Cousins

Cousin Jayden and Joel~10 months and 8 months. Notice how well Joel is sitting up! He holds his own bottle now too.

Happy boys! They don't even claw each other anymore (much!).

Cutie patooties!

Big Boy Bath

3 men in a tub~Joe Joe can finally sit up enough that he can sit in the big tub with the big boys.


Learning from his big brother. I think he looks a little scared!

Yeah, I know I'm cute! :-)

Noah's haircut~the BIG one

As everone knows (and reminds me!), Noah desperately needed a haircut, I had trimmed the backs and sides, but hadn't done all over his head yet. So yesterday was the day.

Before~not real thrilled over the prosepect.
After~I was going to use scissors so I could keep it a little longer, but scrapped that when I couldn't get him to sit still for more than 5 seconds. So he got the buzzers. Chocolate covered peanuts kept him happy, and I admit, he does look cute! But I'll miss his long, wavy baby hair. :-)

Chris's 34th Birthday

Chris turned 34 last Sunday and we celebrated on Saturday. It was nice to have a free day as we've been very busy lately.

Chris and his two eldest fellers about to open his gift.


Digging in...

an ipod nano! Exactly what he wanted!

At Chris's request, we had beef with mushrooms and gravy over egg noodles, fresh baked bread, carrots and broccoli, and red cabbage, with chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.

Big Feller

Sometimes he's naughty, sometimes he's cranky...but lots of times he's cheerful, loving, helpful, and downright hilarious! How can you not love a face like this? :-)

Photo taken by Auntie Alice

What's Cookin'

So, didn't really cook much last week because it ended up being really crazy because Chris was busy at work, so here's this week:
Mon~Baked Bean soup (if the beans I'm cooking right now get done in time)
Tues~At my mom and dad's because I'm helping rip some furniture apar
Wed~Chicken Noodle casserole
Thurs~Crockpot Sour cream Salsa chicken
Fri-Mon~We hope to visit my grandparents in Canada if our van is fixed.

Classic Noah

How I spent my Monday morning

Last Sunday the boys went downstairs to play and when we went down later to put them down for naps, here's what we found:



After a stern talking to, I'm sure they won't do this again, right? :-)

Uncle Don and Joel

Chris has a great uncle on his dad's side that never married, but he loves kids! Meet Uncle Donald:

Best Cinnamon Roll Recipe

I made these cinnamon rolls this morning for brunch with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and they were well-received. Here's the recipe (from my friend Suzanne Kleyn):

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls (Bread machine recipe)

1 c milk
1/4 c water
1/4 c soft butter
1 egg
1 t salt
4 c flour
1/4 c instant vanilla pudding mix
1 T sugar
1 T yeast

Filling: (I never measure these, just spread on dough what looks right)
1/4 c soft butter
1 c packed brown sugar
2 t cinnamon

Frosting:
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 c soft butter
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t milk
1/2 t vanilla

Combine milk, water, soft butter, egg, salt, flour, pudding mix, sugar and yeast in bread machine and set on dough setting. Once dough is ready, place on lightly floured surface and roll into a 17 x 10 in rectangle. Spread with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and cut into 20 slices (I only cut about 12). Place in greased pans. Cover and let rise 45 min (I put in fridge overnight and take out about 1 hr before I bake them and put them on stove as its preheating). Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Cool for 5 min. Beat frosting ingredients and frost warm rolls.

Andrew's prayer

We are teaching Andrew a form prayer he says before bed each night, but after he says that we let him pray himself. Here's a few snippets from last night's prayer:

"...help Aunt Aimee's puppies not to be wild and jump on me, help them not to run away, help them not to get their paws hurt..."

Aldi camera

A month or so ago the flashbulb on our camera burnt out. We bought our camera from Aldi, so its not exactly a common brand. I called the service center and they said to send the camera in and they would look at it and either fix it or replace it. We've had it for 2 years so I was pretty sure there was no warranty, but less than a week after we sent it out, we received a brand new camera via UPS! Great customer service and I would highly recommend buying products from Aldi. Now I just have to figure out how to reset the resolution for better quality pictures. I had slightly fuzzy pictures for almost 2 years before my brother pointed out I was taking pictures at the poorest quality resolution. Oops. :-)

What's Cookin'

Last week I tried a couple of new recipes. One was a hit, the other was not. I made Meatball Sub casserole for our church potluck and it was totally gone (yay!), so I will definitely be making that again. Thursday I made the Mexican Chicken skillet and I did not like it at all. Part of my problem is I can't cook brown rice for anything. I have tried in the microwave and on the stove and both times it did not turn out. I wanted to eat brown rice because its healthier, but as soon as my brown rice is gone, we're going back to white. Much easier. Also, I didn't like the corn in the mexican dish. Just didn't tickle my tastebuds. Chris liked it, but Andrew didn't even want to try the rice because it was orange (I added salsa to it to make it Spanish rice). He only likes "white ice." He really does love white rice. He'll eat a big bowl plain. However, Noah and Andrew both enjoyed eating sour cream plain with their tortillas. :-)

Here's this week's plan:
Mon~Pork bbcue for daddy, boys, and blue grandpa (mommy's helping with the girl's club at church). Blue grandpa (my dad) is helping put a fence in the backyard to keep the boys (and dog) in.
Tues~Grilled chicken and veggies, oven fries
Wed~Chicken fajitas with leftover grilled chicken, fruit
Thurs~Pork roast, potatoes, carrots (hope to have Uncle Donald over for dinner)
Fri~Seminary dinner
Sat~Chris's bday is Sun, so we'll celebrate on Sat. I think I'll buy some nice steaks and use the charcoal grill I got for Mother's day (that's what I wanted!).
Sun~Leftovers/soup

What's Cookin'

Mon~Bday dinner for my dad-I made twice baked potatoes and chocolate cake
Tues~Mexican Chicken skillet, fruit
Wed~Meatball sub casserole for church potluck (never got to this a few weeks ago)
Thurs~Pork bbcue, salad
Fri~Dinner out (I have a good coupon for Boardwalk subs)
Sat~Frozen pizza
Sun~Meatball soup, fresh bread

Worcestshire Chicken Recipe

Worcestshire Chicken (I've been told this is the best chicken my husband has ever tasted!)

1 and a half lbs thin chicken cutlets (I pound chicken breasts thin and trim the fat)
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup flour
3 T butter
2 T veggie oil
2 T Worcestshire sauce
1 T red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T finely chopped fresh parsley (which I never have so I've never used it)

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.
2. Warm butter and oil in large skillet over med. heat until butter foams. Add chicken and cook about 4 min. until browned. Turn and cook until firm and browned on both sides, about 3 more minutes. (May have to do this in shifts if your pan isn't large enough to hold all the chicken)
4. Remove chicken to a platter to keep warm. Add Worcestshire sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 min. Remove from heat and stir in 1 T of butter until it is melted. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley. (I don't think I added the extra butter at the end, so skip the butter and save some fat!)

We're having this tonight with baked potatoes, carrots and brocolli, so perhaps I'll post a pic later.

Christ Has Blessings to Impart~Gadsby Hymn #956

Christ has blessings to impart,
Grace to save thee from thy fears;
O the love that fills His heart!
Sinner! wipe away thy tears.

Why are thou afraid to come?
Why afraid to tell thy case?
He will not pronounce thy doom;
Smiles are seated on His face.

Though His majesty be great,
Yet His mercy is no less;
Though He thy transgressions hate,
Jesus feels for thy distress.

Raise thy downcast eyes and see,
Numbers do His throne surround;
These were sinners once like thee,
But have full salvation found.

Yield not, then, to unbelief;
Courage, soul, "there yet is room!"
Though of sinners thou art chief,
Come, thou burdened sinner come.

Newton & Upton

What's Cookin'

Mon~Leftovers
Tues~Worcestshire chicken (yes, we're having it again, it's that good!), baked potatoes, corn
Wed~Pea soup, breadmaker bread
Thurs~Eggs, bacon, English muffins
Fri~Mommy's gone so Daddy's making mac and cheese with hot dogs (their favorite!)
Sat~Mommy's still gone so frozen pizza or maybe grandma will let them come for dinner :-)
Sun~whatever's in the fridge, we'll eat it

Hilarious Andrewism!

Chris just called Andrew to come into the kitchen and Andrew says, "What do you need, my son?" (Chris says this to Andrew sometimes.) Maybe you had to be there, but it struck us as extremely funny!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Worcestshire chicken (recipe coming soon!), baked potatoes, carrots and brocolli (didn't get to this last week because I was going to make it for Sunday lunch and we had no power. Apparently, a squirrel got in a transformer and over 2000 people were without power for a few hours.)
Tues~pork bbcue, oven fries, salad (didn't get to this last week)
Wed~Meatball sub casserole, carrots
Thurs~Roast beef, potatoes, green beans, red cabbage
Fri~Taco casserole
Sat~Leftovers/frozen pizza
Sun~Lasagne (I made this last Tues with the leftover spaghetti sauce and it is waiting in the freezer!), garlic bread, salad (hope to have some company)

Great TEA party quote!

From Greenville, SC:

"They will be selling the 'Obama burger' — you pay for one and they cut it in half and give the rest to the guy behind you for free!!"

Biased CNN Reporter

Glad CNN doesn't claim to be fair and balanced. Check out this CNN reporter at the Chicago TEA party yesterday. I don't watch CNN, but this is definitely the most biased piece of journalism I have ever seen. She's obviously not trying to get the whole story-she came with an agenda and she's making sure her agenda is broadcasted, not what actually happened. Check out the clip here. She has a totally different tone when the protesters are on her side. This is why Fox news viewers blow CNN out of the water. A couple of years ago, she was at an anti-Bush rally and had this to share: A protester wearing a George W. Bush mask, complete with a colored in Hitler-esque mustache and red horns attached to the forehead was deemed a Bush "look-alike" by reporter Susan Roesgen.

I attended the Hudsonville TEA party yesterday with my dad and all three boys and it was great. An estimated 1000 people showed up! Pretty great for the small town of Hudsonville. It was a bit calmer than the Chicago TEA party. :-)

What's Cookin'

Mon~Leftover cheesy potatoes, ham, veggies
Tues~Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
Wed~Enchilada Lasagne, salad
Thurs~Pea soup, bread
Fri~Worcestshire chicken, baked potatoes, green beans
Sat~Out/Mom and Dad's
Sun~Pork barbecues, oven fries, carrots

Craigslist

Please. Tell me to stop. I have bought two things in the last two days from Craigslist.
I bought Noah a tricycle yesterday for $15 (the same exact one I saw in Target the day before for $70!) and I bought Joel a Bumbo seat for $30 today (not the best deal, but it is brand new in the box). I'm finding it much more appealing than Ebay. I am able to buy bigger items for cheap and see them firsthand before laying down my cash. We bought a kitchen table and chairs about a month ago off Craigslist and sold my Neon on there a few months ago. Highly recommend using the service and highly advise that it may be addicting. :-)

Diapers.com

My rebate from diapers.com came yesterday!

What's Cookin'

We got home Mon afternoon from Indiana, so we just had breakfast for supper. Plus we stopped at Culver's on our way home for lunch and ate way too much greasy but yummy food so we were stuffed! Andrew had really wanted to go to McDonald's so he was a little upset when we ended up going to Culver's (getting a tad sick of McDonald's) and he announced to us, "This is the end!" Chris and I really cracked up. But he still enjoyed his lunch, especially when he got a free chocolate custard at the end.

So here's the plan for the rest of the week:
Wed ~ Crockpot roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, red cabbage
Thurs ~ Rice and bean burritos
Fri ~ Pea soup, bread
Sat ~ Leftover roast beef, fried potatoes, carrots (we're making dinner for Chris's grandparents and they're meat and potatoes folks)
Sun~Pork roast, cheesy potatoes, green beans, salad (my family is coming for dinner)

Andrewism

As I was getting ready to go to the library this morning, Andrew came into the bathroom and says, "Mom, I need some odorant 'cause my muscles smell."

Side note: We went to the dr. yesterday for Andrew's get well check-up and he had gained 3 lbs in less than a week! No wonder, the kids been eating like a horse!

Walgreen's Deals this week

I haven't been to Walgreen's yet this week, and I'm not sure if I'm going, but here are a few deals to pass along.
Chapstick $1.99 and receive $1.99 RR
Skintimate supposedly on sale for around $2 and receive a $3 RR
Soft Soap body wash~when you buy one, a coupon for a free body wash should print out.

Now some sad news. This is the last month for Walgreen's Easysaver program. I'm really bummed about that, but I'm hoping they will be replacing this program with another great program, or perhaps amp up their Register Rewards program as is rumored.

What's Cookin'

Well, the only meals I ended up making last week were Monday's and Wednesday's meals, which both turned out well. Chris said the Worcestshire chicken was the best he'd ever had. I'm not sure about that, but its always nice to hear!

Here's this week:
Mon~Tortellini Meatball soup, homemade bread
Tues~Black Bean tostadas, Black bean soup, salad
Wed~Deviled eggs to bring to church potluck
Thurs~Roast beef, potatoes, carrots, red cabbage
Fri-Sunday~We will be visiting relatives in Indiana. Looking forward to it!

Aunt Alice Photo-Op

Noah and Kaimira

Little brothers.
Noah

Sweet boy

Getting so big!

Walgreen's Trip and Meijer Deal

I had to go to Walgreen Wed when we got home from the hospital (ok, I didn't HAVE to go, but I did have $10RR that expired Wed that I didn't want to waste). So I got some deodorant for $5.99, Flintstones vitamins for $5.49, and 6 packages of baking nuts marked down to a $.25 a piece. I used my $10RR and my Walgreen's GC and spent zero out of pocket and I will get $5 back on the deodorant. Decent deals.
This week at Meijer, Huggies wipes are on sale for $5 a package. I had one $5 Huggies coupon left that I used and got the wipes free. I also had some $3 Huggies coupons that I used to buy a smaller package of wipes for $2.33, so I got paid for those wipes.

Andrew update

We had a little scare with Andrew this week. Last Friday he started throwing up and had diarrhea really bad and this went on until Tues. The diarrhea had diminished some, but he was very lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. I started to get really worried because he wouldn't drink and when I changed his clothes, I could see every bone in his body. He's skinny to start with, but he was scary skinny! So his pediatrician's office said they would have someone look at him and the dr. said he needed to go to the ER for some IV fluids. So we left the younger two boys with Chris's sister Angie and took Andrew to the ER at about 6 PM on Tues. At first they gave him this anti-nausea medication that melted on his tongue to see if that would get him to drink more, but he didn't perk up at all and he still didn't drink much. So they decided to go ahead and give him some IV fluids and do a blood test. Not fun! Once the IV was in, he was fine, but it was a process getting it in. So he had a bag of fluid and then the dr came back and said his potassium was really low, which was probably why he had been so lethargic that day. They decided to keep him overnight to stabilize that. Chris went home at 10:30 PM and Andrew and I were moved upstairs to the peds unit around 1:30 AM. He was able to sleep a bit in the ER, but he didn't get a very good night's sleep with someone coming to take his vitals every few hours, etc. They kept giving him fluid with potassium in it overnight and all day Wed and we were finally able to go home Wed evening. His potassium was normal, but on the low side of normal. But he had a good night's sleep on Wed night and woke up Thurs ready to eat breakfast and has been on the upward swing ever since. We are so thankful that he got better so quickly and that it wasn't more serious. I know there are other families who had it much worse than we did, but it is still a scary situation having your child in the hospital.

21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23 (NIV)

What's Cookin'

Mon~Worcestshire chicken, baked potatoes, green beans
Tues~Tortellini Meatball soup, homemade bread
Wed~Turkey pitas, raw veggies
Thurs~Roast beef, potatoes, carrots, red cabbage
Fri~Boys fend for themselves
Sat~??? out/mom and dad's
Sun ~ Beef stew or soup

Walgreen's Trip-March 9

I love Walgreens! I had so much fun there already this week and I hope to go again. I bought 2 packages of diapers and one package of wipes and used 3 $5 off coupons and got $10 RR back. I also got 2 bottles of shampoo for free and 2 bottles of Coffeemate (my favorite flavor, peppermint mocha, left over from the holidays) for 50 cents a piece. Best of all, I spend zero out of pocket because I used my Walgreens gift card.

What's Cookin'

Tues ~ Cheesy Potatoe soup with ham, rolls
Wed ~ Hotdogs and raw broccoli (I need something quick because we have church at 7)
Thurs ~ BBean quesadillas (we didn't get to this last week because I was sick.)
Fri ~ Chicken Stuffing Casserole
Sat ~ Out/English muffin pizzas

I'm running out of recipe ideas. I think its time to head to the library and find some good cookbooks.

What's Cookin'

Mon ~ Sesame Chicken for my sister and I, Spaghetti for Chris and the kids
Tues ~ Pulled Pork on hamburg buns, oven fries, salad
Wed ~ Fellowship night at church-I am bringing Rosemary chicken
Thurs ~ Black Bean Quesadillas and Spanish rice (We will be having something with black beans in it for weeks to come because I cooked two lbs. of black beans in the crockpot last week and I have about 10 cups in the freezer to use! That's ok, black beans are cheap and good for you!)
Fri ~ Soup Supper at PCHS
Sat ~ Cheesy potato soup with ham
Sun ~ Leftovers??

So last week I told you I had 23 bucks left to spend for the month and my bill at Meijer was $22.87! I was so happy that I had actually stayed in budget...then Chris bought some meat at work from a high schooler. Which is fine because now we have lots of chicken tenders for quick meals! So this month I have $200 for groceries so we'll see how I do!

Andrew

Yesterday in Sunday school Andrew was told the story of Barnabas and how he sold his belongings and gave the money to the church. The teacher asked Andrew if he had anything he could sell and give the money to the church, and Andrew said, "No, I don't have anything, but we could sell Noah's wagon and give the money to the church!"

HOT Diaper Deal!

Go here to find out how to get 3 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers for 5 bucks! This deal is available the week of March 8 at Walgreens. Print your coupons fast. You will have to sign up at coupons. com and then scroll through to find the coupons.
The only catch is that you will get $10 in register rewards for Walgreens and these expire two weeks from the day you get them. Also, if you do this deal more than once, you can't use the RR from the previous diaper purchase to buy more diapers (you can use other RR, just not from the same deal).

Iwo Jima

Remember Iwo Jima.

64 years ago today.

What's Cookin'

Mon ~ Bean and Rice Burritos
Tues ~ Pizza and salad
Wed ~ Leftovers/breakfast
Thurs ~ Baked Teriyaki Chicken, brocolli, rice
Fri ~ Young Couple's party
Sat ~ Mom and Dad V's

So I have 23 bucks to spend on groceries this week. I'll let you know if I'm able to stay on budget.

Andrew

Andrew: Mommy, I love, love puzzles. I am so happy the puzzle man brought me all these puzzles. (forgetting that the puzzles have been in the same drawer for the last year and a half)

Andrew looking at a farm book with younger cousin Kaimira: No, that's a fork for shoveling horse honey. (Can you tell he spends time with his aunt's horses?)

Great Ad Against Obama's Stimulus

Check out this video about all of our money that Congress is spending.
Here's a quote:

“Suppose you spent $1 million every single day starting from the day Jesus was born — and kept spending through today,” says the announcer as an image of the three wise men flashes on the screen. “A million dollars a day for more than 2,000 years. You would still have spent less money than Congress just did.”

Revolution

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds. — Samuel Adams

Anyone ready to organize a protest?
Here are details about how to organize one in your community.

Diapers are here!

My diapers came in two days!
I ended up getting 214 diapers for about 30 bucks. I would have got 224, but I accidently got Pampers Cruisers instead of Pampers Baby Dry. For some reason there are less in Pampers Cruisers. Anyway, I ended up getting the diapers for about 14 cents a piece. I'm thinking this is a good deal??? Not quite sure, I haven't really researched the best prices. I usually just get what's cheapest when its on sale with a coupon.
Thanks to everyone who ordered diapers and used my referral code!

What's Cookin' this weekend

So I never got around to putting the menu plan up, but I pretty much stuck to the plan I had written down. So tomorrow we are probably having chicken and dumplings in the crockpot. That's good comfort food for cold weather (it's 15 degrees right now). On Saturday we hope to have some good friends over for dinner and I have a recipe for honey sesame pork tenderloin I've been wanting to cook, with loaded mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and green beans, and a cream cheese filled chocolate bundt cake for dessert.
On another note, I made a budget of $220 for groceries this month and I think I'm going to be able to stick to it. I only have $23 left for next week, so I'll probably only be getting the essentials, unless there are super good deals and I have to go into March's grocery money. I'm hoping not to do that. I also made a budget of $35 for diapers and I'm only spending $30 thanks to the deal at diapers.com. I won't tell you how far I went over the clothing budget this month. :-)
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Walgreen's Deal

Get 20 free 4X6 prints tomorrow only.
Enter code ONEDAY at checkout.

Diaper Deal

Here's the deal at www.diapers.com:

Select Huggies, Pampers, etc are on sale, jumbo packs, for $10.99. Orders over $49 recieve free 2-day UPS shipping.
Buy 5 packs for a total of ~ $54.
Type in promo code AFF10 to receive ten dollars off your first order.
When you get your receipt with your diaper order, send it in with this rebate to receive $14.97 back on your order.
If you have coupons, you can also send these in the mail and receive even more off your order.
So for about 30 bucks you get 5 packages of quality diapers.

If any of you decide to do this deal, please use my referral code: CHRI8336
Thanks so much!

What's Cookin'

Here's the plan this week:

Mon ~ Meatballs, mashed potatoes, carrots
Tues ~ Beef stew, rolls, salad
Wed ~ Dinner at my mom's (Chris will be in Chicago)
Thurs ~ Salsa Chicken and Black Bean soup
Fri ~ Papa Murphy's pizza
Sat ~ Baked Teriyaki chicken and rice, veggie
Sun ~ Pea soup, rolls

What's Cookin'

Here's a tentative meal plan for Feb 2-8:

Monday ~ Bacon BBQ Apple chicken in crockpot, potatoes, green beans (new recipe, we'll see)
Tuesday ~ Applebee's Oriental Chicken roll-up
Wednesday ~Sesame Honey Pork Tenderloin, rice, broccoli
Thursday ~ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, salad/coleslaw, oven fries
Friday ~ Engelsma's cousin's get together ( I'm not sure what I have to bring. If I have to bring a salad, I'm going to make Crunchy Asian-style Pasta Salad.)
Saturday ~ Mickey D's gift certificate
Sunday ~ Roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, red cabbage (I think my mom and Michelle will come for dinner since my dad and brother are in Guatemala.)

All this is very subject to change, depending on what days I have guests since I may have a few people over next week. But I plan to have the ingredients for these meals in the house.

What's up with Meijer lately?

This morning I went to the grocery store after Joel's dr appointment with all 3 kids. I have been going by myself or with Chris lately, just because its easier than trying to go by myself with 3 kids. But I didn't have a ton to get, so I thought I would just do it quick on my way home. So I got to Meijer at about 10:30, figuring it would go pretty smoothly. Not so much. It is very difficult to get through the check out with 3 little kids without creating complete havoc. Noah cried pretty much the entire time we waited for the lady in front of us to ring up her 50 coupons (Seriously, she must have had 50 coupons. Pass some this way!) . It was a young guy checking our groceries and he said two words to me, rushed me through the checkout while I'm trying to put groceries in the cart and prevent Noah from totally melting down. Fortunately, Joel slept through it all. What really irritates me though is that they don't have their sale items stocked! I told Andrew we could get some John Deere fruit snacks that were on sale and they were gone already! A couple of weeks ago I went at night to shop and 5 items that I wanted were completely off the shelves. So I'm thinking of writing to Meijer. Not complaining, but maybe giving some helpful criticism. My dad told me that the checkers at Meijer are timed. Not such a great idea when you are trying to handle your kids, groceries and pay the checker. Also, maybe they need to monitor their customer flow so that the shelves are stocked at the right time. There is no replacement for Meijer for me, its close and has everything I need at reasonable prices, but it would be nice if they improved some areas.

What's Cookin'

This week will be easy. A lot going on.
Mon ~ Out for dinner for my mom and my birthdays
Tues ~ My birthday. My brother is bringing pizza over.
Wed ~ Salsa Chicken and Black Bean soup (didn't get to this last week)
Thurs ~ Spaghetti, green beans, bread
Fri ~ Just Chris and the boys are eating dinner at home so maybe pancakes or eggs
Sat ~ Smoked Sausage and potatoes and carrots/dinner at mom and dad's
Sun ~ Grilled cheese and soup

What's cookin'

Ok, here's what's cookin' the rest of the week:

Wed ~ Ham dinner slices, baked potatoes, salad
Thurs ~ Salsa chicken and black bean soup, rolls
Fri ~ Pizza
Sat ~ Pork fried rice
Sun ~ Soup and grilled cheese

Deal of the Week

I had 2 $2 off coupons for a Johnson baby product and 1 $1 off coupon. I bought 3 soaps for $1.17 each for a total of $3.51. So I made $1.49 off this deal! I've never used these soaps before, but they look kind of neat for kids.

Church Christmas program

Andrew sang "Away in a Manger" in the church Christmas program this year and recited Matthew 1:21 with his class.

Andrew walking in with his teacher, Mrs. VanDyke

Andrew standing next to Zach Bilkes.


Andrew with his class: Eva, Anita, Andrew, and Zach.

Andrew's 4th birthday

Andrew turned 4 the day after Christmas. Very big day for him because this was the day we had decided he had to give up his pipe! He's only had it at night and naps for the past year and a half, but we weren't sure how it was going to go with no pipe at all. But he did really well. And now he's such a big boy!

For his previous birthdays, I have just made cupcakes or plain cake, but this year he realized more what was going on and since he loves trains so much, I made him a train cake. Not quite how I had envisioned it and I'm not sure how impressed he actually was, but it was fun to make!



I didn't think the adults would appreciate candy laden cake so I made an extra frosted cake. The licorice train is Aunt Michelle's design.

The birthday boy with his cake.

Chris and I decided to get Andrew a Leapster for his birthday. We had heard good things about it and thought it would be a good learning tool. I'm glad we got it now. I don't think he's really quite ready for it, but he's learning how to use it and hopefully he will be able to learn some things from it.

What's Cookin'

I made all the meals I planned last week! Yay! It was much easier to cook dinner when I knew in advance what I was making. I think we ate a bit healthier too.

This week:
Monday ~ Nasi with smoked sausage, green beans
Tuesday ~ Make your own taco salad
Wednesday ~ Leftovers or breakfast for supper
Thursday ~ Beef stew in the crockpot
Friday ~ Couples night out with some great friends from church (Can't wait!!)
Saturday ~ Lasagne (already made with leftover sauce from last week), garlic bread, salad
Sunday ~ Soup and grilled cheese

Free Calendar at Shutterfly

I haven't tried this yet, but I got an email that said I could get a free 12 month calendar from Shutterfly by typing in code CALENDAR12. This expires 1/15/09. I'm thinking you will probably need to pay shipping.

Good for at least one laugh

Only in America ......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the
back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy
cigarettes at the front.


Only in America.....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and
a diet coke.

Only in America.....do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens
to the counters.


Only in America.....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the
driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.


Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in
packages of eight.

Only in America.....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille
lettering.

Noah's first haircut

Noah is 21 months old and I cut his hair for the first time on the day before Christmas. He seemed so babyish with his long hair that I was reluctant to cut it off. But it was getting pretty long. Long enough that I could have put a short braid in. Long enough that Chris threatened to buzz his whole head while I was gone one day. So I decided I better do it myself. I used the longest comb on my shearers. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Noah getting ready for his haircut. He has no clue what's about to happen.

Still happy, glad he's getting so much attention from mommy. You can see his wispy hair floating around his collar.

His pretty long hair! I thought it was cute.

Post hair-cut. Not so happy to get his picture taken now.

Much shorter hair in the back now!

A more subdued Noah. Notice the pacifier. He wasn't that thrilled to have the buzzers going over his head. I just cut the back and sides and left the front longer. He still is my cute little boy, but definitely looks a little older now.

Snapshots from December 2008

Here are some random shots from the month of December.

Here is smiley Joel. He is a very happy baby. He smiles all the time. Just now he was giggling out loud because Andrew was jumping around in front of him.

Noah and Andrew after their bath. My cousin Jean made beautiful hooded towels for all three boys. We use them all the time!

Noah and Andrew outside after the first big snowfall. Noah was so bundled up he just kind of stood in one spot, but he loves being outside.

Joel loves to sit up. Whenever he sits on your lap, he's constantly throwing his head forward so he can sit up straight.

3 men in a tub!

These boys love to sit in the middle of a huge mess and look at books. And they like to stay in their pj's all day!

Chris with his 3 boys. And everyone looks happy!

Heads up for Walgreens

A couple great deals this week:
Electrasol gel tabs are on sale for $3. There was a coupon for $2.50 off in this weeks press and you get a rebate for $1.50 so you make money!
Garnier shampoo and conditioner is on sale for $2.99. There was a coupon also from this week for $1 off and Walgreen's has $2 off coupons in their January EasySaver booklet. Make sure the cashier rings up the manufacturer coupon first, then the Walgreen's coupon, otherwise it won't work (I found out the hard way!). Free shampoo!
I am having a ton of fun with Walgreen's and have already earned a bunch there. I have $10 in register rewards to use before next week so I'll be able to get some free diapers!
I do have to make sure I only buy things we really need. Sometimes I get so caught up that I get things that we don't really use or need, so then I'm wasting time and money. But it is so great to get things we use every day for free!

Menu plan for the week

I'm trying to stick to my grocery budget better this year, and I'm trying to plan my meals in advance so I can buy what I need better. Here's what's cooking this week:
Monday ~ Meatball sandwiches with marinara sauce and spinach salad
Tuesday ~ Slow cooker spaghetti sauce with some kind of bread and veggies
Wednesday ~ Cheesy potatoes and ham made in the slow cooker to bring to the church potluck
Thursday ~ Slow cooker beef roast with potatoes and carrots
Friday ~ Teriyaki chicken with rice and canned corn
Saturday ~ Leftovers
Sunday ~ Soup and buns

Now, let's see if I actually stick to this menu!