Thanksbirthdays!

The week of Thanksgiving is a busy time for us.  And you're probably thinking, "Really, you too?  Join the club."  Yes, it is a busy time because of travel and cooking and eating all that food like green bean casserole and turkey and stuffing (all of which I really don't care for).  And it's also a busy time for many because they enter a state of lunacy and go shopping at midnight amidst a mob of overly tired and overly turkefied people.

Yes, the week of Thanksgiving is busy for me for those reasons too, but it also marks the birth of four very special people in my life.

 

On November 19 my darling husband said goodbye to the carefree spontanaiety of his 20s.  Oh wait, I believe that ended the day I gave birth to two boys at once.  Anyway, we were able to celebrate with a romantic weekend away in Philadelphia paid by Loudoun County taxpayers.  Just kidding, well sort of.  I just tagged along while he attended a foreign language conference.  Yay for free hotel stays and food allowances! 

 

Celebrating Ben's birthday: What is this??!!  Not one, but two pictures of Ben and myself sans kids.  And only one of them is a self-portrait!  I'm gushing with pride.  

 On November 20 my mom turned 39!  Yes, she had me when she was 10, but that is another story for another day.  I love my mom, and she has taught me a lot over the years.  And even though she now makes fun of me for my binder full of coupons and my tendency to be overly frugal, I owe my cheapness to her.  Making a nine year old save up a year's worth of money to buy an $82 American Girl doll would make any girl into a frugally fabulous young woman.     

And last but not least, my two little men turn TWO today!  Did I mention that I get emotional over birthday milestones?  I was depressed when I turned 10 (double digits) and distraught when I turned 12 (too old for the kid's menu at restaurants).  So when Hudson and Corbin turned one last year, I sobbed for a week.  But this year, I have yet to shed a tear.  Bring on the potty training!  Bring on the tantrums!  I'm ready.  My guys are officially not babies anymore.  They now age in years and not months.  Soon they'll be out of their cribs and talking in sentences.  Learning their ABCs and going to preschool . . . Where did Ben put those tissues?   

These Are a Few of my Favorite Things!

My take on one of Julie Andrews' classic songs . . .

Cozy bright fires and footie pajamas  

Mugs of hot chocolate and snuggles with mama

Corbin's sweet giggles while flying on swings

These are a few of my favorite things.

Picking out pumpkins and fall tractor hay rides

Pancakes and bacon and coffee brought bedside

Watching and waiting for what the day brings

These are a few of my favorite things.

Fairs with balloons and brown furry, sweet llamas

Boys sharing nice and a day with no drama

Lazy Mondays with kids lounging like kings

These are a few of my favorite things. 

 When the food burns

When the boys fight

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad!

10 years . . .

10 years ago today . . .

 ~ I was a 19 year-old college sophomore with dreams of teaching English.  And dreams of getting married and having lots of babies.   
 ~ I was enrolled in such demanding classes as "Playwriting" and "American Film" (which had a lab with it, the lab being to sit in Calvin's mini theatre and watch a movie each week.)
~ I was just getting back from my dorm retreat.  Go Rooks VanDellen!
~ I was moments away from going on my first date with my future husband. 

It's amazing to me to look back at the last 10 years.  I don't think I'll ever experience a decade in my life where this much has happened, this much change.  I've gone from being a teenager to knocking on the door to 30.  Ten years ago my concerns were maintaining scholarships and getting my papers in on time.  Now I'm responsible for two other human beings.  Back then I survived on Pop-Tarts and the dining hall's french fries, the only food that looked edible in my picky mind.  Now, my palate has greatly matured, and I have actually learned to cook.  Miracles do happen.

So much has happened since September 22, 2002, when Ben and I sipped Italian sodas at the Kava House in Eastown and strolled through downtown Grand Rapids talking about our lives, our likes, our hopes for the future.  We've grown up since then and together experienced many good days, and some not so good ones.  But through it all, I'm thankful every day that this introverted running machine, seemingly so different from myself, asked me out.  Happy 10 Year Dateaversary, Ben!  Here's to all those memories!  

         

Confessions of a Cheapskate

I could devote this whole blog to couponing and being thrifty, but let me start with some honesty.  I love to save, but sometimes I might go a little overboard.  I walk the line between fabulously frugal and crazy cheapskate.  Here are some examples:

1. Ben picked up a box of cereal on his way home from work one day.  I took one look at the receipt and cried, "You paid $4 for a box of cereal??!!"  That box of cereal was never opened.  I returned it the next day. 

2. I just finished filling out a rebate form for a kids' fruit pouch.  After taking into account the cost of the stamp, I will be getting back $1.

3. I can look through my drawer right now and tell you that there is not a single bra in there that was purchased by me.  They were all purchased by my mother.  Which means, they were bought when I was living under her roof . . . 7 + years ago.  Embarrassing.

This list could continue, but alas I have confessed enough for one day.  But please don't let me deter you from saving.  You don't have to be a cheapskate like me to save.  

Here are some of my reasonable and non-crazy ways I like to save money:

~Many grocery stores will double any manufacturer’s coupon (up to 99 cents) that you have.  During special promotions, some stores will triple your coupons or double your coupons up to $2.  This can be a HUGE savings!  

~ Find coupons in your local Sunday paper and go to websites like southersavers.com or coupons.com for links to online coupons.

~Some stores like Target have their own coupons that you can print from their website.  The great part about this is that you can use a “Target coupon” and a manufacturer’s coupon together for the same product. 

~To get the best savings, try to buy products that are both on sale and have a coupon(s).  

~Stop with the brand loyalty!  Couponing won’t be worth your time if you’re not willing to try new brands and new products.

~Be organized!  Stuffing coupons in your purse is not being organized.  Get a mini accordion folder or a notebook with baseball card holders. 

~Don’t be afraid to stock up, especially in the beginning and on non-perishable products.  If there’s a great sale on chicken stock and you have several coupons, stock up.  No pun intended.

   

~Couponing can be time-consuming in the beginning, but once you have a system going, it should take less than an hour per week.  

~When it comes to kids' products and clothes, buy USED or BORROW!  Catch some great yard sales or look for consignment sales in your area.  September is a big month for kids' consignment sales, so be on the lookout!

Some grocery deals from last summer (total-- $28).  I could have used that extra money that I saved and gotten bald baby Hudson some Rogaine!  

Hudson modeling his baby Crocs ($3--consignment sale) and his favorite toy (tree stump + gravel = free)

And the number ONE way to save on your kids' clothes . . . birthday suits!!!

Normal? I Hope So . . .

Do ever find yourself going through your day asking yourself, "Is this normal?"  There are certain questions that keep reappearing like pesky summertime freckles in my mind.  So, I think it's time that I get these questions out there to determine whether (A) other people feel the same way or (B) I'm going crazy.

Questions that have roamed through my head today:

1. Is it normal that every single day I find a sippy cup with chunky week-old milk hidden among my boys' clutter?  And if this is normal, why don't they make sippys with little radars so they can be found easily?

 No, Hudson!  Don't drink that milk!  I know it looks like a milk shake, but it's not!

2. Is it normal to look at the destruction in your house at the end of the day and think, "I know I did a pile of dishes today, I know I cleaned that highchair three times, and I know I picked up those toys already!  What happened??!!  I blinked and my house got frightfully dirty again."  Or, more like my kids woke up from their naps, and mess soon followed.  Again. 

 

Not actually my house but very similar to what my house looks like.  It's the end of the day, and I'm too tired to take a real picture.  Pretty sure that's normal. 

3. Is it normal to think it's kinda cute when your kids get frightened?  I think it's cute that Hudson fears the vaccum and has to be held on my hip whenever I clean the floors .  And kind of adorable that Corbin hates Chuckie Cheese.  And when we took our boys through a car wash because we thought they'd love it, I was at first disappointed when I didn't hear giggles or see smiles.  But then I thought it was just pitifully sweet that they were so scared.  It just reminds me that my two little guys still need their mama, at least every once in awhile.  

Hudson and Corbin are not feeling the love for the car wash experience, as you can see.

4. Is it normal to have an embarrasingly small number of pictures of just you and your spouse since your children came?  I have no excuse on this one.  Ben and I just spent a weekend without the kids, and that was my one goal.  Get a nice picture of just the two of us.  Here is the picture I have from that weekend.

Now, that's a keeper.  I think I'll order an 8 X 10. 

I guess even if this isn't everyone else's normal, it's okay that it's mine.  And now back to my reality--time to clean out sippy cups, re-pick up my house, carry Hudson around on my hip while I vacuum, and photo shop myself into the picture above.     

"Pour me. More wine."

Before kiddos when Ben and I both worked as teachers, we decided to think ahead to our futures by working tirelessly in the summers to save money.  Ha, not exactly!  Instead, we thought ahead to the future and decided to travel to bed and breakfasts and wineries to get it out of our systems before we had children and our vacations would take a louder and less relaxing turn.  And I can't say I regret that decision for a minute.

But this summer, we thought it might be time to buckle down and work.  And work has definitely come pouring down.  A month ago Ben was looking everywhere for summer work, and within a few days he got hired to teach summer school Geometry, be on a curriculum team to revise the Latin texts for next year, and my personal favorite of his three jobs--give tastings at the Bluemont Vineyard on Saturdays.  Ben has definitely had his hands full--teaching the Pythageron theroem by day and balancing wine glasses by night.

This summer surely hasn't been relaxing like the vintages of past, but when Ben brings home a bottle of sparkling peach wine and a wad of tips, it still seems pretty grape to me.   
   
A view from the deck at Bluemont Vineyard

Ready for work.  Keep smiling.  You'll bring in more tips!

 

Don't worry.  It's not all work and no play.

The Bittersweetness of Spring

For months we've waited for relief from the chill, relief from our kids' drippy noses and hoarse coughs, and relief from those gray skies and bare trees.  Relief has finally come.  The chill has been replaced with warmth, the noses have dried, coughs have quieted, and sunshine and a blanket of green have returned.  For a moment, all seems right with the world.  All until morning dawns and we discover a layer of pollen coating our cars, a lawn that cries out for a weekly mowing, and sinus pressure reminding us of that little nuisance called allergies.

Isn't that the way with life sometimes.  Trials and struggles moving alongside the beauty and excitement of a new season.

So it's been with our life as of late.  We've entered a busy but joyful time with the buying of our first house--new projects, more room, and the feeling of finally being settled.  But in the midst of this has come struggles too.  After undergoing fertility treatment in order to get pregnant with the boys, we had one more good chance of bringing another child into this world.  But in April we learned that it wasn't meant to be.  And though the pain of infertility is nothing new to us and though it's nothing compared to those days when we so desperately just wanted one child, the pain still stings.   

But the times keep moving, and so does this season.  With life's disappointments come new hopes, new callings, and new strength.  And with it also comes a powerful reminder.  Through cloud and sunshine, He will abide with me . . .

"I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be
Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me."

                           ~Henry Francis Lyte

 Link to "Abide With Me" sung by Indelible Grace

 My rays of sunshine:

The Bluemont Bunch

Last Saturday we traveled down Snickersville Turnpike, over the one lane bridge, up the mountain, and through the woods.  To Grandmother's house we didn't go, but to our own.  We said goodbye to our charming 1900s carriage house and said hello to our log home in the woods.  This suburban girl has gone country and now woodsy in one short year. 

But don't call me Mrs. Paul Bunyan just yet.  Floral patterns will still reign over plaid, ruffles will still make a much needed appearance, and our five acres will be dog and blue oxen free.

So when you're in the need for a rustic getaway, come on down to our Bluemont lodge.  Seriously.  We'd love to have you.  Although, we can't promise that we won't put you to work.  There's a lot of wood that needs splitting . . .

     
The Bluemont General Store--We'll miss the Philomont General Store, but we love that this one has hand scooped ice cream!

 The front of our house

The back of our house

Our guest bathroom

The master.  Okay, so we have a little plaid (thank you, Corbin)

Our family room

The sitting room

Love all of our windows with gorgeous views!

Doing dishes won't be so bad with this view (oh, and a dishwasher makes things better too)

The dining room

The guest bedroom (in the basement--hence the lack of logs).  This is what I call my "girl cave"

My Bluemont Boys-- Yes, boys.  We're in the woods.  Clothing is optional.