Spending Fast

Okay, so I told you I would.  And here's your one-day warning. I'm going on a spending fast for the month of February and I'm calling for anyone to join. Here are the rules:

• Don't buy anything

That's it. Okay, that's not the only rule. You should pay your bills, of course. And buy gas. And you should feed your family, so you'll have to buy groceries. But stretch yourself. Give yourself a budget that you don't normally stick to. For us, it's $100 a week. My incredible friend, Cami, only spends $50 a week, but I have two more mouths to feed. And they eat $50 a week in food. No, that can't be right. I guess I'm just not as good as she is. Whatever is it, stick to it. And if you go under one week, you get to carry that into the next week. 

I purposefully did not post or even think about this until today, because I didn't want to go crazy today. That's not the point. The point is to live with what you've got for a month. Absolutely no eating out, no deal-a-day email purchases, no Amazon purchases, no Chik fil a* playgroup, no pedicures, no Sonic happy hour, nothing, nada.

Of course there are exceptions for emergencies. If your kid gets an ear infection, don't tell him he has to wait until March for antibiotics. And if your car breaks down, fix it. And if you run out of toilet paper and it doesn't fit in the budget, PLEASE, buy some. But you know what I'm talking about. Like if you run out of ziploc bags, try to find a different solution.

This year it's extra tricky because it's leap year and you have a whole extra day to suffer. But think it will be that much easier next year, when you only have to fast for 28 days.

If you do join me, please tell me, and keep me posted on your progress. Not because I'm the spending fast police or anything, but because I'd like the encouragement. Misery loves company. I mean, because it's FUN!

*I will be making one exception on February 9th at the Fall Creek Chik fil a to support the Spina Bifida Association

Visitors

Greg was lucky enough to have a lot of really good friends in college. One such friend came to visit us this weekend with his family. He has an almost-two-year-old boy, so of course we took him to ride the train at Hermann Park.

Who wants to ride the train? I do!

For lunch, we went to my first ever Diners, Drive-ins and Dives restaurant. It did not disappoint. It's an English/Indian pub. Yes, you read that right. We took our kids to a pub. We're good parents like that.

Best fish and chips I've ever had. The twins were fans of the chips. Drew was a BIG fan of the fish.

Chicken Tikki Masala. 

Saturday night, the party expanded when the other Houstonians from college days came over for dinner. It was so fun to see the kids all hang out. Ethan and Kate always love it when older kids play with them and this night was no exception. (I believe Kate has her first crush. The girl has good taste, what can I say?) The kids sat at their own "kids' table" and us adults were having a good time eavesdropping. One of my favorite conversations was when Ethan asked Isaac and Beckam if they are twins. When they said no, he asked why not? and went on to tell them all the good things about being a twin, like for example, "you eat all the same stuff."

 

Not pictured in this photo are Drew Packer, Wells Campbell, Truman Hudson (don't know why), and Sam's right half.

Nutrition

Kate: What are you making?
Me: Cinnamon rolls
Kate: My teacher said that we can have cinnamon rolls some of the time, but not all of the time, so can you please not bake them all the time? hand gesture for emphasis included

And here I thought learning about nutrition in school was going to help my cause, not hurt it.

Daddy day

 If there were ever a moment in life I would want to be a fly on the wall, Daddy Day at pre-school would definitely be one of those moments. No amount of re-telling can take the place of seeing Greg wear a bonnet and play the part of Little Miss Muffet while the kids play the part of the spider and frighten him away. Or when the teacher read questionnaires that the kids had filled out about their dads and the dads got to guess which one was them. I guess daddies have to go to work all day and mommies get lots of moments. This moment was just for them and their memory banks.

We didn't want it to come out this way, but I guess the secret had to come out sometime. Greg works with knives. And you all thought he was a lawyer. 

Kate's not sure what he does, but she's got one thing right- he works works works SO HARD for us. (The teacher came up to Greg afterwards and said they were dying when she said it. She was so serious.)  

I realize that most 3-year-olds probably know what their dad does for a living. Or how old they are. And every year when our birthday comes around, they do know. I guess it's just not as important as eating pasta.

Mini Moo Playgroup

If it's a Friday late morning, chances are pretty good that we are at Chick-fil-a. They do a play group that is pretty much awesome in every way.

It starts off with face/arm painting. 

Ethan always gets a race car. The girl doesn't even ask anymore.

Kate mixes it up. Usually, it's a princess, but she went bold this week with a unicorn.  

 

Obviously, it's a pretty serious matter.

This is Chloe. She's a doll and wanders around, never making a fuss. She's a regular, like us.

 While they wait for everyone to have a turn getting painted, they play with play-doh, blocks, and whatever else they bring out that day.

Then, they go in the play area for singing, dancing..

 and story time.

 

Drew just goes for the Cheerios.

 When story time is over, they come eat lunch, get a balloon, and then trade in their toy for an ice cream cone. Then, they excuse themselves from our table and find their own. There, they discuss the mysteries of life.

 

This is Claire. She's Chloe's older sister. I like her because she has amazing eyelashes.

 

The kids like her because she's hilarious.

Did I mention Drew just goes for the food?

 When the ice cream starts to melt (because it's beyond them to eat it quickly enough), we throw it away, and their balloons become catalysts for excitement and play. And squealing. We get dirty looks from those around us and then we go home.

 

And nap.

Drew at 10 months

Finally scooting around.

I was beginning to wonder if he actually had taste buds because of his willingness to eat anything, but I found his first dislike. After many positive experiences, he has finally concluded that avocados are not his thing (for now. I'll win on this one, I'm sure).

He throws his binky out of his crib. Which is super awesome in the middle of the night when he wants it back. So I put a few in there now and they usually last him through the night.

His growl is getting louder. Especially at church.
He also "sings" during hymns at church. I'm sure it gets annoying to those sitting around us, but it's a welcome change from listening to my voice.

He's a mamma's boy.
But that's not to say that he isn't giddy beyond words when daddy gets home.

And while getting him to smile is easy as pie, this is his go-to face:

We're making up for a lot of lost sleep. On top of 12 hours at night, he still takes 3 (1-2 hour) naps most days. His third nap isn't very long and sometimes I think he just wants downtime with his binky and blanket, but it's great for me because it's during that I-make-dinner-kids-fight-time.

He's making lots of sounds and while I think some of them are actual words (night-night, all done), I know he can sign milk. He likes that stuff.

Now I know why Greg doesn't take pictures of me

We went to the local go cart track yesterday. To celebrate MLK, of course. I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves. I The twins had the the best hour of their lives.

 

Such a sweet girl. She was so nervous. She wanted me to put my arm around her.

 But about .4 seconds into it, she was lovin it. She kept telling me, "mom, you're crazy!!"

Greg and I had a talk when we got home about what it means to have someone's back. Like telling them when they look like an idiot. 

Not that it would have changed anything.

Skills

 If Eagle Scout awards were given based on knot-tying skills alone, Ethan would have one five times over. He has always been intrigued by knotcraft (it's a real thing, I looked it up), but it drove me crazy, so all knot-tying apparatuses have been hidden for years. Then, I saw on a friend's blog that her son also likes tying things and it made me feel guilty for not letting his light shine. The ribbons were removed from behind lock-and-key and alas, the boy is appeased. Here are a few pieces from his collection:

 Does he untie these things, as well? you ask. I'm assuming so, I sure don't. That's the rule.

 Kate's skills are a little more mainstream, but not less extraordinary, especially for me who gets to have my hair played with on a regular basis. I think she's going places.

Rover

 Based on sheer awesomeness, Kate was selected as star of the week in her pre-school class. As part of the glory-filled week, she gets her picture on the wall, bring in not one, but TWO, show-and-tell items, and most importantly got to bring home Rover for the weekend. Lucky Rover.

 

I cannot stop laughing at this picture. They were complaining that the sun was in their eyes. I said to just close their eyes. I guess I get what I get. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think Ethan's face probably wins.