DIY

We're no strangers to saving money, but sometimes it can be challenging. Life is expensive! We've done pretty well with budgeting so far, especially on one income.

We coupon like crazy and I buy a lot of our things secondhand or on sale. We try to save restaurants when it's a special occasion and we have coupons. Really, we just do what we can to make a difference. I even started dyeing my hair at home. Most women won't admit to that, but I don't care -- it's easy to do it yourself, and the color is so rich and beautiful. Why not? Besides, my hair is starting to turn slightly gray.

Anyway.

And then there's life. We've had so many repairs come up lately. Every month, we were having to get the Buick fixed. New tires, window regulators went out, etc. It had to be done, but I wished we wouldn't have car issues for at least a month. And I got my wish. Instead, our bathtub faucet was leaking. A plumber came out, looked at it, and estimated an expensive fix. Scott and I couldn't believe it. When we were going to get a break? Scott did some research and found out that he could fix it himself for cheap. And he did. Thanks to the friendly folks at Moen and youtube videos. Bubba the plumber won't be coming back. Actually, his real name is James. Whyyyy does someone choose to go by Bubba instead of James? James is a great name!

Now we just need to find more diaper coupons and life will be golden.

A love for reading.

I love that Jamie loves his books. He's perfectly happy to sit and flip through a book. Upside down, rightside up, any old way will do. Oh sure, he runs around non stop during the day and needs to be a busy bee, but when he gets a book, he will sit quietly and "read" it. Last night, I picked 2 board books to read and we ended up sharing them. Jamie would flip through "Goodnight Moon" and then take my copy of "Barnyard Dance," handing me "Goodnight Moon". We'd switch every 2 minutes. Sometimes he'll let me read to him, but more often than not, it has to be at his pace, and he wants to take his time, studying the pages before flipping to the next one. I think he really likes "Goodnight Moon" because there's so much to look at. It's a really cute book.

I've been wanting to find "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" for awhile now, but I couldn't bring myself to pay full retail price on Amazon. At least, not until closer to Christmas. Could you imagine my surprise this morning, when I found a hardcover copy at a thrift store? I was ecstatic. Only 50 cents for a classic book!

There are still some others I need to find, but I'm pretty happy for now.

About last night.

After Jamie finished his dinner last night (a cereal bowl of pot roast!), I gave him a handful of animal crackers for dessert. Once he ate those, he pointed to the open bag and said "cracker!" I couldn't believe it. So, naturally, I gave him a few more crackers. Wow. It's amazing what words he'll choose.

Just for fun, I put Jamie on his potty seat last night. We have this Thomas the Train potty seat cover that goes right on the toilet. He's been excited to play with the seat, so I thought we could try it out. Oh, he had a grand time. He sat on the seat, swinging his legs, smiling and laughing in the mirror, playing with the toilet paper roll...not actually peeing, of course. I think he just thinks it's a seat. Nothing more, nothing less.

In a few hours, we'll be meeting up with mom so that my parents can have Jamie for the weekend. I think he'll have a lot of fun. Scott and I are just planning to hang out at home and relax. It'll be our first break in nearly 18 months!

Ahoy, Matey!

Here's Jamie at the Children's Museum, ready to sail the high seas.

Time out is hard.

No really, it is. It isn't just time out for Jamie, it's time out for me, too. Ugh, it's hard to listen to him cry. He's at the age where he has to learn that certain kinds of behavior aren't acceptable. He's starting to climb on everything, including the coffee table and the little square tables in front of the living room windows. It's scary! Before I know what he's doing, I look up and he's standing on a table! Or he's standing on the couch. Banging the floor lamp against the wall. Or jamming his fingers in the cd player. Sometimes he'll stop when he sees me rushing over, but other times he'll laugh and keep on doing what he's doing. I'm trying a few different versions of time out. Sometimes he has to sit on the floor, and the tv goes off, or if he's really not listening, he goes into the pack n play. If all else fails, he goes into his crib for a few minutes. I really don't know what other people do, but so far, this is working for us. I know he'll act up, and not listen to me, but it's still hard to listen to him cry when he realizes he's being punished. Oh, boy. Those are the only things he really gets in trouble for. Oh, and pushing. Sometimes he does great and doesn't push his friends. Other times...especially if he's around a lot of kids and gets overwhelmed, he starts pushing. That's tough, too.

Let's see, what else....

Jamie said "apple" the other night. He was referring to a plastic tomato, but it's close enough. We went to the children's museum this morning and he had a lot of fun. This time, he pretty much led the way and I followed him around. He really knew what he was doing! He'd check one area out, like apple picking, and then hurry over to the pirate ship, and then started exploring the vegetable patch. It was pretty cute. He's SO FAST, too. Sometimes I have to jog after him. He got a sticker during storytime and at home, I gave the sticker to Scott. Jamie reached over and grabbed it off Scott's shirt and promptly stuck it back on his shirt. We couldn't stop laughing. What a kid!

Whew!

We're on the home stretch and the weekend is clearly in sight. Jamie's finally down for a nap (took a few tries!), only 3 hours later than the first time I put him down.

I'm officially done with housework for the week (well, a few loads of laundry left to fold) and that feels good. We're going "camping" tomorrow at a friend's house. I say "camping" because we'll be doing outdoorsy things and grilling food, but I will be sleeping indoors (with Jamie). Sleeping bags in tents are for the birds.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

5 days into the new cleaning schedule.

I'm already over it. Well, I guess I should keep up with the cleaning -- the mess is here, I'm here, I might as well take care of it, but it's just a lot of hard work.

Monday was the living room, Tuesday - dining room, Wednesday - kitchen, Thursday - master bedroom, and today, Friday - all 3 bathrooms. I figured that the nursery and guest room would get cleaned in my spare time. Here's the hard part. There are days when Jamie doesn't nap so well. Yesterday was interesting because he was up until 3:30. I didn't get as much done. Today, I put him down at 11:30, since he was so crabby, and I'm trying to catch up on chores that I didn't get to earlier in the week. It's noon and I can hear him talking upstairs. I think he's trying to make owl sounds. It's actually pretty cute.

Of course, my house has never been entirely clean at the same time, so it's not like my old [or lack of] schedule was working. I just waited until it was obvious that something needed to be cleaned.

I think what I really need is a vacation. It's been over 2 year since we've had any kind of real break. Ahhh. Did I mention that I'm also pretty tired?