If it's not boke, don't fis it

For the past couple of weeks, I have had the hardest time getting G to stop unscrewing the footrest on the reclining sofa. He is not using tools, just perseverence and tiny hands, but he is getting the screws out and unhooking the footrest from the metal hinges they are suppose to stay on. It is funny to see actually, all you see is feet coming out from under the sofa.

He does this with everything... and everything ends up "boke". And he is always asking me to "fis it".. when I clearly can't.. even with my mommy superpowers.
Sunglasses (all 3 pair), check
Mobile, check
Hood to his F150, check

The boy takes everything he can apart.. thankfully, most can be put back together.. but now he is moving on...
He is moving onto things needing to be unscrewed...

Right now he is taking the stylus from his palm and trying to use it to unscrew the popper on one of his toys.

I wanted to get him a home depot set for Christmas... now I am second guessing it.

One very cool thing

If you don't know, I work on Ancestry stuff alot. Most every night. I want to go back in every branch of our tree as far as I can. I love it. I have found some interesting stuff since researching J side.

The, by far, most amazing thing I have found though is this.
He was J's great uncle. He was on the USS Gudgeon when it left port on April 7th and was never seen again. No one knows 100% of what happened, but on April 18th, 1944 it was considered lost at sea. This submarine is considered one of the 'mysteries of the sea'. I officially HAVE to have this book. Just to look over once and keep with the rest of the family tree information.

There are so many books I want that are dealing with family tree stuff... like family and geneologist that have already done so much work.

I love this stuff.

I leave you with a pic from my media file in my family tree.


These are the sons of Harmon T. Bass. Back row far right is Francis Harmon Bass, who had a daughter, Cader Thomas Bass, J's great grandmother.

Complete randomness

I just got finished reading a book about a family of 7 who lived on $20,000 a year and who had everything paid for... including their 3500 square foot home. Some of their methods were extreme... I mean, I am not going to move to a different town just to get more house for my money.. I will do what I can in the town I live... and even then, I am picky about the part of town I WON'T live in. But, I am going to keep the book around for "oh yeah" ideas.

One of my twin cousin's just recieved a scholarship award from the place my granny retired from 2 years ago. IBEW gives our a scholarship award every year. This year, they included an honorary 2nd scholarship in my grandmother's name and gave it to my other twin cousin. I wish I had people throwing money at me when I graduated.

I am sick and not feel up to par at all. I am hacking and stopped up and all of that. Upper respiratory infection is what the minor med said... they gave me a steroid shot in my butt on Friday.. I am still waiting for that to kick in.

I am leaving you with this crappy post, because I feel the need to. I leave you with a pic of the boys being seperated for the first (should have been 100th) time.

Weekend

Good Monday all. Hope the weekend allowed some restful nights.

We went on our yearly camping/canoeing trip to the Buffalo River this weekend. Our buds, Steph and Jay, meet up with us there this time and it was just the 4 of us.

Friday night, we arrived shortly after dark and pitched our tent, laid out the air matteresses and sleeping bags and made a drink. We started to watch 'The Bucket List' with the DVD player when the rain started trinkling down, so we jumped in the tent to finish it up... that is when the DVD player battery died. Oh well, we just went to sleep... as much as we could considering it poured down hard all night.

This was our view when we woke. (that is our tent in the pic).


Steph and Jay showed close to 10 and we got our canoes and got dropped off about 5 miles up river. We had a blast. Can't wait for the 8 mile next year.. or maybe the overnighter??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY and updates.

HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO YOU!!!!
We love you babe.


So I got the results of the evaluation and it looks like G is accepted into the program... but not because of delay. Out of 5 areas, he had a 15% delay in one area... that is it. NO other delays, but the records they got from the doctors showed that at one time he was diagnosed "Failure to Thrive". Because of this, he is accepted.
Let me clarify something. He is healthy as a horse, very. He just has a hard time gaining weight. When he was very little, like months old, he stopped gaining... for months. At 3 months old, he was still just 8 lbs after a month of weight stall. When this happened he was diagnosed with 'failure to thrive' and they began to run test for Cystic Fibrosis and such. He came up negative for all tests, rest assured.
I questioned whether or not to proceed with putting him into the program.. "if he is not delayed, then are we wasting our time". I mean, this is state funded.. and do we really want to be those people who can do it on their own and take advantage of state funded programs?
Then I talked to Nana and she said something "With as competitive as the world is, why are you going to take an opportunity away from him?"

Thoughts?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KA-KA and updates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KA-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
We love you.


My uncle is finally home from the hospital and doing good. Thank you all for your well wishes.

Here is a pic of the flowers.. the purple lilies had already bloomed and was in their dying state..

I ended up having to put them outside once the white ones bloomed. :( One sniff of the living room and my head clogged up immediately. They were gorgeous though.

G's early intervention evaluation.. well, I should get the actual results today, but she said that they were using the Battelle Developmental Inventory. She said that out of 5 areas, he needs at least 40% delay in one area or 25% delay in 2 areas to be able to receive their services. She said she does not see this at all. She told me that 'language' wise, 2 year olds are considered 'within the range' if they have at least 10 words. That is it. She said "considering he was passing various 3 year old tests, I doubt he will get our treatment."
I don't understand how being able to put circle pieces in circle holes, and lacing up a a shoe has anything to do with him TALKING and needing help with TALKING... but it is a government funded program, so they gotta put the standards there for a reason. hrmf!

So, G took today to sit and chill for a bit...

Boat Chunk

What a weekend guys... and girls.

My granny moved into her new house Saturday morning, I had a baby shower to go to Saturday morning and went straight from the shower to Granny's... spent all afternooon over there until about dinner time (us,that is 5), so when I got home, we played out in the pool.

Little did I know daddy and the boys have invented a new pool game... lets just call it boat chunk.

Step 1: find a float with handles


Step 2: count 1, 2, 3


Step 3: Chunk across the pool


These 3 boys (yes, J was included in that) are going to give me a early death.. or keep me young.. something.

Hope you all have a great day... like Nemo would say, "Just keep swimmin'"

Going Cheap Friday

Following up on last Friday.
I have figured out to search by demographic. I still need to follow up on Joye's find at Sam's. It sounds like a 2% milk price, but if it is whole, I doubt my budget would justify me having a Sam's and Costco card, but I do know people with a Sam's card. Christie lives in a different part of the city and said her Kroger had whole milk for $3.44. THANKS YOU ALL.. KEEP 'EM COMING IN.

Now, this week, we will focus on yogurt.
My kids eat tons of yogurt... I also put it in popsicle makers for a treat... so on a average day, my kids eat about 5 oz of yogurt each.
We have found the following:
Kirkland brand @ Costco= 96oz for $6.90 = $0.07 an ounce
Schnucks brand @ Schnucks= 6oz for $0.50 = $0.08 an ounce
Bluebunny brand @ Schnucks= 6oz for $0.60 = $0.10 an ounce
Activia @ Costco= 96oz for $10.35 = $0.11 an ounce, now sometimes a coupon for $3.00 off is available making it = $0.08 an ounce
Yoplait @ Kroger = 6oz for $0.80 = $0.13 an ounce, now sometimes they have a sale at 6oz for $0.50 = $0.08 an ounce.

So obviously, just because you have a coupon doesn't make it better than any other.

So, for us, going through 10oz a day total, the difference between Yoplait @ Kroger versus the Kirkland brand at Costco, we will save a total amount of $219.00 a year. LETS CHECK MY MATH BECAUSE HOLY CRAP... lets see, differnce is $0.06 an ounce, with 10 ounces a day, 365 days a year... YEP.. $219.00.

Running total: $160.20 for milk, $219.00 for yogurt = $379.20.

Got any more deals out there???

Skipping Reuse it Thursday for a random update

Hello all.
I haven't been good this week about blogging, so I will skip reuse it Thursday for a random update on everything.

My uncle had to go back into surgery because he was leaking air from his lung. Apparently, they found 3 holes in his lung where he wouldn't heal. They sewed him back up and is going to keep him in the hospital a little longer, BUT BUT BUT there is great news... he got the scan back on his lymph nodes and there is absolutely no sign of Cancer in them. NO CHEMO! Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts.

We had a birthday party to attend this weekend and it was great. We had a great time visiting and watching the birthday girl. She is now 2 going on 16. Her mom has 2 very compliant little girls.. after spending an afternoon with the 'Whiteaker boys'... she will never babysit for me... unless I had absolutely zero options and couldn't take them with me... lol.

Early Intervention has come and filled out paperwork for G. Evaluators are due to be here next Tuesday to test G to see if he needs any "special needs" work. (that is what they called it)... In my mind, speech therapy is not a 'special need', but whatever... call it what you want if you can get my kid off of a one-word vocab at 28 months old.

We have been working diligently on my granny's new house to get it ready for her to move in. Sunday, we starting wrapping stuff up as I was there from 9am to 10:30pm. And when I was there on Tuesday, just a handful of stuff had to get done. She is set to move into the house Saturday morning. Then starts the work on the old house so we can get it to sell.

We have moved G's F150 into the back yard for him and D to play. It has become interesting to watch... by they way, if you didn't know, G is a little anal. Excuse his nakedness AGAIN.


Before you ride, you must check that everything is running smooth.


Enjoy your ride


After off-roading, you must "wass truck"!

RON WHITE TICKETS GO ON SALE TOMORROW for his show in Tunica. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US! Last time he was in town for a show was August 2004... we had planned to go them for our anniversary, but due to circumstances at the first of the month, we choose not to... This year, we will actually do SOMETHING SPECIAL for our anniversary.. after 6 years, I guess we are slow learners.

My hubby sent me flowers yesterday... Just because... and it was the good kind... You get them in bud form, set them up and you watch them bloom.. so you are watching them bloom instead of watching blooms die. Very pretty. Once they are in full bloom, I will take a picture and post. Very very sweet.

I think this post has become officially too long.. I will leave you with that. Hugs

Going Cheap Friday

Ok.. so we are finding every single possible way to reduce our grocery bill. I have started a spreadsheet that tracks how much things at certain stores cost with and without a coupon... by the unit of said item.

First off is milk... whole is more expensive than 2%
(which I totally don't get.. I mean, 100 cigarettes are longer than regular cigarettes but they cost the same.. why can it be the same way)..

Anyways, we use whole because I am tired of getting jumped on by the pedi because my kids all of a sudden don't gain weight.
Cheapest I have found.. if you find something cheaper or have something to add in this area, please, please let me know.

Costco on G'town Rd. = $3.49 per gallon
Shell on Highland Rd. = $3.49 per gallon
McLemore Market on Houston Levee and Canada Rd. = $3.59 per gallon
Kroger Hwy 64 = $3.99 per gallon
Walgreens on Houston Levee and Canada Rd. = $3.99 per gallon
Schnucks on Hwy 64 = $4.08 per gallon.

The difference (for us.. we go through about 15 gallons a month of milk) between Costco and Schnucks is about $106.20 a year.

Without a sale or coupon, does anyone know where to get milk cheaper than $3.49??

Reuse it Thursday

What do all you mothers do with all the old itty bitty baby spoons with the tiny scoop that you used when you were just starting to feed the little ones?? Do you pack 'em up or toss them? Or do you find a way for them?

We make popsicles with them.

You those premade popsicle makers tha some with the teeny handle makers? Well, after using the handles it comes with, we put those in a ziploc baggie in the freezer and do some more using the spoons at longer more sturdy handles.



How do you reuse your spoons??


**Update and responses: Amy, check your email. I emailed you. Uncle is doing good, he is still in ICU because his kidneys decided to give them a little problem. But I want to thank you all for your prayer.
Sorry about the link. Kelly Wilson was in the link. He should have graduated with us. Killed downtown years ago. On Channel 5 website, search "Shot in the dark". Maybe they haven't deleted it. Big Boy pants.. going as expected.. ups and downs.

Random

This guy graduated with me in High School. I really hope his family can get closure.

My uncle is doing great. His surgery went really well and they went ahead after reattaching his airways in his lung, they took the lymph nodes. They will do some testing, but they said that everything looked wonderful. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. They only had to take 15% of one of his lungs.

I was at my granny's new house working on fixin' it up before she gets in it until about 10:20 last night. I don't know how my mother does it every night. I doubt my granny will get in it this weekend... maybe next.

I leave you with a pic of why it is so hard to get laundry done around here.

Let's make a deal

I have really started getting fed up with the whole G walking around naked all the time. See, when he is naked, he is great about going to the potty. I mean wonderful. I know he knows when he needs to go pee or poop. He gets out of the pool to do it eventhough he has on a swimming.
Now, when he will wear a diaper their are only the occasional times when he ask to go with a diaper on.

I figure he feels like a diaper is his lazy pants... So yesterday I made him a deal..

G, if you go all day without an accident and you go to the potty everytime you need to, and wash your hands like a big boy.. I will have a surprise for you when you wake up from your nap.

He woke and I took off his nap diaper and he went pee pee.. I gave him his surprise.




He saw his new big boy undies and said in such excitement "DADA.. MOMMA"
Yes G, momma and dada where big boys undies just like this. Now, we don't want to get this dirty or wet, so you go to the potty when you need.. you can't got potty in these.



He is so absolutely proud of himself.

Now, we haven't ventured out of the house in big boy underwear, so they are still only for home during the day NOT when we are sleeping...
But we are getting there.

Rounding up the weekend

Hope you all had a good holiday weekend.

We were busy. I dropped poor J the boys all day Friday and all day Saturday to help work on my grandmother's new house she just bought. I think I might have inhaled too many fumes and methane gas on Saturday because I ended up going to bed early because I thought I was going to puke.

I think G has been in at least 1 corner in every single resturant we have visited here recently. After his and D's antics Saturday night, I think we might be banned from Danvers.

We visited granny's, and the store and went to a birthday party Sunday. We were wiped out.

keep my uncle in your prays tomorrow. He is going in to have part of his lung removed because he has lung Cancer. He will be in the hospital for a good bit. Hopefully everything will go smooth.

Back from the bed

G had been running a fever anywhere between 100-102 since Monday. He has been poopy feeling and not eating... but he has been drinking, so I doubt it is his throat again. Well, yesterday afternoon he had started to feel better, so we decided to take advantage and let him go swimming... so we all went.






Of course, as soon as we started to come in for dinner and stripped his swimmy off, he laid on daddy's shoulder and didn't want to come off. It was too much and he was back to feeling bad. :(

Today he is feeling his oats.

*NOTE: In the last pic, G is not in distress, when D swims, the boy kicks very crazy... G was just getting splashed.

Jump around

As promised, here is their new present from their Mammie.


I could not get a good pic of G in the tramp because he, as usual, is naked, and I guess it was a new sensation jumping, outside, naked. The pics would have been vulgar and inappropriate for the internet. Plus, every time he jumped, he would grab himself, say "ding ding" and grab it... then it got to where he was trying to jump while watching it...

You mess it up... you clean it up

"G, did you smash raspberries into the carpet?"

"NO, D ojrhoighueuglsl"
"Oh, so D did it?"

"D, did you smash raspberries into the carpet?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"You didn't? Is this your shirt?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"Oh really, you are wearing it. Should I believe you?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

"Well, your mess, you clean up!"