The next generation of bloggers

Lately Emry has been begging to start a blog.

She loves reading my blog (well, not always) as well as a few of the ones I follow.  Some are health related, most are food related & some are  friends blogs.   I've told her that she needs to get better at typing before she starts a blog.

She's so cute as she tries to hone her photography skills in preparation as a blogger.  Her favorite subject of course is her dog.

It is always interesting to go through my photos & find hundreds that she has taken.  

She might be a food blogger -  (cute huh?)

She might focus on animals - 

Or both -  

I am no expert but I think the above picture is awesome.  I love the blurry deviled eggs & Brutus' contemplative look.  Excellent job Emry.

Most likely she'll just want to capture all the lovely random daily things going on in her life.  

Eventually I will let her blog.  But first she needs to get her own camera.

A huge perk for me would be her schooling herself on everything blog/computer related & then being able to be my tech-support, web-designer etc. etc.  As much as I've sheltered my kids from the computer all 3 of them can get on & navigate like they invented it.  Scary & awesome at the same time.

I know how fun it is to put your life into words.  I also know sometimes we write down straight from the heart without even thinking first.  These posts usually makes the best memories. 

It will be fun to not only see her life through my eyes.  But to see it through her words & pictures as well.

Things that make you go Hmmmmm??

So I have something to share that I think is somewhat of a hot topic.  My mind is made up on where I stand, but I am definitely one who feels everyone is entitled to their own opinion so I would love to hear some comments. 

I might be alone in this............

But first........... woke up early & couldn't go back to sleep.  Ankle still hurts so exercise is out (darn), what to do, what to do?  Well, I haven't been garage sale-ing in a while (or any shopping besides the necessities).  I don't want to go alone.......I'll just wake up those darling daughters I have.  This is our loot: 

For Ethan- Lego Book $1
                  Rock costume $1

Halloween costume - check

Beautiful shabby chic pillowcases: $1 for both

4 Reusable Grocery Bags:  Free w/ purchase - Score! I do love bringing my own bags everywhere I go and these ones are nice & sturdy.

A flower 10 cents, tiny stuffed dog 10 cents & Heelies $1  Lila couldn't be happier and payed for these with her own money.

Shoes (all 3)  $1 per pair & a necklace I am not sure was paid for

A real leather Michael Kors purse $3.  I have been wanting a new purse for a while and was planning on getting one for my birthday next week.  Obviously that's not happening.  I wanted a more structured & bigger one, but I am thrilled to have one that is nice as opposed to strings fraying off the handles.

Some books for Ethan and a fairy book for my niece.  25 cents each

   

And to continue the Thrifty theme I went to a 72 hour sale at Henry's and got 4 watermelons for $5, 3 cantaloupe for $1, 3 bell peppers for $1, an eggplant for 88 cents & pears at 3lbs for $1!!!!!  All our shopping cardio wore us out & upon returning home 2 of those melons disappeared before I took this picture.

Now here comes the controversy.  I searched for some really nice books & came up with these 2.  They are for a birthday party Ethan is going to today.  I have seen 2 minutes of this show & would go mad if it was ever in my home but it seems popular and I feel this boy would really like them.  Books are usually the gift I give because I love them so much.  Price for both, 50 cents.

So what do you think?  Totally tacky, or thoughtful & thrifty? 

 I made sure the books looked brand new and added in a bag of candy.  I can't afford to spend the usual $10 on gifts, especially when I feel this is a nice gift.  Personally I don't care how much something costs, If I love something I love it.  I would even love it better if the giver got a good deal on it.  

I have given my own kids Christmas & Birthday gifts that I have gotten from garage sales or thrift stores.


I really do find joy in being thrifty.  I don't care how much money I have (or don't have presently) but a bargain is always appreciated by me.


I know there are some who would be horrified to do this, and that's perfectly ok.  I get it.  I am just not one of them.  I've talked before how I take spoons out of the garbage, and how I've eaten my customers leftovers (before kids in my working days).  I actually admire Freegans & think it's great they use what others throw away. 

 This is Emry, Lila,  my little (big) brother Adam & me.  Adam could put everything he own in his car.  I actually have a few brothers that could do this.  Seeing how they view the world and consumerism is so refreshing to me.

I feel I lie somewhere in the middle.  Doing my best to teach my kids to use it up, recycle, don't waste, reuse, find a deal, stretch your dollar & most of the time - go without.

But I sure will love my new (to me) Michael Kors leather purse.

Not so Fast

The other day I was walking down the aisle at Walmart and noticed up ahead there were 2 carts, side by side, blocking the aisle.  How lame, I thought as I kept going hoping one of them would see me and Move It!  (Did I mention patience is not one of my strong suits?)

As I got closer I noticed one was not a cart at all but one of those motorized scooters with a little cart attached for the disabled or elderly.

A gentleman in his 90's wearing a Veterans cap & jacket was in the drivers seat, and as I approached he looked right at me with the biggest smile and said "Don't worry I would never drive over a beautiful girl such as yourself."  He continued with the compliments and then put out his hand to shake mine.

My 'outta my way' attitude vanished immediately and my heart melted at how sweet this man was.  He has lived through a war (maybe a few) and was riding a scooter that went slower than a crawling baby yet he seemed to be nothing but happy.

I have a lot of stresses going on right now with our job situation, health care etc., but my spirit's were definitely brightened and my attitude changed.  He's a survivor & I will be too.  Everything is going to work itself out.


I am sure all that flattery didn't hurt either.

PB & Bananas 2 ways

My kids are easy.  One of their favorite snacks is a banana cut in half and slathered with peanut butter.  It's a rare day that I don't make it.  This was actually a favorite snack of mine growing up and I remember so many times coming home from school and eating this before digging into algebra.

I also make a smoothie version.  Peanut butter, bananas, milk, ice & a scoop of chocolate powder.  This is popular in the summer of course.  They just happened to get the fancy version today because I had some leftover homemade whip cream from a dinner party Monday night.

Here is Ethan downing his smoothie after school.

 

He picked up right where he left off this morning.  All during breakfast I was treated to a plethora of jokes.   "What is a witches favorite subject? ......Spell-ing!  Ha Ha Ha!  What do ghosts play with in Australia?........ Boo-merangs!  Ha Ha Ha!"  I was actually trying my best to think of clever answers while curling Lil's hair and making french toast.  If you notice my french toast are also repurposed from Monday nights dinner.  I had some leftover homemade rolls so that is what I used.

I love that I've pushed Pb & b on my kids and they all love it.  It's the easiest snack ever, not to mention nutritious and has ingredients that I have on hand at all times.  When I have apples it's pb & a.  It pretty much works on any food.  How can peanut butter not make anything better.  And these snacks can be put together with your eyes closed in under 5 seconds.

I remember one time when Emry was not even 2 and I had people coming over for a church meeting any minute & wanted to put her down for a nap.  What did I feed my sweet baby.  The easiest thing I could think of that would fill her belly.......  a big scoop of peanut butter.

I really think my life would be a lot more stressful without it.

Another day in Paradise

Saturday afternoon Jeannette & I took our kids to the pool.  It just so happened that our association was sponsoring a little family fun day party.

There were snowcones.

 Happy mamas as we watched our kids dance, play, eat, frolick and go down the waterslide like nothing else in the world mattered.

Jeannette's daughter Kiera (4) and my little Lila (8).  They may be 4 years apart but they play together like best friends.

My Ethan (6) & Jeannette's Nathan (7) about to request another song from the D.J.  They did this throughout the day.  Ethan's favorite song right now is Dynamite by Tao Cruz.  When that song comes on you better watch out.

Not sure why Emry is swiping some of Kiera's snowcone.  She had at least 6 of her own.

Jeannette & I were enjoying watching the kids, feeling so lucky we live where we do.  It's beautiful, clean, fun & family oriented.  The Beach Boys playing in the background, a literal soundtrack to our lives.  Then Ethan asked me to play a little Tennis with him.  Of course I would.  This day was just perfect.


I do not recommend playing Tennis in flip flops.  Not even a little game with your 6 year old.  I jumped up to get a ball that was going over my head, came down wrong on my left foot and rolled it inward.  


Apparently when you really hurt yourself you swear at the top of your lungs even though in your normal life you can barely say gosh darn it.


Ethan was by my side in a second and I just sat there wondering if when I stood up, I would be able to walk.  


I could, but I could tell something was wrong.  Hearing crunching and then feeling pain is never a good thing.  


Even though my ankle was hurting I was mainly upset that I missed getting photos of:


-the kids eating hot dogs
-the 3 legged race
-the pie eating contest
-all the kids dancing
-the limbo


So here's my ankle:

 And here's me. Trying to stay off my feet. 

This happened Saturday.  Friday was the last day we had health insurance.  Honestly I wouldn't have gone to the Doctor anyway.  It's just kind of ironic.  I am now one of those people that I always tsk'd tsk'd.  How irresponsible not to have health insurance.  Especially when you have kids.  Cobra was going to charge our family $1600 a month.  Paying that would have made me sicker than any illness.  


So I am in the midst of getting our family on a plan.  It's just boring and time consuming.  But I do realize of course it is a must.


Because eventually I would like to play Tennis again.

Economics

I am a big fan of soup.  It is economical, healthy and a snap to put together.

 Lately with Glenn's job change going from a steady paycheck to commission I have tried to scale back on groceries.  Not the actual groceries of course, just trying to keep costs down.  Soup is the easiest way to do this.  I have lots of dried beans in my pantry, and it is the best way for me to get tons of veggies into my kids bellies. 

 

Plus it's a no-brainer, as in I just throw whatever is in the fridge into a big pot without a recipe.

First I roasted some vegetables.  An onion, half an acorn squash, some carrots, a lone chunk of broccoli & some baby bell peppers.  While these veggies roasted (about 20 min.), I sauteed about 2 cups of celery in some oil, and then added 1 cup of white beans & about 6 cups of liquid.


Then I added about 1 Tablespoon of vegetable stock (paste) and whatever spices  caught my eye, basil, rosemary & fennel.

After about an hour (or really whenever you remember)  add in all those yummy carmelized vegetables.

Then if you have kids who balk at every chunk, puree it.  I left lots of chunks because I like it like that.  But I did compromise and tried to dish out the kids bowls with not too many.

I am in a fight with this picture because it does not do this soup justice.  Roasting the vegetables makes it so delicious.  I usually just add all my vegetables into the pot and saute but not anymore.  I thought this soup was one of the best I've ever made.  


I just need to learn how to be a better photographer because I am not going to have something so good look so bad.

P.S.  This might not be the best meal when it's almost a hundred degrees outside,  But economics won out.

Goals

We are encouraged to set personal & family goals in our church.  We are taught this from the time we are young. 

Left hand corner wedding photo, 1996, continue counterclockwise

My family completed this project a few months ago & I love it.  I guess you could call this a family mission statement.  What we believe & what we hope to accomplish as a family.  This is our list:


-We believe the gospel is true
-We work hard
-We pray and go to church together
-We encourage each other & never give up
-We respect our bodies & feed them well
-We laugh, play & have fun together
-We apologize & forgive
-We keep our promises
-We obey our parents  
-We read our scriptures together
-We love The Church of Jesus Christ
-We pick up litter
-We dress modestly & respect our bodies
-We belong together, We are a Family!


I love seeing these pictures and seeing our beliefs and goals in black & white color everyday.  I know from experience how easy it is to get off track.  I hope I can be a good example to my kids and keep them focused on what is important to us.


I can see this list getting additions in the future.  

-We obey curfew
-We do not sass our parents
-We love to study
-We only date those our parents approve of
-We do not put importance on name brand clothing
-We realize our parents are the coolest people ever
-We love being the only kids in the world without cell phones
-We never roll our eyes


Goals.  Not always attainable.  Just something to strive for.

Free

Thought I would take a moment to document some of the stuff I have been given, or Found.  Yes, found.  Nothing better than finding  something great on the side of the road with a free sign on it.


-The girls bedding.  Emry's neon pink blanket and Lila's shabby chic quilt were given to me by two different friends. 

- This bench was a find on the side of the road.  It was a horrible cherry wood with brocade cushions.  I had Glenn work his magic taking off the cushions, painting & distressing it and adding a shelf on the bottom. 

-This little kitchen was another find.  Lila and Emry found it next door and promptly brought it upstairs to it's new home.

-Bookshelf, set of 3 (in the corner).  Our neighbor gave us these.  Bookshelves can always be put to good use in our house.  Two are in the office and one is in the "playroom" (a large landing at the top of our stairs).
Side note.  Most of the items in the playroom are from garage sales.  While not quite free I did score 2 boxes of polly pocket toys and dolls for $5!  And one of my favorite things is the sweet little chalkboard and desk that my mom gave to Lila (also from a garage sale).

-Bookshelf gifted from my grandma & couches gifted from Glenn's parents.

 - I can't take credit for these great chairs. My sister found them on the side of the road and cleaned them up and then realized she didn't have room for them so I stole them away.  I absolutely love them.

They just need a tad bit of work. Mom?

-This cute high chair was Glenn's when he was little.  It's standing in for a similar chair I found on the side of the road but have no picture because my sister is borrowing it.

That's it for this edition of "Free".  Don't worry, knowing me, there will be others.