Expired Coupons

It's the end of the month.  Don't forget to go through all your coupons and get out the expired ones.  I have never read a coupon policy that has said that they will accept expired coupons, in fact they say that they will not take them because they can't receive credit for them and would actually be losing money.  I'm sure you can get away with it sometimes, but let's try to carry on our godly example through our frugality and honor the stores that are allowing us to save so much money.  Just another way to show the world that we are different=)

Find What Works

Yesterday during nap time I'm not sure where my kids went.  See, within 3 days of Zeke getting into his big boy bed they had it down.  It was such a quick transition...until yesterday.  I know they just naturally go through these stages, but they have crossed the line.  I think they were overly tired which lead to way too much energy for a nap.  It was awful!  We ended up separating them just to get them to calm down.  Zeke had to be put back in his pack-n-play because he simply could not stay in bed.  Joy, Josh's sister who is living with us this summer, must have seen the exhaustion on my face during dinner and suggested Josh and I head out for a little quality time together.  We very rarely get this opportunity so we jumped on it.  We didn't go far and we didn't do any regular "date" things, but we had so much fun.  We headed over to Starbucks, of course, to sit and relax for a little bit, walked over to CVS to get next weeks add so I can pull my coupons together=), drove down to the Monroe mall (now that place is hoppin' on Friday night), and went over to check out the future Monroe campus for Southbrook Church, then we finished up at Shomars for a milkshake and our semi-annual business meeting (Shhh, I think I am in love with my boss).  We made a list, yes I'm still a list girl, of the things we need to get done before we head out of the country to Hungry on the 9th.   Anyway, we got home and I didn't even have to ask Joy how the kids did about staying in bed.  She gave me a look and pointed to "Bubby" and Bear sitting on the ottoman.  It was a rough night to say the least, but we HAD to be consistent.  Having these 2 precious things taken away from them is way worse than any other "consequences" at this time in their lives. They stayed in bed the rest of the night and have been playing like angels today.  I wonder if I'll have to sleep with Bear and "bubby" again tonight=)

Words Of Wisdom

Areyna came in the office yesterday and told me;

"I'm a blessing, mom" and gave me a big hug and then Zeke walked in and she said "Zeke is a blessing too".  She is definitely wise beyond her years!  They truly are a blessing to Josh and me.

My New Violin Student

Yesterday, after I gave a violin lesson, my student wanted to see the first violin that I used when I was 4 years old. Her mother was speechless as I pulled it out of the case because it's size makes it look like a toy. After they left my little Rainy walked in and with big eyes asked, "Is that just for me mommy?" I told her that it used to be mine and asked if she wanted to play it. So, I started a new violin student yesterday, my own little Areyna. You could tell that she felt so special. You can see a video of her first notes on JOSH'S BLOG. After this video I taught her what every good beginner learns "ta-ka-ta-ka-stop-stop" and she picked it up like a champ. I'm a proud mama=)

BPA - Warning

For all you moms out their that have ANY bottles at home, this is pretty big news. Their are some plastic bottles that contain BPA, a chemical which can have some nasty side effects. One brand is AVENT which I used with both my kids. In fact, Wal-mart is making the switch to only selling BPA-free bottles and in some areas Babies R Us is giving a gift card refund for bottles with BPA in them. You can click HERE for more information on BPA and you can click HERE and HERE to see a list of brands of bottles and other info. regarding this issue. I haven't done much research on this and only heard about it today but I thought I'd throw it out there for a warning to check it out at least.

Pictures And Memorial Day

Here are just a few cute pictures from the Memorial Day weekend with my sister and her family.  The first one of Rainy and Zeke is just a cute one from mother's day that I just love.   

The guys getting ready for water balloon battles.

Me, my sister and our girls=)

Zeke and Rainy having a picnic lunch while we hang out at the coolest pool on the block! Our kiddy pool is pretty sweet=) 

Zeke completely exhausted that he fell off his bed and didn't even wake up.

Things That Only Happen When You Are TOO Tired

1 - You make chicken and cheese quesadillas...without the cheese

2 - You choose to use your ugly voice with your 3 year old for "touching" you under the dinner table and threaten her with "consequences" if she does it again

3 - You fall asleep outside under the hot sun...OUCH!

4 - Your kids decide that THIS is the day they want to invade your personal space while following your every move around the whole house...VERY CLOSELY

5 - You have to go back to read your sent messages because you can't remember if you e-mailed the list of people you had on your to-do list

6 - Zeke only wants to play the drums on all the hard surfaces around the house

7 - Your 2 year old decides that he is going to use your white chair cushion for a drawing board instead of paper, like he knows he is supposed to.
Yes, that was my chair after Zeke put the pens to work on his new canvas. I tried my Tide To Go pen...Nothing. Then I remembered that I bought 2 Magic Erasers for practically nothing at the grocery store and also remembered my friend Jenn's post about her little girl's "canvas" and decided to try these Magic Erasers. Jenn said I was going to get addicted. After it instantaneously removed the blue and pink pen marks from my chair I went around the kitchen wiping up coffee stains from the counter tops and splattered food off the walls.

8 - If I wasn't so tired today Josh wouldn't have INSISTED that I take a mandatory "time-out" and I wouldn't have seen him work with the kids to get the kitchen cleaned after dinner. He helped Areyna load the dishwasher and get it started and then helped Zeke take out all the cans to the recycling bin. He's such a good dad=)

What Helps You Sleep?

I was just laying in bed, tossing and turning, going through my mental check-list of what I could have possibly done to make me so wired at 1:30 in the morning.  

1-Some people get a high when they go shopping.  For me, it's getting rid of "stuff".  I like to consolidate and organize (and re-organize) and "toss".  So, maybe I'm still so thrilled that I got rid of 2 old lamps (1 of which I'm sure is a fire hazard by now), 2 big trash bags full of misc. items which included unused baby/kids items, like Rainy's old feather blanket which I never saw feathers coming out of in the first place but whenever I'd go to vacuum under her bed an inch of feather build-up would be staring me in my face as if to say, go ahead and try to sweep me up.  I'll just float to the other side of the room! Ha!  Also included were a pair of shelves that Josh HATED putting up because they were impossible to get even.

2-Caffeine?  Nope, my personal cut-off for that stuff is about 4pm or so.  Josh would love for me to sit down and have a cup of coffee with him at night but I have to remind him that he's staying up with me so I'll have someone to talk to all night=)  He quickly changes the subject.

3-Exercise?  I've got 2 toddlers so I think I'm good in that area.  They turn off around 8pm so I've not done anything too strenuous since then.

4-Maybe God's trying to tell me something.  Hmmm.  I prayed a little and definitely don't think this is one of those "spiritual" awakenings tonight.

5-I've found that if I push myself down toward the end of the bed and hang my feet off the edge I sleep better.  

6-I've got ALL my pillows.  One for the head and one between my knees.  You should see my bedtime "station" I set up when I'm pregnant.  I've got like 5 pillows surrounding me.  It takes forever to get in position.

7-Banana?  Yup, had one of those.  I have Restless Leg Syndrome and a banana usually helps with that.  Not tonight.

8-List?  I have an on-going list.  Somehow my mind goes into overdrive about the things I've got to get done the next day while I'm trying to get to sleep, so I write it on the list so I KNOW I won't forget it.

9-I do have company coming tomorrow night.  I'm so excited my sister, her husband and their 3 kids (the baby whom I've not even met yet!) are driving down from the DC area.  They've not been to our house in years so we're pretty stoked.

I can't possibly think of what is keeping me up, so I'm going to go try again.  Maybe I'll sip on a warm cup of Cozy Chamomile Tea.  What keeps you up at night or helps ensure a good night's sleep?

It's Been Months

Josh and I played at Parkwood Baptist in Gastonia again last night. We love it there. Pastor Jeff really brings the Word, no matter how hard the message may be. The kids like it there as well. Areyna remembers Parkwood because they have a "mini" stage below the main stage where they get to sing and dance while the band practices. Well, if you've been following my blog for any amount of time you know that Zeke has had a little trouble in the nursery department. It takes him several minutes (if not LONGER) to gain his composure after I drop him off. On occasion the teacher has even told me that he has had a rough time, the whole time. Well, on my way to drop the kids off in their class last night I was bracing for the worst. As we neared the classroom door he clung to me for dear life while whimpering in a hushed tone. I walked them in, put him down and handed him his "bubby". I gave Areyna the "big sister" pep talk to let her know that Zeke needed her and she leaned over and said "yes ma'am" while giving me a hug and kiss. THEN, Zeke walked over to me, gave me a hug and kiss and went to go play. What???? Are you serious? Is that it? I was completely speechless as I walked out of the room to go play. That hasn't happened in months. They even let me get a whole practice in with the band after the church service, which went after 9pm (way after their bed time). They were content to sing, dance, and play with mini magnets and a container of buttons my mom put together for Areyna for her birthday=) (thanks mom, those gifts have been a lifesaver!) Since the church is about an hour away, the kids didn't make it to bed until almost 11pm so we all got to sleep in until after 10am this morning, and I didn't even feel guilty about the extra sleep=)