Red Pencil Diaries

Ok, last week, I made Zack lunch and sat him in the dining room at the table. Then I sat down in the living room to feed Lola. I realized I had forgotten to make him a drink. So I told him I would as soon as Lola was done drinking her bottle. Well, he went into the kitchen. I yelled for him to come back, that I would help him in a minute. I heard the fridge open, and I thought he was getting himself a juice box out. He was in there a long time. Then he comes into the living room carrying a sippy cup. I ask what is in the cup. He says “doran zeus,” and takes a big drink—the lid is on and I hear ice clinking inside. I grab the cup, and sure enough, inside is orange juice and ice. I am so afraid to go into the kitchen and see the mess he’s made. I walk into the kitchen—the kitchen chair is up against the cabinet. I can’t find any other mess at all. He managed to get a cup out of the cabinet, get into the freezer, get ice, get into the fridge on the top shelf, get out the OJ, pour it, put the screw cap back on the juice, then put the lid on his cup and do all that without help and without spilling a single drop. Amazing for a child who is not yet 3 years old!

Fast forward a week… Yesterday he gave me the scare of my life. I had left Lola in the bedroom in her bassinette while I fixed Zack breakfast. Then I went into the kitchen to wash baby bottles. I walked back into the living room—and I guess Zack had heard Lola wake up—he comes around the corner of the couch CARRYING LOLA under her armpits—she was facing outward. And I almost screamed. But then I saw that Lola had the BIGGEST smile on her face. So I knew she wasn’t hurt. I scooped her up and kissed her. I took off her onesie and couldn’t find a scrape or mark on her. I didn’t want to freak Zack out by yelling at him—I know he was only trying to help. But I sat him down and had a BIG talk with him about not picking her up again. In the bedroom, I found his beanbag chair next to the bassinette. I think maybe he pulled her out onto the beanbag and then picked her up? I dunno. I don’t really want to know. lol I was so freaked out. But she’s ok. But wow… I never thought he would try to pick her up, much less carry her down the hall! She’s over 13 lbs. now and he only weighs 33 lbs!

I have been checking progress on the Ikea in West Chester, OH. According to this Ikea press release, it’s scheduled to open Spring 2008! They are already posting job openings. And there are many photos on Flickr of the progress—there is already a parking lot!

I’m so excited. I’m going to have to rent a U-haul to go up there. I’ll have a list a mile long. Better start saving now.

I’ve started thinking about my favorite things to do… and I love finding bargains. My favorite places to do this are thrift stores. My home and closet are filled with great buys. My absolute favorite purchases have been clothing. It’s amazing what you will find a thrift stores. Sometimes clothes that still have the tags on them! For cheap! Brand names, expensive materials all usually less than $4. Not to mention, buying stuff that someone else has no need for has to be good. I mean, what if all this stuff ended up in a landfill? I’m sure it would break down over time, but I think it’s great to buy and re-use.

I just saw a video on MSN about being frugal and shopping at thrift stores. It made me want to jump in the car and head out to my favorite Goodwill store right now.

I’m also a coupon clipper. I haven’t yet reached the level of those women who can get half a cart of groceries for $3, but I’m working on figuring out the secrets to doing that. I do have my own coupon file and I fill it almost daily. I tear through the ValPak coupon envelopes and Savvy magazine coupon books. I get the Sunday paper just for the ads and coupons.  I clip and organize. When I am at the grocery, I can often be spotted stopped at the end of an aisle, digging through my coupon file, trying to save money on shampoo or diapers.

I collect Pampers points. I was buying Pampers for Lola (with coupons) and Feel-N-Learn PullUps for Zack. Each pack comes with point codes inside. If you join at Pampers.com and enter your points from every pack, you can redeem them for prizes. I’m getting Zack two free Lego sets with the points I’ve earned in 2 months.

Maybe someday I’ll end up on one of those morning shows as the cheapo lady that people make fun of for buying a whole cartload of canned beets at half price just to get the rebate and end up spending nothing. What a deal! But for now, I’m saving money and enjoying doing it.

Start at 9:30 am. I see a package that I promised Dave last night that I would take to the post office and mail for him today. Has to be today. So I start planning. Lola is awake, but playing. Zack is finishing watching TV and eating the rest of his waffles that he started on at 8:30 am. I go to get dressed—I’m skipping the shower for now. 9:45 am, I made it into the bedroom, but ended up trying to put away clothes, but Zack comes in and has dirtied his pull-up (why oh why he’s given up on potty training this week is a mystery to me). I change him, get out clothes for him to wear, but by now it’s 9:50 and Lola is crying. Go to see Lola.

She’s made stinkies too. Change her diaper, but as I put on the clean one, she pees and grunts and I know she’s not finished. So I lay her in the crib, turn on the Ocean Wonders aquarium toy with lights and music. She seems pacified. I resume the plan to dress Zack.

I put on his t-shirt and plaid pants, notice he has on the same socks from yesterday, but let it slide for now. I mean, come on, I am skipping a shower at this point, so it’s all ok. Lola begins crying. I go in and she’s finished making stinkies, so we change her diaper. Zack watches from his perch on the stool next to the changing table, the whole time whining about his shoes not being on. I get Lola dressed, lay her back in the crib, turn on the Aquarium toy again, and go back to my closet to find something to wear. It’s now 10:10 am.

I pull out my favorite red t-shirt and some khaki shorts. Then, as I put on the shirt, I realize I will look like a Target employee, so as I’m cursing Target and their darn dress code, I hear a loud bang and a scream from Zack, followed by howling and crying. I run to Lola’s room to find Zack in the floor, mouth bleeding, stool on its side half under the crib. He’s apparently been standing on the stool to talk to Lola and fell. I clean up his mouth with a baby wipe (they taste nasty, so I know why he’s complaining now) and then take him to the kitchen for a popsicle to take down the swelling. It’s 10:20, so while I’m there, I fix Lola a bottle and go feed her while I decide what I’m going to wear.

Luckily, she sucks down the bottle, I put on some jean shorts with my red t-shirt. I end up with a tiny bit of baby spit up on my shoulder, but I’m still determined. Zack is still whining because he can’t find his shoes, so I go on a scavenger hunt with Lola still slung up on my shoulder. We go from room to room and just as I’m about to give up, I hit upon them with my toe in the hall outside his room. Somehow, I’d walked right past them three times in my hunt.

We grab the shoes, go to the kitchen. I put Lola in her carrier/car seat. I give her a noo-noo (pacifier) and go to put on Zack’s shoes. Lola promptly spits out noo-noo. I put it back in. She spits it back out. Then she begins to cry again. I put it back in, then wrap a blanket around her, close enough to her mouth to sort of “catch” the noo-noo when she tries to spit it out. I finally get Zack’s shoes on and realize that he’s covered in orange popsicle. I grab a paper towel and scrub his face. Then realize that I haven’t brushed my hair.

I run to the bedroom, put my hair up in a leopard print scrunchy (yes, I’m not even trying today) and slip on my sandals. I get back to the kitchen, put some formula in a bottle (no water yet) and throw it all in the diaper bag. I grab Lola (in her carrier), the diaper bag, my purse, and the package. Zack trots down the stairs carrying his teddy bear (who is wearing a diaper that I also had to change earlier in the day). We finally get all into the truck and head out. It’s now after 11 am. We make it to the post office by 11:10 (ish). All goes well and I even manage to smile proudly when Zack walks in carrying his teddy bear (who is wearing a diaper) and his toy car keys with the sound-making key fob—just like Momma who has Lola in a carrier, her purse, keys in hand and a package under her arm. Even two men in line watch Zack and snicker and smile at him with all his gear. The site is just too cute.

So that’s a typical morning for me. How about you?

I forgot to post this last month… July 26th was my 5-year blog anniversary. So for those of you who are still reading, thank you! For anyone new to my blog… the archives are to your right. Feel free to catch-up on all the lovely posts you’ve missed. lol

Ok, I’m trying to get back into the weight loss/healthy eating/activity kick. So I’m making sure I eat 3 meals per day, and healthy snacks. I used to eat just cereal/oatmeal for my healthy breakfast, but I’ve been looking for alternatives. Today, Zack and I tried Kashi Go Lean Blueberry Waffles. Let me just say, we loved them—especially Zack. Yes, these are frozen waffles and cannot compare in anyway to the thick, sweet, crispy jewels once served at Twiam’s Chicken & Waffles (may it rest in peace). But for frozen waffles, these are the best I’ve had. They come out of the package kind of grey looking with dark spots—but that’s because they have REAL blueberries in them. Whole ones. Not just little faux blueberry flavored specks. And they didn’t taste dry after coming out of the toaster—they actually were crispy with a slightly soft inside. I had mine with Log Cabin Sugar-Free syrup (which is also good, IMO). I did taste Zack’s with regular maple syrup, though, and it was even better. A serving of these waffles is actually 2 waffles—and they have only 170 calories and 33 grams of carbs per serving.

Also, I have to add that I’m loving my new laundry room color. I’m painting it a light aqua color and I’m going to paint darker “circles” on the walls to look like bubbles. I’m also totally IN LOVE with my new GE front-loading washer and dryer. I really think my clothes are coming out cleaner. And supposedly, we will be saving energy. I will check my water and electric bills next month to see how much. I know we have to save money over the energy and water it took to use the behemoth 1970s model washer/dryer we were using. I actually like doing laundry now. I just hate the folding and putting it away.