Matthew is very picky about his costumes lately- ever since Spiderman went home...
he has to have his buzz costume on- or he needs his superman shirt- but it MUST be paired with his blue sweatpants- those are superman pants, you know...
He also needs to have this jacket on top- so he can bust out of his Matthew 'costume' and be a super hero.... of course, every day he tells me about how he wants a Spiderman costume too... when W gets too big- and a captain America with a mask- to buy from W at his yard sale...

above- today Matthew added a helmet to the getup.

makes sense to me...

extra goals to add to the mix: here.

mainly for me-
1- self- suficiency (to take the time to work on teaching Matthew to do things by himself- mainly now: the potty, cleaning up toys, washing hands)
4- regular cleanups
and
14- create a weekly routine
Matthew and I decided last week that Friday would be pajama day- where we stayed in our pajamas all day and clean stuff up- adding more "days" to our week would be a good thing- especially in the summer.

a small picnic table

I deserve a pat on the back for lots of thinking! :P

One of my goals for this year-ok, my main goal- my new year's resolution even- is to fix up the outside parts of our house- make the back yard a nicer place to play is looking to be the first part that will be accomplished. This weekend we cleaned up the rest of the sticks leftover from the storm(s) we've had in this area this year. Last week I looked up plans for a child's picnic table (and I found them! There weren't any out there 2 years ago...)

Today I spent some time price shopping- I didn't want this project to get out of hand and end up costing us more than a plastic one would have- my goal here is to save money- the fact that a wooden one looks nicer is just a bonus.

I called Lowe's to ask about pine and prices- I actually thought to ask if that was the cheapest type of wood… it is not- white wood is about ½ the cost- and since pine would have to be painted any way- there is no difference! Then I realized as I was figuring prices for that… we have wood in the basement- wood that Erik want to get rid of!! Some of it is actually 1’x3’- which is what is required for this project! So by using that wood, I cut the cost down to as little as $15.25 plus taxes…. But then… as I realize that another piece in the basement is 1’x6’-As I'm looking at it I’m thinking “that just does not seem substantial enough. I know I’d be disappointed (or diskapointed as the Butcher would say) to have a finished project and that’s what there is for a little bottom to sit on- plus it kinda looks like it’d break if an adult sat on it- I’d hate to have to say to someone “don’t sit on that!!!” It’s made for sitting, after all. So- I hop online and take a look at online prices in our area… for 2’x4’s. I’m figuring a little more math will have to be done to figure the benches and table top since they were supposed to be made by 1'x6’ pieces of lumber- but alas- they make 2’x6’ pieces of white wood too- at ½ the price of a 1’x6'… AND we already have a treated piece of 2’x4’ in the laundry room- which can’t be used for an eating surface- but there is just the PERFECT amount for the legs- and So…..

LONG STORY SHORT: I’ve worked the table cost down to about $12.11 plus tax.!

and my parents have paint leftover from when they painted their hand me down picnic table...

so... if the rain holds off all week, this weekend we may be making a picnic table....

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't rain....

so- me trying to be a "deal seeking mom"- went to the store this morning for Kroger's '$10 Mega Event'... not a cheap trip but...

money spent:$151.47 (that I don't feel is an accomplishment...)

Kroger plus savings: $41.21

coupon savings: $24.50 (which I'm VERY proud of)

this, despite the free toilet paper being sold out- I ended up getting 2-2 pack double rolls... which looking back I should have passed on since I can always go back later in the week and look for the free stuff... but, come on now... am I really going to go back? Probably not- and I can always print those coupons again if I do.

overall it was a very frustrating trip for me... the TP was gone, the sour cream that was on sale was gone... the guy who bagged my groceries did a HORRIBLE job. (a large container of yogurt with my eggs- he dropped my light bulbs on the floor, 5 of my bags had holes in them when I got home and 4 items fell out of bags either in the van or on the way up to the door...) Matthew kept wining asking to go home and fussing because he didn't have a drink, Sophia wouldn't sit in the cart, and we had to make a rush potty trip- and ended up in the guys bathroom because the ladies bathroom was full... but now I'm home and almost everything is in it's place- so all is right in the world again. I feel really bad about complaining to Erik about how the trip went- I should know that I just need to keep to myself about junk like that until it passes and I can sit back and look at it with a more humorous attitude... I'm sure I gave a ton of people a show as I frustratedly tossed my bags into the van and tried not to cry. :)

Trip to the zoo

ask and ye shall receive: we had some nice weather! I'd been waiting and wanting good weather for a long time now!

Yesterday my mom went to the zoo with us!




Matthew noticed animals, and named a few- before he's just mostly been interested in running around.




my mom crawled into a hole to look at some ducks (I think). We were at the penguin exhibit and they had an area you could crawl up into to see what it looked like under water.



Matthew thought he was taking pictures of the animals- turned out he just captured himself. :)




Matthew was very unsure of the crocodile- hiding behind a post seemed like a good plan.


and we spent the rest of the time with all of the other kids- at the playground...

new baby to share my dad's birthday.

got an e-mail from "Aunt" Lindsay this afternoon:

WELCOME: DAVID MICHAEL HAMILTON
born: 204pm
wt per stuart: 8lb 4oz
length: stuart "doesn't care about that stuff"
how Sara did per Stuart: "she put Dwight Schrutte to shame"

She got the baby's room "finished" just in time!

Happy Birthday to my dad too!

Where have I been??

I've been keeping up with things around the house, wishing for warmer weather!

We've had a baby shower, and helped with a wedding shower.

We went shopping for and purchased a new van.

We FINALLY paid off our school loans.

We've also been to play at 2 different friend's houses and gong to a new mom's group- which was a music class "preview". Both kiddoes had a blast.

We're prepping for a visit this weekend from Erik's parents- which is meaning I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen- cooking therapy, if you will. It's nice. I'm making sure to make extra large batches of everything so there's plenty to freeze for later meals- I'd wiped out all of my dream dinners a few weeks ago... speaking of which- I have a few more to show you... I'll get around to that... sometime.

Sophia is a full fledged crawler now. Climbing even up onto the shelf under our side table in the living room. Dear Lord please have mercy on me- don't give me a climber!!
When Sophia isn't crawling around- she's demanding in a very loud and shrill voice that I hold her.

Matthew is growing/ developing a lot too lately. "crafts" and painting have taken our afternoon time. A few weeks ago he told his first joke:
"why did the orange go to the doctor?"
"because he had a peel!!" hilarious- best joke I've ever heard.
He also told Erik and I a bedtime story 2 nights ago. I'll have to write that up for you sometime soon too... it'd be an awesome thing to make into a real book- with illustrations and everything... you know, if I was some awesome artist or something. :)