My Picky Eater!

My 2 year old son gives picky eaters a new name!! Most kids will at the very least eat mac & cheese - a peanut butter sandwich - toast  - cereal ... NOPE! Not my picky eater! He eats raw carrots! Radishes! Kohlrabi! Pickles! Black Olives! Broccoli !! Corn! Olive Garden Salad!! I know I should not complain he is after all a very healthy eater & generally a very healthy little guy!  But it does make it challenging when dinner time rolls around! & he is also a junk food junkie too! Jones chips, pretzels, cookies, popcorn ... smarties ... skittles ...

He's what I call a grazer ... does not sit to eat but rather munches all day - randomly going to the fridg to help himself! Two days ago, however, we had a breakthrough!! I recently purchased him a place mat with Disney's Cars on the front. He loved it instantly! After explaining to him that it goes on the counter (where we eat) he promptly put it to use & ate TWO BOWLS OF CEREAL!!  & yesterday, he ate for the 1st time a PB sandwich for breakfast on a whole wheat bun!! & ate an entire McDonald's Happy Meal 4 piece nuggets for dinner!! YES! I know not good food! But you have to understand that my son does not eat meat. PERIOD! Peanut butter was an exciting deal for me because all I could think was YEAH! Protein!! (Oh & technically he only ate 3 nuggets sharing #4 with is not-so-picky-eater baby sister!!)

 Eating his very favorite steamed broccoli!!

I'm still here!

At least a 1/2 dozen times a day I think of things I want to type in my blog ... BUT at least 2,010 times I get called off to do something else instead ... Maggie Jo took a nose dive out of the high chair - Camden took a nose dive over his Tonka truck oh & lets not forget Joe needs something typed up & sold on craigslist.com!!


... but I've finally made it over here to my blog! FINALLY it's almost "mommy time" - Camden on my lap - wiggling - making it very difficult to type! I've so many things I want to share but obviously my time is going to be short ... so I will share something that really made me smile today!!


I've always used coupons! Always looked for deals! Years ago some even called me the coupon queen! I've fallen away for a few years. My excuse it simple - coupons were hard to come by because I do not receive the newspaper ... but like many others out there I have been motivated by TLC's new show Extreme Couponing.  I've only caught a couple episodes & let me be quick to say I think these people border on hoarders!! I honestly think it's foolish to own obscene stockpiles of food!! Yes, we are in an economic recession ... & yes, I do stock up on good deals!! But I don't let my good deals take over my home or make it my full time job! I am a mommy first. A mommy second!! A mommy 24/7!! ... my trips to the store are small in comparison to the show's extremers & my time is limited to how quickly my 2 year old gets bored ... actually in comparison to the show you could say my shopping trips are EXTREMELY SMALL!


So motivated by the show - I have found a newspaper recycle bin that allows me 3 - yes, only THREE - coupon inserts. I don't dumpster dive for more! I don't beg neighbors to save them. I don't advertise on craigslist asking ... I take my 3 inserts compare them with store flyers from only 3 - yes THREE stores - Walmart, Walgreens & Kroger's ... oh & yes, I'm guilty of "like"ing a few facebook pages that share deals & I've jumped at the chance to sign up for freebies in the mail ... but I buy only what I know we will use & what we need! or what I can give to family ... & yes, if it's FREE & we don't need it I donate it to the local women's shelter ... 


So with all that said - I want to share today's "haul".  I save money all time using my coupons but this is the first time I walked away with my stomach jumping ... my bill was $32.08 ... I paid $5.20 ... & I also got a $5 rewards to spend on my next trip so TECHNICALLY this "haul" cost me a whopping .20 cents!! My absolute best shopping trip by far!! & with some goodies for the diaper bag as a bonus ... we've got Grandpop's Father's Day present!! ... & since I have 2 more coupon inserts left ... I might just do it all again tomorrow for Daddy!! & now with the kids asleep & Joe snoring I'm off for my real mommy time to watch my FREE Redbox rental!

Help! I'm stuck & I can't get out!

I love my digital camera! I got it just before Camden was born. I have more SD cards than I can count & all of them have pictures on them!! 2G & 4G SD cards ... most of them FULL!! We are talking T-H-O-U-S-A-N-D-S of pictures here! From the birth of my son in January 2009 to the birth of my daughter August 2010 to ... well, this afternoon & pretty much everything in between!!  I've been to Walmart & Walgreens & I've had my images put from SD card to photo disk. Not once. Not twice. Not even three times. I've done it so many times I can't count yet the pictures remain on my SD card waiting patiently  to be printed & become the center piece of some grand scrapbook page that took me hours to design & assemble!

I admit I'm afraid to "erase" these precious images of my children documenting every small detail of their lives from my SD cards! & yes, I have them on CD! & yes, I have them saved in online photo albums at walmart.com  - wallgreens.com ... & even snapfish.com & a couple other places I've found to host online albums for free.

So, as I prepare for an upcoming blog hop I've decided to embrace my fears! I WILL PRINT pictures for a layout! I WILL have the entire SD card put on CD (again!) & I WILL (after coming home with said CD in hand - inserting it in computer - & confirming all my precious memories are safely there) **deep breath**  I WILL delete the images from the SD card & reuse it instead of rushing out to buy a new one!  Yes, that's what I'm going to do!

I lied

...it's true I lied! Here I was so proud of the blanket I made my niece claiming it was my 1st non-paper project with my Cricut & then my sister posts pictures on her Facebook & there it was - MY LIE! In my excitement I completely forgot that I had did an etching project for one of my sister's Christmas presents! & there is - MY TRUTH! My first non-paper project with my Cricut was actually done with etching cream & not HeatBond! But just like working with fabric the etching cream was so much easier than I expected it to be!! My first design has room for improvement but imperfections are what makes life perfect!

Where does time go?

Where does time go? My little boy turned 2! My baby girl is 6 months! & my niece is just a few weeks from her debut! We've been very busy around here crafting! Oh how little hands love my cricut & gypsy! I don't know if it's the noise of the cricut or the buttons! Camden has learned how to use my Creative Memories personal trimmer & takes great pride in cutting my scraps in to small little pieces! My best scrapbook buddies are just moments away from their own designs!

Anyway, here is one of the projects I made for my sister's baby shower! It was my first out of the box non-paper craft with the Cricut. I am very pleased with the finished product & she absolutely loves it!  No-sew blankets are so easy to make & I was surprised at how easy making the fabric patch with my cricut really was too! Unlike me my sister is NOT a pink, lace, ruffles, frilly kind of gal & she kept requested everything "purple".  With her daddy in his own band my niece is destine to be a little rocker & I purchased the Princess Rocks cartridge just to make things for her!! ... more pictures & projects to come!

Mommy Time!!

I sure wish I could get every day to work out like this!!  Both my babies taking a nap at the same time!! It's Monday so Daddy works late. The combination of these things finds me having real quality "Mommy Time" for the first time in a long time! I've got laundry in the washer & dryer & I am actually working on a project I hope to soon have in my esty shop!  I will  share pictures when it is done! ... & I'm sure that won't be today!! haha!!


Don't want to waste these precious few moments to myself so I'm off to enjoy!!

Change

I cannot take credit for these words but I found them inspiring & wanted to share:


"Standing at the end of one year and the beginning of another I've been doing some thinking: did I change in ways I wanted to change this part year? Did I accomplish what I set out to accomplish? Or do I find myself much the same as I was twelve months ago? I wish the answers were simply yes, yes, and no, but it's not quite so simple. The Bible says "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun" (2 Cor 5:17, NLT). As a follower of Jesus, why do I struggle at times to experience 'newness', i.e., positive change and growth?  A book I recently read posed some great questions. If God is the source of life, why do I work so hard to secure my life instead of simply receiving from him? If God controls everything, why do I try to control things instead of yielding to His control? If God is the Judge of good and evil, why do I make my own judgments instead of honoring His? If God sets the rules of life, why do I make my own rules instead of obeying His? Looking back, the times I've struggled to grow were the times I was avoiding questions like these. But, with these truths in mind, this new year can be different...in a good way. How about you, how is your new year shaping up?" Pastor Andy Vallace Heartland Alliance Church