Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Chex Mix.........Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Well, I'm glad I haven't posted in the last month, only because if I had, I may have posted my frustrations with a little 20-month-old biter who invaded our sweet boy's body. Good thing we've nipped THAT in the bud! (Fingers crossed.) Yes, our first 4 days of preschool were great. On the fifth day, I came in to talk to Barrett's teacher and make sure he'd been sweet and wasn't biting or hitting (he's been known to chew on Charlee some). She said he was doing fine and there had been no biting. Weeeeeeeehhhhhhlll, that day when I picked B and C up, Barrett's teacher came out and said he had bitten 3 kids that day. From then on, it was an every day thing. :( I was sure he would get kicked out, and I dodged any parents I passed in the hallway. Finally, though, my little pistol got a taste of his own medicine when his friend bit him. I know I should be upset about another child biting mine, but I was secretly happy. I know, I know, but how else was the kid gonna learn? I couldn't stake out the joint and run in and spank him when he did it (I would have if I could, but they wouldn't let me - ha!). I figured he needed to know what it feels like. I've heard from so many people to "bite him back". Well, I don't think I could bring myself to do it, but even if I could have, he wasn't doing it at home anymore. Anyways, ever since his friend bit him, he has only bitten once. We are going on a week and a half strong of no biting! He has been bitten a couple of times since, but that's slowing down too. I guess when you put 10 or 11 one-year-olds in a room together, they've got to communicate somehow. It is such new territory, though, because Charlee wasn't a biter. She bit another kid when she was about 9 or 10 months old, but that's it. Barrett's just showing me (yet again) that he's gonna be a whole lot different than his sister. Night and day, those two! He IS the sweetest little boy I could ever hope for, though. He is just precious, and he makes me laugh EVERY day! He has such a great personality. He smiles at nearly everyone he passes, whether he knows them or not. He spots people out at restaurants who pay attention to him, mainly older women (just like a man ~ ha!), and he flirts and flirts. It is too cute! He is definitely going to be an athlete. Even though his legs are short, he runs super fast already. He gets his legs AND his speed from his daddy. :) He is all over the place, all of the time. He can go up and down stairs on his own now, can drive Charlee's power wheels Jeep, can kick the soccer ball, and do ALL things boy. His masculinity isn't threatened AT ALL by his pink, hand-me-down toys. Ha! It is a little sad to see that all of the ride-on toys in the garage are pink, but I promise you he does not care! He loves them! Maybe Santa will bring some blue or red outside toys for Christmas. Surely that two weeks of biting won't put him on the naughty list.

Charlee is a sponge and soaking up SO MUCH at preschool! She is writing her letters, spelling her name, and has learned the Pledge of Allegiance. It is so sweet to watch her come home and "teach" her stuffed animals all that she's learned. :) She is also in AWANA again, is taking a dance class once a week, and just started preschool choir at church. She has been singing all week. I LOVE IT! Also, she did the sweetest thing several weeks ago. I had a pretty bad headache one day and was laying on the couch while Barrett was napping. She came up and asked me what was wrong, so I told her my head hurt. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and said, "Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for Mommy. Thank you for her headache and please help her to feel better. Amen." :) :) :) LOVE HER! She has the sweetest and most gentle spirit and heart I've ever met. She has started getting freckles on her face in recent months, and it is just the cutest thing. I told her she has freckles now, and she said, "No, Momma, those are sprinkles." Adorable! I think they SHOULD be called "sprinkles" ~ sprinkles of sunshine. She IS a few inches short on some hair, though. :/ She has been "cutting coupons" with me lately. I bought her a pair of kid scissors so she could take up my newest hobby with me. She clips up scrap paper. Yesterday, we were clipping along (or so I thought), I looked up and Charlee was no longer in the room with me. About the time I looked up, she walked around the corner from her room with scissors in hand, scared look on her face, and locks falling from her shoulders to the floor. Ohhhhhhhh, Charleeeeeee! What did you do???? Lip began to quiver, tears began to roll. Sure enough, CLUMPS of hair were gone. I told her we would have to cut off the remaining to match where she had cut, and she just bawled. "I don't want to have boy hair, Momma!" Well, why did you cut your hair off, then, sweet girl? Oh, it was depressing. For both of us. Her sides were pulled up, so the chunks she cut were under her top layer of hair. When I wet it to try and even it up, I decided that you couldn't see the short parts when her hair was down, so I couldn't bring myself to chop it. She didn't want to go to school this morning because she was afraid her friends would see, but she survived, and no one even noticed. No more updos for a while.

My newest obsession, and one of the reasons I haven't blogged in so long, is couponing. Might call it extreme, but I'm nowhere near where the people on the TLC show are. I am addicted. I usually buy 4 newspapers, sometimes more if there are good coupons, and I've got a pretty good stockpile going already. Chandler says that if anything happens, we'll have clean teeth, smell good, and be able to keep our dishes clean, but we won't live very long off of our food supply. It has been easy to stock up on cheap toiletries with Walgreens and CVS ads and promotions. I've got well over a year's worth of toothpaste, and I got most of them for free! I do need to focus on the grocery end of it, but it doesn't seem to be as easy around here. All we have is Winn-Dixie, Piggly Wiggly, and Wal-Mart. I've realized the art of price-matching at Wal-Mart, though, and that's been pretty profitable to my pantry stockpile. I got ten bags of Chex Mix today for 49 cents a piece! I'm pretty excited about that, cuz I LOVE me some Chex Mix! :) It's amazing how much money I'm realizing I've thrown away over the years by paying retail for things like toothpaste, deodorant, razors, milk. I just always assumed Wal-Mart had the lowest price and I couldn't get milk cheaper anywhere else. Well, Wal-Mart milk is consistently over $4, usually closer to $5. Since I started couponing and price-matching, I haven't paid over $3.19 for it. I know that may not sound like a lot, but it is to me. That's a savings that could buy 3 bags of Chex Mix! Yummmmmmmm. This week, I found a gallon of milk on sale at Piggly Wiggly for $1.99! That's awesome! Okay, enough of my elation on milk. Ha!

It feels so good to be back on the blog. My house may still be a wreck, and the laundry needs to be folded, but this is such a therapy for me, and I've been in definite need of therapy lately! Now, off for some Chex Mix.

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