Party on a Budget

You guessed it, another post having to do with the Dave Ramsey budget! Usually when the kids birthdays come up, we get them an extravagant gift and throw them a big party. I honestly don't know where the money comes from. I just know that after the birthday, we are praying that we somehow have the money to pay the bills the next month. After all, we want our kids to feel special, right? Who cares if we are irresponsible with our money? I've realized how irresponsible that is and decided to make a change this year.

Since, we are now on budget, I had to be very creative with Noah's party. I knew that having a "small" party was not an option because both Ricky and I have HUGE families. So, I had to feed a lot of people, come up with something fun for the little ones, and get Noah a present on a small budget. I am proud to say, I was successful!

I enlisted the help of family members to bring a side dish, which they were so helpful in doing. I, then, decided that since Pork shoulder roast was on sale last week, I'd do BBQ pork sandwiches. I fed this to about 30 people for about $35.00. For entertainment, I did an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Because, I don't let my kids eat candy, I filled the eggs with little trinkets from the $.99 store. This was a little more pricey than candy, but since I was not buying themed plates, table cloths, decorations etc. it actually worked out just fine. Then, I got a Toy Story cake form Albertson's which Noah loved. For his gift, we limited ourselves to $50.00 and got him Toy Story bedding from Target. After all the formalities we had the kids go swimming which kept them entertained for the rest of the party.

We stayed within budget, I am not worried about bills next month, Noah felt special, the kids loved the party, and the adults loved the food! So, I've realized that working within a budget is actually freeing even though it seems like it should be binding.

The Pony Express

This is how my kids get to bed every night! The Pony Express! I say, "Okay kids, time for bed." They say, "Daddy, be a horsie!"

Hair Challenged

For the duration of her life, my daughter has always seemed to have challenges with her hair. When she was first born, she needed a toupee because she went bald...but only on the very top of her head.

Exhibit A:

Because of her creative balding, she now has a mullet. I guess I should have expected nothing more than a mullet. The hair at the top of her head is still behind on the growth process so she is now sporting a full blown mullet.

Exhibit B:

The Side View:

I am hoping that these hair challenges do not continue to plague her for the rest of her life but if they do, I am going to predict that my daughter is going to make the mullet cool again!

Toddler Tea Party

Pam's 3 year old granddaughters were visiting from New York this past week and Pam thought it would be fun to get all the toddlers together for a tea party. Noah and Maia were so excited about this since they've seen a tea party on the Alice in Wonderland movie that they watch at Pam's house. The tea party was set for Thursday at 5 p.m. and I thought I would drop the kids off and then run some errands, however when I got there I thought I would stay just so I could get some free entertainment (4 toddlers having a tea party was bound to be entertaining)!

Pam had miniature glass tea cups and plates and pretty cloth napkins all set out on the kids coloring table. It was so cute! The menu consisted of bite size gluten-free brownies, edamame, grapes, and herbal hot tea.

She got all the kids to sit down and as soon as they did, the chaos began! 4 little voices chirping all at once asking for tea, another brownie, edamame, grapes, honey, a spoon etc. Then someone would accidentally bump the table and spill tea and begin to panic. We'd calm them down, clean up the spill, and be told by two others that the tea was too hot. One of us would grab ice and as we were putting ice in one toddler's tea cup another toddler would place their hands over their tea cup and emphatically tell us that they did NOT want ice in theirs. I assured them that I would NOT give them any ice and they wold ask for more tea. I'd frantically search for the tea pot and when I'd find it and begin to pour the tea, the toddler would express their indignation over me filling their cup from the small tea pot. They wanted tea from the "big tea pot." Then, one toddler would look over at another toddler's plate to make sure that the other toddler did not have more food than they did. We'd reassure them that everyone had the same amount and they would find something else to ask for.

When I had a minute to look over at Maia to see why she as being so quiet I noticed that she had chocolate all over her arm and her dress but not on her mouth. Interesting. Upon further investigation, I realized that she had dumped both of her bite sized brownies into her tea cup and was now trying to fish them out. I quickly grabbed her cup to clean it out and discovered 1 edamame bean and 2 half chewed grapes in her cup as well. Her idea of a tea party was a little different than ours. Anyways, the tea party continued on at this pace for about 15 minutes and by the time we had a chance to breathe, Pam and I had cleaned up about 5 spills and fulfilled about 37 requests, we were both sweaty and exhausted!

Overall, the tea party was a success and even though it was chaotic, it was entertaining and it was tons of fun! The kids were so cute and they loved the Toddler Tea Party. Thanks Pam for allowing them to have such a delightful experience and allowing me to burn a lot of extra calories that day!

Do I Have to Claim the Bratty One?

I am beginning to think that Maia Belle is not going to have very many friends as she grows up. Yesterday, we went to visit some friends and when it was time to leave and I asked Maia to say good bye to her friends and give hugs she defiantly said, "NO" and continued to play. I, of course was embarrassed as the 3 year old little girls were waiting to give Maia a hug. I gritted my teeth, shot Maia the "you-better-behave" look and hissed, "Get over here and give your friends a hug goodbye." She refused. So, I picked her up and opened her arms toward the girls in a hugging position and they gave her a hug. As Maia throws her head back, she says, "I wanna bite her." WHAT?! At that moment I thanked God that those little girls' mommy was not present and that their Grammie who was present did not hear my vampire daughter tell me she wanted to bite those sweet innocent little girls.

As if that experience wasn't enough embarrassment for me, today we had another one. We were at the park and the kids were running across the playground bridge. When Maia got to the end of the bridge and turned around, she saw another little girl running across the bridge too. Maia began to stomp her feet, then she waved her finger at the little girl and said, "NOOOO, don't play on the bridge!" It was like it was happening in slow motion. I wanted to run up there and grab my daughter before she got violent but I knew I would not make it in time. As soon as the innocent little girl made it to where Maia was standing, Maia pushed her (mind you the girl was 3 times her size) and again stated that she did not want her on that bridge. I was mortified! I apologized to the little girl's grandma and ordered Maia to come down NOW! Instead she threw herself down onto the bridge in a full blown tantrum. I marched up those playground stairs, peeled her off the floor, and took her straight to time-out! As she was sitting in time-out, I thought, hmmmm, this could make a good blog! I better take her picture. I made sure to inform her that just because I was taking her picture, didn't mean she was no longer in trouble!

Anyways, she did her time, apologized to the little girl, and spent the rest of the time not embarrassing her mommy. But, I have a feeling I am going to have many more of those humiliating moments with my sweet angel!!!

Musings of a One Year Old

We were in the car on our way home from the "smoo-dee store" and the kids were a little hyper.

Daddy: "Maia, you're nuts!"

Maia: "I'm not nuts daddy! I Maia!"

Confessions of a Less Than Stellar Mommy

1.) I just now realized that I can't remember the last time I brushed my kids' teeth.

2.) Today, we went to Disneyland and it was 80 degrees and I didn't bring sunblock and my fair skinned princess is now bright red all over.

3.) Noah's birthday is in two weeks, and I know that in my head that I am going to have a party for him but I have not made any plans nor have I sent out any invitations. I am the world's worst party planner.

4.) My 2 year old says, "Awww, DANG it!" all the time. I am so embarrassed. It sounds so inappropriate coming from his mouth. I have NO idea where he gets that saying from...ahem.

5.) I am so bad at noticing when Maia needs her diaper changed that Noah now has to tell me when he can't stand playing with her because the smell is so bad. He has been coming up to me saying, "Mommy, Maia stinks! She has poop. She needs her diaper changed."

An Eventful Morning

This morning was quite eventful, here is a brief run down:

1.) I got to go to my parent's house for breakfast and see my family who I love so much. Never a dull moment with all of them.

2.) I let my little bro take my kids outside to play, and 5 minutes later, Noah came in the house crying and soaking wet. He had fallen in the pool...Kelsey is sharpening his multiple toddler watching skills!

3.) We decided on a whim to put Noah in a "Big Boy Bed." He has not been sleeping well in his crib and I have decided that it is because crib mattresses are hard as a rock and he is over it. My mom had a nice twin bed pillow top mattress hanging out in her garage and she said we could take it. We did. As we speak/ write, he is sound asleep in his "Big Boy Bed." I think we have solved his sleeping problem.

4.) I realized I've done a great job teaching my kids not to litter but have not taught them the difference between litter and dead animals...this is a good thing. There is a dead pigeon in our alley way. I noticed it much too late so there was no way for me to keep her from seeing it. I wracked my brain for 5 seconds thinking of how I would explain the dead bird, when she pointed to it and said disdainfully, "Mama, someone true der trash wight der. Dat's not nice." I did not correct her, but I did stop her from picking up the "trash." She wanted to throw it away because Mama always tells her that "trash belongs in the trash can."

Is My Ugly Showing?

Lord,

I am so embarrassed. I've been wearing my ugly all week for You and everyone to see. I am physically sick just thinking about how awful my attitude has been. I've been trying to blame it on everyone else, but today You confronted me with it and there is no denying that it is nobody's fault but mine. Thank you for pointing it out to me before my ugly had a chance to get any uglier and before anymore people had to be exposed to it. Forgive me. Take away the ugly, negative, prideful, rotten attitude and replace it with Your pure love and beauty. Repair any damage that I've done to others. Thank you Lord that your anger lasts only a moment.

I love you...

Taleah

Things I Want to Remember

1.) When in the car the other day, the kids had balloons and Maia was attempting to pop hers just because it irritates Noah:

Noah: Maia don't pop it!

Maia: (Tries to squeeze her balloon so it will pop.)

Noah: Seriously Maia.

2.) When Noah tries to say that he is going to "use" something, it always comes out as "ooze!" "Mommy, I am going ooze that toy!"

3.) When Maia sees something that scares her at Disneyland she comforts herself by telling Noah, "It's not scawy, it's just pwetend!"

4.) A couple of weeks ago, Maia fell out of her crib. Ever since that day, when we say our prayers at night, she says, "Pway for Maia not to fall out of her cwib anymore."

5.) When Maia is pooping but does not want to get her diaper changed, she says, "No pooping, just tooting!"

I Deserve Another Medal

I know that I award myself with medals a lot on this blog, some negative and some positive and I know that it is not really politically correct to toot your own horn and award yourself medals but this is my blog and I can do whatever I want so I am going to begin this post with the longest run on sentence ever and bestow on myself another medal...of honor.

I am honoring myself for being so devoted to my Dave Ramsey budget that I brave 4 different grocery stores in one morning with 2 toddlers in tow just so I can get the lowest price for my grocery items. I'll pause as I know you need time to applaud.........

Anyways, I took my kids to Superior Warehouse, then to Vons, then home to unload, then to the park to reward them for being good at the first 2 places, then to Stater Brothers, then to an outdoor fruit stand. Then, I came home, put them down for naps, and began cooking as my parents were coming home for dinner and I had to do some prep for my dinners next week. It is now, 11:00 p.m. and my back and arms are aching from lifting and my kids in and out of car seats and in and out of shopping carts all day long, not to mention lugging all of the groceries in and out of the car and up the stairs into my house. I am exhausted but I feel so good that I saved a lot on groceries, that I am prepared for my meals next week, and that I had a lovely evening with my parents. Also, I am thinking that this budget thing is really good for my figure because I know I burnt a million calories doing all that I did today plus I didn't have time to eat lunch because I was too busy cooking. Thanks Dave Ramsey! Because of you, I am now saving money, losing weight, feeling better about myself, and earning many prestigious awards (umm hmm...nevermind that they're only prestigious because I said so).

Tea Cups

My awesome in-laws bought Ricky and I Disneyland passes for Christmas and I am ever so grateful! We've been to the theme park about 10 times since we got them and we all love it! It makes for cheap fun family days (we pack our food and buy nothing while at the park). My favorite part of going to Disneyland is watching Maia's face light up when we go on the tea cups ride. She tells me what color tea cup she wants as we wait in line (it changes about 12 times). Then, she gets so excited to hear Alice's voice tell us to keep our hands and arms inside the tea cup. I love watching the smile slowly creep up on her face as we glide across the floor and our tea cup slowly starts to turn. When she hears other people screaming, she starts screaming too and says, "We spinning!" Precious memories....