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Waiting for daddy to come home to the warm bunny hole so we can start snuggling.
Trying to remember what warm weather felt like with a little summer treat: berries and cream.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
This Cold, Cold, Long Day
Waiting for daddy to come home to the warm bunny hole so we can start snuggling.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
A Mixed Bag
Nope I'm not gonna do it. I'm not going to write complain about the temperature outside.
Not about how it was so cold this morning when William and I left the house that I mistook the actual temperature, which was 16 degrees BELOW zero, for the windchill.
And then when I realized that was the real temperature I was too afraid to even check the windchill because, c'mon, once it gets that cold does it really matter?
Instead I'll talk about how the topic of guns and weapons came up at ECFE during parent time. And that I was pleasantly surprised by the laissez faire attitude with a group that tends to be a little too by-the-textbook for my liking.
I don't promote guns or weapons as toys to William but I am constantly surprised at how, as a boy, he comes up with these things on his own. Like how he fashioned the letter "L" in a set of bath foam alphabet letters into a squirt gun. Very resourceful, young boy. I must say.
And if that doesn't catch your interest maybe you'll find it comical that I couldn't fall asleep last night because I had the Handy Manny theme song in my head.
But that's not really that funny. What's funny is that William has never even watched Handy Manny. Not even once. But somewhere in the recording of Piglet's Big Movie there happens to be a promo for Handy Manny. And out of the hour long recording my head chose to memorize the Handy Manny theme song. Brilliant.
Maybe if neither of those stories have grabbed you to keep reading my blog then at least you can send some understanding comments my way as my two-year-old leaps full force into the terrible twos especially during mass time.
This past Sunday he thought it was appropriate to yell out during the procession of the gifts, "Daddy, I don't like this music. EVER!"
Awesome. We'll put a comment in the comment box for you, William.
And if none of that catches your fancy then you should consider joining in on my 2nd annual American Idol contest. No need to be a viewer of the show to play. In fact I learned about this game from my place of work prior to William being born. That year I watched only a few episodes. I got second place. Ever since I've started watching the show I can't seem to even get above fifth place once it's all over. So actually, not watching the show seems to be some sort of an advantage.
Not about how it was so cold this morning when William and I left the house that I mistook the actual temperature, which was 16 degrees BELOW zero, for the windchill.
And then when I realized that was the real temperature I was too afraid to even check the windchill because, c'mon, once it gets that cold does it really matter?
Instead I'll talk about how the topic of guns and weapons came up at ECFE during parent time. And that I was pleasantly surprised by the laissez faire attitude with a group that tends to be a little too by-the-textbook for my liking.
I don't promote guns or weapons as toys to William but I am constantly surprised at how, as a boy, he comes up with these things on his own. Like how he fashioned the letter "L" in a set of bath foam alphabet letters into a squirt gun. Very resourceful, young boy. I must say.
And if that doesn't catch your interest maybe you'll find it comical that I couldn't fall asleep last night because I had the Handy Manny theme song in my head.
But that's not really that funny. What's funny is that William has never even watched Handy Manny. Not even once. But somewhere in the recording of Piglet's Big Movie there happens to be a promo for Handy Manny. And out of the hour long recording my head chose to memorize the Handy Manny theme song. Brilliant.
Maybe if neither of those stories have grabbed you to keep reading my blog then at least you can send some understanding comments my way as my two-year-old leaps full force into the terrible twos especially during mass time.
This past Sunday he thought it was appropriate to yell out during the procession of the gifts, "Daddy, I don't like this music. EVER!"
Awesome. We'll put a comment in the comment box for you, William.
And if none of that catches your fancy then you should consider joining in on my 2nd annual American Idol contest. No need to be a viewer of the show to play. In fact I learned about this game from my place of work prior to William being born. That year I watched only a few episodes. I got second place. Ever since I've started watching the show I can't seem to even get above fifth place once it's all over. So actually, not watching the show seems to be some sort of an advantage.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Could Your Family Do It?
Have you been watching Oprah's series on Living your Best Life this week? I have to say, I'm not a fan of January 1st being the magical date to start doing something (or quitting something) you should be doing all along. Exercising, eating right, saving money. These are all things we fail at periodically and setting yourself up for an all or nothing plan for 2009 just gives those Oprah producers the green light to air these type of resolution shows all over again at the beginning of 2010.
Instead, I think I'm like most people. Moreover I strive to live my best life everyday. But sometimes life gets in the way. We go on vacation or we have a new baby or Brian changes jobs. All these things can throw a hitch in our giddy-up. Sometimes it's nothing at all. Sometimes we just get lazy. But that's no reason to quit until next year.
Instead, I think I'm like most people. Moreover I strive to live my best life everyday. But sometimes life gets in the way. We go on vacation or we have a new baby or Brian changes jobs. All these things can throw a hitch in our giddy-up. Sometimes it's nothing at all. Sometimes we just get lazy. But that's no reason to quit until next year.
All that being said I must admit that I have watched every minute of Oprah's series. For the most part it's been just a bunch of good reminders. Yesterday financial expert Suze Orman was on. The 
majority of the show was all about getting out of credit card debt. This part was irrelevant to me because I'm happy to say we Nashes have no credit card debt.
Apparently we're in the minority though because Suze reported that Oprah's audience of 300 people had a total accumulated credit card debt of $2.5 million. Gasp! And we wonder why we're in the economic mess we're in.
As for me personally, I guess our debt-free state (speaking only on credit cards) is just an extension of my slight OCD tendencies. There's no way I could sleep at night with that lingering over my head. Much in the same way I couldn't sleep at night if I knew that the kitchen counters weren't wiped clean of all the dinner crumbs. I know. I'm weird like that.
But toward the end the show Suze did offer me some useful food for thought. Suze advised that after all credit card debt has been paid off we should start focusing on a savings stash for at least eight months worth of living expenses. Eight months being the magical number because that's the average time, in this economy, it is taking to find a new job should one find themselves suddenly without a job.
Once again, we're doing pretty well in this area but where is gets a little tricky is that we've combined our emergency stash with our "saving for a new house" stash and our "need to buy a new car" stash. So like most of you out there, we could use some creative ideas to find extra money to save. Here were Suze's three ideas to give a try:
majority of the show was all about getting out of credit card debt. This part was irrelevant to me because I'm happy to say we Nashes have no credit card debt.Apparently we're in the minority though because Suze reported that Oprah's audience of 300 people had a total accumulated credit card debt of $2.5 million. Gasp! And we wonder why we're in the economic mess we're in.
As for me personally, I guess our debt-free state (speaking only on credit cards) is just an extension of my slight OCD tendencies. There's no way I could sleep at night with that lingering over my head. Much in the same way I couldn't sleep at night if I knew that the kitchen counters weren't wiped clean of all the dinner crumbs. I know. I'm weird like that.
But toward the end the show Suze did offer me some useful food for thought. Suze advised that after all credit card debt has been paid off we should start focusing on a savings stash for at least eight months worth of living expenses. Eight months being the magical number because that's the average time, in this economy, it is taking to find a new job should one find themselves suddenly without a job.
Once again, we're doing pretty well in this area but where is gets a little tricky is that we've combined our emergency stash with our "saving for a new house" stash and our "need to buy a new car" stash. So like most of you out there, we could use some creative ideas to find extra money to save. Here were Suze's three ideas to give a try:
1. For one day don't spend any money.
I didn't think this one sounded too tough. There are a lot of Saturdays or Sundays that we spend just sitting around. Sure we treat ourselves to a Caribou or the doughnut shop but those could easily get cut out.
2. For one week don't use a credit card.
At first I thought this one would also be super easy until I started to wonder if using a check card counted. Jenny and Brian heart their check cards. It's much easier than carrying around a wad of cash and helps me monitor where our money is going when I balance the checkbook twice a month. But the check card can be our downfall too. It's much easier to swipe a card to buy a $4 latte than it is to watch those dollar bills leave your wallet.
So if Suze is recommending going one week with cash only, hat's off because this would be quite tricky. But given a little effort, I'm confident we could do it.
3. For one month don't eat out at any restaurants.
Now this is the real kick-in-the-behind, isn't it? Again, I'm confident we could do it but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say it wouldn't come without it's sacrifices. No Caribou, no Chipotle, no pizzas, no subs. For a whole month!
I really enjoy cooking and while saving money might be a nice side effect of this love, that's not why I do or don't cook. Typically the nights I don't cook are because of lack of time or energy. So making this pledge would require a whole lot more of both on a regular basis.
Brian and I agreed that because we don't feel we abuse our eating-out privilege we didn't think this was completely necessary. (Or is that the excuse everyone is using?) That said we thought it provided a good idea for a Lenten sacrifice. We shall see though seeing as how Lent this year coincides with the end of my pregnancy.
What do you think? Could your family manage all three?
I didn't think this one sounded too tough. There are a lot of Saturdays or Sundays that we spend just sitting around. Sure we treat ourselves to a Caribou or the doughnut shop but those could easily get cut out.
2. For one week don't use a credit card.
At first I thought this one would also be super easy until I started to wonder if using a check card counted. Jenny and Brian heart their check cards. It's much easier than carrying around a wad of cash and helps me monitor where our money is going when I balance the checkbook twice a month. But the check card can be our downfall too. It's much easier to swipe a card to buy a $4 latte than it is to watch those dollar bills leave your wallet.
So if Suze is recommending going one week with cash only, hat's off because this would be quite tricky. But given a little effort, I'm confident we could do it.
3. For one month don't eat out at any restaurants.
Now this is the real kick-in-the-behind, isn't it? Again, I'm confident we could do it but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say it wouldn't come without it's sacrifices. No Caribou, no Chipotle, no pizzas, no subs. For a whole month!
I really enjoy cooking and while saving money might be a nice side effect of this love, that's not why I do or don't cook. Typically the nights I don't cook are because of lack of time or energy. So making this pledge would require a whole lot more of both on a regular basis.
Brian and I agreed that because we don't feel we abuse our eating-out privilege we didn't think this was completely necessary. (Or is that the excuse everyone is using?) That said we thought it provided a good idea for a Lenten sacrifice. We shall see though seeing as how Lent this year coincides with the end of my pregnancy.
What do you think? Could your family manage all three?
More Conversations with a Certain Two-Year-Old
...because they're just too priceless not to post. We'll title this one, "When learning colors and fruits collide."
William: More peach please mommy.
Me: It's not a peach, buddy. It's an orange.
William: Oh. More orange peach please mommy.
William: More peach please mommy.
Me: It's not a peach, buddy. It's an orange.
William: Oh. More orange peach please mommy.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I Don't Wanna Grow Up
Growing Up: Take 1
William: What doing mommy?
Me: I'm going potty on the big girl potty. Does William want to go on the big boy potty like mommy?
William: Noooo. [Answering in the same tone of voice one would use to enthusiastically say YES!]
Growing Up: Take 2
Me: In a few weeks we're going to get a BIG boy bed especially for you! Won't that be fun to sleep in a big boy bed?!
William: [Again, very enthusiastically] Nope!
Me: Well pretty soon the baby is going to come out of mommy's belly and the baby has to sleep in the crib. Cribs are only for babies. So we're going to get a BIG boy bed for William because you're a big boy, right?
William: Noooo.
Oh well. We'll try again later. Or maybe he'll have a different opinion once the bed actually arrives. As for the potty training. I'm throwing up my arms. I have no energy for that right now.
Me: I'm going potty on the big girl potty. Does William want to go on the big boy potty like mommy?
William: Noooo. [Answering in the same tone of voice one would use to enthusiastically say YES!]
Growing Up: Take 2
Me: In a few weeks we're going to get a BIG boy bed especially for you! Won't that be fun to sleep in a big boy bed?!
William: [Again, very enthusiastically] Nope!
Me: Well pretty soon the baby is going to come out of mommy's belly and the baby has to sleep in the crib. Cribs are only for babies. So we're going to get a BIG boy bed for William because you're a big boy, right?
William: Noooo.
Oh well. We'll try again later. Or maybe he'll have a different opinion once the bed actually arrives. As for the potty training. I'm throwing up my arms. I have no energy for that right now.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Nock Lars
Yesterday I tore down all the Christmas stuff. Today I'm scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms. Tomorrow's all about laundry. So in the meantime you'll have to enjoy this little gem of a photo. William's birthday and Christmas are only a month apart. That means our house is full of bright, shiny new toys. Yet his favorite thing today is a new pair of "nock lars" I created for him when I ran out of paper towels this morning. Figures.
Monday, January 5, 2009
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