No-Money November

Kenyon's birthday is later this month, and this year, he had a special request that, after some discussion, became No-Money November. The concept is simple: for the month of November, beyond paying the usual bills, we spend no money. Or, next to none, anyway. We set a budget of $120 for the month for gas and groceries.

It's been fun! (Yes, really.) I've spent about $27 on groceries so far, mostly eggs, milk, and fresh produce. For the rest, we've been using our food storage and stocked food. Before the month started, we made sure the car was full of gas, and Kenyon stocked up on cold cereal, but for the most part we're just living off of what we had on hand. And, honestly, I haven't noticed a difference in the quality of food we're eating. We have fewer PBJs and cheese sandwiches for lunch (because I'm making homemade bread, which a) doesn't last as long and b) I'm not too reliable about baking), and the first week I underestimated how much fresh fruit we'd eat. I discovered the kids don't eat the canned fruits and veggies as well as they do fresh, but the dinners have been about the same. Not sure what that says about my cooking....

It's been an interesting test on a number of levels. First, we're getting to know our food storage a lot better - it's pretty good in most respects. We'll be fine for this month, but we're starting to see where we'd fall short if we were living off of it for 3 months or more. I'm discovering what a good idea a second freezer would be, as that's been the source of most of the vegetables and some of the fruits and meats, plus it'd let me make double portions and freeze extras for later in the month.

I've had to face how haphazardly I usually grocery shop - I mean, I do pretty well, but I usually give myself no limits in the produce section and I'm a bit random on the amounts I buy. (For example, I think we've got a year's supply of tomato soup but only a month's worth left of canned tomatoes.) We recently splurged on a fancy-schmancy canned food rotation system, and I'm excited to see if that helps me buy better quantities. Also, I'd gotten out of the habit of meal planning before I shop (I know!) and this has helped get me back in the habit.

It's also been interesting to see when we've been tempted to spend money - a couple hot deals on not-really-necessary electronics, eating out, one afternoon when I was going crazy with the kids and would have taken them to the Play Factory downtown.

On a related note, we've also reanalyzed our finances. We both read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and got inspired. Kenyon came up with these amazing spreadsheets that download, categorize, and track all expenses. They even retroactively track, sum, and average our spending in each category over the last year. More to the point, we've set savings goals and have organized things in such a way that it's easy even for me to see what our income is, what our set expenses are, and how much is left over for everything else. Pretty cool.

I'm probably sounding pretty smug here, so check back later for when I eat crow after everything falls apart the last two weeks of the month! Woo!

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf

My parents came out for another visit the last week of October, which was absolutely awesome for several reasons. One, the kids got to see them again after only a couple months, which they loved. Two, we completely gutted and redid our laundry room/office while they were here, which we could never have done without their help. They worked HARD almost the entire time they were here. Thanks, Mom and Dad! The floor looks great. I'll post pictures of the finished product after Kenyon finishes installing the utility sink.

Finally, the timing of their visit was great because for the first time my kids got to see them on Halloween!

Mom brought these adorable little Halloween t-shirts that the kids got a major kick out of plus her pumpkin carving kits, and my dad brought a box of glowsticks, which we put in the kids' trick-or-treat bags for safety light and in the jack-o-lanterns - which we carved on Halloween day itself. (Our late carving actually worked out rather well - it made the otherwise quiet morning seem more holiday-like, and they were still fresh and looked good that night. )

In this picture, they're at a friend's awesome Halloween/birthday party the night before Halloween.


We borrowed some of Heidi's old costumes, and, in preparation, I'd been telling the kids the Little Red Riding Hood story at night for several weeks. I think I already mentioned how Clara asked me to amend the story so that LRRH listened to her mom, didn't talk to the wolf or leave the path, and made it safely to her grandmother's house. Willie was quite taken with the big bad wolf, especially after I told him about The Three Little Pigs. He'd get a little snarl in his voice, curl his lip, and growl right along with me, "Then I'll HUFF and I'll PUFF and I'll blow your house down!" In his costume, he'd snarl menacingly at the people we visited, "The better to EAT YOU WITH!"

A few days before Halloween, they had their little Halloween Party at preschool. For some reason, William refused to wear his wolf costume, but fortunately, Heidi had sent a backup that Will was quite happy with. I have to admit, I think Clara made a very sweet Little Red, and Willie was pretty funny as either the Big Bad Wolf or Cookie Monster. (He has occasionally adopted the Cookie Monster perona while eating a cookie, with disastrouly messy - but amusing - results.














Mom got to go trick or treating with me and the kids, and it sure was great having her company. Kenyon stayed home and played Wii (he was a bit of a Halloween Grinch this year) while Dad answered the door for the trick-or-treaters. We had such a good time, and the kids loved having Grammy and Papa there and were totally spoiled for the week.

A Sweet Heart

I love my kids. I do, so much. Some days, that's a little bit harder to feel, but sometimes it almost takes my breath away.

They're amazing little kids (yeah, I'm biased - so?) and I'm doing my best with 'em. It's tough for me, not having structure automatically provided, but I'm working on creating more structure and consistency. But, honestly, the things I enjoy the most are the things I really can't take credit for, either because they've learned it elsewhere, or because it comes from within.

I made an effort to get down and play one-on-one with Clara the other day. It's so sad that it was an effort, but she's so happy and self-sufficient playing with herself that it's hard to not take advantage of that time to do other things. We had a good time playing pretend with some little wooden animals, and I realized that I need to spend more time with her. I told her that we were going to start having playdates together every day, and she immediately latched on to the idea. So, every day, we have lunch, play for a bit, then the kids go down for a nap (Clara plays in her room). At 2 or so, she and I spend some time together. The first day, I'd mentioned making a Halloweeen paper chain (girl LOVES decorating), and the second I said playdate she ran for the supplies, even though I'd forgotten we'd talked about it. We must have spent an hour and a half finding everything, cutting paper strips (she got a little frustrated about hers being "bumpy" and wanted me to do them, but I did get her to help), and taping them into a pattern, or, as Clara's been saying, a "patteren." The next day, we did a little science experiment with floating paper strips that Willie joined in on, and today we did some play pretending in her room while I cleaned up in there. I'm having a great time, it's helped me with structuring the day, and I can already see a difference in her behavior (or maybe it's mine). I hope I can keep it up.

William, the last few days, has been cleaning his room at the drop of a hat. He described "clean up time" at preschool as his favorite thing. We've worked with him in his room a few times lately, showing him where things go and such, and it's gotten to the point that if he runs to tell us his room is clean, it actually is. Amazing. Yesterday, after we'd done the paper strips project, he remembered a project where we'd made zebras and wanted to do that again. I told him it was too messy and too late to start another project, so he jetted off to clean up. He even, on his own, found a few little stacks of his clothes I'd folded but hadn't moved from the living room, asked me about them, and put them away - in the right places no less!

Now, 500 words later, I come to the real reason I'm writing tonight. I did our bedtime routine (too many stories, but I can't resist), put Willie down, and came to tuck Clara in bed. When I got there, she gestured dramatically at the toys on her bed and said, "OH, NO!" I reminded her about the little cart we just put in the closet and how we'd talked about putting her animals and dolls on it, and she jumped right in, putting the Mr. Potato head toys away first without being asked, and then organizing the animals by size ("the big ones go on top," she explained, "No little ones go on top."). I picked up the random toys on her floor as we worked and talked.

She said, "Puppy Sammo and Puppy Sammy are best friends." I asked her who her best friend was: "William, and Betsy (a girl she said goodbye to after preschool today), and some other kids at preschool I don't know right now." Then, as I tucked her in, she gave me a sweet smile and said, "And you, Mama. You're my friend." My heart just melted. As I left, I told her, "Good job on cleaning up, Clara! Your room looks great."

My little sweethearts response? "Thanks, Mama. You did a good job, too." What a love.

Dreaming in Disney and a Script

Aroun 7:30 this morning, Clara tumbled out of bed and stumbled into the living room (where I'd been playing Mario Kart since about 5:45. What? I couldn't sleep!). I pulled her up on the chair with me and asked the little sleepyhead how she'd slept. I expected "Fine." The answer to any question with my kids is always "fine," and you have to judge by their tone of voice what they actually mean.

She answered with a laugh in her voice, "I didn't sleep very well because I had too many dreams!" She said she dreamed about fairies and princesses and princes. The princess wore a pink dress and was locked in a tower, the prince rescued her, and the fairy helped, because the princess had short hair. I can't believe she dreams in Disney! It's been a few months since she's seen the Rapunzel episode of Sesame Street, and we haven't talked about that fairy tale in a while (it's been the Princess and the Pea and, most recently, Little Red Riding Hood). I wonder what brought it on? She seemed happy, so I guess it was a good dream, and that's what counts.

I also need to get this down before I forget. Willie's first day of preschool, he was a little upset to see me go. I expected it; he's never done well when I leave or even drop him off at Nursery, even though he never has a problem if Kenyon takes him. After a few minutes of playing with Clara, though, the teachers said he calmed down. A few days later when we went back for the second day, Willie was excited but, once we were in the car, started acting nervous. He talked about how he'd cried the last time, and was acting more worried. In a burst of literal inspiration, I told him, "Yeah, you did cry last time, and that's ok, but this time, you're not going to cry. I'm going to walk you to the door, then you're going to give me a big hug and a big kiss, and you're going to say, 'Goodbye, Mama!' Then you'll go inside and play...." And I talked for a minute about the different toys they'd have and the people he'd see.

He was quiet, then, shortly before we got there, I heard him say, "I'm going to give you a big hug," and he gave himself a hug; "I'm going to give you a big kiss," and he blew a kiss; "Then I'm going to say Goodbye Mama," and he waved and said, "Goodbye Mama!" He was rehearsing his script!

When we got to the door, he wasn't at all nervous. Clara took off like a bolt into the classroom, and William very nearly followed her, but he stopped himself, went hurriedly through his new routine, and raced inside. He does it every day of preschool, and we haven't had a problem since. Clever little boy.

Preschool Rocks

The kids started preschool about three weeks ago - and yes, that includes the two-year old William. The paperwork I saw last year said kids had to be 2 3/4 and potty trained. Somehow, despite the fact that Clara well past 3 before we had ANY potty success, and despite my ever present (and charming!) pessimism, I decided to sign Willie up. He was just shy of 2 3/4 when school started, but in the weeks leading up to it, I got more and more nervous because he had yet to actually successfully use the toilet even once. It's only an hour and a half the first semester, and the the teacher said some parents start their kids in pull-ups, so I figured we'd just go with it and it's worked (Willie's almost totally potty trained! For now!). And it has been FANTASTIC.

William and Clara LOVE preschool. They get tons of playtime with lots of cool toys, art projects, new songs, all the one-on-one attention they could hope for, since it's chock full of high school students, tons of kids, a playground, even public speaking experience in the form of sharing: they bring something from home to show off, then walk around in a circle with it while the rest of the class says "Ooooh!" I've only seen it once - they usually race around the circle at the speed of light. It's pretty hysterical.

William fits right in, according to the teacher. I knew he would academically - he's still learning how to hold a pencil and crayon, and his drawings aren't much more than scribbled lines and circles, but he's been able to recognize all of the letters and numbers up to 20 for almost a year now. He's also so verbal that he communicates with adults and other kids pretty darn well for a 2-year-old. Mrs. Cochran, the teacher, did say that the highschool students think it's pretty funny how, when he's talking out of turn and they tell him to shush, he just switches to a whisper and keeps going! That's probably my fault, because in sacrament meeting I consider a whisper a success and let it go for the selfish sake of actually listening to a talk now and then.

I give the credit to Will's abilities largely to Clara. She is a WONDERFUL big sister, so grateful to have a playmate, and she talks and plays so well with him. He learns so much from her.

Preschool is also awesome for a few other reasons. Number one, I'm not carpooling this year, which means I take one more trip but actually spend less time traveling each day. And number two? I get a full hour to myself! I mean, really! How awesome is that?? So far, I've done various shopping trips, painting the trim in our house, and cleaning, but my absolute favorite thing has been a nice 45 minute walk (while watching a show) and a quick shower before I pick them up. SO GREAT.

Our camera is out of whack (the flash doesn't work) but Betsy took a picture on her camera for me. I'll post it as soon as Blogger lets me...added!

"Look, I'll show you!"

When Mom and Dad visited in August, we took them blueberry picking. Corvallis has some great blueberry farms, and it was one of our favorite summer activities. While we were out with my folks, Will wandered over to where my dad was picking. Dad asked him how many blueberries were in his bucket. Will seemed a little puzzled as he answered, "None." Dad chuckled a bit and went back to work.

Will had been picking busily when, several minutes later, my dad asked him, "How many blueberries are in your bucket now?"

Will perkily responded, "Look, I'll show you!" He tipped his bucket toward my dad and said, proudly:

"None!"

That cracked my dad up. What a little gooser Will is. He ate as many as he picked, and usually ended up begging handfuls of blueberries from me. The kid could easily down a pound or two of blueberries in a day. (And, in case you're wondering, yes, than did make for some interesting diapers!)

Oh, speaking of diapers, Willie's out of them! Not totally quite yet, as it's tricky getting him to go in the afternoons, but he's reliably clean and dry all morning long! Woo hoo! Thanks, Betsy, for the tips and for working with him a bit when you guys came down to visit last weekend!

Things I did Today

1. Scrubbed my ceramic stove top.
2. Fished 7 wooden puzzle pieces and 1 car (yellow Diablo) from between the bricks under the fireplace hearth using an 18-inch screwdriver and a wooden yardstick.
3. Scraped/washed overlapped wall texture left on the wood paneling in the living room.
4. Played "school" with my kids for an hour or so, including making lion puppets, going on an impromptu treasure hunt for sounds, dancing, bingo, and ten minutes of tag. Clara spelled the word "Lion;" Willie begged for more school and was mad when I had to start cleaning up to make dinner.
5. Had the kids' help as I tackled laundry catch-up. Clara put clothes on hangers while I folded linens and Willie climbed in and out of the basket with a couple trucks.
6. Made veggie fajitas with fresh banana peppers and jalapenos - yum. Cumin and lime juice are the key, I think, but the sea salt sprinkled on at the end really made it.
7. Hit the treadmill for 45 minutes; watched an episode of Castle on Hulu.
8. Found a bribe that worked on Kenyon.

Best at-home-alone day I've had in a long time. Off to balance and budget!

(The flash isn't working on our camera, so I'm guessing new pictures will be scarce for a while. I'm sure there's no correlation with that and the amount of time Clara's spent randomly pushing buttons on it, including erasing all but three of the dozens of videos and pictures I took at her ballet/tap performance.)