This is life. Real life.

First off, let me say that if you haven't been over to Hearty Helpings recently, then you're missing out.  I am doing my first ever in [Sarah] blogging history GIVEAWAY!

So if you want a chance to win cute little pie crust cutters to make your pies look extra fancy this fall/winter, head on over to check it out.  What can you lose?


Now that that's out of the way...

Do you ever look at blogs of other moms and say "wow.  they have it all put together!"   Do you ever find yourself comparing your messy faced toddlers to their hair-combed-perfectly matching-outfitted ones and feeling bad?  Do you ever catch glimpses of their houses - perfectly tidy and neat and clean and say "ok.  that's it.  i just can't read this blog anymore!  they're just. too. perfect!"

In Bible study today, we were talking about the "Leave it to Beaver" complex.  The complex that has us (if you have fallen prey to the complex) wanting to give off the impression that we have it all together.  When in fact, we don't.  The complex that compels us to invite people in our house the day after we cleaned it but not the day before.  The complex that makes us suck in our breath when Drew so expertly smears dirt all over his shirt when I wanted to take pictures of clean boys. (which they rarely are)

[Source]

Oh, June Cleaver - how did you do it?

And let me just say that there are really people out there who have the ability to keep their homes clean with toddlers running around and manage to get out and do all sorts of fun stuff with matching-outfitted children in tow and cook yummy meals and sew their own curtains/clothes/hair bows and make their own breads/crusts...oh, and always look perfect themselves -- let's not forget that.  And there is nothing wrong with them.  God has just given them a gift that He hasn't given us all.  And especially not me.

And to prove that, and because you never really see this on the blog, here is a bit of what my life looks like today.  On a non-blog-worthy day.


Exhibit 1:  My bedroom.  Bed unmade (I know, mom, I know...) with a laundry basket in the midst of being sorted and folded.

Exhibit 2:   The shoe rack and entry table.  Picture not standing up the way it should.  Rug not under the shoe rack and shoes not on the shoe rack.  And let's not forget the toys.

Exhibit 3:  Breakfast/lunch dishes in the sink.  Did I mention I have a dishwasher?

 

 Exhibit 4:  Unhappy child.  My children are not always happy like I show them in pictures. (But seriously, who wants to see pictures of grumpy kids?  Not their grandparent's, I can tell you that!) They have fits and melt downs just as well as the next child.  They are grumpy when they're tired or hungry.  But I love them all the same.

Will you take this challenge with me?  What does your house/kid really look like today? 

Sweet Saturday morning

This morning, the boys had a ball with their daddy.

They played kick ball.

They had a pancake breakfast.

He taught them the art of hide 'n' seek.

He had them be helpers as he unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, and made coffee.


And where was I, you ask?


Asleep.  Until 9am.  And when I awoke to sunshine streaming in and giggles, I was well rested and ready for the day.  I was also pleasantly surprised with by the coffee and scone waiting for me.

While I ate, Scot did morning devotions with the boys. 

Such a sweet Saturday morning.

Fun times

Drew especially liked this "rolly slide"

Evan and Emma - buds

Love that grin.  And the boy.

Evan's first time in the big boy swing.

The littles.

Hugs at the splash park!

Aren't they cute?

A few favorites from FIVE YEARS past

It's that time of year again!

The time of year where I remember the butterflies as I woke up realizing I would go to bed with a different last name and a man!

Utter excitement as I got ready for the big day with some of my closest friends.

And the tears.  Oh the tears.  Complete sobbing as I walked down the isle as I realized this was all really happening!  The pastor thankfully prayer extra long to allow me to compose myself.

You can sorta see that I'm crying here, but I love this shot of my dad and me.  So classic.

Butterflies.  The real ones.

Double rainbow that you can't see.

Enjoying the reception

The new Mr and Mrs!

Releasing the butterflies.

As always, on this day, I wonder at the dual emotions inside me.  How can it have been this long and, wow, really, only 5 years??

And today, I feel like we're past that "newly married" stage...weird.

A little laughter

Early morning giggles are so much fun!

Frugal Fun: Couponing

First off, let me say that I am no expert at this whole couponing thing.  I am not an extreme couponer.  I am new at this and I do it to save our family money. (Thank you, loans!)

I do not stress about it.  If it's a busy week or the boys are sick, I don't do it.

I only coupon at places I already frequent.  For me, this is important.  I don't want to drive all over creation or take an entire morning to do it.  I have 2 little dudes and I love hanging out with them.  So for now, I stick with CVS (walking distance from the house) and Target and Walgreens, which are right next to each other and where we go on a weekly basis anyway.

I stay away from food coupons - I only look at household products I will use:  soap, detergents, shampoo, razors, feminine products, TP, paper towels, batteries, toothbrushes/paste...etc, etc.

I do get things for free or almost.  Just yesterday I got $5 dollar toothbrushes for 99 cents each with register rewards!  Last week, I got Revlon nail polish (typically 5 something a bottle) for free!  The hard part is not buying something just because you can.  So I have a list of the things I buy.  Things I use.

It takes me on average about 2 hours a week to do the couponing and also buy the products.

Tips on how I make it easy.

I use this website to help me out.  It's a HUGE time saver, picking out the very obvious "match-ups" from the Sunday paper (which I buy at Walgreens) and all the local ads for stores I shop.  Of course, you have to do some looking yourself, but that's the fun part. (For me, at least!)

I can't be picky with brands, and if I am, then just be on the look-out for coupons specific for the brand.  For me, I have 2 brands I don't want to deviate from for specific products.  Shampoo and my razor.  Other wise, I don't care what brand my mascara is (although I have a strong preferences) or the brand of my toilet paper as long as it's not thin and scratchy.

I only buy something if it's both on sale and if I have a coupon.  It's even better if I have 2 coupons (one manufacture and one store).  And it's even better better if there are Register Rewards or Extra Cara Bonus' with it (store money for me to use toward my next purchase).

For instance:  Diapers.  On sale at CVS for $8.99.  That's great and all, but with a Mfg coupon for $2 off, that only $6.99!  Even better is that I have a $1 off coupon from the CVS Flier AND it has $2 Extra care bucks.  Which means that I pay $5.99 and get 2 dollars back.  So it's like paying 3.99 for a pack of diapers.  Pretty sweet!

CVS has a coupon-giving machine.  It spits out 2 coupons when you scan your card and they are random (and may or may not be helpful) and are only good with your card.

Walgreens has a coupon booklet in the store they put out at the end of every month for the following month.

I have a binder with those page protectors in it.  I have labels on the top corner of each one denoting what types of coupons go in.  I also have 3 sleeves just for store specific coupons (ie: CVS, Walgreens, Target) so it's easier to "match-up" coupons with sales.  I clip ones I think I could use (coupons that are for products I use) and I put them in their sleeves.  The sleeves are see-through, so that's nice.

I keep all the old Smart Source and Red Plum inserts from the Sunday paper in the binder for future access (until the coupons are expired)

I look at things on line sometimes, but it's easier for me to have the print copy in front of me for easy comparison.

There are so many sites out there to help you out if couponing is something you want to do.  It's not hard if you organize a little and don't stress about it.

I'm sure I could say more, but my boys are waking up from their naps and I think I hit all the high points.

Drowning Ruth

T

[Source]

This was my August book. 

After my last book, The Paris Wife, it was a slight letdown, but I think any book would have been.

Set in about the same time period as The Paris Wife (early 1900's), Drowning Ruth is a dramatic story of family relations with mysterious turns here and there.

The writing is well done and the imagery is great, but I felt the characters were more 2 dementional than 3.   Christina Schwartz uses the voice of the 2 main characters for the majority of the book, bouncing back and froth from present to past to somewhere in the middle.  It was not hard to follow along and I really enjoyed how engaged I had to be.  The aspect of the writing I did not enjoy was the omniscient POV (point of view) of the narrator.  It's seriously one of my greatest pet peeves in writing.  I don't want to know what  everyone else is thinking!  Keep me in one head at a time or no heads at all!

All that aside, it was an intriguing book.  I used to be hooked on Mystery novels, so figuring out the next couple steps of the plot is like a game for me, and I will say that I was able to guess most all of the plot points a couple chapters before the reveal, but not all!  And for that, I was happy.

A story of love and loyalty, of a traumatized girl finding her place in life, and an Aunt, whose love is selfish and reckless all at the same time.  It's a good read.

James and the Giant Peach

For my brother's 9th birthday, I took him to go see James and the Giant Peach in the theaters as a surprise.  Do you remember the movie?  I paid for our tickets and our candy (from the Dollar Store I'm sure) and I felt like quite the cool older sister taking my younger brother to a movie about a little boy and a ginormous peach.

Oh, those were the days.

Well, true life story:  I came home with a ginormous eggplant today.

I mean, seriously, this thing is probably at least 5 lbs and I have never seen the likes of it before.  The best part?  It was only a buck fifty!  That's right - the Framer's Market, which is usually full of jacked-up-prices, pulled through for me today and I spent only 6 quarters on one giant eggplant.

Do you see the quarter there?  That itty bitty thing? Yeah, that's how big this thing is!

Now, what to make from it?  I have some ideas: Sauteed Greek Eggplant, Grilled Eggplant and Portabella Ficoccia Sandwiches to resemble the ones Scot and I had in Niagara on the Lake, and Roasted Eggplant Sauce. 

The vendor is there next week, too, so I think we're going to have a couple eggplant heavy meals this week and next.  Maybe make that sauce and freeze it for later! 

Any suggestions?

One step farther...

So you know how I've said that Drew is part monkey? Well, now he's a smart little monkey. Instead of just scooting up the toilet like he's capable of, he went to his room, got his little stool so as to have easy access to the toilet and therefore, the sink.

Drew now says: Ay, Et, O! (for ready, set, go!)


Evan funnies:

He woke up early one morning and Scot hadn't left for work yet. Standing in the doorway with him, the office door opened and out walked Scot in his lounge wear.  "You slept on the tofon?"  (his way of saying "futon")

Haha.  No, no, little guy.  

While driving the other day, Evan yelled BANG! BANG! BANG!  I was curious as to what he was getting at.  Had he magically discovered that his finger also doubled as a revolver?!  So I asked: "Oh!  What was that?"  His response:  "Oh mom.  It's like BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!  It's just a different onomatopoeia!"

Also - it hailed the other night.  Weird.

Playground fun.

The weather is just perfect for playground fun with friends!

The weather's finally starting to be decent!

And we're having a blast at parks and on walks and with friends!

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting with Maggie and Howard and their beautiful momma!  Howard, being only 4 months, didn't join in on the fun too much.  He was busy sleeping.  But the older three had a blast with chalk and bubbles and a "Flinstone Car" (what are these things really called?) and a wagon.  Oh.  And toys, too.  Tons of new toys. 

Us mommas just chatted and caught up and had fun watching the interactions.  Because with a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a 16 month old, the interactions are always priceless.

Evan , Drew, and Maggie

 

My boys had a blast.  And I think this is my new favorite picture of them.  Don't you just love it?

Frugal Fun: Funny Wrapping Paper

Wow.  It's been a while since I've done a Frugal Fun post.  Sorry about that.  Especially since I live frugally and I probably have about a dozen posts I could do right now!  For now, you get this one.

It fun. It's easy.  And it's practically free.

If you get the Sunday paper for the coupons (a frugal post in and of itself!) then save the comic pages!

I'm planning on very "funny" gift wrappings for this upcoming Christmas (if not under the tree, then definitely stocking stuffers!) -- and birthdays and just-because-gifts, too. 

There are so many inexpensive ways to wrap gifts - paper bags plain or colored on by kiddos.   Have large pieces of paper your kids have artfully painted or colored or just scribbled on and you want to put it to good use?  Yup.  Wrap something in it.   Scraps of cloth and ribbon.  The options are there.  Don't resort to spending 3 bucks on a rolls of shiny red paper with silver snowflakes on it this year!  Be resourceful.  Have fun.  Live frugally!

Our Canadian Get-away

In two weeks, Scot and I will celebrate five fabulous years since we said "I do".  Well, over-all fabulous-ness at least.  Find a marriage that has no "downs" and you will also find a marriage that has no "ups".  We have had a somewhat "hilly" past 5 years: med-school + intern year + 2 boys + 3 moves = a pretty wild ride.  I think we've made the best of less-than-desired situations when they've come our way and we would say they have brought us closer to each other and made us depend more on the Lord -- all in all, a good thing.  And after all is said and done, there is no one I'd rather ride this rollercoaster of life with than my wonderful and loving husband.

Seeing as Scot is working in 2 weeks, we took this past weekend to celebrate.  We dropped the boys off at Jack and Jamie's where they had a blast and we had 2 full days to ourselves.  In another country.  We went to Niagara Falls, ON and enjoyed the falls (and attractions) as well as the adorable Bavarian village of Niagara on the Lake.

For two days I didn't wear my "mother" hat.  I will always be a mother and I love it.  It's one of the best gifts the Lord has given me, and it's my dream job, but every once in a while, it's nice to just take it off and be woman and wife alone.  So for two days I didn't sweep a floor, pick up cheerios, change a diaper, answer the "why?" question, or urge someone to take another bite of their food.  Instead, there were uninterrupted adult conversations about everything but children and work.  We had a blast walking around and enjoying the sights during nap time.  We ate a nice dinner at 8pm and strolled back to our B&B past our usual bedtime because we knew we were able to sleep in the next morning.

It was amazing.  It was bliss.

Shops were perused, items purchased, scrumptious food was had, hands were held, laughter erupted at random, and we just plain enjoyed ourselves.

On Saturday (when we got in) we headed strait for the falls.  The weather was supposed to be gloomy and stormy, but it wasn't!  The sun was shining and the sky was blue and we weren't about to let that change on us!  

We rode up to the top of the Skylon Tower in a "little yellow bug" to take in the magnificent view.  It was so windy up there!  We got some really great shots of the falls and we're going to chose one to black & white and frame as our "souvenir".

 We rode the Maid of the Mist right into the crashing grandeur of the falls and were able to see the true beauty of the falls up close.  I had no idea how wet we were going to get even though we were wearing bright blue ponchos!  My hair, which has a mind of its own when it gets misted or wet, went a little wild, but we/I didn't care...too much.

In the early evening we caught a movie. The last time we went to a full blown (not dollar theater) theater was back when I was pregnant with Evan!  This tie, though, it was a 3D movie!  We had never been to one (and now I wish I had seen Avatar in 3D!) and we enjoy it so much.  What movie, you ask?  GLEE the Concert Movie.  You should go.  Seriously.  (Unless, of course, you're under the impression it's really G-rated and you plan on taking a little kid.  Then don't.  Watch something else or ditch the little kid and go yourself.)

Scot and I are total closet fans of the show, and to know that a movie was out of the group singing in concert for only 2 weeks -- well, we had little choice but to go!  We loved it!  The 3D aspect made us feel like we were really attending a concert, front row -- minus the pseud deafening effect and the crowds.  After the movie we took a beautiful scenic drive up the river's coast to Niagara on the Lake to our Bed and Breakfast to freshen up before we walked to dinner where the food was fabulous, the ambiance was just right, and we had great conversation in the evening air.

Sunday we had the luxury of sleeping in.  I seriously can't remember the last time this happened.  I was able to wake up slowly and quietly - the sun streaming into the room and letting me know it was a beautiful day!  After a great breakfast, we headed into town to do some walking, looking, and shopping.  It was such a wonderful way to spend the morning.  After a quick but delicious bite to eat, we headed to COWS -- Canada's Best Ice Cream, started on PEI in the "day" of Anne of Green Gables.  (They actually sold Raspberry Cordial in the store.)  The ice cream was just alright.  We really like our ice cream a lot and this stuff didn't quite live up to its high expectation.  Scot got the Mooey Gooey -- a combination of sweet ice cream, lots of caramel, and some chocolate and I stuck with their home made Strawberry Sorbet -- it was out of this world (unlike the ice creams)!

And that was that - we headed home, ready for the 3.5 hour trip.  Wait.  3.5 hours?  It took us a little over 5 hours to get home because everyone and their dog was trying to get out of Canada (they know we have the best ice cream, I guess) and it took over an hour and a half to wait in line for the Customs Officer to ask us a few simple questions.  Arg!  Thankfully, we like talking to each other and we knew the boys were well taken care of and having a ball, but it was still a slightly frustrating way to end such a lovely trip.  Thank you to Jack and Jamie who took in our boys!

The rest of the pictures are here for your enjoyment!

Fun in Pittsburgh

Last year we traveled the quick two hours over to Pittsburgh to visit my college friend, Leah.  We never knew how much we would one day have in common 4-5 years post-graduation:  we both married med-students who are now 2nd year residents, we both have two children about 20/21 months apart, and we both love the Lord and love to cook/read/save money! 

This trip was especially fun because Drew was able to play with the older kids, and the kids loved playing both indoors and out!  Thankfully, the weather was great and we were able to take walks, see some deer, and have general fun running around and riding on trikes.  Next trip, Elsa will be old enough to play with Drew which will be really fun to witness.  Although, she was not short on love from my boys this trip.

As always, Leah and I had great conversations and we ate amazing food.  I love that we are just a short jaunt away and are able to make these trips to break up especially busy months for our husbands!

Evan and Anna - ready for bed and watching a little TV

Buddies.  Aren't they so cute?

Elsa (7 mo), Anna (almost 2.5yr), Evan (3yr), Drew (16mo)

The freak accident

Who knew that our first trip to the ER would be due to my own distracted walking?

How many times have we told Evan to not look around as he's walking?  Too many to count -- and here I was, calling a friend so the boys could nap at her house so I could drive myself to the emergency room.  With two small holes in my knee.

That's right.  Two holes.  One smaller than the other, of course, but two holes just the same.

How did this happen, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.

We were walking home from the library and I turned around to check on Evan, or tell him to hurry up, I don't even remember now, and I walked right into a metal rope and got stuck.

You know those twisted metal ropes that tether the telephone poles to the ground?  Ones that look like this:

[Source]
Well, this particular cable had a small (about the size of a nail) metal strand that had popped loose.  Like this:

And I walked in just the right way apparently to have that stray wire poke through my skin and under my skin, and after coasting under my skin for about an inch and half  popped out again.  And there I was.  Stuck.  A little embarrassed for just a moment and then plain confused as to why I couldn't move my leg off this cable.

 For the visual, since people have had a hard time really understanding. This is the top of my knee bent the morning after the ordeal. The larger hole is the "entrance wound", and the smaller black slit is the "exit wound".  So the wire went in the larger hole, under the skin, and popped out the exit slit.

Thankfully, a woman who saw the whole ordeal came over asking to help.  So I let her take Drew (who I had been holding) so I could think clearly and figure out why my leg wasn't moving.

Fact one:  There was something - metal I was assuming - that was tethering me to the cable.
Fact two:  I was not in pain yet (just slight shock and numbness), but I knew I would be feeling it soon and I knew I needed to get my leg unstuck before the pain hit and I passed out.
Fact three:  I needed to remain calm as long as possible so as to not scare the boys who at this point had no idea anything was wrong.

At that point a very nice man in a light blue polo came up to our strange little group.  ( He was probably very curious as to why I was leaning in and holding on to this cable.)  He, of course, wanted to know what had happened and if he could help.  To both questions, I answered: I don't know. But please try.

So he took a look at my knee and told me what I was beginning to realize.  A piece of the cable had pierced my skin and popped out through the other side.  It wasn't bleeding, (and I was pretty sure that no muscle had been damaged) and he was going to need to lift my knee up a little bit to dislodge some skin that was stuck and then pull down. Hard.

Feeling was starting to come back and I told him that he'd better do something fast or else I was going to pass out on him. 

No sooner had I said that than the pain slammed into me and my world began to disintegrate and Evan began to scream.  I just kept thinking to myself:  I gave birth naturally. That hurt.  I wanted to die. This is nothing!  

The last thing I remember seeing was Evan's tear-streaked, scared little face and the echo of Drew's cries.  I remember telling them I was going to be alright.  I remember thinking to myself that I could not black out.  That I had to hold on. 

And so I did.  I remember very little of how I got to the grass, except that when I opened my eyes I was sitting on a little lawn, wanting to puke, and holding my arms out to the boys who were an absolute mess.

What I was told (since I didn't remember) was that another man came up just as I started to "zone" and right as my legs were beginning to give out.  He came on my other side so they could pull my leg off the cable and carry me to the grass.

This, expect with some blood and an extra flap of skin that was removed at the ER, is what I saw:

After a call to Scot (who thankfully actually picked up the phone), a quick clean-up from a nearby First Aid kit, a ride the 3 blocks home from a very nice lady, a slightly frantic call to a friend so the boys could sleep in her basement, I took myself (and my throbbing knee) down to the ER and got fixed up.

After a lovely tetanus shot, some rough scrubbing, a couple pills of Motrin, some X-rays and a dab of bacitracin, I was as good as new.  Minus a small chunk of skin missing above my knee.

And really.  I'm fine now.  I went for a run the morning after, and except for feeling like I got punched in the arm where I received the shot - the worst part of Friday was knowing the boys were scared that I was hurt and I could do nothing to help them.



Lesson learned:  don't turn around while you're walking.  And laugh at yourself to get yourself through tough situations.