The park and a chick-fil-a cup

Took all 3 to Target today. The kids ate popcorn and dropped it all over the store as we shopped and I talked on the phone to Jenn Gilbert.

Afterwards, I took the kids to the park.  Lizzie had to pee, so she peed in a chick-fil-a cup.  When she was all finished and I began to unload the car so they could play, I realized I had chicken and milk in the car.  So we couldn't stay at the park and had to go home anyways!

The kids were NOT happy with me.

Ahh, Blessed June 2nd!

The big day has come and gone...and I'm so thankful it's over!

Owen turned one yesterday. My baby. My last one.

The night before his birthday I stayed up much later than normal just to delay the inevitable sunrise which would mark his first birthday. I just wasn't ready to face the truth - that ugly truth that happens each day, mostly unnoticed. The truth that time moves swiftly and unmercifully, whether you are in agony over each second that passes in the grip of grief and sadness, or having the time of your life celebrating the joys of this life. For each of us, the minutes and hours are all measured the same, completely unaffected by our desire to control them.

And so, that brings us back to the marking of time in the life of one little boy.

When the sun did come up on the morning of the 1st, I actually had an easier time than I'd expected. I had a list of things to accomplish in preparation for his birthday party this weekend. The back of my car was filled with bags full of clothes and baby goods to donate to the crisis pregnancy center, and my heart was happy to give them to the little ones whose mommy & daddy were scared and unprepared to care for them. I thought it would be difficult to let go of these things, well, let's be honest, these memories, but that was the serendipitous discovery - I wasn't letting go of those memories!! I was releasing myself from the burden of storing it all and hanging on to moments that had already passed, seconds and minutes that were meant to pass so that I might enjoy the moments being made all around me.

And so after we left the pregnancy center, I decided to bask in the moments in front of me (or behind me, actually, in the backseat) and head for the park. A friend of mine and two of her sons came to the park and even brought us Happy Meals. The kids chased an aggressive squirrel, throwing nuggets at it and feeding it french fries. We watched the scores of high school students at the pool and playing volleyball, and I was thankful for my little ones. Who are still little. Even if they are turning one.

Today is June 2nd. Today I can just breathe. Today is the beginning of year #2. And God-willing, I can enjoy each day until May 31st.

I'll be up late that night.

Coupons are a lot of Work!

I'm trying so hard to save money on our groceries. Like, REALLY hard.

The problem is that my kids love fruit. And because I feed them mostly organic, this adds up to some serious grocery bills!

Thankfully, we are getting some organic vegetables for free from Mark's amazing garden. But the kids don't eat most of this free bounty, so that doesn't help my bottom line that much. (Well, it helps my bottom line, but that is not really where I was going with this...)

I started getting coupons from my parents that they weren't using, and I got us our own subscription to the newspaper. So my collection of RedPlums and SourceSavers is well underway.

But the way to save money with coupons is to actually cut them out. To be even more excellent in the pursuit of savings would be to use these cut out coupons at a store where the item is on sale!! (Can you imagine??)

This is all well and good, and sounds so simple and easy. But let me illustrate how time consuming this becomes by outlining the steps in a numbered list.

1. Gather coupons from newspaper and collect each week's sales papers.

2. Go through old coupons to trash ones that have expired.

3. Throw away last week's sales papers.

4. Spread out coupon stash, new coupon inserts, and current sales papers all over the table.

5. Look through sales fliers for items on sale. I shop at Randalls, Target, HEB, and CVS.

6. Look through coupon box for existing coupons, or the new coupon inserts to see if you have one for the 'deal of the week' item. You can also look online for coupons and print them out.

7. Make a list for each store, and put the coupons you need in a separate pile.

8. At Target, you can use 'Target' coupons and manufacturer coupons, so that is one more mind-blowing step. Because now you have to see if you have the Target & Manufacturer coupons for an item, and if that makes it cheaper than a sale price + coupon somewhere else.

I feel like it's a good time to mention that yesterday, while I was doing these exact activities, Charlie dumped out his water glass and soaked three of my coupon inserts in the process. He got a stern talking to and the inserts got dabbed with paper towels and spread out all over the kitchen counter to dry.

I have done these activities and had tremendous success. Like 4 times.

Now, I have this huge collection of coupons and an irrational disinterest in purchasing groceries because I feel like I need to complete my research and couponing before I go anywhere.

Which is actually saving us loads of money.

Owen Walking!

I forgot to mention that owen started walking a few days ago. He's been 'stepping' for awhile, but now he's actually walking places. And climbing onto things. And dumping out the dog's water. And smashing his fingers in every cabinet. And turbo crawling into the garage everytime I'm bringing in groceries. And...oh, sorry, I'm getting carried away here.

Princess Triple Threat

Princess Tea this morning, Princesses on Ice tonight, and a real Princess wedding on TV - whoa, I'm having princess overload today!!!

High Tea at the Four Seasons to celebrate the royal wedding

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Our friends, Stephanie and Sadie Lacour

Ready for Disney Princesses on Ice

Lizzie's First Communion

Lizzie took communion for the first time tonight! Mark and I are so thankful our savior died for us, and our baby girl. I cannot praise Him enough!!

Maybe living in Red "Oaks" was a bad decision...

Ahhhh, springtime.

Everything outside is green and budding with new life. The grass is growing, the flowers are blooming - even the weeds are gorgeous and fall under the 'wildflower' category this time of year. But all this beauty and growth comes with a price.

A Zyrtec-Flonase-Benadryl cocktail type of price.

There is oak pollen EVERYWHERE. All over the cars. All over the chairs on the porch. All over the swingset. All over your shoes when you come inside.

Even the dogs have green legs.

And people, we are dying over here! Charlie has a breathing machine for crying out loud!

Today, Mark took the pressure washer and sprayed down everything he could get to outside. He blasted the treetops to make fake rain that would wash away all the pollen. He sprayed the cars to erase the green sheen covering them. He mowed the yard so the dogs could go outside without dragging their body through the pollen.

Only time will tell if this experiment will help with our troubles. All I can do is vacuum, dust, and repeat. We did get new air filters and no one is allowed to play outside anymore. Which is a shame, because it's so lovely outside with the warm weather and the breeze.

But I will no longer be fooled. I will not be lured outside by that seductress known as Mother Nature. No, I will keep my kleenex (with lotion) close by and protect my sinuses from her onslaught. And perhaps sometime in May, I will emerge victorious.