Gabe the Babe...

Get ready for the cutest picture you'll ever see in the Firemans Calendar....little Mr. Gabriel...

He decided we should 'try out' his costume this morning before he put his pants on ....I couldn't resist and snapped a pic.

Here's another one of Gabe from yesterday after he built his cushion fort...I told him I'd be taking his picture and he said ' wait .... let me sit down first'....It was so cute, he knows how to pose for the camera now!!

I just love how flushed his face is from moving the cushions into the dining room... what a doll.

Scar - y day.

Today is a scar - y day for me....not because it's known as 'devils night' but because I have to visit the ...duh duh duh...Dermatologist. I have what's known as a keloid scar and I'm prone to getting them. It's a red, raised scar that I developed when I was pregnant with Gabriel and it's on my collar bone and most of the shirts I wear don't hide it.

Here is more information on the type of scar it is: KELOID. It's incredibly itchy sometimes, and incredibly painful other times. I've had one other one removed ...but it's really a gamble to get them removed, as they could come back twice the size. The Dr. who removed the first one followed up frequently with me and once he noticed the new surgery scar was growing, he decided to use steroid injections, which helped to make it a skin-colour, flat scar like most normal scars turn out to be.

I got the first keloid when I was around 10 and it was just after having chicken pox. It was like one of the chicken pox just never disappeared....then started to grow. This one began growing when I was pregnant with Gabe and it just began on it's own.

Tonight I am seeing the dermatologist for a second time as the first time I went I was still breastfeeding Ashlyn and he would not give Steroid injections while I was nursing. So now that that's been done for a while I decided to go back. And I 'm sooo scared. I can remember the pain from the injections for the first one, and thought I'd never have to go throught that again.....and here we are. The needles are extremely painful, not only because it's right beside my collarbone (which although some may argue....there's not a lot of tissue there) and also because they have to freeze it first by directly inserting a needle into the scar. This is not ordinary skin, it's like wild skin that has millions of litttle nerves in it that feels pain even when my shirt rubs against it, so you can just imagine the pain of sharp metal being jabbed into it. Oh man. This is gonna hurt.

Okay onto a new topic before I pass out just thinking about it.

Pumpkin carving....Gabriel and I decided to take on the task this afternoon whilst the angel baby was sleeping. Here are some shots...the shot above Gabe has his pen and is drawing the face he'd like...

Sleeves up
Seed Picking...

Wouldn't be complete without our black cat 'Logie'.

"things"

Today I did something I definitely should not have. I must start the story by first telling you about yesterday.

I recently saw the Dr regarding some vicious heartburn I 'd been having (particularly during Ashy's pregnancy...it got so bad I would get a bloody taste in my mouth and on the delivery bed I was vomiting pure blood...) I did still get some after the pregnancy was over and I thought it'd be better to ask the Dr about it, rather than just letting it go. She booked me in for an upper GI series x-ray. That was yesterday. For those of you who have not experienced this, it involves drinking an incredibly disgusting drink that tastes of chalk and salt combined, fizzes like sprite and weighs a tonne. Anyway - down the hatch it went. The Dr. took pictures of my stomach and esophagus while I was standing and sitting then it was over.

Before I had gone to the appointment, I was talking to my sister in law and friend, Aliesha. She is an x-ray Technician in Hamilton. She is very familiar with the procedure and told me that after I swallowed the Barium I had to drink LOTS of water so that it would 'pass' easily. I've heard of people who've suffered with the Barium becoming like cement in their intestines....and that wasn't going to be me. No sirreee.

Well I drank lots of fluids yesterday and figured 'things' would be on schedule this morning as per the norm. Welllll I was mistaken (or so I thought) .... I had fixed breakfast for the kids and was thinking about how 'things' should be moving along about this time...butt (ahem) they weren't. Soooooo..... I took 'things' into my own hands (well not literally .....sick!) and decided that I would not like to go through a cement like experience. Therefore ...you guessed it, I reached for he laxatives.

Now the only reason I even own a small box of these pills (yes pills , certainly not the suppositories, thankyou .......sick!) Is from post-pregnancy, when as some of you ladies know, 'things' can be quite painful and a little help is always good. So this morning when I read the box, it said...Adults take 1-3 as necessary. Wellll I thought somewhere in the middle would be good and I took 2. They said it would take about 12 hrs to take affect.

Approximately 2 minutes later... 'things' decided to move along ON THEIR OWN. Well shoot. Now what the heck was I gonna do. I couldn't very well puke the little pills up....so I let them be.

What a poor idea that was. Right now I sit here thinking puking was a brilliant idea.

Laxatives work people. Do not try these at home, Do not pass go without stopping to use the pooper 15 times before lunch. If I haven't lost weight by the end of the day, I'll be shocked. Remember that 'gourmet salad' I was talking about in my last post, well shoot....I hardly had enough time to enjoy it, and my body certainly didn't get anything from it...salad, schmalad.

Oooo, gotta go...

To the Market we go...

We headed off to the local farmers market this morning, as we had done last Saturday, and enjoyed a fresh rainy morning picking through the produce. We bring our allotted 'fresh food spending money' and I get the veggies necessary to complete the meals coming up on my meal plan. For the rest I still shop in my basement and pantry for the remaining ingredients...

Today we picked up some soft green leaf lettuce and some bright red lemington tomatoes....Mmm.

I tore the lettuce apart and washed then put it in a big ziploc for salads for the week. I couldn't resist and made a big, gourmet salad for lunch today and it was DEElicious!
We also picked out our pumpkin for Hallowe'en, and Gabe is looking forward to carving it later this afternoon. I think we may even roast the seeds for the fun of it! I'll post pics once the masterpiece is completed. We also purchased some fresh soft portugese rolls, some pretty purple plums, and some royal gala apples. The kids are loving fruit these days and even though Ashy mainly just walks around with her pecked on apple, it's okay, because she's learning to love healthy food. She can devour a pear in minutes, but it's the lack of teeth that slows here down on the apples!

The other day she happened to find a calligraphy set that I had received years ago for Christmas....she pulled it out of the shelf and decided to sort through the box until she found an opened wax cartridge that of course hadn't dried up over the years....and like any baby would do, she popped it in her mouth to suck on it. I twas a beautiful shade of hunter green...as you can see by the photos below...

She was such a good girl to stick her tongue out for the camera! Arggg, what am I gonna do with this kid?? Soon after she decided it was time to learn how to get n the couch like the 'big' folks do ....(you can take that any way you like!!!) and within minutes she was sitting beside her big bro. Gabe looked at me and said 'Mommy, we love eachother'...it was one of those moments where you'd just like to press pause on life, and relish in the moment of LOVE!!

Here she is showing off her climbing skills...

It's been a lot of pictures of Ashy lately, but she's just at that stage of life where everything she does is silly or troublesome, I feel like she is pure entertainment for me! She can give kisses and hugs, throw tantrums, say hi, bye, momma, dada, uh-oh, and her best trick of all....she can now take off her own shirt. I'm just so proud of her for learning THAT one....the number of times I'm putting her shirt back on, is just a workout in itself.

Today

I caught a glimpse of what Ashlyn may look like when she's a little older. Today on the change table she smiled at me and I could see all of her little top teeth and her hair was just so , that it looked longer....it was so neat.

I often look at people and when I see their baby pictures I think ...yes....that's was you. You can tell by the eyes or the shape of the face. It's so hard to tell what your child will look like as an adult, I quite often find myself wondering about that, yet not wanting to wish the years away.

I've been pulling out the video camera more and more these days, trying to capture the mundane as well as the eccentric moments. I want it etched into something more permanent than my memory, available at my fingertips to go back in time.

I can't wait to whip out the video of Gabe dancing as hard as he can to Dora, or how he chatters about the little things.... My mom recently made a small video for me ...a compilation of short videos she has taken on her digital camera over the past year and a half. It was so cute to watch the little things I had forgotten, and to see how similar my babies are.

On another note...I found myself feeling cooped up this morning and the hubs noticed and handed me my i-pod and pointed at my running shoes. I gratefully took the hint and headed out the door in what I realized after, were my pyjamas. (they could pass for regular capri pants...but they were my jammies!) It felt so good.

The air was like a popsicle on my lips once I wetted them and the feeling of cool, crisp morning breath reaching the depths of my lungs was empowering. Ahhhh, I let my mind go and just listened to the thump of the music and the snap of the electric fences as I passed. It was glorious. My bed head bobbed in the breeze and my shoes crunched the gravel....All I could think is why don't I do this more often?

Today was a great day ....thanks to Mom. She invited the kids and I over for an apple crisp baking morning, and lunch. Together we made 9 apple crisps, and she made a wonderful homemade soup for lunch with warm pitas....it was delicious. The perfect thing to do, on a blustery day where the weather couldn't decide whether to rain or snow.

I also borrowed my mom's sewing machine as my $20 'dress maker' sewing machine was pretty well dismantled by my 2 year old. Needless to say, I'll be closing the den door when I set up Mom's machine. I have 2 aprons I'm trying to sew, they will (potentially) be stylish aprons that I won't mind wearing (that is...if aprons can be stylish??!!). I'll post pics once I get them done.

This afternoon I was treated to a snuggle with Gabe as he climbed up on me and said "Mommy?" .... 'I like your neck.' Then he snuggled his head into my shoulder. It felt so nice to sit quietly in the rocker with my son, smelling his sweet hair and chattering about everything and nothing.

That's what makes a great day for me.

Little man..

The most wonderful thing in the world for me to hear, is the sound of my little man talk about Jesus.

A while ago Gabe mentioned he was scared of lions and he thought there was one in his bedroom one night. He made his way to our room and as he layed beside me he said "Mommy?" ..."There's a Lion in my room.." I said "No, there's no Lions, they are only in the zoo." He said "Oh...I talked to Jesus because I was scared"

When he comes home from Sunday school he talks about what he learned. Last Sunday it was "Bugs...and Jesus" (creation) another Sunday it was "water and the waves...2 waters" (the parting of the red sea).

We try to read the childrens bible after we eat and ask Gabe to pray before dinner...he hasn't yet, but I can't wait to hear him pray...

5 years..

Happy Anniversary Dwight!!

It's official, we've been married 5 whole years! I can't remember life before him very clearly, and we've just fit together so beautifully, it's a match made in Heaven.

The weather on our wedding day was so much more beautiful than today.....it was sunny, and the ladybugs were flying in masses. Our pictures were taken on the farm in front of the bull rushes and our reception was at at a local hall. We decorated with fall themes, and even the trees played along with their leaves all aglow.

Ahh the memories...and here we are 2 kids and 5 years later :)

Babes...

Ashlyn is doing so well with her walking now, it seems like she's finally caught the hang of it and no matter how many times she stumbles, she's right back up trying again. It's really nice to not have to hold her 24/7 and have her gain some real independance. She's eating little finger foods on her own, she gets around by herself and can play for up to and hour with her toys by herself. This age is pretty nice.

We had Gabe and Ashlyn close in age ...they're 18 months apart and I must admit it has been quite busy. I think if Gabriel had reached his milestones earlier it may have been a less-stressful pregnancy, because carrying a 35 lb child around when you're 8 months pregnant is a little rough...as is the excruciating heart burn, the dizzy spells, high blood pressure and nausea for 9 months straight (thank you diclectin!)

Even though pregnancy is pretty difficult for me... I know I'll have another one, I really love children and it's so incredibly worth 9 months of torture in the end!

We caught up with some friends of ours yesterday who have just had baby and he is currently weighing in around 8 lbs., What a sweetheart! It ignited a small flame inside me, a craving, a raw maternal instinct and brought back a flood of memories from what was just a small while ago. Even though I felt these urges...I won't be acting on them too soon. I'm enjoying my babies so much right now and am looking forward to a year of being a healthy Mom to these 2 little angels.

Psalm 139:13 & 14

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Account...

As I sit and watch my fingers dance away, I can hear the siren like theme song of Dora the Explorer and smell the roasting Cornish hens in the oven, My house is a very comfortable temperature, and I feel blessed to be alive today.

I had a thought earlier of what it may be like when I meet Jesus face to face. I thought about how when we make it to heaven and we have to give an account of our actions and decisions..., explaining why we chose to do what we did....I wondered how that would go.
I can only imagine we will be laying face down in pure respect and reverance and complete and utter amazement, awe and humbleness, nearly fainting from wonder. Realizing we had this great opportunity to live our life for him, tell others about him, and praise him in all we do.....and what did we do with that opportunity??

I know there are too many times to count, when I've chosen my selfish nature over something I knew would be more pleasing to the Lord. My thoughts earlier today were on this moment of meeting our Awesome Creator and when we are giving an account for our sins....will he show us what our life would have been like had we chosen the correct path, and made the right decisions?

We are all given free choice...it's what you do with that free choice that's pleasing or dis-pleasing to the Lord. I think about that moment and wonder if I truly, with all I have, earnestly make the effort to make the correct choice in a given opportunity...How that would change my 'moment of account'.

We have the opportunity to be more than just a resident in Heaven. We have the opportunity to be given responsibilities and earn crowns...... I wanna earn crowns.....and I want to cast them at his feet.

Believing in Him as your Personal Saviour is just the beginning. Once you've had an encounter with Christ, your life will be changed forever. How could you not want to change your life......?

Today I was subjected to watch 'wiggles' (4 middle aged men dancing and singing with dinosaurs and dogs while saying Baanaanaa (aussie accent)) 4 times in a row. I couldn't help but think how lovely it would be to have some adult content in the movie...but no .....fruit salad is about as good as it gets.

Tonight we were supposed to go to the mall together as a family unit when my son decided it would be a great time to throw up. Gabe has an fascinatingly strong gag reflex. We decided to sit with the hubs as he finished his dinner before we left, and all it took was Gabe smelling the beef on a bun...and it was all over.
It all depends on what time of day it is, if he's just woken up, and whether his imagination is in full gear or not. Tonight he had just woken up and apparently his imagination was turned on...way on. To Gabriel, that beef on a bun could have been dirt and worms on a cow patty. Mmm...I just puked a little in my mouth.

So ..we decided the hubs would just go to his chiro appt. and then come home. I just wasn't too sure at that point whether Gabe was truly ill, or was just 'overcome' with overactive gagging. I now know it was surely the latter, as he is currently racing around the house with a fire truck, on his knees, shaking the windows as he passes. (Our friend Lotte from Holland used to call Gabe 'Thunder'.)

Gabriel just finished telling me that Ashlyn needs a cape on, to get her big hair and her beard cut. Ummm...have you seen Ashlyn...?? the girl has so little hair that bows and barrettes hardly have anything to cling to. (Refer to Dedication 101) I must give him some credit though...she got vaseline in her hair and what little she does have is standing straight up like a mohawk...she's just so feminine.

She's become a testy little thing these last few days...and provoking. Today I was folding laundry on the coffee table while the kids were watching the first installment of 'Wiggles' (it was a rainy day today so T.V and playdoh were our 2 main options) when Ashlyn decided to come and try out my mood. She stood at the side of the table and smiled at me....awww, sweetheart. Then with no warning it was game on. Towels flying, clothes falling, Ashlyn pouncing like a Puma (Gabe will willingly fill you in on how a Puma pounces and growls thanks to Diego)...anyway...there she was screaming wildly, and there I was almost doing a full body lay on the precious work I had just done. Nooooo, noooo!!! She relented....for a second. After I told her in a stern voice 'No more'. Again...the grin...somewhat satisfied, somewhat sly.

It turned into a little slap of the pile here ... and a little slap of the pile there. She would dart her hands over to a new pile and spank it...just to see my reaction. After a few of my down turned eyebrow looks...she finally gave up. Satisfied with her first attack of the day.

She was moving on to bigger and better things.....she decided to pull the hubs armpit hair to help herself stand up.

That's my girl.

OKAY then, let's discuss potty Training. Thus far it has been one of the most frustrating milestones my child has had to learn. He's learned to walk with having Ocular Motor Apraxia, He's very well spoken, he knows his ABC's and can almost count to 20. Buuuuutt, potty training is a whole 'nother ball game.

I used to think that if my child was able to ask for a diaper change then he should TOTALLY be toilet trained. I used to think that a child over the age of 2.5 - 3 that wasn't trained already, was a product of poor parenting. I used to think that this wouldn't be the most frustrating, most time-consuming, most gut-wrenching, gag flexing, bleach using, paper towel buying,....milestone my child would have to reach.

Riiiight. About that.

There have been 3 day stretches where he has gone to the potty and had no accidents...then we made a fatal error in putting a pull-up on him for our drive to Frankenmuth and in that short time, all our hard work came undone. Poo. literally.

Today he has been making progress again and I was beginning to think things were perhaps getting on track again....then I was on the phone a little too long and...Poo. literally.

2 steps forward, 1 step back right?

Adios, Line of credit!!

Whew...we did it again. The monthly shop that is....it went super fabulously..and my fridge and pantry are chalk full!!! what a great feeling!

My meal plan is made and posted on the fridge, and I'm currently trying to use up some old freezer items and some beef to see how long I can stretch my week before I have to start in on the new ingredients :)

We PAID OFF our line of Credit today!!!!!!!!!!! What an accomplishment...we walked out of the bank with the biggest smiles on our faces! then treated ourselves to a $6.00 pizza from little ceasers to celebrate..Mmm mmm.

We now only have a student loan from Dwight that is the only thing keeping us from absolute debt freedom. Last month we were able to pay off our car and hopefully by april the Student loan will be gone as well. This tight budgeting has really saved us from going over the edge. I couldn't stand to think of taking accounting in highschool and I despised math, but when it comes down to the decimal point on my monthly spending, I am so accurate!

Financial stress is so overwhelming. I understand when people say how much worry they have from it, and how people live paycheck to paycheck. Dwight and I have lived that way...until now. We will now have a savings account and it's a first for us!! We have struggled SO much in the past ...but have come to the realization that it's just not worth it. THINGS are not worth it. I don't mean to harp on this but it really is a milestone for us and it's my blog ....soooo ...!!!

Anyway ...just had to share our happiness for the month!

Dedication...

Ashlyn was dedicated on Sunday.

It was a stressful morning, running around the house, it totally blew my whole ' un-stressful, day of rest, clean house, meals made day prior' day out of the water. It was like a tornado blew through our house and all I could think about was how I wanted my daughters bow to stay in her hair!!

Once we got to church things calmed down, but the thought of getting up in front of a large crowd always makes me sweat...and this day was no different. Sweaty armpits and all, we made it up to the front without tripping!

Pastor Doug prayed for Ashlyn and we promised to raise her in a loving and christ-focused home as we dedicated her to the Lord. It was wonderful.

Here is a picture from my moms camera of us all at the front...

Tricky Mother Nature ..

I think autumn wants to dress up as winter for Halloween...

This gives you an idea of how tall our corn was this year. Currently this field is now covered in about 2 cm of SNOW! blah....it was like a shock to my system yesterday...Gabe thought it was the greatest thing, he's already forgotten what winter was like. Ashlyn got the biggest grin on her face when she saw the puffy flakes falling from the sky, she said 'Eeeeee' and gave herself a hug, like she was holding onto a soft blanket. It was pretty cute.

Patty-cake, Patty-cake....

Consider it child labour, I've now enlisted my son to help me create my 'un-bought, few-ingredient, schemed up, baked treats'.

I'm hoping to do our next monthly shop on Saturday...WE DID IT!!!! We've (almost) made it a month on cooking and only eating out 2ce. (Wendys on the way to Hamilton, and Tony Roma's for D's b-day) Ahhhh, the feeling of success. Oh ....we did buy chips the other night, ...not exactly a fresh food (to fit into the $10/weekly for fresh stuff) But MAAAANNN were they good!

Today is a special day....

The cake turned out...at least I think so, you can be the judge. Here's how I did it:

It turned out to be a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend didn't it? We went to church Sunday morning and then we were treated to a delicious meal, a feast rather. Too much food to mention (and our hostess was gracious enough to pack us up some leftovers!) After dinner we went for a stroll with the extended family along a marina boardwalk, chatted for a while then headed home to put our babies to bed...they were full of turkey and love.

On Monday the Hubs and I decided to start our own family tradition of going for a nature walk. We headed to the local conservation area and it was SO enjoyable....the weather was just right for a sweater and a pair of running shoes, and the leaves were starting their colourful decent. We both had a hot coffee in our hands and fresh air in our lungs....delicious.Gabe was having so much fun...he was chattering about all the leaves and tree roots and birds, we found this little guy hopping along our path....can you spot him?

Ashlyn was content to grab the leaves off the trees as she would pass them by, clutching handfuls and roaring with glee at her accomplishment while safe in her daddy's arms.



Today is a new day, Thanksgiving is now over for another year but the thankfulness won't be leaving my heart as the season passes. The more thankful I am, the more I realize how much I have, constant thanks giving helps me to stay focused on the positive...

Dwight is trying to stay focused on the positive, today, he turns 30.


Happiest Birthday to my best friend, my Husband, my love and companion through this adventure called life, in all it's ups and downs....I've enjoyed the journey so much more with you by my side, showing me the real, true, and peaceful side of living.

Thank you for everything you are, everything you strive to be and for being the strong, faithful leader of our family.

You are what dreams are made of....

"I said I wanna touch the
earth

I wanna break it in my
hands

I wanna grow something wild and
unruly

I wanna sleep on the hard
ground

In the comfort of your
arms

On a pillow of
bluebonnets

In a blanket made of
stars

Oh it sounds good to me

I said Cowboy take me
away

Fly this girl as high as you
canInto the wild blue

Set me free oh I
pray

Closer to heaven above and Closer
to you closer to you

I wanna walk and not
run

I wanna skip and not
fall

I wanna look at the
horizon

And not see a building standing
tall

I wanna be the only
one

For miles and
miles

Except for maybe
you

And your simple
smile

Oh it sounds good to
me

Yes it sounds so good to
me

Cowboy take me
away

Fly this girl as high as you
can

Into the wild
blue

Set me free oh I
pray

Closer to
heaven above and Closer to you"

Happy Thanksgiving....

So here's the cake I'm trying to make for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes it's a cake ... a roasted turkey cake. We're celebrating 3 birthdays as well so I thought I 'd combine the birthday and Thanksgiving celebrations! Leave it to me to come up with something so corny. So far I have the body parts baked and cut out and I was trying different icing colours this morning and I had bought a peach colour thinking I could add some red or orange to give it a golden look ....well not so, it was a salmonelly, raw turkey look. Just not appetizing.... So my MIL came to the rescue with a brown food colouring...hopefully that does the trick. We'll be having one dinner on Sunday and some delicious leftovers (from another dinner we'll be missing) on Monday.

I'll post pics of the turkey cake once it's finito, Please wish with me that it won't become a "peach coloured lumpy mess" as my friend Jen was guessing it may turn out to become.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving....or Givingthanks as the commercial calls it. We are so blessed, let's focus upwards and onwards...giving thanks for all we have and are.

Give Thanks...

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son

And now, let the weak say "I am strong"

Let the poor say "I am rich"

Because of what the Lord has done for us

Give Thanks.

Slowly wasting away...

As it stands I have lost 5 lbs. ...this is from sheer starvation rather than a healthy approach to weight loss. And I must tell you, the starvation is not so much a choice, as it is ...well an un-choice. (Even my brains are begging for junk food)

I currently eat 3 square meals a day and even get some baked treats (baked treats aren't as special as they once were..they have become a necessity, I have flour and sugar and butter....so I now MAKE junk food, rather than buy it...stick some baker's chocolate in my baked treat, and I'm good to go :)

I hope to lose about 15 lbs by Christmas. I'm sure that at the beginning of each monthly shop when I'm stocked full of treats again, I'll put a few back on...but the idea is to keep it off, so perhaps starvation is the key...?? And to be honest, I really shouldn't even use that word to describe what I doing....it's more like emaciated...(kidding, kidding!)

I'm actually quite full and my meals are still great, it's the brain and the tastebuds telling me they want a thrill.....yesterday Gabe and I sat down and polished off nearly a 1/2 a jar of olives....Mmm. salt.

Anyway, I've already started the list for next month and LET me tell you, there's oreos on it !!

Okay...I'm at a turning point ..... Currently, as it stands....there is very little chocolate to be found in my house. It's almost gone...even the things resembling chocolate...ie-bakers chocolate and OLD chocolate letters are beginning to become treats. I found a very old cadbury creme egg at the back of my cupboard this morning, and I'm eating it...the insides aren't even runny anymore, they're solid.... But it's chocolate. Has it come to this?

I've learned a few things...
*I need to buy more chocolate to last me the month..(is there diet chocolate??)
*I need 6 loaves of bread instead of 4(I KNOW!! grill cheese takes up alotta bread).
*I need 8 cans of apple juice instead of 6.
*I forgot to buy razors... my bristly legs could probably brush my hair right now.
*Making your own baby wipes just isn't worth the time and effort (especially when you get an uneven one and think there's wipe under your fingers ...when there isn't).
*Reminds me it's time to cut my fingernails...(ewwwwyyy. sorry, I was laughing out loud thinking of writing that...hope you're still with me).
*My kids LOVE cheese...time for another block.

Anyway, I really can't wait to go shopping again...and get better and more efficient every time.

Word cloud

Here is an interesting link to find out what words are used most in your blog....it's called a word cloud.

2 week point...

So this month of hard core budgeting has been going very well. We 're heading into week 3 and so far I've bought $10 a week of fresh fruits and veggies and milk. (This is what we agreed on ...in order to avoid scurvy..) My meal plan has remained true, we haven't made many adjustments at all.

Each morning I wake up, get the kids ready and one of the first things I do once I get downstairs is check out the meal plan to see what I'll be shopping for in the basement grocery store. I grab the recipe card, then go shopping in the freezer and pantry.

We have yet to eat out. This is a MAJOR accomplishment for me....I have cooked every meal for 2 weeks straight. We will be eating out on October 10th, as it is the hubs 30th birthday, but in staying true to being frugal...we will be using a coupon for a free birthday meal!!! (okay ewww, I really am taking this to the limit aren't I??)

On another note, Ashlyn is getting ALL 4 top teeth at the same time, poor dolly. She's been fevering on and off for a couple days and has some rosy cheeks, I've given some teething items...... but so far .... a whole pear is what keeps her happy. Just munching away on a soft, sweet bartlett pear. Here are some pics...

1st Birthday

Here she is thinking 'Look at my loot! I did good didn't I??'

Well the little princess had her first birthday yesterday and all was a success, cake turned out (surprise, surprise), Ashlyn was happy (for the most part), and everyone was smiling .....(I think)..

I thought I'd post some pics with captions and just let the photos tell you about the big day...

Daddy's little girl

Big brother had to help...

Girls and their clothes.... :)

We gave her a big piece of cake and she squished it and squeezed it and then gobbled it up!