Life Update: May

We've had a really incredible week already. I know it's Thursday but it feels like a Monday! Last Friday I called Penny's to make an appointment for those portraits. It was our last free Saturday till August I think. They had available 9:30 or 11:40 AM. Now, Gary and I are a good team but getting three kids out the door by 8:45, dressed up on a Saturday was just not likely so we went with the later time. I thought it would be a potential disaster. I went in desiring a great family photo, and hoped for at least one good picture for Grace's 3 year portrait, and a good professional picture of Esther since we don't have one since her birth. The kids were amazing! We got there, changed, and had to wait quite awhile. I had given them snacks in the car to help hold them over and it wasn't until the end of the shoot that Esther started to wind down. I knew she was just hungry, but I also knew if we stopped,it would be too long to feed her a bottle to start again. Esther would fuss a moment and the lady would try for one more, and Esther would be wonderful. This repeated for several shots. The kids were all just amazing and I could tell as we went, we'd love every single picture. Usually when you get pictures taken, the photographer takes a few of each pose- that day she took one, or two at the most of every pose! We caved and bought the CD so we'd have the rights to all the photos. So, Happy Anniversary to us! Good thing we chose the cheaper 10 year trip! Haha!

After photos Daddy was starving so we decided to make it a splurge family week and we went to Wendy's. After that we came home for naps (it was 3 by the time we got home!) Up at 5 or so we headed to the Fireman's Festival and got the kids arm bands so they could ride as many rides as they wanted, and they did all the kids rides, a few twice. I packed them food and we got sandwiches and fries. Nothing like fair/festival fries!! It was SO worth the extra calories!!

Now that Steph is back to working 5 days a week, and Pops travels so much, we don't see them as much as we used to so we make plans to grill lunch at their house on Sunday. I had gotten BOGO steaks awhile back and so I contributed those. We had to leave pretty much right after we ate so the kids (Grace mostly) could nap before we headed to Bible Study. We were invited to a Bible Study by a co-worker of Gary's and we're very excited about it. It's a great opportunity for us to meet new people. We had a great time, though the kids tested the boundaries more than I'd like. They did have a wonderful time and the daughters of our hosts were wonderful with them. We also, more importantly, really like the format of the study and the book we are doing. It's neat to be starting something new and having something social we can do as a couple to look forward to. A hectic weekend caught up with us about a half hour before we left, and we had a rather rough evening.

Monday was a regular day- with crabby kids and a tired mommy. I did a lot of cleaning, we had school and I'm sure we did some other things. My goal lately has been to give each child more of my individualized and undivided time and attention. Tyler and Grace both took long naps, which I was thankful for! They both woke up in better moods. Gary had a full day of work and then got to video an awards dinner for some of the students in the school. He got home about a half hour after I got the kids to bed- sure makes for a long day when reinforcements don't arrive till LATE and they are TIRED! :)

Gary was able to take sick days when Esther was born to be with me in the hospital and home a few days after, so he had to use or lose his personal days. He took one Tuesday for Grace's birthday and it was wonderful. We'd hoped to go to the zoo but low 50s and rain does not make for a good zoo day. Gary took her out for breakfast, and then we got ready to go spend her birthday money at Toy's R Us. That trip went SO well! She wanted everything in the store but was easy to steer and direct once we got the influential voice of her brother quieted. :) She got a diaper bag full of baby doll accessories, and a baby bathtub and a play kitchen toaster. Of course the toaster does not work and I tore the box apart, but she loves it all anyways. The kids have been playing house and traveling ever since. We've stayed in hotels, flown, built buildings, gone to visit all our friends and the beach and Mickey Mouse this week. So after R' Us we let her pick a place for lunch. After a long discussion about Aldi and Wendy's (She was so confused- poor thing!), we settled on Applebee's. I always forget how much I LOVE Applebee's for me and HATE it for kids. It was fine for a special day, but those kids meals are so overpriced it makes me crazy. CRAZY!!! $4 for a bowl of Mac and Cheese? And it did not come with a side but all she wanted was applesauce so we got her a side of that- about 3 tablespoons for a dollar or more. I should check the receipt. For $4 I could buy two large jars of applesauce and probably 3-5 boxes of Mac and Cheese! Ah! They had a great time though and then we hit a shoe store (no luck) and Kohl's where we found a sweater for Esther and shoes for Grace for the wedding. Then a quick stop to Sam's where I went in all by myself to return some recalled Tylenol (they sent me a letter!) and grab a few things. Finally, we headed home. After Grace napped we got all the new toys out and played. I attempted to make pizza but the frozen bread dough was not cooperating so I made a loaf of bread and bread sticks and then made home made dough. It took forever and totally stressed me out. We had cupcakes, then dinner which was fun. It was just a sweet family celebration. I suddenly realized- mid cleanup- that we'd forgotten the traditional helium balloon so Gary went off on the hunt. Dora and her friends are floating above me as I type. :) The kids are in time out for fighting over her! lol

Yesterday I got the kids all up, fed, cleaned, dressed, hair and teeth brushed and out the door EARLY for a doctors appointment! Grace had her physical and did extremely well. Tyler had to get his Kindergarten shots which was so difficult. The waiting was the worst part. He did really well but I could tell hit hurt him a lot more than he expected. By the fourth one he begged for "no more please!". The nurse did a wonderful job and Tyler stopped crying within 30 seconds of her being done. I will probably never forget the look on his face. Thankfully he should not need another shot till 7th grade. I was so thankful Gary was able to be there- he helped Tyler handle it SO well! He took a half day and since the weather turned out to be AMAZING yesterday, we went to the Akron Zoo! It was perfect! We got there about 1:30 and by 2 we had the zoo to ourselves! Grace was asleep before we got to the highway and my legs actually hurt by dinner time! I've been walking a mile or two a day on 7 incline so i was surprised to be so sore! It was another great day! Last night my late nights and early mornings trying to keep up with things got to me as I tried to clip and sort coupons and get ready to go to Giant Eagle. Then I actually went. It's getting easier. I"m learning the store so I don't wander down the aisles quite so cluelessly. I'm also getting better at figuring out the final price in my head and deciding if it's worth it. I did two transactions- I saved 52% on the first and used a $2 cat from last week, got 2/$2cats, and on the second I saved 60% and used another cat leaving me one for next week. I got my Rain Checked Niva body washes FREE which was fun. I wanted to get a CVS flier so I stopped in there. I had some Cover Girl coupons in my purse I'd not used at Giant Eagle so I thought I'd give the CVS deal a whirl. The lady was very rude to me and I spent more than I'd like, but I saved a little over 50% on my purchases and have a $2 cat there. If the foundation colors I bought match my face it'll be worth it, if not, even the two lip glosses for 83 cents won't. I might try to get some free shampoo today or tomorrow. The anxiety makes me crazy!!!

Today we're going to do some stuff related to zoo for school which I think the kids will like, my dad might come by for lunch, Steph may come over after dinner, and it'll be another no daddy at all day with the board meeting. I hope he arranges to make it for supper, but we'll see. Actually, sometimes its easier when he doesn't! The kids LOVE sandwiches! :) I have to catch back up on laundry so I can pack tomorrow for the trip to my mom's. Saturday we celebrate my grandparents. Tom and Dolly Cline have been married for 60 years!

Gary and Heather (almost) Ten Years of Marriage

THE KIDS...

Esther Joy
Six Month Portraits
May 2010

Armandina Grace
Three Year Portraits May 2010

Bush Family Photos J C Penny's

May 2010

A Profitable Day!

Today was a good one! Since it's so cold and wet we've not gotten outside much. Also Grace has been sick. She's on the upswing but I thought a little getting out of the house would be good for us. I had a great evening all by myself last night were I had success at Hallmark (30% off the whole store and lots of clearance stuff! I should go back and look more closely at the Christmas stuff... but I got valentines for 40 cents a box so that made me happy.) and Giant Eagle (saved 50% and got 5$ towards future purchases!) Giant Eagle was out of the body wash that is free with my coupons. I thought I might get the kids loaded and head over today to see if it had been restocked overnight. Gary suggested I call and so I did and the lady suggested a rain check. Silly me, never did that before so never gave it a thought! So, even though we don't NEED body wash, I figured I'd just try it out for the experience and, get out of the house! We went a new way I'd been last night which takes us by Quail Hollow Sate Park so we drove around there a bit. We will definately be takign advantage of it being so close and it'll go on the "while the grandparents babysit" list of area things to do. Then we hit Giant Eagle where I got my rain checks and I could get them for multiples so I have up to 6 free body wash's coming to me b/c I have 6 coupons... if they are restocked by the time my coupon expires of course. Hopefully not too many other people got rain checks on them! I checked out a couple more deals, and found them to not be worth it to me. After that I heard from my dad that he was not going to be in town for lunch so I figured I'd hit a couple more places in town that I'd not been yet. I went to the Menonite thrift store and Twice as Nice. The thrift store was nice, but with three kids it was hard to really look. Twice as Nice was VERY nice and I got some great bargins! I'm excited to go back there in the future, with less cihldren hanging on me. :) We found a car case with 43 cars in it (mostly Hot Wheels and Matchbox) for $5. Everything in the store was 20% off today so it rang up $4! I couldn't pass it up, even at $5. I then found the "$5 a bag" area and it made me so happy. I got 13 books for $5!! I probably could have grabbed a few clothing items and just tried them on at home to see if they fit and passed them on, but the kids were ready to go by then and we were all hungry. As a thank you for their good behavior I forked over $2 at the McD's drive through to get them each a cheeseburger to eat at home.

Now all the kids are sleeping, so it's time for me to mop the kitchen, and then sit down with my bowl of Wheaties (instead of chips) and watch last weeks Biggest Loser!

Happy Mothers Day!

Yesterday we celebrated Mothers Day and Grace's 3rd Birthday. It was a wonderful and special day and I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family full of love. My mom came down Saturday afternoon and we were able to go shopping just the two of us. I don't remember the last time we did that! I found the most gorgeous shoes in the world, and at $110 I'll be waiting until they are about 80% off to consider buying them. I looked for dresses for the wedding and came home empty handed. I am now thinking I'll just buy some very cute shoes to go with the dress I have.

When we got home Grace opened her presents from my mom, and she read the kids a story she got about Grandma's house. It was very sweet. Grace seemed extra tired all day and so I kept a close eye on her, and when she coughed some during the night I knew she might be catching a cold. She seemed better in the morning once she got up and about, but shortly after we arrived home from a wonderful Mother's Day service at church, she went downhill. She was exhausted and just under the weather.

We grilled chicken and burgers and ate at around 1:30, then did cake and presents. We had almost whole family here: the five of us, my parents, my brother and his wife Shannon, my grandparents (all three!), Gary's parents, and his pap. Birthday's with kids are SO much fun. She got some cute clothes, pj's and of course toys. The toys are already out of the boxes and scattered all over the downstairs. She doesn't need a thing so I have no idea what we will get her! Last night I just had to laugh as the favorite activity was using the princess cleaning set and the squirt guns to clean the house. They were "spraying" the windows with the squirt guns, and scrubbing them and the floors and walls with the cleaning set. It just makes me laugh how much Grace loves to help. She's such a girl already. She is devastated if I don't let her help me clean the floors, the windows or fold laundry. I dare hope it continues as she gets older, but I don't count on it. :)

Even though she had a wonderful time, Grace begged us for a nap when everyone was gone, about 4:30, and she was burning up with fever so I let her. At 6 we made her get up for fear she would not sleep at night. She was past ready for bed again at 8:30 though, and slept fitfully all night. She seems to be past the fever now but does still have a slight cough. I"m not sure if the lack of fever means she's on the mend, or the Tylenol is working. :) The kids aren't too much trouble when they are sick, it's just part of life. I felt so badly that she was so sick. I considered letting her nap around 12:30 for an hour and probably should have. She only wanted cake to eat anyways, she could have gotten up, had some yogurt and bread and then cake and been fine. Oh well. I knew having an afternoon party would be hard on her because she so relies on her naps. I also knew though that if I did it any other time, not everyone could come. I was very upset when everyone left and I realized that I had not gotten the family pictures I wanted. I did convince Gary to do a couple with our camera's timer of the five of us so I do have those.

Esther is doing wonderfully. We're at the end of nursing I fear. Within a week I doubt she'll nurse at all and I know I will miss it. With Tyler i couldn't wait to be done. I love the benefits of nursing and value it highly, but I really don't enjoy it per se. With Esther, its another sign that my last baby isn't so much of a baby anymore and it's so hard. She's still a baby, but the time is going far to quickly for me. I hoped she'd say "ma-ma" for Mother's Day but- no dice. She is really rolling now- both ways, and doing some stealth scooting. we never quite see her turn or scoot, but she ends up across the room very often. Operation "keep the toys in the playroom and away from Esther" is in full affect now.

I also have to comment on my poor Gary. We started watching Lost this winter- in fact it may not have started until after we moved here, which was only 3 months ago tomorrow. We are now all caught up to current episodes and poor Gary barely knows what to do with himself in the evenings now. Last night he checked facebook, checked ESPN (what a waste of 3 hours he spent watching the Cavs last night. Blah!) and then just kind of sat there like "what do I do now?!" I hope the weather warms up this week like it's supposed to so we can continue to tackle the yard work... After a full week of poison ivy on my arms, and now legs and neck, I'm ready to spray the you-know-what out of the plants in the flower beds!

My last post got cut short and I never got back to it. I wanted to comment on two new "hobbies" of mine as of late. Couponing is very time consuming and stressful, and somehow fun. I spent too much buying things that were a good deal- but not great - the first couple weeks. I now am working on only buying things that are a great deal (like 24 cent lunchables), and continuing to shop some at Aldi. It's just so much less stress to be able to get about 90% of what I need in 30 minutes and I know I can get out the door with a FULL basket under $100 and it'll last two weeks easy. This leads me to baby food- I forgot how much I loved it! It's time consuming and messy but SO much better with my beloved stove and dishwasher. :) haha! I get a great sense of accomplishment when I can make healthy food for my family, and especially my babies. I had forgotten just how much of baby food is actually water. It shocked me when I baked 4 sweet potatoes that I had to add probably 2 or more cups of water to it to get it purred. I did get more than 10 meals worth of food out of them though. I don't recall how much exactly, but I think I got three trays which would be 36 ounces= so at 3 oz a meal ( more than we use since I generally add a cereal mixture to her fruits and veggies or combine them) that's 12 meals. I was also excited a couple weeks ago to find avacado for 49cents each. Esther LOVES them! I got about 5 meals out of each one. Then I was even more excited Friday night when I got avacado's for twenty five cents a piece! They were fully ripe but I knew I had salsa at home and viola! Cheap guacamole!

I had wanted to talk about spiders too- where do they come from!?!? We have SO many! I need to take an entire evening and hide in the basement with the shop vac- it's just unbelievable to me the cobwebs we accumulate in this house- ESPECIALLY in our ancient basement! We do spray Home Defense inside and outside once a month. If you know of another trick beyond that- I"m all ears!