Recession This

Here's today's grocery shopping trips. One of my best, if I do say so myself.

I did split it into two trips, just to make it most economical...

Transaction #1 :
4 boxes of life cereal @1.88 each
2 boxes honey bunches of oats @ 1.88 each
4 Capri Suns @ 1.99 each
4 Packages of ground beef -- 99 cents a pound (TODAY ONLY -- GO, this is an AMAZING price!)
Total: 87.26 (that's the total prior to the savings, which is already reflected in the prices I've typed)

Used 10.00 dollar catalina from last week (a Catalina is one of those coupons you get from the machine with your receipt)
I get a 10% discount til' 06/18/08 -- sa-weet, saving me 2.16
2 Life coupons for 3 dollars off 2 -- saving me 6 dollars
And a 1.50 catalina from last week.

GRAND TOTAL after all the savings: 11.96 -- that's an 86% savings

PLUS, I got a 5 dollar catalina for my next transaction (if you buy 4 capri suns this week, you get a coupon for 5 dollars off your next order -- it says your next order for team snacks, but I've never had a problem just buying groceries with it)...
__________________________

Transaction #2 (be nice to your cashiers, splitting into 2 isn't bad, as long as there's not a long line behind you -- I was lucky today, and you'll see how splitting it worked in my favor):

3 pace picante sauces @ 3.00 each
6 bottles of assorted coke products @1.89 each (with buy 3 get 3 promo)
Otter pops (total splurge) @ .99
Mission tortilla chips @ 3.00
CRV of .30 cents
2 18 count eggs @ 6.79 with buy one get one free

Total before savings: 44.51 (this is prior to my safeway card savings)
Used 5 dollar coupon off last order
Got 5 dollars off doing the cinco de mayo deal (buy 15$ worth of coke, pace or mission items and get 5 dollars automatically off your order)
my 10% discount (2.05 this order)
and I had a coupon for the chips for .75

Total after all that: 13.63 -- a 70% savings

Full total after both trips paid 25.59 for 131.77 worth of groceries

So, why did I take the time to post this excruciatingly long blog entry when I MUST have other things I could do (believe me, I do)...because all I hear is how grocery prices are going up, up, up and we're all gonna die. However, you can use the free market to your advantage... food companies still have to compete with each other, unlike the gas companies. Food for thought friends.

• The capri suns ended-up being 0.54 cents/box (remember I have a 10% savings tagged to my card right now)
• Life ceream ended-up being 0.29 cents/box
• The pop ended-up being about 0.56 cents/bottle

No go to safeway and get your cheap ground beef.

Darn Kids

I'm sitting here.
Shivering...
refreshing my page.
Waiting for 12:01 -- to get S into preschool...
I went to bed at 8:30 (yes, I am that big of a loser) and set 3 alarms to wake me up by 11:45... to do just this. Sit and shiver. Or, should I say sh-sh-sh-shiver....
Only 3 more minutes, or is it four....
ETA: Yay! We're in!!!! I hope Drew is ready for cold feet on him. :)

Trombone

So, Drew ordered the trombone of his dreams --quite some time ago. And it came, and that's what I was referring to in the last post. We did ORDER a case, they decided to just pack it up and ship it with bubble wrap. Now, I'll remind you all that we've been saving for almost an entire year for this trombone so all my savings flying across the US with just a very flimsy cardboard box and some bubble wrap at its disposal makes me very nervous.
However, it was unharmed.
I can not say the same for the supervisor who was able to speak with me this AM about our missing case. Needless to say it's coming to us UPS 2 day (I wanted overnight, but I gave in -- I am a pansy). Until then, we have the office locked. I'm even nervous to go in there.
But it's here, and Drew's over joyed -- now to send a copy of our receipt to the insurance company.

Mondays

I always pile up SO much to do on Mondays -- I do feel peppier (not a word, I am aware)

But....

Overwhelemed.

I am dumb.

Guess what came on Friday! Here are some hints: It's shiny, it's expensive, and came without a case.

We are bummed about the no case issue, but excited to have it.

Will type more later.

They are my Bread and Jam

We've been practicing hard for our ward primary talent show (in our ward we call it the Bread and Jam concert). It's a FAVORITE of mine, love it every year. Sadly, Drew couldn't make it this year -- but that's why God made video cameras, right?

I urge you to watch the entire thing, no matter how down you're feeling, Spencer's Sunbeam song (it's at about 1 minute) will make your day a little brighter.

I wish we could bottle him and sell him.

My Thoughts on Education Today

There's no doubt about it, education in CA is screwed-up and while our family is doing our little part to improve that, I thought I might share a few of my thoughts today.

1. The budget the "govenator" has set forth has a LARGE cut to education coming up. While we aren't losing any teachers in our district this year we are going to have to cut a LOT. I am making difference by calling our legislators -- and you can too. If you live by me the 3 are:

• Elaine Alquist: 286-8318
• Jim Beall: 282-8920
• Sally Lieber: (650-210-2000

urge them to NOT let these budget cuts pass, to not pass our deficit onto our children. I also mentioned I would not be voting for them next election if this was to pass. I urge you guys to call, it's a quick thing you can do while cleaning, etc. and can make a big difference.

2. I thought I'd mention once again that we're coming to the end of the year and our teachers continue to work without a contract. They met yesterday to discuss things they can do to end negotiations and get a contract signed. They include picketing during the times they are not on contract (btw, Drew spends about 2 hours after his contract hours every day after school -- this is not to mention the other times when he spends HOURS AND HOURS beyond his contract, and I know he's not the only one -- he really wants these kids to succeed), only working their contract (which will cut down on prep for our children's classes, as well as anything they're doing after school). These are things that will most likely not affect our kids too much, but they will affect them. It makes me sad that Conner's teacher has to think about this instead of concentrating on him and his classmates. Just something for you guys to think about.

3. This one's just an FYI. Did you know that in our district we take the "star" test every year, it is mandated by the government and costs a LOT of money -- does the government pay for it? No, it just comes out of our regular budget (which is being cut). We're talking almost 70 dollars/child to administer and grade the tests (which is not done by the district, they are required to send them out). We do that EVERY YEAR to these kids. That's not to mention the 2 weeks these teachers have to use to prep the kids to take the tests when they could be doing more important/useful/fun things. I can't even imagine all the neat things our kids could do with the extra 70 dollars. Anyway, "no child is left behind" because of this -- they all are (yes, this is part of that program).

Anyway, those are my thoughts today. Give your teachers a hug and let them know how much you appreciate them. Each year the funding decreases, and yet the teachers fill in the gaps. It's not fair people, it just isn't fair.

Guess Who

Guess who just paid 14.52 for 60 dollars worth of groceries AND I got 12 dollars to spend on my next trip {sizzzle} -- check me out. :)
I have absolutely nothing else to say....
Lots to do today.
Thanks for the advice on the dollar store pregnancy tests, I'll have to get me some of them! BTW, my temp was 97 today... wondering if I need a new thermometer. :)

Even if WE can't reproduce

the garden is....

we've gotten 10 or so strawberries so far, but all the sudden the radishes have gone crazy.

He's so proud. :)

Me, taking my temperature....

Had my yearly exam yesterday, no pap smear for me thanks to my monogomous relationship and a negative HPV test. Still had to check out my other womanly's though, for masses, etc. Lucky me.
She was VERY happy over my 25 pound weight loss (and I'm back down to where I was before Disneyland, phewsh... how can a girl gain 3 pounds from WALING for 5 days STRAIGHT?), and said that would most likely assist in the baby making process.
I'm going to try the cheapest of all the ovulation tests and make a basal temperature chart. I'm hoping I can remember to do it every AM when my little eyelids open... we'll see. Has anyone else ever done this, or is there a place to get cheap ovulation tests? My friend Lara swears that the dollar store pregnancy test are the BEST, I was wondering if they have an ovulation counterpart. Mostly we're wanting to see if I have any pattern to my life, so my temperature I'll be a takin'.
ETA: My temp this AM was 96.0... that's not even on my little chart. It goes down to 96.5 or something. {sigh} I'm a freak (really, no comments on that one people).

Trip Report

I did a trip report on our Disneyland trip over at Mouse planet -- btw, I did talk to the Hilton people today and complained again. I won't be staying in a Hilton hotel any time soon.
Trip report can be found here:
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=99620
Honestly, if I had to pick it again I'd go with the Anaheim Residence Inn since it sounds like it's within walking distance and provides dinner -- the best of all worlds. :)

Weening of Disney

WAHHHHHH....
I have to make my own breakfast
I have to make my own bed
I have to entertain my children
I have to get a pap smear (super big wah)
I have to clean
I have to figure out family home evening
Seriously, I think crystal meth is easier to come off of.
Maybe.....

Disneyland: Overview

So, we spent the last week at Disneyland. On Monday we stayed at our good friends the Haws' house (it's a tradition now, and nothing's better then when husbands are friends and wives get along really well too). Then it was off to Disneyland.

We booked out trip to http://www.getawaytoday.com/ (feel free to use me as a reference when you next book). We always find the best prices through them and we really like them. This year's Disney promotion is that when you buy 3 days, you get 5.... so, 2 for "free". We decided we might as well use all 5... and by the end my feet were bitterly disappointed in that decision, but I digress.... 5 was too long. However, the children want 360 more, they love it there.

We had a GREAT time:

Hotel: We stayed at the Homewood Suites in Garden Grove, and while it was nice enough, we won't be staying there again. It involves a large cockroach, several room changes and a promised rate reduction, which we have yet to see. As you can imagine, I plan to take this right up their little corporate ladder.

Disney for a 4 year old: OMG, this is probably the worst age for Disneyland, and of course, the best age. They think EVERYTHING is real, and they delight, they real, they scream and they cry. It's all both ends of the spectrum for them. However, Spencer did alright.... This fine photo was his face for a lot of it though... His favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear and Autopia (the bane of a parent's existence, but MAN does he love driving his little car!).

Disney at 7: Conner LOVED Disney! This was his best trip by far (we've gone when he was 4 and 5). He went on almost every ride (except the Matterhorn and California Screaming, we allowed him to pick 2 rides he didn't have to go on). His FAVORITE (by far) was the Jedi academy where Conner was able to fight Darth Vader. Obviously, this was huge for him.

Other highlights: We got to meet up with some friends since we were all on spring break this past week, and that was really fun. We also got to eat at the Pirates of the Caribbean restaurant, and while it's expensive it was YUMMY and the atmosphere couldn't be beat. Most of all we're glad to be home, but sad to have to make our own beds and food. Good times, glad we won't be going back for a couple of years though. :)

This pretty-well sums it up

This is pretty-much what I've been doing the last week.......

You'd think Drew thought he won the olympics after this Buzz lightyear run (we probably did it at LEAST 3 times each of the 5 days we were at Disneyland). People, he was in the top 10 for the PARK that day. Check him out. More later, I seriously need a shower. :)

Rug burn

Un-named child cried for a good 1/2 hour about the rug burn he had on his bottom.
no kidding.
Serious.
ETA: Rug burn gotten from scooting around in his room with no undies on. Sorry, that does add to the story. :)

Good Ariticle about grocery shopping

Seriously, before my fingers fall off from all this blogging, but this was a great article on grocery shopping:
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2008/04/hour-how-60-minutes-week-can-save.html

The big tip finish

Again, going off of Elder Ballard's talk to Young Mother's I'd like to give my last tip. I'm fairly sure I'm gonna have to take a blogging break after this week. My fingers are tired. :)
Anyway, the tip for today is go to church, build a relationship with God.
Now, in a perfect world you'd all belong to my church, but I know many of you don't and I know that you also find peace in your own church, which is great.

I don't believe that I could live in this day and age with children and not have the faith that I have right now. It's just too hard. Too hard to see 12 year olds having babies, too hard to see the track marks on her arms, too hard to hear some of the language around us, too hard knowing what lurks on the internet or TV. However, with my faith I know that God has a special plan for me and my kids and I also know that I can make our own home a sanctuary that my family can enjoy when they leave all that craziness behind (BTW, does anyone know of a good internet filter, I am in the market for one -- and my last one was CRAZY, it was cybersitter -- and I don't recommend).

God knows me, he knows my children, he's given them to me to raise and he wants to help me. That message, I know loud and clear, and I feel so blessed that he was willing to give them to me.

So even when the books, the friends, ourselves, our family is failing us we know that He is there, he loves us and he wants to help. I know that those few minutes we might spend on our knees begging for his help to make it through, to not scream at them, to know how to deal with their issues will be well rewarded. With His help we can do all things.

{warm fuzzies to all the moms out there -- we're all in this together ladies}

I don't transform, and I don't have a bed in my temple.

K, just wanted to say that WHOEVER INVENTED TRANSFORMERS IS EVIL. My kids ALWAYS want my help and I don't know how to do it, and they get mad, and my "coolness" factor is significantly decreased, it bugs. And Drew seems to want to buy them more. Must be a boy thing. {sigh}
In other news, I think our church needs a copyright on our name and we can't let anyone who does polygamy use it. OMG, these reports on the news are disgusting and vile (even worse then the transformer people, if you can imagine). Each time they say the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I get sick. I would like to state categorically that these are not a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are a "break-off" the same way that Hilary Clinton is related to Madonna and Angelina Jolie. We do not allow polygamy in our church. We're not kidding about it. I know many non-members who think, "yeah, sure you don't." But really those who practice polygamy are immediately taken out of the church through a process called excommunication. End of story. Also, the stories of the bed in their temple (which is designed to look something like our temple -- although not NEARLY as nice) -- is DISGUSTING and we have NOTHING like that in our own temples. Sex is not a religious rite in our church. Just had to get that off my chest. Personally, I believe there is a special section in hell where the fires burn the hottest (no, we don't believe Hell is full of fire either -- just a metaphor) for men who hold religion as a way to rule over women and children. The women who escaped, are brave, and hopefully we can all help them to heal an integrate into society. If anyone knows of a fund for these women who are choosing to leave I'd love to donate. Can you imagine -- married at 14, with no real workplace "skills" not to mention they probably have a bunch of kids as well? {sigh} Good luck to them.
And one last thing I have to blog about -- guess who's just overweight now. BMI of 29.8 - which is .2 less then being obese. This is over 25 pounds lost at this point....
{happy dance}

Young Mothers Tip #4

I wholeheartedly agree with Elder Ballard -- young moms NEED an out! I mean, no one could do the SAME job, 24/7 no breaks forever without wanting to kill themselves, their "coworkers" and their boss.... we're just not built that way. Some of my favorites?
1. Lunch with friends. I've done this since Conner's gone to school. It's huge for me. Gives me something to look forward too, and Spencer really looks forward to it too. You can go pretty darn cheap (Spencer and I usually split)... we usually go walking and then let the kids play at the park and then do lunch. Just something to break the week up. If money's an issue, sometimes we do mom potluck at the park. That's always fun, and I often get some good ideas for lunches...
2. Work. I know, I've got a pretty ideal situation but work could be an out for you too. I mean, you could do retail one night a week or something. This obviously isn't an option for many of you -- but for some of you it might be something to consider.
3. Be Creative. I really think you need a creative outlet. Most of my life is very restrained. However, I can do whatever I want on my scrapook page. I can play with colors, I can play with my emotions as I journal. It's really been a great out. Of course, this has lead to photography, which is also very creative for me as well. There are lots of ways to be creative as a mom, but sometimes that just doesn't cut it for me.
4. Girls night, I'm religious about planning these lately. I find something SO relaxing about going to these. Again, it's something to look forward too and what a great way to make new friends (which is sometimes hard when you have littles climbing all over you). Sadly, sometimes they're hard to plan. So, I've just taken the lead amongst my friends. I just send out an evite -- pretty far in advance (and they can mock me if they want) and whoever comes, comes. I do wonder if people think I am really begging for friends doing this every month -- but I've gotten over myself (mostly).
6. Read -- cheapest best form of entertainment. Sometimes the transport I take on a book is better then any car I could've gotten in to drive up the coast (ala, Marie Osmond). This is also great when you only have a few minutes of time while the kids are busy or napping. I remember I didn't read much when I first had Conner but I'm starting to enjoy it more and more. Need book ideas? Check out good reads - mine are there on the right hand side of my blog, and chances are you have some other friends that have theirs listed as well.
5. Enjoy your kids. We have a thing called "fun jar" and I've put in a bunch of activities that I enjoy doing with my kids -- playing games, taking their pictures, being outseide, going on walks, riding our bikes and when my kids have had a really good day and we have a bit of spare time I pull out the fun jar and we get to pick one. It makes all of us feel better.
We know it's cyclical -- happy mom, happy kids, unhappy kids, unhappy mom and vice versa... they want you to be happy, and so does your spouse.
Make.
Time.
For.
You.

Sweet Savings

Alright, sweet deal at the Safeway, my friend Miranda was even gutsy enough to come with me even though I hadn't confirmed the deal. :)
Classico pasta sauce is on sale, for 2$ -- which is actually my target price for pasta sauce, it's a pretty decent price on it all on its own.
Then, I found-out that it's on the Smart Savings deal, where if you buy 30$ worth, you get a 10$ coupon off your next order.
THEN, I re-read the ad, to figure out that if you buy 3 jars of the classico, you get 3 free bags of Safeway Pasta....
SO, here's how it rang-up.
Classico 15 jars, for 30$
Pasta, 15 bags -- free
Total: 30 dollars
Also recieved a 10 dollar catalina, making it like getting 15 jars and the pasta for about 20 bucks.
BUT WAIT, there's MORE!!!! You can print two Classico coupons here:
http://www.classico.com/promotions/promointro.aspx (use your back button after it's printed one -- or you can go back and fill in your info for another one, you can print 2 -- but that's the limit per computer -- however, if you're sly you could get your husband to print you a couple at work, etc).
That brings your total to around 18 dollars for all of that (when you consider the 10 dollars in savings off your next order).
{happy dance}
And make sure you use the super coupon for sliced cheese that's in the ad this week -- it's a full pound of cheese (they had american, swiss or pepper jack, regularly 7.99 -- you get it for 2.49) -- that's better then you'd find it in blocks even. :)
Feel the savings joy.

DANG YOU CRITTERS

Aphids still here. {sigh}

I'd done 1 soap/oil treatment, and one soap only treatment.

No avail. It's been a week.

So, I went to Lowe's and got the big guns -- organic rose spray.

Ok, so it's a "medium sized gun" -- but I really hope to go get some lady bugs after our aphid numbers are down to "just a few" and I know that if I do the REALLY big guns, it'd kill off the ladybugs too.

So, I sprayed -- a LOT, like a fair amount of the bottle. We shall see.

I took this picture before the aphids met their doom.

And believe me, meeting their doom they shall. The more I read-up on them, they have no redeeming qualities -- just sucking the life blood out of a plant.

Tiny, nasty vampires.

Parenting Tip #3

Ok, you can mock me if you will -- but my tip for today (based on Elder Ballard's Young Mother Talk) is : Rotate Your Toys.
Now, this isn't going to help you guys who have newborns, but even once your little one is about a year old this is a GREAT plan, it helps you in two way:
1. Less toys out means less to put away, and that is going to make you happier and your child. Plus, during certain developmental stages, all they want to do is just pull EVERY SINGLE THING out, that's their fun. And this way you can, without wanting to pull your hair out.
2. When you bring them out it's like Christmas! The kids have forgotten that they had the toys, they're so happy to see them, and you get some extended play time.
Now, this isn't to say that this is not a pain. We store our extra toys in the garage, and we have enough to make full rotations, but you can easily do this on a smaller scale. If you have a smaller house (and let's not pretend like mine is HUGE -- we're talking less than 1200 sq feet here people) you could still make it work by having some up in the closet, and some down low where they can play. I swap our bins about every 6 weeks, and I swap the toys in our cabinet about every 6 weeks, alternating so that we have new toys about every 3 weeks. Lucky us.
Again, mock if you will -- but it works well. Give it a try. :)
In other news, I am .1 pounds away from not being Obese anymore.
{happy dance}
Edit: Does anyone know if there's something I can put on my ring to size it down. I don't want to take it to the jeweler's at this point, but it's really too big. It's upside down about 1/2 of the time with the diamond in my palm... Isn't there some jelly-like thing you can slip on it to size it down a bit? And where do I get something like that?

Deals At Safeway

There's a buy 30 get 10 dollars back deal going on at Safeway. There's lots of products in the store, and they're specially tagged. There's also a deal where if you buy 20 dollars worth of specific brands (I bought bounty and Cascade) you get a coupon worth 5 dollars towards a gift card (which I turned right around and added to a Safeway card).
So, in the end I paid 19.18 (I had a 10 dollar catalina from my last visit, and it's 30 dollars BEFORE coupons, so any manufacture's coupons you use don't count towards the 30 dollars -- does that make sense?) and got 15 back.
Feel the joy.
The specifics I posted here. You can also get the colgate coupon I used here.
Mock if you will....

Tips for Young Mothers #2

Look who comes-up when you google Tips for Young Mothers and Elder Ballard.... :) That'd be me, thanks for asking. :) Although, last time I checked I was on page #2. :)
Anyway, today's tip is to read good books. This tip actually spawns a lot off of the time from yesterday, as the good books I find are often tips from friends to read them. Here's some of my favorites. I try and read one "self-help" type book a month and since most of the help I need revolves around parenting, you be the judge.

How to Live with your Kids and Like Them by Clyde Boyle. My friend Lara recommended this one to me (BTW, Lara had a lot of courage and entered the hall of fame scrapbook thing this year, and while she didn't win I hope she knows she's one of my VERY best friends and I am very lucky to have her in my life). LOVE this book (and apparently you can get it for 79 cents on Amazon.com). It does come from an LDS author, but it doesn't seem strongly slanted in my opinion. Now, if you're a kind of "let it be -- kids will be kids" type mom, you might not love this book. He's pretty firm, but I enjoy that type of thing. It has tips for all ages, from toddler-hood to teenage years. This one will probably be close at hand for a while.

Siblings without Rivalry. My friend Amy (who just had baby girl #5 - go Amy!) recommended this one to me. Ok, I am having a harder time implementing some of the things in this book. I'm really TRYING to get my kids to reason things out, but it's not really working thus far. I re-read it just recently and I'm trying more. This type of of approach takes time and interest, and I need to devote more to it. Again, a MUST read, for moms with more then 1 child.

Toilet Training in Less Than a Day This one was recommended by my friend Miranda (whom I also adore). I'd had a pretty LONG toilet training process with Conner and I had LONG said that I would have preferred to re-birth him then to potty train him (and frankly, I still would -- I mean, at least my husband would come to that -- with potty training they give you a thumbs up and run out the door as fast as they can in the AM). However, I did this one with Spencer and it really helped. You can read my trials in my potty blog entries here.

Late add: The Ready-to-Read, Ready-to-Count Handbook Some of you have wondered how I got Spencer started reading so early, and while I think a great deal of it has to do with the time I spend with him, this is the book I used (this time, last time I used another book -- with Conner). Anyway, I mostly liked how they have tiny stories after each lesson that the kids are able to read. They grow their confidence that way, and they are also making it fun by giving you ideas for activities. Good book.

Other books I love? Babywise (judge not, but it worked for me really worked for us, although I wasn't quite the nazi he is), Helping Parents Practice (another goodie from Lara -- it's about piano practice, but there are a LOT of good tips for homework, and just helping your child improve in any area), and obviously for me The Book of Mormon is an invaluable tool as well as the Bible. I am SO thankful that they included insights into their family life. Knowing that Lehi had children who fought has meant a great deal to me. I appreciate that. Same with the stories of Cane and Able. All families have problems. It's been that way forever. Doesn't mean it's not our job to try and stop them though, and I feel like reading up is at least something I can do to help.
Unlike Aphids, I've read EVERYTHING about how to get rid of them organically, and now I think I'm gonna go get the aphid killer this afternoon. Stupid bugs.

Not making me thin

So, last night with aunt flo, plus I was sick. Well, let's just say I gained a point in total when I weighed-in this morning. I am, by no means, bummed. It was hard to eat consciously when I was sick and I know that my water balance goes a little screwy with both of those fun things.
Anyway, I am back on the wagon today. I didn't watch last night's episode, but it's on my DVR just WAITING for me. It's on increasing my metabolism. I'm interested to hear what he has to say. I do lose a lot more on the day I'm working out lately....
Speaking of working out -- today I did total body workout. It's on BYU-tv. Some of you might get that at your homes! She does Yoga on Mon/Wed and Fri's - -but on Tues/Thursday she explores some other methods. Today we were working out on paper plates and it was new movements for me, working some new muscles. I highly recommend the program. She also often has pregnant women on the show and they give good modifications. If you don't get it at home, you can watch it on your computer. I think BYU tv saves the episodes that were on that week for you to watch at your convenience.
My goal for the week? I'm gonna be NOT obese by the end of the week (according to my BMI) -- just overweight. I'm really close.... Go me. :)

Helping Single Moms -- it takes a Village

As I was driving to drop-off this morning I was thinking about Elder Ballard's talk and thinking how they are taking as though God would talk to us, and I was so touched to realized that God knows exactly how I feel, and how he cares about moms of young kids, knowing our work is hard but important.
Then I was thinking that I wish all of us had that list to help us, I appreciate the list he gave, and while I wasn't taking notes (I was working on a blanket, thank you very much) I am excited to get the ensign and make a vinyl cling of whatever I'm supposed to do. :)
Anyway, this week I want to think of my own list, most likely to add to his. My first one being that being a mother takes a village. I'm not saying that the village is raising my kids but I go to the village when I have a problem.
I am SO lucky (and most likely, as are you) to have a vast array of friends who come from different backgrounds. I often go to them when I have problems with the kiddos or issues. I also have my blog where I pose questions and often get great responses.
So my tip for today is to talk with a friend. Sometimes the best thing is to realize that you child isn't the only one who wakes-up at night, lies, steals, is dishonest, talks back, etc. And you MIGHT even find that they've done something with their child that has WORKED! Far too often, especially as women, we don't want to admit that our children aren't perfect or that life doesn't come to us with ease. That's just crazy talk.
If you feel like you don't have the friend base, you need to make one. Be outgoing, find the moms around you. They want to be your friend, don't be shy.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for the day. I'd love to know your tips for getting through motherhood.

HANDS DOWN WINNER

THANK YOU Elder Ballard. I even got a little choked-up during his talk. Of course, I'm not quite sure when I exit the stage of being a "young mother" -- but I loved it regardless. Anyone else?

In other news, guess who did 4 scrapbook pages today -- oh, and I finished another baby blaket.

Go me... go me... go me... go me...

Lumpy

I just loved sustaining our new prophet this morning.
The fact that each of us get to stand and perform a gesture (we just raise our hands, those of you who are raising your eyebrows) saying we believe in him, and we believe God chose him....
It's a heartwarming thing.
Up until now every time they said "Our prophet, president Monson" I'd have a little snag in my life. I missed president Hinckely, it messed-up the rhythm that I've come to expect. I had the Holy Ghost testify to me that he is to be our new prophet, and snags, I have no more. It must be such an overwhelming day for him. Can't imagine. He is definitely in my prayers.

Conference

I don't know if I've shared this before, but our family has a "hard doctrine" award -- for the person we felt gave the most new, "harsh" (at least in your own mind) or someone who really draws the line for us. In times of old it would've been given Preisdent Benson for declaring women shoudln't work outside the home, stuff like that.
Most likely, last conference people felt it should go to Julie Beck for her talk... (although, not for me -- the hard doctrine award is a fairly personal little gem).
ANYWAY... I'd love to hear your thoughts as we go through these 2 days. Drew's gone all day today so I'll be navigating the doctrine on my own but I'd still love to hear thoughts.
P.S. Our church has a semi-annual general meeting of the entire church (via sattelite, of course -- I'm not writing this from UT). We're able to watch it on BYU-tv. There's a great news article on the church's website that helps describe it a tad better.

Me and my 'Puter

So, I LOVE the new computer.
I am a person who likes to have about 12 tasks going at once, and GUESS WHAT -- my computer doesn't CARE!!!!!!!!!!
It's a quad processor, from HP, in case anyone cares. I am thinking we'll probably even add some Ram as the days go on, to even help it cope a little faster.
However, we got the 64 bit version (Drew's request) and frankly -- I wish we'd gotten the 32 bit until they have a few more programs that have 64 bit drivers, etc.
However, I'm just giddy as of right now.
Can't wait to edit some video and photos. I'm sure it's gonna cut my editing time in 1/2 (and most likely doing laudry WHILE editing -- because it was so slow -- is a thing of the past).

For the love of tetherball

Guess who's typing from a BRAND NEW COMPUTER? I hadn't wanted to say anything, for fear it woudln't work out, but of course I got a RAGING deal on a sweet system with FOUR processors. That's right, I can now have like 10 windows open and the little machine doesn't even blink -- in my head I hear it saying "bring it on lady -- more giant photo files MORE." It's a great little guy. But this post isn't about me. It's about Conner -- Conner and his boycott, to be more precise. I'm sure you've all been waiting anyway.



They had posters, they were chanting, and they actually got a lot of the other kids to come in and march too. It was really neat, and I know Conner felt proud since he says it was all his idea. I think it was nice to see kids showing support for a good thing, and realizing that they can make a difference, especially when they all combine for a common cause. The pictures show that it obviously didn't STOP tetherball, but I think they got their message across. Hopefully it will remind ALL of us to be better sports and to make sure we're being fair. Good lessons for every age. Now, I just hope there won't be picketing when Miss Dodson says it's time for math. On a side note, I can't even tell how happy I am to have a teacher who basks in the glory of this type of thing. Many of the other teachers, I'm sure, would've brushed it off -- but she just built it up and encouraged them. We're so lucky to have her.
Almost as lucky as we are to have this new computer, but that's a post for another day.
Way to go Conner, I hope tetherball stays fun!

The Big Teatherball Revolt

I worked yesterday, it pretty much took me out of the land of the living, very tired when I got home due to my new cold virus friend. I think perhaps the cold, along with the impending visit from Aunt Flow was making me partially ornery with that last post... shocking, but true.
ANYWAY, last night {right at bedtime, mind you} Conner says "MOM, I need to make some posters for our tetherball boycott!!!!" and I'm like "?" -- but regardless, it was bedtime and I said if he got-up early he could make them in the morning.
Fast forward to this morning, I'm doing a little baby workout (sick, remember -- btw, this little illness and my auntie visiting gave me a 1 pound weight gain yesterday -- DANG THEM), and he says MOM I'm gonna make my posters, and I say fine whatever.
So I'm done with my workout and I ask him WHAT THE HECK he is doing, his response:
"Mom, we're gonna be like Caesar Chavez and have a boycott of tetherball. There are lots of people who are not having good sportsmanship or good manners and it is causing us a lot of stress!" I was pretty much stuck on how he was going to be like Cesar Chavez (who, I knew HAD to be important because he has a plaza in almost every town here in CA).
Turns out, they're frustrated because people aren't following the rules on the tetherball court (taking too long for their turn, I guess they're supposed to stop after 4 games), and they had tried to talk to them, but they wouldn't listen. So, they're going to deliver a note to the other 2nd grade classrooms with their grievances and then picket it tomorrow. That's right, my 7 year old is going to picket.
Go figure.
But, at least it's peaceful, and at least he's learning to work out his problems.
Perhaps it'll be good for when the teachers strike here.... (did I mention that NONE of the teachers in our district are working under contract so far -- and the year's 3/4 over!!!!!).
Anyway, interesting, and true information for you all.
BTW, Cesar Chavez told everyone to stop eating grapes, I think because of the labor laws or something like that. Thank goodness that's over I love grapes. :)