"Helper"

We've been working on finishing the basement, and when I say "we" I mean Shelby, my dad, and Xander. Xander loves to work right beside the big boys, doing everything they do. Even when they're gone, he walks around the house with his drill and level saying, "helper!" Hey, every little bit of help helps :)

Bath time is NOT over!

A few weeks ago I got Xander out of the bath, toweled him off, lotioned him up, dressed him, and sent him on his way to play. I found him a second later right back where we started. I guess I was wrong. Turns out bath time was not over. Sooo not over. Sooo right back where we started.

Skylerism: sweet talker

Over breakfast this morning:

S: "Momma, I love you so much, you could never love me as much as I love you."
M: "But I do! I love you so much that I carried you inside of me for 10 months. I love you so much that I made you a body to live in. So much that for almost a year all my food and energy went straight toward making you!"

S: "Whoa, you must have eaten like 9 meals a day!"

D: "She did, mostly Oreos and ice cream."

S: "Wow, Mom, you're like Jabba the Hut!"

Just what every woman wants to hear.

Deep thoughts

So my kids were watching an old episode of Casper the Friendly Ghost this week. In the episode, Casper travels to Mother Goose Land where he encounters various nursery rhyme characters who all in turn are freaked out by the presence of the ghost.

Anyway, the point is that Casper comes across the old woman who lives in a shoe. It reminded me that as a child I had no idea what this lady's problem was. I remember thinking, "Man, get a grip! Don't you think you're over-reacting just a tad? They're kids for goodness sake!! And I'm sure it's by your own doing that they're there living in your little shoe-house. What do you mean you 'don't know what to do?' I mean, she 'gave them some broth without any bread, then spanked them all soundly and sent them to bed.' What kind of crap parenting is that?" I thought this lady was way off her rocker.

Now, watching this woman on the cartoon as an adult, I realize that I cannot judge her. Some of you may think that 3 children is a lot. Some of you may think that 3 is nothing compared to your 5. But I promise you that there are days when my 3 feel like 30 and I don't know what to do. So what do I do? I feed them the nothing-ist easiest filler food I can reach, punish their butts for some wrong-doing they either did or did not commit, then put them to bed early so I don't kill them. It's only now as an adult that I think that old woman living in the shoe was not only not off her rocker, but she had it allllllll figured out. I salute you, old woman. Your morals are timeless.

I did it!!

On Friday, I mapped out, measured and ran my very own unofficial 5k. I'm not kidding! I did it! And while truthfully, I've been a tad slack-y on my healthful eating, I've never been better at running, so I think it at least evens out, right?

While I was running, I just kept saying to myself, even in the very early stages of my run, "I'm going to be SO excited when I finish! I'm totally going to finish! When I finish, I'm going to call Shelby right away!" I guess my positive thinking really payed off.

I've also been thinking about making myself one of those fancy 5k t-shirts I see people wearing on the weekends. I'm sure they're from official 5ks, but mine was unofficial, so I think I can justify wearing an unofficial 5k t-shirt. Whaddaya think? Maybe just a plain white t with black Sharpie? Yeah. Now I'm talkin' !

My favorite deal this week

Albertsons has tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, and Banquet pot pies all for .33 each. I totally stocked up.

Also, I totally scored some free fresh salmon at Winegars by using their Gator Deal. Smith's has it this week for $3.99/ lb. I cooked it up and I did a WAY better job than last time. I dare anyone to tell me this week that it was "resistable."

What's so great about Annie anyway?

This is Shelby again. I should just get my own blog...

The reason I'm here today is to pay tribute to my favorite person. Annie and I will have been married for 8 years by this time next week. She is extraordinary and wonderful in every way. I could go on and on, but you'd get sick of reading it and ditch her blog. I don't want that.

So instead I will say one thing I just love, love, love about her and invite each of you to do the same. Consider it your anniversary gift to us.

Right from the beginning I could tell that Annie was a girl who was going to keep me guessing. Just when I thought I "got" her, she'd astound me. Some new talent would emerge, some new aspect of her personality, some new piece of knowledge or perspective I had never considered before. She was like a rainbow, an illusion close enough to touch that always kept you looking for its end. She still is. Everyday a new and better woman wakes up and greets me. Amazing!

Now it's your turn. You took the time to check her blog today, so you must care. Why? What's so great about Annie anyway?

Stuff I've said "Yes" to

Almost an entire half-gallon of Bryers' black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. What?! I'm sick!! Gimme a break.

Stuff I've said "No" to

Peanut Butter cup ice cream
Impromptu trip to the store for Hostess cupcakes

My favorite deal this week

Ok, my favorite deal this week is at Smith's. They have Kroger cottage cheese on sale for $1.oo. We love cottage cheese in our family so you'd better believe we'll be stocking up :0) They also incidentally have Dole Garden Salads for $1.00 each as well.
Harmons has grapefruits for .33. I LOVE grapefruits!!

Here's how I worked the Winegar's Gator Deal this week: Smith's has Tide 2x Laundry Detergent on sale for $6.49, a dollar cheaper than Winegar's price at $7.49. So, I brought in the Smith's ad along with the detergent from the shelf up to the register and got it for FREE!! I also received many admiring looks from the manager and other store employees who had to give props to my shopping saavy moves ;)

Warning and reminder: Getting this deal requires a bit of guts, as checkers are still somewhat unsure of what to do in this situation and must ask assistance of the manager. The managers get it though, so no worries. It's a fair and square deal. I even measured the trip distance between the Smith's in Clinton and the Winegars here in Clearfield and it's exactly 3 miles. For the record, there is a Macey's only 2 miles from the store, so if you can find the same item for cheaper there, you can also get it for free at Winegars. One deal per customer. You can do it! I have faith in you!!