'Tis the Season

The boys and I have been singing Primary Christmas songs together for weeks learning the words and tunes. A few days ago the boys requested the Little People Nativity come out.

But this morning we listened to Little Drummer Boy by Josh Groban. Shhh, don't tell Taylor.

Amazing Grace

Check out my sister in law's newly released cd.

You could really help her out by posting her widget to your side bar for a couple days! You can just click "SHARE" on my widget or find it on her home page with really easy copy instructions for adding it to your sidebar. Thanks!

The Challenge:

Learn to crawl by the end of this week. October 16 by the latest. Any form of movement will be accepted as meeting the challenge, even purposeful backward motion. Both the boys crawled 2 months earlier than this and I'm just saying Hannah would probably have a lot more fun if she could get around...and we're all about fun here!



(also, in all fairness I should mention that I have two fridges and a full extra freezer. this goes a long way in facilitating the two times a month shopping. we go through about 5-6 milks, 4-5 yogurt packs, 2-3 dozen eggs every two weeks. plus over a month of frozen baby food, almost 50 lbs of venison, homemade bread (2-6 loaves in the freezer), etc. without two fridges and the extra freezer this would not work. due to renting we have the extra fridge, neighbors gave us the freezer.)

All this for $96.23

Okay so I didn't take a picture of my groceries, but boy did I get a lot of stuff and it only cost me $96.23. Best part being it will feed my family happily and healthily for 2 whole weeks! Because I loathe visiting the grocery store. Every since becoming pregnant with Hannah grocery shopping was no longer a great thing to fill my time, it became a burden and a stressful event. Only to get worse and worse. I actually haven't taken my children grocery shopping for almost a year now and it's heaven. Also I decided I really dislike grocery shopping.

While we were in college I loved going to the store each week because James and I then had something to do for an hour and also I could spend $40 without feeling bad at all.

But now it is just a chore I do not enjoy. So we backed off to 2 trips a month and it has been wonderful! I can almost always find milk that will last to my two week mark, but occasionally we do have to make a random stop for a gallon of milk and some bananas. You can find lots of produce that last two weeks...the first week after grocery shopping we're eating grapes, bananas, asparagus, etc. The second week squashes, apples, carrots. Love shopping twice a month.

And a little secret that may cause me to be branded with blasphemy, but I hate couponing. Hate it. I can rarely find coupons for anything we eat other than cereal (and recently yogurt), plus I like to shop in 45 minutes or less which really makes coupons hard when you only have 1.5 hours a month. But really it's because I spend approximately 35% of our grocery bill on produce and 30% on dairy. Both of which don't seem to have a lot of coupons. (if you have ever see a produce coupon please send it on to me, I might make an exception just once.) We rarely use condiments, I do not use boxes unless it is cake. Period.

Some are happy to coupon and I am happy to never set foot in a store.

Took Me Long Enough...

I think I speak for everyone when I say we could not have survived another weekend without a picture of Hannah in her new tutu. You can all enjoy yourselves once more. Hannah's slacker mother has finally provided the princess with a tutu. Phew.

Victory!

Hannah can feed herself bananas now to go with her cheerios and gerber puffs. She is well on her way to being a fully independent eater...any day now she'll pick up a spoon and eat some yogurt.

She's doing great at 7 months. Refuses to crawl. Won't even lay on her stomach for more than a couple minutes or even her back for 5 or so. She doesn't roll, she's capable (we think), but she does not. She sits and plays and talks up a storm and laughs. She has two teeth. She cries if she needs something and someone hands it to her. Zero motivation to become active. I love my children moving about and gaining independence, but Hannah just has everyone at her beck and call, so she sits and gets just what she pleases. She also loves her binkie in upside down.



Hannah and me in matching sweaters...Hannah's made by my incredibly talented mother, mine bought at Banana Republic for $7.

One last update on Hannah is illustrated by the words of a Safeway cashier...

Cashier: How old is he?
Me: She is 7 months old.
Cashier: Oh. A girl? She doesn't have any hair.

Snuggle Bumper

Taylor finally talked me into selling some of my homemade items. I chose baby bumpers for my debut. Check out Snuggle Bumper on etsy. More will be up as soon as I get sewing. I really enjoy making baby bumpers and just think they are so cute...I'm thinking of changing out Hannah's decor every week with a new bumper from my growing collection. =] Pass the word on to any of your friends or theirs who might be looking for a cute and soft baby bumper!