I've been MIA for a couple of weeks and will be for a couple more weeks...
Eli, Rachael and I are in Florida visiting my family and having ourselves a grand time! And Michael and Jacob are in Australia visiting Michael's family (that's where he grew up and everyone except his mom and 1 sister still live over there). It's strange that it worked out the way it did, but we are essentially on 2 separate vacations.
I've posted some photos of what we've been up to on my flickr page. I don't have enough time to upload them all here, but you're welcome to hop over there and check them out.
We're staying with my parents and we've been to the beach several times, been out on my dad's boat, seen my grandparents, played lots with the cousins (my brother and sister-in-law and their 2 daughters live on the same property as my parents and it makes it easy for playing together) and we are really enjoying ourselves!
I won't be home and back to a normal routine until the 11th of July, so expect the hiatus to continue.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Receipt bin
If your family is like mine there are plenty of receipts around, possibly in varying places around the house.
A few years ago I came up with a solution to our receipt problem....
This is a magnetic note paper holder. It use to have note paper in it, but once it was all used up, I started putting receipts in it when I got home from shopping. It quickly became our designated receipt bin. It is on the side of the fridge and when unloading shopping bags, the receipts are immediately taken care of. If it's a debit receipt, it is logged in the check book before it's put in the bin. I go thru all the receipts every few months and file the ones we need to keep and then the rest go in the recycle bin!
This has saved a lot of trouble when it comes to returning things, we ALWAYS know where the receipt is. It definitely works for us!
A few years ago I came up with a solution to our receipt problem....
This is a magnetic note paper holder. It use to have note paper in it, but once it was all used up, I started putting receipts in it when I got home from shopping. It quickly became our designated receipt bin. It is on the side of the fridge and when unloading shopping bags, the receipts are immediately taken care of. If it's a debit receipt, it is logged in the check book before it's put in the bin. I go thru all the receipts every few months and file the ones we need to keep and then the rest go in the recycle bin!
This has saved a lot of trouble when it comes to returning things, we ALWAYS know where the receipt is. It definitely works for us!
Friday, June 12, 2009
What do you wear?
Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is hosting a linkup today. It's all about showcasing what/how you wear your kids, and I thought it would be great to participate!!
This is the back carry in the Beco Butterfly II (purchased at a local cloth diaper shop). I use the back carry mostly for hiking or things where we'll be doing a lot of walking.
This is my brown linen ring sling. I ordered it from Li'l Peeper Keepers on Etsy and we love it! It's awesome for sleeping babies (especially in airports or on flights).
This is my Hotsling (it's a pouch)! This is my pick for ease and quickness! Rachael currently prefers being in the Beco (I also prefer her in the Beco), but if we're in a hurry, this one just slips on and I pop her in and we're ready to go! Also, a great plus to this sling is that it's available at Target. I bought mine at a Super Target and was able to try it on to test out the fit!!
This is the front carry in the Beco Butterfly II. I LOVE this carrier. It's not the quickest of my stash, but it's definitely the most comfy and having both hands completely free (rather than one shoulder not having full motion) is awesome! I was a bit apprehensive about how structured it is, having tried one of those Bjorn type things and none of my kids liked being in it and I was never able to get it comfy, but this one has definitely proven it's worth. My favorite feature of this carrier is the ability to secure Rachael in it before I even put it on. This allows me to be able to get her on my back safely without any help. You can also put it on and then put the child in, but I prefer to snap her in first, it just seems easier to me.
This is the back carry in the Beco Butterfly II (purchased at a local cloth diaper shop). I use the back carry mostly for hiking or things where we'll be doing a lot of walking.
This is my brown linen ring sling. I ordered it from Li'l Peeper Keepers on Etsy and we love it! It's awesome for sleeping babies (especially in airports or on flights).
This is my Hotsling (it's a pouch)! This is my pick for ease and quickness! Rachael currently prefers being in the Beco (I also prefer her in the Beco), but if we're in a hurry, this one just slips on and I pop her in and we're ready to go! Also, a great plus to this sling is that it's available at Target. I bought mine at a Super Target and was able to try it on to test out the fit!!
This is the front carry in the Beco Butterfly II. I LOVE this carrier. It's not the quickest of my stash, but it's definitely the most comfy and having both hands completely free (rather than one shoulder not having full motion) is awesome! I was a bit apprehensive about how structured it is, having tried one of those Bjorn type things and none of my kids liked being in it and I was never able to get it comfy, but this one has definitely proven it's worth. My favorite feature of this carrier is the ability to secure Rachael in it before I even put it on. This allows me to be able to get her on my back safely without any help. You can also put it on and then put the child in, but I prefer to snap her in first, it just seems easier to me.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
You Capture - nature
I LOVE this week's You Capture - the theme is nature! Nature is one of my favorite things to photograph (in addition to my kids and old/dilapidated wooden structures such as barns).
We went to Helen Hunt Falls this past weekend for a short bit and it was beautiful. We've had a lot of rain and add to that the snow melt from the mountains and you've got yourself a rushing river!!
Here are a few of my favorites:
Garden time!
Here is a photo of what my garden looked like 2 days ago:
First row (starting in the back):
* 3 tomato plants
* 2 pumpkin (don't know what kind b/c Eli planted these in a cup at preschool and they actually came up so I transplanted them) - however one of them already has a bloom on it so I'm sure I'll find out soon!
Second row (starting in the back):
* 2 jalapenos
* 1 more tomato
* 1 strawberry plant that survived the winter and is thriving!
Third row (starting in the back):
* 5 potatoes, but only 2 of them have sprouted (can't really see them in this photo)
* 2 small rows of carrots
Last row:
* Peas (not doing very well - only a few of them have sprouted and they seem to be fizzling)
* Cilantro
* Lettuce
* 2 small rows of white onion
Outside the garden:
* 2 pots of peas (again not doing so well)
* small pot of cilantro
* small pot of chives that I think got drowned and never sprouted
* planter of lettuce (this is where the wind blew some of the seed from last years plants that I left in the ground too long, the seeds apparently made it thru the winter and then sprouted!) I had no idea the seeds had even gotten into this planter, just had some sprouts one day! BONUS.
I'm not sure how well the tomatoes will do because it snowed into mid-May and I couldn't put them out (started them inside) until just a few weeks ago. They are looking better, just not great. Maybe they just need some TLC.
What does your garden look like so far?
First row (starting in the back):* 3 tomato plants
* 2 pumpkin (don't know what kind b/c Eli planted these in a cup at preschool and they actually came up so I transplanted them) - however one of them already has a bloom on it so I'm sure I'll find out soon!
Second row (starting in the back):
* 2 jalapenos
* 1 more tomato
* 1 strawberry plant that survived the winter and is thriving!
Third row (starting in the back):
* 5 potatoes, but only 2 of them have sprouted (can't really see them in this photo)
* 2 small rows of carrots
Last row:
* Peas (not doing very well - only a few of them have sprouted and they seem to be fizzling)
* Cilantro
* Lettuce
* 2 small rows of white onion
Outside the garden:
* 2 pots of peas (again not doing so well)
* small pot of cilantro
* small pot of chives that I think got drowned and never sprouted
* planter of lettuce (this is where the wind blew some of the seed from last years plants that I left in the ground too long, the seeds apparently made it thru the winter and then sprouted!) I had no idea the seeds had even gotten into this planter, just had some sprouts one day! BONUS.
I'm not sure how well the tomatoes will do because it snowed into mid-May and I couldn't put them out (started them inside) until just a few weeks ago. They are looking better, just not great. Maybe they just need some TLC.
What does your garden look like so far?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Spam filter/firewall thing-a-ma-jig
The firewall/spam filter at Michael's office (USAF base) is super sensitive to outside email addresses (such as yahoo, hotmail, anything without a ".mil" at the end, etc.), which makes sense since it's a military installation and all. But, folks, it's super annoying.
Michael works at his desk most of the day and rather than calling him to ask questions or to remind him of things, etc. I simply shoot him an email and he usually replies within just a few minutes (don't worry, I'm not interrupting him all day long - just a couple emails). Well, a while back he wasn't responding to more than half of my emails for over a week and come to find out he wasn't ever receiving them. I understand that this thing is strict and doesn't allow any emails to even get to the recipient if the subject or email address seems spammy. But, my subject lines were always normal things (ex. "Jacob's dr. appt", "Reminder: friends tonight") not spammy or explicit, etc. Needless to say, both of us were highly annoyed.
For a while after we discovered this, I would send each email twice and he'd usually get one of them, and I resorted to calling if it was actually important since I feared he would never receive the email anyway. Then I started using these funny little subject lines that have never been rejected in the many, many months since I started doing it.
Here's how I come up with the subject line:
* pick the first color that comes to mind
* pick an animal that most definitely would NOT be that color
Examples: purple tiger, blue cat, pink turtle, etc.
It works like a charm and it's fun! So, if you have trouble with your military (or DOD employee) spouse's email spam filter thing, feel free to copy my idea and see if your emails get thru!!
Michael works at his desk most of the day and rather than calling him to ask questions or to remind him of things, etc. I simply shoot him an email and he usually replies within just a few minutes (don't worry, I'm not interrupting him all day long - just a couple emails). Well, a while back he wasn't responding to more than half of my emails for over a week and come to find out he wasn't ever receiving them. I understand that this thing is strict and doesn't allow any emails to even get to the recipient if the subject or email address seems spammy. But, my subject lines were always normal things (ex. "Jacob's dr. appt", "Reminder: friends tonight") not spammy or explicit, etc. Needless to say, both of us were highly annoyed.
For a while after we discovered this, I would send each email twice and he'd usually get one of them, and I resorted to calling if it was actually important since I feared he would never receive the email anyway. Then I started using these funny little subject lines that have never been rejected in the many, many months since I started doing it.
Here's how I come up with the subject line:
* pick the first color that comes to mind
* pick an animal that most definitely would NOT be that color
Examples: purple tiger, blue cat, pink turtle, etc.
It works like a charm and it's fun! So, if you have trouble with your military (or DOD employee) spouse's email spam filter thing, feel free to copy my idea and see if your emails get thru!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Menu Plan Monday - June 1
I do believe it's been forever since I've posted a meal plan. I always have them written out, just never seem to get around to posting them!
Michael is on a TDY this week and won't return until after dinner Saturday, so most of my meals this week are super easy and very quick.
Monday: Tortilla pizzas (flour tortillas spread with pizza sauce and toppings), fresh fruit
Tuesday: Lasagna (of the frozen variety...), corn on the cob and fruit smoothies
Wednesday: Chicken enchiladas, salad and strawberry shortcake (making double of everything so I can take it to a MOPS friend who just had a baby)
Thursday: Leftovers, fruit smoothies
~ soak beans, thaw meat
Friday: Burritos (meat & bean with lettuce, cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream) fruit smoothies
Saturday: grilled sausages in bbq sauce, corn on the cob, fruit
~ thaw chicken breasts
Sunday: grilled chicken breasts, steamed veggies, fruit
Lunches will be leftovers and snacks will be fresh veggies/fruit
Be sure to head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie to see all of the other wonderful menu plans for this week.
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