Pantry Challenge

This past month I have seen several of the bloggers I follow do a Pantry Challenge, and I decided I would do one...in February. Just wasn't quite ready in January, and besides, February is shorter!
My challenge is to eat out of what I have in the cupboards/fridge/freezer and only spend $100 for the whole month. Considering that we go through 4 gallons of milk a week and that's running $3/gallon, there's $48 gone right there! But I have an abundance of ExtraBucks at the moment, so I may be buying milk at CVS by the end of the month.
I think we will learn a thing or two about Emergency Preparedness through this exercise. I remember one ward I served in where the Bishop called a group of families one day and challenged them all to go the next 2 weeks without going to the store. They could help each other out with what they had on hand, but only within the group that wasn't shopping. He had a few of them speak in Sacrament Meeting after it was over. I thought that was a great way to teach about food storage!

I haven't done any crazy spending this month to prepare, but I have hit some good coupons pretty hard, so I know we at least have pasta and dishwasher detergent! Wish us luck!

More exersaucer fun

Gosh darn, I'm cute!

At least he doesn't seem to mind being spun

Elizabeth adds another dimension to Jeb's first exersaucer experience.

Out of sequence 3 Month Old Jeb picture

Just to compare today against a month ago:



And a picture of Elizabeth taking care of Jeb:

4 Months Old Today!

Can you see the bear?

Just some cute pics

Elizabeth wanted me to write her name and age and then take a picture. Anyway, it's cute and she'll be 4 really soon!


Amelia hard at work in the playroom.


We had a hard freeze last week, so Daddy and Elizabeth went outside to pick all the oranges before the temps got too low.

Lots of oranges! Anyone in the area want some? James, we need to remember to put them out in the garage so they'll last longer.

Just a cute pic of the girls waiting for Mommy to come in and do their hair.

One of those mornings

One of those mornings. Ready for storytime a half hour early, but girls won't wait to get in the van (and Jeb needed a nap in his carseat). Decide to run to CVS to get a great deal I've been trying to get there to do for a week. Just need to grab 3 items and have coupons out and ready to go...easy, right? Slam diaper bag buckle in van door, break it. CVS is out of 2 of the 3 things I need. Make up a deal on the fly, also slowed down because I "must" look at 90% off Christmas stuff. Baby wakes up screaming while checking out. Get to library 10 minutes late, realize 90% off Christmas stuff didn't get rung up (Amelia must have been sitting on it in the cart.). Will have to go back later.

Storytime ok. Jeb crying as we leave. Get out in the rain and Elizabeth realizes she dropped the penguin bookmark she got from the library. Go back in with crying Jeb and pokey Amelia. Find bookmark. Back out to van. Get girls in. Amelia is screaming for a snack by now. Discover Jeb's kicked a shoe off. Look through stroller making sure it's not hidden in the blankets. Drop one of the girls' jackets in a puddle. Lock girls in van and retrace steps looking for shoe. Find it in puddle on the other side of the parking lot. Get back to van, buckle everyone in, Jeb and Amelia REALLY screaming by now.

Drive the 2 blocks home. In that time, Amelia has managed to kick HER shoe off. (And is screaming about it, of course!) Get everyone unbuckled, put shoe back on, grab broken diaper bag. Cell phone ringing. (New cell phone, so I have a hard time figuring out how to answer it.) It's James, needing information before a meeting starts. Run in and check computer for information. By this point Elizabeth is in the house and has grabbed herself a tortilla, but is still asking for a "snack." Give the girls cupcakes, Elizabeth gets upset because I start to take the paper off hers. Run to the bathroom, turn on the lights, then finally plop down at the computer and type all this out while nursing Jeb.

Still need to go back to CVS.

Passage of a decade and anticipation of another

Dec 31, 1999 found me flying from D.C. back to Blythe after Levi and Audra's wedding. That night I was only semi-awake as the clock struck midnight. I remember other family members went to TP cars at a party, but I was just too tired.

That January I started my student teaching. The combination of 2 brothers getting married in a week's time and the end of my college days set off quite a bit of anxiety over when (or if) I would get married and have a family of my own. Thus began days and weeks and months and years of being alone and the fear of being alone forever. It was also an era of a lot of happy memories. I actually enjoyed teaching on occasion, and I loved my summer road trips. I worked hard at trying to create a life for myself, but it was always under the shadow of wondering what the future would hold. It felt like forever, but in retrospect was such a short time (2000-2004).

Now suddenly it is 2010 amd here I am, happily married with three kids (the same number as the first brother to marry, by the way). As the New Year began I found myself looking back on 1999 and how I felt about life then. And then I looked forward, to 2020...to a house with 2 Beehives, a Webelos, and who knows what else! What a brief moment of time a decade is and yet what living is contained in it!

Family photos

I keep forgetting to get these mailed, so here's a sneak peek for now.