currently I've spent about $450 on groceries for the month. Can you believe it?!?!  I think I deserve a gold star or a smiley face by my name or SOMETHING!

Lauren =)

So I'm definitely improving.  The only temptation could be the fact that I would like to make a trip to Costco before the end of the month and I rarely get out of there for less than $100.  But I'm determined to be able to go with a SHORT list and get out unscathed.  I think I can, I think I can....

So stay tuned and keep the encouragement coming my way!

Gymnastics

I wish Natalie had gymnastics every day.  I'm not sure how a person so petite (who isnt allowed any sugar on a normal day) and who also doesnt nap can have SO much energy.  The childs feet barely touch the ground during the waking hours for all the hopping, dancing, jumping, running and diverolling off of the furniture she does.

Kevin and I got to attend the last session of her winter gymnastics class and see her in action. 

her class 

Natalie doing a flip.

Natalie and Dad

Note: This is what happens when you tell her to laugh so she'll give a genuine smile.  I'll just say she takes after her mother.

Nat and Mom

Yeah for gymnastics!  I just hope she'll be able to keep it up next year with the addition of preschool to the mix. (more on that to come)

19.5 Months

So I'm a little behind on updates.  But who has time for that between all the chaos of two kids, work, housework and life in general?  How do those Duggars do it?

Anyway, Liam is getting big.  He understands EVERYTHING, has slendered out and very tall for his age.  He doesnt say a lot, but here's what he does say:

• Ma! (It means "Map" or "Dora") Go ahead and yell that one to get an idea of what it sounds like and  then imagine it like 50 times a day.  He loves Dora, but especially the Map, and will stand 10 inches from the TV and not move for 30 minutes if Dora is on.
• "Ah Dah!" (all done)  Also yell this very loudly, waiting two seconds between each word, right after rubbing spaghetti sauce in your hair and throwing any remaining food from your plate on the floor
• kitakitakita (kitty cat).  He's very affectionate toward her.
• Yeah! Again, yelling at the top of your lungs, throw your hands up in the air in touchdown mode as a response to "Do you want to eat?"  "Do you want your pacifier?" "Do you want to go outside?"  Conversely if there's something you don't want to do, fall on the floor and writhe around like you're favorite dog just died.
• Mama Um... yes, he's a mama's boy.
• Da-dee (Daddy)  Its a recent progression from Dada to Daddy.  Super cute.
• Raaaar (Roar) This is what a lion says (as well as what a bird, cat, dog and hyena say, according to Liam).
• Uh oh  Usually something to worry about and means you've got Cheerios/Vinegar/Peppercorns/etc spilled all over the floor.
• Ta Too (Thank you)  He says this without being prompted - something I attribute to our nanny, Jody.  She's so on the ball with teaching manners to the kids.  It's wonderful!
• Woo Woo Woo (Siren or "Mom... you're getting pulled over")

He also does sign language for milk, more, please, help and wash hands.  He doesnt try to say any of these words since he can sign them, but he'll be happy to throw his cup on the floor (or his entire tray of food, for that matter) to get your attention so you can serve his signed requests.

And just the other day he walked over to the diaper bag, pulled out a diaper and a wipe and laid down and began mock wiping his bottom.  Turns out his diaper was, indeed, dirty.  All right kid... if you can tell me it's dirty then you can surely tell me you need to use the potty!

He's a fun kid who makes us laugh every day.  We're all looking forward to seeing how his personality develops and hoping he figures out that there's no need to talk at 500 decibels for the rest of his life. =)

Happy Half Birthday!

We introduced Natalie to the concept of half birthday's this year.  It's a tradition that my family practiced when I was growing up because a whole year is an awful long time to wait when you're a kid.  We celebrated with a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (I called it an ice cream cake...) and a new Play-doh set.  And now she proudly announces that she's 3 and a HALF. 

Such a fun tradition to re-live with them as I've stopped really celebrating my own half birthdays!  Something about 31 and a half just doesn't seem quite as special. 

Free Shipping?

How much do you think it would cost to send them to Nana and Papa's house?

Someone's Gotta Take One for the Team

It's a little hard to see but this is salmon topped with crab dip.  It's on the Atkins diet and oooooh-so-yummy.  Hey, without the carbs to keep her company, a girl's gotta have SOME little luxuries!  So far I've been low-carb for 3 weeks now and have lost 4-5lbs.  Definitely not what I THOUGHT I would lose and I've seen no progress over the last week.  I'm giving it another week to see if my body is just being stubborn at a set point and then I might re-evaluate my plan.  There's only SO much passing up cereal, pizza and potatoes that a girl can do.

Okay, So This May Be Harder Than I Thought...

I started a low carb diet (more on that later) a week ago and realized I didnt have enough fresh veggies and quick low carb meal components to help me be successful this coming week (it's going to be a really crazy week work-wise for me).

So I spent an additional $300 at the store on groceries.

/fail

My new goal is that what we have needs to last us 2 weeks (except for milk and toothpaste, for the kids).  After that, I really have enough meats in the freezer so I'm hoping I can just buy fruits and vegetables for a week or two.

I also am planning on trying out e-mealz.com, as recommended, but I've got to wait until I deplete my stash a bit.

Hi, my name is Lauren.  And I'm addicted to groceries.

I Need an Intervention!!!

So I recently joined mint.com.  It's an online budgeting tool that integrated in with all of your various financial accounts so you can see how much you're spending where and on what.  If you haven't checked it out - I highly recommend it. 

Unless you like burying your head in the sand...

Ahem...

like me.

I started doing this officially at the beginning of the year but I hadn't updated all of my transactions by categorizing them until today.  And that's when I realized that I spent a whopping

*drum roll please*

THOUSAND DOLLARS on groceries in January.

All of the couponers out there are cringing at this admission, I know.

Yes, I coupon and I usually get great deals, but maybe, just maybe, I buy too much, or the wrong stuff, or too many exotic things for new recipes I make.  Who knows?  I certainly don't because it doesnt FEEL like we eat wagyu beef every night sprinkled with truffle oil.  But we might as well!

So, I'm on a mission.  I'm not going grocery shopping the rest of this month (as I've already reached $661) and I'm determined to spend less than $500 next month.  That still may be exhorbitant for a family of four, but I've got to start somewhere and I figure that even $500 will take some getting used to.

It's odd to me that I'm having this problem.  I clip coupons, I follow several deal websites and I buy a lot at discount stores like Target, etc.  I dont feel like I have the time to be an extreme couponer, but I do pretty well.  Apparently, though, I'm missing the key element of sticking to a certain amount each week and then monitoring what I'm spending on a more regular basis. 

So here I am.  I'm coming clean.  I'm a grocery over-spender.  Join me as I try to figure out the best way to feed my family (as well as buy them household cleaners, laundry detergent, paper products, foils, etc) for half of what I'm currently spending while also not spending lots of time at the store, eating ramen or more than 15 minutes a day clipping coupons.  We'll see how this goes....

**If any of you have any tips and tricks for making this work for a family that likes to eat things other than chicken and rice casserole 5 nights a week, please let me know.  We're foodies and I like to buy a lot of fresh fruits and veggies for the kids.  I'm hoping I can still maintain a level of excitement about our meals while eating on a budget.  I need all the help I can get!**

A Sad Farewell

After a lot of thinking and praying we made the hard decision to discontinue the homeschool preschool group we were a part of two days a week.  It just got to be too much with all of the errands I needed to run for the rest of the week plus work plus quality time with the kids at home plus chores around the house, yada yada yada.  I was stressed when we got home, Natalie was distracted while we were there and Liam spent his time at preschool running around the playroom emptying toys and puzzles left and right. 

Regardless, it was a hard decision as we'd made a lot of good friends there and the kids really did have fun each week.  I'm thinking the Fall might be good for another try as they'll both be a little older. We'll see...

Abel

Camden

Making muffins with Ms Erin.  I love Abel's face!  This is right before he dumped half the can of baking powder in the bowl.  It's a wonder those things turned out - but, MAN, were they good!

Liam

Peyton

Rory - eating a donut for Sequoia's birthday.

Sequoia (celebrating her 4th birthday at preschool!)

We'll definitely miss the preschool bunch, but hope to develop a routine of educational play/activities and scripture memory here at home.  If anything, being a part of the preschool group helped me to gain more confidence with my role as an educator at home.

It also helped me realize that I'm probably not cut out to homeschool my kids.  Of course I could change my mind, but I think I realized how BIG of an undertaking that truly is.  I'm missing some of the creativity and patience factors that I think you'd have to have to do this well.  I'm also missing all of the science and math skills I used to once posess (where DOES all that information go?).

Ah well, your kids thinking you dont know anything comes with the territory of being a parent I guess.  I better just accept it now.  

That and mom jeans. 

Okay... sorry, Mom, but I'm going to be fighting that one til the day I die.

Fanny Pack

You may think this is cool now...

but you're going to be burning pictures like this here in about 12 years.  (Note the drool drenched shirt to top off the look!)

Too bad I've got a backup of the digital copy!!!!

Say Cheese!

Natalie got a camera for Christmas.  Granted it takes .3 megapixel pictures so the quality isnt that good. 

.3 megapixels!??!!??  I mean my GRANDMA has more megapixels than that!!!

I digress.

The big selling point on the camera was not the quality but it's ability to be dropped, stomped on, thrown and used as a club for your brothers head.  We were sold!  (Actually Nana and Papa were sold... but I digress again.)

So here are some pictures that Natalie has taken with it.  Yes, they're all pretty fuzzy and these really are the best out of all 400 she took.  I just thought it was interesting to see what life looks like through the lens of a 3 year old.

Seeping Gooty (thats how she pronounces it)

Kevin...aka Dad

Ms. Jody

Stinky Pants

Me (bending down, of course, because otherwise you would have just seen my crotch...and this is a family blog, people!)

Nana and Papa at Christmas

Self Portrait!

We are Pull-Up Free!!!

Natalie acheived a HUGE milestone this past week and went 7 nights in a row without wearing a pull-up to bed.  Whooo Hooo!!

To celebrate we got her a demonic Disney movie.

Okay, so let me just say that I had no idea that Disney was THAT bad, but The Princess and the Frog just creeped me out.  Demons, tarot cards, palm readings!

WHAT?!?!?

Princess Tiana was nice, but they could have left out all of the Shadow Man and his accomplices and still would have had a decent movie.  I was truly disappointed with it and fortunately we were able to take it back.

After evaluating all of the Disney movies Natalie owns, I'm thinking that perhaps we'll try to go another route with future movie purchases.  Snow White deals with murder, attempted murder and death.  There's a line in Sleeping Beauty where Queen Maleficent calls on "all the powers of hell!" and there's a lot of the use of "idiot" and "stupid" in several of the Pixar movies.  That might all be okay when she gets a little older and we can talk through all this stuff, but I'm uncomfortable letting Disney dictate what's okay for my kid to be privy to right now.  I'm in the process of trying to find some VeggieTale movies to feature more often at home and may well be getting rid of some of the more offensive Disney flicks we have.  So disappointing, really, as the stories, themselves, are so good.

Ahh... and so it's starting.  I can already see us fighting about short skirts and bikinis!!

Snow Day

This was our first foray into the snow this winter.  I can attest that it *might* be our last.  Anyone out there ever try to dress a 1 year old and 3 year old in winter gear all by oneself?  I can tell you it took almost 45 minutes (well that included me as well).  Ridiculous!

Okay, so that DOES seem a bit of a downer, but we DID have a good time playing in the white stuff.  Well, Liam was a bit tentative and not particularly interested.  Hmmm... I seem to remember a certain someone feeling quite the same way when they were his age...

We are not amused.

Yes, his pants are pink.  Perhaps that's what he was so unhappy about!

I had to bribe with a treat to get Natalie to look at me for this photo!  We ended up doing hot chocolate when we came inside which she announced she didnt much care for.  Must run in the family because I've never been a fan either!

Natalie was sledding down our tiny hill right into the neighbors fence and thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.  Hopefully next year Liam will be a good enough sport to try a better hill.

Standing in our picture window admiring the snow.  I love this photo because you can kind of see pictures of her on the window sill when she was 14 months old.  Sniff... they grow up so fast!

Thats all for now folks!

A State of Chaos

I keep reminding myself that my house will be clean... one day. 

Granted I can clean it, but the kids and I spend one day at home and the house could be mistaken for a burglary scene.  Couch cushions are on the floor, clothes drawers are emptied, bookshelves completely swept of all their books, refrigerator magnets littering the floor.  Natalie can definitely be to blame for her fair share of messes, but really it's Liam who's the prime culprit.

Just today, I cleaned his room three times.  He's climbing the steps to his room all the time now and loves to go in and close the door to his room and turn on his music. 

Funny... I have a feeling he'll be doing this in about 13 years too. 

This morning, while I was stealing a few moments to apply my makeup, he went into his room and shut the door and redecorated his pad with the bag of wet diapers hanging off of his changing table.

Let's hope THAT isn't being repeated in 13 years.

The kids are playing together a lot more - and that's fun to see.  However, one unfortunate side effect is that we hear a lot of screaming coming from Liam these days.  Usually it's in response to Natalie "mothering" him by trying to pick him up or shuttle him into the position she wants him in.  Sometimes it's indignation that he doesn't have the toy he wants or she's taken it away from him.  I can imagine it will just be replaced by "No!" and "Back you evil fiend!" in no time.

Just the other day I walked past the playroom door and did a double take.  Both kids are in a little drawer enclosure we use to store the play food.  The drawers have been cast aside and the whole thing is upside down.  Not sure what the faces are saying but they definitely look guilty!

Recently, to my amusement Liam's taken quite a liking for Dora and her map.  Well, okay, its really just the map.  Cartography in his future?  Not sure, but he'll go ballistic for the map when it comes on TV and listened rather intently to me read a Dora book Natalie had brought home from the library, insisting that we turn back to the "MA!" (map).  This is the first book of any length he's listened to.   What hold does Dora and her triangle-shaped head have on kids?   Seriously, what do the creators of the Dora empire understand about kids that I don't?

While I've never been fond of introducing my kids to TV, I DO see a need for Liam to be able to sit in one spot for an extended period of time so that we can travel to Kansas City to see my parents this spring.  Maybe Dora will help forge the way!  My last plane trip with him in August was a living nightmare and I'm determined not to repeat it.  So we'll see...

I walked into the living room in the middle of preparing dinner the other night to see this...

 

Notice the couch cushion missing?  I think my husband removed it this time.  Geez I can't win!!!

Realizing he's caught looking so grown up.  Now I just need to put him to work so he can pay for a maid.

Holy Stuffed Peppers, Batman!!

I love stuffed peppers!  But it had been forever since I'd made them.  I recently resurrected this recipe from the tried and true family favorites cookbook (a 3 ring binder of all our favorite recipes) and realized I need to make these on a more regular basis.  Can I just say... YUM!

Notes: I changed a few things...I substituted tomato sauce in lieu of tomato soup/water.  I seasoned my ground beef with all sorts of things (steak seasoning, SeasonAll, pepper).  I also halved my peppers and used red peppers instead of green.  If you do this, you'll need to increase the meat mixture so you dont run out.

Knock Knock

We have entered the world of knock knock jokes.  "Poopy" and "Pee Pee" have been struck from the acceptable list of punchlines and we've recently had to strike "toots" as well.  Toots, it seems, is the funniest thing in the world to a three year old.

For instance...

Knock knock!

Who's There?

A bunch of toots under the bed!!!

Something tells me that's always going to be funny.

Take Two

Started diet yesterday.  Bypassed chocolate cupcakes on our counter and went straight for the All Bran.  Tried to overlook souring milk but caved halfway through bowl and opted for 2 cheese sticks and a diet soda instead.

For lunch had tuna fish (only a little mayo) and half a sheath of saltine crackers.  Not QUITE a diet at half a sheath but a step in the right direction.

Opted not to workout since I'd been to the chiro that day, but resolved it was going to happen tomorrow.

Kevin called to say he would be home late.  Call happened to coincide with kids crying, dinner being late to go in the oven and sinus headache.  Instantly shoved fistfuls of sugared almonds and chocolate covered pretzels in my face.  Followed by the kid's macaroni and cheese, chicken, some ribs, the rest of a box of Nilla Wafers, and two hard ciders.

Um... apparently I'm an emotional eater.

Today is Tuesday.  Take two.

Old

So last week I was sitting at my desk minding my own business when I noticed a strange neck stiffness all of the sudden.  Turning my head was so painful, in fact, that I was unable to fully move my head from side to side (envision someone with a neck brace that requires turning the entire torso to look side). Figuring it would just "go away" as it easily as it had come I carried on as usual.  Granted my neck has gotten a bit "better" but the whole thing has kinda migrated down my back and I wake up in a good deal of pain in the morning now.  Yesterday I caved and went to the chiropractor and, while it helped some, I'll be back again tomorrow.

If this is the way that 2011 is starting I'd like to call a timeout.  When did 31 become old?  I at least thought I had a decade or so more before I got strange pains from sitting in an office chair.

This might be retribution from my body for taking a month off of working out and then stuffing my face through the holidays.  You just watch out, body, because when I get back to it I am SO going to kick you in the butt.

Off to take some ibuprofen now...