Cost cutting techniques

Looking to save a few bucks? Here's an idea. Just make sure your trustworthy toddler has access to a pair of scissors and decides to "cut coupons" for you.
In her defense, she has never done anything like this before. Hence the un-supervised access to her scissors. At least it wasn't a twenty!

Family Fun Night

I realize this is a bit late (I'm catching up on blogging, can you tell?) but I thought this was pretty funny. On the opening night of the Olympics a few weeks ago, we decided to have a family theme night. We do these on occasion, as much for Grace as a break from the ho hum for us. In keeping with the theme of the Beijing Olympics, we got take out Chinese, a real treat since we don't get to pay true Chinese prices for our American import. We also put on some of our authentic Chinese music we picked up while visiting Beijing (I'd tell you what instrument it is they play on the CD, but I don't remember the name). And it just wouldn't be a Chinese theme night without chopsticks. Not to be outdone, Grace asked for hers (which are Peter Rabbit ones Grandma and Grandpa picked up while living in Hong Kong). She actually did quite well with them, better than I did. I cheated and reverted to my fork.

Who needs me?

So, I am upstairs and I hear, "Mommy, I'm all done!" Hmm, all done cutting your own hair? All done feeding your brother things he shouldn't eat? I had been upstairs for all of 5 minutes, so surely it couldn't be too bad. Here is what I come down to find: Grace had apparently gotten herself up onto the potty (complete with reading material) and was done doing her business. I wonder what she needs me for? Oh, wiping. Well, at least I'm need for something.

And apparently also for kissing our first major boo boo.

More catch up time

Hmmm, I'm seeing a trend here. I think I have gone back to my old ways of the bi-monthly blog. How do you other ladies get it done?

First, let me vent here for a moment. It was a rainy day here today and instead of getting to go to the pool as originally planned, I decided instead to attempt going to the grocery store with both kids. I have gone a few times before, but only for a couple items. Today was for the big shop.

Grace was going to have to walk because as many of you know once you put the toddler in the seat and the baby in the cart, there isn't room for much else! I bribed her with promises of the bakery cookie and getting to put things in the cart. This actually went much better than I thought once she understood that she couldn't touch things (a lesson learned by almost knocking over the whole display of cantaloupe and then the display of bell peppers).

We did pretty well until Matthew lost it (nap time). Once he started on the crying, I knew we were done. So off we go to the check out line. I get behind someone who is having trouble with their coupon and is demanding they make it work. And I realize that I have a "trainee" check out boy. I notice this all, of course, after I have already unloaded all my groceries. So we wait. A dear lady with a single loaf of bread comes in behind me, sympathetic to my plight. She tries cooing at Matthew who only begins to scream. I end up having to hold Matthew to keep him somewhat quiet, all the while trying to keep an eye on Trainee Boy who tries double charging me for a $8 block of fancy-pants cheese. Nice try, Trainee.

After what seems like ages we finally get all rung up and head out to the car, at which point Grace decides to loose it. So here I am trying to load the car with two crying kids when the poor woman who was behind me with her one loaf of bread comes out and gets the pleasure of also parking next to me. She is a dear and puts back my cart for me saying she remembers those days. Although after witnessing my children's display I'm sure she is thankful those days are behind her! I think I learned my lesson and will keep my big shop for evenings or a weekend, even though I really don't like that solution either.

Matthew turned four months old last week. At his check up he was a rolly polly 16 pounds, 11 ounces. 75th percentile for height, weight and even head circumference. At least he's consistent!

Catch up time

I have no excuse not to blog, especially since a friend has four (count 'em, four!) posts since she gave birth a week ago- with a c-section no less! So I am convicted to play catch up here. As I believe some wise children's book author said, the best place to start is at the beginning...

Erik turned 30 on July 30th. I can state this fact because I am not far behind him. This also gives me free rein to rub it in. Honey, I'm still 29. Whoo hoo!!

His mom, dad and brother (Stefan) came in for the week. It just so happened that Erik's company had some extra seats to the tennis tournament here in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Masters that leads up to the US Open) on his birthday, and Erik was able to score three of them. These are the kind of seats that will make a tennis fan out of you (four years ago we got to go to the final and see Agassi and Roddick play- I had no idea then how lucky we were to get those tickets). Front row, box 1. But apparently no matter how good your seats are they only sign autographs for kids. On obscenely large tennis balls. Ahem.

The old man and his brother.

Grace also turned a little more fishy over the last two weeks. This is Grace being a diva in our backyard swimming pool. For anyone who knows her, this is a major feat, having absolutely no contact with the ground below her and having her head dangerously close to getting wet. I haven't taken the kids to the pool much this summer because 1) I am outnumbered in the drowning department- one adult to two kids 2) Matthew is still too young for sunscreen, and really shouldn't be out in the sun anyway 3) I also don't feel like Matthew can handle hot and humid weather without the cooling relief of being in the pool- for which he cannot; see reasons one and two.

I have been trying to let go of the perfectionist in me and instead embracing the disaster area that is now our home. So one day instead of being the same ol' same ol' overwhelmed mommy, Grace and I had a carpet picnic in the basement for lunch. We also tried our hands at Candy Land for the first time. I was surprised that she got the gist of it. She also beat me. And that was without cheating!



Here is another testament to Grace's new-found swimming abilities. We had the pleasure of getting to go to our friend's neighborhood pool (which is really closer to a mini water park!) and Grace not only played happily in the baby pool, she also, on her own initiative, went into the big pool hanging on a single float and swam around. I may not have the fishiest fish around, but for Grace this was huge. And she knew it too! I feel bad for not being able to take her to the pool more often this summer.

There has been more going on around here, but it really will just bore you (if you aren't bored already with our ho hum days). I will try to get some more pictures posted soon.

P.S. Similar to the early media reports when Tom Cruise's daughter was first born, a lack of pictures does not attest to the fact that Matthew does exist! I promise we really do love him, I just don't seem to have the camera in his face very often.

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

I'm always looking for simple ways to make life more fun for both Grace and I. Here was a recipe that ended up being a hit. Easy for the kids to help you make, and are a yummy snack. I dare say they even made up part of Grace's lunch today- the rest she had at "snacky tables"(read: free samples at Sam's). Hey, I said I was looking for ways to make life more fun, and sometimes that means breaking the rules about three square meals! :)

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used 1 and it worked fine)

1 cup Rice Crispies

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/4 cup dried fruit such as cherries, raisins or cranberries (or if Grace helps, more like 1/2 cup!)

1. In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter and butter. Stir until loosened and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. In a bowl, stir in cereal, oats, and dried fruit. Add peanut butter mixture and stir.

3. Drop mixture by the tablespoon into mini paper cupcake liners or a mini cupcake tin. Place in refrigerator until set. To store, refrigerate in tupperware for up to 1 week.

I'll leave you with a picture of Grace discovering the joy of licking the bowl when we made chocolate cake yesterday. Warning- once you let a kid lick the beaters or the bowl, don't ever think you can go back. Or get a tasty lick for yourself.

Three Months!

How can my little boy be three months old already? (And how can he weigh as much as a 7 month old??) Here are some pictures I took while attempting to be Professional Photographer Extraordinaire. P.S. No comments about his double chin. :)

Detox, day three

That is, Nana and Papa detox. My parents were here last week, which was great timing because Erik was still having to work quite a bit more than usual, so it gave Grace something more to entertain her than just Mommy. As always, a great time was had by all.

As Nana was telling Grace that they would be gone when she woke up the next morning (they left our house at 6am) Grace got really sad and said "But, I need you!" Ouch. Matthew found his Papa very hillarious.

After having to go through the three day Nana and Papa detox, today we were are also going through Daddy detox. The weekend was filled with Daddy time as Grace re-filled her "Daddy love tank". They took a bike ride to the grocery store and made a very impressive fort in the family room, spending quite a bit of time there. Apparently there was also some conference calls and snack breaks in there. I wouldn't know, Mommies weren't allowed. :) Last night as he put her to bed and told her that he would have to go to work in the morning, Grace's lower lip quivered and she said "But, I need you!" Double ouch.

Picture update Part 2

What a big help Grace is! She loves to read to Matthew. (Have you noticed by the plethora of pictures I have of them reading together?)

More babysitting by Grace. I don't force this by the way, she always volunteers. And child services need not come knocking- Mommy is always in the same room!

And more bird adventures! We were lucky enough to have another bird nest in our yard, also at eye level. This time all four birds hatched. We never saw the babies leave the first nest, so it was a real treat to discover this little guy by our backdoor one morning. He couldn't fly yet (did he fall out of the nest?) so Dixie was kept indoors so she didn't have bird for breakfast. Later that day, Grace and I went to go check on the other baby birds in the nest only to find it empty as well. However, upon further inspection we found one baby in each of our basement window wells. With a little help from a shovel, we were able to gently save each of the birds, upon which one silly guy decided to go under the fence into the watchful gaze of the Great Hunter, Dixie. Luckily I was able to stop her, along with some help from Mommy and Daddy Bird (they were diving at Dixie!).
Exhausted from her days of babysitting Matthew and rescuing baby birds, Grace didn't even bother to put her head on her pillow when she fell asleep for her nap. She truly just fell over from a sitting position. She did, apparently, have plenty of time to pull her covers up from the bottom of her bed.

Picture update Part 1

Matthew's 2 month chair picture (remember when Grace was this small??)

Daddy has a full lap!

Ugh

I feel for single parents. They must be perpetually exhausted. Even more perpetually exhausted than the rest of us. The last two weeks have been very busy for Erik at work. He worked 64 hours one week and 70 the other. So I feel like I have been single-parenting, even on the weekends. I think Erik must have realized how defeated I was feeling, not getting anything accomplished, and worse yet, having things pile up even more (quite literally, the kitchen table was nowhere to be found, nor was the sofa under all the unfolded laundry).

So on Saturday my dear husband let me take five hours to myself, even though he could/should have been working. I left the boy (well, both of them) with a bottle and got to run errands and take a card making class. I got to run those kind of errands that would take half an hour with two kids, but by myself clock in at under 5 minutes. Like running to Babies r Us to get replacement parts for my breast pump that apparently other people must also put down their garbage disposal accidentally. And getting the "Jonah" Veggie Tales DVD on clearance at the Christian bookstore. Grace later informed me that it was scary, and she determined that only from looking at the cover.


Here is some of my handy work from the stamp class (you make 13 cards, a real steal):

Funny, very funny

You know how it is with second children. You have to be purposeful sometimes with taking pictures and videos. You just don't sit around ogling them like you could with the first one. Well, that is what I was doing with Matthew tonight. Erik had taken Grace up for bath time so I pulled out the camera.

"Man, I am on fire tonight! He thinks I am hilarious!"

"Oh, right."

Whose toy is this, anyway?

The "Week of Fun"

Yes, I know. We are terribly creative when it comes to naming our vacations. But last week Erik took a week off from work to bond "with Newborn and Child." We declared it the "Week of Fun" and let caution fly to the wind. Out went the schedule. Out went regular naps and bedtimes. In came yummy, bad-for-you foods like chocolate croissants, hot dogs, Chik-fil-a, and Sonic drive thru. (I mentioned it was the week of fun, and nothing spells fun for this family like good food!)

Monday: We started the week off right and drove up to IKEA. For those who have never been, imagine a mall full of low-priced, quality everything and that sums up IKEA. They also serve yummy Swedish meatballs and fries on the cheap (did I mention how food factored into the week?). Because we were already up in Tim-Buck-Tu, we also hit Jungle Jim's, a Cincinnati institution of imported food and wacky decorations like full size animatronics.

Tuesday: A rainy day, so we headed to the Krohn Conservatory for their annual butterfly show. Unfortunately everyone else had the bright idea to also head inside (hence a few dead butterflies on the floor- maybe they should rethink letting a bunch of kids loose in a room full of butterflies). With Grace as wimpy as she is, we actually had more fun in the rest of the quieter conservatory, watching turtles and fish. She enjoyed the butterflies, but we couldn't catch one, and when a little boy tried to give her one, she shriveled back into her Daddy's legs. Don't think I'll ever catch my daughter eating bugs.

Note Grace's new "fake" smile she does for the camera. You can imagine how our family portraits turned out!

Wednesday: The office gave Grace a Build-a-Bear gift certificate after Matthew was born. There are a few advantages to driving to Pittsburg for a day of meetings 6 days after your wife has a baby! :) Her favorite part was finding fuzz on the floor of the store and then realizing that there was an entire machine full of fuzz (which they stuff the animal with). That's right, our daughter loves fuzz. She picked out some from a hole in one of her stuffed animals, and somehow it became very dear to her. One of the grandmothers tried to throw it away once and couldn't believe how devastating it was going to be. Grace can be heard at various times throughout the day "Where's my fuzz?". It sometimes even has to go up to bed with her. But I digress....

Here she is putting the heart inside her bear after it was filled with fuzz.

She named the bear "Gracie Bear" (so creative- just like her parents!) and picked out the dress. Erik tried to steer her towards the boy clothes but she would have none of it!

Thursday: Family picture day- need I say more? Somehow it took two hours, but with Grace's inability to smile normally, if at all, it really narrowed our choices down considerably. My favorite picture was probably the one of her kissing Matthew that we turned into black and white. I'll try to post some of those later.

Friday: We played in the pool in the backyard and attempted to go to story hour at the library, but my mommy brain somehow mixed up the dates. We still had fun picking out books though. Grace declared for the first time that it was "maybe too hot" to go outside.

Saturday: A much deserved jammie day at home, except for Erik who went running (how that fits into a week of fun, I'll never know!).

Paradise found

The sun is shining.

We are in our swim suits.

There is a breeze blowing.

The water is clear and glistening.

Strawberry daiquiris are delivered pool side.

There are afternoon chips and salsa.

Where are we?

In our backyard, of course!

Future theologian

Grace: "Mommy and Daddy love me."

"Yes, we do!"

Grace: "God loves me too."

"Yes, you are right."

Grace: "But, where is He?"

Ah, the deep ponderings of a 2 1/2 year old. I was wondering when the tough questions would start!

(P.S. Grace just assumes that those who love her most- Mommy, Daddy and grandparents come and dote on her. I'm sure she is wondering when God is going to show up and do her puzzle with her like everyone else!)

The little day

Future and Mr. Josaih Richard :)

The other night I told Grace to go to sleep because we had a big day tomorrow.

"What's a big day?" she asked.

"It's when you have a lot to do or a big place to go," I said.

"How about a little day instead?" was her answer.

Our Big Day started with a 6:00 feeding for Matthew, then shower for Mommy, breakfast for everyone, and then a 9:00 feeding for Matthew. (No wonder Grace is always asking if it is time for Matthew to eat or sleep. That's really all the kid does.)

Then we loaded up the last few items (I have learned to pre-load the car the night before, and have a list of anything else, like drinks, that need to be put in last minute) and headed off to the... ZOO! The plan was to meet up with two of our friends and their kids for a few hours. We have a zoo pass, so I wasn't too concerned if we didn't last long. You see, I had two things against me:

1. Matthew had only taken one bottle before, and was rather particular about which brand, so I didn't have high hopes that he would easily take his second try. And I haven't quite re-learned the knack to nursing in public yet.


2. We don't own a double stroller, so poor Grace was going to walk the entire time. I thought about putting Grace in the stroller and Matthew in the baby carrier, but it was hot and sunny and he doesn't have a hat (note to self- get one!) and I didn't want him to get sunburned. I also didn't think he would sleep in it since he hasn't been carried in it before and will not typically fall asleep in someone's arms.

So off we went. Bless that child's heart- both of them- Matthew took his bottle and Grace walked the entire zoo, never complaining and happy the whole time. And this is Cincinnati, so it is a hilly zoo! We ended the day with ice cream and the kids both promptly fell asleep in the car ride home.

Once home, I transferred Grace to her bed and fed Matthew again. Erik called to say he was stuck at work, and would be home late, as in late. At 6pm I woke Grace up from her nap (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!). Turns out she had wet the bed, so we did the world's quickest bath because we were supposed to be at small group at 7:00 and I still had to feed both kids. Grace and I scarfed our mac n' cheese (I told you Erik was still at work so this was my dinner idea) because Matthew had just woken up to eat, again. He decides to take his time with this one, instead of being his characteristically quick nurser, and we arrive at small group at 7:20. Hey, we made it. Grace decides to cry going in with the other kids, and I have pity on the poor kid (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!) so she does her sticker book and entertains herself with my purse while sitting with the adults.

At 9:20 Matthew decides he has had enough of his pacifier and would prefer the real thing, and lets the world know by screaming his head off. Grace and I hurry home, to find that Daddy is still MIA.

OK, what does a modern mom do with this dilemma of a tired child past bedtime and screaming infant? Give the toddler a cookie from small group, stick her in front of a 'Mister Rogers' that has been previously recorded on TV and let the baby eat. At 10, we finally head upstairs to get Grace to bed, although she thought watching Mister Rogers with a cookie was fine by her. At 10:15 I have a crying baby again who would also like to be in his bed, and a crying toddler who would like to stay up later and do who knows what. Maybe that cookie wasn't such a good idea.

Enter Daddy, who saves the day, er night, by getting home and taking care of the toddler. Baby goes to bed. Then, Mommy and Daddy get to eat a McDonalds flurry that Daddy picked up on the way home, courtesy of Towers Perrin. We fall into bed sometime around 11. I think I remember Erik talking about something but I was already in dream land.

Yes, Grace, how about a Little Day tomorrow?

The lone ranger

I have officially survived my first week by myself with two kiddos! I must say, for the most part we not only survived, but thrived. Grace has continued going on the potty with no direction from me, and is a huge help with Matthew (added to her vocabulary list is now "burp cloth" and "Boppy"). Although I can't take all the credit for the stellar week! We have had dear friends bring us meals (and a playmate came for Grace one morning), and I still had a few surprises left for Grace, thanks to family.

Yesterday I had my first outing with both kids (and really my first time driving as well). What deserved such a special occasion? Well, Target of course! :) As a baby, Grace hated Target. Something to do with the lights? (No girl wants to be caught in bad lighting!) Matthew didn't seem to mind, even when things were piled in around him in the cart. That part was so baffling that I ended up going to the grocery store that night by myself. Where exactly are you supposed to put stuff when shopping with two kids? Did I just join the ranks of the Night Shoppers?

Our big girl in her "pajama dress", perfect for twirling. She stayed in it the whole next day. I'm seeing a lot of pajama days in my near future, for both of us.

Thanks, Grandma, for the fun craft! (Note the "thinking tongue" which connotes how much brain power this is taking.)

Random pictures!

Ok, blog stalkers... here you go. :)

"Oooo...the ceiling fan is funny..." Where's Matthew? (Oh, and get that girl a hairbrush!)

Changing of the guard

My mom left this morning, after being here for 4 1/2 weeks and Erik's mom arrived last night. You might have thought someone would have been killed after all that time together with a pregnant lady, then a new baby, and always a toddler around. But my mom was a servant the whole time she was here, from cleaning, cooking, running errands (and running after Grace) and then basically taking care of three kids after Matthew was born because I was dead weight and could not do anything for myself. What a trouper! So it's a little early to be saluting my mom for Mother's Day, but I think I have got the best one around.