Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Waaaaaa!

W dropped his Muno, second favorite Yo Gabba Gabba character in Walmart while we were shopping. We retraced all of our steps never to be found again. He was a LOST TOY and hopefully found a decent home. But my little buddies birthday is in a week and we were hoping to complete his little plush toy set. Has anyone else seen the prices of these silly guys! Yikes! If my little man didn't love them so, I'd sell ours! To replace Muno the minimum price I found was $45! We never had Toodee, so we wanted to get her. We'll see about that. I did find a woman who handmade Muno and he looks awesome, so we may be able to get him that way. Having said all that, you can't even find party supplies for all that! I'll have to make them all I guess! Here's hopin!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Always Ask

I've been out to the couponing loop for a little while now. Really since the move. It requires more organization than I can usually muster if other things in my life are out of whack. But I have every intention of climbing back into coupon world here by the end of the month. So, having said that, we have been shopping mostly at ALDI. It's my go to place when a) even with the coupon it's still cheaper there or b) I don't even have time to think of coupons.

We are trying to make our lives, across the board, a little bit healthier. I'm not obsessed with organic this and that; cage free, grain fed... I appreciate it, but find that it can generally blow my budget out of the waters quickly! Still, we are trying to deal mostly with the large amounts of sodium that we and the kids are taking in and trying to help them make better choices with snack time and meal time. Tired of every version of cured processed meat that we can find. So, we are gradually weeding out those things and thanks to aunt Minnah, we are going to do a little deceptively delicious. I'll be working on purees momentarily.

All this to say...there were some staples that we needed from the whole foods nearby and I was also aware of their current "fill the grill" deal that included tons of hamburger, hotdogs, and ribs for just $20. So we were headed there to get that and any of the vegetables that ALDI does not carry. I lucked out in that they had lactaid on sale which made it regular price of anywhere else. So we got 2 of those. We did the fill the grill which saved us $7! I decided to ask before I got started cause I'm always getting really great coupons from Earthfare and we were going to have to make an extra trip to get those free items...but they have just started honoring those coupons that I have been receiving via email! Hooray! So, I received 6 free ears of corn, 2 free pork chops, and $2 off per lb. ribeyes...which looked incredible and will be a very exciting addition to our father's day celebration! I was so excited about my tons of savings from competitor coupons that made my trip equal in price to that of ALDI except that I got 5 meats, 2 specialty soaps for m, tons of veggies, and types of meal and flour, and the list goes on.

It's hard to save money at the whole foods store usually...certainly not in the way you can at Publix, but because I asked I was able to save at least $25 today using competitor coupons! Yay! On to the purees...

Monday, June 07, 2010

Took One for Team Mom

Today...

The Sun rose too early!
W was up before M!
I knew he had a dental appt at 9am a good ways away.
I knew a Dunkin Donuts was right across the street from the dentist.
So, little miss broken wrist got to choose breakfast and naturally chose Donuts.
So we throw ourselves together in a hurry...
3 people dressed.
No shower for me.
wash my face, brush my teeth, basic makeup and last night's outfit
diapers, wipes, blankets, sippy cups, xrays, purse
To DD...running late but that's ok.
W didn't eat much.
Neither did M.
Pack it up and make it to dentist in plenty of time.
Put M's temporary cast back on before play time.
She's pouting again.
W hates the dental experience.
We try the frozen yogurt...thinking yogurt is different then ice cream so his lactose issue may be ok.
NOT OK.
We have to run home to get my phone which had been left behind, as I remember hearing that sound in the middle of the night of it falling off and under the bed. Forgot to retrieve it!
Supposed to be waiting on a call about the ortho for the cast.
Leave kids in car, in drive.
Retrieve the phone.
Sure enough...missed the call.
returned call and they tell me my appt is in 15 min. clear across town again!
We take the interstate, but let them know we'll be running about 5 min. late.
On the way, W looses his breakfast and the 2 spoonfuls of frozen yogurt all over himself.
We keep driving.
M sweetly soothes him...without touching him mind you cause she is grossed out.
We get to the parking lot, leave the car running so the air will stay on while we strip him down and dress him again.
Both kids are ready to go in, as am I, so I close the doors and go to open the driver door to turn off the car, but it's locked...with the car running! SERIOUSLY?
It took very little thought for me to grab up everything and the kids and head in for our appt.
I checked in at the desk, call J.
Thankfully, he didn't hassle me about it (he had no idea what had already gone on that day).
The woman informs me that I have to fill out paper work...even though M is already in the system.
Takes me a year to fill out the top form as I'm trying to keep W away from the doors the open automatically.
He was behaving pretty well actually...he's just almost 2.
He manages to slowly run into an old man with a wheelchair. Very slowly. And I caught it all in the middle as it was occuring.

The man completely ignores me as I apologize and check to see if he is ok. He doesn't even acknowledge me. Then he says to the front desk ladies that he has a sharp pain in his knee from where the wheelchair hit him and that in his day people disciplined their children!
Oh the things that I could have said! Like do you have kids? Were you the one taking them to their appts when they broke their limbs? Did you have to fill out 8 pages of paper work before they would even see you? Did you clean up the puke off of your children after their dental visit and before the casting and just before you locked the keys in your car while it was still running?! Thank goodness in my day there are cars and cell phones and moms that let stuff like this roll off their heavy laden shoulders so that they can confidently and with conviction raise their children.

Yes, I said 8 pages of paperwork. After I was 4 or 5 pages in, the woman rearranges what I have left saying that if I would just fill out the last 2 pages, they could get M back!
Really?! Could we have tackled that first! But she was nice and encouraging and said she could tell I was a good mom and that I was doing a good job.
Finally, we are back in the casting room.
M picks bright pink...of course.
W plays drums with the traditional round sitting stools for the dr.s and two long paper towel rolls he found in the trash!
After chasing his fast self down the hall a few times, I decide this is an acceptable activity.
J unlocks the car and gives my key to the front desk ladies.
We leave!
Get in the car.
Let M pick our free movie redbox...Alvin and the Chipmunks
and head home to eat.
We eat...nap (hallelujah)
I then use tons of left overs to make some pretty great stuffed bell peppers.
I'm in my pjs at this point, but m has asked to go to the cupcake cafe.
I get everyone ready again.
We get there and the cafe is closed.
Plan B...walmart has way cheaper cupcakes and Brobee shirts and Princess PJ's.
As we arrive we see the neighbors outside catching fireflies.
We share a cupcake with John Lake and M enjoys catching bugs with him.
Me and Kelly have easy conversation and J gets to meet the Sheriff her hubs.
So, a new relationship has begun to bud.
Everyone is asleep. Clean. No fussing with the cast.
And I have a new Mom story to tell about the day the man accused me of being a bad mother and have undisciplined kids.
Ironically, W was so good after all that! Ahhhhh.
Breathe out and breath in!
Goodnight and Happy Bday Grandma Katie!

Been a Whirlwind!

It's been a whirlwind couple of days! Well...I suppose if I were honest, I'd say more than a couple of days! Been a whirlwind couple of weeks!

Quick rundown has me recounting going out of town in the middle of the night with my mother to see my sister and her fam. Doing the Hallquist Furniture Exchange Program thing again. Thank goodness for it. I hauled a ton of furniture and reinherited some of it for a small amount. Thanks mom and mer and Geoff! Rain, a hotel stay outside of ATL. Luckily, my mom was late enough that I didn't entirely miss Uncle Patrick's visit! He is a bit like Santa...cause it is a bit like Christmas when he comes with presents and lots of food! Unfortunately, while I was gone the entire family came down with a fantastic cold that hubs is still getting over! Praise the Lord, that I didn't catch it when I got back! Must have missed the contagious period somehow.

You can imagine the state of the house when I returned with all of them being sick and having a guest. So, I've been desperately trying to squeeze major house keeping into the pretty full schedule that was last week. We were also blessed to find out that my local BF was awarded custody of her daughter after a bit of a battle! That being exciting meant that I had another child all week! The girls played really well together though...only got on each other's nerves a little.

Had our friends over, 3 boys, a mom, and a dad. Me and the mom got to it on the sewing machine while the dad wrangled the kids. Excellent birth control I might add keeping up with 6 kids 5 and under! We knocked out some fantastic chiffon panels for the modern night of worship. We had rehearsal Tues. for that, rehearsal for 4th of July stuff Wednesday, Thursday was a free night and J, the kids and I did the Mice on Main hunt and spent a little time mingling in the Thursday Night Alive crowd. We found all the mice...one was particularly tricky! But M had tons of fun.

W recovered from a weekend of illness and lack of sleep (dad had some trouble getting them to actually nap). We still haven't repaired his bed from that weekend I was gone as he apparently was jumping up and down in it and entirely busted the bottom out! Pack and Play is working marvelously. He has been pretty delightful. He's testing but often practices obedience which catches me off guard. He get rewarded for that behavior!

Saturday I was to appear as Snow White-like Princess for a mission outreach. That a.m. J had to run to ATL for a trade show where he was to meet some clients. The kids and I went to the park outside M's new school. No one else was there. No big deal, but seriously, keeping up with W who's now almost 2 is tricky enough. I'm quite thankful, really, that M is pretty much big enough to do most things by herself. Not the monkey bars apparently. She and I had practiced a few times and I had stood ready as she let herself drop off the bars. Well, she tried it herself when I was clear across the playground chasing W down a rock ledge. I hear her say rather calmly, "Ummm. Mom? A little help here please?" I let her know that I'm coming but I think she can handle the drop. No way I'd have made it on time. She held on as long as she could and says she just slipped off the bar. And fell on her bottom catching herself with her hands. She starts screaming! And says "I broke my arm!"

I'm all calm and reassuring. I don't think you broke it. Can you move this? Can you wiggle this? Your o.k. Shhh...the neighbors are coming out and watching. You're o.k. And seriously some passers by really stopped and watched the whole ordeal not that they came to help or anything. So we calm down and take some Motrin. We are going to wait till the drama passes and reassess. She wasn't herself, but I've seen her carry something pretty far, so we continued to wait the rest of the day. I had to get a back up for Snow White-Like Princess (Thanks B!), and J didn't get home till 7 that night.

M woke me up Sunday morn at 6 am! She must be feeling bad. She tells me its worse and it does look pretty swollen. So I skip church and prep to deal with the broken arm before rehearsal for the modern night of worship at 4. Unfortunately urgent care doesn't open till 1 on Sundays cause of the southern bible belt thing. We waited this long and avoided the whole ER thing...we could wait a bit longer. So we did. And we did the urgent care thing. They remembered M from the head injury/staple thing! The Dr. was awesome reminded my of my working days at Hales Pediatrics! They let her take home a real xray that was a discard cause they had to redo it. They cut off the name, but they said it's for her dr. kit. The Dr. said she felt certain M would be a dr. one day! I would be thrilled.

Temporary cast was a total drag and the sling! M was a mope the whole night. Bless it! It was real plaster and very heavy. Plus her med had worn off. But the night of modern worship was AWESOME! Loved it! And she made it through. Picked Moes for dinner of course and is now milking it for all it's worth! We've had cookies and cupcakes, popsicles! You name it! Xray revealed a nice break on one of her arm bones...close enough to the wrist that they call it a broken wrist. Which the Whirlwind had stopped then, but today was one of those mom days for the books!