Head Injury

So, I've been swamped lately. I mean REALLY swamped. I've had the most difficult time keeping up on everything, and feel like I'll forever be behind. I'm a pretty independent person, so I think it surprised Darrin just a bit when I actually begged him for help one day. THAT'S how overwhelmed I feel. It's been a couple weeks back now, and I pleaded with him to get off of work as early as he could that Wednesday. Wednesday is the day I put all the week's signs together, and it's always a full day. I hoped that by having him home a bit early to go through the evening with the kids, I might be able to get enough done so I could be in bed by midnight. He assured me that he could be home in the early afternoon...no need to stress. I was SO relieved by the thought.

When I got home from errand running at about 5, I was surprised that he still wasn't home. The phone rang shortly after that, and it was his friend, John. The first words out of his mouth: "Darrin's okay, but...." Now, that's the second time in the last few years I've gotten a phone call that started that way. The first time was when Darrin sliced his hand and ended up in the ER. THAT injury required surgery. So John tells me that Darrin "bumped" his head a little bit, but it was being taken care of. I immediately panic, get Papa over here to sit with the kids, and rush off to Dr. Harper's office. I get there just as he's finished up. Here's the story:

Apparently, he stepped on something as he was stepping off the curb, and his feet went out from underneath him before he could even blink. He fell back, and hit the back of his head on the curb. Fortunately, all of this took place in the parking lot of Dr. Harper's new building, so John helped him across the lot, and right into the procedure room. 16 staples and a pressure wrap later, we're on our way home. I immediately signed off on the work that had to be done that week, and had to notify clients that their signs wouldn't ship until Monday instead. Sigh....it's quite a nasty wound, and it makes me crazy to think how much worst it could have been. Things like that tend to put life into a bit better perspective....

A day in the life...

Today has been a WILD one! It's the day I ship signs out, and I am a little bit behind this week. I have spent all morning packing up signs, and basically leaving the kids to their own devices.

Here's what we've dealt with this morning (so far):

Spilled cereal on the living room carpet (dry, thank goodness)
A burp cloth sucked up the vacuum
Cereal down the heating vent
Spilled pink milk in the entryway
Matthew fell and bonked his head
Nathan got a bug bite of some sort just under his eye

I'm going a little bit crazy, and hate that I'm so busy and have to get this stuff done, rather than sitting down and giving the kids the attention they need. Matthew and Naters are both down for naps now, and I'm listening to Matthew sing and talk himself to sleep. Just now, I sneezed a couple of times, and he heard me from his room next door. So, in his adorable voice, pacifier still in his mouth, I hear "Bless you, Mommy" from behind his closed door. I immediately start to laugh, and feel some of that stress melt away. I call back, "Thank you, Matthew." And of course, ever the polite little guy...back comes, "You're welcome, Mommy." He just reminded me why I do this "Mom" thing....the little moments. Thanks little man!

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Happy, happy Birthday our sweet little Matthew! It's CRAZY how fast the last two years have gone. We had a fun little party with the usuals....Nana and Papa, Trev and Missi and the kids, Brad and Katie and the kids, and John and Stacy and the girls. You weren't nearly as interested in your cake this year, but definitely had the present thing down!! We love you so much....bring on the terrible two's! : )

A bit of bragging...sorry!

This post is dedicated to our sweet Emma. School is out now (yay!) but several weeks before school ended, she brought home some information on the 2nd grade spelling bee, along with a list of over 200 words to study. Well, the spelling bee brought back so many fun memories from when I was little, so we set about studying! We went through the list once, and then just focused on the ones that were a little challenging for her. She really seemed to get into it, and was ready (but a little nervous) when the day of the Bee came around.

The first day, they just did some practice Bees in their classroom. She was so exited to come home and tell us that she won both of them! The next day was the real deal in her class. Again, she won both times, for a total of four wins in her classroom. The top four students in each class would compete the next couple of days against the rest of the top second graders. She came home the first day still in the running, and she was feeling good. Well, the final day, I'm not sure who was more nervous....me or her! I showed up at the school to watch her talent show, knowing that the Bee had been decided already. My sneaky little girl tried to tell me that she wasn't going to tell me how it went until she got home from school......THAT definitely didn't fly! Well, she goes over to her backpack, and pulls out the FIRST PLACE medal!! I was blown away!! Not that I doubted her for a second, but there are lots of smart second graders! Words can't even express how thrilled we are for Emma.....she learned an amazing lesson about how hard work pays off!

Just a bit more bragging, and then I'll stop. Along with her final report card came a report on her reading tests from the end of the year. Em has always been an amazing reader, and we're used to her testing above her grade level. But we weren't quite prepared for THIS report! Lil Miss Thing is reading at over a 7th grade level!!! That's in the 98-99th percentile for second graders NATIONALLY! Such an incredible little girl.....all academics aside!! We love you sweet girl!

Father-Son

Once again...I'm way behind on blogging. Sigh....but, the good news, is that I've started a blog for each of the kids, and have been pretty good about keeping up on those. I've given up on ever getting into scrapbooking again, so blogging is the answer! I write each blog directly to the kiddos, and include things that are unique to them. It's been fun!

But, it's also fun to share with everyone, so here are a few pics from the Father-Son a few weeks back. The last time Darrin tried taking Nathan, he wasn't even two years old, and it didn't go so well! He is such a little creature of habit, and couldn't handle sleeping somewhere other than his own bed. After listening to him cry until about 10:30pm...he had enough and drove home!
Fortunately, this year went incredibly well! Nathan really liked the campfire, and sat with Daddy and just watched the flames. Then, Brother Hammar broke out his guitar, and something in him clicked! Darrin said that he was so fascinated by the guitar...he went right up to it as Brother Hammar was playing, and just followed his finger's movements with his eyes. Since then, he's been stealing Emma's mini-guitar as often as she'll let him, and will just sit down and play. He makes up his own songs, or sings one of the many Primary songs that he knows by heart. We love it!! Such a fun little guy!

More shopping pictures!

I promise I won't post shopping pictures every week.....okay, I'll TRY not to post shopping pictures every week. I just love what I can get for my money since I started coupon shopping, and it's hard not to share. I'll spare everyone the elaborate details, but here is what I got today:

5 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste
2 Aveeno Baby Wash
2 Aveeno Lotion
2 Children's Tylenol
2 Tylenol PM
2 Pond's Moisturizer
4 DayQuil Sinus

4 packages Yoplait smoothies
5 loaves of Harper's Homemade bread
2 Smucker's Uncrustables
2 Corn Chex cereal
1 gallon of milk
4 packages hot dogs
4 Yoplait yogurt 4-packs
2 8th Continent soy milk half gallons
2 boxes Keebler fruit snacks
4 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
4 French's Mustard
1 box Keebler's Wheatables
1 bunch bananas
2 boxes Ore-Ida Bagel Bites
2 Dreyer's Ice Cream
5 bags Ore-Ida Fries
9 boxes Aunt Jemima Waffles (10 ct.)
2 boxes Red Baron Singles Pizza

Total Retail Value: $249.08

My total out-of-pocket cost after coupons and promotions: $113.52

Pretty good, but not GREAT you may be thinking. Well, when you consider that between Walgreen's and Albertsons (two of the stores I hit) I also received $41 in catalinas....it sweetens the deal! For those of you who don't know, a "catalina" is a coupon that prints after you pay for your shopping order, and it's good toward your next purchase of anything at the store! So basically, if you factor in the catalinas I received, it's as if I will be paying about $72 for $250 worth of groceries! I feel great about my shopping day, and am excited to have stocked up the freezer a bit!

Addictions aren't always bad.....right?

Yep...I admit it. I have a new addiction...COUPON SHOPPING! Yes, I have become one of those women who shops with a large binder full of coupons. It's as if I figured juggling a 3-year old and an (almost) 2-year old while grocery shopping wasn't quite challenging enough. A good friend swore by coupon shopping (thanks for all your help Kerstin!), and like many, I just wasn't interested at first. It just seemed so overwhelming and time-consuming, and I just couldn't see how clipping a couple of coupons good for 50 cents off was really going to save me any money. I can now shamelessly say how wrong I was, and I can't imagine shopping any other way! I got really grumpy the other day that I had to pay $3.99 for a package of string cheese....why didn't I have a coupon for that! Grrr...

I have been coupon shopping for just over a month, and really have to restrain myself from artfully arranging my purchases every week, and taking pictures. I can't believe how much I can get for how little! Here are a couple of examples. The two pictures below represent two separate shopping trips in the last few weeks. For ALL of the items in each grouping, I spent less than $50. That's over $200 worth of items in each photo. Not bad for a rookie!



In the last month, I have gone from basically NO food storage (unless man can survive on oats and rice alone!) to having a closet overflowing with extra items, that we will be using over the next several months. I have accumulated a year's supply of many items such as laundry soap, dish soap, ketchup, toothpaste, body wash, razors, and Children's Tylenol. For my entire year+ supply of laundry soap, my out of pocket cost is about $10. I LOVE IT!

I have become a total coupon dork, and have no problem admitting that sometimes I open this closet just to admire. I will also admit (since we're all friends here) that it's difficult for me to take naps on Sunday anymore. That's the day all the coupons come in the paper, and I look forward to it all week! Wow....if that didn't just make me sound like a middle-aged Mormon mommy, I don't know what will. Sigh.....