May I take your order

Last night Joseph came up to me with a piece of paper in one hand and a crayon in the other.

J1: "What do you want Momma?"
Me: "um, I don't know. What do you want?"
J1: "how about mojshfue (something unintelligible)."
Me: "ok" (thinking - I don't really know what we're playing here.)

He scribbles on the paper and walks away. Pretty soon he comes back.

J1: "What do you want now Momma?"
Me: "um, (finally dawns on me that he's playing restaurant server) how about some pie?"
J1: scribbles on his paper. "ok" and then goes back to his table

moments later

J1: "we're out of pie Momma. Would you like something else?"
Me: "well, what else do you have?"
J1: "we have Chick-fil-A!"

school work

Joseph loves cutting up things. And by loves - I mean - with a passion. He would sit and cut up a plain sheet of paper all day long. While this is great for his motor skills. . . . I'm not a huge fan of cleaning up little shards of paper from the hardwoods, the couch, the carpet, the stairs, the kitchen tiles. . . you get the picture. But I do it (often) because . . .it's just paper . . . and it is cleanable. Yesterday I got the bright idea to find some worksheets online for him. I found a website with homeschool worksheets and printed out a few selections from the pre-school tab. Joseph has been talking a lot about numbers being in order lately (thanks to a recent Mickey Mouse episode). The 4 worksheets I printed out have blocks of numbers on the top to cut out and then paste in order on the bottom row of blocks. Joseph is now happily sitting at his table cutting out the number blocks. Once he's done we'll get out the glue stick. yay! :)

index cards

When my sisters were younger, my mom used to write down the funny things they said on index cards so she could remember to tell my dad later. At my youngest sister's high school graduation we had a whole stack of index cards for people to look at.

I consider this blog my index card.

Here are a couple more cards for the pile:

During dinner tonight -
J1: (after drinking some lemonade) "mmmmm emolade. I like emolade. Now my tummy is all wet because I drank my emolade. My pizza is all wet now too!"

Earlier this afternoon -
me: "Look Joseph. Baby J is sucking his thumb again."
J1: "Yah he is. He is sick."
me: "why is Baby J sick?"
J1: "because his hand is in his mouth. You get sick if you put your hand in your mouth."
me: "because of the germs?"
J1: "yah." (then to Baby J) "We don't put our hands in our mouth Baby Jacob. You need to take them out, ok?"

Our favorite kind of Saturday morning . . .

We start out with plenty of coffee and a "special treat" for everyone.

Joseph and George make a big Lego mess in the Dining/Train/Lego Room.

Baby J is well into his first of several naps today.

And for our viewing pleasure - a mix of HGTV, DIY & Food Networks . . with a little Harry Potter thrown in for good measure. Ahhhhh - a Saturday morning at home.

rolly polly

We call this kiddo "Scooter" for a good reason. He has always scooted . . . from day 1 . . . scooting out of his blanket. Now he scoots his body all around his play mat - rotating 360 degrees. In addition to being able to roll over from his stomach to back, he is starting to roll up on his side from his back. It won't be long now! . . . and it's going way too fast.

On the menu - July 20

Here are a couple of constants in our menu:

Currently Wednesday evening is leftover night. I go to a Bible Study where there are plenty of snacks and Christopher & Joseph choose from the variety of leftovers.

Saturday night was traditionally homemade pizza night at the Shetler house and we are carrying on that tradition.

Here is the rest of our menu for this week.

Tuesday:
Pancetta Risotto - I also used fresh Rosemary from my herb planters on the front porch

Thursday:
Chicken Spaghetti - our sweet realtor, Sue, stopped by last week to see baby J and also brought us a meal for the freezer. So I'll be defrosting the chicken spaghetti and french bread this afternoon.

Friday:
Hot Dogs
Tater Tots
Lima Beans
(on Fridays Joseph goes to school and is pretty exhausted by the time he gets home. So I like to have something pretty casual, easy and fun for him to eat.)

Sunday:
lunch - BLT & Turkey Club Sandwiches
Dinner - Jalapeno/Cranberry Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes

Monday:
It's my birthday and I've been told we'll be dining out!

Tuesday:
Taco Salad

coffee

One of the very first things that happens every morning - somebody makes coffee. By the time Joseph wakes up Momma & Daddy usually both have a cup in hand. In fact - the first time Joseph mimicked me - it was by holding a cup and taking a pretend sip followed by a "ahhhh." Um yah, didn't even realize until then that I did that. All this to say - Joseph realizes that coffee is pretty important around here.

On Monday, a few minutes after Christopher left for work, I realized that he had left his "To Go" cup sitting on the counter. I felt bad that he didn't have it but was also glad that I was going to get a little extra as I had just finished mine and the pot was empty. I remarked to Joseph that Daddy had forgotten his coffee.

J1: "Oh No! Daddy forgot his coffee! We need to take it to him. We need to take it to him before he comes back home. Daddy needs his coffee."
me: "I think Daddy will be ok Joseph."
J1: "We need to take Daddy his coffee I think. He doesn't have his coffee."
me: "Well - why don't we call him and check."

(phone call to daddy which confirmed that we indeed did not need to take the coffee to the office.)

J1: "I am so sad for daddy that he doesn't have his coffee."

Fast forward 24 hours. It's now Tuesday and Joseph and Daddy are getting ready to leave for school/work.

Daddy: "Joseph I just need to get my lunch and then we'll be ready to go!"
J1: "And don't forget your coffee today daddy!"

Today I yawned while helping Joseph get ready for his nap.

J1: "That was a big yawn. Are you tired Momma?"
me: "Yes I am Joseph. I might need to take a nap today too."
J1: "yah - you had a BIG morning!"

talking

just some pics. . .

George is ready

I've just been informed that George is ready for breakfast. This was followed by:
J1: "I'm such a good helper getting George ready for breakfast!"

hmmmmmm

I heard lots of giggling coming from the dining room a bit ago. After a bit I realized that Legos and/or Joseph's train could not possibly be that funny . . . so I took a peek . . . and saw this.
Yes. That is Joseph in Jacob's car seat playing with the hanging toys. He was equally excited when the Exersaucer made its reappearance recently.

Camping Week

As I wrote previously, this week Joseph is learning about camping at school. On Tuesday he wore his camo shorts to keep in the spirit of things.
Today the kids were instructed to wear their jammies (Joseph wanted to wear his shark jammies again so we had to wash them last night) and bring their sleeping bags, S'mores makings and any other camping gear they wished. They are going to camp all day in the Great Hall (I'm glad they're staying inside with the current heat advisory. It's not as humid here as in Charleston but we are supposed to reach triple digits today).
Here is Joseph ready to go with his: Red George, backpack (with S'mores), sleeping bag, show & tell and tent.

it's spreading . . .

I just found a sticker on Baby J. Apparently this Curious George-itis is contagious.

sticker break

the best part is that I look just the same (minus the shark jammies).

sleeping bag/toy bag

Joseph is learning about camping at school this week. Tomorrow they are supposed to wear their jammies and take sleeping bags so they can camp at school. I will have a detailed post on that later as this post is about the sleeping bag. Joseph doesn't have one so Grandma boxed up a little one from her house and mailed it to us this week. It arrived yesterday and has been a whole lot of fun. First it was a boat and Joseph "rowed" himself all over the downstairs in it. Then it was an actual sleeping bag in which he snuggled last evening before bedtime. Finally last night it became a toy storage bag. He basically cleared off his toy table and several shelves into the bag. This included puzzles, animals, cars, sticker books and more. I gave him the usual speech - "it's ok to make a mess as long as we clean it up." Followed by - "tomorrow morning you will have to put all these toys away." It is tomorrow morning and he isn't too thrilled about having to clean up his mess.
Ergo this conversation:
J1: "please help me clean up momma!"
me: "did I put all those toys in the bag?"
J1: "no"
me: "who put all the toys in the bag?"
J1: "I did"
me: "so who do you think should clean it up?"
J1: "me. . . . . . " (in the most resigned little voice you ever heard)

I think the picking-up process isn't as bad as he feared. He appears to be having quite a bit of fun.

Pampers Points

Let's face it. Diapers are expensive. Several of my friends are going the cloth diaper route which I think is so great. But, since we didn't invest in cloth diapers, we are on the Pamper trail. I look for deals where ever I can find them and use plenty of coupons. I also collect the Pamper Points located inside of each package. These can be redeemed for some great items. So far I have gotten a Shutterfly photo book (normally $25 + shipping) just for the cost of shipping, as well as two Melissa & Doug puzzles for $0.

On the menu - July 13

We are having a few repeats on our menu plan for this week instead of posting our menu for every day, I am just going to highlight a few new recipes we are going to try.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches - we are going to have this Sunday evening.

Zucchini Stir-Fry - this is a great summer side dish. Grate up zucchini and combine with a chopped onion. Sautee' in olive oil with salt & pepper. Delish!

Doro Wat - this is a traditional Ethiopian stew. We were giving an international cookbook as a wedding present and this is one of our favorite recipes from it. It it usually pretty spicy so I cut down on the amount of cayenne pepper. I'm adding a link for a recipe that is pretty similar to the one I use.

I have been working very hard and trying to cut our grocery budget while still being creative and serving up yummy food. I have posted a few couponing blogs I like in the past and will add a few new ones below. I have also been tracking all our grocery receipts and last month we saved a little over 20%. I am my own worst competition so I am trying to up that percentage this month.

more couponing/saving links:

Addicted to Saving
Grocery Coupon Guide - this guy eats for $1 a day!

sweeter words were never heard. . .

J1: "I need to go poopy in the potty!"

followed by . . .

J1: "I don't need any help!"

big brother

Big brother loves his little brother. On Monday morning Aunt Aftin was getting a last sweet baby hug from Baby J before she left for work.
AA: "bye Joseph . . . . "
J1: "you are going to need to leave Baby Jacob here!"

in other news

Baby J rolled over this week. . . from front to back. He also scooted himself half-way off his play mat. Gotta keep my eyes on that kiddo now.

2 other "funny" conversations from today:
me: "J when you're peeing in the potty it's not funny to try to pee on the floor."
J1: giggle
(you just don't see that conversation coming)

J1: "I need something to drink"
me: "It's past 11 o'clock so you can't have anything else to drink since naptime is coming up. However, you can help me make your lunch."
J1: "but it's not past 11 o'clock."
me: "yes it is. 11 o'clock was when the long hand was at the top. Now it's getting close to the bottom."J1: "oh. ok." (and then in a quieter voice with his bottom lip out. . . ) "I'm so sad that I can't have anything to drink right now."
(and, in case you're feeling sorry for this poor parched kid, he's had a full cup of the following already today: milk, lemonade, orange juice and apple juice. he's fine.)

And speaking of lunch. Joseph's favorite lunch is a Dinosaur Sandwich - a.k.a PB&J in the shape of a dinosaur. My mom gave him this great sandwich cutout and we use it almost every day.

do you still love me?

Over the weekend J1 and I had the following convo:

J1: (putting his hands on my face and leaning waaaaay in) "Momma I still love you."
me: "I'm so glad. I still love you too."

Today:

J1: "Momma - do you still love me?"
me: "yes sir. I still love you. I will always love you. Do you still love me?"
J1: "yah - I still love ya." (followed by lots of kissing and hugging)

I could eat this kid up.

thumb & fingers

We may have a thumb sucker on our hands. As much as I am trying to thwart this by replacing it with his bink. . . . that thumb keeps finding its way back.On occasion I'll also find him sucking his "Natalie" fingers. (my sister Natalie sucked on these same 2 fingers at his age. so cute.)

Bumbo

I didn't have one of these for Joseph but decided to get the Bumbo seat for Jacob. This is his second time sitting in it and he loves looking around. I have only put him in it for a few minutes each time. Although he's doing a great job holding up his head I don't want to put too much of a strain on his poor little neck.

a weekend pictorial

A few pics from our holiday weekend are below. Despite us all still suffering through different stages of a summer cold, we were still able to visit with some family over the weekend.

On the menu - July 6

We were out of town for the holiday weekend so here is our menu starting today.

Tuesday - July 6
Baked Salmon with Salad
Corn on the cob
(just finished this and it was delicious! I sprinkled Old Bay on the salmon before I baked it and also boiled the corn with Old Bay - a la Lowcountry Boil.)

Wednesday - July 7
Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday - July 8
Turkey Club Sandwiches
Watermelon Gazpacho

Friday - July 9
Red Beans & Rice

Saturday - July 10
lunch - leftovers
dinner - homemade Pizza, Salad & Applesauce

Sunday - July 11
lunch - Burritos
dinner - Tomato Cream Pasta (one of Christopher's specialties!)

Monday - July 12
Beef in Red Wine Sauce over Egg Noodles