Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. We have enjoyed a nice brunch here at our house and are headed over to Grammy June's for a dinner. We have Dad here for the weekend and Justin is really enjoying his PAPA....

Visiting Grandma Erma

Today I went to see my Grandma Erma....she lives about 45 minutes from Dad, so it was a good drive for us. I took her out to Red Robin and my cousin Becky was working there...we sat at one of her tables. Grandma ordered a piece of cake and Becky asked if she was sure - said they were pretty big...Grandma was sure...

She was thrilled to get a HUGE piece of cake!

Playtime with Tootlepops

Oma and I drove to see the family on Monday..we are here for a while...yesterday Justin and I went over to visit and play with the boys. Reese had an appt in the morning, so Justin and Carsten played well together - for the most part.

This was taken with my camera phone, hence it isn't really clear.

Cheese....

Just some photo's to share

So it has been a while since my last post....I know Dad checks these daily and I have been slacking...I should have done the daily post thingy for November...but I probably wouldn't keep it up.

Justin and Daddy enjoying coloring.



"CHEESE" Justin loves to say "Cheese" when you take his picture now. He has more words lately. No Way is the most new word..not just No, but NO WAY.


Reading books in his room....in Mommy's chair.


We are still here...struggling again with sleeping...but Justin just woke from a 3 hour nap, so I have high hopes of a good night sleep tonight....for the past week or so he hasn't been napping as long and hasn't been sleeping at night well either...maybe he is getting better?

Todd and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on Sunday. We took Justin to visit his Grandma Nellie on Saturday and Todd and I had "date day". We did some shopping - were able to try on clothes kid free, had a nice lunch out and did our grocery shopping. I know, not a high class hotel stay or anything, but we are pinching our pennies and decided to stay local and spend a little on ourselves and enjoy the time together. Justin had a great time with Grandma and I think we will make this a monthly event!

For those of you wondering about our Anniversary...we do have 2. We were officially married in November, and had our wedding in May of the next year. So, we are fortunate enough to get to celebrate 2 times a year...maybe a trip in may next year will happen...we will see. :)

But I don't wanna be a fireman

Okay, so I had all these great images of Justin spending the day visiting friends and family with his Fireman outfit on. Well, he hates wearing it.....despises it and insists that we take it "off"

He just came in after taking if off and promptly took it to the dirty laundry basket and "shoved" it in....I think he is trying to hide it so I won't make him wear it....and I won't. I got his picture and that is fine....no point in making him miserable...so to all you who will see him, I guess he will be a little boy for today.

Digger Drawing

So lately Digger the dog has been busy. He does things around the house that are naughty....like touching the keyboard on the computer, but the other night he was being good and coloring.....Digger is a good artist....

Going Potty

Recently Justin has had an interest when we go "potty"...he backs up to the big T and tries to get on, so this past weekend we bought him his own...he loves it. Thought we would let him sit on it and get used to it before we start the training - maybe after the holidays.

My ebay experience

Well, I thought I would try my luck making a few bucks on Ebay....here is the story.

I purchased a few items from Wallyworld on great clearance...placed them up for bid on ebay. One item was something I had and didn't need anymore. So, first week 2 of the 4 items sold. I put the other 2 back up for a week and they didn't sell...so after all the ebay and paypal fees for the whole venture in the last 2 weeks - I made a whoppin $2.50

So, this hasn't been a great experience for me.....for money making at least.

I did sell an item on craigslist and made about $10 in profit, but had to wait around for this lady to pick it up in the "big city' and she was very very late...so that was frustrating....

Anybody do well on ebay? What do you sell?

A Harvest Post

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday with our dear friends.....The Boone and Gina clan as well at the Kay Clan...it was so much fun. We figured we would be there 30 minutes to an hour, but definately not more....well....two hours later....we finally decide we are done for the day. The kids did fabulous together - loved being outside...checked out the animals and did some activities...fun had by all...even we parents and Grammy...

Our little Family



On our way I had to take a picture of Justin and his hat.


Choosing pumpkins...all three in the wagon.


Note Abigail holding onto Justin's hand.


This one looks good.


We chose 3 baby pumpkins in the end from the store...fine by us...we can decorate our table with them and they are the perfect size for Justin


Hammerin the walnuts.


The girls playing "what can I take for your order today"

Freegans

So as I am sitting here, I keep thinking of ways to save, save, save....just my thing I guess. I was thinking of the freegan lifestyle...not that I would want to be a total freegan, but I do see the point of a lot of it. Wasted food going into our landfills...why can't it go to people who need food, or to people who might just eat it.

I don't think our small town is much for the freeganism...doubt that the grocery store throws it out at night and I don't think I will be dumpster diving anytime soon - but the notion is interesting.

I am always trying to consume less, recyle, and come up with more home-made versions of things.

all better

Well, Justin is mended....he had a cough most of the week, and now is good. Has been sleeping a bit better at night and his tooth is finally popped through.....we do still wake at the wee hours of the morning, but take good naps...I will take what I can get.

Here is a photo of the happy boy. The hat has been on since he woke up and probably will stay on all day long.....

Medicine Cabinet

This morning I went through my portion of the medicine cabinet and I have some meds that I need to get rid of...but what do you do with them? I know you can't flush them, and I don't really want to just throw them in the way...is there a safe way to rid of them? Some are expired vitamins and some prescription....

We Love BOOKS!!!

Justin loves books..we read every day before nap and before Daddy gets home....Here he is pulling out all his books...enjoyment!

Homemade Soy Sauce

I didn't have any soy sauce here at home, and didn't want to buy some...so I googled to see if I had the stuff to make it here at home...sure enough....

Homemade Soy Sauce

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons beef bouillon
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water


DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the beef bouillon, balsamic vinegar, molasses, ginger, white pepper, garlic powder and water. Boil gently until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

Preparing my experiment....

Getting the juices stirring....


I added the TBSP that I needed in the crockpot for dinner tonight....and we will see how it tastes tonight.....

Laundry Soap

I have been making my own Laundry soap for some time now, but this one is a bit different than what I have done in the past...no cooking involved in this one, I might try it...

Laundry Soap

1 cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap

• Mix well and store in sealed container.
• I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stirred in the washing soda, then baking soda, then added the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first). The mixture is a thick paste at first that will break down into a heavy powdered detergent, just keep stirring. There may be some hard lumps, try to break them down when stirring (it really helps to make sure the baking soda isn’t clumpy when first adding).

Dish Soap

So I am still on my search for all homemade items...this one I found...although I just made the purchase yesterday, the next time I need dish soap, I am going to make this (this why I need to blog it too)...

• Dish Soap
• If you have allergies or your skin gets dried out from using purchased dish soap, making your own dish soap is simple and effective. There are a few different ways make dish soap, but all of them are quick and easy.
  
  To store your homemade dish soap, recycle dish soap squeeze bottles or purchase empty plastic bottle with a squeeze top for ease of use.
  
  Dish soap can be made using liquid castile soap, soap flakes or soap scraps.
  
  Liquid Castile Soap (Handmade Liquid Soap)
  
  Using liquid castile soap is the easiest way to make your own dish soap, as the base is already made for you. All you have to do is add a few ingredients, mix it up, and voila! You can purchase liquid castile soap at most health food stores. Here's what you need:
  
  * 2 cups of castile soap(Handmade Liquid Soap)
  * A few drops of essential oil
  * 1/2 cup of water
  
  
  To make the soap, follow these instructions.
  
  1. Combine two cups of liquid castile soap(Handmade Liquid Soap) with 1/2 cup of warm water.
  
  2. Add a few drops of essential oils for a pleasant scent.
  
  3. Shake or mix well and place in a squeeze bottle.
  
  4. Shake the soap well before using.

The Library

I took Justin to the library today. This was our 3rd visit to check out books...he likes to look at the books and just like home, pull them off the shelf and put them on the floor...so we picked out some books and I even got one too....then back to the magazine area....they have the magazines I like too and after they are one month old, you can check them out...so I got a few to look through...

Anyway, I was appreciating our library since we have made it our Tuesday thing to do here in town. I want Justin to appreciate books. . .

Going Green . a day at a time

So today I have been on a mission to save money...well all this week has been my mission. No more eating out, etc...and we needed a few things from the wallyworld today, so off I went with my list.

We needed TP - I refuse to go totally cheap on this, so I buy charmin....not the most spendy, but not the cheapest either.
Liquid washing soap - I use this for what doesn't go in the dishwasher and my last stockpile is almost gone.
Jet Dry - now Todd says we need this for our dishwasher, but I am not totally sure you HAVE to have to run your dishwasher? Anyone else know for sure?
Old English to Dust - well, this is really why I am posting. I decided that I could probably dust with what we have here at home so I found a green website Homemade Household Cleaners and got the ingredients...it is great. I put it in a spray bottle and walla-free dusting stuff.

blog hopping

Okay, so about a week ago I was blog hopping and I found this site...I like it...

http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/