Strangely Familiar

Jakson has decided to wear his Halloween costume for two days straight.
Last year's costume.
That he didn't want to wear last year.
He has even traded his three pairs of layered underwear at naptime for Max.

Today was the preschool Halloween party.
So Jakson got dressed up in last year's costume.And came home with a lot of candy.
Just what every little boy needs.
Do you suppose next year he'll wear this year's costume?

Unfortunately, he has not changed his opinion about having his picture taken.

Boots with the FUR

Remember these?

If my life was a novel, it would have been total foreshadowing when I bought those boots last January. What would a kid do with fur lined boots in Phoenix?

But in UT, where it snows in October right in the middle of "global warming", they become every-day wear.So, apparently, do socks. We had to buy some last week. What would a kid do with socks in Phoenix?

Jakson continues to be in denial that we now live where it is cold. After naptime today I found his clothes stripped off and replaced with this little diddyNotice that he is wearing not one, not two, but THREE pairs of backward underwear over his diaper. And he wanted to go outside and play in the snow in this getup.

I should have let him. At least he wouldn't ever ask again.

Here's another angle in case you didn't get enough the first time.Kids.

Sunday Night Fun

Obviously Jakson has discovered Photo Booth on the computer.

We are slightly obnoxious.

Favorites on Friday

Sorry about being MIA this week. Between costumes and more costumes, I haven't had much time for blogging. Monday afternoon all of the Max costumes will go out to the happy trick-or-treaters and I'll be free of cream fleece!!

Until then, I'll leave you with my top five favorite deal sites:
1. Pinching Your Pennies Blog

I realize that the URL states, "Utah Shopping Secrets" but I subscribed to this blog when I was living in AZ and noticed that most of the deals are online or at nationwide stores so almost everything applied to me.
A couple of my favorite posts from this week (these are still good):
Free $15 gift card from Kodak
Dominoes Pizza for $5.99

Another great thing about this site is the State Forums. Find your state and chat about coupons and deals in your area. A great alternative to a grocery coupon site that you have to pay for!

2. Deal Seeking Mom

This blog is definitely subscribe worthy. Numerous posts every day and great weekly lists. My favorite? The weekly Target list of course! On this week's Target list find a printable coupon for $10 off a Sit 'n Spin-making the price only $10. Great Christmas gift!!
There's also a weekly Freebies Roundup where you can click on links that other bloggers have found.

3. Coupon Gal

Lots of links to printable coupons and weekly store lists. The lists don't always work for me because she's based in Southern California and the prices vary, but I love all of the printable coupons!! They are often higher value than the ones I get in the Sunday newspaper.

4. Vocalpoint

I've talked about this program before and I'm mentioning it again because it is THAT GOOD. This week I got two coupons for free boxes of the new Kashi cereal (a sample came with our newspaper a couple of weeks ago-it is yummy!!) and a couple of weeks before I got a coupon for the new Bounce Dryer Bar. Signing up is easy and free. Sign up on the Vocalpoint website here.

5. One Cheap Chick

If you live in Utah, you definitely want to get updates from Lesley. The site is hosted by the Salt Lake Tribune and is really great for local deals. We were able to go to CornBellies (normally around $13) for $3.50 the day it opened, the kids ate at IKEA today for free, and we'll be heading to the Ivory Homes free Halloween party tomorrow all because of this blog!

Even if you don't live in Utah, the blog might interest you for national deals like the one going on at IKEA this week.

Hope the list helps you get more free and cheap stuff!! Happy dealing!

Have you met Alice?

I hate grocery shopping with my kids.

Frankly, I hate shopping with them period.

But something about all the aisles and the coupons and the cart seems to bring out the inner demon in my children.
I especially hate those moments when we get home and I realize, after fighting with them for an hour, that I've forgotten something essential, like diapers or wipes.

Enter Alice.

This morning I went shopping for those essentials without my children.
In my bed.
Before I put on my makeup.
AND I USED COUPONS!!

Alice is a new (to me) shopping site that sells all the essentials.
Diapers, makeup, paper towels, shampoo, soap, toothpaste.
Many of the items include coupon offers making them as cheap or cheaper than you can buy them at your local store.
The coupon discounts are automatically taken off when you add items to your cart.

Want to know the best part?
FREE SHIPPING!!
on. every. single. order.
Seriously.

So, you can order things that you need from the store anyway, use coupons, and have it shipped to your house for free! I feel like I hired a butler or something.

Some of the current deals that are stockpile worthy:
Suave shampoo and conditioner: $.60 after coupon
Luvs diapers: $5.78 after coupon (.18 a diaper-based on size 4)
Bounty paper towel roll-$.59 after coupon
Dove deodorant-$.97 after coupon
Kotex pantiliners-$.41 after coupon
Apparently, the deals change weekly!

As if that wasn't enough, some of the Alice boxes that arrive at your doorstep will also include free samples or prizes like an iPod shuffle.
Are you convinced yet?!?
Go shop.
And save.

Favorites on Friday

UPDATE: If you tried to use the ArtsCow coupon code and it didn't work for you, that's because I forgot the 9 at the end. Oops!! The correct code is: 8X10CP899.

I just want you to know that Poop Picasso has struck THREE times this week.
I'll spare you the gory details.

You're welcome.

On a cleaner note, I present to you this week's favorites:

1. The gray skirt I picked up during Shade's Anniversary sale.
It made me think twice about wearing jeans for our family pictures.....It's still available on the website, but only in white.

2. The Harry Connick Jr. station on Pandora.
Great music for relaxing.

3. A great deal on canvas photos from Artscow.
We have ordered tons of pictures (and cards) from this printing company and have ALWAYS been happy with the quality. Expect the prints to take awhile to get to you though-they are shipped from China!!

The deal is this: order 3 8x10 canvas prints (can be the same picture or three different) and during checkout enter the code 8X10CP899. Your total (including shipping!) for all three will change from $75 to $8.99!

Something else I discovered yesterday-you can add as many canvas prints as you want as long as they are in increments of three and each set will cost just an extra $8.99. HOT! These would make fantastic Christmas gifts! The code is good until Oct. 22nd.

4. This list of 50 things to do with old T-shirts.
We all know how obsessed I am with refashioning (though I wish I had more time to make the ideas instead of just bookmarking them).

5. These is My Words series by Nancy TurnerI finished the first two quite a while ago, but finally picked up the most recent (third book in the series), Star Garden, at the library. Highly recommend all three!

Love

I was so touched when Jakson came to me this morning, hugged me, and said "I love my mommy."

I mean really, who doesn't live for those moments?

It makes wiping poop off the walls worth it.
Until I realized that he was just feeling extra lovey today.

About a minute later he picked up Animal and said, "I love my green Animal" and gave it a kiss.
Okay, understandable.

A couple of minutes later, his balloon (you know the non-pregnancy announcement one?) floated by and he looked up and said, "I love my blue balloon."

Then, as he was eating his crackers he said, "I love my crackers."
And on and on.
Everything he touched or looked at, he loved.
So either he binged on some Love Potion #9 this morning, or he's just testing out a new expression he's learned to say.

I'm really not feeling all that special anymore.
And still a little mad about all of that poop.

The Biggest Decision of the Year

Seeing Into the Woods last week (which was fabulous by the way!!) helped me make a final decision about our Halloween costumes.

That's right, I said OUR Halloween costumes.

We'll be doing the whole matchy, matchy thing this year.

We're so cute.

I purchased the first piece of Zak's costume last night.It's great to have crafty friends with mad skillz.
Now if I can just get the rest of the costumes done by Halloween.

Not So Scary Spiders-Tutorial

As mentioned in the Poop Post yesterday, Jakson and I made spiders.

Well, I made spiders and he made a mess.

I like this project because I'm a big fan of kid-made stuff being on display in the home. Just like in the classroom, I think it helps children to see the work of little hands in their surroundings.

It may be imperfect, but isn't that what makes it beautiful?

Here's what you'll need:
Black spray paint (a little can will do)Big and small styrofoam balls-one of each for each spider
Toothpicks
Chenille pipe cleaners
(you can use the original kind as well, but the chenille makes for hairier spider legs)
And a Tupperware (or other similar container) that you don't care about.

First, spray paint your styrofoam balls.
I painted them inside of an old potato salad container because I wanted to make sure that I coated all of the sides and didn't want to hold them in my hand in order to accomplish the task. Just throw a couple in and toss them around as you spray.Once they have dried completely, start putting together your spiders!
Attach the two pieces together with the toothpick.Cut the pipe cleaners in half or in thirds (depending on how long you want the spiders legs to be). You'll need eight legs for each spider.
Shove the legs into the body portion of the spider like so:I'm sure you could have figured that out without a picture.....
Bend each leg at the end to make it look more spidery.

There you have it-spooky spiders to decorate with!!I added one to my fall wreath because I wanted to spice it up for Halloweenand hung a couple with fishing wire in the front windows (look closely)Our house looks so much spookier!

Poop Post

Do you ever have those days when you swear that your children are conspiring against you?

Storey had surgery yesterday in the early morning to get tubes.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly and she seems to have fully recovered.
Which means, she's back to her ridiculously dramatic self.
(Something else I blame on Zak's side of the family.
I mean, seriously, I have NEVER been dramatic about ANYTHING. Right, mom?)

But then the fun began.

I thought it would be a nice mother/son activity to make some spiders to hang up for Halloween (tutorial to come tomorrow).
Everything was going well until Jakson wanted to pick up the styrofoam balls that we had just painted and bring them inside.
They were still wet and he RUINED his clothing.
There is nothing that can be done-I even tried the miracle cleaner I've heard others swear by.
Good thing his whole outfit only cost me $2.

Then, while I was upstairs rocking Storey, he went into the bathroom to "wash his hands" (a.k.a. play in the water) and left the water running.
Something I didn't discover until AFTER I laid him down for a nap about a 1/2 hour later.
Wouldn't be a big deal, except that I had put the stopper in the sink to soak his pants and he hadn't removed it.
Of course he hadn't. He's three.
The result was an overflowing sink and a wet floor.
And a mad mommy.

Once I was done cleaning that up, I went upstairs because I could still hear him not napping.
What I found was not pretty.
I first encountered a diaper sitting outside his bedroom door. Full of poop. Disgusting.
Even more disgusting was what was waiting for me inside his room.
Jakson and the Poop Disaster of 2009.
He had apparently taken off his diaper and then proceeded to smear poop like paint all over his body. What possesses anyone to do such a thing? Monkeys, yes. Humans, no.
He had then rubbed his poop encrusted skin all over his sheets, on the wood railings around his bed, the walls......and we're not talking baby poop, but man poop.
Gross to read about, but even grosser to clean.
(How many times can I say "poop" in one blog post? I'm going for the record, people.)
So, there went nap-time. The only time of the day when I can actually get something done.

My mother in law said the only good thing that comes out of incidents like this is that I can bring it up when he's a teenager. In front of all of his friends.
Sweet revenge. Although it isn't much consolation while you are scrubbing poop.

Did I mention that I had Enrichment (our women's church meeting) at my house last night?
Maybe Jakson just wants people to nail down their impression of me right away.
The girl with the flooded, poop smelling house.
What a dear.

And just in case you were wondering-9 times.
There were 9 times that "poop" appeared in this post. Now 10.
If you count the title, it's actually a whopping 11.
Do you suppose Guinness reads my blog?

Get Excited and Make Things-Giveaway

I love the internet for many reasons.

Google helps me self-diagnose (I've had some very strange and unusual diseases according to WebMD), find sewing tutorials, raise my children, get free stuff, and so much more.
Really-how did we live before search engines?

One of my favorite finds has been this poster on Flickr:I loved it so much, I blew it up big and hung it up on my wall.
Really, really big.Unfortunately, it looks as though the file to the high resolution print that I used has been removed.
But you can still get the downloadable poster (prints up t0 11"x14") in lots of different colors from Blah, Blah, BlaghOr here!
Just for fun, I'm giving one commenter her (or his) a "Get Excited and Make Things" poster in any choice of color from here. Size 8x10.
To enter, just leave a comment with a link to your favorite online tutorial or recipe.
I need more ideas for dinner or we're going to starve.
And your name, of course.
I'll choose a winner next Wednesday morning, so be sure to enter by Tuesday (the 13th) at midnight.

Go out and find something to make!
By the way, if you want the high resolution file, let me know and I'll email it to you.
bethanycr {AT} gmail {DOT} com

Captured

Storey has been blessed with personality....and lots of it.

She talks loud, walks with purpose, and likes to get her way.
Already she says, "hi", "bye", "Daddy", "Mommy" and most frequently, "Monkey."
Storey loves Monkey.I was so excited to find that my friend Elizabeth was able to capture Storey having personality moments.
Like this one.

This is her prayer stance (notice she's folding her arms).

Have you ever seen anything cuter?I love it!

See all of the pictures from the photo shoot here.
Thank you so much Elizabeth. Fantastic!

Epiloblogs (I am so punny)

I know you all are wondering "Is Storey still tubeless?", "Does Jakson remain a fan of school?", and most pressing, "Did Zak finally shave?"

My blog is like a good suspense movie. Mystery at every turn.
Now you will be able to sleep at night, because I have the answers to all of those compelling questions.

#1-Storey and her ears.
We met with a pediatric ENT today. She, like her brother, will join the ranks of the tubed next Wednesday. Wish us luck.

#2-Jakson and school.
I bribed him. That's right, I'll admit it.
I told him that if he was good and didn't cry, we'd go to the dollar store and he could choose any balloon.
He chose this oneNo, that is not an announcement.
We've gone over this. I'm not pregnant, just chubby.
This is really going to throw off the people who don't READ the blog, just look at the pictures.
Now I'll know who you are because you are going to leave a comment like this,
"Congratulations! Three is fun!"
Three does not sound fun and thankfully I will not know firsthand for a very long time.

#3-That thing growing on Zak's face
It's gone.
But I did get this email yesterday after Zak saw the post:
Now I am thinking of getting a thermal shirt and putting FEAR on it with red electrical tape so I can be Mose for Halloween. Thanks for the idea!
You only have to blame yourself.
Well, that sort of backfired on me.

Get this though.
Today at work, one of his coworkers asked him where his Abraham Lincoln beard went.

I told you he looked ridiculous.

The beardless one and I are off to Into the Woods for date night!

Facial Hair

I'm not a big fan.
In my opinion, the mustache turns most men into Chester look-alikes, beards tend to get food stuck in them, and goatees scratch.
You don't see me growing out my armpit hair.

But Zak is on a shaving strike.
I love the guy, I do, but seriously, it hurts me PHYSICALLY to kiss him.
I complained about it so much that finally he shaved.
Around his mouth.
And that's it.

Now I can't look at him without being reminded of Dwight's crazy cousin MoseThat's not a good thing.
Just looking at this picture freaks me out a little.
The beard resemblance is uncanny.

His argument for the beard was something about an Amish costume for Halloween.
You cannot be a RELIGION as a Halloween costume.
Thankfully, his reasoning cannot stand up for very long because we are having our family pictures taken before then.
And that THING is not about to be documented for our posterity.

I guess it's better than shaving his head like male pattern baldness.
(Also for a Halloween costume. True story).
One thing I can say-my husband is extremely dedicated to his art.
Go big or go home.