Guess what Gresham can Do!!!

On Thursday night, I was talking to Anca on the phone (while sitting in Aidan's room), and Gresham figured out how to climb up to the top bunk! He was fast, too. Since I can't watch him like a hawk every minute of the day, we ended up taking the bunk beds apart, putting Gresham's crib in Aidan's room, and putting the top bunk in Gresham's old room. This went on after dinner, and then we put the boys to bed together in their new room. I thought they would think that was fun, but Gresham went bonkers. He screamed for about 20 minutes, and I finally went in there. I took him out to the living room to wipe his nose and figure out what to do, and he kept pointing to his old room and saying, "Night night - there!" He finally fell asleep, and now, after 3 nights, he seems to have adjusted!

This afternoon, I was talking to Anca again (we are trying to figure out this Suzuki Institute this summer), and Aidan came limping into my bedroom crying. He was crying because he was standing on top of the toilet seat to wipe himself (why??????), and he fell, and one foot went in the potty, and now it was dirty. And he walked across the house to tell me this. Anca had a good laugh!

Oh my, the joys of raising children...

A fun weekend!

We have had a fun weekend here! On Friday, my school rented out the Keller Pointe for the last day of school. We were thrilled to get to go there. The Keller Pointe is a really nice pool/water park, but it's also rather pricey, and we've never been able to go. Jordan was off, so he was able to come with us, and we had a lot of fun! I didn't get very many pictures because the boys never stopped moving! Gresham got cold in the water, and his lips turned blue, and he was shivering, but he threw a huge fit when we got him out. He kept saying, "Daddy, wa-wo! Daddy, wa-wo!" (water).

Tonight, we went to the Keller Fest, which is a yearly event. Aidan was really looking forward to getting a free plunger. Yes, a plunger. Last year, we got one. Well, actually, he got one. Then we used it on our stopped up kitchen sink, and then called the plumber's number from the plunger (smart advertising move!), and the plunger was no longer a toy. So Aidan was excited to get another one. We also got some free frisbees, cups, and candy, AND... we won a free day pass to the Keller Pointe!!!!! Aidan actually won it, so I asked the man if I could spin the spinner and try to win another pass. He said that the pass Aidan won is good for the whole family! Yea!

Well, I'm worn out! Time to go to bed!

What could be better than one pacifier?

Last night, I returned home from Wal-Mart, and Jordan had already put Gresham in bed. (I was out not cleaning the mud off of them, if you will recall...) I went to say goodnight to Gresh, and he was sitting there giggling in the dark. This is why...

If one is so wonderful, two must be even better!

Two pigs in a pigpen...

We had a nice thunder storm this afternoon, and so when Aidan and Gresham went out to the dirt box after dinner, I figured they would get a little muddy. I had no idea it would be this bad! After seeing them, I did what every good mother would do... I left for Wal-Mart all by myself. Jordan is a good dad...

Memorial Day

Aidan got some new water guns for the Awana awards picnic, and he got to have a nice water gun fight on Memorial Day with Grandpa and Pitch.

Gresham just stuck to the hose. He kept saying, "on! on!"

Awana Awards Picnic!

Tonight was our church's annual Awana Awards night and picnic. Aidan received his award for finishing his second (and last) Cubbies book, and now he is on to Sparks! Like a good mom, I forgot to put the memory stick in the camera, and so I have no pictures of the event...

After the awards, we enjoyed a picnic dinner and an evening of bounce houses and water guns. They will sleep well tonight!

Things my parents said that I am now saying to my children...

"This is not a playground!" - I think of my dad every time I say this.

"It takes two to make a fight." - This one is a mom quote.

On a similar topic, has anyone out there figured out how to parent without saying "don't" all the time? As in, "don't get on the table, don't throw that, don't be so loud..."

Right now, I can hear things crashing in Aidan's room, and I can feel some more "don'ts" coming on...

A new outlook on grocery shopping!

For several weeks now, I have been moaning and groaning about the rising cost of groceries and gas upon arriving home from the grocery store. Besides driving my husband crazy, it also is not a good attitude or a great example for my children...

But, I have a new outlook, and a new method! After discovering some great coupon and money-saving websites, I have been shopping sales, printing coupons, and planning our shopping trips better. The best site is here. I really appreciate the Christian perspective on living frugally that I have found on this site. I had been using coupons and sales before, but this site has links to printable coupons and shows how to combine them with sales to get things for cheap or free!

I have been shopping this way for about 3 weeks, and so far, we have spent about $50 less per week. Our goal is to be able to save more and give more.

We may earn the money, but God is our Provider! I have been more grateful for the resources He has provided. We used to spend time wishing our life was easier (I wish we could just run to the store and buy pajamas for the kids when they need them without waiting for a sale, etc.), but now I have a different perspective. Last week, I had $15 left in our grocery budget, and I needed diapers, bread, and juice. I was wondering how in the world I could get that for $15, but I got online and found a $1.00 off juice coupon. I bought Huggies instead of Pampers since I had a $1.50 coupon for those, and spent $13.25 total! It might take me longer to plan our trips to the store, but how can I complain when we have the resources to buy all the things that we need??

It's all a matter of perspective...

Who needs toys when you have a couch?

A New Achievement!

Today, in Chick-fil-A, Gresham threw a fit that was so bad that the people next to us actually got up and moved to another table!!

We got chicken biscuits. He wanted to hold the whole thing. Then it broke. He wanted it put back together, and that was beyond Mommy's powers. So he cried and screamed and turned red in the face. This continued until we left.

What a good start to the day! Eating out for breakfast is such a treat!

Real life conversations...

Today, we were listening to a CD by the Gettys in our van. Aidan really wants to understand the concept of radio and CD's, and the difference between the two, but at age 4 it's a little out of his grasp.

Aidan: Mom, when they made this CD, were they trying to make it sound like it really did in real life?
Mom: What???
Aidan: Well, were they trying to make it sound like it really sounds?
Mom: Um, well, they sang these songs and recorded this CD. Do you mean does it sound like they sounded when they came to our church?
Aidan: Yes, did they make this CD to be like they sang at our church?
Mom: They had already made the CD when they came to our church.
Aidan: Why??
Mom: I don't know, I didn't ask them...

Then later: (about the same CD)
Aidan: Is this another one of their CD's?
Mom: No, this is the same one.
Aidan: Well, is this the one with the wedding in it?
Mom: What????
Aidan: Well they got married.
Mom: I have no idea what you are asking.
Aidan: Grandma said there was a wedding.
Mom: Maybe she was talking about last night. There was a wedding at church last night.
(And Aidan saw Grandma last night at my school concert.)
Aidan: How was that a wedding? I thought that was called a concert.
Mom: Yes, we were at a concert. But there was a wedding going on at our church.
Aidan: Why?
Mom: Well, two people wanted to get married, and they picked yesterday.
Aidan: Why?
Mom: Oh look, we're at Tom Thumb now!

Gresham

Gresham really wants to be able to play violin. Or at least get his hands on Aidan's. So I got out this violin that I bought for Aidan on ebay when he was 2. It's a real violin, but it was real cheap, and we won't be too sad if it breaks.

He can't fit it under his chin because his neck is not long enough, but we're trying...
This is a 1/16th size. Aidan started on that size in January, but we are renting him a real violin.

Do you like my hat?

Sorry this video is sideways. I take all these video clips on my digital camera, and I forget that I can't turn it sideways. I do know how to edit the video and fix it, but then for some reason it won't load onto blogger...

Mommy!!

If you will recall from earlier posts, Gresham learned to say Mommy about 9 months after he could say "Daddy." He learned many many many other words before he could (or would!) say Mommy. Well, now he can say it.

This morning, Jordan got him out of bed and changed his diaper. Gresham heard me talking in the kitchen and said "Mommy! Hi!" Just melts the heart...

Raising little boys is a sanctifying experience...

Today Aidan got on my last nerve. And then he stomped on it.

We were attempting to shop for Mother's Day gifts or cards, whatever we could find. It's fun to shop on Saturday afternoon when everyone else is out, especially since we live in such a congested area with not many shopping options. I'll spare you the details, but by the time we were heading home, I was thinking about dropping off my eldest son at the nearest adoption agency.

When we got home, he knew he was in trouble, but actually cared that he was in trouble, and this is unusual for him. I sent him to clean his room. He came out and said, "Mom, I'm sorry for all the things I did..." This might have been his first unsolicited apology. (He does apologize voluntarily when he accidentally hurts someone, but not for disobedience. He then asked if we could pray and he asked God to forgive him.

Later we were out playing in the yard, and I told him, "I'm glad that you decided to obey and be sweet." He said, "Yes, and I love you."

Parenting is such a sanctifying experience. Aidan knows what buttons to push to bring out my worst attitudes. He has "making Mommy frustrated" on speed dial. Not that my reactions are his fault - it's just that his actions bring out what's really in my heart, and that is a scary experience. Our prayer is that we can model God's grace to him. We all need grace. We are sinners just like he is. Thanks be to God for His mercy!

My new hobby!

Thanks to a post on Julia's sister-in-law Whitney's blog, my new hobby is getting great deals at CVS! I found some great info here on how to walk out of CVS with free stuff every week. So, I decided to try it. On Monday night, we went to CVS. I bought a $10 razor for $6 with a coupon from Sunday's paper. This purchase yielded a coupon for $5 back in store credit that printed at the register. I also got a $5 deodorant which yieled another $5 coupon for store credit. So I spent just over $11 with tax, and now I have $10 in store credit for next time. I like this game! I am hoping to get most of our health/beauty/cleaning products type items from there for mostly free. In order for this to work, you have to buy the brands that they currently have on sale, and you have to buy ahead of when you need it. We really needed some way to get our grocery budget down, so this is a start!

Aidan Playing Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Aidan can really play much better than this, but he doesn't do too well for the camera. I've given up on trying to get a good video... At least he's cute!

Gresham

Gresham has started doing this funny head shake thing - I think it means "no," but we're not sure.

What an expensive week!

Not much blog-worthy going on this week... Let's see...

On Tuesday I went to the doctor and got an antibiotic for a throat infection. (and paid the co-pay, plus the prescription)

On Wednesday I took Gresham to the doctor after 6 days of fever, but he was fine. (another co-pay)

On Thursday, I picked up my cello from being fixed. The case fell over last week, and the neck snapped off in the case!!!! ($80 for repairs, not bad)

It's a good thing those economic stimulus checks are coming!