Super Sammy!

Long time,no see and all that jazz. I have to do this quick or it'll be another 2 months (or 3?) til I write a blog.

Some things about Sammy at 16 months:

1.) He is a very persistent boy: He is sweet as pie 99% of the time, but you'd better give him what he wants, when he wants it...or else! He screamed for 20 minutes this afternoon when I wouldn't give him back his Color Wonder ink pad. He had to sit at the table with it and he insisted on walking around the room. So in the box it went and back on the shelf. Sammy does not appreciate the setting of boundaries.

2.) He can say, "Halp!!!" and very loudly. And repeatedly. Until he gets "halp". Oh and I was just reminded that a few more faves in the word category are "No! No! Mine! Mine!"

3.) He can say "Dada!!". Very loudly. And repeatedly. Until he gets "Dada".

4.) He prefers to feed himself. Especially entire grown-up sized bowls of oatmeal. And when he's done he will gleefully swipe the highchair tray off and leave half a bowlful on the floor.

5.) He enjoys pouring his milk out more than he enjoys drinking it and does not appreciate Mommy cutting this game short when she notices what's happening.

6.) He is about 28 lbs and is tall enough to reach this keyboard. halsddhswkjhfbwlods; - see?

7.) He loves to be tickled.

8.) He likes to dance.

9.) He enjoys doing whatever Max is doing and playing with whatever Max is playing with (usually at the same time Max is playing with said object).

10.) He doesn't sit and listen to books much at all... : (

11.) He likes playing trains and cars and using my face and arms as a track.

12.) He is FAST! Add that to "persistent" and you can imagine the cat-like reflexes I must demonstrate countless times each day to save him from himself.

13.) He is still not really sleeping through the night. Sigh.

14.) He is nearly impossible to diaper and dress with his ninja-like abilities at evading capture.

15) He is adorable and loves his brother and cousins and Mommy & Daddy, aunts & uncles and grandparents.

Couponing

My Latest System:

Box w/ hanging file folders - didn't spend any $ - just used stuff from around the house
How I'm labeling the folders....for now. I reserve the right to get smarter (thanks, Jessica!) & change this if I need to. I also am saving the weekly inserts for stores. I never used to shop at places like CVS, but you can get some really awesome deals at the drug stores.

Three weeks of Smart Source coupons. You can see how I have them labeled by date. My mother-in-law gives me the ones from her paper in York, PA, so I note that too because some papers have different coupons. I just learned this, but you can see the date of each coupon set on the spine of each set. I file them in order from oldest in the front to most recent in the back.

See how many coupons I'd have to clip if I clipped everything? Mama doesn't have time for that! I used to only clip what I'd use, but now I save everything because I'm learning that you can sometimes buy things you don't need to get money back for things you DO need. Then you just donate the things you didn't need or want (i.e. adult diapers, pet food, etc.).

When I have coupons left that I didn't use on a given trip, I file them here. This isn't the best way, BUT I had a shoebox and didn't have the $$ to buy a spankin' new binder and baseball card holders.

Here's my latest couponing system. There are as many systems as there are people, so you really have to just find something that works for you, but I needed something so that I wouldn't have to cut a bajillion coupons every week, but I could easily find coupons as referenced in the lists I check regularly. So far, this is working for me. I'm labeling and filing the coupons weekly, then clipping based on sites I frequent online, then anything I end up not using on a given trip, but that's already clipped, I file in an envelope in a shoe box. My envelopes are labeled according to categories that work for me and are alphabetized & numbered (i.e. Baby (1), Beverage (2), Batteries & lightbulbs (3)).

Here are some things I'm learning about couponing:

- I reserve the right to get smarter! This is a phrase I am borrowing from my friend Jessica. I have had several couponing systems over the last year or so and depending on my strategy, I grow and change as needed.

- It's worth it to spend money on several Sunday papers.

-Ask friends or neighbors for their coupons if they don't use them. When you get a good sale, you will have multiple coupons for the same item. For example, I got 6 FREE coffee creamers today since I had multiple coupons. Don't need 6 creamers? Donate them to friends or your church's coffee bar!

-There are SO many sites online to learn from. I love the couponing spirit I'm finding. In most cases, people want to help each other get a good deal and are not shy about sharing. Here are some that my fellow couponers have shared:

www.thegrocerygame.com (costs a small amount of money, but VERY worth it, especially when starting out)

www.southernsavers.com

www.hip2save.com

www.thekrazycouponlady.com

-I have "liked" all of these on Facebook and they post lots of good deals on FB daily.

-Coupons are like free money! Yes, it takes some time, but it's worth it. It's actually kind of a thrill to get good deals!

Happy couponing to you!

Sammy Turns 1!

Sammy turned 1 a few weeks ago. He is so sweet - very patient and happy, though he tends to pick up every single cold possible. Since Christmas it's literally been 2-3 weeks with a cold, one week without and then 2-3 more weeks with one. He is now walking and gaining confidence every day and trying to talk. He cracks me up when he's frustrated. He crawls about two "steps", then goes spread eagle on the floor for a few seconds. Then he gets up and does it again. He isn't sleeping through the night yet (well, I guess he slept all night the last two nights, but I need more of a pattern before claiming he's given up his night wakings.)

He loves Max and dogs and his two new fish he got for his birthday. Actually, there's only one left as of this writing, but he loves it! He eats more than Max and is having a love affair with Eggo waffles this week. He likes to climb the steps as well as the couch in the toy room. His favorite toy is the Fisher Price piggy bank we've had since Max was one. He isn't as into reading as Max was at this age, but he will sit for about 1/2 a book and prefers to just listen and play while I read to Max or grab the book and chew on it. Max still prefers to sit on my lap and read forever if given the chance.

I love having two boys and they are so cute together. A week or so ago, Sammy made his way across the room with his arms outstretched making kissing noises and headed right over to Max. The great thing about this age is that Max thinks that's adorable too. : ) Max is such a big help with Sammy. I often say, "Max, can you entertain Sammy while I (fill in the blank - use the restroom, empty the dishwasher, etc.)?" He happily obliges. He does get a little annoyed when Sammy knocks down his towers or destroys his train tracks, but he does a good job controlling his frustrations.

One lesson I learned about first birthdays after having Max was to not allow the birthday boy to have an unlimited supply of cake and frosting. For Max's birthday, we set a full size cake in front of him for the traditional "Cake Massacre" pics. He didn't eat any of the cake, but ate ALL the frosting. That was his very first taste of junk food and I allowed him to eat almost 1/2 can of frosting in one sitting! That poor child was awake with a tummy ache all night long after that. So Sammy only got one or two cupcakes to devour on his big day. We had a low-key celebration with my family and Matt's family and opened presents as the guests arrives (i.e. Nana & Pappy arrive on Friday afternoon so he opened his gifts then, Aunt Sarah & Uncle Adam were here Saturday morning hours before the actual party so we opened their gifts then.) It was nice spreading them out so he could play with something new every few hours.

We are all blessed to have Sammy! Happy birthday, Big Guy!!

Merry Christmas!

Hi! We're still around, just wanted to let you know! I am writing fast because Sammy is chewing on the plug thingy that goes in the side of the griddle and rustling the plastic that is saving him from a fall from our kitchen down into the living room below. The rooms are separated by a railing with much-too-far-apart-spindles.

Okay, you didn't know I was gone, but I'm back. I had to rescue Sammy from falling through the 2 spindles that are not covered in plastic because I measured wrong and never went back to fix it.

Boys are doing great! Max says funny things all the time and made my day the other day by saying, "Mommy, you're the best girl in the WHOLE world!" and yesterday after I served him lunch he said, "Thanks! I really 'preciate that!" Of course these gems are interspersed with moments such as him choosing to pee in the trash can even though the toilet is right next to the can!

Sammy is 9 months old and is very happy. He crawls really fast and can cruise around holding onto furniture. I can't believe he'll be 1 in less than 3 months. Wow. I am really learning to treasure my time with my kids lately. I have the sense that these moments are fleeting and these really are the best days of my life. I think all the words of wisdom from moms of grown kids are finally sinking in. "Enjoy this time. You'll miss these days." I know they're right.

Christmas is around the corner and we are ready! I am feeling blessed beyond measure and am so thankful for our health and the love in our lives and of course for Christ, the reason for the season! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

For the Glory of God

Yesterday during lunch, Max and his cousins were discussing what they wanted to be when they grow up. Mabel said she could ask God to tell her what she should be. I took the opportunity to use this as a teachable moment and said, "Yes, if you ask God he will help you know what you should be. And no matter what you end up doing, we should always do everything for the glory of God." Then Weston chimed in, "I'm going to be a spider-duck for the glory of God!"

Midnight Ramblings

I think I need to rename this blog. Naptime around here usually means that Sammy is napping and Max is playing, so there's really not time to update the blog at all. I'm finding the only time I ever update is when I am up in the middle of the night. At this very moment I am very ticked that I am not asleep. Sammy is inexplicably awake after multiple attempts at getting him to fall back asleep around 11 p.m. I made Matt get up and take him downstairs to let hm burn off some energy, but then I could still hear him and was so annoyed that I just KNEW I was going to be woken up within an hour to put him back down that I just stayed up. Matt was still here and trying to feed Sammy and that's when I learned he can now say two words! He can say "Mama" (or rather, "Mamamamamamamama") and "more". Although "more" sounds like "ma". It's definitely his word for "more", though.

It's funny that he's beginning to talk so early. He just turned 7 months. I remember Max said "Mama" for the first time when he was a year old. We taught him some signs and he signed a lot of his most common words til he was closing in on two. We've tried teaching Sammy signs and he's not as into it as Max was. However, he can sign "milk" when he wants to. Priorities.

Well, I hope you are all sleeping soundly and I hope I am too very soon.........

Bit and Pieces

Some things I'd post Facebook status updates about if it wasn't 2:13 a.m. I figure no one will see them at this late hour. I often wish I could go and make a list of many of my past stati (is that correct??) because they contain so many cute and annoying things that capture a moment in time and I know Max and Sammy would get a laugh from them one day. If anyone knows how to do this, let me know.

• Sammy had a My Little Pony Sticker on the roof of his mouth for goodness-knows-how-long.
• Max after I told him my back was really hurting: "I want to do a 'Dear God' for you. Dear God, Please make Mommy's back feel better. In Jesus' Name, Amen." "Does it feel better now?"
• Me to Max, "Max, I'm sorry Mommy wasn't very nice last night when you woke up. That wasn't a good way to act and I am not going to do that again. Will you forgive me?" Max: "No."

Another Sleepless Night

Here I am again, up in the middle of the night. This time with Sammy. He spent all day in doctor's offices with Max (strep throat) and me (strained back from carrying, guess what? A 40 lb. 3 year old and a 22 lb. 6 month old!) and didn't get his usual naps. By the time we got home at 4, he was exhausted. I put him to bed at 4:30, knowing that I was going to pay for the early bedtime somehow, just not exactly sure how. His usual bedtime is 6 and he wakes for the day anywhere from 6 to 7:30. Usually a little before 7. So I figured if he usually sleeps about 12ish hours (not straight through, what do you think I am? Some kind of magician?) we'd be up dark and early around 5. Not too big of a deal, really. Except, as with most things involving parenting, it never goes quite how you think it will. I turned off the TV at midnight, Sammy woke up, I fed him. He was quiet briefly, then chatting to himself... AND here we are. 1:56 a.m. So I'm having a cup of coffee - probably a mistake, but if I'm going to be forced to be up when I would prefer not to be, I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible.

I have always known myself to be pretty selfish with MY time. One thing I can say about parenting: It will beat the selfishness out of you until you're battered and bruised and just when you think you can't give any more - you will be asked to. And you will do it.