As I mentioned previously, my friend, Hannah, has an eye for photography.
And as promised, I do have lots of pictures of my animated first-born to share with you over the coming weeks. But here’s something else to tide you over until after our move.
Morenna is becoming quite the sophisticated little Diva. At times she reaches such an extreme that it scares me. She plays the role all too well.
And when I saw this picture Hannah took, I giggled at what a prime example it was of my little lady:
If you didn’t know, we are preparing to move 400 miles to a new home... closer to family. This has been such an answer to prayer for my husband and I. A prayer more than two years in the making.
Soon I hope to share God’s goodness in directing our steps, but until then you’ll just have to bear with me. Trying to pack up a house with two small children around has been quite a difficult task for me, especially considering that this is the largest move I’ve ever made. In. My. Life.
So while we meander our way through boxes over here, let me tempt your interest with this, the most precious picture I have of Jadyn to date. And I didn’t even take it.
All credit goes to my girlfriend, Hannah. She’s incredible behind a lens... and in front of one, too, if you can catch her. :-)
Whacha think? And yes, I do have pictures to post of my sweet firstborn, too. Not to worry. :-)
Jadyn started cereal the first week of May and loved it!
I’ve since added a little banana to it, which she likes as well.
In this picture, Daddy is trying his hand at feeding without making a mess.
Not too bad!
May 2010
I’m still loving my month-at-a-time meal planning. Like with any planning, it has saved me a bundle of time. But doing it for a month seems to save me even more time.
Once I plan my menu, I lay out a grocery list for the needed items each week. Recipes requiring special, more pricey ingredients, I plan to have at the end of the month so I can hopefully find what I need when it’s on sale.
Then, I schedule a cooking plan of meals I can make ahead, double the recipe, and freeze.
After that, it’s sit back and relax time. I love that!
Here’s what May shaped up to be:
I got me some bravery earlier this week. :-) Many of you may laugh at my heroic efforts, but the truth of it is... I gave both the girls a bath at the same time.
Oh, yeah. I = awesome.
Or not.
‘Tis true that many before me have done this and more. I’m sure my sweet aunt, the mother of twins that she is, is reading this and smirking at me. Oh honey, if only you knew.
But I did it. I’m pleased no one drowned. And I have the pictures to prove it.
Does it count if each girl was in her own bathtub?
Twenty-nine years ago today the love of my life was born. He arrived here before I did, but I know the Lord had recorded all his days on this earth... and on one of them, 21 years later, we would meet for the first time.
Not as husband and wife. But as friends.
And we’re still friends.
What better way to celebrate the gift of love and new life than to indulge in the beauty of spring in the great outdoors?! I packed a yummy picnic lunch of curried tuna wraps, brie & crackers, chocolate-covered bananas and strawberries, and peanut-butter cookies and we headed for the trail.
The trail at Red Rock Wilderness, which overlooks the Potomac River.
We basked in the beauty, munched on yummy food, considered the ant, and celebrated the gift of each other.
It was a wonderful afternoon!
The beautiful Potomac overlook!
Yes... just some subtle advertisement.
We had so much fun watching these ants!
Doing the manly thing. Showin’ off to the ladies. Er, lady.
Happy birthday to my best friend!
Life with two has been such a joy and a challenge. I’ve always heard it’s tough to adjust to two... or three (depending on who you ask)... and at least for me I think the former is the truth. I’ve struggled to live without sleep, find time to use the bathroom ALONE, and care for my family with grace and patience. It’s been a tough journey, one far from over, but I’m finally feeling more on top of things.
And I’ve had time to focus on all the joys of living life with two growing girls!
Morenna - 25 months
Morenna continues to amaze me with her vocabulary. She definitely takes after her father in that regard. When Matt was five he was amazing people in grocery check-out lines with properly used words like “obstreperous” and I’m just waiting for Morenna to do the same.
She chatters constantly and will dialog with short conversations on the phone. And also by herself. Her capacity for imagination has definitely grown... which is something I’m thrilled about!
She can sing the entire alphabet and recognize the letters “O”, “M”, and “B”. And she can almost recognize all colors.
Numbers-wise she can count to 10... and counts objects, too.
Dancing and music are definitely her forte, so I’m sure we’ll be looking into ballet or tap lessons in the near future. And dresses. She loves dresses with a passion!
And recently she’s mastered summersaults all by herself.
A haircut might be coming soon for her, too.
Potty-training still is a taboo subject. She will pee on the potty if we sit her on it, but other than that she has no desire. And I’m ok with that.
I’m also ok with they fact she still sleeps in a crib, with no apparent desire for the contrary.
Today we moved Jadyn into Morenna’s room... so we’ll have to see how that goes. :-) As a big sister goes, Morenna has definitely started to show more of an interest in Jadyn, but mainly to take her toys or let me know when she’s spit-up or lost her beloved binkie. There is the occasional kiss, but I’ve been a bit disheartened at her lack of gentleness or care towards her. Oh well, I shrug it off in light of her age.
Food wise she is my vegetarian in training. She’s not a huge meat lover, but will gladly pig out on beans, cheese and eggs... in addition to yogurt, fruits and veggies and crackers. Don’t forget the crackers.
She finally has both canine teeth on the bottom. Just two more to go and then we’ll be waiting for the last of her molars. I’m not at all saddened to see that phase of growth pass us by. I’m not big on teeth. :-)
Jadyn – 5.5 months
My little tootsie-pop. What a joyful spirit Jadyn is... despite how little she sleeps. Which is more than I can say for myself. :-)
At halfway through her fifth month she has taken to eating cereal like a pro. She. Loves. It. Funny how I’ve failed to make it to the six month mark with both girls before introducing them to solids. But both have been ready, so who am I to deny?
Jadyn can’t stand to be on her tummy, so about a month and a half ago she mastered rolling over from tummy to back on demand. Simply lay her on her tummy and before you blink, she’s flipped over and is giggling back at you.
Her latest accomplishment, though, is to sit unassisted. And she really likes this position. She does well with reaching for toys and keeping herself from toppling over.
Jadyn continues to act like she’s teething... as she has since month number one. Her favorite activity is to gnaw on daddy’s finger as he totes her around the house. Spoiled? Maybe. Adored? Yah.
And what a drama queen! I thought Morenna was passionate... boy, we’re in for it with Jadyn. Her version of a temper-tantrum is to cease breathing until her face turns bright red and then to squeal. A funny thing to behold!
In as much as Morenna is a Daddy’s girl (BIG time), Jadyn is a Mommy’s girl. She simply lights up whenever I’m around and thus far has belly-laughed really only for me. I’m not complaining. Such adoration is a small payback for the number of sleepless nights I’ve spent with her.
Morenna was a great sleeper right off of the bat. But Jadyn continues to get me up several times a night. I finally wised up to the fact she wasn’t waking in order to eat, but rather to cuddle with me... every three hours. Still not too sure how I’m going to handle that one... but I’m hoping it goes away soon.
I’ve always been a proud member of the latter category and even went so far as to marry a fellow member. We lived in ignorant bliss until just a few months ago.
Last year my husband announced it was time for him to get serious about studying to take the bar. A few hundred thousand dollars later, my husband relayed to me the shocking news: personal bar studies were only available through the use of an iTouch or iPhone.
My first thoughts were not pleasant ones. The words “disgusting monopolistic garbage” may or may not have floated through my mind.
But we had to do what we had to do.
And now... I’m a believer.
So why devote a blog post to such a topic? Just this: I’ve discovered another device that has saved my life. And I know several other mommas who just might be tempted by what I’m about to share.
Our iTouch now joins with our iRobot Roomba, Mosie, (which I could swear I wrote a post about but I can’t seem to find it now) as a couple pricey, but well-worth-the-money technologies.
Though my iTouch has allowed me to significantly increase my ability to maintain a social presence (through facebook and email), most importantly it has helped me stop wasting time on the internet.
It’s nothing new. I’ve mentioned internet addictions in the past. And I’m sure many of us mothers continue to have some moments each day that we’ve blithely tossed into the internet-surfing void.
And that’s precisely where the iTouch comes in. I’m able to manage my blog subscriptions, check and respond to email, browse and update facebook, and be consistent with devotions all through the use of this handy... TINY... device. I emphasize tiny because that is precisely what keeps me from over-doing my internet time. I mean, who wants to stare at such a small screen with such small font for more than 5 minutes?
My point exactly.
Blogs and facebook are browsed while I’m nursing, after devotions. Email is check multiple times during the day, but only long enough to see what’s new and if a timely response is needed. I’m more organized and MUCH more attentive to my girls this way.
And that, for the record, is what works for me!
What works for you?
Matt has great work hours in my opinion... he gets home early and takes the girls while I get dinner.
A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
Most of the time they tromp off to the neighborhood playground to swing and slide.
Morenna has become more and more courageous in what she’ll do by herself at the playground. So last month I decided to bypass dinner in lieu of venturing out to snap some pictures of all their fun. Here are my favorites:
Morenna & Jadyn spending some quality time with Grandpa John.
Morenna was quite fascinated with Grandpa’s magical ability to pull candy out of her ear. :-)
“More candies, Grandpa? More candies from my ear?”
April 2010
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It takes time and precious brain cells (from my dwindling supply) to pull together a meal plan.
Some women plan completely from scratch. Others have a 2, 4 or even 6-week rotation of family favorites.
I fall into the first group. For a while now I’ve dedicated a portion of my Saturday mornings to planning our menu for the following week. Armed with the weekly ads, my menu planning cards and my links to favored recipe sites, I’ve taken 20-30 minutes to do my thing... until recently I switched things up again.
One of my highly-esteemed blogger friends finds time to menu plan on a larger scale. And so, for the month of April, I took the plunge and decided to plan out my entire menu... for the whole month. While I’m on a roll, why not? And you know what, we have a winner!
It certainly works for me.
Here’s some noted differences, however:
- Additional flexibility. I don’t have as much control over my month’s schedule as I do for the current week. Solution? I made sure to plan out meals for every single day of the month. Then as issues arose, I swapped days.
- Planning around unknown sales. Obviously you’ll never know the ad from one week to another. Solution? Enter freezer cooking and good ol’ fashion guesswork. I’ve been attempting freezer cooking for some time now, and in planning for the month, it’s really been a lifesaver. When things are on sale, I stock up in hopes to utilize the items the following month. Additionally grocery chains rotate their sales every 4-6 weeks, for the most part. So it helps to keep a mental tab on what sales might be coming up.
- More rotation. I’ve never been a big fan of meal rotation. However, I have found that planning for the month required a little more structure than normal. Solution: Taco Tuesdays Sundays and Friday night pizza.
That said, here’s what our April plans looked like:
BON APETIT!
Menu Cards
I found Morenna sound asleep in her play box one day when I was making lunch.
So precious! March 2010.
Morenna’s middle name, Sakura, is Japanese for cherry blossom. Matt and I chose that name for a reason; she was born on the first day of the D.C. cherry blossom festival two years ago. You may remember my friend Rachel and I packed up our newborns and headed down for pictures in the blossoms. Morenna was less than two weeks old.
Well, as is tradition, Rachel and I packed up the kids – four kids now, ages 2 and under – and headed down to the D.C. chaos to snap a few pictures. The kids have certainly changed... but the blossoms hadn’t. :-)
It was a beautiful day to go, sunny and in the low 70s. We packed a picnic lunch and sat under the trees next to the tidal basin (not too brilliant of an idea when you have two little ones interested in water and ducks, with nothing between them and the enticing waves lapping the sides of the basin).
But we all survived. Yes, much to our surprise Rachel and I survived... and we’ll probably do it all again next year. Maybe. :-)
And of course we snagged some fun pictures:
He is Risen! He is risen Indeed!
Holidays for us almost always mean travel of some sort. Travels to Ohio. Travels to California.
And family. Always family.
But Easter was a bit different this time around. We snubbed our typically travelled states and headed North, instead. To Pennsylvania.
But though the holiday wasn’t spent with immediate family, it was spent with some good friends whom Matt and I consider our “second family.” And we had a wonderful time!
Both Matt and I became independently acquainted with the Wohlschlegels during our college days. Their large, welcoming family provided some meaningful comforts to us during those years. And we’ve loved feeling like a part of their family for, well.... almost 10 years (ok, 9.5 for Matt and 8.5 for me).
The weekend provided us a chance to kick back and have some fun... while our kids were otherwise engaged with some other family member for our entire visit. Yes! Did I just say that out loud?
Here are the shots from our weekend in the Keystone State:
My baby isn’t my baby anymore. She’s my oldest.
Mommy: “How old are you, Morenna?”
Morenna: “Good.”
That’s close enough. :-)
She’s two. And this momma has already witnessed so many new changes in her. Like overnight. Yes, there was the arrival of a new attitude as sassy as the little high heeled dress-up shoes she parades around in. But there was more, lots more. Her curiosity in the world around her has blossomed, too.
Morenna: “Mommy, what’s that?”
Me: “Those are the cow’s horns.”
Morenna: “Ooh. Beep, beep!”
In light of this burst of curiosity, it was only fitting that we had a Curious George birthday party. She loves the “monk”, as she’s termed him, and perhaps he’s the one responsible for her newfound adventurous spirit.
We had just a few of our friends over for the celebration, along with my parents. Of course there has to be another little one present for it to be a real party, so her buddy Kavan was there, too. :-)
Here’s some captured moments:
Can I say that?
Anyhow, you all know I love a sweet deal as much as the next person, but when the items you purchase are paid to take end up being family favorites – expensive favorites – it just makes the feeling that much greater.
Hence my happy night last night. And with any luck and some coupons, perhaps you could get the same!
Giant Food Stores are currently (through Friday) running a promotion: buy $15 of select Kashi products and receive $5 off your next shopping order.
They also are offering their dollar doubler days.
Being the Kashi junky I am, I had printed multiple Kashi coupons here and here, in addition to having several that had been mailed to me and some found in previously purchased items.
Note: If you only print coupons online, and you have access to two home computers, you can print each coupon above twice and do a pretty sweet deal.
I rolled my deal, meaning I split all I bought into two transactions and used the money from the first to help pay for the second.
First Transaction
2 boxes of Kashi cereal ($3.29 each)
1 Barenaked Granola ($3.99)
1 box of TLC bars ($2.99)
2 Kashi to-go cups ($1 each)
6 Pillsbury Grands Jrs ($1 each) [*These currently have a catalina deal running... buy 6 get $4 back]
- Used 4 ($1) coupons that doubled = (-$8)
- Used 2 ($0.75) coupons on the biscuits = (-$1.50)
- Used a $10 Giant coupon from a deal I did last week (I also threw in a dozen eggs to the deal)
Paid $5.46 ... and got $9 back ($5 for the Kashi, $4 for the Grands)
Second Transaction
3 boxes of Kashi cereal ($3.29 each)
1 Barenaked Granola ($3.99)
1 box of TLC bars ($2.99)
- Used 4 ($1) coupons that doubled = (-$8)
- Used 1 ($1) coupon that didn’t double = (-$1)
- Used $5 dollars from the previous perchase
Paid $4.17 ... and got back $5
So for the Kashi deal and the Grands deal I technically paid $6.74 and got $9 back. So cool.
And that, my friends, made for a really great night. :-)
