Just a quick blog to let the faithful know that we are still alive but really busy right now. I blogged about our trip to the Olympic National Rainforest (which I am still giddy about), but after that we had Rose Festival, playtime with Auntie Tutu, Father's Day, some birthday fun for mommy, camping last weekend, and now we are doing day camp.
Day Camp has been a trip, in a hippie, "oh my goodness", type of way. I volunteered to help with Girl Scout Day Camp, never heard back, volunteered again, never heard back, and all of sudden I am in charge of songs and games. Okay. I have questions, no answer. I still have questions, no answer. I get a phone call thanking me for volunteering and I was finally able to find out what I needed to know. Yes, the kids can come-they have their own special unit for little ones under 5 years of age (only for counselor kids). Yes, it is a week I am available. Yes, I can pretty much do what I want. So I dust off my counselor stuff, totally stoked because I thought those days were behind me. And I get tripped out because the last time I helped at Girl Scout Day Camp, I was an aide in the unit especially for little kids under the age of 5. And here I am, many years later sneaking peaks at my own kids in the unit I last was in. Wow.
But the most important part is that we are all havaing. Asa loves having kids his own age to play with, however the only way we can get him to wear his camp t-shirt is to put it on OVER a dinosaur t-shirt. Noah is being carried everywhere and snuggled by all the aides who think he is sooooo cute. He is getting used to that treatment rather easily and next week will be very hard on him. I am loving getting to sing my old camp songs and since the kids are "gone" all day (but I can see them so it isn't really gone), I get to eat lunch without anyone crying and have real conversations with people my heighth!!!! I know all three of us will be sad when camp ends!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Brand Names
So, to do my part to economize, I started clipping coupons. I even got a very inexpensive organizer and had things filed away by store and item (breakfast, dessert, cleaning product, etc.) This seemed like a great time to learn, pick up something new, AND due my part for our household economy.
I have failed. And I feel pretty good about it.
For starters, I am brand specific. This is no great surprise if you remember I hate change AND new things, so I am not inclined to buy something just because it is on sale or has a slip of paper promising a discount. Example: Pepsi could be .10 cents a can and I would still turn my nose at it. I guess that makes me a food snob too.
Second, I am also store specific. Another no brainer, considering what I just wrote about being brand specific. I hate driving all over (and wasting gas in my opinion) just I can get a deal here, there, or everywhere.
Finally, I just hate coupons. If you are offering deal, just offer a deal-don't make me jump through hoops to get it. I get annoyed.
But I learned something and I think that counts for a smiley sticker by my name. Coupons can work, if you are willing to follow them. And I am not. Trying to save .50 cents if buy two, on something I won't eat doesn't make much sense so I am done with that experiement. However, just because I am done with coupons doesn't mean I am not saving money.
By examining my shopping habits, which coupon clipping forced me to do, I discovered that I am a horrible impulse shopper. I tend to buy things thinking I MIGHT cook something and then forget I even have it until I notice something dusty on the back shelf. By then of course we are WAAAYY past it's freshness date, so that even if doesn't kill me, it would be like making paste for dinner. No matter what the reason, whether something smells funny or just sat looking cute on shelf, throwing food out, is money out the door. I also tend to get way more then I need at sale times. So I get 10, because they are cheap, then eat the first 5, and toss the others because they are stale/bad. Again, money out the door.
So now, new and improved shopper that I am, I write a list, stick to my list, plan out my meals, keep my "extra's" down to a just a few per shopping trip, and already bah-da boom, bah-da bing-I have already shaved about $30 per grocery trip and I can do better once I quit going through the garden section. I came up with that figure by not only including the items I DIDN'T buy, but also by buying within reason AND eating it all at home.
So clipping coupons was a good lesson for me, even if it turned out different than I expected. Isn't life like that?
I have failed. And I feel pretty good about it.
For starters, I am brand specific. This is no great surprise if you remember I hate change AND new things, so I am not inclined to buy something just because it is on sale or has a slip of paper promising a discount. Example: Pepsi could be .10 cents a can and I would still turn my nose at it. I guess that makes me a food snob too.
Second, I am also store specific. Another no brainer, considering what I just wrote about being brand specific. I hate driving all over (and wasting gas in my opinion) just I can get a deal here, there, or everywhere.
Finally, I just hate coupons. If you are offering deal, just offer a deal-don't make me jump through hoops to get it. I get annoyed.
But I learned something and I think that counts for a smiley sticker by my name. Coupons can work, if you are willing to follow them. And I am not. Trying to save .50 cents if buy two, on something I won't eat doesn't make much sense so I am done with that experiement. However, just because I am done with coupons doesn't mean I am not saving money.
By examining my shopping habits, which coupon clipping forced me to do, I discovered that I am a horrible impulse shopper. I tend to buy things thinking I MIGHT cook something and then forget I even have it until I notice something dusty on the back shelf. By then of course we are WAAAYY past it's freshness date, so that even if doesn't kill me, it would be like making paste for dinner. No matter what the reason, whether something smells funny or just sat looking cute on shelf, throwing food out, is money out the door. I also tend to get way more then I need at sale times. So I get 10, because they are cheap, then eat the first 5, and toss the others because they are stale/bad. Again, money out the door.
So now, new and improved shopper that I am, I write a list, stick to my list, plan out my meals, keep my "extra's" down to a just a few per shopping trip, and already bah-da boom, bah-da bing-I have already shaved about $30 per grocery trip and I can do better once I quit going through the garden section. I came up with that figure by not only including the items I DIDN'T buy, but also by buying within reason AND eating it all at home.
So clipping coupons was a good lesson for me, even if it turned out different than I expected. Isn't life like that?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Follow The Trail
So, this morning, I have to admit, I took a nap-right after I got out of bed. It is amazing what kids teach you: lesson number one is that you can sleep anywhere and I did. God Bless Nick-he came home from work and let me sleep. My sore throat feels 100% better.
Have I mentioned before that Asa is in the midst of potty training?
Every parent has stories; this is ours.
Asa has been doing fairly good at going potty. Of course we bribe him with candy but that is by far cheaper than diapers and we discovered he doesn't like the feel of wet clothes. Score one for us.
However, like many 3 1/2 year olds, Asa wants to be very independent. So this morning, he went poop in the potty. This is a joyous occasion and he got very excited. (Please remember, I am sharing all this second hand-I was napping during this event.) So he wiped, did badly, got poop on his hand. But he is still joyous, so he went into mommy and daddy's room to jump for joy on our bed. Get's poop on our bed. Goes to his room to be a good boy and get his underwear on. Got poop on the floor and his bed. By the time daddy get's to him, it is like Mr. Hankie the Christmas Poo had a festival in our house. (For those of you who don't know, Mr. Hankie is a character from "South Park" and he is a lump of poo that sings. It's as gross as it sounds.)
I know what Nick wanted to do, and to his credit, he didn't do it. How do I know? Not once did I hear any crying. I awoke to "next time tell mommy or daddy, okay?" , over and over and over again, and a ton of laundry for me to do.
Remembered when I blogged that all mom's have a hobby? Maybe my son was thinking of me when he created all this laundry for me to do tonight.
Have I mentioned before that Asa is in the midst of potty training?
Every parent has stories; this is ours.
Asa has been doing fairly good at going potty. Of course we bribe him with candy but that is by far cheaper than diapers and we discovered he doesn't like the feel of wet clothes. Score one for us.
However, like many 3 1/2 year olds, Asa wants to be very independent. So this morning, he went poop in the potty. This is a joyous occasion and he got very excited. (Please remember, I am sharing all this second hand-I was napping during this event.) So he wiped, did badly, got poop on his hand. But he is still joyous, so he went into mommy and daddy's room to jump for joy on our bed. Get's poop on our bed. Goes to his room to be a good boy and get his underwear on. Got poop on the floor and his bed. By the time daddy get's to him, it is like Mr. Hankie the Christmas Poo had a festival in our house. (For those of you who don't know, Mr. Hankie is a character from "South Park" and he is a lump of poo that sings. It's as gross as it sounds.)
I know what Nick wanted to do, and to his credit, he didn't do it. How do I know? Not once did I hear any crying. I awoke to "next time tell mommy or daddy, okay?" , over and over and over again, and a ton of laundry for me to do.
Remembered when I blogged that all mom's have a hobby? Maybe my son was thinking of me when he created all this laundry for me to do tonight.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
New Territory
I am sure I am going to bungle this and not say it right, but in a way I am just speechless. An 88 year old man, yes 88 year old man, raged into the National Holocaust Musuem in Washington, D.C. and shouting hateful things, killed a security guard and injured two others.
Someone once said to me that the United States should just declare itself a Christian nation since all it's citizens basically were Christians anyway. When I said that I wasn't a Christian, and said I was Jewish, I was told I was close enough to Christianity anyway. (It was at MHCC Alina as college students-frizzy bunny tail head girl-remember her?)
Incidents such as this remind me that not only am I not a Christian but that the one thing this awful man and I have in common, is that we both think I am not even close to being a Christian. And when I tell people I have mixed feelings about seeing The Cross, this would be why. The people behind The Cross have brought us hospitals, schools, and homes for the elderly. People have been fed, clothed, and taken care of by believers of The Cross. But people have also been killed, maimed, and beaten in the name of The Cross. The Cross has been held up as a reason to uphold slavery, racial injustice, and sexism.
And when you ask me if I ever feel like I have something in common with other minorities, I will answer yes. My skin may be white (or a nice golden brown in the summer) and I may blend in with a crowd, but as long as people want to hurt me or my sons simply because we are "different", we stand in the minority crowd.
I know I am just one little blog but I will tell anyone who will listen-different religions are God's gift to us, his children, so that we may all have a place in His life. Just any parent will tell you that each of their children is different, so God knows that each of us is different and provides us with different ways to communicate with him. There is no right religion, there is no wrong religion. ALL MAJOR, HOLY BOOKS ESPOUSE PEACE AND LOVE AND DENOUNCE HATRED AND KILLING. Only the people who "interpret" these books seem to fnd the passages that say something different.
I have to admit, I am angry. 88 years old-give it up dude.
Someone once said to me that the United States should just declare itself a Christian nation since all it's citizens basically were Christians anyway. When I said that I wasn't a Christian, and said I was Jewish, I was told I was close enough to Christianity anyway. (It was at MHCC Alina as college students-frizzy bunny tail head girl-remember her?)
Incidents such as this remind me that not only am I not a Christian but that the one thing this awful man and I have in common, is that we both think I am not even close to being a Christian. And when I tell people I have mixed feelings about seeing The Cross, this would be why. The people behind The Cross have brought us hospitals, schools, and homes for the elderly. People have been fed, clothed, and taken care of by believers of The Cross. But people have also been killed, maimed, and beaten in the name of The Cross. The Cross has been held up as a reason to uphold slavery, racial injustice, and sexism.
And when you ask me if I ever feel like I have something in common with other minorities, I will answer yes. My skin may be white (or a nice golden brown in the summer) and I may blend in with a crowd, but as long as people want to hurt me or my sons simply because we are "different", we stand in the minority crowd.
I know I am just one little blog but I will tell anyone who will listen-different religions are God's gift to us, his children, so that we may all have a place in His life. Just any parent will tell you that each of their children is different, so God knows that each of us is different and provides us with different ways to communicate with him. There is no right religion, there is no wrong religion. ALL MAJOR, HOLY BOOKS ESPOUSE PEACE AND LOVE AND DENOUNCE HATRED AND KILLING. Only the people who "interpret" these books seem to fnd the passages that say something different.
I have to admit, I am angry. 88 years old-give it up dude.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Just An Update
This time of year is incredibly busy so I will just make this short and sweet. My aunt is in town, we do Rose Parade floats, go to parades, etc. so it doesn't leave much time for anything else, although we have a great time. Today was the Junior Rose Parade, aka The Children's Parade. Last year it was rainy and cold-this year hot, hot, hot! We always seem to get extremes. Good mother that I am, I made sure my kids were properly covered and greased up. Yet somehow I failed to think I could sunburn. Am I teflon? Special? My arms look like lobster AFTER it has been thrown in the pot. I honestly don't remember the last time I burned like this. So live and learn, pray I don't get skin cancer, and be grateful I have a whole year to forget what I did and make some mistake next year!!!
Also on my second round of antibotics for a very stubborn sinus infection, watchng Noah cruise the furniture as he attempts to walk, and Asa, after going cold turkey with no diapers, is on his way to being potty trained. It is the little things that give us joy.
Hope everyone is enjoying this late-Spring season as much as me.
Also on my second round of antibotics for a very stubborn sinus infection, watchng Noah cruise the furniture as he attempts to walk, and Asa, after going cold turkey with no diapers, is on his way to being potty trained. It is the little things that give us joy.
Hope everyone is enjoying this late-Spring season as much as me.
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