Smart Shopping

I was asked quite a while ago(I think it may have been shortly after I started this blog) by a dear friend that I make a blog post about my "deal findings".  Well, I have delayed this post because I haven't been too certain what I could possibly write about the deals that I have found and how I go about finding them.  Over the past year or two I have been fortunate enough to have obtained the following:

Kitchenaid stand mixer - $20
Gamecube system - $3
Leapster case with 4 games - $2
1-night stay at Red Roof Inn - FREE
laptop computer - $10
Jeep jogging stroller - $15
Working car - $375
Wheat grinder - $35

Those were just a few of the things that we have found.  I can't even remember all of the yard sale, thrift store, and free deals that I have found over the years.  I don't profess to be a master deal finder.  I know that there are always people out there that are better at deal finding.  I can also admit that we have erred in our purchase-making decisions in the past, but it was usually when we acted more on impulse rather than sticking with my "rules".  For the most part I feel that I can chalk most of my deal finding up to being "luck".

I will just share with you my fundamental philosophies.

"Rule of thumb" number 1:  "Try to NEVER pay full price for anything".
I believe that by having that mentality all of the time helps me to gain the ability to find resources that help me to save whenever possible.  Of course, I am well aware that focusing on saving money on things that aren't necessities means that I'm not really saving money, but rather wasting money in a less irresponsible manner.  That focus, though, has allowed us to enjoy many luxuries that I know we would never have been able to enjoy otherwise.  Seeking out deals can be quite fun and provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when a really good deal is found, but the process can be daunting and time consuming.

Rule number 2:  "Can I afford it?" and "How much am I willing to spend?"
Answering those two questions is a must.  Having a price in mind before you go any further is an important part of following the remainder of my "rules".  Knowing how much you are willing to spend can sometimes pre-determine whether or not the item can be purchased new or used.  Following this step can also narrow down your options which would allow you to do your research from there.

"Rule of thumb" number 3 is:  "Is it something that I have to buy new or could I be happy with a used one?"  That is a question that should always be asked.  There are items that should just never be purchased used if it can be at all avoided.  Electronics can be iffy when purchasing used.  Consider purchasing from a respectable retailer either online or in-store.  They almost always offer a warranty or repair program.  Refurbished electronics can be a prime option.  I actually can't think of a single refurbished product which we have purchased that I have regretted purchasing.  The refurbished items have typically had their issues already and then the manufacturer has "worked the bugs out" and tested the product to ensure functionality and re-sells it to consumers at a fraction of the cost.  They almost always come with a manufacturer's warranty included.  Housewares and most clothing are perfectly acceptable to purchase in used condition.  I could never bring myself to purchase secondhand underpants, but that's not to say that it's not acceptable for someone else.  After having been to countless yard/garage sales and thrift stores I must say that I have been shocked by the amount of new and unused merchandise that people have to offer, so it never hurts look around.

Fourth rule:  "Never buy the first one you see without doing your research."
Know what you are wanting to purchase.  Find out all of the details and specs of the item prior to purchasing. Seek out reviews of the item and compare prices.  Find websites(fatwallet.com, dealighted.com, woot.com, and 1saleaday.com are a few of my favorites) and as many resources as possible that can help you to obtain the best deal possible.  I feel that I am rarely disappointed if I have made an educated purchase.  In fact, often times I have found that if I see something at the store that I am interested in purchasing and I come home and do some research first that I will usually find one that I like even better just by looking around.  Also, following this step has greatly discouraged impulse buying in my life.  Sometimes, just by walking away and doing a bit of research may even help you to discover that you don't even want the item at all.

My fifth rule:  "Be patient!" .
There will sometimes be things that are needed or wanted right away.  I have learned that the things that aren't so urgent will almost always be more affordable if you are patient.  "Why do I want this item?" is a question that I always ask myself when contemplating a purchase.  "Am I wanting it so that I can be "up-to-the-moment and trendy" or "can I make due without?"  are two more essential questions dealing with patience.  I have found that simply by being patient for weeks or sometimes months that I have almost always found the best deals.   Don't be fooled by retailers telling you things like:  "Hurry NOW because this deal will be over soon and will be gone forever!".  Whenever they say things like that they are really just meaning that that particular deal is going to end soon but they don't tell you that the next deal might be even better.  Sure, hook phrases like:  "Lowest price of the season" and "Lowest price ever" sound great but that just means that the price is only likely to continue going down.

Sixth rule:  "Don't be too proud to ask."
Whether you're at a garage sale and are hoping to get a lower price on an item or are at a retail store and want to know if/when certain items might be going on sale or clearance; it doesn't hurt to ask.  Some retailers match competitor's prices and offer discounts in addition to those prices, and some will continue to match prices for up to thirty days after the date of your purchase to offer you a refund of the price difference.  Most people don't have this knowledge without asking.  In our "digital age" it seems that many people are too afraid or self-conscious to actually confront and ask people for help.  Humble yourself and ask!


These are the general rules that I try to abide by, but just understand that "great" deal finding can sometimes seem a lot like work and that, just as with anything else in our lives, we must try to balance ourselves and not allow it to consume all of our time or energy.  The things that you purchase can be investments but your family is the best investment of your time that you could ever make.

I intend to follow-up to this post with a grocery shopping entry, as requested by a friend.

I'm also very open to shopping and deal finding suggestions that anyone else may have, so feel free to share.

The beginning of the end

Normally I would post classic quotes from my kids into my sidebar, but this one deserved its own blog post.  Now, if Leah discovers that I have made this post then I will probably never hear the end of how much I embarrass her.  But.....oh well!  I'm a parent and that's what I do ;>) .

So, yesterday I picked Leah up early from school so that we could have some family fun(blog post on this is yet to come).  I let her ride in the front seat with me for the mile drive home and she turns to me very seriously and says:

"Okay, Mama, I have three reasons why I think that that boy "A" loves me.

Reason 1:  In P.E. he said, "But I didn't get a chance to race Leah yet??!!"

Reason 2:  He stared at me for more than like 20 seconds!

and lastly

Reason 3:  I heard from a friend who heard from another friend who heard "A" say:  "Leah is just like an angel."  "

Oh boy!  What's a parent to do????  I love that girl so much and it saddens me to think that I only have a few more years before the "crazy" hits her.  I hope that they will be a good few years.

Negligence and Procrastination

Wow!  It seems as though it has been forever since I posted on here!  It's been in the back of my mind constantly but I just haven't found a good time to sit and blog.  I haven't even had time lately to sit down and take care of our emails.  You know, all of those lovely emails that I intend to read sometime but never actually do.  It finally got to over 200 emails this morning and I decided that I had to take action.  Now, 200 emails may not sound extreme to some people but I'll just say that we try to keep our emails to a bare minimum and that's usually less that 10.  So, our emails were overloaded, our DVR has such a backlog that I feel like when I do finally have the time to sit and watch any of the shows that I wind up falling asleep right in the middle of the episode, and I haven't been able to sit down and read for several weeks; at least not recreationally.  Then I realized that withdrawing myself from all of this media has not necessarily been a negative in my life.  Have I been able to sit down and zone out with mindless drivel?  Not really.  Have I felt lost without it?  Nope!  Have I been able to take the time to accomplish more of the things that are potentially enriching and edifying?  Yup.

Family

Our church held its General Conference a little over a week ago.  For those that are unaware of this semi-annual event, it is when the leaders of our church speak and offer counsel and inspiration to anyone willing to hear their messages.  During this last General Conference, President Uchtdorf, a Counselor in the First Presidency of the church, touched on many things but what I felt was most applicable to me was his mention of time management.  Have I been busy?  Yes.  Have I been focusing more on things that really truly matter?  I like to think that I have.  I am trying to focus more on the truly important things and steer away from the things that just seem more enticing.  In the past it's seemed relatively easy to tell the kids, "I'll be there in just a minute.  Just wait until I'm done with [insert meaningless internet site or other frivolous task]".  It's so easy to find other things to do that seem so much easier than tending to the things that really should be priorities in my life.  This may mean less frequent blog posts and it may mean fewer deals found online, but are those the things that are vital?  Not really.  I feel good about the things that I have began to make improvements upon.  I have felt more organized in my life.  I have had a greater sense of accomplishment and hope to continue on with this for as long as possible.  Here's hoping.....

Picture post

It's been a little while since I've posted pics on here since my camera melted(it's a long story, but I'll just say that there was some sort of weird reaction between my camera and the rechargeable batteries that I had just put in and the camera got so hot that it melted). But, fortunately Leah got a camera for her birthday and she has been nice enough to let us borrow it from time to time. Here are a few updated pics:

The kids on 8/31/10


Leah on her first day of the Second grade - 8/9/10

Burdens

Yesterday, while at an establishment, I overheard the conversation between two men. At first their conversation seemed light enough as they spoke of their children and some of their accomplishments, then as their words turned direction I felt a sense of sadness for them. It seemed that they had both been active members of the LDS church at some point in their lives but were now very inactive and attending other churches. It wasn't that information that necessarily saddened me the most, rather it was what they had said about the church that had more of an impact. They began talking about all of the callings and so-called obligations that they had while they were active members and how burdensome it all had felt. One man continued to say, "I just want to go to church and worship and then be able to go home or go out to eat if I want and enjoy my time and my day without being expected to help out all of the time." Now, I wish that I could say that I never felt burdened by a calling but I cannot. I was and am fortunate enough to be able to realize that the problem is not with the calling nor the church but rather within myself and my own attitude and once I am able to recognize that I know that I have the power to change it. Citing Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8 and a quote by Elder L. Whitney Clayton:

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

"Our own mistakes and shortcomings produce many of our problems and can place heavy burdens on our own shoulders. The most onerous burden we impose upon ourselves is the burden of sin. We have all known the remorse and pain which inevitably follow our failure to keep the commandments."[he also includes that burdens may be natural products of the conditions of the world, or can be imposed on us by the misconduct of others.]

I could go on and on but I will just say that I hope that those two men will come to the realization that though the churches which they are currently attending may try to spread good messages, they do not have the fullness of the gospel. We can go to school or church every day and listen to the messages that are shared with us but we will never truly learn or understand those principles and practices until we begin to apply them and use them in our lives. I am grateful to those men for helping to remind me of my love of the church and Christ and for helping me strengthen my testimony.

I know that if we keep His commandments that He helps us with our burdens and offers us the strength and ability to overcome all. If we are obedient to Him we will be richly blessed. We can strengthen and grow our faith and testimony by doing His works. I leave these words with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Problem solved

This is a follow-up post to my last entry. Last time I wrote that I was desperately seeking suggestions on what I could do to get fit without the aid of my "precious" gym membership which I begrudgingly parted with when we moved to Arizona. Well, since then, I have rethought that cry for help because it turns out that I got what I asked for and then some as my aching body is now the one making the cry for help.

I have begun walking/jogging nearly five days per week with a superb partner(who will remain unnamed, though I must say he has been a truly wonderful support for the past 10 years ;) ). Then, this past week, I spoke with one of my neighbors who was just getting done working out with another woman from our neighborhood/ward and invited me to join them to work out three days per week. I am very thankful to these amazing women for allowing me to join them and am even more thankful that they don't outwardly laugh at me while I make a fool of myself doing certain exercises. Well, I must go and play Little People with Jake because I was just informed that if I did it "right now" then I could get a hug-and-kiss from him. Soooo.....bye!

Desperately Seeking Suggestions

Ok. So, now that I am finally done nursing I am ready to get back in shape, since I have one of those body types that actually holds on to all fat while nursing.

Well, I've gotta be honest, the desire is there but I'm going to need some help from those of you(if anyone) that reads my blog. Those of you that have known me for a while are probably aware that I'm not exactly in my peak physical shape like I was before Noah. Before our move to Arizona I was pretty good about going to the gym three days a week and getting some light exercise in on other days(I would typically run on average 25 miles and do my kickboxing/tae bo class three days per week) . I LOVED having a gym membership that enabled me to physically and mentally remove myself from my at-home distractions and I found it pretty easy to get some exercise in on other days since we were biking, walking, or running distance to numerous city ammenities(library, zoo, park, farmer's market, Riverwalk, etc....), and having those things so close to home made it so much easier to get out of the house on a consistent basis. Maybe it's just because I'm still not totally used to being in Arizona, maybe it's my attitude, or both, but I just can't find anything appealing around here to make me want to just get out of the house, at least not that isn't a 10-15 minute drive first, not to mention that I have a phobia of snakes. I don't want to feel as though I have to drive somewhere first before I can enjoy the outdoors. I'm pretty comfortable biking to get to where I want to go but there are a lot of busy, fast-moving roads near our home that make me very uneasy. Also, I have initiated a Couch-to-5k plan and mapped my routes, though they are just between our boring old subdivision and the boring old subdivision across the street, but it's just not motivating me. I was always so good about staying self-motivated and self-disciplined before, now I'm more like self-sabotaging. Ho-hum.

I need any advice I can get to get myself motivated around here and I need suggestions on what I can do and where I can go. I would love to have a gym membership again but it's not exactly in the budget right now. So, with that being said; HELP!!!!

Time flies

Not only do we now have a Jake that's 4-years-old(this past Monday) but, as of today, Jason and I have been married for 9 years!

Our Jake is getting so big! He had fun on his big day by getting hourly gifts and taking a trip over to Chuck e. Cheese to play some games then finished up the day back at home having dinner with us and his Grandpa Osborn, Uncle Donny, and Aunts Carrie and Jessica. As usual, he got spoiled. He received numerous new dinosaurs(as if he really needed more!), a VeggieTales dvd, his big Sister's old GameBoy Advance, a Leapster game, Madagascar Sorry, and much more. We sure love that little guy and are glad that we were able to have so much fun for his special day.

Well, it's been a full nine years! Over this time we have : had three kids, moved three times, gained and lost friends and family, started and ended jobs, gained a college degree for Jason, learned many new skills and arts, just essentially grown up together. We are a work-in-progress and will always continue to be. We are ever growing, changing, and learning and are looking forward to being a forever family. I just want Jason to know that I love him very much and hope that he knows that he is my best friend and am so grateful for him.

It's been nearly 16 months since our Noah was born and he's changed so much during that time but seems to have been growing and changing at light speed over the past month. Not only is he eating regular meals and sleeping through the night(thank goodness!), but he is now done nursing and has left his poor old mom in the dust. I had been trying to wean him for several months and was beginning to think that he was never going to be done, but today is THE day. I visualized and practically dreamed of this day for a few months but it's not exactly as it seemed in my mind. I feel a sadness as I think of and realize that my baby doesn't depend on me in the same way anymore. Don't worry though, I am still VERY happy. I feel as though my body is just that; MINE! I can now eat as much broccoli and hot sauce as I want without having to worry about upsetting his tiny tummy, though I do still keep my tummy in mind. Jason and I could actually go away for a night or ten and not have to worry(yippee!). I love that little guy so much and am so happy(maybe a touch sad) about his new independence.

Three's a Crowd

Well, it was something that I had a vague recollection of, and something that I had heard many others seeming to boast about for the past 15 months; but I am now an unofficial member of the "my child sleeps through the night club"! Not only that but, Jason and I have moved Noah out of our bed!!! Early on in our parenting adventures beginning with Leah I had pretty much vowed that I would not have our child/children sleeping in our bed, well, that worked fine and well until Noah came along. Noah has been my longest nurser and is the only one to refuse taking a bottle or pacifier, so that meant that I was his pacifier(yay!). Noah would only sleep for three hours at a time and when he woke we would be fortunate to get him back to sleep right away and usually the only way that I could get some sleep and get him back to sleep would be to bring him into our bed. Anyway, we hadn't really tried the Ferber method(cry it out) before because Noah and Jake were sharing a bedroom, but we decided that when Leah's school ended that we would have Jake sleep in with her so that we could give it a shot. Well, one month into it and he's finally sleeping until 6:30 to 7am and in HIS bed!!! What's better is that he hardly even cries now when we put him in bed! Now that we're all sleeping better I'm working on weaning him and it seems to be going well. He has suddenly taken an interest in eating actual meals and he eats quite well. I'm so thankful for a good night's sleep and thankful that I can move around and sprawl out in the bed without worrying that my movements will wake him. I'm especially thankful that he is finally sleeping well and I think that I've been able to tell a difference in his development over the past few weeks since he's finally getting the rest that he needs. We love our little family and even when faced with challenges we couldn't be more grateful for them.

Update: Two days later, Noah slept for a record 13 hours straight!!!! I guess he's making up for lost sleep, and I don't mind.

The Chicago trip

Chicago, here we come! Fortunately the stomach bug that "bit me" went away the night prior to our adventure. We woke up early Monday morning to make it to South Bend to catch the South Shore train heading into Chicago with my brother and his family. Our train ride was pretty uneventful, though I was very grateful by the time that we made it to Gary, IN that we had gotten on the train when we did so that we were actually able to sit down. Leah even made a friend on the train who was on her way back home to Texas. Hopefully the girls will be great pen pals.

Our plans for the day were to make it to the Field Museum and then to the Willis Tower, followed up by dinner then back to the train. We dodged the raindrops and made it to the Field Museum first. It was AMAZING!!!!!! I can't think of a better museum for my Jake. We saw: Sue(the most complete T-Rex and was named after it's discoverer), the Mammoths, the anamatronic Dinos(the highlight of Jake's day), and watched a 3-D movie about Sue. We left the museum and headed toward the Willis Tower(formerly Sears Tower, and will always be so for me). We got there and they told us that there would be zero visibility at viewing level but we figured that the clouds were starting to lift and we'd hopefully be able to see something soon. We weren't disappointed. The kids loved walking around up there and being in the clouds. We were still able to look down and see some of the city and traffic. The highlight were the Skydecks, which are glass boxes that protrude from the tower for people to stand in.

We left the Willis Tower and headed over to Giordano's Chicago-style Pizzeria for dinner. The service was good and the pizza was excellent, though I do not advise getting the famous Chicago-style pizza when you have 6 antsy children in tow since it has a 45-minute cook-time. After dinner it was time to head for the train. Unfortunately we didn't have room to sit on the train when we boarded. There were a couple of people that were nice enough to squeeze together so that our kids could sit down if they wanted to. The crowd thinned after we got into Indiana and we were all able to relax a bit. At last, we made it back to South Bend with our exhaustion being a true indicator of our fun-filled day. That day is one that will not soon be forgotten and we're so happy to have been able to share it with family. We're thankful for them and all that they did to make our day awesome.

The trip

I haven't made any updates on here in a little while. We've been busy, busy, busy! The kids and I were fortunate enough to be able to make a trip to Indiana to visit with my family(pics to follow later). It's been an adventure, to say the least. I was very apprehensive to travel solo with our three kids, and came to find that my anxiety was justified. Our oldest two did really pretty well during the 3-1/2 hour flight, but Noah is much more mobile and super-stubborn, to top it off. The majority of our luggage were all carry-ons and I had a stroller. In my mind it was an ideal plan: take stroller, use stroller to transport 1-year-old, and utilize the back part of the stroller to transport the carry-on bags. That was a great plan, though it failed miserably. The reality: took stroller, carried 1-year-old when he decided that he absolutely was not going to ride in the stroller, had to push the stroller while carrying said 1-year-old, pushed carry-on bags in stroller until we got to security or to the plane(where I had to break down the stroller, take off shoes[at security], hold baby, carry bags, load carry-ons to conveyor belt or onto plane). That was not a great way to start a long trip; pre-exhausted. We got to Indiana after what seemed like an eternity of travel. We were so very happy to see the excited and smiling faces of family members waiting for us in the terminal. We made it to church the next day and were able to visit with many of our old friends from the South Bend Ward. It seemed as though it was just in the knick of time before most of them leave Notre Dame to pursue new ventures.

Wednesday was my birthday and we celebrated with my Dad, brother, and his family for lunch and then followed up with a trip to the park with everyone where the kids all played for quite a while. Then I finished up the day with a nice dinner back at my Mom's. Thursday was Leah's birthday and that was such a fun-filled day! We started out the day with some amazing friends and Leah was treated with a beautiful birthday cake. We are so grateful for our loving friendship with them! We then rushed over to meet my Dad at a home of one of his friends. Their home was INCREDIBLE! They had a small lake, a swimming pool, hot tub, and numerous farm animals for the kids to play with and ride on. It was sooo much fun! We then finished up the day eating dinner with my mom and made it to McDonald's for McFlurries. Nearly every day has been fun-filled and I can't wait to update when our trip is all said and done. I haven't felt well over the past few days but I'll hopefully be bounced back to enjoy the rest of our time here.

Two little fish

Well, it's Arizona and we're looking at temps around 100 degrees this week, so we figured it was time to set up a pool for the kids. We set it up yesterday and they couldn't even wait until it was done being filled before they got in. They spent well over an hour in the pool yesterday and first thing this morning they both were pining to get back in the water. Aside from the 30 minute breakfast break, they have spent the entire morning in that pool; pruniness and all. I guess I'd better stock up on more sunscreen because I have a feeling that we'll be needing it.

We have a Second grader

This year has absolutely flown by! I can't believe that we have been in Arizona for almost a full year! We're hoping to renew our lease in our current home but we are waiting to hear if the homeowner wants to rent it out another year and, if so, whether or not the rent will go up(which we're pretty sure it will). Leah just finished up her last week of First grade. She is really hoping to be able to return to her same school next year and we would love to be near all of her new friends. There are four children from her class on our street with the farthest being nine houses down.

Leah gave me a nice gift today. She made me a coupon book and wrapped it nicely. There are coupons in it for one free: hug, hug and kiss, musash(massage), dinner made by Leah, babysitting, tucking in Jake, to do the dishes, letting Jacob sleep with me, enething(anything), reeding(reading) a book to Jacob. So sweet!

Leah's piano recital(Old MacDonald)

Leah's piano recital(Big Ben)

Final Week and updates

Well, we've approached it. The week that once seemed like it was so far off from now. The LAST week of school. Our Leah will officially be done with First grade! How did this happen? Where did the time go? I was giving a lesson to my Sunbeam class yesterday, and in preparation for doing so, I recalled giving the same exact lesson to Leah's Sunbeam class from 3 years ago and it seemed so fresh in my mind. It's hard to believe that she will be 7 in just a couple of weeks. Over these last nearly 7 years she has taught me so much about being a parent and has helped to inspire me to want to do better things and be a better person. Leah had her first piano recital this last Saturday. She played 'Big Ben' and 'Old MacDonald'. She did well and we're very proud of her.

Jacob and Noah are both so much fun. Jake's favorite thing to play with right now is his Little People set paired with his dinosaurs. He likes to pretend play that the Little People and the dinosaurs all co-habitat happily together. Also, it's no big surprise but when it comes to his learning, his favorite subject is obviously Science. He loves doing experiments and discovering how different variables will effect the outcome of things. Noah is starting to learn how to pray. He has folded his arms and bowed his head and will usually say "amen". He also loves to lead the music when he hears people singing.

I think that sickness is finally making its exit from our family. Over the last month things have been miserable around here. The kids have been sick with colds and coughs. I have had a cold, Laryngitis, Pink Eye, and most recently some weird throat issue, and Jason has had a pretty bad case of Strep throat with prolonged fevers. I'm so sick of sick!

There are only a couple more weeks until our Indiana trip! Time really is flying by. We can't wait!!!

what we've been up to 2.wmv

This video is a little dated(like 5 months ago) but I thought I'd add it.

Proud

I can't help but to be incredibly proud of our little family. Our children amaze me on a perpetual basis. Sometimes it seems that our kids may go to bed one night without a certain knowledge or ability and they wake up the next morning and all of a sudden they just have it. Leah constantly impresses us with her brightness and abilities. She is at the top of her class and is like a sponge ready to soak up new information all of the time. She is my dayplanner. No needs for a Palm Pilot when I have my Leah. Jake surprises me quite often. It seems as soon as I begin to be discouraged thinking that he hasn't absorbed anything that I've taught him he'll surprise me by suddenly comprehending things like a light bulb just came on in his little head. I've worked with him on his colors, numbers, and alphabet for what feels like ever now and finally over this past couple of weeks he just "gets it". He has recited his alphabet clearly and slowly, identified his numbers correctly, and is doing so well with his colors. Noah's new abilities seem to be acquired faster than I can keep up. He seems to understand so much that we say to him. We ask him questions and he'll answer us with a shake or nod of his head. He knows many words, but currently his favorite is baby. He loves babies and I'm not quite certain if he realizes that he actually is one of them or not. I'm also very proud of Jason. He tries to do well in his schoolwork and is now having to juggle school and work again plus try to give us some attention in that mix. The kids and I sure do miss having him around like we had for the past year but I sure do love seeing their excitement when their daddy walks through the door or calls us. I feel so blessed.

Change and sickness

Jason started a new job this past Monday so our evenings at home have been completely thrown off. It certainly is taking some adjusting going from having Jason around nearly all of the time for the past year to now having him gone every evening. I really have enjoyed having Jason around, even though I may have had the occasional grumble. It was truly a blessing on so many occasions that he was home. He was able to spend more time with the kids and I and was actually home for Noah's first year to see firsthand all of the milestones that our little guy made. I hope that this new change will bring about many opportunities and growth. We do have a transportation issue, however, but we'll make due for now. Jason needs the van to go to work, so I will be motor-less for at least 4 hours daily while he's gone and before his mom may get home. My biggest concern is the reliability of our van. Hopefully she'll hold out for us; she's been a good van.

Soooo, it seems that someone forgot to tell our family that cold season is OVER!!!! It is now May and we're all sick!!! This bout of illness has truly made me realize that we all have our own "personalities" when it come to being sick. When we get sick, Noah gets it in his eyes and nose, Jacob gets it in his lungs, Leah gets it in her nose and throat, and I get it in my throat and lungs which ultimately means that I lose my voice, and this happens pretty much every single time we get sick. We are family yet we are all very unique.

On the bandwagon

Soooo......after seemingly countless friends and family members have asked us, "Hey, do you guys have a blog?", and after much procrastination we have finally decided to give it a go. I will keep my expectations and hopes low for this whole blogging thing so I should expect any followers of our blog to do the same. My intentions are to make semi-frequent posts that will include a little bit of everything. I don't want to create a blog solely about our kids, though they will be a significant part of it.

This week we were fortunate enough to get a one night stay at the Red Roof Inn in West Phoenix for a PENNY and rather than waste it we figured that we would plan a fun outing for our little family. We had a fun night of food, swimming, and a movie, then we woke early the next morning and headed out to visit with my(Missy's) Great Aunt in Peoria. The kids were able to do more swimming at her house and then we finished up our trip at a family fun center which I had found an online certificate for at half price. It was tons of fun!