A few minutes of peace and quiet from your child is not always a good thing!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Politics for Preschoolers
Ok, it's been almost a week since the big quadrennial voting event. I've been intentionally avoiding any newscasts or news papers for weeks, because I got to the point where I would become physically ill when I heard words such as "election" "Obama," or "McCain." Two years is far too long for any campaign to last, in my opinion. I'm hoping that Congress will finally make themselves useful and pass a law forbidding such things in the future. (I'm not holding my breath, however.)
In tribute to the big event I've decided to share a couple of J's thoughts on politics:
Last year, B told J they were going to go vote. J was surprisingly excited about the idea. When they arrived at the polling place, J looked around, disappointed, and asked, "Daddy, where's the boat?"
On Tuesday, I explained to J that it was a big day for our country. We were choosing a new president. "But what about Mr. Bush?" he asked. (This is a child who is strongly opposed to change of any kind in the world.)
"Well, Mr. Bush has served his 2 terms," I explained, "and now we have to pick someone new."
"But I don't want someone new to be president," he whined. "I want Mr. Bush to be the president forever!"
I didn't bother to tell him how lonely he is in that opinion!
In tribute to the big event I've decided to share a couple of J's thoughts on politics:
Last year, B told J they were going to go vote. J was surprisingly excited about the idea. When they arrived at the polling place, J looked around, disappointed, and asked, "Daddy, where's the boat?"
On Tuesday, I explained to J that it was a big day for our country. We were choosing a new president. "But what about Mr. Bush?" he asked. (This is a child who is strongly opposed to change of any kind in the world.)
"Well, Mr. Bush has served his 2 terms," I explained, "and now we have to pick someone new."
"But I don't want someone new to be president," he whined. "I want Mr. Bush to be the president forever!"
I didn't bother to tell him how lonely he is in that opinion!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Brilliant Ideas
J is full of good ideas lately. I'm not sure where he comes up with them, but I like the way he thinks.
We did Halloween this year for the first time. I bought the kids pumpkin buckets to use for their treats. I explained to them what we were going to do with them. J suggested that instead of going out, we could hang the buckets on our front door and people could come and put money in them. Let's see, given the option between a holiday where you:
A. Go to other people's houses and ask them for candy, or
B. Stay home and let other people bring you money,
I've got to say, I'll take B!
Today while we were driving around, J asked me if he was the firstborn in our family. I told him he was. He then said H was the lastborn. I told him that she was the second born, but might not necessarily be the lastborn if God gives us another baby some day. That thoughtful boy then suggested that if we have another baby, Daddy should have it in his tummy this time. That way the bad veins which showed up in Mommy's legs while H was in my tummy won't get any worse. That was the best idea I've heard in a long time! It's about time the men in the family got their share of the saggy, bulging body parts too!
We did Halloween this year for the first time. I bought the kids pumpkin buckets to use for their treats. I explained to them what we were going to do with them. J suggested that instead of going out, we could hang the buckets on our front door and people could come and put money in them. Let's see, given the option between a holiday where you:
A. Go to other people's houses and ask them for candy, or
B. Stay home and let other people bring you money,
I've got to say, I'll take B!
Today while we were driving around, J asked me if he was the firstborn in our family. I told him he was. He then said H was the lastborn. I told him that she was the second born, but might not necessarily be the lastborn if God gives us another baby some day. That thoughtful boy then suggested that if we have another baby, Daddy should have it in his tummy this time. That way the bad veins which showed up in Mommy's legs while H was in my tummy won't get any worse. That was the best idea I've heard in a long time! It's about time the men in the family got their share of the saggy, bulging body parts too!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Pumpkin carving
J's been wanting to carve pumpkins for some time, and this week we finally got around to it. J designed the first pumpkin's face on the BHG website. He did a pretty good job, if I do say so. He picked the second design out of the book of templates that came with our pumpkin carving tool set. It was one of the only 2 in the book that wasn't completely gorey. (Guess I didn't look at that very closely before choosing that set.)
It's been a long time since I last carved a pumpkin. I learned a few things I didn't know before. Like, carving pumpkins with your 2 and 4 year old goes much more smoothly if you do it when your 2 and 4 year old aren't actually around.
If you make a big open mouth on your pumpkin, your 2 year old will like to feed it things. Such as pens and carrots and all the seeds you just removed from said pumpkin.
You should definitely make the opening at the top wide enough to get your hand in. It makes the whole scooping out the goop process much easier. (And retrieving pens and carrots and seeds.)
If you take your 2 and 4 year old to the store to buy little lights to put inside your pumpkins, they will much prefer to play with them and may throw a fit when you try to actually put them inside the pumpkins.
And finally, if your 4 year old walks off with the marker that came with the pumpkin carving set and you can't find it when you're ready to trace the second template, a Sharpie marker is not a good substitute. Unless you're really, really good at staying right on the lines when you carve. I am not. There are a number of permanent black marks on our second pumpkin. Don't look too closely at the picture!
It's been a long time since I last carved a pumpkin. I learned a few things I didn't know before. Like, carving pumpkins with your 2 and 4 year old goes much more smoothly if you do it when your 2 and 4 year old aren't actually around.
If you make a big open mouth on your pumpkin, your 2 year old will like to feed it things. Such as pens and carrots and all the seeds you just removed from said pumpkin.
You should definitely make the opening at the top wide enough to get your hand in. It makes the whole scooping out the goop process much easier. (And retrieving pens and carrots and seeds.)
If you take your 2 and 4 year old to the store to buy little lights to put inside your pumpkins, they will much prefer to play with them and may throw a fit when you try to actually put them inside the pumpkins.
And finally, if your 4 year old walks off with the marker that came with the pumpkin carving set and you can't find it when you're ready to trace the second template, a Sharpie marker is not a good substitute. Unless you're really, really good at staying right on the lines when you carve. I am not. There are a number of permanent black marks on our second pumpkin. Don't look too closely at the picture!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Proud Mama
If you're a relative, head over to facebook and watch my latest video. J can read! If you're not a relative and you've got nothing better to do for the next 3 minutes, you can go too. I'm so proud!
Clemency Rally
Remember those in prison
as if you were their fellow prisoners,
and those who are mistreated
as if you yourselves were suffering.
Hebrews 13:3
The annual Battered Women's Clemency Project Rally is Friday on the capitol steps. I'll be attending for the second time. This year we actually have a clemency to celebrate - Three cheers for Governor Granholm finally doing the right thing!
Go read about these women's heartbreaking stories and think about the writer of Hebrews' admonition above.
The annual Battered Women's Clemency Project Rally is Friday on the capitol steps. I'll be attending for the second time. This year we actually have a clemency to celebrate - Three cheers for Governor Granholm finally doing the right thing!
Go read about these women's heartbreaking stories and think about the writer of Hebrews' admonition above.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
This week at CVS
It was a good week at CVS. Not my best ever, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of. All of this cost $1.49 out of pocket. Here's how. . .
Transaction #1
Adidas deodorant 4.99
Speed stick 24/7 deodorant 3.99
South Beach Living granola bars 2.50
Coupons: $2 off $10 purchase, $1 off Adidas, $1 off Speed Stick, $2 off SBL bars
Subtotal: $12.16
Paid with $5 of Extra Care Bucks (ECB) and $0.60 out of pocket
Got $6 ECB back
Transaction #2
Opti Free Replenish Contact solution $7.99
True North Almond Clusters $3.00
Coupons: $2 off $10 purchase, $3 off Opti Free, $1 off Almonds
Subtotal: $11.64
Paid with $4 of ECB and $0.99 out of pocket
Transaction #3
Jumbo Pack Playskool diapers $10.99
South Beach Living granola bars $2.50
Coupons: $2 off $10 purchase, $2 off Playskool diapers, $2 off SBL bars
Total before coupons: $14.29
Paid with $7.49 of ECB, no cash required
I've noticed something interesting about paying with the Extra Care Bucks. I think of them as CVS cash, but they're actually a little better than that. They're rung up as coupons and reduce your pre-tax total. That in turn reduces the amount of tax you're charged. So, if the total is $2.50 and you give them a $2 ECB slip, the new total is $0.38, not $0.50 like I would have expected.
It was a good week, in that I only spent $1.59 out of pocket for $38.09 worth of merchandise (At least that's what CVS charges for it. Whether it's actually worth that much is debatable!). It wasn't as good as far as ECB's go. I used up $16.49 of those and only got $6 back. I'll have to work on replenishing my stock of these over the next few weeks.
My year-to-date CVS savings: $612.48!
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