The Book

Friday is my shopping day. That makes me sound like a 1950's housewife. Let me explain.

Last year Bryan and I were analyzing some of our spending habits in an effort to trim around the edges. After reading articles about personal and family finance, we decided to implement a few things. One of these was shopping only one day a week. I realized that most of our incidental and unnecessary purchases came from trips where we meant to buy one thing. And so, Friday was chosen as the day to hand over our (okay, Bryan's) hard earned cash.

That means that Thursday is my shopping list day. I've become quite the peruser of the weekly grocery ads. I look at what's on sale, what we have in the pantry and the fridge, talk to Bryan, make a menu for the upcoming week and compile my list. My lists are thorough because I only buy the things on my list and I have a self-imposed rule that I can't add anything new to the list once I'm in the store. (Why can't I think of a different word for list? The writer in me is writhing from the sheer repitition of that word.) Now you're probably asking yourself why I'm going into such detail about how I make my shopping list. Well, the list is only half of the awesome frugal-wizardry.

I write my list in a small notebook. Once at the store I write down the price of everything I have on my list. Yup, I keep a price book. It makes my shopping trips longer (and I always take both boys with me when I shop, so speed is a top goal) but it's worth it. I've been keeping the book for six months now. I write down the overall price and the unit price (ie. ounce, pound, item). What's cool about it is I can tell how often we buy certain items (because I date all the shopping lists) and when a sale is a bargain or not. It's swell. I highly recommend it.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do.

Lysdexia

Dyslexia runs in my family. That is the first thing I thought when Peter showed me his refrigerator-magnet name. The second thought I had was, wait, he's three, and he basically just spelled his name.

I think I'll withhold worrying about a dyslexia diagnosis until after he can, you know, read.

Cooper, Now With Crawling Action!

P.S. Watch the whole 52 seconds. And watch it with the sound on.

All Boy

At church on Sunday two different women referred to Cooper as "she". (You would think that the pants, tie, and train sweater would have been a giveaway.) So for Family Home Evening last night we talked about the importance of grooming and gave the boys haircuts. Practical, eh? The first few pictures are to show just how long Cooper's hair was, and you can kind of see Peter's shaggy hair in the background. Peter didn't have his first haircut until he was fourteen months old, and then it was just to clean up the back and the sides. Cooper, however, never lost the hair he was born with, so it's much longer than big brother's was at this age.

Cooper was a very good sport. He only freaked out right at the end, so we were pretty much done anyway. A friend taught me how to cut Peter's hair when he was little, but I didn't want to get close to our very squirmy Cooper's head with anything sharp and shiny. And so I forayed into the world of clippers. Overall, it was successful. Not perfect by any means, but not bad for my first go.

He totally looks like a boy. I mean, he did before too (when I told Bryan that Cooper had been mistaken for a girl he said "He'd be a pretty ugly girl. He's a really cute boy, but not a girl.") I would include a picture of Peter's haircut but we had a, uh, sideburn incident. Meaning that he doesn't have them anymore. Oh well, they'll grow back, right?

Someone to Emulate

I had the opportunity to attend the funeral of my Great-Uncle Homer on Saturday. He passed away last Wednesday, just a few months shy of his ninety-eighth birthday. My Grandma said he and my Grandpa (his brother-in-law) must be having a wonderful time together. One of the things that I learned at the funeral is that he had sayings written and posted all over his house so that he would remember to live by them. A handful of them were printed in the program. I'd like to remember them, so I'm recording them here.

• Your life is a manifestation of what you think of Christ.
• Keep working for the Lord; the pay isn't much in dollars, but the retirement is out of this world!
• How will I feel tomorrow about today's decisions?
• Stay focused on the Savior.
• "The truest mark of your success in life will be the quality of your marriage. The choice of a companion will be the most important of all the choices you will make in your life." -President Gordon B. Hinckley
• "The day obedience became a quest and not an irritation I began to have power."-President Ezra Taft Benson
  
• Pride would tell us who is right. Humility would tell us what is right.
• God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.- 2 Timothy 1:7-8
• Create Happiness

The last one is my favorite. I'm a naturally optimistic person and I love the idea of creating happiness.

The thing that is most inspiring to me is that Uncle Homer never stopped trying to improve. At almost ninety-eight he was still striving to be better. I want to follow his example.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Peter has been our alarm clock lately. He'll wake up, run into our room, climb into bed on Bryan's side, and snuggle. It's really sweet most of the time. Sometimes, however, he'll wake up at one in the morning and come in to snuggle. I usually don't find out that he's joined us until Cooper wakes up to nurse later in the morning. We've decided that the next bed we get should be a King, because we need one that can fit all four of us.

The night that Bryan had his dental work done he couldn't sleep. He'd been partially asleep all day so his body wouldn't cooperate when it came time for all diurnal creatures to slumber. He stayed in the living room in our big comfy chair and waited for drowsiness. I went to sleep. I vaguely remember Peter coming in because of a bad dream. Then sometime later (I don't know when because the clock in our room got unplugged) Cooper woke up to nurse. Knowing that Bryan was occupying my nursing chair I just fed Cooper in my bed. And then I fell asleep. I woke up with Peter snuggled right up to one side of me and Cooper snuggled on the other. Both boys sweat profusely while they sleep, so I woke up sore from not moving for hours and soaking wet from their hyper-active sweat glands on either side of me.

This is the exchange that took place during breakfast:

Me: (to Bryan) I slept between two very sweaty little boys last night.
Peter: Oh? Who were they?

All Day at the Dentist?*

The last two days have been weird. Weirder for Bryan than for me, but still not totally normal.

Bryan has extremely thin enamel on his teeth, which means that he's gotten loads of fillings over the last twenty years. (I really don't know when he got his first filling, I'm just guestimating. No, that's not really a word.) And unfortunately, all of those fillings need to be replaced. He met with someone from our dentist's office who wrote out a plan for this major dental-project. They divided his mouth into quadrants. In December he had the first quadrant replaced. Yesterday they did the second quadrant.

In order to get everything done in one fell swoop he needed to be in the dentist's chair from eight in the morning until just after two in the afternoon. Yup, more than six hours of dental work. I like the dentist, but that's even hard for me to handle. Anyway, our dentist does the sedation thing. That means you take some medication the night before and the morning of and then for the rest of the day you're in a foggy, half-awake half-asleep, Twilight-Zone kind of place. Bryan was not allowed to drive a car for twenty-four hours after the procedure. He also wasn't allowed to hold or care for children.

That meant that I was on all day yesterday, caring for all three of the men at my house. After coming home and sleeping for three hours I thought that most of the medication had worn off. Nope. I asked him today about some things we discussed in the evening after the boys went to bed and he had no idea what I was talking about. He basically lost yesterday. It's just gone. Which I think would be kind of scary. And he's been in a fog most of today.

But his teeth sure look pretty.

*Name the movie!

Truce

I'm about to write something that will shock two people. My mom will be delighted and my brother Ian will be disgusted. Are you ready?

I cooked lentils for dinner.

I think this means that I'm officially a grown-up. And you know what, it was good. Peter was reluctant to try it, but once he had a bite he smiled and said, "Oh, that's good."

How have I been able to push past my extreme and deep-seated loathing for all things lentil? It's pretty simple actually. I really don't like spending money and lentils are cheap. I wish I could say that my impetus was something more noble like wanting to feed my family this nutritional powerhouse, but no, it's because they don't cost much.

Also, I've been trying to gather good information on food storage (what kind of food stores well, how much food we need for each person in our family for three months and for a year, any suggestions would be swell) and lentils pop up fairly often on the lists of suggested foods. We've been building our food storage for a little while now (nothing spectacular, mostly rice, beans, and flour) (I know it should probably be wheat, and I even know how to use wheat, we're just not quite to that level of food storage awesomeness yet) and I've been looking to branch out a little.

Lentils, I declare a truce. I will no longer loathe you if you can continue to not taste gross. Deal?

He Can't Crawl...

...but he can wedge himself underneath his brother's bed...


...on his stomach and his back.




Maybe he was just looking for a comfortable place to read?

V is for Valentine

Bryan and I decided that for the month of February we're only going to buy groceries. That means no spending money on Valentine's Day. Not to worry, we're resourceful and found ways to do something nice for each other, without spending a dime.

Peter and I made Bryan's favorite cookies for him. I realized that in seven and a half years of marriage I had never made my husband's favorite cookies. That's kind of sad actually... Nevertheless, I have rectified that situation, which means that Saturday night Bryan munched on homemade Snickerdoodles, hot from the oven. He seemed to think that was an acceptable gift.

My gift was wonderful. After the boys went to sleep Bryan and I snuggled on our over-sized chair and watched a movie of my choice. Here's the big part: there were no computers present! This is a major thing. Usually one or both of us is working on the computer in the evening, even while we're watching TV or a movie. It was swell. And what did we watch? This:


I got it for Christmas in this set and it's the first time we've watched it. I can't decide which was better, that the computer wasn't on or that we both liked the movie so much. Yeah, my husband enjoys watching musicals with me. I'm a lucky girl.

Anyway, I'd say that our poor man's Valentine's Day was a success. We may have to do this again next year.

Nutricious and Delicious

We do a lot of baking at our house, which is kind of tricky considering my no-sugar thing and Peter's allergies to eggs and peanuts. But Peter loves to help me bake, so we bake. On Tuesday we made banana muffins and blueberry muffins. (I had no idea how easy muffins from scratch are. No more box mixes for us!)

On Wednesday Peter told me that we should bake something "to warm up the house," which was what I had said on Tuesday about the muffins. Although we didn't get around to them until yesterday afternoon, cookies were the heating element of choice. These are the healthiest cookies I've seen, or had, and they're also delicious, so I'm sharing them with you.

Oatmeal Cookies (They need a better name, Oatmeal Cookie doesn't do them justice.)

Thoroughly beat:

• 1/2 cup oil or butter
• 3/4 cup honey (or 1 cup brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup applesauce (or 1 egg, but of course we don't do it that way)
  
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add:

• 1 cup flour (white or whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup dry milk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat well. Stir in:

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup wheat germ (that's right, wheat germ, go with it)
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup chocolate chips or raisins

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Or put into a 9"x13" baking dish and bake at the same temperature for 25 minutes. They make great cookie bars and if you make them with raisins they are excellent with milk as a granola-like cereal.

I think you could substitute other chips (carob, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter) or dried fruit (cranberries, chopped apples, cherries) and they would still be great. The other variation I've done is to substitute 1/2 cup of oats with 1/2 cup of coconut, which was decadent. Well, as decadent as wheat germ cookies can be.

The Little Things

The last few days have been good. That makes it sound like we have a lot of days that aren't good. That's not true, but having a three-year-old is, er, trying. And exhausting. And sometimes infuriating.

I was thinking about what has made the last little while better. Here's what I've come up with:

• We've been having family scripture study pretty much every night. I always read out of the scripture reader during breakfast, but Bryan is rarely there. We decided to recommit ourselves to reading out of the actual scriptures with the boys and both parents everyday. While we haven't read everyday, it's been more hit than miss.
• I've been listening to my scriptures on lds.org while I'm tidying up after breakfast. It's one of the only ways I get a solid thirty minutes in. I know that I would get more out of it if I could sit down and read, but for me listening to a few chapters is better than reading a verse here and there.
• I've been spending less time on the computer. Setting up Google Reader really has sped up my blog-reading time.
• Since I'm not on the computer as much I've been reading more. I just finished The Lightening Thief, the first in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. I enjoyed it so much that I'm already a few chapters into the second book. They are well-written and fast paced, not to mention really funny. I seem to be more even-tempered when I spend my downtime reading instead of staring at a computer screen. And yes, I do get downtime, I just rarely recognize it because it's used to read emails or check Facebook or do some other internet-related time-sucking activity.
  
• I have finally accepted the fact that Peter isn't a napper anymore. Yesterday I realized that if Peter wasn't going to sleep anyway then we could do quiet time a little later in the day, which would coincide with Cooper's afternoon nap. And that means that I get a little quiet time too. Today when Cooper woke up from his second nap we went to tell Peter that quiet time was over and found this:

So reading scriptures and taking the time to build my brain means that I'm calmer and therefore have more patience with Peter (and everyone else). It's funny how little things make such a difference.

Does Anyone Have a Tissue?

You know those girls that cry at the drop of a hat while you roll your eyes at them and wonder why they can't get a grip on their emotions? Hi, I'm one of those girls. I've been known to get all teary eyed over such things as appliance commercials and peppy show tunes. (Oh Seussical, you do it to me every time.) Any commercial that airs during the Olympics will illicit tears, as will most Hallmark ads.

We have some books that get me right there. I usually halt while I'm reading them and try to cover the fact that my voice is about to break. Peter has learned this tell-tale sign. He also remembers which books have this effect on me. Here's one of them:


Go to the library and check it out. I dare you to get through it without some deep emotion bubbling up to the surface. (Don't let the guaranteed weepiness keep you from reading this book. It's beautiful.) Whenever Peter brings me this book he'll turn to me and say "Mommy, don't cry okay?"

Don't worry, I'm stable. I'm just extremely in touch with my emotions.

Public Speaking

Peter was asked to give his first talk in church this Sunday. The video was taken Sunday morning before church. He totally had it memorized. I had prepared myself that he might get up and forget what he had practiced and want some help, but I hadn't prepared myself for what actually happened.

He was so cute when they announced that he would give a talk. He stood up from his chair and climbed the steps of the podium. He looked out at all the kids in Primary... and froze. Then he said he wanted his mommy to help him. I went up, but he wouldn't say anything. All that the audience heard was "No. No. I won't do it." Oh well. It was first public speaking experience. That's what I keep telling myself.

Honestly, I should have known. Peter never performs on command, which is torture for his performer mother. The hardest thing for me was that he knew the whole talk. Yes, it was short, but darn it, he's the youngest kid in the whole Primary, and he had it memorized.

I guess now we're all better prepared for how the Primary Program Sacrament Meeting at the end of the year is probably going to go down.

I'm an Aunt!

This is Clara, my very sweet, brand-new niece. I really wish I could be in Hawaii to hold her. I've never been an Aunt before, so this is very exciting for me. I'm going to have to figure out what kind of Aunt I'm going to be, you know, other than awesome. My brother, the very proud papa, took this picture of his beautiful little girl.

Congratulations to Ian and Amanda! I'm so excited for you!

Welcome Clara, we're so glad you're here.

Calling All Parents

I need some help. I've been thinking that I'd like to move Cooper out of our room. He'll be one in March and is still waking up twice during the night to eat. I think he'll do this less if I'm not right there next to him. This means moving him into Peter's room.

Here's my dilemma: both boys take a while to go to sleep. Cooper still cries, although not much, and both boys sing and talk to them self before they fall asleep. I'm afraid that if we put Cooper in there neither boy would ever sleep again. And then I would cry. Often.

Those of you that have experience having two kids in the same room (or know someone who does) how do you do it? Do they actually sleep?

I'm also kind of scared that Peter will want to snuggle Cooper and climb into the pack n' play (we don't have a real crib) with him.

Ideas?

Because My Blog Has Been Sadly Void of Pictures Lately

Here is an almost crawling Cooper. Yeah, he's almost 11 months old and still doesn't crawl. I'm a little concerned. But he is highly mobile. He rolls and scoots and army crawls himself all over the place. That counts right?

Ready for his close-up. And a haircut.

Peter and his mad bike skills. I love having a garage.


Finally, our friends Arnold and Mandi were in town from Germany and took the time to hang-out with us for an evening. Peter keeps asking to go to Sam's house. I've tried to explain the concept of a different continent, but I don't think we're quite there yet.

25

This has been bouncing around Facebook for a couple of weeks and I've been been tagged by a few people. I figure that since I'm going to go to the trouble to type this up for Facebook, I might as well post it here too.

And now, without further adieu, 25 random things about me!

1. When I was 12 I decided that I didn't like the carpet in my room anymore, so I tore it out. Without asking my parents. When my mom found out what I'd done she asked if I could pull the carpet out of her room next. I did.
2. The first play I was in was Cinderella when I was in the third grade. I played Cinderella.
3. I love acting, singing, and dancing and grew up doing all three. Now I use those skills to read funny books to my boys, sing with them, and have dancing parties with them.
   
4. When Bryan and I got engaged I told him that I didn't want a stone in my engagement ring. I didn't want to go into debt for it and I was afraid I'd scratch him (or myself) in my sleep. So we bought a $15 cubic zirconium ring that was sparkly. Someone actually commented that the "diamond" was choice. Now Bryan and I wear matching wedding bands. I love them.
5. I grew up in Southern California less than 10 miles from the beach, but I can't swim or surf.
6. But I do love the ocean. A lot.
7. I don't like the word hate. I think it should be used sparingly.
8. I hate peas.
9. I have a recurring dream that I'm running with giant strides around an island that looks like pictures I've seen of Greece. I'm not sure if I'm running to something or running away from something.
10. Bryan and I are both oldest children. I joke that we take turns as to who will be the Type-A personality, but it's kind of true.
11. I have always loved having an uncommon name. I just wish that more people pronounced it correctly.
    
12. I'm neurotic about locking doors. This includes the car doors and house doors.
13. I'm afraid of dogs. Even little ones.
14. I'm also afraid of the dark.
15. I went to 3 different elementary schools, home-schooled for 5 years, went to private school for a semester, and 2 different high schools. Only one of those switches was because we moved.
16. I want a food processor. (I melted the last one in the dishwasher)
    
17. I'm hypoglycemic so I avoid refined sugar. I found out about this after my freshman year of college. I can eat honey, fructose, and artificial sweeteners. Although every once in a while I'll have a brownie, because I love them.
18. A few weeks after I graduated from high school my 18-year-old clunker car was stolen out of my driveway. This was especially sad because I used my trunk as a giant locker and lost many pairs of dance shoes. The police found it a few months later about 20 miles from my parent's house. I had already replaced all the shoes.
    
19. I always wanted to be 6' tall. I am 5'4 and 1/2".
20. Making crafts stresses me out. So does hand-sewing. I get all tense and agitated. Hence my aversion to both.
21. I would eat watermelon everyday if I could. Mmm, watermelon...
22. I'm really good at remembering people and names. I'm also good at remembering dates, specifically birthdays.
23. My left eye is quite far-sighted. My right eye is just a little bit near-sighted.
24. Once while baby-sitting one of the kids I was watching cut my hair. Right at the nape of my neck. Luckily it was a straight cut so all I had to do was cut 16" off to clean it up.
25. In high school a girl in one of my classes told me I had a beautiful voice. I thanked her and asked if she had been to one of the choir concerts. She said no, she had heard me singing to myself as I walked out of PE one day. Awkward...

The Spirit of Posts Past

So as not to leave you wondering about some of the things I've written about lately, here's an update:

1. I've decided not to "ax" anyone's blog from my Google Reader. I reread that today and reallized that it sounded kind of mean. And luckily some people post very infrequently.
2. The exercise group went well on Friday. The other moms brought their kids and Peter made fast friends with another little boy. They were the big kids of the group, which was kind of weird for me. The workout was a DVD of kick-boxing. It was only twenty minutes long but there were a few moments that I was afraid I might die. Pesky asthma makes that kind of exercise tough. But I lived. Then a few other women in the ward came and put in a Salsa workout DVD. THAT was fun. I think I'll be joining them again. And I bought some pants at Costco that hopefully won't fall off as I'm jumping around. (The ones I wore on Friday didn't fall off either, but, boy, I was afraid they were going to.)
3. Peter asked me today when we were going to have another baby. It's starting to make me nervous. Cooper's not even one yet. I just told him "Not for a while."
4. My grandma had fun on her cruise. Oh, and I forgot to add that she texts too. I know people my age that can't do that.
5. I have been working hard to pay closer attention when Bryan speaks. My minds still tends to wander, but I'm trying to keep it from wandering too far. Also, Bryan is my official proof-reader, so he knew that I was writing about how I don't always pay attention to him.
6. I bought a flat-iron. I've only used it twice, but my hair does look shinier.
7. I haven't put up a picture of my bangs yet because after we cut them I discovered a problem. Much like my mom, grandma, brother, and youngest child, I have a cowlick in the front of my hair. Why hadn't I ever noticed that before? Anyway, the bangs refuse to lay flat, but I've been in negotiations with them and I think maybe we'll come to an understanding.
8. Did anybody catch the musical theatre reference in the title of the Pinching Pennies post?
9. Cooper is starting to sleep better. It's been taking less than an hour for him to be asleep. He still cries, but not for very long. After that he kind of sings and talks to himself. We've added an aspect to the bedtime routine. We've been putting my MP3 player by his bed and playing The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus. That seems to help calm him down a little.

You're welcome.

The Reader

No, this post is not about a Kate Winslet Nazi film. It's about another kind of reader. After many suggestions, I finally decided I would set up Google Reader to peruse the many blogs I frequent. It took some time to organize and I'm slightly annoyed that it won't let me add the handful of private blogs that I read. But overall, I think it should save me time and keep me updated a lot better on who's doing what.

And I do mean EVERYONE. Once I had all the blogs in and a folder of bookmarks for my private blogs I counted them. Including one TV blog and one finance blog, I read a grand total of, are you ready for this?

Ninety-two blogs.

Excessive, eh? I'm trying to decide which ones are going to get the ax. It will probably be the blogs of the people that I barely know and yet for some reason feel compelled to keep up with. For instance: the people that were in my ward but I may not have ever actually talked to (there are a number of those), the people that I talked with once in 1995, my friend's siblings that I haven't actually met but found a link to once and have been checking in on them ever since. You get the idea. That makes me a true blog stalker. Creepy.

Then again, what if one of these people find my blog and start reading it and discover that we would have been wonderful friends if we'd just spoken? And so they comment as such on my blog. But of course I've cut them off my list and have no idea that they now have ten children and live in Iowa. And then I have guilt.

I really should not write these posts when I'm so tired...

Anyway, I really have gotten to know people that I only kind of knew before, all through the magic of blogs. Beth, for instance, has taught me a great deal about being a mom of boys. I really look forward to reading what she has to say. (Sorry Beth, I know I've mentioned you before, but darn it, I'm so glad you have a blog!)

Oh well, I'll figure out which ones to drop.

Oh, gotta go, Google Reader just told me that someone I barely know has posted something.