I've Been Pinning

I signed up for pinterest a few years ago. I thought it was a neat idea, but that was it. It didn't spark an interest really. Maybe I was too busy with a baby. In any case. I've rediscovered it lately, and I've been pinning!

Our baggy/foil/saran wrap cabinet has been a mess for years. You go to grab something and 5 things fall out. I actually had 3 open boxes of quart size storage bags because I didn't know what was in there. Although now that I look at this picture, they are all stacked on top of each other. Maybe I need to wear my glasses more often.

I found an idea to use magazine files to organize storage bags. But, I'm just too cheap to buy anything when I have perfectly good materials to use here. So I did it with cereal boxes. Sure they could use some nice wrapping paper around them, but honestly, I really don't care. I used some white duct tape to make sure the ends stay together and that's about as fancy as I get.

Here it is all done and now I can find everything.

Isn't it pretty? Up next, underneath the kitchen sink (I'll be embarrassed to show pictures) and the boys bedrooms. We are getting some new cabinets for our kitchen on Tuesday and Ben is getting the little hutch in our kitchen now. I have a lot of work to do getting organized.

I Got Flowers Today

Okay well technically it was a weed, but whose keeping track?

And it was from Spiderman...be still my heart.

Growing Up

I found Noah in a box yesterday. Literally, his whole body fit in the box. He popped out just to say hi.

Isn't he just the cutest?

It's really an interesting turn of events with my boys. Ben is outgrowing dressing up. He still loves superheros, but he enjoys watching movies or TV shows. He also enjoys making his own superhero books. It's more like a comic strip, but he makes them all the time. He'll spend hours on them. He draws everything just so with markers and has me staple it like a book. We are sad to see him outgrowing dressing up. Sometimes a week will go by and he won't have on a single costume. I was just remembering when Emily was in Kindergarten and I picked her up everyday. The parents had to sign them out, so we had to wait outside until it was time for her to get out. There was always a group of about 20 parents, and Ben was always in a costume. They always commented how cute he was. So, yeah, it's sad to not see him dressed up anymore.

Luckily, the trend is catching on with Noah. He puts on costumes all day long. Today, we went to get the kids and he was dressed like Buzz Lightyear. Yes, it's on backwards and he left his wings in the van, but he's the coolest kid around.

I told Ben we should transfer all the costumes to Noah's room. He reluctantly agreed.

We've notice a few other changes with Ben lately. He's starting to prefer non animated shows on TV. He likes some preteen show called Drake and Josh which is really just stupid silly. But, he laughs so whatever. David thought he might like the 3 Stooges, so we recorded an episode. He was cracking up.

I must say I found it pretty stupid. I found it more fun to watch Ben laughing.

In any case, I know he'll continue to grow up. I just hope it's very, very slowly.

I'm in LOVE...again!

First, I just realized this is my 1,000 post!!!!  Wow!  I started this blog in June of 2008 as a way of documenting our lives.  I never realized I'd ever write 1,000 posts!  Yea me!!!!

Back to our regularly scheduled post already in progress....

The Dead Man's Chest is holding up great. I go in several times a day to admire it's beauty make sure it's still working. So far, so good. But, I've found another love.

After several years of coupons and working for a coupon site, Bargain Believer, I've realized that organization is key. I have my stockpile everywhere. For example, my Mom was going to get more peanut butter the other day. I knew we had more, but it was buried behind all the stuff in front. Low and behold, we had 7 jars of peanut butter. I saw this door organizer at Costco and what can I say...it was love at first site. At only $35, I knew I had to have it.

My family is so over how excited I get. Luckily, my Mom understands my enthusiasm. I guess it's a Mom thing. I can now see everything I have and I have space for all the little things on the door.

Now, this might seem excessive, and I realize that I'm kind of becoming one of those people on that TLC show. In my defense, I will say that we have 6 people in this house. We eat out about once a month, and that's usually pizza that David brings home if you call that eating out. We go to Red Robin 4 times a year for the kids good grades.  We go out for Chinese food to our favorite place about 4 times a year too.  That's it.  No McDonald's.  No Starbucks.  Mainly because I honestly think we make better food.  And Starbucks, I almost faint at the price tag.  Really?  It's coffee, not liquid gold.  Plus, I love how we make coffee and David makes us all a pot every morning starting with fresh ground beans.  What more could I ask for?

Anyway...my point is, I pack the kids lunch for school and David packs a lunch for work every day. We all eat dinner together every night.  So, that's 126 meals a week that the 6 of us eat that come from this kitchen. Not to mention, snacks and dessert. Our nearest grocery store is 30 minutes round trip, so you have to plan ahead. I love being able to make whatever I want whenever I want and not worry about if I have a can of tomatoes. Because you know what? I think I have about 37 of them!

And if there is a zombie apocolypse, I'm set!

Eggs

The kids have been hounding me about coloring eggs all week. We have a really busy few days coming up, so I decided today was the day. The are off school tomorrow, so it feels like a Friday anyway.

Noah wasn't sure what to do at first.

Ben helped him.

I tried to tell him to use the spoon, but he liked using his fingers. Ben too.

Emily took a much more creative approach.

I think they had fun and made a thorough mess.

Noah just liked to dunk the same egg in all the colors and see what he got.

What he got was green hands.

He thought he looked like the Hulk and did a Hulk smash on the countertop.

They came out pretty.

The kids are excited to have a 3 day weekend and for the Easter bunny to come. Ben came home with several different Easter crafts. One included his version of our Easter.

Emily came home with a 10 page packet about learning cursive.

Ah, to be in young again...

I'm in LOVE

The craziest thing happened. I posted Noah's crib mattress on Craigslist. You wouldn't think that would lead to much but 20 bucks. But, the lady who bought it is a couponer and her husband does real estate. We got talking about couponing and how I need more space. Her husband just happened to be selling items from a dead mans home. One of those items was a chest freezer.

I've been dreaming about a chest freezer. Now, we have 2 full fridge/freezers and they are full. The freezer was getting so bad that I heard David open the one in the garage and things came falling out on top of him. We briefly looked at them at Sams Club and just as quickly kept walking when we saw the price tag. Enter dead man's chest and 50 bucks and it was mine!!!!

Isn't it just beautiful?

My daughter is beautiful too.

We cleaned it up and found a mouse's nest on the side in the grate. Luckily, the mouse house was vacant. Sixty minutes, a broom, dust pan, vacuum, soapy water,Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and elbow grease, and it was good as new! If you've never used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, they are quite possibly the best thing ever.

Ok, now back to my freezer or as we affectionately refer to it as the dead man's chest. I had all sorts of visions of organizing it, and I think it turned out perfectly. I put specific meats in each crate. Beef in one. Chicken in another. Pork in another and one for turkey. It works out nicely so everything isn't thrown on top of each other.

Now, you may be saying holy Gogurts! And you may think what does someone need with 10 boxes of Gogurt? But, it's one of the 5 foods Noah will eat that aren't classified as junk food. So, when they are free or under 50 cents, you stock up.

The other half has a nice shelf for all my homemade pasta sauce. A basket on top for the little things like hot dogs. And yes, we need a dozen packs of Holy Guacamole because that's how many you buy when it's free. Oh and I have tomatoes from our garden last year in a baggie. I add them to my homemade sauce.

Anyway, I think it's a thing of beauty and I'm totally in love. I find myself going in the garage just to look at my freezer. See, I'm a simple girl and it's the little things in life that make me happy.

Noah, You Gotta Love Him

Noah is my most difficult kid. He's stubborn, strong willed and sometimes just a complete pain in the ass. He really hates food. If he didn't have to eat, he wouldn't. He'd live on coffee if it was up to him. As for fruits and vegetables, he will only eat apples, carrots, corn and bananas, but they have to be perfectly ripe. It's like a 12 hour window of being not too green and not too brown. If you happen to get the banana in that time frame, he'll eat it. Otherwise, it's too hard or too mushy. He typically won't even try things. He acts like we are tryin to fed him battery acid and will sometimes vomit to get out of eating something. I bribed him into trying a grape yesterday.

Seriously, who doesn't like grapes? He even likes grape juice. I think it's a texture thing. That or he's just a freak.

He can go from being a completly cray cray about trying a grape to being so cute and sweet playing the piano dressed as a ninja turtle.

It's those moments of cuteness scattered throughout the day that keep me from selling him to the gypsies.