Photos, Fingerprints, Crayons and Coffee

The Pirate Queen: A Review

2011-02-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

The Pirate Queen
A Novel
By Patricia Hickman

Saphora Warren and her plastic surgeon husband live an idyllic life that most would envy. In fact, the book starts on their front lawn with Saphora hosting a garden party for a Southern Living Magazine cover shoot. But, all that she can think about is executing her well laid plan to leave her husband and her life, to escape to their summer home in Oriental.
She was on her way out the door and out of his life, when Bender Warren comes home and tells her that he has terminal cancer. He then announces that he wants to go to their home in Oriental to fight the disease. So, with her head spinning, she acquiesces to his request and takes him to Oriental.

My favorite character is a little boy named Tobias. He is a sweet, old soul with wisdom beyond his years. A sickly child with a strict regimen of meds, and rejected by most. He maintained an unworldly attitude through it all. I think Saphora learned alot about love from watching Tobias live.

Saphora is struggling with her husbands infidelity through the years and caring for him at the same time. All in all she handles herself with grace and dignity. She is struggling with her desire to just be alone with her thoughts, like her original plan. When she finally finds that quiet, she despises it. She is struggling to remember why she fell in love with Bender Warren, and when she had just became an accessory to hang on his arm. Finally she is searching to find God in all this mess.
This is a story of love and finding a way to forgiveness in more than one way.
This story has many different branches, but it is all brought together in the end. I would recommend this book to my friends.

You can purchase this book here.
Click on the "Blogging for Books" box above to learn more about how you can do this too.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Flight of Shadows: A Review

2010-12-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer

Would I say that Flight of Shadows was a page turner? No. Not like the books I usually read. It does, however, have a compelling story of a girl who was conceived in a test tube and genetically altered to have some very one of a kind characteristics. Out of many, she is the only "experiment" that is functioning. Other than having a hunchback, she is an ordinary looking young woman. But, because of the unique situation, her DNA holds the key to some lifechanging secrets. She is being tracked by the government, a deranged bounty hunter, and a curious guy named Razor who has his own secrets. This story is set 20 years ahead of us, and also includes some political statements regarding the times we live in today and how that effected the future. The world, in this book, is a dark, cold, scary place. Only the people with money have protection and value.
I loved how the author lets you see the humanity of every storyline. The mentality and vulnerablilty of the depraved bounty hunter, the personal life and friendships of the head government agent. The anger and rage bubbling up from an innocent girl that was born to be an experiment.
Even though this book was different, I am so glad I read it. I would recommend it to my friends, and if any of them would like to borrow it...well, just let me know. *wink*

You can purchase this book here.Click on the "Blogging for Books" box above to learn more about how you can do this too.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

If you click on this link and rate my review, it will also enter me to win prizes too...the more ratings I get, the higher chance of winning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

This morning Wyatt came into our room before everyone was awake. He must have said he loved me 5 times, it was so sweet. Eventually he woke Allegra up and went to get her a bunch of cars to share. Then, climbed into her crib and played with her. She was delighted, she loves him so much. I just couldn't stop thinking about how thankful I am for these sweet babies that God has given me. I am so thankful for my husband, who just cleaned the kitchen (and usually always does). I am thankful that he loves us and is a leader. That he works hard to provide for us, even though he would love to be doing something else. I am thankful that we are his priority. I know that's not earth shattering news, but I'm so thankful to God for my family and the love we have for eachother.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

2010-11-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

About a month ago my niece Melissa (who was born on my 6th birthday) asked if I wanted to be a part of blogging about cooking Pioneer Woman recipes. She was asked by her friend Alexis, who I have met through another friend, Savannah. Small world, right?
The idea is that there is a group of ladies and each week one of us gets to pick what we make. My week was last week (I swear I did make this last week) and I picked Roasted Vegetable Minestrone.
I took pictures of my journey, but just look at her link, I really can't outdo her lovely photos!!
Instead of buying the cans of beans, I bought the dried ones in bulk. I would recommend just buying the dang cans. Sometimes I'm just too cheap.

Anyway, I pretty much followed the recipe to a "T" after that. Usually, I like to follow a recipe how it's supposed to be made and then when I'm eating it, I decide what I would change.
For instance, I would definitely use about 4-5 cloves of garlic when I'm sauteing the carrots, onion and celery.

And I really am not a fan of the low sodium chicken broth. For heaven's sake, you just have to end up adding more salt to make it taste good.

And when I'm roasting the vegetables, I might throw in an eggplant if I'm feeling really crazy.

Lookin good!!

When I was done with the soup, I shredded up some spinach into confetti for garnish and grated some Parmesan cheese onto the top off it.

I made up some french bread and spinach salad w/ blue cheese dressing for side dishes.

It was a winner, I'm definitely going to try this again with my tweaks!!

This also got rave reviews last week. Click on the picture for a link to the recipe!

Subway Art T-Shirts

2010-09-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

This project was inspired by a blog post by Destri from The Mother Huddle.
She is doing a series of blog posts called Boutique Style for Less.
In this particular project you take a T-shirt and paint/write adjectives that best describe your kids and their personalities. It was fun and insightful to come up with positive adjectives that describe both of my kids. Ryan asked me if we get to do a negative one too...
Anyway, so I went to Wal-Mart and picked up 2 white long sleeved shirts. Wyatt's was $4 and Allegra's was $3.50. Then I swung by JoAnns for some black and white fabric paint (1.79 ea) and paint brushes($1.99). (I didn't end up using the paint brushes I bought, my MAC makeup brushes worked much better).
I had the 2 different sizes of permanent markers already.

The white paint turned out to be much needed. I accidentally dropped the paintbrush with black paint on Wyatt's shirt, AND I misspelled intelligent on Allegra's...why did it have to be that word? The white acted as whiteout. You can't tell from far away, or if you don't know to look. The white was a lifesaver.
I wanted to incorporate big brother/little sister into these shirts. Wyatt had a big brother shirt when Allegra was born, but Allegra has never had a little sister shirt.
So, here is my version of the Subway Art T-Shirts:

Thanks to Destri for such a fun project!!

"I Wanna Go To A Carnival"

2010-08-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

We literally planned our camping trip around the fact that the Josephine County Fair was in Grants Pass last week. We had planned on going the week before and then canceled and rescheduled so we could go to the fair.
Two years ago, Wyatt got a Boz video where they had a carnival, and ever since he's been talking about going to one. We really wanted to take him to the State fair last year, but didn't make it.
It was so much fun to watch him have fun, to watch the magic in his eyes. After smearing on a thick layer of sunblock and a couple other little stops we made our way to the rides. On our way into the fairgrounds, Wyatt had set his sights on a ride that he called the Skeeter. And that's all we heard about...so that's where we went. You know the roller coaster that goes in a circle and goes up and down all herky jerky like? Ya, that one. That was the first one we went on. I'm not sure I can even explain his excitement. We climbed into that ride, just him and I, and he laughed and giggled at the beginning. Towards the middle of the ride I think we were both feeling a little dizzy, and he said mama make it stop, I wanna get off. But, as soon as I started screaming and laughing he was laughing and screaming again too. Then, we rode the Ferris Wheel...which was a little unnerving because they don't strap you into anything. Has anyone met Wyatt? He did really good though, well, I did have my hand on him at all times, but he had so much fun. The rest of the rides were fun for him too, but the first two were the ones that I got to do with him. I had so much fun sharing that special time with my son. The rest of the day was fun too...the food, the Carnie drama, the animals, the bull riding rodeo, but for the rest of the day Wyatt kept saying that he wanted to go back to "the fair". We tried to explain to him that it wasn't just the rides that made up the fair, that it was all of it. But he just looked longingly from the stands of the rodeo at all the spinning rides and said he wanted to go back to "the fair". So we bought enough tickets for one more ride and told him that he could pick one. Without even thinking, he said that he wanted to go down the big slide. I tried to talk him into doing something else, because there was something about paying $3 to slide down a slide that just seemed wrong. But he wouldn't be swayed. So he gave the man his ticket, grabbed the gunnysack blanket, and headed up the steep stairs. And this part of the night is my favorite memory. He was slowly headed up those stairs clutching the blanket in one hand and the railing in the other. Midway he turned around and watched as some kids went whizzing past him, his eyes were as big as saucers and fearful. Slowly he turned around and bravely continued up that long, steep, narrow stairway. When he finally reached the top, he had no idea what that blanket was for, so he just dropped it and proceeded to sit down and start to shove off. But there was someone up there helping that got him set straight. He shot down that slide his eyes big and scared and excited all at once, and when he reached the bottom he sprung up and said, "I wanna do it again". For $3 you only get to do that once, but it was so worth it.
For Wyatt, he will be talking about that for months and months, "tell me bout the fair, tell me bout it". For me, I will remember that time for the rest of my life. I know that it probably sounds pretty normal, but for me, it was extraordinary.

Dear Daddy,

2010-06-24T17:29:00.001-07:00

I think it's time for you to lower my crib mattress.

Love,
Allegra

Today I was in our room sorting through some clothes. I had put Sis in her crib sitting up...and this is what happened seconds later. It's only a matter of time that she will be able to do this from laying down...that is why, that mattress is going down tonight!
I love how proud she is of her accomplishment. She is getting busier and busier as she get's older. Lord have mercy! She's so close to crawling.

Mamarazzi Monday: He Woke Her Up To Play

2010-06-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

I have recently found a couple of new blogs that I like to look at. I added them to my side bar, but they are:

The Mother Huddle: they have cute ideas for things to do with kids, fun craft tutorials, cooking posts = right up my alley

&

Household 6 Diva: Army Wife, Busy Mom, Balance Seeker. & originator of

Today I decided to join in the fun. I probably wont do this every Monday, but I'd like to join in every once-in-a-blue-moon...maybe even more often than that! :)

Last Wednesday, Wyatt woke up from his nap before Allegra. He had to go potty so I told him to go through his bedroom. Our bathroom is in the far corner of our 2 bedroom house so we both have doors connecting to the bathroom.
Next thing I know, I hear a door opening. Since he's not big on shutting the bathroom door to begin with, I had a feeling he had went into our bedroom from the bathroom. I braced myself. Then came the giggles. From both of them. I let them play for a few minutes and then went in to check on things....

This is what I found...well this isn't exactly what I found. I ran out of the room and grabbed my camera and THIS is what I got the picture of. What I actually found was Wyatt sitting at the foot of her crib, Indian style, with Allegra's feet in his lap. He was tickling her and she was giggling...that's what I actually found.

Wyatt had hauled Ryan's pillow into the crib and "shared" it with Sis.

Awe...what a sweet moment, and can I just say that in this picture, she looks "thrilled" to have been woken up, LOL.

Sweet smiles from a sweet big brother.

Kisses from Sisserlou

I don't think he was a fan of those kisses so he tried to give her her bink instead.

More giggles

Can you see the love? I can.

Let's try this bink again!

These are the moments that absolutely melt my ♥

He Loves Her

2010-05-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

When we first brought Allegra home from the hospital, Wyatt was smitten. He kissed her and shared all kinds of his special treasures with her. But somewhere in the newness of it all, that wore off. We would try to get him to say hi to her or kiss her or hold her, but he would just ignore her and flat out pretend that she wasn't there.
Now, six months later, Allegra has been smiling and laughing and connecting with us all more and more every day. Wyatt has discovered that he can make her smile and laugh. She loves him. She has always stared at him, has always loved him. But now, they are making that connection.
I have been sitting and quietly relishing sweet moments between them. Wishing that I could grab the video camera and preserve it forever, but knowing that it would ruin the moment. So I just sit and enjoy it.
Tonight, we were at Ryan's parents house. Everyone was somewhere else. It was just the kids and I and Auntie Lisa. Wyatt wanted to play in the "pack n' play" with Allegra, so I put both of them in there and sat and watched him make her smile and look at her with adoration and love in his eyes and say, "I love you sissalou" over and over again. Then, he asked me to take their picture. (he rarely ever asks me to take his picture) AND THEN, he actually smiled.
This was a precious moment that I hope to always hold in my heart...

It's all Going Too FAST!

2010-04-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we officially arrived at my absolute favorite baby stage. It's nice to hit this point because I have really been missing the newborn stage lately.
I plopped Allegra up on her bottom, and low and behold, she stayed up. Our house isn't too conducive to playing on the floor, so we haven't really been trying this with her. But, we were playing on our bed yesterday and I just happened to try it.
I absolutely love this time, she has a little bit of independence but, can't move around yet. We are going to go buy an area rug in the next couple of weeks, so she can have somewhere safe to play.
Today, we were all playing trains together, I sat her on Wyatt's rug and surrounded her with some padding. It's so much fun to get to watch this all over again.

This happened a month before her brother sat up for the first time.
Slow down baby girl...slow down.

Resurrection Rolls

2010-04-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

I put out a request for help the week before Easter for a fun craft to do with Wyatt. I got many great suggestions, but in the end, it was Auntie Geno's recipe for Resurrection Rolls that won out. I had never heard of doing this, but since Wyatt loves to bake this was a natural for us.
The bonus? They are absolutely delicious!!
What you need: And now I'm quoting Geno...
Get some Crescent rolls, cinnamon and sugar, butter and marshmallows.

Roll out the Crescent Rolls. (represents the tomb)
Roll the marshmallow in melted butter and the C&S mixture. (marshmallow represents Jesus)

Now wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll and bake in the oven at 325.

When they come out the marshmallow is gone (representing the empty tomb)

I usually make a simple homemade drizzle icing to have on the top. The cinnamon and sugar and marshmallow melt away into the crescent roll and it is delish!

So, we didn't do the drizzle...it was just one extra step and I really didn't feel like doing it.
But I did try to explain what and why we were doing everything, and then after we put the rolls in the oven, we read about Jesus' death in the Bible.
Then after we took them out and cut into them, the marshmallow was gone, we ate the yummy-ness and then read about Jesus rising from the dead.
It was a great exercise for Wyatt, because the "why" phase is officially in full swing. He has been asking questions here and there ever since.

We didn't have time to actually do this before Easter, but right after. It worked out good for Wyatt to do this after Easter, because then he had something to link it to.
And don't forget...they are very tasty little morsels!
Thanks Geeennnoooo!!

Eating Like A Champ

2010-04-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Allegra has taken very well to eating solid foods, and with absolutely no learning curve. She has been observing us for quite some time now, and when I introduced rice cereal last week, she knew exactly what to do. She has taken it and ran, in addition to rice cereal she has eaten peas, sweet potatoes and bananas. I used a gift card from Target and bought her a new high chair that straps to our dining room chair. I cant believe she's gonna be 5 months next week. I really miss my sweet little newborn, but we are really enjoying this next phase too. Sweet giggles...rolling over...always wanting to stand...exploring her voice...grabbing her feet...playing with her toys... the list goes on.
I just wanted to share this milestone with my friends & family...thanks for letting me brag!
Not that you had much choice.

Drool Catchers

2010-03-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sissy is a drooler. B.I.G. TIME.
She gets these raw and painful rashes if we don't stay on top of it.
So, I have conceded to the fact that she pretty much needs to be wearing a bib at all times.
I started to peruse etsy for some cutsie little bibs to suit "her" style, (*wink*) and found everything to be fairly expensive.

So, I bought a pattern and made some myself.
I'm very happy with the way these turned out, and wanted to share some pictures!

as the saying goes...

2010-03-12T14:56:00.001-08:00

When ya gotta go, ya gotta go!

On Wednesday after mom's group, the kids and I went with my friend Amelia and her kids to Bob's Red Mill. I usually don't go there without my mom. She usually takes Wyatt and I have the baby. Wyatt is very routine oriented. We have traditions and routines when we go to Bob's and it goes something like this:

-Look at the waterwheel
-go inside and order lunch
-go upstairs
-look at the inside of the waterwheel from the window
-go to "our table"
-eat lunch
-lood at the inside of the waterwheel again
-go downstairs
-go potty
-look at grinders
-go shopping
-look at the waterwheel again on the way to our car

Well, we had just finished lunch, and had stopped to look out the window on our way down the stairs. Allegra had been crying because she was H.U.N.G.R.Y. and I was on a mission to "feed the baby". Amelia needed to feed and change Jonah too. So before we shopped, we decided to take them out to the cars and feed them. On our way out the door, Wyatt says, "I hafta go potty--not poo poo just pee". Since that's usually the next thing on our "Bob's Red Mill To Do List" I decided that it was probably more out of habit than need. Besides have you ever tried to wield a heavy baby carrier and drag a toddler around Bob's Red Mill at lunch time?? He didn't sound too urgent, the baby was still crying, so I figured he could wait for a few minutes. (Allegra is a really fast eater)
So, you probably can tell where I'm going with this by now, but we get to the car and I'm fiddling around with my keys. All of a sudden, Wyatt pulls his pants and underwear to his ankles and starts peeing on the sidewalk. He let loose. He really did "hafta go potty". All I could do was stand there dumbfounded, I knew what was coming when I saw the pants go down, but I was completely powerless to stop it. Right there in front of Amelia and her 2 and a half year old daughter Annabelle, Wyatt had dropped his pants and peed on the sidewalk. And then came the laughter. What else can you do? I was so glad he didn't go in his pants. I apologized to Amelia for exposing her innocent daughter...she laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, but you really need to write this down somewhere."

If you haven't been to Bob's yet...you should really go. It's a wonderful experience, with yummy food for breakfast and lunch. They bake their bread right there and its only $1.99 a loaf. My mom and I do bread run's every few weeks. We've tried several different kinds, but we always default back to the 10 grain.

This picture is taken from "our table", we love the view.

And Bob...I'm so sorry about your sidewalk!

My Big Girl

2010-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Allegra has been getting so big lately. Her demeanor has really been changing from being totally laid back, to a little bit more intense. She has not been loving the swing, as of late. She strains with her head to try to sit up, and cries when she can't. The only time I'm able to put her in the swing right now, is if she is sleeping.
So, Jackie let me borrow their excersaucer. Allegra doesn't quite get the complete concept of playing with all of the toys, but she loves that she is upright. I snapped "a few" pictures of her playing in it, and thought I'd share them.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2010-03-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

Ok...I know that a lot of you have already bought The Pioneer Woman's cookbook...and if you haven't yet... come on, everybody's doin it!!
Well, anyway, she has a super simple pizza dough recipe in it. And since I got the book, I'm pretty sure I've made her pizza dough 4 times.
On Sunday's, we rotate houses with family, and instead of going out to eat after evening church service, we trade weeks to host dinner at our houses.
Well last weekend was our turn, and I made pizza.
I made BBQ chicken pizza and Hawaiian for the kiddos.
We loved the BBQ chicken pizza so much that I made it again for dinner last night.
The beauty of pizza is that once you get the hang of making the crust, the sky's the limit as far as toppings go.
Well, with PW's pizza crust, I just use my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook, follow the directions and in about 5 min, I have a beautiful pizza dough to set aside to rise. No kneading needed.

Another trick that I have to staying out of a culinary rut is that I have a couple of magazine subscriptions.
A couple of months ago my FoodNetwork magazine had 50 different pizza variations, and this BBQ chicken pizza looked delicious to me.

Here is a list of ingredients:
-Cooked Chicken mixed with 1/4 c. bbq sauce (I didn't measure, I just got it to a point where all of the shredded chicken was coated and called it good)
(I also put a very thin coat of bbq sauce over the pizza dough before adding all of the toppings)
-Scallions
-Pickled Jalapenos (this would be so yummy without the peppers, but Ryan & I love the spice!)
-1 c. shredded cheddar
bake at 500 degrees until golden. 15 min (PW says 8-10 min but it would depend on how thick you spread your dough...so just watch it till it looks done) I also like a thick crust so I didn't divide the dough like she says to do.

While it's really nice to have company over...the nice thing about keeping it all to ourselves...

...we're having it for dinner again tonight!!!!

Yeah!

How Much Is That Doggie...

2010-03-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

...In the window??

Next I'm going to try to get him singing "Rita Rita Ronca"

Memory Verses

2010-03-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I started working with this little boy on learning memory verses. At first it was great fun for him and he was doing great. Then the excitement started to wane and it became a fight to try to get him to recite them.
We needed something to look forward to, something to bring the fun back into it.
So, I promised him a trip to the Dollar Store and we decided that we were going to make a chart. When it's all full of stickers he get's a special prize. I asked him for a list of the prizes that he wanted. At the top of the list...a music box. (like in Pinocchio)
He's so silly.
Anyway, we are back on track with the memory verses and I don't have to coax them out of him anymore.

Scrapbooking Again!

2010-03-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

I've started digi scrapping again.
I have been snapping all sorts of pictures of Allegra, but other than her birth announcement that is hanging on our fridge, and our Christmas card...not a single picture of her adorns our humble abode.
I have them in my "shopping cart" at Costco. Just need to actually order them. In the meantime, I have the frames ready and waiting (actually hanging on the wall, with these beautiful strangers smiling back at me).
Anyway, I really want Allegra to have a baby book...so I started a digital scrapbook that is just going to be of her.
The layouts are not extravagant, they are simple and to the point. But I'm having so much fun scrap booking for my baby girl. Here is what I have so far:

Whoops...What Color is My Hair Again?

2010-01-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna tell on myself right now.

Today, we went to the zoo with our friends, Jackie, Luke and Natalie. I am very uncomfortable driving over to any part of the west side of town, because I NEVER do. So, I google mapped the directions and away we went. It was going very well, till I over thought it and ended up taking the wrong exit, (instead of merging on to US26, I took the 12th exit) ended up right smack in the middle of downtown and had no idea how to get back to the freeway. It was at this moment, I discovered that my bluetooth headset's battery was dead. So I had to call Ryan on the speaker phone and have him navigate me back to the freeway. So I told him where I was, turned onto Broadway and hit a very bad traffic jam in the right hand lane. I mean, things were just not moving. Ryan had told me that I was going to be taking a right up ahead, so I wanted to stay in the right hand lane. So, I continued to sit in this traffic jam looking up ahead...back to back traffic as far as the eye could see. I couldn't figure out why traffic was flowing so smoothly in the lanes beside me. I was telling Ryan, "I'm in a standstill".
And THEN I happened to look at the ground under the car ahead of me. What were those notches up there? Uh Oh...I looked at the drivers seat...WHAT? No one in it? "Oh man", I said to Ryan, "I've been sitting in front of a string of parked cars".
What an embarrassing thing to admit.
But, I was so befuddled about taking the wrong exit, and then the bluetooth not working, all while trying to navigate around a city that I will never be comfortable driving in.
All's well that ends well though, I made it to the zoo...we had a great time in the cool, crisp sunny fresh air.

Thanks Jackie, thanks for calling and pulling me out of my cave!

Playing Catch Up!!!

2010-01-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

If you haven't given up on me altogether...hi there!
I intend on doing some catch up posts on here, very soon.
I realize that I waste waaayyy too much time playing online games on Facebook. Here's my excuse for that...there is really not very much that you can do with one hand...and the baby girl likes to be HELD. In fact I JUST put her in her crib 1 1/2 min ago...asleep...and she is now awake screaming for me to pick her up and let her sleep in my arms. sheesh. I am going to try an experiment...
put her in the snuggli and try to type around her...
BRB

Ok...I'm back.

Officially wearing one baby and drinking one VERY strong cup of yummy coffee.
Hey...this could work.

The past couple of months are a big blur.
So, off the top of my head, this is a few posts that I really want to make their way to the blog ASAP.

* Allegra's Birth
*Wyatt's First Ski Trip
*Brother and Sister
*Christmas Re-Cap
*Wyatt's 4th Birthday
*Happy New Year

Haha...So I'm not behind or anything.

(snuggli update: she has continued to scream, i'm not sure if this bright idea is going to work, and now Wyatt is up from his nap. Probably due to the screaming of one 'sweet baby girl'. It's a darn good thing I made that coffee)

So here is an update from the "here and now". It's been just a hair over a year since I fell in the snow and dislocated my kneecap. Man, childbirth has nothing on that pain. (they give you the good drugs when you have a baby)
Yesterday, I waited for both kids to be napping to take my shower. Well, Wyatt was napping and Allegra woke up the second I put her in her crib. Anyway, it happened to be at around 3 when all the stars aligned and I was able to FINALLY go take a shower. So, the water was on, and I remembered that my shampoo was next to the sink, so I stepped one foot out of the bathtub and the rest is a little bit fuzzy...but all I know is that the foot that was in the bathtub lost traction and some how I must have "over-corrected" and flew backwards...dislocating my kneecap and hitting my head on the fixed shelf on the way down. All I know is that I ended up flat on my back with the water raining on my face...the shelf that I hit my head on has a 2 inch crack in it and my kneecap had popped back into place by the time the dust had settled. I'm so glad for that, but I could barely drag myself out of the shower to get the phone to call Ryan. Today, my head is tender, my knee is killing, and I can barely walk again. Ugh...I know it could have been alot worse, but it feels like last year, all over again.

Anyway, here's to hoping that I can figure out a creative way to be able to use both hands again...but in the meantime, I have a Multi-million dollar farm, a very successful restaurant named McFatt's, and 2 thriving fish tanks to show for myself on facebook.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Hello again my old friend....
I know it's been a long time since I've updated this.
I'm hoping to get back into a routine of posting again after the new year.
Since I haven't been scrapbooking, I look at this as a place to share some memories and get them written down somewhere.
I'm thinking of everyone that reads this blog, and I'm pretty sure that all of you got a Christmas card and birth announcement from us.
But just in case....
Merry Christmas, and happy new year!

One Week Old

2009-11-24T23:40:00.000-08:00

Our little sweetie girl is one week old today. She is proving to be a good little eater and a sleepy little toot. Smiling big and wide in her sleep, I wonder what she dreams of. We really have to work hard to keep her awake. It has been a challenge getting her day/night schedules switched. But it's going better now, and she is just getting up every 3-4 hours to eat.
Wyatt is still being super sweet and loving towards her...so much more than we could have asked for. He is such a wonderful big brother. And speaking of big...He is so huge now. I know he's not any bigger than he was last week, but he just seems so big to me now. I've heard other parents say that, but never understood it...till now.

Allegra Beth

2009-11-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Our newest addition, Allegra Beth was born yesterday, November 17 @ 12:48 PM. She was 8lbs 1.5oz...20 inches long. She is sweet as can be and her own little person. We are having fun finding the ways that she is like and different from her big brother.

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, and honestly, I don't know when I'll get back into a habit of doing it again.
But, I just wanted to share some pictures of our new little princess.

I'm pretty proud of myself...

2009-10-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

....I finished the quilt top.

I'm taking a "sick day" today.
Ryan is playing in a softball tournament and Wyatt is with Babu & Papa. But, yesterday, in the midst of getting sick, I got the backing put together. Ryan kept my appointment with the quilter that was referred to me by a friend on Facebook. So, it's in her capable hands and should be finished before Allegra makes debut!
Yay.
Now I just have to decide if I'm going to have her bind it too, or if I'm gonna tackle that myself. It doesn't look that hard, I'm just running out of time!

Dear God....

2009-10-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, once in a while Wyatt will get a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He will say or do something that he know's is naughty just to get a rise out of us. His bed time routine usually goes a little something like this: a few books and then mommy or daddy lay down with him, pray for our loved ones, and then finish up with song. Well, in the midst of the bed time routine, he decides he wants to say something naughty - so out comes "Go away Jesus!" Well daddy tells him how naughty that is, and that he should want Jesus to be with us always because he loves us and protects us. So he must have felt bad because he says "I want to say sorry". So he tells Jesus that he's sorry and then says "I want to pray for Jesus". So daddy says "OK, I'll help you" and Wyatt says, "No, I want to do it by myself". "OK, go ahead". "Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for his prostate. In Jesus name, amen". We've been praying for Papa Dan (who was having prostate issues).

by daddy

"Chick" update

2009-09-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

I've been, "nose to the grindstone" every day this week, during naptime, working on the pinwheels for Allegra's Chubby Chick quilt. I officially finished the chicks this weekend, and I know you were waiting with baited breath, but I decided to go ahead and put on buttons for the eyes. I hemmed and hawed for a very long time, but then I just decided that there was really no substitute. So, to make it safe, I bought a heavy duty, high quality thread and sewed those puppies on there so tight that I don't think I could get them off. Of course, Ryan said that in order to really test it, I'd have to gnaw at it for about 10 minutes.

I'm a little over halfway done with the pinwheels. After that, the next step are all the borders (there are 3).
FYI...That's my belly labeled "Allegra". Ryan said he didn't know!

Be Still My Heart...

2009-09-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to having sweet little baby things around the house again! This week, a package came in the mail from Dave & Carolyn. Are these not the most adorable things you've ever seen? Honestly. So stinkin' cute, and the softest leather you've ever laid your hands on.

Thanks again guys...you made my day!!

Back On The Market

2009-09-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Monday, I spent all day cleaning and taking pictures for the real estate listing. I thought I'd share some of these with you as I'm kinda proud of the job that we (we is used pretty loosely as I didn't really do much of the work) did on this house.

For the before's you really need "smell-a-vision"

But this room is now Wyatt's bedroom!

Cool huh???

Wanna see some more?

"The Bathroom"

Pictures just don't do how structurally unsafe this room was, I mean, these people were one potty break away from falling through the floor. And I mean that very literally, no exaggerations. In fact, we think they may have been going in their motor home or something...there is just no way.

Anyway, it's pretty narrow, which makes it hard to take pictures of, plus the fact that for the listing it had to be a horizontal picture.

"The Dining Room"

And isn't that desk adorable? I just love it so much!

"The Kitchen"

I wish I had better "before" pictures of this kitchen. Honestly, I really don't think I remember exactly how this kitchen was. I know that we have video of it somewhere...I should dig it up and watch. But, again, if only there was "smell-a-vision", and these cabinets were 1000 times worse than they look, with old food and flies buzzing everywhere.

"The Laundry Room"

This is the room that Ryan was feverishly working to build for me before we moved in. Well, it didn't get done before we moved in but after the move, a week long vacation, Wyatt being sick, me being sick, and Grammy (Ryan's 88 yr old grandma) doing all of our laundry TWICE, it is now in working order. It's not finished yet, we still have baseboards and shelves to put up. The laundry is in the basement which before this room was open to the dank, dark, dirty, smelly old unfinished basement. Now we have a clean place to take our laundry and not a concrete floor. It's going to be so cute when we get it done....he did such a good job.

And this gem...this my friends, is our bedroom. Unfortunately it's been pretty shy lately and un-photogenic, but after a few more touches, it should be ready for it's "after".

BUT, rest assured, the Pepto Bismal pink is gone, that wretched carpet is gone, rusty heater...GONE, and cigarette stained ceiling and walls....GONE.

So, while we have re-listed this back on the market, this little house is really getting comfortable. I don't know what God has in store for us, but if he decides to keep us here, now I know that we'll be able to make it work. It's going to be a challenge and take some creativity to find places for all of the things that come with having a baby in the house, but we will.

Of all the things I could be blogging....

2009-09-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

...has anyone checked out the new Jay Leno show? We've tuned in a couple of times and last night he had a couple of goofballs on that tickled my funny bone. I think it brought me back to my high school days of memorizing Billy Madison and Tommy Boy word for word. I was thinking it...really I was, but Ryan looked at me last night as we were laughing and said, "this reminds me of Dave Johnston". I laughed because I was thinking the exact same thing...so here is some insight into the chemistry of my sense of humor. This is so weird, but it totally cracked me up and took me back....

Happy Thursday!

New Hair Doo...

2009-09-07T14:00:00.001-07:00

My hair has been pleading with me to cut it for some time now. My problems is that I wait until I can't stand it another second and make an appointment with the first stylist that's available.

I've been wanting to chop it all off again, but have been looking for just the right style. Yesterday, I found it...I couldn't wait a day longer. So armed with all the pictures that Pioneer Woman supplied, I made an appointment at Toni & Guy and headed on out. My stylist was a cute little young lady. Come to find out she'd only been working there since May and that was her first job...gulp. I do really like it, I just don't think she followed the pictures that I gave her very well. I think I might like it more if the back was a little bit shorter.

Ok, I realize that the girl in the sample picture probably has much thicker hair than mine. But I'm wondering if there is a certain product that I can put in it to help seperate it and make it look chunkier. So ladies with short hair...what do you use? She used some BedHead stuff on me yesterday and I wasn't too impressed with how it held up. The thing with me is that I have fine hair and alot of it...so it gets weighted down alot. The thing that made me go marching into Toni & Guy immediately was this quote from the blog... "Brandi says this is a cinch to style. She just blow dries the sides straight—takes a couple of minutes—then she just lets the back do whatever it wants to do."

The back is what I hate to style...I can get the front looking pretty ok and just fizzle out on the back. To be honest, I haven't even tried to style this myself yet, but I can tell that by how long she left the back, it's not gonna be like Brandi's.

So I thought I'd share some pictures and take any styling hints or product advice that y'all might have. (I'm really not fishing for compliments here...I need help!!)

My pictures were taken from the webcam on my computer, Brandi's pictures were taken by PW. Nuff said.

But you get the point.

By the way, did I mention that this haircut took almost 2 HOURS?

Wasn't It Just Yesterday???

2009-09-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Jackie's baby girl, Natalie, turned 1 year old today. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was taking pictures at the hospital for them.

And it WAS just yesterday that I was over at their house taking pictures to mark her first year. Unfortunately I wasn't on top of my game. Sheesh...halfway through our little photoshoot I realized that I had my ISO turned all the way up to 1600. That makes the pictures really grainy. And my flash was almost out of batteries. Miss Nat has just learned to walk and really wanted to show off her new skills. And on top of that Wyatt and Luke were wreaking havoc... (they turned the hose on outside and managed to spray it through the kitchen window spraying the ceiling and richocheting onto the counter and the floor) AHHHHHHH!!! Anyway, all that to say "Jackie, I really really want a do-over" But after looking through the pictures these were a few that I liked...

So,

Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday Dear Natalie...

Happy Birthday to you....

....And MANY MORE!!!

In His arms

2009-08-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to have to do this post...but I need to do an update on Brielle Grace.
I received the following e-mail from Bonnie:
Hello again dear friends and family,

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your tremendous support and continual prayer. It has been a tough week, but we now know God's perfect will. It's hard to understand, but beautiful Brielle Grace Lackey went home to be with Jesus today, just before 6pm. Ike and Kristie are going to need your prayers to get through losing their little girl. Thanks be to God for the precious 22 days spent with her.

Resting In His Arms,

Bonnie

I've been sitting here pouring over the guestbook at caringbridge.org. 22 days. It just doesn't seem fair. I know there is a plan in all of this, I know that there are all kinds of bible verses to back that up. Our hearts are broken for them, and I can't even begin to imagine the pain. I pray for comfort and healing for their hearts.
So many miracles in 22 days, so many lives touched. And the ultimate healing even though it was not what we all hoped for.

Updated Baby Brielle (A Prayer Request)

2009-08-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

*Urgent Update Letter*
Hello friends and family,

We just received a call from my father-in-law, who is at the hospital with Brielle now. Apparently, the team is in emergency mode with Brielle due to air bubble in her left lung (not sure if they are in the right). Please continue to pray for healing of the deflated left lung. Also, please pray for wisdom and understanding for the doctors and their team as they work on Brielle. Thankfully, her heart has still been doing well (Praising God!).

Thank you all again and again for your continued love, support and prayer. We all truly appreciate our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In Him,
Bonnie

I got the following e-mail from a good friend of mine yesterday (I've been waiting for permission to share this information on my blog and it came this afternoon):

Hello friends and family,

I am writing to you with a heavy and prayerful heart. Our niece, Brielle Grace Lackey, has been fighting for her life since she was born on August 8^th. As it is, she is already a miracle baby. Josh’s brother and his wife had tried for over 6 years to have a baby. Finally, they were blessed with Brielle, who has a heart problem. She underwent surgery for her heart and adjacent arteries and week and half ago. Since then, she has had a number of complications, the most recent being internal bleeding. An ECMO machine has been helping Brielle’s heart pump. The doctors now believe that this machine may be contributing to the excessive bleeding. A second “test” to see how well Brielle’s heart will pump on its own had been scheduled for tomorrow morning. Because of the bleeding, they have decided to take her off of the machine completely and hope that her heart will be strong enough to survive on its own.

Please, please pray for Brielle. Pray that her heart will be strong enough to “work” on its own, so that she may survive. Her left lung needs healing, as well. We are trusting that God is who He is. Brielle means “God is my strength.” She was named for that very reason.

If you would like to read updates on Brielle’s progress, go to CaringBridge.org. Click on visit and type in briellelackey. The password is babybrielle. My brother-in-law, Ike, has been writing updates in the journal. You can also leave some words of encouragement in the guestbook.

Thank you all for your prayer and support. You are all important people in my life, and I thank God each day for you.

Trusting in Him,

Bonnie

Since this letter yesterday, I received the following update:

Hi everyone,

I just received an update on Brielle. Praise God! Her heart did well when removed from the ECMO machine. She was put back on, however, due to her left lung not inflating. The doctors are working on trying to repair it, so that it does not create back-pressure on the heart. The doctors said they were amazed that her heart was able to hold.

Please pray that the left lung will be work properly and that Brielle's heart can continue to hold. God is definitely giving her strength. Thank you all so incredibly much for your words of encouragement and for all of your prayers. God is working a miracle...

In His Arms,

Bonnie

Isn't she beautiful?

There isn't much more that I can add to this. I can hardly think about this without crying, I just can't imagine. Please join me in praying for this family!

Thanks guys!

Seven Years...and Still Going Strong

2009-08-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today....
This is what we were doing!

What can I say, it's been an adventure. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you Ryan with all my heart.

BUT....I don't wanna go home!!!

2009-08-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

We've been saying this all day today...but alas, all good things eventually must come to an end.
We're on the road right now. Just going through Pendleton. A full week of almost no technology...and I really didn't miss it.
Just wanted to share this one picture from the road...
This was taken with my 50mm lens NOT the telephoto. (that means that I was this close to this creature)

I guess if we have to come home, I'll be glad to get off that maxi pad table bed mattress and into my slightly more comfy bed. Even if it IS in Portland!

Chubby Chicks

2009-08-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

So, amidst the chaos of this move, I've started Allegra's quilt. I'm trying not to notice the still packed boxes and suitcases and un-hung pictures. I'm still burned out from the move, so I'm trying to block it out of my mind.
I posted in May about picking out a pattern and some of the fabric, and I just wanted to share my recent progress with you. I'm trying to get all of the chicks ironed on so I can work on doing the blanket stitch on our vacation. I decided to hand stitch around them instead of sewing around them with the machine. My sewing machine just doesn't have any decorative stitches that I think I would be happy with. There are going to be a total of 25 of these little babies.
Wyatt has been taking unusually long naps this week (hallelujah) so I've been able to get quite a bit accomplished! Before this move, I could easily count the times he's slept 3 hours on one hand. Something about this house makes him sleep well I guess. Yay for mommy!
This bird is done except for his eye...the pattern calls for a button eye and I haven't decided if buttons are the way to go yet.
Anyway, I'm thrilled with the way they are coming out and thankful for the distraction.

We Lived To Tell About It...

2009-08-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that I never posted my follow up recipes on the pork roasts...I have the pictures of some really delicious pulled pork sandwiches to post later. And the other roast, sadly, got lost in the shuffle and we threw it out on Saturday.

We moved this weekend. Do you remember this little find from "Google Street View"? Oh, this is a gem. This is where we live now....of course this is the before picture. The "cousin Eddy" motorhome is long gone, broken down old trucks are outta here, the dead Christmas wreath (that we pulled off in August)(mind you, this street view picture was taken at least 2 years prior to us taking possession, so that wreath could have been there for YEARS)...GONE, Christmas lights (that we pulled off in August)...GONE, and 40+ tons of junk (literally, in case you don't remember) GONE!!!
This is a post that I wrote last summer on our progress, and sometime soon I plan on doing a post with the final "after" pictures.
Ryan was working over here ever spare minute he had to build me a laundry room. The laundry is downstairs in an unfinished basement (where the prior tenents grew their marajuana) and I refuse to do laundry in a cold unfinished basement that smells like dirt. BUT, that meant that he wasn't at home to help me pack up the house. I've never moved with a rugrat before. A busy little rugrat at that. I had a few people offer to help me come pack up boxes, but moving from a big house to one that is less than half it's size...I needed to sort, purge, figure out what I wanted in storage and what I wanted to keep out. So, while I greatly appreciated the offers to help me pack up, I just felt that it was really only something that Ryan or I could do. I did, however, accept lots of help with Wyatt. My mom was over 2 full days last week (not leaving till at least 10pm) and also took him home with her on Friday which was one of our moving days. Ryan's mom was over after work to watch him and also took him home with her one night so I could do some work at "the little house". And then, Ryan's cousin Lynnann watched him on Saturday. Phew, so I had alot of help. (sidenote: if you want a good laugh, please click on that link to Lynnann's blog, it won't dissappoint)
Towards mid-week last week it was becoming apparent that we weren't going to have enough help for the move. People were dropping like flies. My brother Jeff tore his calf muscle and he was one of our "musclemanfurnituremovers" that we had lined up. My cousin and her hubby, Christine & Kevin, own a trucking company and offered to send us a box truck (w/ lift gate) and 2 guys to help us move on Friday. Wow, what a gift. So, we went to the title company that morning, signed our house away, and came back to the moving truck...I'm not kidding, it took them just a little over an hour. They had our washer and dryer, all of our furniture, and all of the boxes that I had packed up loaded and ready. What a blessing. I can't imagine how it would have gone without that truck and those guys. *shiver* I dont want to imagine.
Saturday, we had a crew of family out there again. Remember I was pretty much packing up by myself. So, while there was alot accomplished on Friday, there was still alot to do on Saturday. We buttoned things up and turned over the keys yesterday afternoon.
So, we left our spacious house of 1900+sq ft 3bd, 2ba w/ bonus room and A/C. In the middle of a heat wave, we wedged ourselves into this 720sq ft 2 bd, 1 ba with no A/C. The first night here was positively miserable, I need to be cool, and even though I took a cold shower right before bed and we had a fan blowing on us, full boar...it was miserable. Last night was much better, the house was cooled down considerably, and I was able to get some good sleep.
So, I'm sitting here at my new secretary desk from Ikea (I love this freaking thing)

The cabinet is an add-on to the desk so it sits right on top...When I unpack my camera, I'll have to take a picture of mine...so cute.
Anyway, so I'm sitting here at my new desk looking around at an almost unpacked kitchen, lots of boxes, pictures leaning against the wall, we live here now.
We are going to be putting it back on the market in less than a month. With baby on the way, this place is just too small for us. But there are some things to do before that, and a much needed vacation inbetween. Ah vacation...less than 2 weeks away.

Someday I'll get around to posting those pictures of my pulled pork sandwiches. They were tasty. And speaking of homemade food...I can't wait to assess my food situation and start making dinner here...if you are what you eat, then I'm a giant subway sandwich.

Coca-Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs (But I made Pork Roast)

2009-07-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

(Originally published in November 2008)
I made this dish tonight and took the time to take pictures as I went. Since I added the sidebar tracker, this post has received the most Google hits of any of my blog posts.
Like it says below, I buy a 3 pack of pork roasts. Later this week I will be posting the other ways I like to use the meat from this recipe. Make sure to reserve all liquid along with excess pork roasts... but for now here is how to make this...in pictures!

I served the first roast sliced with some of the juice poured over the top of it, and a side of corn on the cob!!

(Original Post from November 11, 2008, recipe below)
Ok here is my favorite new recipe. (sorry no pics this time, I'll add one next time I make this)
This is delish.
Before I start listing the ingredients, it looks like ALOT. But more than half of them are spices. I buy mostly all of my spices from Winco in the bulk section. I have been very successful in doing this. Alot of this you will probably have onhand anyway!

Coca-Cola Glazed Baby Back Ribs (I made Pork Roast)

Classic BBQ Rub:
2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika (I think mine is just regular)
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
3 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper (How do you accurately measure that without getting all technical?)
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Celery Salt (I couldn't find Celery Salt so I used Celery Seed)
1 Tsp Oregano, Crushed

1 Cup Coca-Cola Classic
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 Cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped (you can substitute hotter or milder peppers here...I just added 2 extra jalapenos cuz I'm kinda crazy like that) *Note* the thing of Jalapenos is that it's a gamble every time. Sometimes they will burn your mouth right off, and other times they are as mild as can be. The last time I made this roast with 4 jalapenos, it had Ryan running for the bread.

3 Pounds Baby Back Pork Ribs (About 2 Racks)
I used a pack of 3 pork roasts from Winco. (ya, this is that yummy)

1. The day before, (I forgot this step both times I made this recipe, it wasn't the end of the world) mix rub ingredients together and completely coat ribs (or roast). Wrap loosely with foil and refrigerate overnight. (if you forget to do this step the day before like me, don't worry, just put the rub on and go to the next step)

2. The next afternoon, bring the cola, vinegar, brown sugar and chiles to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat; reduce the heat to med-low and simmer until syrupy, about 10 min or longer. (this will be syrupy, but not thick at all) decrease the heat to low and keep the sauce warms while the ribs cook)

Skip to the bottom if making a roast!
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the ribs on a broiler pan and bake for 45 min, glazing the ribs occasionally with the cola mixture. Turn the ribs over and continue to cook for an additional 45 min or longer, glazing occasionally until the ribs are tender and the meat is starting to pull away from the bone.

4. Set the oven to broil. Liberally spoon half of the remaining glaze over the ribs and broil until glazed a deep mahogany brown, 5-7 min. Turn over; repeat with the remaining glaze, an additional 5-7 min. Serve immediately with lots of napkins.

5. You can also do step #4 on the grill.

If making a roast:
This is just what I did. I put some olive oil in the bottom of my dutch oven and seared the outside of the roast. (any variation of pan/pot would work for this) Then I took the syrup mixture and poured it in the dutch oven around the roast, and cooked in the oven at 300 degrees until roast got to 160 degrees. I don't see why you couldn't do this in a crockpot either.

This is one of the easiest recipes I've made in a long time. The ribs look a little more time intensive. But this roast is so yummy.
It's a must have to add to your menu plan.

Ouchie!

2009-07-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Monday morning started out with "potty training bootcamp". This is something that Wyatt and I have been talking about for the last week and a half or so. So, every 20 minutes the timer would be reset and we took about a million trips to the bathroom. He did pretty darn good for the first day, and didn't have an accident until the end of the day when they all kinda snowballed.
Tuesday, we started all over again and, to say the least, it was not going well.
After his nap, he was on the couch halfway watching a movie and mostly horsing around on the couch. Since we were potty training, I was letting him just wear undies & a t-shirt and watch movies. There are only so many kiddie movies a person can watch, so I was doing other things in the room...and BAM. I heard a very loud SPLAT, spun around, Wyatt was flat on his tummy. From what I can gather he was most likely jumping off of the arm rest onto the couch and went the other way. Well, he started crying very hard, and that was a sign that he was actually hurt. He has a very high tolerance to pain and very rarely cries when I think he probably should. And, it wasn't just the initial scared cry. He cried off and on for the next hour, which was throwing up the red flags all over the place. So, I called his dr. office to see if they had capabilities to do an x-ray, they didn't. We would have been sent to the hospital for x-ray's, and since it was getting late, they suggested that I take him to Urgent Care. So, after calling to find out what our insurance covers and to make sure that they were in-network, we were on our way.
Ryan was making his way there from DT, but since he takes the Max, it's a slow go. My parents met me there, and thankfully they weren't very busy at the Urgent Care. Ryan made it before we saw the doctor.
Wyatt let the doctor (actually a P.A.) poke and prod him without wincing, leading the dr. to believe that he didn't have any broken bones. The doc did not, however, lift his arm or go to pick him up under his armpit. And I kept telling him that that was when he was in pain. I could tell that he didn't really want to do x-rays but he said he would if we wanted him to. We decided that since we were already there, and paid our co-pay, we might as well have the x-rays done.
The x-rays revealed a broken clavical bone. They call it a greenstick break, which means that it did not need to be set, thank God. We were sent home with a belt contraption that is designed to keep his shoulders back.
Sigh.
My poor baby has just not been himself. And he's been getting progressively worse as the days go on. Today, he refused to get out of bed by himself. He just laid there and waited for me to help him sit up and get out of his bed. He pretty much lounged on the couch all day, and if he would slide down off the pillow on the couch he'd call me over to lift him back up. After his nap, he called for me to come into his bedroom. There he was, laying flat on his back, waiting for me to come help him up.
Anyone that knows Wyatt, knows that this is not even close to normal...not even a speck.
Also, today, he's been practically dragging his arm around and it's drooping like he had a stroke. We're praying that he's feeling like his old spunky self soon.

There was a silver lining to our day. My good friend Jackie brought Luke (and Nat) over, bearing lots of fun activities and snacks that can all be done (and eaten) from the couch. Wyatt perked up for that, and played with Luke and his new toys. It was such a nice thing for my lethargic boy, what a blessing. I wish I would have taken a picture of how pathetic he looked this morning so I could have had a before and after. But he was so excited to see them that I had to take a couple of pictures.

In the pictures, I can still see how stiff he is and the droopiness in his arm...can you?

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for him and please continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

Needless to say, potty training has been indefinitely placed on hold....really not looking forward to starting that up again!

The Day The Angels Were Singing....

2009-07-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that we've had VBS all week. I've been doing the pictures and Wyatt has had his first real class (not just in the nursery). He's in a little 3's & 4's class with his cousin Carson. So Carson & Wyatt have been doing the rotation to some of the activities but they are modified for their age.
Anyway, yesterday, we had alot of driving because we went home to relax for a couple hours. Then, we came back into town for Ryan's double header softball game. I left early enough to run a couple of errands that needed to be done, and to say the least, I was not having a very good trip. I got cut off by a senior citizen, and then pulled over by a police officer for unlawful use of a horn. (apparently that's a moving violation) (But I didn't get a ticket, just a warning) (phew)! Immediately after that, I went to Costco and was patiently waiting for a spot with my blinker on. This older Mercades was circling like a shark, and long story short, ended up stealing my spot. (Isn't stuff like that so maddening?) Oh man, my blood was boiling, but after just being pulled over, I kept myself much more in check than I would normally have. But I did have a few things to say to her, including, "that's a good way to get your car keyed"!!! I didn't stick around, just returned something and picked up my pictures. (5 min maybe) Apparently, my little comment sunk in because by the time I left, her car was gone. (The human nature in me ((evil)) just had to laugh at that) (Right or wrong, it's the truth).

So, the point and wonderful part of this story is that Wyatt was singing a song that they sing in VBS. "Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace, I'm gonna see my Savior's face, cuz heaven is a wonderful place....I wanna go there"
All of a sudden, he stopped and said, "I wanna go to heaven". So I told him that he could go to heaven if he asked Jesus to live in his heart and forgive his sins. I just let him mull that over for awhile and he went back to singing. And then he said it again. And I told him again what he needed to do....and I asked if he wanted to do that. He said yes! So, right there in the middle of the Target parking lot, I crouched down and prayed the prayer with him. It was so sweet!! And then I told him that the angels were singing and celebrating up in heaven because of what he'd just done. I was his age when I was saved, and I think it's one of my first memories. We've talked about it in the past, but this was the first time he said he was ready.
We are some pretty proud parents!
And needless to say, it turned my day around in a snap.

Ultrasound Day!

2009-06-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

It's a girl!
I'm glad it's a girl because I was so worried that I would be momentarily disappointed.
She looks to be a beautiful and healthy little girl...which of course, is most important.
Her name has been changed from Pinhead to Allegra, it means "joyful". I was looking for a name than meant "peaceful", since Wyatt's name means "little warrior" and lately he's been living up to it. But I figured that joyful was a good sign! :)

There was one piece of bad news, that, if I'm being honest, put a damper on my day. The placenta is too low and if it doesn't move up naturally I will have to schedule a C-section. My doctor said that in my case only about 5% don't fix themselves. But, I have to wait for 9 weeks though to see if it has moved up on it's own. Until then, I have to really take it easy, or I run the risk of being put on bed-rest. I want to avoid bed-rest at ALL costs, especially with a busy 3 1/2 yr old running around.

I really thought it was a girl, really, but I was doubting my instincts.
The ultra-sound tech and my doctor (on seperate occasions) said that it looked like she was picking her nose.

Like brother like sister I suppose!

Winner's Circle!

2009-06-25T11:34:00.001-07:00

The winner of the YoBaby giveaway is:

#8 April!

April, I know I have your address, but could you please e-mail it to me so I can forward it to Katie at Stonyfield Farm.

Congratulations!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway.

By the way, April, is having a huge giveaway over on her blog

There are 10 giveaways to be exact, and they are awesome! Coach, Juicy Couture, Mommy Cards, and Ed Hardy is a sampling of what she's giving away to celebrate her blogiversary!

* TIME'S UP * Product Review & GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-06-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

*Time's Up winner will be announced tomorrow! Good luck everyone*

About 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by Katie at Stonyfield Farm and asked if I would like to do a product review and giveaway on my blog.
Yes Please!
The product is "Yo Baby Organic Whole Milk Yogurt".
I know that I don't have a baby anymore (outside of the womb), my little guy is 3 and a half. However, I still like to give him whole milk products because it's good for brain development. And actually, I did give him this product when he was a babe.
I'll be honest, I'm not a hard and fast purchaser of organic products. However, I do know that there are great benefits to organic over non-organic products.
Wyatt can be somewhat picky at times, so I think I'll let the pictures do the talking.

As you can see, he completely devoured this pear yogurt. I didn't have to coax, like usual, he just shoveled it in, bite after bite. It was wonderful. I'm so glad that I've been re-introduced to this product, and now I'd like to introduce it to you.

The giveaway is for a YoBaby bowl with lid, an organic YoBaby bib, and a bundle of 5 coupons for free YoBaby organic yogurt. That's 5 of these sweet little 6 packs for FREE!! (when I went to pick up mine at Fred Meyer they were $3.99)

(I have no idea why this picture is looking like a negative, but you get the picture)

Here's how you win:
Leave a comment on my blog and tell me if you have ever used YoBaby yogurt or any of the Stonyfield Farm products before. **Or, just leave a comment if you have not tried it, but would love to give it a whirl.**(Please make sure to leave your e-mail address or a viable way to contact you or your entry will be disqualified).

Additional Entries: (after completion of the above)
*1 entry - become a follower by adding yourself to the group of followers on the right hand sidebar, then leave a comment stating that you did so. If you are already a follower then leave a second comment stating the fact. You MUST have a blog acct or a profile to be a follower

*1 entry - do a post on your blog linking back to my giveaway, then come back and comment with a link to your blog post.

*1 entry - update your Facebook or Twitter account with links to this giveaway (link required). Come back and comment.

Contest will end on Wednesday June 24th at 8pm PST.

And for the love of Christmas, please, if I don't know you or how to contact you, please please please, leave me your E-mail address. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out due to a technicality.

I Won!!!

2009-06-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've been entering giveaways at Fabulous Fun Finds for only a short time now. But much to my excitement, I won one of them. Fabulous Fun Finds is a blog that, for the most part, only does giveaways.
Their giveaways run the gammit (I know that's a word, but I can't figure out how to spell it right) and an example of what they are giving away now is:
Fornash Bangle Giveaway the winner will be given the bangle of her choice.

Tourance Hooded Towel Giveaway the winner will be given their choice of one hooded towel

Moxie Shoes Giveaway - The winner will be given a pair of Clover Sandals by Matisse

and other open giveaways include, jewelry, Baby items, women's clothes...

I just wanted to give them a shout out on here because check out what I won....

(Yes I realize that my son is not wearing pants, but it's next to impossible to keep clothes on this kid after his nap)

This was a giveaway by Baby Rocker Apparel, they have some great specialty items for kiddos. I'm seriously thinking about buying Wyatt this t-shirt from them:

It says, "Big Bro, Honor and Defend"

Thank you so much to Baby Rocker Apparel for the giveaway and thankyou to Fabulous Fun Finds for hosting it.

Anyway, go check out Fabulous Fun Finds, they have some great giveaways, I know because I WON!!!
And by the way, all this talk about giveaways reminds me, I have a giveaway coming up on my blog soon. If you have a baby or a toddler, or are a child at heart, you'll want to stay tuned. I'm going to be hosting the same giveaway that Jackie did here. Very exciting!!

Tell Me About...

2009-06-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

..._____________!

Wyatt officially entered the question phase about a month ago.
It all started with a trip to the beach. The water heater went out and daddy and papa spent a good part of the day replacing it. All this hubbub fascinated him. He couldn't help himself, even when told not to "go in there", he kept finding himself right in the middle of all the action. When everything was all said and done, he kept wanting to go in and look at the water heater. A while later, we were talking in the morning and he asked me to "tell him about the water heater". So, I told him what I could come up with, and then he asked to hear it again....and again...and again.
Then during that same time, he asked me to "tell him about the farm alarm" (fire alarm). So I told him that one again and again and again. So, I FINALLY told him that we needed to take a break and go have breakfast.

Lately he's been asking us to "tell him about the washer and dryer"

And for some time now, he's also had an obsession with cranes. He will spot them from a mile away. He's almost always right too. Even when I don't see it right away, if I look really hard, super far away, then I find it. One night, we didn't see any cranes while driving from 'here to there' and we had one disappointed little boy on our hands. So, instead I found him this video on YouTube:

"Hey Ma, I'm in the bag"

Yo Baby Yogurt...Not Just For Babies!!!

2009-06-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Jackie is hosting another great giveaway on her blog.
Just click on the picture above to get over there!
Included in this giveaway is:
5 coupons for free Yo Baby yogurt....FREE!!!
Organic Bib
&
Bowl w/ lid

Honestly, I'm in it for the coupons. :) I will feed it to Wyatt and take a nibble or 2 myself!
So head on over and enter....wouldn't it be so much fun to win??

Ok...I'm taking the plunge!!

2009-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Remember this post?
Well way back in March, I took my sewing machine in and had it tuned up. Since then, it's been sitting sadly in our "office" with the plastic still over it.
I've been wanting to do something with it, but the possibilities seem so endless.

Anyway, I've decided to make a quilt.
I know...I don't know if I'm having a girl or a boy yet, but if I have a girl...it'll be for her. If I have a boy...it'll be for some lucky future girl. haha. Because I'm making it girly.
I'm finding everything to be SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!!!
Sheesh, I give up paper scrapbooking to join the ranks of possibly an even MORE expensive hobby.
But, I thought I'd share what I have so far.
Oh, I haven't started yet. Nope. But, I've picked out a pattern...

I've picked out and purchased the material for the chicks...

and I've bought a couple of other odds and ends...
but there is a bit more that I need before I can start actually putting it together.
Isn't it cute?

I sure hope that I don't fizzle out and not get it done.
What I really NEED to be doing is catching up on the year and a half that I'm backed up on scrapbooking, before pinhead makes it's debut.

Oh well.
It's so much more fun to start a new project right?
I'll post the progress!!!
Wish me luck!!!

Ryan, You Will Never Believe What YOUR Son Did!!!

2009-05-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

He was "washing" his hands with the sunscreen!!!!
Yep...thats right, at that moment...he was YOUR son. :)

I ran downstairs really fast to take a very quick shower, leaving Wyatt upstairs innocently watching Sid The Science Kid. So, when I got out of the shower, I went to the bottom of the stairs and asked him if he was being a good boy. He said..."I'm washing my hands".....Uh Oh!!!
It might sound ok to the naked ear, but anyway I look at that, I see problems.
Well, I came running upstairs to the picture above. No, I did not think it was funny...No, that is not why I took the picture! I took the picture for proof! Nothing more! He got in some pretty hot water.
And to think, when I was downstairs taking a shower, I was marveling at how I wouldn't have been able to do this a year ago. Guess, I still can't. *Sigh*

Hope Your Memorial Weekend....

2009-05-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

....is going as good as ours!!!

We took Wyatt fishing today with the canoe at Devil's Lake, and HE CAUGHT ONE!!! Yay!
The weather was beautiful.
The water wasn't too cold.
Wyatt was a good boy.
AND he caught a fish!

And then...

...that fish....
...became dinner!

...AND boy was it yummy!

Have a great Memorial weekend everyone. :)

Happy Mother's Day ♥ Surprise

2009-05-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

This was a Mother's Day surprise for both Ryan's and my mom. (this is also a scheduled post, so I don't know their reactions yet).
I had my first OB appointment this last Tuesday. I must say that it was veiled in "little white lies" and for that I'm sorry. But, after waiting so long to tell family, I thought that Mother's day would be the perfect time to break the news. I knew that my mom would ask too many questions if I asked her to watch Wyatt for me. So we got Ryan's grandma, "Grammy", to watch him for us. It wouldn't have looked too suspicious, except for Ryan took off with the car seat that morning and had to come home early from work. We decided that it was silly to take separate cars just for the sake of keeping our secret. So instead, I dropped him off at BK by Grammy's house, dropped Wyatt off and swung back by BK to pick Ryan up again (he needed to grab a late lunch anyway). We just told her that I picked him up after work, and that's why he was with me when we came to pick Wyatt up.
Honestly, I really don't think I could've hid this for too much longer if I tried. Well maybe if I wore Ryan's sweatshirts all summer...but even then :)

We got to hear little pinhead's heartbeat, which is always a relief. And we got to have our ultrasound on the "big" ultrasound machine. Little pinhead wasn't big enough yet to see what they needed to see, so I get to go back and have another ultrasound this week.
I'm 12 weeks pregnant, so we've known for about 2 months. You have no idea how many people have asked, during this span of time, when we're gonna have the next one.
My response..."Oh, someday".

Happy Mother's Day to all mommies & grammas!

P.S. If you're wondering where pinhead came from, it was from one of those e-mail updates that you get. When this was all very new there was some kind of reference to the fact that the baby was the size of a pin or a pinhead or something. When I told Ryan, he said, "Hey, that's what we should call it". So, Pinhead it is!

Polyvore Fun! Edited

2009-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Jackie did a post this morning about Polyvore. Its a website that lets you pick different pieces and plan out an outfit. She likened it to playing Barbies as a girl. Well I never was a Barbie girl, but I love clothes. (even though being a stay at home mom has put a total cramp on my "style") **Let me just clarify that I love being a stay at home mom, but Ryan and I are no longer D.I.N.K.'s anymore, (Double Income No Kids) and the funds just simply are not there to go shopping every weekend anymore! **
So, I took a few min and put together the following outfit. I had so much fun, not worrying about what it would look like "on", or the $$$ factor.

A night on the town by EmilyBeth featuring J Brand jeans

So, I added up the total of what this outfit would cost when I was all done. $4119.00.
That tank top is $1790.00 by itself.
I think that even if I was a millionaire, I would have a really hard time paying THIS for any outfit. But, isn't it adorable?
And, it took me away from reality, even if it was only for a few minutes.

May Day Giveaway!!

2009-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

My good friend Jackie is hosting a giveaway...

Head on over to her blog and get entered.

The prizes are good and pictured below:

Learn From My Mistake

2009-04-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Please, oh please, learn from my mistake.
On Saturday it was Ryan's cousin, Cresslyn's, birthday. She requested that I bring my Brussels Sprouts dish, but I had a very busy day planned. So, I decided to get everything going and put them in the crockpot in the morning so they would be ready and I wouldn't be scrambling at the end of the day.
There were 2 problems with this plan.
1. They got WAY too mushy for my taste. (I've done the crockpot thing before, but not for as long and not at home)
2. Our house and car still smells like a fart 3 days later.

The really bad thing is that while I was at a baby shower on Saturday afternoon, (and those yummy little morsels were working to permeate my house) we got a call that a realtor wanted to show our house on Sunday.
So, while we were at the birthday party, we left 3 fans on. The house still was hopelessly smelly when we got home (and lit some candles). On Sunday morning, I lit some more candles, it didn't work. So then I peeled an orange, put the peels in some water with some cinnamon and nutmeg and boiled it. That helped, and I can only hope that the orangey cidery smell stuck around at least through our showing, because the fart smell was back when we got home that evening. And although it is starting to fade, I can still smell it when I walk into the house.

But, don't let that scare you. When cooked as directed these are the most delicious side dish you might have ever had. And I've never had the smell stick around for DAYS like this. So it is a must try, as long as you don't crock-pot-it!
So please, even if you THINK you don't like brussels sprouts, give this a try. I thought I didn't like them 'till I made this recipe, but it is a highly requested recipe around our families.

Brussels Sprouts w/ Pancetta & Balsamic Vinegar
by Rachael Ray
*I follow this recipe pretty loosely because how do you measure in pints?

- 2 TBSP Olive Oil
- 6 slices pancetta (I just use an entire package of pancetta because I don't have any other recipes that call for it) (I've also used bacon several times instead of Pancetta)
- 1 large onion
- salt & pepper
- 3 pints brussels sprouts, cut in half (last time I used 3 pounds, probably way more than 3 pints)
- 1 cup chicken stock (I used 2 cups with the 3 pounds of sprouts)
- 1/2 c. aged balsamic vinegar (I used 1 cup with the 3 pounds of sprouts)

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat w/ 2 turns of the pan of olive oil, about 2 Tbsp. Add Pancetta and cook until crisp, about 4 min. Add the onion, and season w/ salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 min. Add the sprouts along with the chicken stock and the balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and continue to cook for 10 -12 minutes or until the brusses sprouts are tender. (I have found that it takes much longer than this to get them tender, about a half an hour)

Despite my bad experience, I will be making this dish again, just never again in the crockpot. I've learned my lesson!

Keep Portland Weird

2009-04-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

I've always hated that slogan.
For many reasons, but mostly for the plain and simple fact that Portland is, in fact, weird. Some call it eclectic and charming but for the most part, it fits the "weird" bill.
So, I thought I'd share the latest MAX story that Ryan had this morning. He has many, and I've been encouraging him to write them down, because most of them are pretty funny.
I got the following text from him at 7:14am this morning, and I quote:
"Holy Crap! There is a big ol' black lady on the train with no pants on! Seriously, just a shirt and socks with flip flops" "Ha ha, she's yelling at all the "white B******S who were shooting at her and made her run off without her pants"
Ok people, I know that on so many levels this is actually a pretty sad story. But, this woman literally had no bottoms on. Nothing. Bare bum hanging out in all it's glory. And by the time she got off, apparently she just got off like she had not a care in the world.
Oh, poor Ryan. The things he puts up with.

Goodbye

2009-04-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

I think it's probably fair to say that I had a pretty sad week and weekend.

Let me start though by saying that I have a second family...what I mean by that is that there is another family that has taken me in as their own and I consider all of them to be my family. I went to school with Dave and then later became best friends with his sis Dana. Their little sis Jamie and cousins Angie, Amy and Brittany have all been like little sisters to me. Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and Grandpa...they are all mine too. In fact, they were nice enough to include me in a family trip to Orlando back in 1999...(thanks again Gramps and Gram)

So on Tuesday afternoon, I got a call from Dana. Uncle Bryan had passed away from a massive heart attack. He was only 47. He left his wife of 25 years, Cheryl and 3 girls Angie(23), Amy(18) and Brittany(15), and a whole entire extended family...just like that.

6 years ago, he had been given 3 months to live. Diagnosed with a cancer that surrounded his heart, the prognosis didn't look good at all. It was through this trial that Bryan surrendered his life to Jesus and became a Christian. Shortly thereafter, the Great Physician healed him of all the cancer, leaving doctors stunned. There was only One that could perform such a miracle.
And we had 6 more years with him after he had been given only 3 months.
I have been so thankful for that cancer this week, because if he hadn't had gone through that incredible trial I might not be able to so confidently say that I will see him again in heaven. That gave a silver lining to the sadness that his memorial service brought everyone.
The service started with a beautiful slideshow that Dave and his wife, Carolyn, made. And then his daughters all got up and each of them shared something that they had written about their dad. They displayed such courage to actually come up on the stage at such a heartwrenching time. I was so proud of them. After the girls read theirs, a note was read for Cheryl.
Then the thing that I had been praying for most of all... The pastor shared the gospel and left no room for excuses. I knew that there would be alot of people there that needed to hear that message. And there were. I believe that Bryan is leaving a legacy. He's up in heaven, no doubt fishing, and while he's having the time of his life up there, he's leaving a mark down here.

I'm not one for microphones, they scare me to death. They had an open mic to share memories about Bryan.
There are so many, but most of them involve camping at the Deschutes. Bryan was an avid fisherman and, early in the year, he would always start planning a fishing/camping trip to Deschutes State Park. I don't know exactly how many years they have been doing this, but it's been at least as long as I've known them...at least 16 years. We have so many memories from these camping trips.
One memory that just hit me was when someone caught a big salmon, I don't remember who, maybe me. And he was teasing me that I would have to clean it myself. I know that he didn't really intend on making me clean my own fish, he would have taken care of it for me. But, I'll never forget the look on his face when I got down in the water and cleaned that fish.

Bryan loved those girls and I remember him sincerely asking me to snitch on them if they ever got outta line in life.

He was always the one at family BBQ's getting the volleyball game going.

He always had a smile on his face and a hug for any of us.

When Dana and I would go downtown to cruise for guys, (oh it makes me roll my eyes to type that :) haha) Bryan would always tease us that we were going out "Buck Hunting".
Anyway, the family will just never be the same now without Bryan. Going to the Deschutes will just feel weird.
But I thank God for that cancer, and then for healing him...because we were given an extra 6 years with Bryan.

1998 Deschutes Camping Trip
1999 15th Wedding Anniversary
Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Bryan
Brittany & Amy

1999- Trip to Orlando
At Epcot center Dana & I showed Uncle Bryan where he could
find a cold one. Where else? Germany.

Orlando Trip 1999
Bryan and Angie

Deschutes camping trip 2000
Hanging out at "the island"

Bryan Lewis Hermansen
1961 - 2009

Sneak Peek For Jackie!!

2009-04-02T16:34:00.001-07:00

Oh my...this is my absolute favorite age to photograph. Not Mobile. Sitting up. Happy as can be.
Little Natalie is turning 7 months old tomorrow. She was sitting up and smiley. NOT telling me NO or running off. Sigh. I love this age!
Luke and Wyatt play really good together. So, while they played, Jackie and I played with Nat!:)

Anyway, I had a fun time this afternoon and thought I'd give Jackie a little sneak peek...

Here is a pic of the boys playing together...

and whoops, how'd this get in here? I took Luke's 6 month pictures too...

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

2009-03-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

We don't have a digital video camera, so this is off of my cell phone.
Wyatt has been really into singing lately.
Enjoy!

The Saga Continues...(the crackpot was right edition)

2009-03-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, do you remember this post in which I told a tale of a "crackpot", "friend", "home-inspector", "contractor-guy" that came over and told that poor young couple that our house was built very poorly. Something that I forgot to mention in that last post (mainly because it's all technical mumbo-jumbo to me) is that he also said that the span of the floor joists are too long. We all laughed at him (to ourselves, because we've never met him) and said that there was no way that he could tell that just by looking at it.

Well, as it turns out, the crackpot was right!

We started to investigate that fractured floor joist and they sent a rep from the floor joist manufacturer to inspect. His diagnosis. The entire hallway floor is failing. So, we started to do some research. Our builder had left all of their plans and the signed off inspections at the house. (I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to do that)
Upon looking at the plans, Ryan discovered that they installed the wrong type of floor joists in the house. Most of the house is supposed to have a 210 series floor joist and there isn't a single 210 series in the entire house. Nearly the entire house is over-spanned.
Ryan calls the city inspector that signed off on the framing and says, "how did you not catch this?"
The city inspector, um, shall we say, most likely had an "accident", gets off the phone with Ryan and immediately calls the builder.
The builder calls Ryan and says to give them time to make this right.
In order to make it right at this point is to take out all of the 110 floor joists and put in what we paid for. Well, I guess in most of the house it could be anchored so it's not overspanned. But our living room is over the top of our bedroom. So, they would have to take out the entire floor/ceiling of our living room and bedroom to replace the floor joists. My thought is this, if the most traveled part of our house "the hallway" is failing after only 3 years, what is next. Also, I have been bugging Ryan to let me bring my piano home from my parents house. What would have happened if he would have let me? I should be able to bring my piano into my home without fearing to fall through the hallway floor.
Also, Ryan found a part somewhere in the house that isn't bolted down to the foundation. Lovely, so in case of an earthquake our house would fall off the foundation.
What else is wrong with this house.
Another thought has occurred to me. This same builder built most of our entire neighborhood, of which we are at the bottom of the hill. So, if they performed the same short-cuts to those houses that they did to our house. We could be in a world of hurt in any sort of earthquake situation.

So, here's the bottom line... we are searching for a good lawyer. This is something that is totally foreign to Ryan and I. But we really feel like everyone involved has a bottom to cover. And we need someone to cover ours. The builder built it wrong & the inspector didn't inspect.
They have alot to lose here and we have already lost a sale on our house due to this issue.
And now, we don't even feel right about leaving it on the market while there are such flaws with the house.
Where does this leave us?
Well, we just really don't know. Our money is quickly running out. If this issue wouldn't have come up, we would have already been living in the little house and it would have belonged to that young couple that wanted to raise a family in our home.
So, we already lost this sale due to this issue, and we have a letter from them stating that as the specific reason they backed out.

So... if anyone knows a good lawyer that is from the Portland area... let me know please!
Because we really don't know the first thing to finding a good lawyer. What I do know is that we don't have an abundance of money to give him/her up front.

There you have it, that's the gist of it. Not the ENTIRE drama unfolded, but enough to let you know what's going on!

Thank you for your prayers!

I'm officially inspired...

2009-03-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

My college roomie Kelly is extremely crafty. She recently did a post that included lots of crafty blog links.
I myself have always loved the idea of sewing and craftiness since I was a little girl. I even belonged to a sewing/crocheting/knitting 4H group.
I've been considering this for awhile.
Today was the day.
I dug my childhood sewing machine out of the garage, took pictures, and then cleaned it off with baby wipes.
I sat down to see if I could remember how it works.
Turns out, it's not quite like riding a bike.
I might need a refresher course.
Since Kelly lives in the Boise, ID area and I in the Portland, OR area, I might have to pack this machine over to Grammy's house (Ryan's grandma) for a lesson. (she doesn't know it yet)
I can't for the life of me, figure out how to get the bobbin thread up from the bottom.
I'm also thinking that it probably needs a tune up.
But, I'm stoked to sew again.
Not that I really need anything else to do right now.
But, hey, with practice, maybe I could get good enough to throw some stuff up on Etsy.

My Blood-Caffeine Levels Are Way Too Low!

2009-03-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by www.lifehack.org

I woke up this morning to....ahhhhhh no more coffee. I had a cup of tea but it didn't cut it. I couldn't leave and go buy some because the guy was coming to look at our broken floor joyst. And after he finally left, Wyatt was ready for his nap. These are my symptoms. My eyes are burning, I have no motivation, and I really should have laid down and taken a nap. Instead of taking a nap, I went on a hunt for different forms of caffeine. Right now there are 6 minutes left and my homemade brownies will be done. Chocolate has caffeine right?

And The Rollercoaster Continues....

2009-03-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

I have at least one new blog follower, so before you read this post...you should read this one, this one, this one, and then this last one.
That's alot of homework huh? (at least there are lots of pictures)
So, as you know almost 2 weeks ago we accepted an offer on our house for all cash, agreed to all of her terms, and she rescinded her offer the next morning.
And then on Wednesday we had a young couple come look at the house. They had been to one of our first open houses (when it was first on the market and much more expensive) their realtor told me that she had showed them about 15 other houses and this was definitely the one. She called back to make an appointment to show the house to the young man's father the next morning.
So, we were back in our realtor, Keith's, office exactly a week later, going over a new offer from this couple. It was pretty low and they asked for my beloved front loader washer & dryer, so we countered their offer and they accepted. Things were moving pretty fast, they scheduled a "home inspection" for this last Wednesday. We got word from our realtor on Wednesday night that they planned on rescinding their offer. (by the way, I'm beginning to HATE the word rescind, just in case you were wondering) But we also found out that instead of hiring a licensed professional home inspector they brought his dad and a contractor "friend".
We have been waiting to hear what they found and the exact reasons for taking their offer back. And we finally got the "report" and they finally made their plans to rescind official. Most of it was really trivial, like lint in the dryer vent. (puh-lease, so we clean it) They also said that the window wasn't plumb (is that how its spelled?) because it stuck. Well, considering that we have probably only opened that window about 3 times in 3 years, of course it was gonna stick. I went over and tested it, and it opens just fine. One thing that was a little more severe was that they found a "fractured" floor joyst. Ryan has been on the phone with all sorts of people all day, because it will be covered under a structural warranty through our builder.
Anyway, our personal opinion is that they brought someone in to do the inspection that just wasn't qualified . They found something that carrys an easy fix, and instead of remaining level headed they blew the whistle and freaked these poor kids out. What's the moral of this story? You get what you pay for.
You should always pony up the cash for a professional liscensed home inspector even though they are spendy. One that works for you and not against you. One that doesn't have a personal vendetta against production builders (oh did I not mention that?) We get the feeling that this guy is a custom home builder and holds a serious grudge against the builder of our house. And if these people want a custom home, they should plan on spending at least double what we are asking.

What it boils down to, is that ya, we're pretty dissapointed.
But, we've been praying hard about this.
Hard.
So if these people want to rescind their offer.
Fine.
These people aren't what we've been praying for.
Now I just need to adjust my attitude accordingly.
It might take a day.
I'll be ok tomorrow.
For the time being, we are still moving forward towards moving into what we have affectionately nicknamed "the little house".
Unless God decides to totally bless us and let us out of this huge mistake by selling it for us.

But, I'll end on a good note.
Our house got shown again today.
Who knows, we could be sitting in our realtor's office for the 3rd Saturday in a row tomorrow.
I just hope that for the rest of my life, I never hear that wretched word. You know the one.

:)

Some Fun Giveaways

2009-03-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

My friend April is hosting 5 giveaways on her blog.
Just click on the button above to check out all of the cute things she's giving away.
Good luck!

A Deep and Burning Question

2009-03-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ok...Brace yourselves.

I'm about to astound you with my vast deepness.

Why does the Oscar Mayer Wiener song just randomly pop into my head.

I can just be going along, minding my own business. And BAM.
There it is.
And I can't get it out.
I don't know why.
I haven't seen the commercial for ages.
And it will just come in, uninvited and I'll be singing it to myself.

And another thing....I don't even like hot dogs. Sometimes if the mood hits me, I'll grab one from Costco. But, other than Costco, they tend to really gross me out.

Hurry! Don't Delay! Win a Trip for 4 to SeaWorld!!

2009-03-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

**Disclaimer** The cautious pessimist in me just wants to point out that I do not know the person that put this contest together. I have not done any research as to whether this contest is legitimate. But I hope, hope, hope it is!

I'm almost feeling a little bit, ummmm, protective of this contest.
It's a good one.
But, I'm teaching my son that he should share, and it gains me an extra entry so what the heck...
I'll share it.

So, I stumbled upon a great giveaway just now:

Win a Trip for 4 to SeaWorld and Ride Manta!

IZEA and SeaWorld have teamed up to create a wicked contest called Manta Mania. One person will win a trip for four to SeaWorld including airfare, hotel and two full days at the park. Not only that… you will get priority access to ride Manta! I also have an awesome SeaWorld prize pack to giveaway that includes some cool schwag.

Ryan and I just recently saw a commercial for Sea World and I looked at him and said, "Wyatt would like Sea World so much more than Disney right now." I mean he would LOVE it!!
Then I stumbled upon this giveaway...fate? I think...maybe?
Added bonus, they are building a new roller coaster. I love roller coasters. Another added bonus, I think it's for the Florida SeaWorld. Ah...I could go for an umbrella drink right about now...
So click on this link for all the details to enter.

If you must.
No, I'm sharing.
Please enter.
If you must.
Doh.

Awe...shucks!

2009-03-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

I "met" Anna from Boogers, Bibs, Books & Bubbles awhile back when I entered a contest for a coupon stash and won!
She has been so sweet to lavish me with not one but two blog awards.
It has been about 2 weeks since I was awarded these. One of them requires homework, so I've been procrastinating.
Thanks Anna.

The first award is a Friend's Award

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

The next award was called:

Honest Scrap Award

A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

B) Pass the award on to 8 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

So here we go...10 things about me

(FYI...I'm not very good at these, which is why I didn't do the "25 things" that has been passed around Face Book recently)

1. I like a stocked fridge, clean sheets & country music

2. My car ('99 Subaru Outback) is a hand-me-down from Ryan. It has over 150,000 miles, squeals upon ignition, and doesn't go into gear right away...but it's PAID OFF!!! I, not so secretly, have daydreams about it being stolen and torched. (not too thankful for what I have huh?)

3. I'm awful at writing people back when they send e-mails (but, you probably already knew that)

4. I have an obsession with small kitchen appliances, I love and want them all. (I have a blender, a mixer, an electric skillet, a George Foreman grill, a breadmaker, a food processor, a malt maker, an immersion blender, and a "set-it-and-forget-it" rotisserie....do I need therapy?)

5. I enjoy reading cookbooks

6. I love my scrapbooks but am a year behind again.

7. I enjoy taking pictures (you didn't know that yet right?)

8. I love to buy lip products, lipstick, gloss, chapstick...you name it

9. My favorite flower is tulips

10. We've moved (into Portland house, Out of Portland house, Into Dyana's House, Out of Dyana's house, into Rio Linda, CA house, out of Rio Linda, CA house, Into Uncle Tom & Aunt Jackie's house, Out of Uncle Tom and Aunt Jackie's House, Into the house we're in now...to be continued) 9 times in 7 and a half years of marriage, and we're not in the military.

Now I pass both of these awards to:

Kelly - Monkey Business

Melissa - Mirrored Images

Dana - Welcome to our world

Jackie - Babies, Belly Laughs & Bare Feet

April - Dot...Dot...Dot...

S - My Oh My

Emily - Making Dough

Lynnann - Team Troxell

Jennifer - Rubies & Pearls

Ok...I know that's nine, but so what? The blog award police aren't gonna come get me are they? Do what you will with these, don't feel obligated to post them on your blogs. But, to those that want to, I will be looking forward to your answers!

All of these blogs are on my bookmarks toolbar and I check them for updates daily.

For My Entertainment...

2009-03-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness...I started going through old pictures.

I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad that this boy has grown into his eyes!

I left Wyatt with Ryan last night so I could go to my friend Savannah's 30th birthday party. Wyatt must not have had much of an appetite last night, because Ryan couldn't get him to eat dinner. So, he asked Wyatt if he wanted some toast to eat. Wyatt protests. Ryan says, I'll put some butter on it. Wyatt says, "OOOOOOH, I wike butter."

And he ate the toast.

A Rambling Mess!

2009-03-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

This is jut going to be an update post.
On Friday we got a call from our realtor that an offer was coming in on our house. So Saturday morning we went to the his office to review it. It was a very strong offer, a lady coming in with all cash. In this economy to not have to deal with financing is wonderful. Banks are being extra cautions and alot of deals have reportedly been falling through last minute due to not getting funded. So, we agreed to all of her terms and went home to wrap our minds around moving to "the little house". We were discussing all of the things that we were going to need to do to move from a 1900+ sq ft house to a 720 sq ft house. And our bottom line, DOWNSIZE! We were really thankful for this offer but really sad at the prospect of leaving our home. It was what we thought we have been praying for and by Sunday morning, we were both feeling really good about it. Wyatt is sick with a cold and so that meant that he really shouldn't go to church and be around other kids. So Sunday morning Ryan went to church and I stayed home with Wyatt. He called me shortly after he had left and said, "I'm going to ruin your whole day". (my thought was, oh no, he got into an accident) He proceeded to tell me that our realtor called and said that the lady rescinded her offer. She didn't give a reason that made sense to us. It was just really weird. We had agreed to everything she offered us, so she didn't have any reason to walk from the offer. This really seemed like a done deal to us. And then almost as fast as it happened it was taken away. So now we are praying about what our next move will be. We have both houses up for sale and up for rent. We are trying to decide if we should just move to the little house anyway, because our house is the one that is getting all the interest as of now. I just have to believe that there is work going on behind the scenes that we just really can't see.
So, that's what's going on with the houses.

Wyatt has been sick with a cold since Saturday. He has been crabby and not sleeping well and waking up WAY too early. This morning he woke up at 6am (normal is 8am) and came into my bedroom crying for water. So, I got up and took him up for some water. A little while later he was playing in the dining room, hadn't been crying at all, but came over to me with tears flooding his eyes. He looked at me and said, "mama my ear hurts". I know my son, and that is not normal. He is usually very tolerant to pain. Yeah, he's whiny when he's sick, but doesn't complain about certain things hurting, EVER. So, I knew that it was probably an ear infection. I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened and made an appointment for this morning. Sure enough, Dr. Emily was right he has an ear infection in his right ear. Dr. Mary told me that he didn't necessarily need antibiotics for an ear infection and that I could watch him for a couple days and see if it will clear up on its own. But then in the next breath she told me that the type of ear infection that he has is blistery and can be VERY painful. And then in the NEXT breath she told me that it can also cause his ear drum to burst, but not cause permanant damage. Basically she left it up to me to make the decision, to give antibiotics or not. I called Ryan on the way home and explained everything that she said, and we decided to go ahead and give him the antibiotics. I mean, this child has never been on antibiotics before so it's not like he's going to develop any immunity from it by this one round.
Anyway, we've never been through this, it's new territory for us.
I'm ready for him to be feeling better, he's really whiny and clingy and NOT SLEEPING!
This has really been going around though. Here, here, here & here and more that haven't blogged about it. Nasty stuff.

Anyway, a realtor called and wants to show our messy house at 9:30 tomorrow morning (Jackie, that's who beeped through when I was talking to you). This means that I need to peel Wyatt off of me long enough to get a good start to cleaning the house.

Better get to it!!!

Menu Plan.....Thursday? Edited

2009-02-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

Quite a few of the blogs that I read do "Menu Plan Monday". I've been menu planning for a little over 3 years now. I don't do it every week, rather, I do it every time my hubby gets paid. Tomorrow is payday, and I'm planning my shopping trip. Usually, I will try to buy 2 weeks worth of food so I don't have to go shopping again until the next time he gets paid. This might have to change a little bit when Wyatt gets a little older and starts consuming more food. But for now, I can make 4 or 5 recipes and use leftovers and make it stretch out for 2 weeks.
Here's my line up for this "go round"

-Taco Salad w/ homemade salsa

-Curry Turkey Burgers w/ asparagus (Thanks to Emily from Making Dough for the recipe link)

-Buffalo Chicken Chili w/ Broccoli Slaw

-Cold Chicken Satay Noodles (p.174 of the Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray) w/ Spinach Salad **If you have this cookbook, this is a must try. It was delicious. (If I do say so myself) Also the spinach salad was delicious too. I bought a bag of spinach for the noodle dish and figured I'd just incorporate the rest of it into the salad.**

-Spanish Chorizo and Chicken Chili (p. 57 of the Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray) (Hubby saw the picture and requested that I make this) **This was also a big hit. It wasn't as good as the Buffalo Chicken Chili, but it was a nice change**

And, I'll leave you with this... This little ditty tends to be pretty catchy and Ryan has been singing this non-stop and driving me "CRAZY"!! Now Wyatt has caught on to it and started singing it tonight too.
I want you to share in my great pain and despair....enjoy

Wordless Wednesday (Painting With Grandma Edition)

2009-02-18T14:28:00.001-08:00

LOL

2009-02-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

For April!

It's all in good fun! I tried to do this on Facebook instead, but I couldn't figure out how to post YouTube videos!
I love this movie, but I suggest that you watch it when it's played on TV because its fairly raunchy otherwise.

Love ya April

Happy Monday!

2009-02-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

My brother in law showed me this over the weekend....enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

Love, Emily

Miss Liberty Haven

2009-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

I visited my friend Savannah & hubby Marcus at the hospital last Thursday after the birth of their daughter, Liberty.
She was born on Wed the 4th, you'll have to click on the link above for all of Liberty's stats. It was quite the crazy story too. For any mommy's that like to hear birth stories, it is a must read!
Anyway, of course, I had my camera in tow and managed to snap off a few cute ones. I just love taking pictures of newbies.

Sweet eyes

Mama and baby

Daddy's little girl

Tiny Ears

Tiny Hands

Tiny Feet

Yummy...."Sea Kittens"

2009-02-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

They are what's for dinner tonight!

My older brother put "Greg is eating sea kittens" as his status on Facebook. My niece responded, "what the heck are sea kittens"
and he responded with this link...

I guess this is an insight into my sense of humor.
And I really think that PETA is insane.

Hope you enjoy!

Boy and Beast

2009-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

These dogs have really taken a backseat to Wyatt in the last 3 years. Especially Princess Gertrude (that's Gertie's given name). This dog started out her little life with a baby book. That's right, I still have it, my little Gertie's baby book.
I still love them very much, and so does Wyatt. Thought I'd share a few pictures that I snapped this morning.
So sweet.

Clean Sweep Saturday

2009-02-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

Friday night, Ryan and I took Wyatt over to Babu & Papa's (Ryan's parents) house to spend the night. We had an open house on Sunday and needed to spend Saturday cleaning without a 3 year old following behind us messing everything up again.
We literally worked from about 10am to 5pm straight. We barely stopped to inhale lunch. That tells you how filthy our house was, huh?
We've always had 3 bedrooms in all of our houses. Even when Wyatt was born, we set his room up in the bonus room so he could be downstairs with us. So we've always had 2 spare bedrooms. 2 spare bedrooms for us meant 2 junk rooms. Last year, we worked really hard and got one room cleaned out and moved Wyatt's bedroom upstairs. This meant that most of the junk from that room just went into the other room. The other room also houses all of our paperwork, its loosely called the office. It has a desk and a computer that we don't use, and 2 filing cabinets. The weekend before, I had worked all day on Saturday and filed paperwork. (I'm embarrassed to say that this hadn't been done in over a year) I'm a big pile person. I've never been big on neat and tidy, although I really love it when things are neat and tidy. Anyway, I always have my piles and even though it looks wild and unorganized, I can usually go right to a pile and find what I'm looking for immediately. It's quite amazing actually. :) Well, it was so messy that I was even losing track of all my piles. Somewhere lost in the shuffle was Wyatt's social security card, which made me nervous, along with other various things that had been misplaced.
So, I'm going to share some before and after pictures. I really hope that we never have a room that looks like this again. It feels so stinking good to have it clean.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

There's nothing spectacular about this room, but it's clean. As well as the entire house...spit shined. Well it was, and I'm really really trying to keep it that way.
The open house was a bust. Not a soul showed up for it besides the realtor. But, good news, I did get a call from a realtor that want's to show it this coming Sunday. So yay, the house is clean and ready, we'll just have to vacuum and do a little tidying!

22 Years of Boycott...

2009-01-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

...has come to an end.
Why?
Because I ate black eyed peas last night.

This might not sound like a feat to you, but it was quite a feat for me.
Why?
I'm gonna tell ya.
I was home-schooled when I was in grade school. So, the school hours were always a little different than usual. Alot of times my mom, brother and I were out running errands when my dad got home from work. And, if he got home before us, you could always guarantee that there would be a piping hot pot of black eyed peas and rice on the stove. It was bland and disgusting. And that was dinner. He was "helping" my mom by cooking dinner. But I remember this to have happened about 3 times a week for some time. Just the thought of that gives me the gag reflux.
Anyway, this time also coincided with my parent's Shaklee (Vitamins and health products) business and in that we learned how to consume handfuls of vitamins in one swallow.
Well, in my disdane for those nasty little black eyed peas, I figured if I could swallow vitamins, I could swallow those gross little morsels as well. I did this for some time, and my family was none the wiser. It was a coping mechanism :)
So, one night I got really sick. This was during flu season and the advice nurse said that I probably had a bad case of the flu. My mom said she watched my face turn green and that was the last straw. I was whisked off to the emergency room where they discovered a burst appendix. Hence, emergency surgery. So, afterwards the surgeon came out to talk to my parents and he said that he found a bean like thing lodged in my appendix.
To this day, I remind my brother that I "took one for the team" because we were never forced to consume that nasty meal ever again.

So, this brings me to last night. Last night, we had dinner at our pastor's house. He served us a down home southern meal with catfish (delicious), cornbread, and (yep you guessed it) black eyed peas and rice.
I took a very small helping of the beans and rice, looked at Ryan knowingly and dove in. It had flavor. Astounding. I went back for seconds. So, while I will probably never eat a pot of my dad's black eyed peas and rice ever again, I've officially (on a case by case basis) ended my 22 year boycott of the consumption of black eyed peas.

Yay, now I can try the Pioneer Woman's "Make Your Own Luck: Black Eyed Pea Salsa"

2009 Goals and Aspirations Edited

2009-01-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

*Ok even though I went in and changed the font from webdings to arial it didn't change back. So, I had to delete all the pictures and redo the captions. Crazy!!! Are the posts below doing the same thing too? I can't tell, it's not showing up crazy on my weirdo computer, I can read it just fine.

It's only the 17th.

On the Friday after Christmas we went over to Ryan's Uncle Tom and Aunt Jackie's house for leftovers and dessert. (we usually do this on Christmas evening, but it got postponed due to the circumstances that came on Christmas)
Anyway, after dinner, we all sat down and watched some home videos that had been taken through the years of all the kids growing up. It was so much fun to watch those videos of the church Christmas programs, and the baptisms, and the Easters and the Christmases and the birthday parties of years past.
I started thinking that have these kiddos that are growing up together and are so cute together. I have scads of pictures. But hardly any video. So sitting right there on that couch I made my new year's resolution.

Take more home video.

I've been pretty good at doing it too. Now endurance is the key.

Asher

Carson & Doug

This picture makes me laugh...it's just so odd

Mama & Asher

Carson & Wyatt are checking out the gift from Aunt Nan & Uncle Doug

Grammy got a new sewing machine for Christmas

You have no idea how many pictures I have of this guy. The pictures are all the same, only the cameras have changed!

Aunt Nan's playing ball with the boys

A Christmas Story (Better Late Than Never) Edited

2009-01-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

*apparently I had the picture captions in webdings, the funny thing is that I could read the captions on my crazy computer.

Our Christmas was pretty different this year. I felt like I wasn't prepared for it like I usually am. Most of that was because of my leg. Some of it was because of the weather, well maybe all of it was weather-related since the weather caused my leg accident in the first place. Anyhow, we spent Christmas Eve at my cousin's house. It's a tradition to get together with my side of the family for Christmas Eve and boy was it a treacherous drive. I still think about that drive as I am on the road that we took quite often. Something had happened to the Tahoe and it wasn't holding water. Incidentally the heater wasn't working and it didn't have water to cool the car. Hence, the Tahoe was un-drive-able. The Subaru does ok in the weather too, but it's AWD instead of 4WD which means you have to start slipping for it to kick in. Fun. It's also a lower profile vehicle so it does much worse in the foot deep ruts that we had going on.
So we made it, I managed to hobble up the driveway and they plopped me right down in front of all the hoursdevours, oh dear. We had a good night and another rousing gift exchange to end the evening.
Christmas morning we got up and I made breakfast and we waited for my mom, dad brother and grandma to trek through the snow to get to our house. When they arrived safe and sound, but road weary, we were able to start the festivities.
So we ate breakfast, I made overnight blueberry french toast and my parent's brought ham and my mom's homemade Christmas Stollen (YUMMY) .
We were all spoiled with lots of great gifts. When we were almost done, Ryan got a phone call that his dad had crashed his truck on the way to get his Grandma M. Ryan's mom told us not to come because it was too dangerous. It was snowing at the time, and cars were getting stuck trying to get up the hill to the highway anyway. He had to stay with his truck because it was sticking out in the road. AAA said that since he was less than 10 miles from his house it's not considered an emergency because he could walk home. 10 MILES? Are you kidding me? The man has Asthma. His car is sticking out in the road people. Sheesh. The police wouldn't send anyone, and his car was making a weird rattle so he couldn't keep it running. Hence, no heat. What a nightmare.
Well, since we weren't going anywhere anytime soon, I told my family that they could stay, wait out the snow, and hang out for awhile and relax. We turned on "It's a wonderful life", napped, looked at gifts and just generally relaxed. It was kind of nice to not be on the run, as usual on Christmas.

A couple of hours made all the difference, people were no longer getting stuck on the hill and traffic seemed to be moving much better. A Family Picture. The flash didn't go off, it was a really dark picture.

"Great Great Great Grandma 'Ford" - Wyatt and Great Grandma LaFord reading the
book I made for her.

Still reading!

My lumberjack husband (posing as a CAD drafter by day)

Uncle Nate kept going outside and throwing snowballs at the window. Wyatt
just loved that.

Playing with a fun gift from Gramma and Papa. Mommy and daddy like it too. It alters your voice.

Roughhousing with Uncle Nate

Gramma and Papa and the "project" that Wyatt and I did. Handprint
ornaments that to this day aren't finished yet because I couldn't get out
of the house to buy the stuff to finish before Christmas)

Naptime after the morning festivities

My family left in the late afternoon and Ryan and I decided to surprise his family and go to their house and spend the night in their trailer.
After a 5 and a half hour wait in his truck, Ryan's dad was finally picked up by a tow truck and we got there minutes after he got home. They were sure surprised too! Ryan's brother and girlfriend, Jared and Christi, came back and we were able to have a nice evening together on Christmas night. Not exactly as planned, but it was a wonderful evening all the same.

Christmas gift from Babu and Papa that Wyatt ended up being terrified of (that's a whole post in itself)
It got returned and replaced with a much less scary toy.

Babu and Wyatt opening the handprint ornament

Ryan's sister, Lisa

OOOH...Hot Wheels

The next morning, coloring with Uncle J.T.

Where do I start? Edited Caption

2009-01-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

(This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I loved it and it was taken with my new lens)

It's been so long since I've updated that I haven't got the slightest idea of where to start.

* First - An update on my knee. I've went from just wishing they would have taken a saw to it, to a not so constant "wishing it would just get better already".
I'm in Physical Therapy 2 days a week right now. It seems to be helping. They start out the session with hooking me up to these electrodes that contract my thigh muscles and help to get them stronger, faster. I love the idea of this!! My muscles turned to mush in the week and a half that they were immobilized. Anyway, after the electrode session, we go out to the gym and do some pretty simple strengthening exercises. Honestly, I'm feeling pretty strong, it's the bending that is an issue still. As a mama, you don't realize how often you are on your knees, playing, changing diapers...etc. Till you can't anymore. It's odd to sit on the floor with my legs straight out, but whatever works I guess.
I'm just so thankful that it was my left knee. Oh my goodness, I would have been climbing the walls 10 times over now if I couldn't drive. What would I do? Stuck in "no man's land" without the use of my "pedal leg". I shutter just thinking about it. So, it could be worse. Alot worse!

*Our houses are still for sale with no lookers in over at least 2 months. We are thinking and praying about dropping the prices one more time.

*I am still couponing like crazy(I've grown out of my 2nd coupon box already). Got 4 free boxes of Quaker Simple Harvest oatmeal yesterday. It makes all the hard work worth it, for a deal like that. I want to go back for some more deals before this week is over.

*Getting my hair cut on Saturday (Lynnann, you will be getting a 25% off referral discount next time you go to Toni & Guy and I get one too yay...thanks! ) I love Toni & Guy...mostly because they massage my neck when they shampoo my hair. delish.
I have no clue how I'm getting it cut. EEK!!!

I know there is more to update on, but I can't think of anything right now while I'm sitting here.
Stay tuned for Christmas and New Years posts next!

Too Funny!

2009-01-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Have any of you seen the following commercial?

This is how I fee sometimes after a particularly good "couponing" trip.
It just cracks me up!

On my to do list is.... UPDATE BLOG.
This doesn't count.
I really want to do a few posts soon.
But while you wait, enjoy this hilarious commercial.

I Can't Believe He's 3!

2008-12-28T09:25:00.000-08:00

3 years ago right now, I was in the process of having this sweet, mischevious, loving, obstinate little boy.
He has an undeniable light in his eyes and the best laugh EVER!

Snow Update

2008-12-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here in these parts of Oregon, we have reached about 3 feet of snow and there is more in the forecast. We will definitely be having a white Christmas. No questions. Our Subaru is completely under the snow, our deck is nearly unrecognizable and the snow drifts are nearly to the top of our picket fence out back. This unlikely Oregon weather has broken all of the records. This crazy weather has made Ryan and I realize that we could easily live in a community where its like this all winter. It just makes me so happy. Regardless of my current gimpy state and the reasons behind it. Just looking out at this insane snow, makes me so happy. I know to most of my friends that makes me sound totally mental (April, Jackie, Dana...) After living in California for a short stint, I have come to really dislike the rain. I much prefer this snowy weather to a rainy day...any day.
I only wish that I could go out and play in it!
The only thing that will make this weather drain on me, is losing our electricity. The lights have been flickering all day. I think it's only a matter of time before one of the ice covered trees falls on a power line and poof...off goes the power.
There has been talk of the possibilities of postponing Christmas celebrations, nothing set in stone yet.
Not sure what the future holds, but all I know is this...
I love the snow!!!

Saturday Snow Fun...

2008-12-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

...pre knee dislocation.
After telling Ryan how much fun we had up at our little neighborhood park on Thursday, we took Wyatt up to the park on Saturday morning. Since we both went, I was able to take my camera.
We had so much fun once again. It wasn't snowing as hard as it was before, but he still went very fast down the slide with his snow pants on. Ryan even had some fun hanging on the monkey bars and going down the slide too. And then when we got back from the park our neighbor let us borrow her sled and Ryan and Wyatt went down our driveway a couple of times. Wyatt wasn't as crazy about this as I thought he would be. It took some convincing to get him on there, but after he was on, it was all smiles.

Ham Anybody?

2008-12-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is another short edition of "Wyatt Says":

Saturday morning Wyatt came into our bedroom before we got up. Ryan and I were just lounging around and Wyatt was on the floor playing. I heard him saying something to Gertie (our pug), and so I listened up. He was saying:
W: "smell the shirt, Gertie, smell it."

Me: "what does mommy's shirt smell like buddy?"

W: "Ham"

I have absolutely no idea where that came from, we haven't had ham in ages and I'm fairly certain that I don't smell like ham.

Ryan and I were rolling!

Kids say the darndest things.

What do you have for lunch?

2008-12-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I couldn't help but take a picture of this lovely little sammy. I have been really trying to make myself lunch lately instead of snacking through lunch and being famished for dinner. Making myself lunch is better for everyone involved since I tend to get snarly if I haven't eaten in awhile.
This little creation is made with Bob's Red Mill's Whole Wheat Potato Flax bread, rotisserie chicken lunch meat, olive oil mayonnaise (my new favorite, it has half the fat of regular but the same consistency of the regular fattening stuff), stone ground mustard, colby cheese, and a buttload (technical measurement) of pepperoncinis.
I throw all of this in a pan with a layer of olive oil, heat it all the way through and melt the cheese.

Delicious!

Boo Hoo...I gotta boo boo... Edited

2008-12-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

*my mom took this picture with her cell phone right before we left the hospital...Pretty forlorn if you ask me!! (disclaimer, this photo has not been airbrushed, I'm keepin it real today)

(disclaimer) I am on some pretty heavy muscle relaxers so this post should be interesting!

Ryan, Wyatt and I spent the morning playing out in the snow. Other than falling flat on my butt, sparing only my camera, it went without incident. I got right back up and went on my way with a snow covered bottom and some bruised pride!! This is credited to my beloved Uggs that keep my feet dry and warm but have positively no good traction.
Wyatt and I took Ryan up to the park to go down the slide again. We had a great time and since Ryan was with me, I was able to bring my camera and get some great shots of playing in the playground. (they won't be added for awhile)
We went back home, had some lunch, tidied up the house and decided to come in to Clackamas to drop Wyatt off at Babu and Papa's house. We had high hopes to finish our Christmas shopping.
I hopped out of the Tahoe at Becky and Ray's and turned around to go get Wyatt out of his carseat. At this point I'm not positive what happened, but I think I slid off the curb and twisted my knee...resulting in a dislocated knee. (Thanks again to my Uggs) Not to be gross, but if you looked at where my knee cap should have been it was completely twisted to the side. Talk about pain. Ryan called 911 and after what seemed to be an eternity (about 5 min) the firetruck showed up. We waited a little longer for the ambulance. My leg was stuck in a bent position and it took a small army to get me moved into the ambulance with minimal moving of my knee. I had to transport in a bent position, and despite pillows and paper towel rolls for propping, I still felt like I was holding my leg up for the entire ride from Clackamas to Gresham (Legacy Mount Hood). They had a hard time getting an IV in me (like usual) and the firefighter just finally gave up. But, the paramedic that I had, had 30 yrs of experience in the field and got it in first try. I can always appreciate that because no matter what, it's always a huge ordeal for me to get an IV.
Anyway, the pain was excruciating. Worse than when I had Wyatt. With Wyatt I had an epidural. I kept teasingly asking them if I could please get one of those wonderful epidurals! They said no.
poop heads.
No, really. Everyone was really nice and helpful. I don't remember ever being in so much pain when the doctor grinded and popped it back into place, I screamed. It wasn't a lady like oooohhh ouchie scream. It was gutteral and haunting.
I kept thinking on the ambulance ride over, that it could have been so much worse. Sometimes when things like this happen, I wonder what worse fate this protected me from. Oh ya, I was also thinking, why me and why now...when we've had such a fun day.
I was also really concerned about my camera and computer. And the eggs that I had bought for Becky at Safeway on the way in. I had had them in my hand and they got dropped on the ground when I fell. Apparently we were 7 for 12. Not bad!
But I'll tell you what...
Mama's going shopping soon...
My list: snow boots with monster tread
and a new pair of gap jeans. (whaaaaaa they had to cut me out of my favorite jeans...no fair) (they wanted to cut the Uggs but I told them no, I could bear through the pain of them just taking those off)
Ah, the things us girls do for fashion.

Anyway, they were a little concerned about some extra swelling, so they want me to follow up with an ortopedist and possibly get an MRI. I have a giant brace on and am scared to move. The pain is bearable now, but Ryan is out getting me my Perkaset. Just in case. I'm just sitting over at my mother and father in-law's house trying to relax.
We came over here to get out of the house....but looks like I'm housebound no matter what.
Bummer.

Snow n' Swides

2008-12-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

There is so much that I'm behind on that I want to blog on. So much, that I'm getting ready to just forget about it all, wipe the slate clean and call it good.
I've been trying to figure out where I'm going to find the time to catch up on all of this. Well, maybe if we have an ice storm this weekend, I might get it done.
It's been snowing like crazy around here. It started on Sunday and was extremely cold (low 20's)! We tried to take Wyatt outside to play then, but it was just too picking cold. Hurt your face cold...brrrr
*Side note* Ryan told me that they are calling it "global cooling" now. (oh brother)
Well we have about 6 inches right now as I write this. Thursday morning, I took Wyatt outside to play. We live on a private drive that we share with 4 other houses, so I took him up to the end of the driveway and we played on the level part. He had a big time running around, purposely falling, making snow angels, jumping and then looking at his foot prints...the list goes on. So, then I let the dogs out of the house and they ran around and entertained us for awhile. When they got tired, (harley laid down in the snow) Wyatt wasn't ready to go in yet. So, I told him that we could walk down and get the mail. To which he replied, "want to go to da park an go down the swide?" I thought, what the heck? Really, it was like a built in sled. This was the highlight of the morning, he literally went down that slide about 50 times. With the ever replenished snow, and the snow pants, he flew down that slide. It was so much fun.

I debated bringing my camera, and its times like this when I really wish I had a little pocket camera instead of my DSLR...well I don't wish for that instead, I guess I wish for both! Mix and match. I just hate the delay time that comes with most point and shoot cameras, delay time makes me positively nutty. Anyway, I knew that if I took my camera, I wouldn't get to play with Wyatt so it was a pretty easy decision. For the sake of disclosure, I airbrushed some dark circles and enormous bags from underneath my eyes, I just couldn't bear to post the sooc(straight out of the camera)picture on my blog, it scared me. I love photoshop!!!

I was able to snap this picture before we went out, please don't mind the pained look on my face...I was holding up my camera and it had the flash attached to it...so I was really trying to take the picture and not drop the camera.
Anyway, it was a great morning. He'll only be little once and won't want to play with mommy forever. I really cherished this time with my baby boy.

My Christmas List Edited

2008-12-12T09:04:00.001-08:00

This is exactly what it means...
it's my Christmas list...my friend April put her list on her blog and I found it interesting to see what she was wishing for.
So, here is my list:

Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book - (can be found at Costco)

NIV/Message Parallel Bible (Leather or fake leather) I suppose I'm a Bible snob.
Pink by Victoria Secret

Silicone Basting Brush

Fiestaware Sets (I like Orange, Red, Green, White...could mix and match) (Can be found at Macy's for 40% off right now)
**April commented with a fiestaware giveaway. I love this stuff...I have 4 sets already but we are always running out and have to use the yucky plates.
So go on over to Ravings of a Mad Housewife and enter the contest for 4 sets of these lovely dishes!**

Camelbak Water Bottle (with straw)

Nikkor 50 mm 1.8 lens

Ryan just e-mailed me and asked me to send him my list. Last year, he surprised me with a pair of Uggs. This was the best surprise gift that I've ever gotten. So babe, I know you've got something up your sleeve this year. This is just what I can think of that I would like. But I'm not itching for any of these things in particular, well except for that basting brush I'm tired of using the paintbrush it keeps dropping its little hairs on our food.
Anyway, a couple of other people (my mom, his mom) have asked me what I would like for Christmas, so there you have it.

Knitting Fool

2008-12-02T13:51:00.001-08:00

I go through phases all the time. The last couple of days I've been knitting like crazy. I go through this phase every couple of years. My most popular item to knit are dish cloths. Many people love them and request them from time to time. They are so easy too, because you don't have to cast on or cast off.
But recently, I found this website with video tutorials on how to knit. I took 4-h classes when I was a little girl and the basic knit stitch always stuck with me. I've always wanted to know how to do more, but when I look at those beginner books for knitting my eyes glaze over.
These video tutorials are very simple and easy to understand.
So, if you've always wanted to learn how to knit, this website is highly recommended.
The videos are less than 2 minutes apiece.
I know I should have a picture of the things I've made so far, but I don't.
Maybe I'll add one later.
And to my family: if you get something that is hand knitted for Christmas, act surprised!

Oprah's Got Another Giveaway!

2008-11-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'm downloading it right now as I type this.
Today is Oprah's favorite things show. Because of the economy she is doing a show with items that are affordable.
I haven't seen it yet, but in looking at blogs that are in an earlier time zone, I found that she is giving away a CD's worth of free music downloads.
It's a star studded CD of Christmas music, looks great. Can't wait to get mine onto a CD and into my car.

Here is a link!

I don't think they sold boxes of chicken stock in "the olden days"...

2008-11-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

...but if they did, I just got "the olden days" pricing!

3 Oregonians (only 1 purchased), one coupon pack from ebay, 7 trips to Safeway, 26 boxes of stock and $2.47 total cost.
I was turned away once at our local Safeway. They said that they couldn't use coupons on the free boxes of stock, because there was no value on them. I didn't want to tell her that I had just did this same deal an hour before at their store and it went through just fine. I just politely asked her to take them off my bill and "can I please have my coupons back".
I didn't visit that Safeway again during this process. The good thing about living as far out as we do, is that there are a few Safeways on the way to and home from church.
No one else batted an eye at my deal, as I handed over $.38 per transaction for $12.76 worth of stock. I mainly just dug around in my purse and got rid of the loose change rolling around for this deal. For the very last one, I did have to whip out the old debit card because I was short a few pennies.
But like I said before, I use stock all the time! So this is an awesome stockpile item for me, and most of them don't expire till next December.
This was a fun deal for me, because I figured it out on my own, it is pretty exhilarating really.
So, snicker at me and my nerdy coupon box if you will. But, I just might be the one getting the last laugh....Mua ah ah ah ah!!! (In case you couldn't tell, that was my best attempt at typing out a sinister laugh)

Please Excuse The...

2008-11-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

...Blurry Pictures.

Goodness Gracious!
I think my camera and I are in a funk right now. This is what quite a few of my pictures have looked like lately, for whatever reason. It's quite disheartening actually. It's probably because I boycott using the pop-up flash, at all cost. Such harsh light. But what would I rather have, harsh light or blurry pictures. Both are pretty equally frustrating for me.

Anyway, most of you know by now that my mom comes over on Monday mornings to watch Wyatt so I can go to the gym. Well, mom usually tries to bring Wyatt a little something every time. This time it was a cool pair of little spinny-tops that lit up (he later took them down to his bed and broke both of them...sorry mom). She also brought him these "coke-bottle" glasses and a clown nose. At first he wasn't too keen on having anything to do with these. But, the curiosity of just leaving them on the coffee table got the better of him. The next thing we knew, he had those silly glasses on and was posing for pictures.
Whatta little hammy.
He cracks us up so bad.

A couple things that he's said lately.

We left him at Babu and Papa's (Ryan's parents) for the evening...
They were eating dinner and Lisa (Ryan's sister) started choking on her food.
Wyatt said, "Lisa Slow Down Girl"

Later that same night.
Wyatt wanted Babu to take him out to look at the pool. (that had recently been covered for the winter)
He took one look at the pool and said:
"Pool's Covered....Darn"

My mom asked Wyatt what he wanted for Christmas. (a question that hasn't really been explored with him...
He thought about it for a long second, then said, "a candycane"
(ah the simple things)

This one was from last year at the RV show...not sure if I shared this one already.
We were going in and out of the beautiful motor homes. And it became quite obvious that we were saying "HOLY COW" ALOT!!! Well, at that time Wyatt was learning all of his animals. He looked at us and said "HOLY DONKEY" That one makes me smile inside.

Anyway, he's just getting funnier and funnier. I know that there have been dozens of other things that I can't remember right now.
I can't believe that he's already almost 3 years old. Where has the time gone, really?

You Know You're Crazy When...

2008-11-18T22:21:00.001-08:00

...you give up going to a football game to go grocery shopping!

Ok just a disclaimer, yes this is a coupon post. I promise the next post will have some cute pictures of Wyatt.

Pat and Jackie & Ryan and I were supposed to go to the Ducks game on Saturday afternoon. On Friday morning Jackie called me and asked what I thought about keeping our babysitters and spending the entire day shopping with our coupons. I was game, so that's just what we did.
We started at Pete's for a cup of coffee and game plan.
Deciding to hit Safeway first we headed to Damascus where I bought the following items:

6 Cans of Progresso Soup- On sale for $.97 (MQ's $2/4, $1/2) .47 each
1 box Wheat Thins - On sale for $1.88 (MQ $1/2, Double $.50) $1.13
1 box Triscuits - On sale for $1.88 (MQ $1/2, Double $.50) $1.13
Pilsbury Pizza Crust - $3.29 (clearance stickers - $2.25, MQ 1/$.40) $.64
Kraft Cheese - On Sale for $3.00 (clearance stickers - $1.50) $1.50
Minute Maid Pomegrante Tea - $3.49 (clearance stickers - $2.25) $1.24
Ranch Dip - On Sale 2 for $5.00 (MQ $1/1, Double $.50) $1.00
Dill Dip - On Sale 2 for $5.00 (MQ $1/1, Double $.50) $1.00
Sunday Newspaper - $2.00

Total Out of Pocket: $11.96 Ok I realize that this doesn't totally add up but this is the gist. This was all the way back to Saturday and I'm trying to remember to the best of my abilities. Also, these receipts are really hard to read, after the fact!

Safeway took us forever. Jackie was going after the coveted catalina promotion (home for the holidays). Yay for her too, she got it $10 off her next purchase. That made it sound like it was Jackie's fault that it took so long. It wasn't, we were just taking our time.

We stopped back by Jackie's house and dropped off her groceries and my perishables, picked up her sister and were off to lunch. Her sis was craving breakfast, and we thought we had coupons for Sharis so to Sharis we went. The coupons didn't work on the weekend, but that was ok, because not too many other people serve breakfast at 3pm. Ok it was a late lunch.

After lunch we headed off to Gap outlet to try to use the friends and family 30% off coupon. I struck out. I couldn't even find anything for Wyatt. I'm sure I could have bought something, but I didn't want to just get something for the sake of getting something.
We ducked into a couple more stores before leaving and I got Luke his birthday present.

We wanted to go to Walgreens and "figure it out" so that was our next and final stop together.
They had a coupon that was only good for Saturday and Sunday for $5 off a $20 purchase.
So, the goal was to go in there and use that.

Here is the list of the stuff I got:

Maybelline Mascara x2 $3.99 - Buy one Get one Free (MQ $1.00 x 2) $1.99 for both
Notebook - $1.99 because I needed one
Bic Soleil Razor System - $6.99 (Store Coupon $3, MQ $3) $.99
Bic Soleil Razor Refill - $6.99 (Store Coupon $3, MQ $3) $.99
Loreal Age Moisturizer - On Sale for $14.99 - Free after Mail in Rebate

With the $5 off coupon my Out of Pocket total came to $15.95
Since Walgreens adds 10% to the total if you elect to have them send you a gift card I will be getting $16.49 back.
And that my friends is my first profit of $.54
So yay, I got all that stuff that I will totally use for free!!! And I love that moisturizer!

By this time, it was almost 8pm at night. We were ready to go home to our babies and we were all tired. But the guys weren't home yet, so after awhile I left and made a quick stop by Albertsons for a toilet paper sale that was going to be over that night.

Here is my Albertsons List:

12 pack Cottonelle Double Rolls (I got 2, second pack not in picture because it's...ahem...already in use! - $11.59 reg price (FM coupon $4.99 ea, MQ $1/1 not double-able) $3.99 ea
9 pack large rolls charmin - $4.99 (Albertsons Rain Check $2.99 ea., MQ $.25, Double $.25) $2.49

That finished out our day of shopping!

The weekend wasn't quite over yet.
One thing of note, that I'm very excited about is a great deal on Progresso Chicken and Beef Broth.
I showed my couponing skills off to my hubby on Sunday after church...once again back to Safeway.
We needed to buy his brother a gift card and I had figured out this deal, so why not right?

Progresso 32 oz chicken stock x 2 - $3.19 Buy 1 Get 1 free (MQ $1/1, MQ $1/1, Doubles $1) $.19 for 2
AHHHHH ISN'T THAT AWESOME? I enlisted the help of a coupon clipper on Ebay and bought 20 more coupons. Hopefully they come in time so I can do that deal some more times. What a great item to put in the food basket at church.

I also met up with a gal after church that bought some scrapbooking stuff from me for $40. (I've switched to digital scrapbooking so I don't have a need for the paper and all that jazz)
With $40 burning a hole in my pocket, and the burning desire to buy a printer so I can delve into the world of internet printable coupons...I searched the ads for a good deal on a printer.
And, did I ever find one... An HP printer, copier, and scanner for $39.99, it came with the print cartridges. The print cartridges retail at $30.99 for the combo pack so, I like to think that I got a printer for $9. Ha. I love this machine so far. It rocks.

All in all it was a pretty productive weekend.

This post took FOREVER, and while I love sharing my deals, it was exhausting to try to remember everything!!!

Ok...pictures of Wyatt next, I promise!!!

More Coupon Madness

2008-11-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

I set off for Albertsons today with a few purchases in mind. I had my plan. It didn't work out quite like I had planned, but I did pretty good anyway.
I had planned on stocking up on toilet paper with some great deals that I had worked out in my noggin. The store didn't have the right quantities that went with the coupons that I had. Two of the coupons were Albertsons coupons, so I was able to get a rain check. I will get my deal eventually! *evil laugh*
But for now, I'll be content with the rest of my list.
Transaction #1:
1. Melita Coffee Filters Ct. 40 $10 for $10 (I bought 2)
$1 x 2 = $2
2. Old Spice Deodorant - On Sale 2 for $7 (I bought 4)

Fred Meyer Coupon - $2.99 Each (Limit 4)
Manufacturers Coupon - 2 @ $1 off 2
Safeway Double Coupons - 2 @ $.50 off
$2.99x4= $11.96 - $2 = $9.96 - $1 = 8.96 / 4 = $2.24 each x 4 = $8.96 Total

3. Fresh Express Premium Salad Mix - On Sale for $1.47 ea
Manufacturers Coupon - $.75 off (Not Subject to Doubling)
$1.47 - $.75 = $.72 ea

Total should have been $11.68 Actual total was $8.20
There was alot of confusion swirling around due to the toilet paper fiasco. Somewhere in the mix I think my checker messed up and I didn't realize it till I got home. These receipts are so dadgum confusing anyway, I couldn't figure out how she did that if I tried. I can only do the math on my own.

Transaction #2

1. Tag Deodorant - On Sale 2 for $7 (I bought 1)
Fred Meyer's Coupon - $2.99 ea
Manufacturer's Coupon - $1 off 1
Safeway Double Coupon - $.50
$2.99 - $1 = $1.99 - $.50 = $1.49 Ea
2. Fresh Express Premium Salad Mix - On Sale for $1.47 ea
Manufacturers Coupon - $.75 off (Not Subject to Doubling)
$1.47 - $.75 = $.72 ea
Should have been - $2.21 Actually Charged - $1.71
In this case, she doubled the coupon that was not to be doubled)

Total Out of Pocket $9.91

My goal with couponing right now is to get some nice "stockpiles" of things that we use all the time.
Since Ryan goes through 1 stick of deodorant per week (I'm not exaggerating) , 5 sticks of the stuff was not a bad deal for me. What can I say, my husband is paranoid about smelling. That's not too bad for me, even if I have to buy him deodorant once a week.

I'm kinda becoming the "crazy coupon lady". But when I see that total on the sidebar slowly rising, it makes me feel quite sane, thank you very much!

How Was Your Weekend?

2008-11-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

Since, once again, it has been a very long time since I've posted something. I just now decided to set aside some important things (Ryan, I promise to pay the window guy sometime today) and do a post.
Friday evening, Ryan came home a little early (due to some late nights earlier in the week) and we had Shredded Pork Burritos with Caramelized Onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and guacamole for dinner. I kinda made these up as I went along, and OH MY GOODNESS they were delicious! (If I do say so myself) So, after dinner we took Wyatt swimming at the gym (might as well utilize family night). He is a very confident child and because of the superman swimsuit (with built in floaties) that Babu bought him this last summer, he can afford to be confident. Everyone looks at us in amazement as we throw him back and forth between us and he is just delighted. He can go underwater, and come back up with a sparkly smile and say, "do it again".
We went home after that, Wyatt went to bed and Ryan and I watched a movie I had rented from the Safeway kiosk.
Saturday morning, Ryan cleaned the house and I sorta helped him here and there. We had an open house on Sunday so it had to be cleaned.
There was a Ducks game on, and where the Ducks are, so is Ryan. Whether in person or otherwise. So I dropped Wyatt and him off at his parents house and hit the Old Navy hat sale. ($1 for performance fleece hats) I dinked around a little more, hit up Costco for some dog food and eggs...boring stuff.
*Disclaimer*
Oh my goodness, are you asleep yet?
I'm sorry, I'm halfway done. I know this is probably really boring.
Anyhow, I have been bugging Ryan to take me on a date, so after the Ducks game we headed off to McMenamins Edgefield for a showing of Dark Knight. It was pretty scary for me, but I'm kinda wimpy when it comes to that. I will say that Heath Ledger played an INCREDIBLE villian. Seriously, it was an amazing performance. The wonderful thing about going to McMenamins is that you can order food and beverages and eat and drink during the movie. Plus the movie is only $3 apiece so it's a great value. It was a great time out.
Sunday was church and our open house. After Lunch/Dinner (depends on what part of the country you're from, in these parts its lunch) at Becky and Ray's, Ryan and I headed over to the little house to do some work. We have slowed way down on going over there and working. There is still this and that to do, but we are so burned out.
Then we went to night church and out to Chevy's with "our gang" after church.
So, all in all, it was a good weekend for the record books.

Points of Note:
* We don't know how our open house went yet

* I won the motherload of coupon contests. I'm very excited about that. (Even if my husband makes fun of me for being "that wife") Seriously this is a coupon jackpot. Thanks Rebecca and Angela!!

*Someday, (very soon) I will post the recipe for that yummy pork roast that I made. If you like sweet and spicy...this recipe is just for you. You can also really cool it off by using a can of mild chilies instead of the 4 (yes I said 4) jalapenos that I like to use!!

* I need to get back to a rhythm of blogging. This couponing is seriously cutting into my blogging time. It'll happen.

I know, no pictures. But I will leave you with this. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I had ordered and received the first digital scrapbook that I made myself. I love this scrapbook and it came out to about $.60 a page. That's pretty darn good. In my "paper days" I would have spent that in paper alone per page, and possibly more not to mention stickers and the pictures themselves. And definitely $20 min on the book. This book was only $60 and that included shipping. Granted, I landed on a pretty good sale with MyPublisher and you have to have a Costco card to get the really good deals with them. But they are always running specials.
And they put my book online. Let me know if you have problems viewing this.

Ok...I'm done rambling.
I promise the next post will be useful!!!

Shopping Trip(s) and Menu Plan

2008-11-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight is part 2 of 2 of the Frugal Living Workshop that I attended last week. I've been working on collecting my coupons and trying to start slowly. It is very inspiring to read the blogs ( Frugal Living Online, Super Coupon Girl, Money Saving Mom, Common Sense With Money...) and see how much money there is to be saved.
Before Bible study last night I went to Fred Meyer's to take them up on a $10 for $10 coupon that they had on milk, chocolate milk and orange juice. It was a great deal, so I bought 5 - 1/2 gallons of whole milk, 2 - 1/2 gallons of orange juice and 1 - 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk...all for $8. The milk is the non-hormone milk, that's something that I always look at first.
Then, after Bible study, I went to Winco while Ryan took Wyatt home to go to bed. I shopped for 2 hours, and used 3 or 4 coupons. I didn't save too much using my coupons at Winco, but I figured if I had them and was buying the product anyways, why not use them.
There was one snafu though, the Pumpkin Spice Creamer that I bought rang up at $2.98 and I knew that it was marked at less than that. So I told the checker and she was really nice about it and made a phone call for me. The person on the other line told her that it was $2.98, I knew that was wrong but I didn't want to argue over pennies. But it was right up front so on the way out, I double checked it... it was marked at $2.78. Ok $.20 you say? Normally it wouldn't be worth it to go complain. But dang it all, I had clipped a coupon for that little puppy and this clipping coupons business is hard work. So, I went back and waited for my $.20. (did I mention that it was just past 11:00pm?) Talk about feeling silly, but it was the principle.
So, I came home and Ryan and I worked on our ballots till 12:45am. Ryan had been reading all the measures since he had gotten home. Talk about more hard work. I always forget how much thought and studying voting takes. But, we got it done and I delivered it promptly to a voting box first thing this morning.

Part of these classes I'm going to is making a budget and a meal plan. I did 1 of 2. Yikes, I sat down to do a budget and didn't even know where to start.
Making a menu plan wasn't too hard for me, because I've been doing this since we moved back to Oregon and decided that I would be a stay at home mommy. It really does save money, because when I get lazy every once in awhile and don't do it.... well let's just say it wipes us out.
I wanted to try a couple new recipes this time so here you have it:

- Turkey Curry on Flatbread (this is a tried and true recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray)

- Coca-Cola Glazed Pork Roast w/ acorn squash

- Pulled Pork Burritos w/ Sauteed Sweet Onions and Rice (I will make this recipe up as I go and use the yummy pork from the roast above) (new to us)

- Knockwurst Stoup (I have no clue what knockwurst even is so I use 2 pkgs of turkey bratwurst) (I also don't do the apple/parsley topper)

- Chicken Parm Meatball Subs (this is a Rachael Ray recipe, but I can't find a link)

- Apple Juice Pork w/ Squash and Golden Rasins (From my Everyday With Rachael Ray Magazine, October 2008) (new to us)

- Crockpot Black Bean Chili w/ Beef (new to us)

This will last us for about 2 weeks as we are big on leftovers in this house!!

If any of these sound tasty to you, please don't hesitate to ask for the recipe. I'm always happy to share!

Coupon Giveaway?

2008-11-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in getting into "couponing"?

Check out this blog entry by Frugal Living Online and enter their contest for a coupon giveaway!!

Who knows, you could be the next crazy coupon person.

Good luck!!!