First Signs of Spring

Yeah, Daffodils!

I always love seeing my Daffodils come out, it means that spring is just around the corner.

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

Last summer I was looking for a way to same money at the grocery store and I found a great website called pinchingyourpennies.com. Basically, they make lists of what is on sale at the grocery store and match the sale item with current coupons. They also list good internet sales. Now all of the grocery lists are another web site called grocerysmarts.com. (I think they only do grocery lists for Utah and Idaho). Thanks to Grocery Smarts I had my best shopping trip ever. Yesterday I went to Albertson's and I got:

• a pork roast
• 1 package of cheese singles
• 2 loaves of Grandma Sycamore's bread (the best ever)
• 4 cans of Progresso Soup
• 2 cans of olives
• 1 can of Pilsberry cresent rolls
• 1 can of Betty Crocker frosting
• 2 Betty Crocker cake mixes
• 2 Betty Crocker Delux Brownie mixes
• 4 Warm Delights
• 2 cans of Albacore Tuna
• 2 boxes of Chex Mix bars
• 1 box of Nature Valley granola bars
• 2 boxes of fruit snacks
• 1 Macaroni Grill Meal Kit
• 1 box of gallon size freezer bags

My Grand Total: $27.94 (okay, I actually paid $47.94, but I got $20 coupon to use next time)
That is almost a 70%savings. I was so excited I wanted to share it with you. I don't always save this much, I wish I did, but it sure is fun when I do. I encourage all of you who are in Utah to go and check out grocerysmarts.com. And, to those of you not in Utah, sorry.

Craft Challenged

I realized yesterday morning that Jacob needed some valentines to take to his preschool party today. I didn’t want to buy a box of lame grocery store valentines when he only needed two, so I decided we would make some. Besides, I like homemade crafty things, they are free, which is my main reason for making stuff myself, and it is a fun activity to do with the kids. So I found a cute and seemingly easy idea on familyfun.com. The idea was to use a heart shaped carrot stamp (just like a potato stamp, but made with a carrot) to make a caterpillar using acrylic paint. Someone left a comment on the site saying their three year old really liked this project. I thought if a three year old could do it then for sure my kids could do it, I mean, how hard can stamping be? I realized as we set about stamping with our heart shaped carrots that I thought wrong. First of all, what was I thinking using acrylic paint, I already know Jacob can’t be trusted with acrylic paint. He has ruined one too many t-shirts and a pair of pants by wiping paint off his fingers onto his cloths. I gave him a paper towel and kept reminding him not to wipe his hands on his cloths. I think we avoided paint stains this time. We did, however, get paint all over the kitchen counter. Nathan didn’t get the whole stamping concept, he just wanted to smear paint on his cards with his carrot. He also didn’t get the whole stamp in a chain to make a caterpillar concept, some of his finished product have random blotches of paint. Unfortunately the heart stamps I spent a whole 5 minutes making didn’t look like hearts when my kids stamped them on their paper (I tried it and it worked, so it was their technique, not my homemade stamps). And to top it all off, Jacob got tired of the project after three cards, so I am sorry to any cousins who didn’t get a valentine from us this year. This isn’t the first time I have overestimated my kids ability to do a craft project, and I am sure it won’t be the last. I wonder if we did more projects if they would get better, of if they really are just craft challenged.

With the finished product, they turned out cute in the end. I guess we will do it again.

Sleep Problems Solved

My kids have always been very early risers. When Jacob was a baby I had a rule that I didn't get him out of his crib until 6:00 in the morning. I have tried to stick with this rule with all of my kids. I can handle 6:00, barely, but I can't handle anything that starts with a 5. All of my kids share a room and we have a problem with them waking each other up early in the morning. We started getting into a pattern where either Jacob or Nathan would wake up and get out of bed waking the other in the process, then they would both be in our room at 5:30 wanting breakfast. We would send them back to bed, but they, especially my sweet Nathan, have no concept of being quiet and would wake the baby. This led to me being very grouchy. We also started finding kids asleep in our bed with us during the night. We don't normally let them sleep with us, as much as I love to cuddle with my kids, I just can't sleep when I have a kid squished up next to me. This was all becoming a very big problem. Well, one day, in the November issue of Parents Magazine, I found the answer to my problem. It is called the Good Nite Lite (www.goodnitelite.com). It is a night light that looks like the moon at night and turns into the sun when it is time to get up. It has a clock that you can set for when you want the moon to turn on at night, and for when you want the sun to turn on. We have the moon turn on at 7:30 pm, that lets the kids know that it is time to get ready for bed. We started with the sun coming on at 6:15 and have gradually moved it up. A couple of days ago we were finally able to turn it to 7 am. It has worked so well. It was expensive, but for us it was well worth the money. My kids know that they are not allowed to get out of bed until the sun comes up, and usually they are really good about it. We don't even have unwelcomed visitors in our bed anymore. I am so happy, now if only I could get Adam to understand the concept, he is still waking up between 5:30 and 6.

All About Jacob

In honor of Jacob’s 5^th birthday yesterday I wanted to write a little about him. He has really been looking forward to turning five. Now that he is 5 he thinks that he is taller, stronger, and faster than he was when he was four. He actually has gotten taller lately, all of his pants are looking a little short. He is still little for his age though. When I went to buy him new pants I had to buy 3T, and they are still too big. I just couldn’t buy 2T for my 5 year old, he can wear a belt. Yesterday morning I overhear him asking Randy, “Am I stronger now dad?”, while he showed his muscles. He also thinks he is smarter now that he is five. About a year ago he was feeling bad that he can’t read and I told him that it was okay, that most kids don’t learn to read until they are 5 and go to kindergarten. A couple of days ago Jacob said to me, “Emily (his preschool friend) is still going to be in preschool, but now I get to go to kindergarten.” I guess when I said he would go to kindergarten when he was 5 he took me literally. I had to explain that he has to finish preschool and won’t go to kindergarten until the fall. He was sad, I guess he is really looking forward to it. He is also looking forward to learning how to read now. I think he is ready to start reading, he is a smart kid, and usually picks things up fast. I will have to start working with him. Jacob is a very sweet boy. He is an excellent big brother. He helps me watch out for Nathan and Adam. He is good at making Adam laugh by singing silly songs and dancing. He just started a new class at church. He is in CTR 5 now. He likes it, but he is still a little nervous about going to a new class with new teachers. He tries so hard to be brave. The first three weeks he ran back to me crying after I dropped him off. When I dropped him off yesterday he looked like he was going to cry, but then his teacher, Brother Meek, showed up and he gave me a big smile and said, “Bye Mom”, and went and sat by him. He likes Brother Meek because he brings chocolate.

Here are some of Jacob’s favorite things:

The color yellow

Corn on the cob- it is yellow and yummy

His Friends- Isaac, Alayna, Lexi, Mom, Emily, Enoch, Nathan, Dad

Lightning McQueen and Hot Wheel

Playing fun games like tag, hide and seek, racing, and computer games

Curious George (He had a Curious George birthday party, but in my attempts to keep 8 children occupied, I forgot to take pictures!)

Wrestling with Dad

Reading books

Jacob is the sweetest, cutest, most wonderful 5 year old in the world, I am so proud to be his mom.

Nine Years

I have been a blogging slacker, sorry. I have just been really busy with Christmas less than a month ago, my parents being in town for two of the last four weeks, and teaching preschool this month (I do a little preschool with my sister-in-law and my neighbor, we each teach every third month). Anyway, today I have something truly special to blog about. It is my 29th birthday. Holy Cow! Can that be true! It looks so old when I put in writing like that. Well, I still feel young. Wii Fit says I am a very old 29, but whatever. Anyway, my birthday is not what is so special. Today is also the ninth anniversary of my first perfect, magical date with my husband. We had been seeing each other for about a week, but the demands of college classes, work, and a previously scheduled blind date that Randy didn’t think he should break (he did call me during the date and let me know he wished he was with me instead, how sweet) kept us from going out on an actual date until my 20th birthday. It was the best birthday I have ever had. I was so excited to go out with him. I thought he was so cute, and fun, and nice. It was a Saturday and we decided to go out for lunch. He scored major points when he showed up at my door with red roses. When Randy asked me where I wanted to go and eat I didn’t want to tell him that Macaroni Grill was my favorite restaurant because I thought it was expensive (I was super poor back then) so I told him he could pick. And guess what he picked! Macaroni Grill! I couldn’t believe it, he scored tons more points. It was a little early for lunch so we decided to go for a drive up Provo Canyon. On the way back down the canyon we stopped at Bridalveil Falls and took a walk along the trail holding hands. Because it was January no one else there. We stopped in front of the waterfall and had our first electrifying kiss. We were having such a good time together that we ended up spending the whole day together. We saw each other every single day from then on. Two and a half months later, on April 8th, he took me back to Bridalveil Falls and proposed to me. We were married exactly three months after that. We had a typical whirlwind BYU romance. Sometimes I think I must have been crazy to get married so fast when I was so young. But, I think it was the best decision I ever made. Randy makes me happy every day. He is a perfect husband for me, and a perfect daddy for our boys. This has been the happiest 9 years of my life.
Then and Now
Randy had hair, and I pretty much still look the same, just a little older

Our Happy Holidays

We had a very busy and very happy Christmas and New Years. The best part was that Randy did not have to work from Christmas Eve until today. It was a lot of fun to have him home with us. My parents were in town the week of Christmas. It was fun to have them here. My dad set up a photo studio in my basement and took some great pictures of my kids, posted below. We had fun making gingerbread men with Grandma Gina. And of course it wouldn't be Christmas without a day spent making Tamales with my family. My brother Aaron and his little family came up from Provo on Christmas Eve. They stayed overnight so we could all be together for the fun on Christmas morning. With eleven people we had a lot of present under the tree. I felt very blessed to have so much. After my parents went home we spent the rest of Randy's vacation working of projects and enjoying each others company.