Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Aldi: Take One

I went to Aldi today for the first time... We've started doing Dave Ramsey, and so I'm working really hard to stay below our grocery budget. I still needed quite a bit for the things I was making for Thanksgiving tomorrow so I decided to swing by our local Aldi first, and finish at Walmart...

I'm pretty sure they should have a course on how to shop at Aldi. I had my arms full with a wiggly boy and his stuffed bull dog, a diaper bag, my purse and shopping list. I went to get the cart and to my amazement they cost a quarter.

What?!

No debit cards?!

Haha. It was my lucky day, though: there was a middle aged man who had tried to put his cart back, but couldn't figure it out so he was nice and snuck it to me. Woot woot!!!

So away we went...

I definitely will continue to shop at Aldi. I got almost everything on my list for $16!!!

I did have to BUY a reusable bag, though. I was unaware that they don't provide you with bags (again: a course on shopping at Aldi couldn't hurt).

But anyway, overall I was pleased.

I'm not quite sure why, but Keegan ADORED it. He greeted everyone we passed, and cheered at everything he saw up and down the aisles. At some points he even sounded like he was going to hyperventilate!

By the time we got to Walmart, I was pretty sure this was Keegan's dream day (he LOVES grocery shopping). By the time we reached the back of Walmart Keegan started Eskimo kissing me and hugging me really tight.

Who knew being frugal could be so much fun?!?! :)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

No shoes, no socks, no problems

Out of the blue, Keegan has started rejecting shoes and socks.

He's always done great, but a couple weeks ago every time we're in the car, Keegan rips off his shoes, throws them on the floor ("uh-oh, mommy") and then tugs and tugs on his socks until he's finally down to bare feet, and then quickly falls asleep...

A few things I find funny about this:

#1) One of my greatest pet peeves (ever since I was a little kid!) is socks hanging and dragging off of feet. Ugh! So annoying. On or off, there should be no in between! Ha! So his struggle with removing his socks leaves us with quite a bit if that in between stuff... Bahahaha!

#2) My mother in law JUST shared that when my husband was a little boy, he always pulled off his socks and shoes in the car whenever they drove anywhere. I specifically commented on how annoying that would be to have to wrangle a busy little boy and all his stuff in addition to having to struggle to get his socks and shoes on... Well played, Keegy, well played.

#3) Lately he's been fussing once his socks are off until I turn on our Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas CD. Yup, seriously. He chills out as soon as I turn it on and conks out shortly after.

I just love it. It's hysterical and 100% Keegan Michael.

My little barefoot, Mormon Tabernacle Choir loving, Christmas boy.

Happy Thanksgiving Break!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

What I want you to know:

Let me just clarify that this blog post is not intended to be super morbid or to proclaim that I am an amazing fountain of wisdom... Haha! That being said...

I recently read an article in Parents magazine about the importance of not only having a will, but also getting your most important thoughts that you want to share with your children in print so that if (God-forbid) you should pass before you get to express these things to your children, they can always know what was near and dear to your heart.

So here's my attempt. Not just for Keegan Michael, but for any other children we may be blessed with in the future:

On Love-

You will most likely fall in love a few times. But don't settle. You really will find that person that you naturally "click" with. Everything shouldn't be an argument. You really can find someone that you love AND get along with. And hopefully you can make each other laugh. The most important thing on love I learned in a sermon at Highland Park Baptist Church when I was in 11th grade, which I circled and wrote in purple pen: LOVE IS A CHOICE. Pick someone that will also make that CHOICE to love you, even at your worst. And do the same for them. Don't over complicate marriage. It's not that complex: choose to love that person, and treat them how you want to be treated as a spouse.

On Money-

Money doesn't grow on trees. You have to work hard for it- and please don't take it for granted or feel entitled to THINGS. Don't spend money you don't have. Live within your means. Don't judge others who have more or less than you- you have no idea what their circumstances are- just live kindly, and be wise with your finances please.

On mistakes-

Everyone will always tell you that you have to learn from your own mistakes. That's true. But, I pray that for the big things you will be smart enough to learn from OTHER people's mistakes and do everything possible to not make their mistake too.

On religion-

I have prayed for your soul since before you were born. I pray that you completely understand the gift that Christ lavished on YOU by laying down His life. I pray that you choose to live in a manner worthy of that sacrifice, and that you show love and kindness to others as a result. I pray that you can trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding- because there is so much more hope in life when you can rest in the fact that if you acknowledge Him- HE will make your paths straight.

On relationships-

You will meet people that dislike you. But be kind anyway! Hopefully you can touch their hearts by your kindness. The hardest thing to do is to love people that have hurt you, and to pray for their hearts. I've found that's the only way to handle them, without losing your mind! :)

This is just my heart. I'm not asking for you to do everything I list, I just hope you consider it. I'm not some guru at life, nor do I proclaim to be, but I hope that my sweet children can reference my words years and years and years from now. But I hope even more that I can be your annoying mom who offers up her advice in a hard time, even though you'll roll your eyes at me most of the time!


You, doing that thing you do...

My sweet son...

The things you do amaze me.

I cannot believe your mine.

Even when you shout "no no no no no!" at me, I'm just amazed that you're mine.

Let's touch on some of my favorite Keegan-ism's at 18 Months:

"Oh my!"
"Oh boy!"
"Uh-oh..."
"I do!!!!!"
"See?!?! See?!?!"
"Mommieeeeeee!"
"Tick-ah, Tick-ah, Tick-ah! (Tickle)"
"Meeeeeeee (please)"
"Potty!!!"
"Bye, See you!"
"Bye, Tinkle! (when we flush the potty!"
"Dogs! Down!"
"Yummy!!!"
"Heh-whoa (Hello?!"
"Hi!"
"Choo-Choo!!!"
"Yay!! (while clapping)"
"Thank you!"
"I Sar (I'm sorry)"

And one of my favorites is how you refer to Bob the Builder:

"BOB-AH" or "Bobby!!"

Haha! I have no clue where you learned that, but it's hysterical!

There is never a dull moment. And you are SO busy. So busy. My body is sore from chasing you so much. But every day I love you more.

Recently I realized something: you will NEVER love me as much as I love you. And that's just fine. But you will definitely love your own baby as much as I love you- I'm confident in that. And I'm already proud of the awesome father that (Lord-willing) you will be.

Okay, cheeseball moment over.

Let's discuss how big you are:

You are a little boy still. Still 10th percentile for weight and height, and 90th for head (you're brilliant! Ha!).

You are a big cousin now, too. You are a GOOD big cousin. At first you were leery, but the last time you saw him you boys were just two peas in a pod. I'm so excited for you two to grow up friends. I pray that you all will grow big and strong and close as friends! We just wish we could see Baby Cohen and his parents more- but we treasure the time that we have!

You are a Mr. Goofball at school. The teachers have referred to you as "something else" after you get all the other children riled up doing something silly. Just recently one of the teachers told Daddy that during lunch time you got the whole table singing "Do do do do do!" and no one would eat their lunch.

You are a BIG goof!!

You clean up after yourself like a big boy. You have learned to wipe up your own spills, and to even put the towels back that you use. Thank you, Mr. Helpful!

You are also going tinkle on the potty on a decently regular basis. I hope Santa Claus brings you another potty so we can really focus on the potty training since you're such a big boy already!

You also love a good back massage. If you're having a difficult day, you'll climb up into the armchair and start the massage chair all for yourself! You press your back up against it and say "Ahhhh!" You sure are your momma's boy! :)

You are a smarty pants. You know what a sheep, cow, dog, cat and duck say. You repeat most letters after us. We say, "One, two," and you shout "Three!!!"

Thank you for being kind. Thank you for being friendly and BRAVE! We love you so much and love playing with you- no matter how tired we are now! Ha!



Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

Keegan Michael went trick or treating for the first time this year.

Yes, I realize this is VERY late. But let's be real, I'm a busy lady!

I'm inspired by people I know that don't spend much time on Facebook, and I would love to do that. I'm realizing I'm wasting my time away on there- and I'm realizing how precious my time with my family is. Maybe I can start spending less time on Facebook and more time doing fun things with my family and blogging about it later?!?!

Well, back to Halloween...

Keegan had a blast. He LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba, and I got a heck of a deal on a Brobee costume on Amazon. It ended up being the perfect costume for a cold night. He was the coziest monster around!!!

He was a little leery of approaching people's doors (which was shocking given my son's incredible disposition when people he doesn't know come and hold him), but eventually he warmed up.

He approached each door by the end yelling for "NA! NA! (Snack! Snack!)"

He had a blast. All in all it was a success. Keegy has now developed a sweet tooth for suckers and chocolate.

That-a-boy! :)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Catching up

First of all- let’s start out by saying how lame I am… AGAIN. And I’m done committing to blogging more since that obviously still doesn’t offer me enough accountability to actually DO that.
SO- to all of my “loyal” readers (aka- maybe one person in Ukraine, and my one reader in Oman!)- I am sorry for my laziness and inconsistency!

So let’s get started.

My baby is not a baby anymore. It’s like he sprouted up overnight and turned into a full-blown toddler. Tantrums and all. He knows enough communication to be able to say things like, “Uh-huh” and “Uh-Uh”- which makes it really fun when he’s picking out a snack from an entirely full pantry. We’ll spend about 10 minutes of him screaming pointing at an entire shelf and I have to hold item by item up asking if that’s what he wants. HA! It’s pretty fun, though, especially now that he’s able to pick out what books he’d like to read and what toys he’d like to play with.

He says, “I DO!!!!” very enthusiastically when we ask who wants to take a bath, or go to school, etc. It is funny! He’s also picked up a habit from his decently OCD mother and runs to get clean microfiber dish towels from the kitchen to clean up any mess he makes. And you know, he does a really great job. He even puts the towels back! Monkey-see, monkey-do… and THIS Mommy likes when that involves cleaning up after himself.

My “baby” is still very little at least. He went to the doctor last week for a little bug he had. He’s still just over 21 lbs. Pretty sure that’s what he was at his one year appointment- and now he’s just over 17 months old. That is nuts- and awfully tiny and pocket-sized cute if you ask me! His small stature hasn’t seemed to weaken him or deter him at all. He’s BUSY. He RUNS. ALL. THE. TIME.

And in our new house, we actually have a neighborhood that we can walk around with sidewalks and nice houses that will be PERFECT for trick-or-treating. It will be SO FUN!

Let’s move on to equally important news….

Did anyone else watch REVENGE last night?! I was heated and stressed the whole time- but it’s the BEST feeling. I LOVE that show!!! It is so stressful in the absolutely best way! I mean, [SPOILER ALERT] I really felt the whole time that I knew that Veronica was alive, which as much as she’s horrible- she just adds so much to the show I personally would have been really disappointed to see her go.

And, I’m almost positive that Jack Porter is not Amanda’s baby’s father.

And now I’ll admit- I just read the past two paragraphs, and don’t watch the show, you’re going to think that I probably sit home all afternoon watching some Stories. Ha! Stories… Soap Opera’s… Drama’s. I do NOT by the way. I’d much rather watch some good ole’ Dr. Phil, or Dr. Oz. Or Nate Berkus- that is, until they cancelled his show which is super disappointing BTW.

Oh, and I have a braggy moment about the awesome dinner I made last night. I made the most delicious goat cheese stuffed portabella mushrooms. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Mandy, you’re crazy. That’s so much work and sounds like something you’d order at a fancy restaurant.”

Well, let me tell you- you are correct on the latter and ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT on the former. It was SO easy. Oh, you’d like the recipe? I’d be happy to oblige:

Goat cheese stuffed portabella’s:

Take your portabella mushrooms and cut the stems off.

In a Pyrex drizzle both sides of the mushrooms with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Cook cap-side up at 350 for approximately 15 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and flip them over. Cut up pieces of goat cheese and fill the mushrooms.

Chop up some fresh basil and sprinkle on top of the goat cheese.

Spoon a little of the excess sauce over the top.

Bake at 350 for another 15 minutes.


Mmmm! So good- I promise!!!!!






Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Three years ago yesterday...

Three years ago yesterday I married my BEST friend. EVER.

I started thinking recently about how I can hardly remember life without him. And I so don't even want to because he made life that much better. Never in my life had I met someone who I had such natural chemistry with. I'd never met anyone who made me feel as special as my husband makes me feel. He's so patient with me. I'm lucky.

It dawned on me- even more so- during our recent move: I've developed OCD in regards to little things around my house. For instance- folding towels in our bathroom. Fold it hot dog style like a hotel and then half way, half way, and VOILA! Perfectly folded towels. My husband literally learned how to fold towels for me.

And you know what he did a couple weeks ago? We use microfiber towels (you know- the bright yellow ones typically used to clean cars?) around our house for everything. I wash them about once a week. While we were folding them a couple of weeks ago, he asked, "Is there any way I should be folding these?" I explained that I like the fold all facing the same way for some uniformity. I felt stupid and silly saying that- but it was true. I would have gone and fixed them later if they weren't!

Instead of telling me I was ridiculous or stupid, Kris' response was, "Well, control what you can control I guess."

Really?

I've got a good man.



Kristopher,

Thank you for not making me feel ridiculous. Thank you for understanding who I am- but not just understanding it- but loving me for it.

Thank you for working so hard. We are so proud of you.

Thank you for still making me laugh really hard almost every single day. :)

You're the best husband and father.

We love you.

Your bride and your first born