And then she yelled it.

Have you ever had one of those days that's so beyond ridiculous that you're waiting for someone to pop out from behind something and say, "Smile! You're on candid camera!" Yeah. That was today. It was ridiculous you guys. RIDICULOUS. I'm really not sure how such a perfect storm of things could all have managed to align specifically on today, but they did.

We'd planned to have a playdate with some friends today, but they were sick. So instead, I decided to run to the next town over to run some errands. As usual, we got out of the house later than I intended, because I set Becca down to grab something right before sticking her in her car seat...only she fell asleep on the floor.

So two hours later, we're finally on our way. As we're driving, I realize that it's 12:30 and I haven't fed Lizzy lunch. So, we swing into Sonic. I see a sign that says kids meals are $1.99 on Wednesdays. Perfect. I see another sign advertising an adult cheeseburger meal for $5. Great. I order the $5 cheeseburger meal and the kids meal.

"That'll be $11.62," she says. On a normal day, kids meals are like $3.20 or something, so this does not make sense in any way shape or form.

"Ummmm...aren't the kids meals $1.99? And my meal should be $5, right?"

"Yes ma'am. Please pull ahead." I'm no math genius, but I know that $5 + $1.99 does not equal $11.62. So, at the window, I say the same thing again--my meal is $5, and Lizzy's meal is $1.99 They close the window and call over three more people. A few minutes later, they open up the window.

"That'll be 10.18," she says.

"I'm sorry, but that still doesn't make any sense," I reply. The window shuts again. The employees talk again. Becca starts hysterically screaming because she's hungry. Lately, when she's hungry, it's like instant hysteria. No discernible warning signs. No fussing or slow melt so you have some warning that the feeding is going to have to happen soon. Just instantaneous, high pitched, hysterical shrieking. The window opens back up again.

"That'll be $9.18," she says.

Now. I still know that $5 and $1.99 don't equal $9.18. I'm not even sure where $9.18 came from. But at this point, Becca is screaming so loud that I can't even think straight, and it's not worth the extra $2.19 to sit and argue with Sonic for another 15 minutes, so I just pay, and we continue on. I hand Lizzy her hamburger, and we keep driving, me figuring that I'll feed Becca in the car before we head into our first stop, Wal-Mart.

Three minutes later, we get to Wal-Mart. Becca is now asleep. I go to get Lizzy out of the car, and discover that she has not eaten ANY of her hamburger. No. She's taken it apart, and shoved each individual piece (meat, bun, pickles) into some little compartment in the door. Amazing. I clean that up.

As I'm cleaning, I somehow pull the entire open diaper bag off the seat of the car, and the entire thing spills out under the car. So then, I'm laying on the ground in the middle of the Wal-Mart parking lot, trying to fish things out from under the car.

I finally collect everything. Becca's still asleep. I unbuckle Lizzy. I then find a plastic baggie of meatballs in her carseat. I have no idea when these meatballs are from. Only that I haven't made meatballs recently, nor do I remember giving Lizzy a bag of them. If I had to guess, I'd probably guess that they're from Easter at grandma and grandpa's house. But I didn't know that any came home with us, so I also have no idea how many came home with us. I say a quick prayer that Lizzy did NOT happen to decide to eat those instead of her hamburger.

We finally make it inside. Lizzy immediately says, "No mom, I don't have to go to the bathroom. I will tell you if I do." Great. We start shopping. About 3 minutes in, Lizzy says she has to go to the bathroom. We're in the back of the store, so we head to the bathrooms there. I unpack us all, leave the cart, and say a silent thank you for family bathrooms. Once we get inside, Lizzy cries and carries on because this bathroom has a little potty, but does not have a little sink. She wants to go to the bathroom at the front of the store instead. I say no. Lizzy then proceeds to sit on the potty and sing at the top of her lungs for 20 minutes before I finally make her get up so we can continue shopping. My allergies are driving me crazy, and I feel like I'm constantly rubbing under my nose. Oye vey.

Three minutes later, Becca wakes up. And she is pissed. And screaming. And hysterical. I re-direct our cart to the dressing rooms to feed her, but abandon that plan once I see a bench in the middle of the store. I park it there, whip out a blanket, and start feeding Becca. People stare as they walk by BIG TIME. One older lady full-on glares. I feel like that mom in the Luvs commercial {please tell me that y'all know the one}, and I seriously don't even care. I'm feeding my kid! I've got this under control! I'm super mom!

About two minutes into feeding Becca, Lizzy starts squirming. I know this squirm. It's the potty squirm. Sure enough, she screams, "I THINK I HAVE TO PEE!" Great. I tell her to hold it for a minute while Becca finishes nursing the first side, and then we head back to the bathroom. Becca's ticked because she's not done eating, so I'm carrying her while she's crying and flailing around, and trying to push the cart. People are still staring, and by now I'm kind of fuming.

And then. AND THEN. And then, we get to the bathroom, and I see that I have white powder ALL. OVER. ME. WHAT. THE. HECK?!? It's all over my face, under my nose. All over. And I have no idea what it is. A quick examination later, and I figure out that it's Becca's teething tablets. When the diaper bag fell out of the car, the lid to the teething tablets broke. I didn't realize it, and tossed the whole thing back into the diaper bag...the interior of which is now COVERED in fine white powder.

I also realize that people weren't staring/glaring at me because I was breastfeeding with a cover...they were staring at me because I WAS COVERED IN WHITE DUST and straight-up looked like a crazy druggie with all the white dust under my nose. I wish I'd thought to take a picture so that you all could understand just how crazytown I looked, but I didn't. Trust me though, I looked like a straight up druggie. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up on People of Wal-Mart sometime in the near future. It was that absurd. So, I clean up. We finish up in the bathroom. I nurse Becca on the other side. No one stares. We continue shopping.

A little while later, Lizzy points to some nail polish and says, "Give me that NOW!"

I tell her that no, I won't be giving that to her, and that it is not okay for her to talk to me like that. She tells me that she's going to say a naughty word. We've just recently watched the Ramona & Beezus movie, and in the movie, Ramona says that she's going to say a naughty word, and then yells "GUTS!" Lizzy's done this several times since when she was frustrated, so I know what's coming. Sure enough, she says "GUTS!" Loudly.

And then she starts to rhyme. 

"BUTTS!" she says loudly.

"Cuts!" she says happily. Great, if rhyming is the key to changing her mood, that's fine by me.

"BITS!" she says.

"PITS!"

And then. AND THEN she yelled it. Lizzy screamed, "TITS!"

I am 100% certain she's never head that particular word before. She was just rhyming. But of course, it happened that this would be the word she chooses to scream. And of course, she just so happens to scream it right as the same lady who previously glared at me {which I now know is because I looked like a druggie, nursing my kid while my face was covered in white dust, but she probably still thinks I AM a druggie} pushes her cart right on by.

She gasped. Loudly. It was awesome.

And then...any guesses what Lizzy said next?

"Mom? I have to go potty."

It was an awesome day. 

And that's not even counting finally getting in line, and waiting for 20 minutes behind an old lady who wrote 10 different checks for what she was purchasing. Or the two more times we went to the bathroom while at Wal-Mart. Or the fact that both kids fell asleep in the car after leaving Wal-Mart, so I never got to run the other errands that I specifically drove to the next town to do (so basically, even though there's a Wal-Mart here, I drove to the next town over to visit their Wal-Mart just for kicks). Or the fact that I'm supposed to be working out right now, but instead I'm writing this in the car because of the car seat naps. Or the fact that Lizzy isn't wearing a pullup, and isn't potty trained for naps yet, so I'm sure that's going to be fun too.

Really, it was ridiculous. But also? Kind of funny. And I think {hope} that this is the stuff that I'll look back on someday, and laugh. Because REALLY. The day couldn't have been more ridiculous if I'd tried. 

Holiday Deals from P&G eStore

Are you all done with your Christmas shopping yet? I'm close, but I have a bit more to do...and I don't know about you, but the people who are still on my list are also the ones that I'm having the hardest time shopping for.

So, to get those gift-giving wheels turning, here's a few gift ideas from the P&G eStore...and if you're not familiar with the P&G eStore, it's an online store that sells many of Proctor & Gamble's popular products, often for much less than you'd find them at your local store--which is great, because brands like Olay, Swiffer, Pampers, Crest...all P&G brands! The eStore also offers some pretty cool "bundles" that I think would make great gifts. I really love ordering gifts online for friends and family that live out of state, and these bundles are an especially neat idea because they contain a great variety of things, just like a gift basket that I'd put together myself.

I am totally eyeing this Vidal Sassoon Pre-Sale Bundle that includes a bunch of Vidal Sassoon Hair Products. The photo also includes what looks like a Venus razor and magazine subscription, but those aren't listed in the actual product description, so I'm not sure whether or not they actually come in this bundle...but for $12.99, it's a great price even if it is just the hair product.

Or this Home for the Holidays bundle, which includes a TON of great home stuff, and for $29.99, it would be a great housewarming gift. I've made similar baskets myself at the dollar store, and usually end up spending nearly the same amount for non-name brand products that aren't even full sized.

I also like the idea of the Simply Beautiful Bundle, which includes all sorts of Olay Products...but I'm most intrigued by the idea of the Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Tone Correcting Moisturizer. I've actually almost purchased that product the last two times I was at Target, and it retails for about $23 there (and online)...and this whole stinking bundle, which includes that product AND mascara, AND body lotion, AND body wash, AND more...is only $39.99 on the P&G eStore.

Plus, they also offer free shipping on orders over $25, and 15% off of your first order at the store with the code A9Z-MN5-KY3-ISA. And? Free samples in every order. Gotta love free samples! So, if you haven't finished your holiday shopping, check out the P&G eStore, and see what they have to offer! 

Monday Musings

{one} 

So, I only have one pair of maternity jeans. They're actually a pair that I bought AFTER Lizzy was born, in a size smaller than I wore during my pregnancy with her to help bridge the gap while I still didn't fit into normal jeans. Anyway, they've fit this whole pregnancy, so they're what I've been wearing...but they're just starting to feel a little small and uncomfortable. But who wants to buy MORE maternity clothes at almost 34 weeks? With a clothing budget as nonexistent small as mine, I certainly don't.

Anyway, I was complaining to Justin about this on Sunday morning during my 'I don't have anything church appropriate to wear' rant, Justin responded, "Why don't you just buy a couple pairs of leggings to wear under dresses and with longer shirts and stuff?" It seriously cracked me up that J was advocating the whole leggings-as-pants thing....but sold.

{two}

I've not done a single bit of fall decorating this year...it is still in the 70's and 80's around here, so it doesn't really feel like fall yet. That said, I'm starting to really get antsy for mums, and yarn wreaths, and cozy warm blankets tossed over the couch. I feel a little conflicted about doing it--I've always had a hard time spending money on things like decor because they feel kind of frivilous to me when we're on a tight budget, like we always are. But on the other hand, even $20 on mums and a wreath form goes a long way towards making a house feel like a home...and surely we can find that somewhere in the budget.

{three} 

So, Justin's brother Ryan is turning 30 this month. The boys decided that to celebrate, they wanted to do this burger challenge that a local restaurant has--basically, you have to eat 5.5 pounds of food and a drink in 45 minutes. The time limit used to be 35 minutes, but no one had been able to complete it, so they bumped it to 45 minutes. Only one guy has ever completed it. So, the boys went on Saturday...and if you've ever wondered what 5.5 pounds of food looks like, this is it:

{I didn't go to watch, but I think the breakdown went like this: two pounds of burger, 1 pound of bacon, 1/2 pound of cheddar cheese, tomato,pickles,onion and lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup served on a grilled 10 inch sesame seed bun along with 1 and 1/2 pounds of fries. Plus a drink}

Justin had been telling me for months that he could eat it no sweat...and while I'm pretty confident that I've seen him eat that much food before, he couldn't do it on Saturday. The only one that completed the challenge was Ryan...he ate it all, and in 34 minutes...which means that he now holds the record. Which means that I'm 100% sure that Justin is going to want to try and beat it someday ;) 

{four}

So, I did end up calling my doctor about the vision stuff that I mentioned in my last pregnancy post. He decided that he wanted me to go in for an EKG, blood work, and a few other tests, and so that's how I spent my Thursday afternoon. They said that everything came back normal, except that my thyroid was a little borderline, so they'll re-test it this week and then go from there. Basically though, it just sounds like vision issues and being kind of dizzy are par for the course for me when I'm pregnant. What can ya do? 

{five} 

Lizzy has been getting up ridiculously early for the past week or so. Like 4am early. And I'm just not comfortable with her running around all through the house at 4am while we're sleeping. Sometimes, she'll crawl into bed with us, which doesn't phase Justin at all, but totally wakes me up, especially since she doesn't usually ever go back to sleep. I keep looking at those toddler alarm clocks you can buy that change colors when it's okay for the kid to get up and out of bed--does anyone have one? I'm not sure whether or not Lizzy would actually stay in her room until the clock changed colors, but I feel like it might be worth a shot!

5 Random Things

1. Last night, I had a bad night. I was trying to finish the recipe for homemade marinara for dinner, and followed the instructions to blend it all. Only, I learned the hard way that hot liquids in the blender = no bueno. Hot marinara exploded EVERYWHERE. All over me (so now I've got burns on my arms). All over the cabinets. It's probably even on the ceiling. I was so irritated, and definitely did NOT want pasta with marinara anymore. But of course, it's the last stretch until payday (J gets paid once a month, on the last day of the month) and we're trying to be good about sticking to the budget, so it wasn't as simple as just ordering a pizza. Luckily, Justin made grilled cheese. But seriously, it was a bad night.

2. My spiffy new phone came with a free trial of voicemail-to-text. Only, it is so terribly (hilariously) bad that I'm not sure why anyone would ever pay for it! Here's just a few examples:

 My sister left a voicemail saying, "Hey Mere, it's your sister. Call me back!". 

This is what voicemail-to-text came up with:

My sister-in-law Kelsey left a voicemail asking her if we'd already picked the songs for that Sunday's worship service, and if we had, she was wondering if I could email them to her: 

Justin left a voicemail earlier this month asking what kind of ice cream I'd like:

Really...I'd almost rather let things go to voicemail now just to see what kind of crazy thing my voicemail-to-text is going to come up with next!

3. I feel like Lizzy has grown a whole bunch all of a sudden. On Sunday morning, she woke up screaming, and had a really hard day the rest of the day. We were like 'WHAT IS GOING ON?!' But since then, I've noticed that when we're out and about, suddenly she can reach the sinks in public bathrooms. She can get her own water from the faucet on the fridge. And her little bum is hanging out the bottom of her 3T shorts! Luckily, we have a few 4T pairs, and summer is almost over!

4. They found West Nile Virus in Southern Oregon. Of course, they announced it when I was COVERED with bites, and had been just down the road from where the infected mosquitoes were found. So, I pretty much spent the next few days convinced that I was going to be hospitalized with West Nile Virus...because if it was going to happen to anyone, it was going to happen to me. Really, the only advice they've given was to not be out around dusk...so my knee jerk reaction was to say that I'm not going to Justin's baseball games anymore at all, EVER. But, it's probably much more reasonable to just pack my Avon Skin So Soft and slather myself up (and maybe bring a long sleeve/pants to change into). I'm trying to be reasonable and not a hypochondriac here! 

5. Has anybody out there tried any of the drugstore BB creams? I'm not a big makeup person, but I think I'd like to try one, because it sounds like they're a little more coverage than a tinted moisturizer, but a little less coverage (and effort, ha!) than foundation, powder, etc. I'm leaning towards the L'Oreal one because it doesn't have sunscreen in it (sunscreens tend to give me a chemical burn, though it sounds like the amount of sunscreen in the Maybelline one is minimal at best). Anyway, I'd love to hear from you if you've tried them!

Food Stamp Budget Grocery Shopping

As I mentioned in this post about the 2012 Farm Bill, one of the most important (and most hotly debated) part of the whole bill is the section that funds the SNAP (Food Stamps) program. I challenged my readers to live on the "food stamps budget", which is about $31 per person per week ($496 per month for a family of four) before making a decision about whether they think the program should be cut or extended. As a side note, the actual subsidy that a person receives on food stamps varies by their income, but for these purposes, the $31/week seems to be the generally accepted amount.

In the above linked post, I also mentioned that our family grocery budget is often right about $200 per month. And honestly, it didn't get down to that level until it was a necessity rather than an ideal. Some months, when we have more discretionary income, that number creeps back up to $300 or so. But the past few months have been tight money-wise. Honestly, in the past few months, we're sometimes scrambling to sell things on Craigslist or have a garage sale to make ends meet, so nearly every category of our budget has been slashed. It isn't always fun...to be totally honest, after Justin called me and told me the amount of his paycheck yesterday, I stomped my feet and cried and yelled at God that I was tired of all this trusting in Him for provision business, and that I just wanted to be able to go buy a baby outfit after our gender ultrasound this month, or go out to dinner for our anniversary...or build our farmhouse table, or just to be able to buy some darn cookies at the grocery store. It sucks not to have discretionary money in the budget. But then I came across this on Pinterest again:

Source: stumbleupon.com via Meredith on Pinterest

I don't care whether all the statistics are accurate--it was the reality check that I needed. It might suck to feel like we're poor, but even so, we are richer and more blessed than most. And those things I stomped my feet and yelled at God about? None of them are necessities, really. And the things that are necessities? Have been provided for in miraculous ways. So, I got myself together, and did what I always do on the last day of the month--a meal plan. And then I went grocery shopping, with our $200 budget in mind--which I know is just reality for lots of families, on food stamps or not. I try to shop once every two weeks, buying the bigger items such as cheese and meat at the beginning of the month. I buy produce and milk as needed. If all goes according to plan, I intend to take photos of what all we're eating this week and post them next Friday, so I won't go into the whole meal plan. Anyway, here's what I got:

{Please excuse my dirty floors}

Here's the run-down....keep in mind that we have meat in the freezer from our cow purchase.

5 dozen eggs- $5.98

16 oz frozen corn- $0.95

String cheese- $2.98

32oz Raspberry yogurt- $1.98

10 individual yogurts- $.44 each

2 eight ounce blocks of neufatchel cream cheese- $1.18 each

Shredded mozzarella cheese- $5.98

2lb block of cheddar cheese- $4.88

Two packages of Bar-S Bacon- $1.99 each

Large Jimmy Dean sausage- $5.89

2 packs frozen hash browns- $1.18 each

Frozen blackberries- $2.38

Frozen raspberries- $2.68

Original Yumm Sauce- $5.34

Sliced mushrooms- $1.49

Baby carrots- $0.79

Red Delicious apples- 2.83 pounds @ $0.89/lb

Jarred Applesauce- $1.88

Two 16 count flour tortilla- $4.68 each

10 pounds unbleached flour- $3.66

2 cans tomato sauce- two for $0.99 total

2 packets Italian dressing mix- $0.55 each

Three pack of fast-rising yeast- $0.88

Whole-wheat Ritz-$2.98

2 large cans of spaghetti sauce- $0.88 each

Folgers Coffee (small container)- $3.88

Jar of crushed garlic- $1.69

Red bell peppers- 0.64 pounds @ $1.98/lb

Bananas- 4.41 pounds @ $0.54/lb

5 pounds of potatoes- $1.49

Yellow Squash- 0.98 pounds @ $0.79/lb

Fuji apples- 3.29 pounds @$0.89/lb

Jar of medium black olives- $0.98

Green onions- $0.59

Two large cans baked beans- $1.78 each

Two loaves wheat bread- $2.18 each

Two containers strawberries- $1.48 each

6 oz blueberries- $1.89

Peaches-2.01 pounds @ $1.49/lb

Calico Cheese- $2.13

Total: $125.21, leaving $74.79 for the rest of the month. I'll keep y'all posted :)

A Letter to the Fashion Industry

Dear Fashion Industry,

I'm not a fashion blogger. I'm not a particularly fashionable person. I'm fully aware that this letter of mine will probably fall of deaf ears...but I have to say it anyway:

I am beyond tired of the sizing inconsistencies
in women's clothing.

{The first three pairs of jeans are all Gap Long & Lean jeans in various sizes. You can see that the sizing is inconsistent among those three pairs of jeans alone. The back-most pair of jeans is a pair of Old Navy jeans for comparison. According to the sizing charts a size 12 pair of Old Navy jeans should be one inch smaller than the waist measurement of a size 14 Gap jeans, but in reality, they're the same. Just as another point of reference, the 10 longs are the oldest pair--probably from 2006.}

Can I please just say it again? I am beyond tired of the sizing inconsistencies in women's clothing. On several occasions lately, I've ordered the same pair of pants/jeans from the same company in the same size and same style but different colors, and found myself looking at two totally different sized pairs of pants.

Justin does not have this problem. He walks into a store, buys pants with a 33 inch waist, and miracle of all miracles, the waist measures 33 inches. I wish that were the case for women's clothing too--that there was at least some sort of consistency in sizing, both inner-brand and among different brands as well.

I'm tired of having to spend an inordinate amount of time in the dressing room trying on jeans--sometimes several different pairs of the same size because the measurements vary so much from pair to pair--to find a pair that fits. It is getting a little ridiculous.

And why? Some say it's a product of vanity sizing--that manufacturers label their clothes to be smaller than they really are, in hopes that women will buy more pants once they discover that they are a size 2 instead of a size 10. But if that were the case, wouldn't you expect more consistent sizing within one particular store or brand? Because if a woman is elated to be a size 2 rather than a 10, wouldn't it also stand to reason that she would likely be upset to grab a new pair in size 2 one day and discover that they don't fit?

There has got to be a better way. Is it really so crazy to want sizing to return to being a tool or guideline used to quickly select the clothing that is most likely to fit? I know it's not going to be perfect all the time. I don't expect it to be. I know there would probably be some variation from brand to brand..but surely we could aspire to do better than a sizing system that is virtually meaningless.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

Snippets + Giveaway Winner

-Justin and I got to go on a real "date" on Saturday night to his annual company Christmas party. Sorry for the crappy cell phone photo, but it was all we got! I had been stressing out a bit that morning about what to wear to the party, but in a stroke of perfect timing, Lisa had sent an early Christmas present that arrived that afternoon, which just happened to include a dress and beautiful necklace! Lizzy stayed with Ryan and Renee, and they texted us about 9 to tell us that she was asleep, and if we wanted, we could just pick her up in the morning. So we did. And she did fine. I'm glad we did that--it'll be one less thing for me to worry about when we go up to Portland next month.

-We took Lizzy to see Santa at the library yesterday. She went right up to him and said, "Hi Santa! Ho, ho Christmas! Happy birthday baby Jesus! I love cookies!" Santa and Mrs. Claus asked how old she was, and were very surprised that she wasn't two yet. Santa said that she has a "tremendous command of the English language." It made me smile.

-We also went to look at Christmas lights last night. I've mentioned before that Lizzy is still usually rear-facing, but we turned her around to forward facing just to go look at the lights. And I've gotta say--I'm excited to turn her around for real...she was so much more interactive with us in the car. She LOVED the lights. It was so much fun to hear her sing "Joy to the World" at the top of her lungs as we were looking.

Here's an interesting tidbit--the house above was listed for sale in Sept 2010 for $548,500. It sold in November for $359,500. Ouch. Looks like the real estate market here in Oregon is still hurting!

- Megan posted about this today on Facebook, and it is such an awesome deal (I bought one for when we go to Portland) that I thought I'd share. If you go to www.todayshowrestaurant.com and enter the code TodayRestaurant, you can get a $500 gift card to restaurant.com for $30. It's sponsored by the Today Show, and is up on their website as well.

-The winner of the Love Came Down Giveaway is:

Congrats! Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

BQOTD: Your Christmas List

Today's Burning Question of the Day:

What's one thing on your Christmas wish list this year?

This and That

-I actually did something I pinned on Pinterest! I saw this quite awhile ago, suggesting to wrap up 25 Christmas books, and let your kiddo open one each night.

Source: katherinemariephotography.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Originally, I planned to do it with non-Christmas books that we already have but don't read often. Then, between being given a bunch of Christmas books, finding a bunch at Goodwill, and raiding my parents' stash from when we were kids, we had 30 Christmasy books. So, I wrapped them up, and we've actually been letting Lizzy choose a book to open since Saturday.

I think Justin was a little suspect about letting her open a "present" a day, but I think it's a fun little Christmas tradition that we'll be able to do for years for only the cost of wrapping paper.

-I had what was probably my last photo shoot of the season over the weekend--for two girls that I went to high school with! They said that their parents don't really have any nice photos other than their senior pictures, so they wanted to surprise them with new photos of the kids for Christmas. LOVE that idea! And I've got to say, as much as I love shooting families/kids, there is something to be said for shooting adults who actually listen to instructions and smile when you tell them to! ;)

-I'm usually kind of a scrooge about decorating for Christmas until December, but after looking at our December calendar, I totally pressured J to put up our tree this weekend. And honestly, it's kind of fun. Now, I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of my decorations--I feel like half the stuff I have is the bright pink/green/turquoise Christmas stuff, and half is "natural"...and that just looks hodge-podged. I haven't quite figured out which direction I want to go with it, and also how to do it low-cost.

-We did Black Friday shopping, and this is the first year I can honestly say it was not worth it. Our Wal-Mart told me that none of the electronics were going on sale until 3am, and that it was basically only kids stuff that was on sale when they opened at 10pm. So we went at 11pm, and figured we'd miss the rush. Noooooo. We were out from 11pm-3:30am, and only made it to Wal-Mart and Old Navy. Wal-Mart was so crowded that the line literally wrapped all around the aisles, so you couldn't really look at anything anyway. It was absurd, and I didn't even get any good deals because you couldn't actually get to much of anything! I went back later Friday at like 8pm, and got everything that was on my list anyway. Lesson learned. And thank goodness, our crazy birthday/Christmas shopping is pretty much done. We still need to do Lizzy and each other, but that's all dependent on what J's check looks like and the actual end-cost of fixing The Most Expensive Car To Fix Ever.

-Speaking of which, our car goes in on Wednesday. Hopefully, it will be done soon thereafter. I'm still kind of pissed that it's going to cost $1,100 to fix. I'm also seriously hoping it doesn't cost MORE in the end. Still, trying to remain grateful that (a) it didn't break down on the side of the road and end up costing more and, (b) that we can actually pay for it, even though it will wipe out most of our emergency fund. Then again, I suppose this is exactly what emergency funds are for. But still. SUCK.

BQOTD: Black Friday/Stores Open Early

BQOTD: Do you go shopping on Black Friday? What do you usually shop for (i.e. doorbusters, Christmas presents for others, presents for yourself)?

Also, What do you think of this year's trend for stores to open earlier than ever on Thanksgiving night for "Black Friday" sales? Toys R Us opens at 9pm; Target, Best Buy, Kohls, Wal-Mart, and Old Navy are all open at midnight?

___________________________________________________

Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with Black Friday. I hate the crowds. I hate the bustle. But on the other hand, when we do our Christmas shopping for others on Black Friday, we *do* end up saving significantly.

On one hand, I like the idea of stores being open on Thanksgiving evening since I have an easier time staying up late than getting up early, but I also hate the fact that it means that retail employees may not to get to spend Thanksgiving with their families or would have to sleep through the day in order to report to work at midnight. There are so few days that retail stores are just flat-out closed, and I kind of like when they are.

The Stranger at Target...

On Wednesdays, I watch Logan (Lizzy's cousin) in the morning before he goes to afternoon pre-K. This morning, our area rug was still wet after being steam cleaned, so I decided that rather than try to keep two kiddos off the drying rug, we'd head into town and run some errands. We had already been a few places when we headed to Target.

It was raining when we arrived, so it took a minute to find a cart that wasn't completely drenched. Once I did, I tried to put Lizzy in the seat, and she proceeded to throw a huge tantrum--she wanted to sit in the actual cart instead of the seat, which sometimes I let her do, but I thought that I might be getting some larger things today, and so I wanted her in the seat with the buckle. I told her that I understood that she was saying she wanted to sit in the cart, but that this time she needed to sit in the seat. She continued to throw a huge fit--swinging her arms, stamping her legs. I took her out of the cart, set her on the ground, kneeled down, and told her that screaming like this was not okay, and that if she couldn't calm down immediately, we would go outside for a time-out. She threw herself on the floor.

So, I picked her up, and pushed the cart with Logan (obviously, I hope!) outside to one of the benches under the awning, sat Lizzy down, and told her that she was in a time-out, and that once she stopped screaming, we could talk. She responded, "No TALK. LIZZY SCREAM!" and then continued to scream at the top of her lungs. I debated just packing up the kids and heading home, and maybe I'll get some grief for not doing so, but I did have errands that I needed to run, and I had already driven into town--it's not like I could just pop back to Target once Justin got home. So, since we were outside, I decided to just ignore the screaming...which seems to be most effective in calming Lizzy down in situations where she's screaming in an attempt to get something that she wants rather than because she's frustrated. I had the cart in front of the bench, perpendicular, so that I could see her and catch her if she decided to throw herself off the bench or something, but wasn't really engaging with her behavior.

Several people gave me looks as they walked by. You probably know the ones. Maybe you've been on the receiving end. Or the giving end.


Can't you make her stop crying? 
My child would NEVER get away with that crap. 
Aren't you going to do something about her screaming?

I wanted to yell at them, "Even her pediatrician says the most effective way to handle her stubborn, sometimes hours long tantrums right now is to ignore them. I AM doing something, and at least I took her outside to handle it, okay?!"

It's hard not to get a little flustered when your child is throwing a royal fit, and there's not a lot you can do to stop it. It's hard not to wonder if what you're doing is the right thing...even if your parents and friends tell you that it is. I sometimes wonder if people (strangers) realize that, say, picking up my phone during a tantrum isn't me not handling the situation--it's a way of showing her that I will not engage with her while she's behaving that way, and I will focus my attention elsewhere (just for the record, ignoring seems to be the recommended tactic for handling tantrums from all across the parenting spectrum, from Dr. Sears to Dobson/Focus on the Family). Deep down, I know that I handled it the best way that I could have--but it's hard not to question yourself when you get those darn looks from strangers.

And then, it what I can only describe as a moment of pure grace, an older woman walked by, pushing her cart. She touched my arm, leaned in close, and said, "You handled that just right." I was kind of stunned, but I think I managed to mumble "Thank you," and she smiled and walked away. 

I almost cried right there in the Target parking lot. Thank you, whoever you were. Truly. Thank you for recognizing a mama who was frazzled, and thank you for taking that recognition a step further by offering encouragement and affirmation. Thank you for recognizing that sometimes, encouragement from a stranger can be a particularly soothing kind of balm. I'll never forget it.

And I'll try to pass it on.

Decorating for Seasons

In the time that Justin and I have been married, I've never really decorated for seasons. Except Christmas, but even then, it's pretty much just been a Christmas tree and a miniature nativity set. For one, we just haven't ever had a mantel or any place that made sense to decorate seasonally. Second, seasonal decor was just an extra expense that we didn't need.

That said, over the weekend, we moved the buffet that matches our hutch inside from the garage. We've never had it inside before because the three different colorings of wood between the buffet, our table, and the cabinets drove me crazy. Plus, we had "inherited" the table from when Justin and his siblings were growing up, and it was already pretty big for the space. I've always hated that table even more than I hated the buffet/hutch, but Justin loves/loved it. He did agree to let me paint it, but it still didn't solve the problem of not being the right size or shape for the space. Also, the table is just starting to fall apart--the chairs are losing their support spindles, and the finish is totally worn down.

After the cabinets were painted, we talked a lot about the kitchen/dining area, and I suggested to Justin that if we had a long rectangular table, I thought the buffet would fit inside and free up some garage space for him. And then, I suggested building a farmhouse table. And after a few months, I think Justin is down for that plan, so we brought the buffet inside over the weekend.

And now, I also have the perfect spot for seasonal decor. The only problem was that we're on a tight budget (as always), and I didn't really have much in terms of a base to start from. But yesterday, I made it my mission to decorate the buffet for fall for less than $30. Here's what I came up with:

I'd still like to add something that says "Give Thanks", but haven't found quite what I'm looking for yet. It's kind of funny though--in real life, I almost feel like there's too much going on already, but it doesn't look that way in the photo at all! Anyway, I spent $5 on two yards of muslin for the runner, $5 for the blue and turquoise "bouquet", $10 for the candle holder, and $4 for spray paint to paint the wine bottles. I also made a fabric flower bouquet out of fabric that I already had.

They are so easy to make--you just cut out large circles of fabric, and then use a needle and thread to stitch all the way around the perimeter of the circle. Pull the two ends of the string together, knot, and cut the ends. And, TA-DA, you have a flat flower disc. Then, I just put some hot glue on the back of each flower disc and attached a stick to each. If you want a cleaner look, you can also hot glue buttons/pearls to the center of each flower. I think I may make it my goal to do a new fabric flower bouquet for each season.

And for the table, here's what I'm thinking, but with white benches that could be pushed underneath for more room:

Source: remodelaholic.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Shabby Apple Jewelry Giveaway

Y'all know Shabby Apple, right? THE go-to shop for beautiful dresses? {Their current Academia collection totally makes the not-so-secret book nerd in me swoon}. Well, they also have some pretty incredible jewelry and other accessories too...and the fine folks at Shabby Apple have offered to let me give this away to one of you lucky ducks:

Their Through the Looking Glass Necklace!

Now, here's the thing: while this necklace is beautiful just the way it is, it actually gets even better. See, it has a side clasp that allows you to slip something up to 4mm inside--like a photo, scrapbook paper, or a dried flower. Then, the glass has a fish-eye magnifying effect on whatever you've slipped inside! Cool, right? I love me a versatile piece of jewelry, and I'm jealous that y'all have the opportunity to win it!

Here's how to enter:
1. For your first entry, like Shabby Apple on Facebook. And just for kicks, I'd like to hear what you'd slip into the necklace if you were to win.
2 & 3. For your second and third entries, you can either follow Shabby Apple on Twitter, or follow their blog. You need to leave a separate comment for each action!!

Here's the fine print:
-This contest is open to US readers.
-The contest will remain open until Tuesday Oct 25th at 10am Pacific Time.
-The winner will be chosen via random.org
-You MUST have an email attached to your profile or leave an email address where you can be contacted.
-The winner will be contacted by email on the 25th and will have 72 hours to respond in order to claim their prize. If the winner has not responded within 72 hours, a new winner will be selected.

A Series of Unfortunate Events...

Oh y'all. The most hilarious-while-simultaneously-embarassing thing happened to me yesterday at Wal-Mart (ps- why does this kind of thing always happen in Wal-Mart?!) Here's some background:

Lizzy and Justin often watch Phineas & Ferb, which has a character named Perry-the-Platypus. Recently, Lizzy has taken to calling Perry by the last syllable of his name, "Pus".

Also, Lizzy's current pronunciation of "frog" sounds exactly like a particular four-letter word that starts with f and ends with k.

___________________________________________________

So, today we were at Wal-Mart, passing by the shoe section. The endcap had a whole bunch of fuzzy slippers, which Lizzy spotted immediately. 

"Elmo!" she happily yelled. 

"CAR!" she screamed as we continued on our way. 

And then, we came across the most unfortunate slipper display that could ever exist in my universe--a HUGE rack of Perry-the-Platypus slippers right next to a HUGE rack of Kermit-the-Frog slippers. 

So my sweet Lizzy, so excited that she knew the words for both types of slippers, begins yelling "PUS! F#@K! PUS! F#@K!" at the top of her lungs in the middle of Wal-Mart. 

I kid you not. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Obviously, most people around us didn't immediately recognize as "Platypus! Frog!", but rather what she was quite literally saying. Oh, if only you could have seen the looks we received...and she was so excited, that I couldn't for the life of me get her to stop. 

And that, my friends, is how a series of unfortunate events resulted in me becoming the mama with the swearing toddler in the Super Wal-Mart. 

It's okay, go ahead and laugh. I did :) 

Toddler Toys: Our Top 5

**First of all, be sure to check back tomorrow--I'm blessed to be running an awesome giveaway that both mamas and non-mamas alike will both LOVE. Seriously, I'm so excited, I can hardly wait until tomorrow!

Like many families of toddlers, we probably have more toys than we need. Although I try to rotate toys through the toy box, there are a handful of things that Lizzy plays with most often, and will even ask for by name if they happen to be out of the toy box that week. I thought I might make a little list in case you guys are looking for birthday and/or holiday ideas for a little guy or gal in your life. Obviously, every kid is different, but here's what Lizzy is most into right now:

1. Play Food

Lizzy has the set pictured above, which her Great-Grandma got for her at Target (ours is Circo brand and 90 pieces rather than 76 though). Right now, this is undoubtedly Lizzy's favorite thing to play with, even though we don't have a play kitchen or anything of the sort. I'm not sure whether she actually loves the food itself all that much, or just dumping the entire 90 pieces over her head repeatedly. Honestly, this "toy" is kind of a pain for me because of all the small pieces, but it's one of those things that Lizzy asks for by name even when I've tried to hide it away so that the living room will stay clean for more than 15 minutes.

2. Toobaloo
I know, what the heck is a Toobaloo? To be honest, I wouldn't have had any idea either, except that I inherited two from my Aunt, who is a teacher and was switching grades. Apparently, kids hold these up to their ears as they're reading books, which helps them to better hear what they sound like. The two that we have look distinctly more like an actual telephone, and this is another toy that ALL the kids, even Lizzy's 5 and 6 year old cousins, love. They love pretending to call each other, and they love getting to hear whatever they say echo back to them. So far, none of them have actually used it for its intended purpose, but at less than $5, who cares?
3. Ring Sorter/Stacker


This was a gift from Samantha (and her husband John) from Christmas this past year, and Lizzy still plays with it often. I love that right now, it helps Lizzy work on motor skills with trying to get the rings on the posts. She's also just starting to like to count to five with me, so it's a great toy for that as well. In the future, she'll still use it, but for learning and sorting by colors. It's a great, simple toy.
4. Animal Toys

We have both the Little People Farm and Noah's Ark along with the "bonus" set of animals that were gifts from Lizzy's Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Mike (and I think the bonus set of animals may have been from Samantha and John as well?) Lizzy has recently been really into singing "Old McDonald", and so this is a fun toy to do that will, as well as to teach her the corresponding animal sounds. It's also just now occurring to me that Lizzy knows the "Who Built The Ark?" song, and so I should do the same thing with Noah's Ark, but I haven't yet. Either way, I've really been pleased with the Little People toys!
5. Zany Zoo

Holy cow, it's little Lizzy--this picture was back from her first birthday. I just realized that in 4 more months, she's going to be TWO. That is crazy talk people, CRAZY. Anyway, this particular toy has been put away for a couple of weeks because I noticed that Lizzy hadn't been playing with it as much recently, and since we have such a small house, I try to only keep one or two "big" toys in the living room at a time. Still, it's another one of those toys that Lizzy has gotten a ton of use out of all throughout her "toddler-hood", and one that the older friends and cousins seem to love as well. I think now that it's been put away for awhile, she's really going to like trying to match the correct animals and such! And, it's from Target, just in case you're wondering.
Runner Up: Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Set
This little gadget was an awesome present from Lizzy's Aunt Renee and Uncle Ryan, also for her birthday. She hasn't used it as much recently (maybe because we were constantly telling her that the kitchen was off-limits while we were painting the cabinets), but LOVED it just up until the last month or so, and it's a really fun gender neutral toy, and I do think it's helped Lizzy learn the alphabet song. Now, any time she sees letters of any kind (i.e. on a t-shirt), she excitedly points and says "A-B-C's!" Bless her little heart!

Note: All of the items featured in the post were either purchased by us or were gifts to Lizzy by our friends and family. None were provided by the companies for review. Additionally, this post was not a paid review of any sort.

BQOTD: How Much Would You Spend On Jeans

What's the most expensive pair of jeans you've ever purchased? Was it worth the extra expense? How much would you be willing to spend on a pair of jeans?

Sample Shopping Trip (Pics & Recipes)

After yesterday's post about cost of groceries, I thought I'd post details about our grocery shopping trip last night. I've done this a couple of times in the past, and loved when Leah did it recently as well. Anyway, remember that we do our "big" shopping trip at the beginning of the month for meat, cheese, and pantry staples, and then re-stock dairy and produce as needed, shooting for $50 a week or less for the remaining weeks. This was one of our "re-stock" trips, at our local grocery store (we don't have Kroger/Aldi or anything like that here):

We got: Ice cream, two packs of strawberries, pineapple, whole milk (for J and Lizzy), chocolate cereal, sour cream, a large can of diced tomatoes, two cans of kidney beans, a jar of spaghetti sauce, a thing of BBQ sauce, head of lettuce, green onions, yellow cherry tomatoes, large package of red/yellow/orange peppers, wheat bread, bananas, 6 nectarines, 6 kiwi, pack of veggie noodles, two packs of chili seasoning, and a pack of Ranch seasoning mix.

PS- Justin tossed both the ice cream and chocolate cereal in the cart after he saw that we were WAY under budget. Those are both "luxury" items for us and only go in if we are dramatically under budget due to our beloved "temporary reductions" that the store offers--these are non-advertised, no coupon necessary sales, and they are awesome. (i.e. the ice cream is usually $4.98, but was on temporary reduction for $2.98). Anyway, even with the ice cream and cereal, our grand total was:

I know, I need to repaint my nails!

So, the meals that I plan to make with this are:

Taco Soup
Homemade Pizza {PS- This is the best pizza dough recipe ever.}
Caribbean Jerk Chicken Shishkabobs & Brown Rice
Lighthouse Lasagna
Homemade BBQ Meatballs & Brown Rice
Grilled Chicken and Green Salads

This should get us through next Thursday at the very least, and the following week's food are mostly things I've already frozen, so hopefully next week's shopping trip will be very small like this one as well.

So for those of you who asked, there you go!

I Need Accesories Help...Badly!

If you've been reading this blog for long, you probably know that I'm basically allergic to everything. Christmas trees, grass, dust, pollen, 95% of flowers. For years, I was so allergic to metal that even the button on jeans gave me a huge rash, so I really never wore jewelry that wasn't pure silver. But recently, I've noticed that I'm able to wear earrings/necklaces for several hours at a time without breaking out into hives. And consequently, this month I'm on a quest to buff up my stash of accessories. I like to dress pretty basically, and I've increasingly come to believe that some well-thought accessories can make the difference between looking put together and looking sloppy.

This month, I'm planning to spend about $50 to update my accessories, but I need your help! Because I've never really done the whole accessories thing, my stash is pretty pathetic. I don't mean "pathetic" as in I have a ton of stuff but I don't really like it and want an excuse to buy more. By "pathetic", I mean pathetic. In fact, here is my accessories collection in its entirety:

{this is a ring}

Yep, that's it. I could definitely use some updating, but I don't really know where to start or how to get the most bang for my buck since I don't have a huge budget to work with. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE some suggestions if anyone is willing to help me shop (and feel free to show me your own etsy shop!). Here's what you should know:

-I don't like gold (save for white gold), but I can handle bronze a bit better.
-I have almost $100 in credit at Amazon, so buying there would be ideal, but not a necessity.
-I'd like at least one long necklace, at least one pashima-style scarf!

Any suggestions for me? Pretty please with chocolate sprinkles?

BQOTD: Sunscreen

The below post was originally posted on July 7, 2010. However, I'm re-posting it because I think it contains some really important info about sunscreen! 

During college, I worked at a rafting company. Over the course of my time there, I started to notice that on days that I applied sunscreen, I actually burnt worse than on days that I forgot to. We're talking hard-core, blistering sunburns while wearing sunscreen.

A few years later, I had insurance coverage that allowed me to see a dermatologist, so I went. And I asked my dermatologist about the sunscreen issue. She told me that I was most likely allergic to one of the chemicals in sunscreen, and getting a chemical burn from it rather than a sunburn. Ouch.

She recommended La Roche Posay's Anthelios Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15, which I've been using since to GREAT results (Edited to add-  First of all, this is NOT a sponsored post in any way. Second of all, even though it is only SPF 15 and is technically a lotion rather than a sunscreen, I've not gotten a sunburn since I started wearing it unless I just plain miss a spot). But it's expensive, and I have to order it through the mail. So I was also hoping to identify back-up sunscreens that I could buy in stores in case I'm out.

I headed over to The Environmental Working Group's 2010 Sunscreen Guide, and I was really surprised at what I read. Basically, the EWG ranks sunscreen based on UVB protection, UVA protection, UVA/UVB balance, sunscreen stability, and health concerns.

I had no idea that there were so many health concerns related to sunscreen--for example, did you know that many sunscreens (41% in the US) contain Vitamin A? Vitamin A is typically used as an anti-aging agent in night creams, which is fine. However, when coupled with sun exposure, Vitamin A has been shown (by FDA studies) to speed the development of cancerous tumors. Wow. Luckily for you and me, the EWG's guide notes which sunscreens contain Vitamin A.

So I'm curious--what sunscreen are you using, and how does it score from the EWG?

Books, a Photo, and Queso.

-My review for What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen is live up on BlogHer Book Club this morning. This was my first time reading anything by Sarah Dessen--so click over to find out what I loved about it!

-Last night, I was feeling really frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed. We got home, and I seriously wanted to eat an entire jar of queso dip that got left at our house. I don't even LIKE jarred queso dip. But had we had tortilla chips in the house, I would have probably cracked open the jar and downed a huge portion of it. And there you have it blog friends--if there was ever any doubt, I'm an emotional eater. And just for the record, I STILL want that queso dip, even though I know it's just a response to feeling stressed....not to mention the fact that I don't even really like it.

-WHEN DID MY KIDDO GET SO HUGE?!


-Tomorrow is my and Justin's wedding anniversary! Yay! We will be spending it....at Justin's softball game. Wah wah wah. At least Justin did arrange for his sister to babysit so that I can actually go to the game with him since it doesn't start until 8:15pm and I would have been home with Lizzy otherwise. We're hoping to get to celebrate both our anniversary and Justin's birthday (which is the 27th) the first weekend of July...because we are totally booked until then.

-Speaking of being totally booked, because I can't even remember the last time we actually spent an evening at home, we're sort of in the "drop your junk and run to the next thing" mode. Consequently, I feel like I spend most of every day cleaning and seriously do not even make a dent. Drives. ME. CRAZY.

-The $2 tank sale starts this Friday at Old Navy. It's in-store only, and you need a coupon, which you can find here.