Consumer Report

I confess, I am a great consumer. I love spending money so it's probably a good thing I married Marc because he keeps things in check for us. (Okay, okay, I do have a little self control, but it's true, I do my part to help the economy!) The location of our new home doesn't help my love for shopping and eating out at all. We have a Target and a TJ Maxx two blocks away and an Old Navy and Hobby Lobby (a larger, better Michael's) just up the road about a mile, not to mention all of the great restaurants that surround us. There is even an IMAX theater around the block. Since we've been here I have purchased three things I don't know what I did without.


Cherries are my most favorite fruit. I love them enough to buy them even when they are $7/lb. The boys love them, too and when Carter was little he'd let me bite into the cherry and get the pit out and give him the rest of the fruit to eat but now that he's 3 he is a little more particular about how his food is served to him so this ritual has been put to rest. I was thrilled when I saw this cherry pitter advertised in last month's Parents magazine. So, when we were finally settled and I had a little extra time I ran down to Williams Sonoma and bought it for a mere $12. Now the boys and I can all enjoy cherries pit-free, but only for a few more weeks. They're almost out of season!


On my way into Williams Sonoma to buy the cherry pitter, I noticed an antique store down the strip mall aways so, since I so thoroughly enjoyed my antiquing trip to Ventura with my friend Sumi just before we left California and fell in love with lots of antique decor, I took the boys into the shop for a brief look. Right as I walked in the door, I saw the perfect shoe basket which I've been needing for a while. I looked at the price and couldn't pass it up--only $14! After a brief browse I discovered that the rest of the store was full of expensive and breakable antiques--not my style but I was thrilled with my find. Now when you come to my house there is no longer that big pile of shoes greeting you at the door!



I've always heard great things from other moms about Oxi Clean but I have never bought any until now. I was amazed when my friend Sumi helped me get out a blackened chicken stain Marc left on one of his best shirts. I ran out and bought some of my own last week when Anderson drooled colored gold fish all over his nice new white polo. (Why did I buy white? I can't remember now!) Not only did that stain come out, I used it to get a bright red cherry stain out of Carter's new white dinosaur pj shirt. I'm telling you the red is gone and I'm sold for forever!

Father's Day

Father's Day weekend started out feeling a little like Mother's Day. My dad called and wanted to take Carter for a hike and Marc decided he'd go and take Anderson, too. Not only did he take the boys and let me do my errand running by myself without feeling like there was a certain time I needed to be done, he told me as he drove away with the boys that if I didn't do something to pamper myself while I was out, he'd be really mad at me. (Do I have a great husband or what!?) The hike apparently only lasted 15 minutes or so because Carter tripped and fell and would having nothing more of hiking after that. The poor guy--it does look like it hurt. This is one of three pictures I have of the hike because Carter also would have no picture taking on the hike, hence the hand covering his face. So even though the hike was short and sweet, the boys zonked out on the way back to Grandpa's house for a hot dog BBQ and a movie. Meanwhile, I got to go on a mini shopping spree kid-free. Of course I only bought myself a pair of jeans while I hit TCP for their monster sale and got the boys really cute plaid shorts and a few other things and I got Marc a bunch of new clothes for Father's Day. I know, I know what Dad really wants clothes for his big day, but every few years he has to stock up since I usually spend the clothing budget every month on the boys and myself! Funny story about the plaid shorts-- (Marc got a pair, too but of course not from TCP) last year Marc noticed a few pairs and wanted one but I forbade him since they reminded me of some old old shorts he had when we were first married that I was eventually able to get rid of (probably behind his back since he loves to hold on to old things just in case and I'm the exact opposite). This year, I have had a total change of heart--I think they are way cool, so cool that I got all three of my

boys a pair. They were all wearing them yesterday after church, but wouldn't you know as many mental notes as I made to take a picture of them together in matching (sort of) shorts,

I forgot. Anyway, isn't it funny that for Mother's Day all we mother's want is a little "me" time and for Father's Day dad gets a bunch of time with the kids which in my case equaled more "me" time. Happy Mother's Day, twice!

Graduation

Last week was Anderson's 9 month birthday. Marc and I wonder daily where the time has gone and how he got to be the size of an 18 month old--well that's about the size of clothing he's wearing anyway. I guess it's time to find a pediatrician so we can get him in for his 9 month appointment. The big event marking his growth this month was his graduation from the infant carrier to the big-boy car seat. Technically, he out grew his infant carrier quite a while ago. The safety requirements are something crazy like 20 pounds and 25 inches or something. (I can't check for accuracy right now since Anderson is sleeping and the carrier is in his closet.) His graduation also required Carter to graduate to the even bigger boy booster. I certainly wasn't ready for this step and thought long and hard about just buying a new car seat for Anderson, but that would have been an economically silly decision. The car seat would have been $100 and once Carter was ready for a backless booster that would have been another $30 so $130 for two new car seats vs. $50 for a booster that converts into the backless kind--the decision seems obvious, but it took me a while to come to terms since the vision of matching Evenflo car seats in the back of my little car (hopefully a new and larger car soon) was oh so cute. (Yes, I admit it the need for symmetry even in my car makes me a bon a fide crazy!) I thought for sure since I wasn't ready for Carter's new seat he wouldn't be either, but that hasn't been true at all. Carter loves his new red seat and has more than willingly given his old seat to Anderson. He's not great at sharing anything else with him so we are certainly surprised.

Baby food is so expensive that I have started feeding Anderson lots and lots of table food now. He pretty much eats anything which means he better start walking fast so he'll work off those extra rolls he's bound to get. Some days I panic because it is so much easier to peel back the tops of those nifty 2 packs of fruits and veggies, but now that my pantry is basically empty of those, well I've been cooking potatoes and sweet potatoes and steaming lots of veggies and cutting up lots of different fruits. He loves the pizza we make and chowed on the pasta I made last night for dinner. He still has only two teeth so the feet of mashing these foods is still left to his gums. I am dying for him to just cut those teeth already. I haven't slept through the night in months I don't think. But, I'm not holding my breath. If Anderson's stubborn gums are any indication of his inner personality I am in big big trouble. Believe me, when he cuts those teeth there will be huge celebrations in our household.

It seemed Anderson was just waiting for our big move to make his big move. About a day after we got here--I mean to my parent's house--Anderson was pulling himself up to stand next to the furniture and bug his brother. I thought it might be because my parents have slightly lower sofas but that didn't turn out to be the case. Last night as Marc played with the boys he officially declared Anderson a "cruiser." This doesn't please Carter in the least. Carter has always been a sensitive one, which has been fine until now. He literally runs away from Anderson or rolls away during diaper changing time (anybody have any hints as to how to get a 3 year old to want to use the toilet) whining "Aden gep me." (Anderson's going to get me.") For the life of me I can't figure out why my 3 year old is afraid of his 9 month old younger brother. I am hoping someday and soon this changes and they can play together nicely more than on a rare occasion. That all being said, last week when I was busy in the kitchen making dinner the boys got quiet which is always a sign of trouble. I went looking for them and found them in the bathroom playing just like this.

Star Struck

When I was in fourth grade, New Kids On The Block hit the music charts big. Their voices and their fresh faces made girls everywhere swoon. It seemed all of my friends had 'dibs' on Jordan or Joe. But I was different. Because I really wasn't that into the individuals themselves, (I admit, I did like their music and sang and danced along to the tape while doing my daily dishes chore) at sleepovers when we'd gab into the night about these unattainable older boys I had claim to Danny. Yes, I had decided that I liked Danny, the tall, awkward looking one with the bass voice. I think I chose him because like I said, I wasn't that into the band members as much as the band but in order to fit into the giggle fest I had to choose one of them to dream about out loud. As quickly as they hit the scene, their popularity fizzled. The pins, posters, and tapes were thrown away or sold at garage sales soon after. It wasn't until I was a senior in high school that I noticed this same sort of behavior from my friends. This time it was the boyish good looks of Leonardo Dicaprio and the steamy Titanic flick that made their hearts race. Many of my friends went to the theater 6 or 7 times to see him. It almost became bragging rights, the number of times you saw the movie. My sister (sorry Danette!) even jumped on the band wagon. I thought it was ridiculous and prided myself on staying grounded in reality. Why gush over someone you will absolutely never see in your whole life?


So much for staying grounded! When Milo Ventimiglia became a regular as Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls, that's when my feet left the cement. For some reason the way he played his character--the mysterious bad boy of Stars Hollow who was 'too cool for school' but happened to be really smart--left me giddy after each Tuesday night episode. Even when it became quite obvious that he was not right for Rory, I still routed for their relationship to work out. His picture became my screen saver on my desk top when I was teaching. When he left the show, but signed on for guest appearances, I always knew ahead of time which dates those episodes would air. It just took a little research, and I was willing to do that just to see him and get those silly butterflies in my stomach. Crazy? Yes I admit it. But everyday Carter and I sit down to watch the reruns and lucky me, they started playing the Jess episodes last week. You know what I'm doing every afternoon at 3:00!

Lost in the Move

The only thing lost in our big move from Northridge to Colorado Springs was my spark of creativity that motivates me to take pictures and then blog stories about them. I've been completely unmotivated to do this. Downloading our pics from our camera to the computer has helped a bit, but I'm not in a story writing mood so we'll see how this turns out. I'm hoping I get the spark back soon, we'll have to wait and see! Here's what's been going on this past month:

Mother's Day

As part of my mother's day gift, Marc whisked Carter away on his first whirlwind father/son campout. They car pooled with Carter's friend Logan and his dad and took off around dinner time. The second they were out the door I was off to the nail salon to meet my friend and get a relaxing pedicure. I had Anderson with me and Julie had her little guy Reid, but they were very well behaved little boys and allowed us a little mother's day pampering. Afterward, I went home and put Anderson to bed and turned on the TV. I had planned on watching a chick flic but ended up watching some season finales while embarrassingly eating way too many peanut butter m&ms. It is certainly a good thing Marc doesn't leave me home alone too often, the consequences of that are too frightening to think about! The next morning I was off again for a little more pampering--an eyebrow wax. I love mother's day! Carter and Marc got home not too long after I was done and Carter had soo much fun camping. They got to the campground, pitched their tent, ate lots of smores and hung out with all their friends until really late. The boys were exhausted enough that sharing a tent wasn't an issue. The three year olds zonked out cold. After eating a quick breakfast they packed up and came home. I sure wasn't kidding when I said it was a whirlwind camping trip, but they had a lot of fun so I'm sure we'll do some sort of camping this summer.

One Last Time at the Beach

It's the first time I've looked at these pictures and they make me a little homesick for California. We had a great time going to the beach with friends a week before we left. Carter, Derek and Faith with a little help from Marc dug a pretty big hole in the sand and built a few castles while the moms and babies gabbed and vegged. We threw and kicked the beach ball around and saw a few dolphins and even a seal. It was a perfectly exhausting day, just like all beach days!

The Move

As much preparation and thought as we put into the move prior to the day's arrival, it was still extremely stressful. We had so much help Tuesday night emptying our apartment full of boxes into the big truck, but the next day Marc and his dad spent hours making sure it all fit into our allotted 10 foot portion. (We used ABF--a company that drives the trailer for you and you pay per cubic foot) At one point Marc told me we might not be able to take our rocking chair he so carefully finished for me when we were expecting Carter. I told him that simply wasn't an option. Many hours after expected, they finally finished with only one large box left out that we ended up shipping through the mail. Of course I wasn't very happy since that time had cut into my cleaning time. With two boys and no toys cleaning was impossible. I had to be their entertainment. We ended up relaxing that evening with friends eating and watching American Idol's finale. We went to bed late and woke up early Thursday to give the apartment a disappointingly quick wipe down before checking out. I feel sorry for the new tenants, but really it turned out to be slightly out of my control. After a few quick errands we were on our way to our first pit stop--Vegas. Good-bye Village Apt E6!

Carter's Real Birthday

We spent Friday May 25th in Vegas. It was Carter's birthday and interestingly enough we were in Vegas last year for his birthday, too! When Carter first woke up we let him open his first present--the one he'd been begging for for weeks. His three pack of cars--Boost, Wingo and Snotrod. Wow was he thrilled. He proceeded to chip the paint on them immediately (something only I would notice because of my compulsion to keep all things nice, clean, and new!) by racing them down a ramp made from a coffee table and a section of spare wood flooring my aunt had lying around. Once showered and ready we took a trip to Target so my aunt could do a little spoiling. She bought him Red and Stanley and Lizzie--more Cars!--and some books that he opened later that night before dinner. We then left Anderson napping with Aunt Marilee while we took Carter to see the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (okay, my memory is already gone, I think that's where it was!). Marc was in charge of the camera and none of the three pictures he took turned out so we don't have any of this event, but it was certainly fun to watch the big fish, sharks, and turtles. Carter got a little freaked out at some points, but over all I think he enjoyed it. We went back to the house and had one of the best BBQs I've ever eaten and we all ate so so much since it was so so good! We also had ice cream for Carter's birthday. Saturday was the day of the big drive. Marc was kind enough to find a $60 dollar deal on a flight from Vegas to Denver so he flew Anderson and me to Colorado while he and Carter made the long drive in one day. Thanks to the DVD player and Carter's new movie Monsters Inc, Carter was an angel. He watched that movie alone 4 times plus a ton of other ones, too. What on earth did parents do before portable DVDs in the day and age of carseats? My parents (who live in Colorado Springs for those who don't know that) were thrilled to have the boys finally here!!! Sunday night we celebrated Carter's birthday again with more cars--this time Purple and Yellow Ramone, Flo, and DJ--plus some games, books and a fantastic letter game from Grandma and Grandpa Phillips. Since we're not big cake eaters here, I dipped cones in chocolate and sprinkles and we had birthday ice cream cones. Carter loved it and has been on an ice cream kick ever since.

We had to wait a few days to move into our new place and after a few minor delays and issues we moved in on the 31st. We got unpacked within a few days and are feeling somewhat settled now. Marc started his internship last week and is carrying his own patient load. One perk--we splurged and got Comcast so among other really great things I get to catch a Gilmore Girls rerun every afternoon at 3:00--which is right now so until next time when my creative story telling juices are flowing. . .