Yay, doggies

As promised, here are a few pics of our new dog, Belle. They aren't the greatest, since I took them indoors on my cell phone, but you will still see her adorableness.

Belle is a rescue, about one year old, and some sort of pekinese/shih tzu/something mix. We're not sure. She's really cute, a bit smaller than Sophie, but about the same weight.

It doesn't seem like she was abused in her previous life (hooray!) but I think she was neglected. When she was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Kansas, the foster home said she didn't know how to use stairs, had never seen a TV, and was not housetrained. It seems like she was kept outdoors with the rest of her litter. She was matted and had fleas, but, thankfully, is in good health.

Sophie is being a bit territorial about her special sleeping places or the places she buries treats, but on the whole Sophie and Belle are getting along. They play, wear eachother out, and that is really what it is all about.

And now on to the pictures!

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Die, Angelina Ballerina

As a parent of a small child in the 21st century, I watch my fair share of horrible children's TV. There are definitely some shows that are better than others, some that make me want to stab my eyeballs, and even some that have grown on me. Evelyn is a big fan of movies, too, but those are a lot easier to regulate.

Her favorites are Pixar and Disney, not surprsingly. She's gone through a Fantastic Mr. Fox phase, a Monsters, Inc. phase, and a Babe phase. She really likes The Princess and the Frog and  Beauty and the Beast right now, but she doesn't like the pricesses, she likes the animals. We're getting her Toy Story 2 for Christmas and I think she'll really like the toys and cowgirl.

Movies are fine. Aside from Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure, we haven't had any real stab-your-eyeballs-out movie obsessions. Television, though, that is different.

Luckily, Evelyn's favorite shows are Yo Gabba Gabba! (a real winner), Caillou (it used to annoy me, but it is OK now) and Kipper (calm and soothing British animals). She will occasionally want to watch Dirt Girl (which is weird, but ok), and Roary the Racing Car (harmless). The one that really grates on me, and I hate it, and sometimes it comes on right after Kipper and Evelyn ends up wanting to watch it, is ANGELINA BALLERINA.

It is an insipid show about whiney, manipulative mice who dance ballet and generally annoy everyone. I hate it. Absolutely horrible.

So what shows have your kids liked that you absolutely hate?

(Also, we got a new dog! Will post pics soon!)

Sis-o-law

I have a pretty cool sister-in-law, keeping with the spirit of my generally all-around cool family-in-law, and she is hand-making all of her Christmas gifts. I wish I had had the foresight to do the same, although I would have had to have started back in May. Still, it is such a nice idea.

Aside from children, does anyone really expect or want lavish expensive presents from the adults in their life? No. Hand made presents, chosen with the recipient in mind and given the attention and time that is so lacking in most of our lives, are much more thoughtful. I love the idea. Maybe 2011 will be the year of handmade gifts!

I was able to think far enough ahead to make a few gifts. Jon is getting that horrible scarf. I've got something on the needles right now that is turning out quite nicely, although I can't say who they are for. And I knit that thing over there and those right there. Evelyn even got in on the action this year.

I suppose it is the thoughtfulness of a handmade gift that is so special, and that needn't come only with handmade items. A thoughtfully chosen scarf in your friend's favorite color, or your husband's favorite brand of shoes, or a hat with your sis-o-law's derby team colors would be just as nice, even if you bought it.

Thoughtful = awesome.

Knitting block

I have hit a knitting block where Jon is concerned. Let's back up a little about three years. When I was pregnant I decided to learn how to double knit and make Jon a really cool scarf. Two years later the scarf was languishing and I decided to rip it out and start over. Six months after that, I finally knit a new scarf out of the old yarn, but it is ugly. I mean truly truly ugly. It is soft, though, and good colors, so he might like it (merry Christmas, honey!).

Last week I tried to start knitting him a new scarf with a cool cassette-tape-and-head-phones motif. It sucked, so I scrapped that project. Last night I started to knit a hat. I made it way too small. Scrapped again. I can't seem to get anything going where Jon is concerned.

Last month I made a very cute hat for Evelyn, kind of an eyelet beret situation. But....too big. So it will have to be some sort of Christmas present for someone with a bigger head.

What is the problem lately?

Take back

Remember in my last post when I said Evelyn is getting bigger and more wonderful each day? I take that back.

This morning, while Jon was in the bathroom, she found a glass Christmas tree ornament (one that wasn't even on the tree and we have no idea where it came from) and scratched the living hell out of our flat-screen TV. It's bad.

Then she changed the settings on the dishwasher, which melted a pyrex container lid.

Add that to the dresser-falling-on-top-of-her-as-she-balanced-in-the-top-drawer incident, the crayons all over the bedroom TV incident, the mascara all over the eyes (and couch!) incident, and I think she has a touch of the crazies. It's genetic, I fear, as my brother and I used to torment my mother with similar shenanigans.

Also, last night she walked into my room and said, "Rachel, I need some ice cream." Huh?

Heaven help us as she gets even taller and craftier.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so easy this year, most especially because I have so much to be thankful for. My family is healthy and happy. My job is relatively secure, considering the economy. Jon's shop is breaking even. My daughter is growing so fast I can hardly believe it, but she gets more fun and interesting every day.

What could be better?

Good food, that's what. And I had that in spades on Thanksgiving day!

Our happy Thanksgiving was marred on Saturday when our dog Tucker suddenly fell quite ill and had to be put down. It was really hard to say goodbye, but I'm glad he wasn't in pain for too long. We were able to take him to the vet who had helped us keep Tucker healthy for five years longer than anyone expected him to live. We said our goodbyes and, in keeping with the season, gave thanks that he was really only sick for one day. It was quick, and we miss him.

Now our family is focused on Christmas. We cut down our Christmas tree from the same farm we've gone to for three years, and this year Evelyn was much more involved. She carried the saw around (in a sheath), helped "cut down" little baby trees, and then helped me pull the tree back to the main entrance. Ev helped us decorate the tree on Friday and is a big fan of turning on the lights. She even got a string of lights in her bedroom.

The holiday season is a busy one, but a fun one, too. I can't wait to make my first batch of sugar cookies!

A perfect storm

This is what happens when:

1. Jon is busy in the kitchen and thinks Evelyn is quietly watching TV.
2. I leave my expensive, waterproof, Chrisian Dior mascara on the bathroom counter after getting ready in the morning.

That baby loves putting on make-up...

Curious and curiouser

The thing about Evelyn being so dang cute, is that it is hard to explain the cuteness and share the cuteness and blog about the cuteness. But seriously, she is so dang cute.

Last night was particularly fun. I don't know if it was the first snowfall or the return from a fun day with her Grandma Lew or just the position of the moon, but Evelyn was in a really fun, goofy, happy mood. She was singing and talking and being silly. She can now say my first name! And Jon's name! I have no idea where she picked that up, but if you ask her what is her mom's name, she'll say "Rachel."

At one point last night, she was carrying a ball of yarn and a giant unopened bag of powdered sugar around the kitchen and told me she was looking for a special place to hide it. She wandered around until she decided to "hide" it back in the pantry where it came from in the first place.

Perhaps the funniest incident of the whole night was Evelyn thinking Tucker was "sick" and needed to be taken care of. But let me back up. Evelyn found a ball of pink yarn in my yarn stash (actually, I brought it out of the stash), and since it was all messed up and tangled anyway, I let her have it. She would put it on her head and call it a hat, or throw it across the room. Then she started playing tug-o-war with Sophie. Evelyn would tease the dog with the big unruly yarn ball, Sophie would grab it with her teeth, then there would be much pulling and running and laughing. Once that fun game ended, Evelyn wanted Tucker to play, too. So she took the pile of yarn and put it on his face. When he didn't return her enthusiasm, she said, "Tucker's sick!" and proceeded to bring him all sorts of things to make him feel better. First her bottle, then her step stool. Next, a potato (why?), a spaghetti squash, and an oven mitt. Then she put the oven mitt on her hand and pet his head and told him he was a good boy. It was about the most adorable/hilarious thing I've ever seen.

Later that evening we walked around the neighborhood in the first snowfall of the season. I taught Ev about snowballs and she tried to step in every puddle on the sidewalk. It was a lot of fun.

There are days and moments of pure frustration and exhaustious, tantrums or whining, but on the whole we are so lucky to have such a happy, fun child. It is a blessing.

Halloween

Our little cowgirl. (And yes, mom, when I asked Evelyn if she was a boy or girl, she said girl. She also said I was a girl, and her dad was a girl.) Evelyn really enjoyed Halloween, the costumes, the candy, the candy, and--oh right--the candy. We went to Boo at the Zoo on Sunday morning and then trick-or-treating that evening.

For the official trick-or-treating, Evelyn wanted to put on "cowboy makeup," which she had to do herself, hence the black eye. She also had a "boo boo" on her cheek, which required a band-aid. There was nothing on her cheek, in case you were wondering, but it required a band-aid just the same. Funny how a pink Hello Kitty bandage can cure all sorts of ills. As can kissing it better. Magic!

Saving money is ADDICTIVE

It was a last-minute need. Jon is still suffering from congestion and coughing more than a week after the rest of his cold symptoms abated, and he was out of cough suppresent. Bedtime in two hours. In times past, I would have run to Walgreens, because I like that drugstore better, grabbed whatever name brand cough syrup looked best, and spent $8. Not a big expense, and when you consider that it kept Jon's coughing down so we could both sleep, a very reasonable expense at that.

But last night I decided to put my savvy shopper skills to use. I grabbed that week's Rite-Aid and Walgreens circulars to see if they had any cough syrup on sale. Huzzah! Using my Rite-Aid member card (which I signed up for a while ago, just in case I needed it), I could get a bottle of Tylenol cough on sale for $5 plus a $1 rebate. But I thought I could do better, so I fired up the old computer and did a 30 second search for Tylenol coupons and found one that gave me $3 off two purchases. So instead of buying one bottle of cough/cold medicine at $8, I was able to get TWO bottles for $5. That's $2.50 a piece, or a 70% savings. So very awesome.

After work I am going to the grocery store to get our weekly haul and I am super excited because I have 21 items on my list, 16 items that have a coupon (or two), four items that are on sale with no coupon, and only ONE ITEM on my list that has neither a sale nor a coupon price. In fact, if that ONE thing on my list doesn't have a brand on sale, I won't buy it. I'll make my own pasta sauce from the haul of tomatoes we got from our CSA. Also, part of my mad couponing skills will generate boxes of cereal as low as $0.99 a box.

I just feel like such a dupe for paying full price for so many things for so many years. There are thousands of coupons available, numerous sales and tons of special deals--not to mention the hundreds of websites dedicated to doing the legwork and finding everything for you--it is just so easy to spend less. And when I spend less on my list of groceries, it makes me want to spend less everywhere. No, not spend less, consume less. Consume fewer things, spend less when we do, be happy. Maybe that is my new mantra.

Why couldn't I have figured this all out five years ago? Time is an excellent educator.

Future Musician?

I think so...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.4

Overheard

Overheard while working from home this morning:

[Banging on door]

Evelyn: Dada!! Dada! What are you doing?

Jon: Daddy's going potty...hold on.

[Twisting door handle. More banging.]

Evelyn: DADA! Come out!

Jon: Hold on. Daddy's in the bathroom.

Evelyn: Daddy's hiding? Peek-a-boo! Daddy's hiding!

Jon: Yes, daddy's hiding.


That kid can make a game out of anything.

*****************

Overheard in the car:

Evelyn: Howwwwwwlllll! Ow-ow-howwwwllll!

Jon: Is that a howl dog? (A character in one of Ev's books)

Evelyn: No. It's a coyote.

Jon: Oh.

Perfect Fall

From Drop Box

Pumpking carving and pumpkin baking

'Tis the season for all things merry and pumpkin! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream and, well, anything else you can put pumpkin in. I love it all.

This weekend we made chocolate chip pumpkin bread before carving our two giant pumpkins. I'll have to get pictures later since Jon forgot to bring his cameras home this weekend. Here is a picture! Evelyn was pretty interested in the pumpkin carving, but wanted them to have "happy faces" and wouldn't touch the seeds or insides. I made my pumpkin to indeed have a happy face, but with three eyes, thus making it a happy face MONSTER pumpkin, which is just about the best thing ever. We made a little happy face on a tiny pumpkin for Evelyn (the very pumpkin she had been carrying around a taking to bed with her...did I post about that?), and she was thrilled. She was equally thrilled with the trip to Michaels for candles and the whole matches-fire-danger element of lighting the pumpkins. She tried to carry her little one into the house, flame and all, to show her daddy. Such a sweet little danger-loving girl.

Grocery shopping was a bit different this week since we had a much smaller budget as I tried to do a Pantry Clean Out week. Much raiding of the CSA vegetable box and deep freeze (what? we have a duck in here?) helped us realize that we have plenty of food. And excluding beverages (sodas, milk, etc.) and halloween candy, we spent only $18 on food. And although I didn't have any coupons this week (shocking!), I still saved 40% by buying things on sale.

Jon made a stellar roasted tomato soup last night, and I can't wait to enjoy it in my lunch today.
Tonight is pork chops with apple compote.
Tomorrow is crock-pot chicken ($.99/lb!) with roasted potatoes and carrots.
Wednesday is fajitas with skirt steak (organic, only $3.99/lb, but I only got half a pound) and leftover pork chops. Also, Jon is making chicken stock from Tuesday's chicken carcass.
Thursday is pork fried rice.
Friday is leftovers day (and home-made kettle corn day).
Saturday is TBD day (probably with defrosted chicken or ground beef. Ooh, maybe bacon cheeseburger day! Or taco night!)
And Sunday is Roasted Duck day.

And that's how you raid your pantry to only spend $18 on food.

Ups and downs

Jon is home with a sore throat that causes him to squeak instead of speak. It is a little funny, hearing the tiny squeaky sounds come out of his mouth, but only a little. Jon hardly ever stays home from work, which he is doing today, so I know it is bad. I hope a good day of rest and orange juice will help him bounce back quickly.

I also hope (a lot) that Evelyn doesn't get whatever Jon has. They were together all day yesterday, playing and talking and sharing communal air space. Please, gods of tddler illness, do not set your gaze on my child.

Also, this week with the budgets was a little harder. Birthdays and illness and charity purchases and christmas gifts. I am realizing that spending money is a little like eating sugar. The more you do it, the more you want to keep doing it, and doing it and doing it. So when I am in austere money-saving mode, it is easy to stay there (or, similarly, when I am not eating refined sugars and carbs, it is easy to stay away from them). But once that line is crossed, wherever the line may be, it is hard to jump back to the other side.

Perhaps that speaks to my personality. Not a positive pesronality trait, for sure. Maybe recognition is the first step toward improvement?

But for now I am going to lunch, spending $6 over budget on this last day of our fiscal week, because I brought chili in my lunch bag, but I just can't eat it. I had it for dinner on Tuesday and lunch on Wednesday, and let's just say intestinal discomfort reigned for the next 18 hours. Not up for that again.

Pride

Look at that beautiful family. Evelyn....what can I say? She is ridiculously photogenic. I am less so, but that's just the way things go. Jon is good in a picture. But Evelyn, she steals the lens. I wish I could post more pictures from this shoot. There are some really good ones of my sisters and nieces all together, but I don't want to post pictures of other people's kids without permission. So just imagine five little girls, ages 2 to 9, being adorable.

Did you know Christmas is only nine weeks away? Cool. Jon and I created our Christmas spending budget last week and decided to spread the gift-buying out over the next three months instead of all in December. It is still early, but I think we made a reasonable budget for ourselves.We already went over on our Christmas cards, though. I love http://www.minted.com/ so much, and we got a discount in the mail, that we decided to splurge just a little. Our cards will be awesome. :)

Yesterday I saved 42% at the grocery store with sales and coupons. I even gave my office friend two coupons for Pampers, because I know she uses them for her baby, and Jon's friend a coupon for Challenge butter, because I know he likes that fancy-pants brand. I may be couponing fiend. And, I may love it.

When I used to shop at the grocery store I would usually have some sort of list, often written down, but no budget, no sense of what was on sale, no specific meal plan for the week, no idea what things I would pick up that weren't on the list. I would look at unit costs for the things I did want to buy, and usually get a less expensive version (but rarely generic). I would pick up things that I stumbled upon that happened to be on sale, if I thought I would use them. I might stock up on chicken breasts and Diet Coke, but that was it. At the register I would be surprised by the total, not knowing how much the food in my cart would cost, and I would get excited when I got above 10% or 15% savings on my receipt. I remember one time I saved 20% using sales and I thought it was some sort of miracle. The fact that I can actually remember that moment is indicative of its rareness.

But now I am shooting for 50% savings using sales and coupons. I haven't hit it yet, but I am going to someday. I am looking at the sales before I make my weekly meal plan. I am going to the store with a firm list, and a calculator, so there are no surprises at the register. I am searching the web and newspapers for coupons for every single item on my list. And what does it all mean? I have stayed within my grocery budget every week this month with room to spare, there are plenty of groceries in my freezer and pantry, and we are getting some financial breathing room. Definitely worth the extra 45 minutes it takes to organize all of this each week. (And I haven't even become a real "hard core" couponer yet, with shopping at different stores and keeping a price book and knowing everything!)

I know this is probably boring to read. I just get really excited when I know I am doing the right thing for my family. It is like I have taken on a second job, one that pays really well considering the amount of time I spend on it, and one that will keep on giving as I teach Evelyn sound financial skills (instead of the spend-what-you-want way I was modeling behavior before). In October, I have saved my family more than $800 by: 1) creating a household budget and working with Jon to stick to it, 2) creating financial goals with Jon and figuring out how to reach them, 3) spending wisely when necessary (including very very rarely paying full price for anything), and 4) not spending nearly as much--period.

I like it.

David Bowie says "Money"

Budget so far this week is looking good, although the things we can't do anything about, like household expenses and car expenses, are kind of kicking our butts. Things like blowing out the sprinklers and getting an emissions test and new tags for the car (one car this month, one car next month) -- you know those thing that come up once a year and aren't a huge expense but still throw you for a loop. Oh and that whole pesky Christmas thing coming up. Yeah, we are planning our Christmas budget tonight, I think. It will be slim, but the holidays aren't about lavish presents so much as thoughtful presents, and that is what we are going for.

But I was able to spend only $69 at the grocery store this weekend, saving 37% using sales and coupons. I was even able to stockpile a few items (like dish soap and apple juice) that were super mega on sale. I think I might do one of those "pantry cleanout" weeks next week and see how many meals I can get out of the food just sitting on the shelves. I suppose that means I'll have to clean out said pantry, but it is in dire need of some organizing anyway.

Last week I thought we saved about 15% of our weekly "variable spending" budget, but actually it was just over 25%...a big savings! This week we have about double our retail and miscellaneous budgets because we didn't use any last week. Those are good ones to save up, since I need to get Evelyn some long-sleeved shirts for fall and maybe a sweater or two. And I need a bra like woah. We have a winter coat that was Aunt Rosie's when she was a girl. It is a crazy Chinese brocade silk-like material, almost down the the floor, but it will work. Plus, totally cute.

I am really digging this whole budgeting thing, oddly. Last week I wondered what I would have purchased if I hadn't been thinking about it, and how silly it would have been because I clearly didn't need it. We did just fine cooking our meals, packing our lunches, going to the park instead of the mall, and eating ice cream in the backyard instead of a Dairy Queen.

Week 1: Budget Confession

Week one of our budget diet is coming to a close, and I am happy to say that it went very well. I have no plans to spend any money tonight (except perhaps one orange to add fragrance to a plum-apple pie when I get home), and so I can say with relative certainty that we stayed within our budget 100% and even had a little leftover. Wowza.

Highs:

• Using coupons and sales, I was able to save 44% at the grocery store. I stayed under the $100 budget, and really bought enough staple and protein items to last two weeks. Next week should be a relatively small shopping trip with perishibles and a few higher-ticket items like bath tissue and the like. I think if I really tried, I could get away with $50 budget most weeks. But that is a challenge for another time.
• I didn't go shopping for any "miscellaneous" stuff. At all. No quick trips to Target to get one thing and then ending up with $85 worth of crap. No running to the grocery store because I forgot that jar of pasta sauce or that head of cabbage. Nothing was purchased that wasn't thought-out ahead of time and planned for.
• I really thought about every dollar, and therefore didn't want to spend them on stupid, temporary things.
• We kicked ass using coupons, not just for groceries, but also for meals away from home and other things we needed.
• I didn't eat out for lunch a single time this week. We only ate out as a family once, and I got one bagel this morning (with a coupon!) -- a VAST improvement.
• There is money LEFT OVER in the miscellaneous, retail, and restaurants jars. Maybe $25 total. That is about 15% of our weekly budget. We will put that into our "Christmas Tree" mini-savings fund.

Lows:

• Apparently unskilled in the world of cash transactions, I completely lost the $8 in change I received at the grocery store on Sunday. Or maybe the teller never handed it to me. Or maybe I left it in the cart. Whatever the case, I lost $8. And I felt like an idiot.
• We decided to get lunch on our way to the pumpkin patch on Sunday, but we overbought in drinks. Could have gotten two drinks, or smaller drinks, and been just fine.
• I impulse-purchased a bag of potato chips at the gas station. Still within the budget, but totally unnecessary.
• I'm still getting used to the whole "cash only" mentality. Also, planning ahead. Preparing lunches. Cooking dinner every night. Those last two things create a lot more dishes to clean, which causes a lot more annoyance between Jon and I. We just need a better system.

All in all, I'm happy to say things went well. And there is money in our checking account! Plenty! Just waiting to pay off bills!

Here's to a new mentality. Cheers!

Pumpkin Picking

Each year, Jon and I load Evelyn into the car for a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch. This is year three of the tradition, and I don't see any end in sight. It is such fun! This year was even better since the weather was GORGEOUS (bordering on too warm!), the farm set up bouncy castles and inflatable slides for the kids (which we got to do for FREE, since a nice mom gave us her extra tickets on her way out), Evelyn was old enough to really like all the activities, and we got some amazingly humongous pumpkins by going so early in the season. Picking our own pumpkins, as well as cutting down our own Christmas tree, is something I look forward to every year.

Evelyn wore her red cowboy boots (natch), and since the weather was so warm, she also rocked the yellow gingham dress that makes her look straight off the farm. She was really interested in sitting on and climbing over the pumpkins. You may be blinded by adorableness. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do about that.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Coupons can be awesome

Today I needed to pick up the last few items for the weekly grocery haul. I decided to peruse a few coupon databases online first and I found a sweet deal. Target put all their Kraft cheese products on sale for $2 each. The www.becentsable.net blog alerted me to the sale AND linked to a page with a $5 off 5 Kraft products coupon. So five 8-oz blocks of cheese for $1 each. We eat a lot of cheese, so SCORE. One in the refrigerator and four in the freezer.

I could get used to that.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0

Grocery savings #1

my first attempt at frugal grocery shopping was moderately successful. using the tips from the book about budgeting and savings i read last week, be centsable by chrissy pate and kristin mckee, i was able to plan my weekly menu around sales and use a few coupons. i had to buy a few high ticket items like claritin and diapers, but i still did ok.

total savings from clubcard and sales plus five coupons...thirty seven percent.

not too shabby

also, i am typing this on my phone and blogger wont recognize capitalized letters, numbers or symbols. just fyi. i did not turn into a thirteen year old girl with my lack of proper punctuation.

Budget budget budget

Jon and I are embarking on a new journey. One that involves getting very serious about getting out of debt entirely, living frugally, and making the most of what we have. I'm going to write about the journey here, even though I know talking about money and finances is often taboo. Writing will help me work thing out in my mind and keep me accountable.

We watched this show called "Til Debt Do Us Part" on MSNBC, which is kind of like SuperNanny for couples in financial trouble. There isn't very much detail in each show, sadly, but the host has one main message: USE CASH. Each variable spending category you have gets a fixed weekly/monthly budget, that amount goes into a jar at the beginning of the week, and that's all you get. Done. Seems pretty extreme, but Jon and I are going to give it a go.

The big variable categories are Groceries, Restaurants, Retail, Entertainment and Misc. Our average budget for these categories is going from $1850/month down to $750/month. Ack! That includes groceries, diapers, milk, clothes, hobbies, date nights, books, cleaning supplies, lunches out, medications, anything else. Big decrease. Maybe too big? It's a starting point, so we may have to play with the numbers as we go forward. I'm optimistic, though.

I'm going to try to work the whole coupon game. (I just got $107 worth of diapers for $77 with two coupons!) We're going to do some serious meal planning and all our cooking at home. I'm going to be cutting back significantly on soda consumption. Jon is going to learn how to process his own film. Little things will take us far.

This is pretty big for us. Go Team Lew!

Big Red Vase

When things go missing in our house, like, say, a thumb drive with important documents on it or a $100 rebate card you got in the mail yesterday, the most likely location is the Big Red Vase. The Big Red Vase is  three-foot-high wooden vase that sits next to the book case in the living room. It has of late become the favorite hiding spot for Evelyn's stolen loot. We'll often walk by and see a DVD perched precariously on top, or a big soda cup wedged inside the lip. If $100 gift card was sitting on the table but is no longer there, look in the Big Red Vase. I'm glad we have a go-to place to search first when something is missing. Better than the heating vent!

Evelyn also has taken to being a cowboy. She loves it. Jon had a brilliant idea of getting her a pair of cowboy boots and she has worn them nearly every day since. Every morning she asks to wear "cowboy clothes." Not sure what that means, but today it means an orange t-shirt with hot pink and polka dot shorts. Best baby ever.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Evelyn "reads"

Who wants to see the most adorable thing ever?

This video was taken using my new phone and I haven't quite figured out all the settings, but you get the idea.

Micro-trauma

I'm wearing a wrist brace. Also, sometimes, one of those tennis elbow straps. Seems I have one of those new-fangled "repetitive stress injuries" like carpal tunnel. Only I don't have carpal tunnel. Just a perpetually sore wrist and occassionally sore elbow. My doctor calls it "micro-trauma" that just builds up over time. It probably got exasperated by a meeting of three different events confluencing onto my wrist at one time. First, new keyboard at work that makes me slam the keys down to type. (I think I'll go keyboard shopping today and just get my own keyboard, something with a light touch.) Second, starting a new (awesome) knitting project that requires a lot of twisting and cables and such.  Third, our neighbors gave us a backyard swingset that Evelyn LOVES. I'm pretty sure she could swing for hours and hours. But she can't pump yet, so we have to push her, and that is just another straw on the wrist-camel's back.

So, ouch.

A week in a brace at all times, then wearing the brace when I do "hurty" things like complicated knitting or maybe typing. Totally sucky.

Nuts

Did you know that many nuts and most cereal grains have something in them called phytic acid, a sort-of "anti-nutrient" that keeps your intestines from properly absorbing all the good vitamins in the food? One way to neutralize a big portion of the phytic acid is to soak the nut or grain in water for 8 hours or overnight, and then to dry it (in the case of nuts) in a warm oven for 12-24 hours.

I decided to try this out, since I love Almonds and they are really good for you (in moderation, of course). I soaked the nuts in salted water for about 8 hours, then spread them on a cookie sheet, sprinkled a little salt on top, and set them in my oven (set to "warm" or about 170*) for the next 14 hours. What is interesting is that the almonds taste different now. Sweeter. Crunchier. Richer. Quite tasty. And less stomach discomfort if I overindulge just a little! Occassionlly I get an almond that didn't dry all the way through and it is chewey and almost...malty, maybe? But still good.

I will definitely try this again with my next batch. Maybe next time I will sprinkle them with curry powder or tamarind powder or cinnamon before I dry them. Yum!

A giant, happy, little girl

Guess who is giant and perfect? Evelyn! That's who.

Two-year check-up went great. Evelyn is just over 30 pounds of awesome (the 87th percentile), and she is more than 36 inches of amazing (the 96th percentile). I honestly was surprised by those numbers. The percentiles are roughly the same as they were six months ago, but I feel like her growing has slowed down, like she isn't quite so much bigger than the other kids her age. I guess it is all perspective. Cuz she huge. (Also, her head size is in the freakin' 98th percentile...crazy!)

So we're supposed to wean her 100% off the bottle (which we aren't going to do) and switch her to 2% milk (again, nope), and start to implement a little discipline here and there. Doctor said timeout or "reasoning with her" is developmentally appropriate at this age. I asked Jon to talk about discipline because last night there was an incident that made me think she is ready. Evelyn, my mysterious girl, took a crayon and started drawing on the hardwood floor. "No! We do NOT draw on the floor!" I said sternly as I crouched down to talk to her face-to-face. "We color on paper! See, let's get a fresh sheet of paper to color on!" That worked for about a second, before I turned around and she was coloring on the floor again! "No, Evelyn, you may NOT draw on the floor!" and I took away the crayons. She got a glint in her eye, a little smirk, got a new crazyon from somewhere else and did it AGAIN! (Thank god for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...I should buy stock in that heavenly product.) So what is the right thing to do there? She clearly understands what she is doing is againt the rule, but she also likes to push my buttons. I don't love the idea of timeout yet. So I just distracted her on to something else and moved on.

Parenting is a mystery. A delightul, crazy, exhausting, better-than-words-can-convey, mystery. I really do love it.

Stressors

I don't write about my job much here, mostly because that is a good way to get dooced, but also because it is pretty mundane. I like the company I work for and I like the people I work with, and that isn't so interesting. But lately things have gotten stressful. I don't like it. I'm not losing my job or anything, but I guess the possibility of that happening went from 10% up to maybe 25%, and that is no fun. Not based on anything I am doing differently, just the economic realities of business in America. Nothing I can worry about, just another stressor on the shoulders of the primay breadwinner. Hooray.

Other stressors?

• I haven't been to the dentist in three years and I have a toothache. Crap.
• I was kicking along on my sweater, having knit about six inches of the back panel, not even needing to refer to the charts anymore, when I started to get some chronic (like three days in a row) wrist and elbow pain. Super lame.
• Evelyn has decided naps are for babies and she is a big girl. Totally not true. Naps are for everyone! Enjoy them while you can!
• Apparently homogenized milk will give me cancer, pasturized milk is devoid of the awesome stuff you find in fresh milk, and I can't find anything but pasteurized, homogenized milk at any store.
• Money. 'Nuf said.
• I am very very serious about kicking my out-of-control soda habit, but just the thought of it makes me very very sad. That is addiction for you. I totally need to quit.
• Jon and I have a couple-friend that are separated and possibly divorcing. Really really sad.
• I have a new keyboard at work and it skips letters all over the place, making me type every sentence three times. Unless I pound the living $%#& out of the keys. Not helping the wrist/elbow situation. In fact, Im pretty sure that is CAUSING the situation.

Rachel, out.

And the journey continues

I find day-to-day food choices a landmine of misinformation, guilt, confusion and resignation. Not a great way to feel three to five times each day! I'm worried about my own health and longevity, of course, but I am particularly worried about the crapola Evelyn is eating every day. She is on a big milk kick lately, requesting bottles or sippies or cups of milk at all hours of the day, and then eating hardly anything else. Even if we withhold the milk to get her to eat something else, she won't (and just gets tired and cranky instead). I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins....no. I made zucchini bread....no dice. It's all milk all the time, unless it's fast food french fries or chicken nuggets. ARGH!

Milk is good for her, but you know what would be better? Raw milk. But can I buy raw milk? No. It is illegal. Just last year the Colorado legislature passed a law allowing people to get raw milk by purchasing a "cow share" from a local farm, but it is pretty hard to get to when you live in the 'burbs. And by keeping it so hard to get, the price is double that of a regular, organic gallon of whole milk. So I can buy raw vegetables and raw eggs and raw meat, but not raw milk. I can buy toxic, carcinogenic, addictive, disgusting cigarettes, but not unpasteurized dairy products. WHATEVS. I am totally becoming a libertarian.

Evelyn is picky, and I know it is developmentally appropriate and a phase and whatever, but it is also so freakin' annoying. Hey all you parents who complain about picky kids, I feel your pain! A lot of the issue is the television (which she loooooooves and doesn't want to pull herself away from), part of the issue is our lack of family dinners (like I want to cook a meal for just me and Evelyn since she won't eat it anyway), and part of the issue is our reliance on fast food more than a couple times per week.

I've been reading a lot about "real food" and "traditional food" and "primal food" and the like. Things like sprouted grains, soaked flours, coconut oil, lard, beef tallow, soaked nuts, pastured eggs, raw milk, grass-fed beef. Eating the way our great-grandparents might have eaten. Eating the way our bodies evolved to eat. It is all very interesting.

I've been having a lot of fun reading the book, Real Food: What it is and why you should eat it, the websites kellythekitchenkop.com and http://www.nourishedkitchen.com/, and I'm enjoying my "Cooking Real Food" class from http://www.cheeseslave.com/.

My problem is that I have to be realistic. I can't buy grass-fed beef 100% of the time because it is seriously more expensive. We buy organic milk, but not organic cheese. I have seriously cut back my refined carb and sugar intake, but then I am missing out on some of the benefits of whole grains. In fact, it was doing Atkins, and feeling so much healthier, that sent me on this real foods kick. The things I haven't liked about any diet change (whether it be vegetarian or Weight Watchers or Atkins) is the reliance on food substitutes. Breakfast shakes and snack bars and fat-free cheese and low-salt bacon, it just isn't REAL. I like the idea of only eating foods with short ingredient lists where every ingredient is easily recognizable. Or even eating foods with no ingredient list at all! But how can you do that in modern life?

And so we continue to try to get better. More natural fats, less processed "vegetable" oils. More whole dairy, less refined substitutes. More organic, less chemicals. It is a start...

It's Go Time

Aright people, it's a big day in the Lew household. A day of merriment, of rejoicing. A day that will go down in history. What day is it, you may be asking? Underwear day.

That's right. On my lunch break this afternoon I am driving myself down to Kohl's and buying a few packages of Yo Gabba Gabba underpants for Evelyn. Or maybe I will head over to Hannah Andersson and pick up a couple packages of their organic-oh-so-soft-but-not-character-branded briefs. Either way, it's undie time!

(As an aside, I hate, and have since I can remember, the word "panties." There will be no panties in my house. Underwear, underoos, undersquares, undies, skivvies, briefs, etc, but not panties.)

Evelyn has consistently asked to use the potty when she is diaper-less around the house. This really only happens in the hour or two before bed, but we're going to expand the time she is sans diaper to all the time (at home). Jon doesn't particularly care for a bare-butted toddler to be running around the house, so undies it is. No pressure, just "hey, no more absorbant core, kid, how about the potty!"

Not sure if we'll institute some sort of reward system, or just let the fun of putting toilet paper in the toilet and watching it all flush away be its own reward. Also not sure how we'll handle poo. One step at a time!

I'm excited. Also nervous. Hope we're doing things the best way. Let the adventure begin!

Holy cow

Holy cow holy cow holy cow. My child is growing up so fast.

1. When I gave her a dinner-time bottle, she said, "thank you." Woah.
2. She knows all her colors, can count to three (sometimes), and will (occassionally) tell you that she is two years old.
3. She figured out that she can get out of her bed when she doesn't want to sleep and knocks on the door (this is not a good developmemt, but still).
4. The biggest, and best indication that my little baby is growing up: yesterday, while in her bath, she asked to sit on the potty, said she had to "tink tink" and then PEED IN THE POTTY. Holy freakin cow. She has asked to sit on the potty before, but she has never done anything in it. Now, suddenly, she gets it. She pees. She even passed gas (I know, TMI, but it is exciting!). I know this is just the first step on a year-long (or longer) journey, but it is awesome.  (As an aside, I have no idea where she learned the phrase "tink tink." I think it is "tinkle." Maybe daycare? Mystery.)

Hooray for big girls!

A girl and her sweater

Family Week Extravaganza came and went, and since I don't yet have any pictures to post, I'll just hold off telling you how fun/awesome/exhausting/fantastic it was until I do.

I will instead tell you a story. It is a story about a girl who loves to knit, but is afraid to try anything big or complicated. This girl, let's just call her Rachel, dreams about beautiful Fair Isle sweaters and lace shawls, of shawl-collar cardigans and afghan blankets. But she keeps her knitting firmly in the realm of hats and children's clothes and scarves and pot holders because they are easy and fast and easy to finish. Sweaters, she thinks, could turn out disasterously! What if the arms don't match up? Or what if the cable twists the wrong way? Horror!

However, during a recent reading adventure with her new Nook (love!), Rachel discovered something amazing. The author of the book, Sweater Quest: My year of knitting dangerously, noted something that had never crossed Rachel's mind. "The worst thing that can happen when knitting is that you end up with a big pile of yarn, which is exactly where you started, so what's the big deal?" Rachel was convinced.

And now I will end this little fable and stop talking about myself in the third person to let you know that I have decided to embark upon a sweater quest of my own. A sweater that is classic and complicated and awesome. It might take me a year, and that's ok. I might mess it up, and that's ok, too. Knitting is a hobby, so if I can't enjoy the "getting there" as much as the final product, I probably should find a different waste of time.

This shall be my sweater (London Calling 1, Vogue Knitting, Fall 2010):

Isn't it pretty?...

Knick-nak-paddy-whack

Evelyn has a knack for hitting obnoxious developmental milestones right when my family is coming to visit. She got a case of some wicked bad stranger/separation anxiety right before my mom visited last time, and that was no fun for anyone. Now she has a case of the whiney, crying, big pouty, not-going-to-bed, no nap!, I'm-smarter-than-everyone obnoxious pants. You didn't know that was an official developmental milestone, did you? It is. It's a great one. Soooo pleasant.

I just hope we get a few glimpses of the happy, goofy, funny, playful, smart, awesome Evelyn amid all the whiney Evelyn. I don't love Whiney Evelyn. She is a handful.

I have high hopes that a few good nights sleep will help things. She rolled off the foot of her bed two nights ago, smashing her face on the floor in the process, and getting a big fat lip. She is still sporting the fat lip, which really enhances the poutting look. She didn't sleep well that night, then yesterday she wouldn't nap until way later than normal and then wouldn't go to sleep AT ALL until well after 8:30pm. That is a full two hours later than normal. TWO HOURS, PEOPLE! Now she is at daycare, where she rarely naps well, and I just feel a major breakdown in her future, probably right when we are waiting to pick up my mom at the airport, and continuing the whole ride home. Yep, that seems about right.

Oh yeah, she's also getting bad dreams (or so she says) and waking up a lot in the night again. Every time I think we are done with night-time wakings, they start right back up again, but with a new twist. OY VEY.

Let's just say I can't wait to see my mom tonight, not only because I love her and she is awesome, but also because it means one more adult in the house to deal with Evelyn's not-quite-two-years-old-yet-but-already-a-teenager-at-heart sass.

A touch of the crazies

I think I've got a touch of the crazies coming on. First, my family begins to invade on Thursday, and while I could not be happier to see everyone, I get crazy about my house when anyone comes to visit. It's not clean enough! (Which, let's be honest here, is the damn truth. My house is a mess. Cleaning is low on the priority list.) I need to wash the sheets! I need to dust! I need to mop! I need to...ack! If only I kept a semi-tidy house most of the time, cleaning for guests wouldn't feel so daunting. Alas, it has to be done.

That might not sound like "the crazies," but ask my husband. I'm totally sugar-coating how I react to houseguests. (But don't worry Mom, I want you to come! Honestly!)

I also have a touch of the crazies when it comes to this family birthday party I'm hosting at my house (again with the cleaning) with close to 20 people in attendance. It's a party for Evelyn and her two cousins, all of whom have birthdays in August and September. The theme is Yo Gabba Gabba (*natch) so I'm trying to be festive. Jon convinced me to order cupcakes instead of trying to make them my own, and we did buy some YGG-themed plates and napkins, but other decorations will be done by me. And Jon. But I tell him what I want him to make because that is what happens when you get the crazies. The Crazies = Obsessive Detail and Bossiness.

We were going to make a photo booth/cutout type thing to resemble the Super Music Friends Show TV, but then Jon offered to paint a series of Gabba Land pieces to put somewhere in the house. (Google this stuff if you don't know what I'm talking about.) But now I think it would be cool to do the SMFS TV again, but put it over our TV instead...see...clever? Also, let's have Razzleberry Lemonade as a drink! And how about putting Toodee, Brobee, Muno, Foofa and Plex faces on the balloons we are getting, and possibly finishing the DJ Lance hat I started for Jon before the party. (On that one I may be running out of yarn, and I don't think I have any more in my stash. The hat may look odd...) Ooh, ooh, and I want to turn our garage into a giant boombox! Also, cutting out the names of the birthday girls in YGG colors would be wicked awesome.

See...the crazies.

I can only do so much. Jon can only do so much. The majority of the guests (i.e. everyone not living with someone under the age of five) won't even get most of the things I want to do. I just love Evelyn, and I want to make her birthday special, and since it is her birthday party and the party for two other little girls who I love, I want to make it three times as awesome.

Can a mother make a tripley awesome birthday party without going crazy? We'll see...

CheeseSlave

I just signed up to take a very cool-looking online cooking class, "Surf and Turf" by the CheeseSlave.

http://www.cheeseslave.com/cooking-classes/

I hope to learn how to cook organ meats (which totally scare me), seafood (which very much intimidates me), and other good stuff. Ooh, like shopping for humanely-raised, grass-fed meats on the cheap!

Vote early, vote often

Ooh ooh ooh. In case you haven't already, PLEASE register and vote for Jon's shop for Best Tattoo and Piercing Shop in Denver. He is in fifth place right now!


http://kmgh.cityvoter.com/fortune-cookie-tattoo/biz/558761?ref=short

(And pass it on...)

Yay! More pictures

More pictures. All from a night out, sans children, at the local fun center and miniature golf emporium.

Leslie steps up to the green....she nails it!


Jon thought he would putt ahead of me, but I showed him!

So pale, so happy.

I like this picture because it looks like Jon is really angry. Like he's Sean Penn and I'm the papparazzi.

Ah, golf. Nothing finer on a 95 degree evening.

Family time.

And...scene.

Pictures from the long weekend, round 1

We recently returned from a long weekend visiting family in Utah. It was so nice to see everyone, of course, but the REAL hit of the weekend was the trampoline. Evelyn is a daredevil and loved that dang thing.

As you can plainly see, she is having a lot more fun than I am. "Bounce more!" she would say. "Mama is nauseus," I would reply. She didn't care. (Also, the fisheye lens isn't helping any of the adults in these pictures. I'm just sayin'.)

Here is my sister Sarah and her hubby Kelly. With them, the tiniest little dog in the world, Abby. She also was a bit hit.

What could be more fun than a ball on a trampoline? Putting that ball in your mouth!

Aunt Olivia with her niece. They got along really well.

This is Evelyn with her cousin, H. Not sure why H wanted to hold Evelyn's hand, but it seemed to go over OK. I'm pretty sure everyone is watching Yo Gabba Gabba in this pic. There was a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba watching last weekend.

Abby! All 2-1/2 pounds of her!

Thus concludes round 1 of photos from the lovely Utah weekend. I'll post more when I can get them off my email (my computer is being weird). Suffice it to say that much fun was had by all, and that Evelyn loves trampolines. That's all you really need to know.

Kum-ba-yah

So I'm doing this diet thing, although it doesn't feel like a "diet" in the way that diets have felt before. Is this what people talk about when they say, "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change"....perhaps?

As an aside, I always thought that was such an obnoxious thing to say. Yeah, sure, the way you are eating when you are "dieting" should be the way you eat forever, and as you get to your goal weight or a healthy weight, you shouldn't just give up your healthy eating habits. But, come on. Being hungry all the time and food obsessed for the rest of my life is not a "lifestyle" I ever wanted to adopt. But that was before. This whole Atkins thing feels like something I could stick with.

But despite all this kumbaya for lowcarb livin, I fell off the wagon this weekend. No, "fell" isn't the right word. I took a planned departure since it was Jon's birthday and I wanted to enjoy our favorite special-occasion restaurant, Beatrice and Woodsley, in all its carbtastic glory. So I departed, and I departed hard, and then on Monday morning I got right back on track. A little stomach discomfort and increased hungriness brought my weekend revelry into reality, but it wasn't hard to start eating right again. So that is awesome.

Even MORE awesome, though, is that I am so very very close to having lost 25 pounds. Holla! Only one-third of a pound from that big milestone. So that is 25 pounds (or close to it) in less than three months. I feel great, I need new clothes, and I more than reached my goal of losing 20 pounds by the time these many family photos came up at the end of summer.

All I can say is GO ME.

Pray for his sanity

Everyone say a little prayer for Jon, who right now is babysitting three little girls under the age of four. Yes, the cousins are visiting for a couple hours while my sister-in-law goes to an appointment, and Jon (lovely man that he is) agreed to babysit. I'll take over in about an hour. Then you can pray for my sanity.

(Also, Evelyn loves her Muno doll! Yay! A knitted gift success!)

We couldn't find any Yo Gabba Gabba toys, so I made one!

Here is Muno (he's tall and friendly!). It took me a while to finish this little guy because I had to learn how to crochet a circle for the eye (I couldn't figure out a better way to do it), then I stabbed myself with a darning needle and got a little nervous to knit again. Then there's that whole working full-time and raising a child thing.

Muno!

Little disappointments

So I applied for this job and got an interview, but the interview was short and terse and didn't go well, and then I got the email kiss-off "we aren't hiring you" note today. Not surprising, really, but a little disappointing. I would have liked an opportunity to do a full interview. I would have liked the job, I think. There is no urgency to leave my current job and I am not dying to get a new job, but the opportunity would have been great.

C'est la vie.

The other little disappointment lately is that Jon made some really good cookie dough the other day and I decided to be a nice wife and roll and cut them out while he was at work. (He has some new Star Wars cookie cutters he wanted to try out.) They turned out great, but needed frosting, of course. So I whipped up a bourbon cinnamon buttercream and, well, those cookies were delicious. I had two. OK, three. When Jon got home I was on such a sugar high that I was ridiculously goofy (laughing so hard at the word "weiner" that I almost fell over), and today my stomach is acting funny. Sugar = Bad. Disappointing that I coudn't resist the cookies, but spectacular that I only at three. (Fine! I had another half of one this morning.)

Even after my planned deviation from the diet over July 4th and my little cookie misstep, my weight stayed relatively unchanged and I am happily down 21 pounds since starting Atkins in May.

Go. Me.

Now to incorporate some excercise into my life...

Bye bye baby

Do you see this picture below? Evelyn was only a few weeks old and just so tiny I can hardly remember it. She wasn't quite six pounds when she was born, and now that she is almost 30 pounds, it seems like a very very VERY distant memory. All skinny limbs and dark hair. She was just such a little baby.


Fast forward to July 4 last year, and she is so big. She still has the chubby, round baby face and the crazy, soft baby hair, but she is a baby. BABY. (Also the infamous "I'm on camera pout" which hasn't faded a bit.)


Now look at her! This is the same parade, one year after the previous picture, and there is no more baby! She is a little girl. Not even two years old, but she is all tall and thin and strong and amazing. My little girl. It is so odd to think that she is almost out of the baby stage of life.


I liked the baby stage. Maybe not while it was happening, but looking back, she was all little and squishy and adorable. She was a baby, my baby, and it was such an adventure.

I don't know why I'm feeling nostalgic this morning. Truth be told, early toddlerhood is way better than babyhood. Evelyn can talk to me now, tell me what she is thinking (a little), tell me what she does and does not want (a lot), and can show affection. She likes to sleep. She likes to hang upside down and get tickled. She likes capybaras and peacocks and lions and fish. She does not like new people, large crowds, fresh fruit or mustard. I couldn't have known any of this when she was a baby because we just couldn't communicate.

The thing I love best of all about Evelyn is....can I love everything? Well, I do. Simply everything. I love her fake cry when she is pretending to be upset about something. I love the way she pulls her blanket up to her eyes, just like her dad, before she falls asleep. I love how she announced this morning that she was going to poop, and then did. I love how she gives kisses in the air and high-fives down low. I love her little square bottom and her giant Tanner cheeks and her prescious bow mouth. If I could wrap her up in a tortilla and eat her for lunch, I would, but in a good way.

Every single day isn't amazing, and some days I want to lay down in front of the TV and make everyone else wait on ME, but on the whole my life is pretty freakin' amazing. Just wanted to write it all down so I can go back and read about it on one of those less stellar days.