Greetings From Our Family to Yours!

All things considered "tacky," this is our Christmas card for 2009. I could claim it's due to us being more environmentally friendly seeing as how 2009 was a big year for us environmentally. We potty trained Jensen AND signed up for recycling. Yes, both in the same year. I could claim it's to be gentle on the pocketbook, because last time I checked there were no coupons for stamps...you know me and my coupons. I could claim that even though I LOVE getting and giving Holiday cards, it's because Christmas cards really don't have much to due with the actual origin and meaning of Christmas, but don't tell Hallmark. But truthfully, I ran out of time. Somewhere between teaching, mothering, wifing (is that a word), being an accountant, personal shopper, elf, and spreading holiday cheer...I simply did not get to cards. I'm hoping for Valentine's cards, but don't don't hold your breath. My CPR card expired in the spring and I'm feeling a little shaky on my first aid skills.

For a small glimpse into our lives, feel free to scroll through the blog. If you'd like to be a regular "reader" on the blog, leave a note w/your email address in the comments. I usually keep it locked as private. Something a bit creepy about random blog stalkers (like myself) reading about the kids. BUT, you too, can gain membership for FREE...no coupons needed!

2009 has been a great year for our family from the birth of Jacob in January all the way through December it's proved to be a wonderful year for our family. Joe and I are loving each and every minute with the kids (okay, some are a bit more hairy then others) and are trying to treasure them, as we are already witnessing just how fast time flies.

Jacob (10 1/2 months) started WALKING this week. He looks a bit like a drunken sailor, but he's officially on the move! He is such a sweet, sweet boy who just takes "it all in" day in and day out. Still not a sleeper, but I'll take the middle of the night cuddles any day! He can't get enough of Faith and Jensen and is starting to interact with them more and more.

Jensen is our little "Joy Boy!" He can turn the saddest of situations into pure joy. Last week, I found him cutting the beard on my prized antique (it was my dad's-sorry I just called you an antique, dad) plush Santa. After a stern lecture and time out he was crying these HUGE walrus tears, and calling mommy a "Bad boy!" At my wits end I was saying (yelling), "Why, WHY would you cut Santa's beard?" He whimpered back, "My couldn't see his mouth!" All I could do was laugh. Luckily, I caught him just one snip in and Santa's beard was saved. If anyone is sad, he is the first to notice and cheer you up.

Faith is still creative and determined (gets that from her father) to the ends of the earth. She is on a bunny phase lately. As in, she's convinced she's getting a bunny. She writes letters about when she has a bunny, goes to the pet store to check them out, creates special bunny food, created a bunny trap in the back yard (in which a very large, brown-haired, brown-eyed, three year old "bunny" actually ate the carrots in the trap). On top of all of this she is the BEST big sister. She loves her brothers to pieces and goes to no end to be sure they are happy. We've even caught her in a few "white-lies" protecting Jensen.

Joe just rounded out his hunting season with a cougar. Whatever happened to bringing home a Christmas goose???? And WHEN is chicken season?!? All joking aside, we are really proud of him. He loves back country hunting and we love that it makes him happy.

I'm still busy teaching and loving being able to spend half of the day home with our kids and the kids of my teaching partner (we job-share, kid-share). The kids keep me busy and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Moments to Remember

Faith started Kinder Dance the first week of November and today she had her debut Performance, as a "Snowflake," and I had my debut as a stage mom. Let me tell you...LOTS of work. No clue how those moms on "Tots to Tiaras," or whatever the name of that TLC show is, do it. "Costume" for The Moments to Remember performance included the cute little outfit you see, blue eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, lip liner, lipstick, blush, a high pony tail with long tight curls and LOTS of hairspray.

You want the dirty truth? I don't own hair spray, a curling iron or blue eye shadow. Thank heavens for the Dollar Tree. I just knew I would need aerosol spray (we're after beauty tonight and not saving the environment) to hold that girls curls. Where is Aqua Net when you need it? The Dollar Tree saved the day, with classy "White Rain" aerosol hairspray. After 45 minutes, Faith's hair and make up were done and I used so much hair spray that she claimed she was tasting it through the air.

Being new to the "stage mom" scene, I went a bit overboard with the lip liner and lipstick. No biggie. Joe told her she looked like a real famous lady on T.V. named Blanche...you know, from the Golden Girls. Luckily she has no clue who Blanche Devereaux is, because if my "Old Maid" victory dance, complete with hunkering down like I was walking with a cane and saying my name was "Faith Old Maid Rotter," threw her into a tantrum last week, being referred to as Blanche might simply put her over the five and a half year old edge. Thinking she wouldn't want to be know as Blanche, the vain, man-hungry, Southern Belle, and KNOWING I'd rather her be more like, Rose or Dorthy (definitely NOT Sophia), I quickly fixed her lipstick into more suitable "snowflake" fashion.

Faith looked beautiful, twirled perfectly, LOVED the evening, and reiterated as we were leaving that she's NEVER playing soccer again (she previous post), because she only wants to do one activity at a time...and she's choosing dance! I couldn't be more proud of her!

Side Note: Wikipedia has some great facts on The Golden Girls. Now, I thought I was a fan of the show back in my younger days, but I never knew that Dorthy's brother, Phil, was a cross dresser. The things you learn on a Friday night around our house.

And just for the records, after reading all the character bios, I'm real conflicted over which Golden Girl I'd most like Faith to be like. Who would you choose for your daughter?

Reason #1,245...

...why we are cutting back on T.V. in our house; "We are attempting to preserve the vision of our children. Keeping our fingers crossed they have eyesight for things like, say reading!" Right below reason #1,244: "We watched SIX straight days of television during the supposed Swine Flu outbreak at our house, and we haven't been the same mentally since then and are hoping to correct the toon-headedness in our brains." Jensen would seriously be thrilled if he could actually climb IN the T.V.

"Jake"-O-Lantern

Yes...I KNOW he's chewing on a piece of plastic, but it was a great shot of his two lil' teeth. Isn't our "Jake"-O-Lantern so cute?!? Currently working on SIX new teeth. I think we'll all be happier around here when those bad boys show their faces around here.

Jensen Carl Rotter Boy is THREE!!!!

Much to his dismay, Jensen turned three on the 19th. You see, what he really wanted was to be "dibe" (five). For WEEKS he's been telling us, and anyone else who would listen, "My go-knee be dibe. Dibe like Daith. My dibe. My go cool. My sit in dooster seat." Translated to: "I am going to be five. Five like Faith. I'm five. I will go to school. I will sit in a booster seat. Sounds much cuter in his words, huh?

Now, we could have played along with this, but being the mean spirited family we are, we kept telling him that someday he'd be five, but he needed to be three and four first. This usually evoked a two-year old meltdown/screaming fit with words like, "No! My 8 then. My 10. My 6!" We didn't really think anyone would believe our 25ish pound son, that comes with his own personal translator, was ACTUALLY five. Maybe we're wrong, but we went out on a limb and celebrated his THIRD birthday in style with a Doggy Themed "Pawty!" He kept requesting a "green" birthday, but my creative juices weren't coming up with much for that theme. So doggy it was.

Jensen has come around to the fact that he's three (except for when (in his words) he's a baby and wants a binky) and had a great time at his party. He was so cute opening presents. He'd open one and all he'd want to do was play with THAT present and not open the others. Good thing he had Faith there to help him! :)

His most prized gift was a set of binoculars from Papa Rick and Grandma Beth. He loves his "nockers" and tells EVERYONE he sees, friends and foes alike, that he loves to play with his "nockers." Perfectly fine in CONTEXT, but things get a little uncomfortable when this is proclaimed to the random checker at Fred Meyer. And his "nockers" are no where in sight. Lovely.

Halloween 2009

Pumpkin carving 2009 was a blast! Momma got smart this year and we scooped our pumpkins outside. Notice the difference in warmth of clothing Faith and Jensen chose to wear. In typical "I'm too hot" fashion, Faith is sparsely dressed, sporting a cotton sundress and her new glitter Christmas shoes. Jensen on the other hand is always "coedy" (cold) and is bundled up like he's headed to the North Pole to whip up some toys for the Salvation Army toy drive. This particular day, I sided with Jensen...lots of layers for me!




This year it was FREEZING during trick or treating. I have some "great" pictures (which I am not posting) of the kids out trick-or-treating dressed as "Children of the Winter," staring coats, hats, mittens, etc. Believe it or not...those were indeed NOT their original costumes. I know. I know. Should have started with "Children of the Winter" but it just didn't seem quite original enough.

According to Jensen he was a Pirate this year. That is what he wanted to be and what we went shopping for. What we left the store with was a Power Ranger suit, which he still refered to as a pirate. Even after multiple attempts, by his sister, to help him understand what his costume it. It was really important to this said sister that he KNEW he was a Power Ranger. You know. The sister who change her mind about her costume FIVE times. On the day of Halloween. Costumes included bunny, cat, butterfly, butterfly princess and fairy. All revolving around a black leotard and black tutu. LOVE the creativity and imagination of both Faith and Jensen.

Below you see the cutest spider EVER! Don't think I've ever called a spider cute before. Those of you who know me well, know I'm not a fan of real life arachnids, but I feel in love with this Pottery Barn spider costume for our little guy! He was adorable and warm! Although getting him and all eight legs into the car seat was a bit of a challenge.

Because Some Days This is How it Feels...

You've gotta read my friend, Amy's, letter to Santa! So funny. Personally, I'm banking on Mrs. Clause, but I think there's a market in store for Amy's request. Sign me up!

http://amylmurray01.blogspot.com/2009/11/dear-santa.html

Pumpkin Patch 2009

What perfect weather for a day at the Pumpkin Patch! All of our lil' pumpkins found pumpkins that met their hearts desire.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Faith and Joe got to go to the Rodeo for a special night out. Jensen got to go to Winegars with mommy and Jacob for blue ice cream with sprinkles on top! An all around perfect night for everyone!

Thanks for the Rodeo tickets Uncle Neal and Aunt Janice! Our little cowgirl and her daddy had a blast watching the show and eating cotton candy!

Big Girls Don't Cry

Joe is out of the woods from hunting for a few days and I've been keeping him busy. In less then 16 hours he's done laundry, emptied the dishwasher, a round of baths and bedtime, vacuumed, watered plants, made a LARGE pot of coffee, made pancakes for breakfast, straightened the garage, and taken Faith and Jensen in for flu shots. See why things fall apart around here when he's gone? He's ALWAYS this helpful. Although, I've noticed during hunting season, he's a bit more eager to help. You know, less heavy sighs, and other signs of being completely irritated by chores.

When Daddy and the kids got home from flu shots this morning Faith bounds in the house and says, "I didn't even cry for my shot! We'll actually just a little at first." Apparently, she has a bit of an inflated sense of what ACTUALLY went down at the Valley Clinic this morning.

As the story goes from Joe: The whole ride down there she laughed and giggled and was EXCITED to get a shot. She was even going to go first so Jensen would see it didn't hurt and he wouldn't be afraid. THEN when the nurse walked in she was singing a different tune. Long story shortened into bullet format:

-Jensen had to go first and cried because he was being held down by Joe.
-Faith's turn resulted in being restrained by Joe (sitting behind her pinning her arms down, two nurses holding her down, one nurse administering her shot, SCREAMING like Joe has never heard before out of her during the preparations, and our Doctor (who hates being present for shots...he likes to be the "good-guy") rushing in to be sure everything was alright.
-THEN as soon as she looked down and saw the needle in her arm, all mayhem ceased and she declared, "oh...I didn't even cry!" Apparently all adults in the room were doubled over in stitches from fits of laughter.

Joe said on the way out she was strutting her stuff with a swanky little walk, flitting her sticker in the air with a HUGE smile on her face saying "That didn't even hurt one little bit!" The halls of the clinic were lined with people watching her leave like this after they'd all heard her in the exam room! That's our girl!!!! Never without "spirit" and drama!

And this my friends...would be why she got her Kindergarten shots at age 4 versus age 5. Dr. Larson knew she'd only get stronger and stronger and harder to hold down.

Dyson Update

If you recall in a previous post, I really like my Dyson vacuum. Okay, I LOVE my Dyson. I've already told Joe, if we are ever to divorce, I get the vacuum. He looked at me with a bit of a blank stare. Not sure if that's because he knows me well enough to know that the vacuum IS one of my favorite things or because it's the only thing I mentioned. No mention of the house, the debt, or even the kids. I just wanted to be sure I get to take my vacuum! And NO, divorce is not in our future. Anyways, back to my post one thing I love about my vacuum is THIS (taken straight from their website):
All Dyson upright and canister vacuums have:
No loss of suction
Root Cyclone™ technology means Dyson vacuums don’t lose suction power as you clean.

Wow! I love the fact that my precious Dyson is so powerful. Yet, for the past few months, it just hasn't been working up to speed. When working in "normal" mode it runs like a dream. When I'd attempt to use the hose, it made a terrible noise, lost all suction, and didn't pick up even the tiniest of Polly Pocket parts. I'm sure Faith has sabotaged it, after seeing numerous Polly shoes,whirling around in that cyclonic tank.

One of the deciding factors in splurging for the Dyson Animal was their fabulous 5 year warranty. This week, I had "Call Dyson" on my to-do list. Let me tell you how thankful I am that I did NOT get that done. Yesterday, I decided to attempt to unearth the problem myself. After a few minutes, I discovered just how easy it was to take off a few parts, even with the help of a five year old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a 7 month old. Yes. They love the "Animal" as much as I do.

Now, once again, Dyson advertises

All Dyson upright and canister vacuums have:
No loss of suction
Root Cyclone™ technology means Dyson vacuums don’t lose suction power as you clean.



Anywhere up there does it read: "Dyson suggests using the hose devise to suck up household objects like a knife?" Huh? Yes, I pulled a plastic baggie full of YUCK (a full hair cut full of hair, toys, rubber bands, food, stickers, etc.), you know all the "normal" things you'd suck up with a household vacuum, out of a 4 inch section of my precious. Including...a plastic knife. Really. I'm a bit confused why it couldn't make the hairpin turn, up the pipe into the canister. With all that Dyson power and all. Are you kidding me?!? A knife?! Now I'm not 100% certain how this happened, but for the record THIS IS NOT A SHOP VAC!

I AM happy to report that my vacuum is fixed and can't wait to tell Joe all about it when he gets home. He has been complaining lately how "YOUR Dyson doesn't seem to be all it's cut out to be!" Hmmmm....sabotage?!?

Jensen's Prayers

Every night (or at least most nights) when we put the kids to bed we "pray on them" (they call it) and then they say their own prayers. It is so, so sweet to hear what they pray about. Faith has the sweetest most innocent prayers and I love hearing her heart in work. Jensen on the other hand, prayers the same EXACT thing every night. It's touches my heart to hear him talk to God and also makes me giggle a little:

Chank-chew (thank you) for my mommy.Chank-chew for my daddy. Chank-chew for my Daith (Faith). Chank-chew for my Gake (Jake). Chank-chew for the hic-ups. We're assuming that one night he had the hic-ups and has just said it ever since!

The picture has nothing to do with his prayers, but isn't he the cutest?!?

"I'll Always Be Your Baby!"

Those are the words Faith said to me seconds before the last picture was snapped. Exactly 5 minutes and 18 seconds before we loaded her in the car for her first day of Kindergarten. Was she trying to make me cry? Is there some sort of competition at school for the kid with the most hysterical mother? Is THAT how she got to be "teacher's helper" on her first day. Way to go Faith! You made me bawl and won my heart over once again!

Today was such a bitter-sweet day for me. Faith is more then ready for school, but I'm just not ready to hand her over to the "world." I didn't sleep a wink last night, but I did manage to hold it together when dropping her off at school. Until...I walked away. Then I bawled like a baby. Baby? Wasn't SHE just a baby?!?

Anyways, Faith LOVED school and I loved that it was only half day. I think half-time is a perfect fit for her (and me). She gets one last year at home with me in the mornings, but gets to learn all about school!

Jensen's Big Boy Summer

There's not much "baby" left in Jensen these days. Two major milestones have happened over the past three months. First off, the day after school got out, I tackled potty-training Jens. It went MUCH better then I had expected, considering when ever I'd mention it he'd literally FREAK out and shout things like, "Mommy, yikes (likes) to change my poop!" Guess I learn something new about myself every day, because I simply was not aware that I even remotely liked to change stinky, 2 1/2 year old boy poop! Anyhow, we had a big countdown, went and bought "big boy" underwear the day before, and completely went diaper free, except for nap and bed time. The first morning, he cried the better part of two hours and was MORTIFIED to be wearing underwear. He had a couple of full-on accidents that first day, but by day three was pretty much trained. Refused to use the little kid potty (THANK HEAVENS!) and has been a dream ever since. A few funny things about him being in underwear now:

-He calls them "my wonderwears"
-He's so stinking skinny that even the smallest ones are baggy
-Jensen prefers the boxer-briefs, like daddy, which again are too loose
-He INSIST on wearing them all backwards, so he can see the picture on them

The other big news in our house IS (insert DRUM ROLL) he's kicked the habit and is now binky-free!!! Actually, I should give a more accurate description of what really went down in our house, because that sounds a bit like Jensen woke up one morning, cheerfully threw out all of his binkies, and declared himself "clean and sober." Beautiful picture I just painted there, but not so much how it happened.

What REALLY happened was one exhausted, sleep-deprived mother found herself up nightly dealing with the binky-woes of her two precious boys. Binkies were disappearing and falling out of little mouths left and right, leaving this hear said mommy blindly searching the corners of the crib (Jacob), inside pillow cases, under the cavern of the bed (Jensen) multiple times each night, seeking out the precious, prized binkies that could be shoved in the mouths of her children and allow her to steal a few precious minutes of sleep. Running on severe sleep deprivation and loads of coffee, mommy formed herself a MAB (Mother's- Against - Binkies) group, consisting of a whopping one whole member...yes herself. When dear sweet daddy left for his hunting trip, mommy decided the time was right. See, she knew had both mommy and daddy been there they would have talked themselves into giving in. Here is how the first meeting of MAB went down.

The following events took place on September 7th 2009:

-6pm: Kelly is exhausted from the previous nights shenanigans of binky searching decided tonight Jensen is done with binkies and breaks the news to him that they are all gone. Jensen says, "we buy more morrow (tomorrow) at Meyers (Fred Meyer)." Mommy insist they are all gone. Jensen insist Jacob will share his. Mommy insist we are done with binkies. Jensen insist there has got to be one last, remaining artificial nipple in this house that he can get his hands on.
-6:17pm: Mommy realizes if the binkies are going for Jens, they've got to go for Jacob at the same time.
-6:40: Kelly finishes collecting any binky she can find, shoves them all into a plastic bag while no one is looking, and throws them high and deep onto the top shelf in the garage. Just in case. You never know what may happen at 3:00am. She just knew she'd have to be pretty desperate to get out the later, move all the junk from the ground below the shelf, rummage through God-only-knows-what on the top shelf to retrieve the binkies.
-7:30 Bedtime rolls around. Jensen cries. A lot. Really a lot. Kelly feels VERY guilty, but holds strong. Jacob goes down like a dream (and sleeps much better then the previous months).
-Fast Forward to 10:00pm. Jensen is STILL awake. Anytime mommy goes in his room, he's out of bed rummaging around and says, "go away. my yooking for sumfing."
-Jensen woke up twice in the middle of the night, but has had no problems ever since.

For being such a big boy he got to go to the store and pick out any toy he wanted. Of coarse he wanted the 12 foot long, bazooka water gun. Really. What 2 1/2 year old boy wouldn't. Luckily he was persuaded into the Light Saber. I did learn something new about Star Wars (seeing as how I'm not a fan), after 31 years of calling them Light Savers, apparently they are Light SABERS.

I do miss his sweet binky kisses every night at bed time, but am loving his new "real" kisses just as much! :)

"Who Stole Our Baby?"

Yep. Another unhappy Rotter kid! Look at that smile! Seven months old and really coming into his own. Jacob's favorite activities include: eating puzzle pieces, unraveling the toilet paper, teething (he's determined to show those teeth whose boss yet), climbing on top of Jensen and Faith (I'm thinking the tackling has already begun), holding his own bottle when mommy is away, moving from crawling to sitting and back again, feeding him self finger food, crawling all over the house, army crawling, pulling himself to standing-followed by falling down and hitting his head, playing with his toys, laughing at the cat, eating toilet paper, chasing the vacuum (our kids all love the vacuum), smiling like crazy, babbling and "shouting" along with the other two, attempting to keep up with his brother and sister and simply melting our hearts one smile at a time!

Reflections of Summer

WE'REEEEE BAAAACK! After a long summer break from blogging, we are back and at it. Be rest assured, the lack of updates wasn't due to a lack of happenings! We simply were busy and having so much fun just being a family. Our blogging break was actually quite intentional. Reflecting back, we actually squeezed lots into summer. Here are a few of our favorites:

-6 weeks of swimming for Faith and a new friend for Jensen to play with there
-Long walks in the morning
-riding bikes and scooters
-play dates at the park
-pajamas as long as we liked!
-Pat and Kat's wedding at Hood Canal with the Thorson side of the family
-Camping with Grandma and Grandpa Rotter
-Swimming at the new lodge at Red's
-play dates with our many, many friends
-planting our first garden: radishes, lettuce, carrots, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, peas
-visiting cousins Harry and Arden in Walla Wall at their fun, fun Bed and Breakfast, Nine Trees Inn
-Ephrata Water park with Grandma Beth and then again with friends later
-Fourth of July festivities at Reds and West Ellensburg Park
-Face painting almost every Saturday at the market
-Ellensburg Rodeo and Fair
-school clothes shopping for our big kinder kid
-visiting Auntie Shayne in Wenatchee (and allergy testing for Jensen)
-making pesto with the kids- THEY LOVE PESTO!
-trip to Small Woods Farm (LOVE it there)
-drinking my morning coffee on the deck while the sun rises
-playing board games with the kids
-family walks in the evening
-story time and cuddles
-many milestones for Jensen (potty training and kicking the binky habit)
-watching Jacob grow before our very eyes
-Faith learning so many new things


I simply loved the lazy days of summer this year. We were always busy and hoppin', but it was so nice to be on a "family" schedule versus work schedule! Can't wait for June to roll around again! :)

A B C's Of Me

Just for fun!

A - Age: 31

B - Bed size: Queen...although with three kids who like to snuggle in the morning a King sounds VERY appealing!

C - Chore you hate: Anything to do with the laundry...washing, folding, ironing, hanging, putting it away.

D - Dog's name: No dogs, but a cat named Bentley

E - Essential start your day item: A nice hot shower to wake my sleepy eyes up. Then a cup of coffee.

F - Favorite color: Red

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: I like wearing both silver and platinum

H - Height: 5'6"

I - Instruments you play: Ummm...does the whistle count when I have recess duty?

J - Job title: Teacher, mother, house keeper, laundress, accountant, nose wipper, puke cleaner, owie fixer, hug giver etc. etc.

K - Kid(s): The three greatest EVER: Faith, Jensen and Jacob.

L - Living arrangements: My sweet man and my three babies.

M - Mom's name: Beth

N - Nicknames: Kel, Kell-Bell (when I was little)

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: The births of my kids.

P - Pet Peeve: decietfulness, unwiped splilled coffee on the counter, tardiness.

Q - Quote from a movie: Can't think of any "adult" movie quotes.

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 sister

T - Time you wake up: No later then 6:00 am.

U- Underwear: Yes please, I don't particularly like going commando!

V - Vegetable you dislike: I pretty much like them all, except the wierd ones like brussle sprouts.

W - Ways you run late: Pushing the snooze button one too many times, kids, picking up the house on my way out the door.

X - X-rays you've had: head, stomach, legs.

Y - Yummy food you make: Not sure if it's all yummy, but I do love to cook!

Z - Zoo favorite: I like it all.

Oh Happy Day...

This is what I get to stare at most of the day!

Isn't he the happiest, cutest, most smiley baby? I love him to pieces and can't believe all he's already doing. Rolling is his new thing. Front to back has been mastered for a long time, but now he's got it going on both ways and can even do a series of rolls. Watch out world, another Rotter is on the loose!

Raising Boys

Below is Jensen's latest weapon.
Enter...my $80.00 straightening iron. Yes, the 4th one I've owned (don't ask why I keep spending so much. If you've ever seen my hair you get it), and the one I've only had 2 months.

As I'm feeding the baby tonight, "J-Bird" delicately carried this down the hall by the cord shouting "Ot (hot) Mom! Ot (hot) Mom!" To which I replied "J-Bird, yes that is mommy's hot iron. It's only for mommy. Can I please have it back?"

"No!" Shouts Jensen and then proceeds to make ferocious growling noises and shouts, "I go to bite you! I go to eat you!" All the while aggressively opening and closing the straightening iron and thrusting it back and forth at all parts of my body.

Yes...briefly, I was actually frightened of my 26lb, 2.5 year old.


For the record, it was not hot, but at least I know he's been listening when I'm doing my hair. He had helped himself to the iron out of the drawer, when he was finished eating toothpaste in my bathroom. Can't get him to eat "traditional" foods, but give the kid a tube of toothpaste or some bouillon cubes and he's good to go!

Savings

So...here are my recent deals at Albertsons!

I really think my adjusted age may be 85with the way I like to coupon shop. I seriously get a thrill out of it!

Here's what I got and what the regular prices are:

Two tubs of Crystal Light @ 4.99 each
Individual Crystal Light @ 3.99
Two Kraft Dressings @ 2.69 each
Ritz Crackers @ 2.89
Two Kraft BBQ Sauces @ 2.49 each
Bertolli Dinner @ 8.99
2 Wheat Thins @ 3.79 each
2 Triscuts @ 3.79 each
Kraft Mayonnaise @ 4.29 each
Wacky Mac @ 1.89
Three Bagelfuls @ 3.59 each

The Total Price Would have been 68.32

What I Paid.....2.89!!!! Can you believe it?!?!

*The funny thing is some of this stuff I would never buy, because I wouldn't FATHOM paying 3.79 for a dinky box of crackers or 3.59 for 4 small bagels with cream cheese. I love that some of the good deals I got were "special treats" for the family and some things we actually needed.



Okay...so I went back this evening and added to my savings (not pictured):

3 boxes of Tricuts @ 3.79 each
1 box of Wheat Thins @ 3.79
1 box of Bagelfuls @ 3.59
2 bags of Wacky Mac @ 1.89each
2 Kraft Salad Dressing @ 2.69 each
1 Kraft BBQ Sauce @ 2.49
1 Box of Ritz @ 2.89

Total Retail would have been 33.29 and I only paid 1.27

Basically I've gotten 101.61 worth of groceries for the bargain price of $4.16!!!

BTW, I technically would have gotten money back today (not that that was my plan), but I guess that's not allowed. The six not-so-pleased-with-my-stack-of-coupons-people in line behind me were looking a bit less then friendly, so I grabbed the closest box of crackers (Triscuts for 1.47) and high-tailed it out of Albertson's as fast as I could.

Warning!!! Do NOT try this level of bargaining at home. It may lead to serious risks to your health. Side effects may include, loss of ability to pay full price for anything, loss of self-pride from going through the line multiple times, loss of "coolness" from the fact that you posted this on the World Wide Web, and loss of friends your age when you enjoy talking budgets while out for drinks.

May Storms

This month (and maybe in April, too, but my memory is failing me here), we've had some really unusualy weather for Eastern Washington. We had a great thunder and hail storm one night and the kids (not baby Jacob) and I even got out for a few, VERY BRIEF seconds to dance in the hail. They were giggling like crazy and their giggles are something Joe and I will never forget. This picture is from a different storm. Faith and Jensen are sitting inside the dining room, with the french doors wide open, watching the rain fall. They were absolutly silent and loving watching the rain pour down and patter off the deck.

Mother's Day...a PERFECT day

Mother's Day was FANTASTIC. Before I woke up (at 6:30am), Joe and the kids had already gone and washed and cleaned out the van and brought me a latte in bed. Faith, Jensen and Joe made breakfast which we all ate in bed...all five of us. It was quite cozy. I was treated to lots of homemade gifts from the kids, painted pots, cards, paper crafts, a homemade telescope. All very sweet, sweet things they did for me. I got LOTS of plants for the garden and a WHOLE DAY of yardwork. You may laugh, but that's exactly what I said I wanted. The weather was gorgous and the kids played outside all day. We topped the day off with dinner at Road House Grill. Thanks for everything kiddos and hubby. How blessed I am to be called "mommy" by these three amazing, wonderful, loving, unique children. My heart is so full of thankfulness.

BUBBLES

Joe and I LOVE these pictures of Jensen. This was the first time he was able to blow bubbles himself and he was so concentrated. The first one was his reaction when one popped in his mouth..."Gucky! Gucky!" he kept saying! Such a sweet, rough boy he is!