Big and small ways to save money

We just finished watching 60 minutes, which ended with Andy Rooney's take on ways to save money in this economy. He gave examples from his own life, including taking rolls from restaurants for breakfast, wearing the same shirt three days in a row before washing it, making his own coffee, shining his own shoes, taking the bus instead of driving, etc. These are some interesting suggestions from an eccentric old man. We always find him amusing.
So I thought I would share some big and small ways our family saves money.

Big ways:

1. We bought a house that actually cost much less than the price range we thought we could afford. This saves us hundreds each month.
2. We have no car payments and therefore no full car insurance coverage. I learned a lesson from the Borcherts, and it was a hard lesson to learn: that a car's purpose is just to get you from point A to point B, and that a car is no reflection on you. A car that looks bad or has a few minor problems is not automatically unreliable.
3. We haven't bought all new furniture for our house. Probably 90% of the furniture in our house is used or hand-me-downs from family. No, it doesn't look that great, and it's not perfectly coordinated. But is it really practical to buy new furniture for your kids to spill drinks on, spit up on, or worse?
4. We pay every credit card off every month. Honestly the only credit card we have is Kohl's, and we only use it if it will... take a guess... right. Save us money.
5. We're content to stay a step behind on everything technology-related. Cell phones, mp3 players, tvs, digital cameras, etc are improving so rapidly, that you can save a lot of money by buying the hot items several months/years later.

Small ways:

1. When we eat out, which we try to keep to three or four times a month, we always order water for everyone in our family. This probably saves us around $7-$8 including tax and tip. (We also take advantage of free kid stuff, like at Eat N Park, a kid can eat a free salad bar with an adult purchase of a salad bar. Also, they have free baby food. This may be the best kids' deal in town...)
2. I don't use coupons. I've found that when I use coupons, I buy things that I wouldn't buy otherwise, actually costing me more money.
3. We buy Angel Food every month. It comes with a variety of food, and the basic box is $30 which is supposed to feed a family of four for a week. There are lots of add-on box options, and we often get the chicken or beef packages.
4. We pay our bills online and on time to save money on postage and late fees.
5. We are cheap gift givers. Rarely do we spend more than $20 on a gift.
6. I usually buy generic products (diapers, cereal, paper products, etc.)
7. We buy a few, quality clothes items for ourselves. The boys wear almost all hand-me-downs.

If you have any suggestions on how you save money, I'd love to hear them!

15 things I'm not afraid to admit

So I stole this idea from my friend Brooke. Seemed kind of fun.

1. I love driving a minivan. I don't know how we did without one before!
2. I love anything asian (especially Chinese/Japanese). I would redecorate my house from top to bottom in everything asian... if I had the money... and if my husband would agree to it!
3. I think I've missed my chance to travel the world. Now that Westerners seem to be targets of terror attacks across the globe, I think I'm safest in the USA... for now. Bummer!
4. I am not a pet person. Although Obi occasionally catches a mouse, having a cat generally inconveniences my life. (Can't open windows when it's warm out because he can pop out the screens and jump outside, have to keep my cedar chest covered up so he won't scratch it, wake up when he walks across my pillow in the morning and pulls my hair, sleeps on the clean laundry leaving cat hair behind) But...
5. I am usually pretty responsible (why I will keep my cat), although I'm getting more forgetful in my old age.
6. I really do enjoy not working (much), even though some days my kids drive me crazy. But I do like the freedom of setting my own schedule, and being there for all those moments when they do things for the first time!
7. I like eating soup for lunch in the winter... It's comforting and calming in the middle of crazy days.
8. I've never smoked anything... Never drank anything (except a sip of wine once...didn't like it)
9. I love it when Dan's home with us. Everything seems right with the world. I also love going out for a nice dinner with just Dan.
10. I am a night person. Most of the time I feel my best between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.
11. I try not to care what people think of me...
12. I get really creeped out by scary movies, especially the supernatural kind, to the point I'm afraid to be home alone. So I don't watch them anymore.
13. There is one country song I like!! Trace Adkins "You're Gonna Miss This." I try to think of this song when I don't feel like playing with the boys, or I'm yelling because I just stepped on/kicked another toy, or my kids are covered in sticky goo from one activity or another (or a meal!).
14. Anything that excites my kids excites me too. I can look at a toy and think it's dumb, but if my kids like it, I will sit down and play with it and have a blast.
15. I love making both my boys laugh at the same time or when they make each other laugh. Laughter is energizing.

Since everyone else is doing it...

1.. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No, except I think my middle name is after someone
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
While watching Anne of Green Gables the other night
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I never really thought about it, but I guess so
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I'm not really big on lunch meat, but I guess ham
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Isaiah, 3, and Sam, 1
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
probably not
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
yes
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
NEVER EVER EVER, that is probably my worst nightmare
10. WHAT IS YOUR favorite CEREAL?
anything with yummy nooks and crannies (dried fruit, pecans, etc.)
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Who has the time for that?
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Heck yeah. I pushed out two babies!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Anything with cheesecake (strawberry cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake)
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE
Eyes, hair
15. RED OR PINK?
Red, definitely. Although when I was preggie with Isaiah, I wanted to wear nothing but pink... weird hormones
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
At the end of the day I tend to run out of patience, sometimes I get frustrated easily, I tend to procrastinate
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
my college friends (Jess, Jennie, Fran, Charity, Nate, Gordon, Carrie, Ryan (the girl =)) Rachel, Nicole) and my China teammates
18. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
No shoes... just black slippers
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
an apple and cornbread
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW ?
the sounds of the Steelers crushing Cinci
21.IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
cranberry red
22. FAVORITE SMELLS? mom's spaghetti sauce, gingerbread/vanilla/cinnamon candles
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
the pastor who is speaking at church this Sunday
24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Steelers, any other NFL football
25. HAIR COLOR?
dark brown
26. EYE COLOR?
Hazel
27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yes, although I'd love to get lasered someday
28. FAVORITE FOOD? cheesecake, steamed veggies, anything Dan grills up, anything anyone else cooked
29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary movies give me nightmares, so I never watch them. Definitely happy endings
30. LAST MOVIE WATCHED?
Anne of Green Gables: the Continuing Story
31 WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Maroon Houghton College Hoodie
32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Fall
33. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs
34. FAVORITE DESSERT?
cheesecake, apple pie
35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Parenting is Heart Work, Adventures of Tom Sawyer
36. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I watched Whatever Martha (a show by Martha Stewart's daughter) for the first time. It was really dumb. I will never watch it again.
37. FAVORITE SOUND?
Sleeping or laughing children
38. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles, no doubt!
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Beijing
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can fold any load of laundry in five minutes... I've actually timed myself. =)

Dental misadventures

The last few nights I have had a pain in my tooth bad enough to keep me from sleeping. I figured it's not going to get better on its own, so I decided to make a few calls yesterday morning.

I don't have a dentist in this area. You may remember my post from March or thereabout detailing my painful dental cleaning which was the first in seven years. We only went to that dentist because our insurance at the time would cover him. Well, we no longer have that dental insurance, so I called some dentists based on friends' recommendations. The first one I called only works MWF, the days I don't have anyone to watch the boys, so she was out. The second one I called wanted $172 for an initial patient visit, and that didn't even include a cleaning! My knees went a little weak when I heard that number and the rest of the prices were a little blury in my mind, but a cleaning was about $68 and required x-rays were about $105. Cha-ching! Wow. Dentists are expensive. So I called Wielechowski, the dentist who made national news for getting arrested for fighting in a hotel on his wedding night, because I figured maybe he didn't have much business! No one picked up the phone. Finally I tried Aspen Dental at Pittsburgh Mills and they made me an appointment for 9:00 am Thursday (today). I was to have a free initial patient visit and free x-rays. Seemed like a pretty good deal.

When Dan got home and we were talking about what we had to do tomorrow, he reminded me that I had lessons in the morning. Oh no! I double booked myself. So I was planning on calling in the morning to reschedule my appt.

Well, Isaiah woke up several times last night and felt like he had a low grade fever, so I decided to keep him home from school, cancel my piano lessons, and reschedule my dentist appt.

Oh well. You just never know how a day will turn out!

Small group

I got home late last Tuesday because I was teaching lessons. So I sat down at the table to eat dinner at about 7:15. Isaiah, my mom, and Dan all sat down with me, just to talk. Isaiah brought his kid bible to the table and announced that we were going to have small group. He looked around the table and noticed that no one else had a book. He said in a teacher-ish way, "Does everyone have their books?" We all about lost it! He went up to his room (quietly, because Sam was already sleeping...) and got some other kid bibles for the rest of us. We read some bible stories, and I guess we had small group that night!

Good talk

Have you ever had this happen to you? You're having a conversation with someone, and you're thinking at that moment, "I am going to blog about this." Well, two weeks ago, during parent conferences, a fellow teacher who has been at Eden for quite a while, came across the hall to my room and noticed that I wasn't having a conference at the moment. She had to take a year off probably four years ago because she had breast cancer. She is an incredibly strong, wise woman. So she saw that I was reading a book and asked about it. I was reading the book Parenting is Heart Work by Turansky/Miller. I just told her that I was reading the book because sometimes Isaiah is difficult to handle, and this book talks about molding and forming a child's heart instead of just taking the behavior modification approach to parenting.

I told her that he is so energetic and talkative that some days it just about drives me crazy. Her advice to me was that God has already put a particular bent in Isaiah, and that I should try to see what that might be. She said maybe he'll be a lawyer, because he likes to ask questions, or a pastor, because he likes to talk.

I rarely think of what Isaiah will be like as an adult. I usually just try to get through the day-to-day. But she had a good point, that I should try to think more long term and help Isaiah realize his God-given potential.

Recovery

I feel like I'm so far behind in my blogging that I don't know where to begin! I'll just give you the infamous (that means more than famous!) update...

• Since Tuesday, when I posted last, my life has been so crazy! On Wednesday I loaded the boys in the car and headed up to Clearfield to see some friends from college. The boys were great in the car, both ways. I don't know what we'd do without the dvd player! And what a great time we had with Jess and her daughter, Hannah, and Jennie and Fran and their kids Isaac and Grace! The kids all played so well together, so we all got a chance to talk and catch up. Of course we're all on facebook now, so it's much easier to keep track of each other than it used to be! I got to see Jess and her husband Nate's new house that they just bought a few months ago. Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive just one day of college. I just made the best friends who I consider, in my own biased opinion, to be the nicest group of people on the planet!
• On Thursday, I taught a bunch of piano lessons and went to a baby shower for a little cutie named Alexis.
• The weekend wasn't too eventful, I guess. Isaiah has been asking us since December when the train museum is going to open again. It finally opened on Saturday, so we went over there for a few hours. He was so excited. And even Sam seemed to like it. It's only open for a few weeks leading up to Christmas, so we might try to go again this season.
• I have to say that Dan watched four hours of Anne of Green Gables - the Sequel with me on Friday night. What a guy! He was getting pretty into it too. He threw a pillow at one point, when it looked like Anne and Gil weren't going to get together! It is a great, clean, relaxing movie. Now we're just waiting for The Continuing Story, which I've never seen, to come from netflix.
• There has been some other craziness going on with school etc, but I don't want to list all the mundane details of my life!!! But now that it's Sunday night, I feel like I've recovered from the week that was! =)

Weird day

Today was one long, weird, crazy day. I dropped Isaiah off at preschool at 8:30 this morning. Then I hung around Eden to practice with two elementary chorus classes, because I'm accompanying them in their Christmas concert.

When I was done with those classes, it was about 10:15, so I had just over an hour before I had to pick Isaiah up. I went to the grocery store to get some stuff for lunch, and then I went to the cutest little store in Wexford called Sweet Peas. It's a little pricey, but has some very unique gifts, all handmade by local artists. I also stopped by Once Upon a Child, and found a few things for the boys. Then I picked Isaiah up and dropped him off at home. I helped my mom make the boys' sandwiches, then headed off to pick up a saxophone player for the Lighthouse's golden age luncheon. She and I got there just in time to set up and warm up. We helped serve the food, ate our own lunches, then played a few Thanksgiving songs for the folks to sing along with. I left just in time to drop the sax player off at her house and make it to school in time to teach band. After school I taught four piano lessons, and arrived home around 7:15 tonight. Yoy.

Now I have to gear up to load the kids in the car in the morning and head off to see some friends of mine in Clearfield tomorrow. It's about a two or two-and-a-half hour drive each way. Am I crazy? Yes. I just hope the car doesn't break down and that the boys aren't too fussy.

He can't do that, can he?!

Tonight I ate a late dinner (long story) around 7:00 because of a 6:00 music practice and getting home later than expected from the boys' haircuts before dinner time. Anyway, Dan had Sam bathed and dressed in his pj's and Isaiah was watching a video nicely when I got home. So I quickly made myself an omlet before Dan had to leave for small group. Since the boys were fine in the tv room, I took my omlet into the living room and forced myself to eat it slowly, which was tough because I was so hungry. I could hear everything the boys were doing, which included the occasional happy giggle, in the next room. After I put my plate into the sink, I checked in the tv room and noticed that to my horror, SAM WAS ON THE COUCH!!! I asked Isaiah, "How did he get up there?!" Isaiah just gave Sam a casual look and shrugged his shoulders. The child was standing up on the couch!! So I promptly put him back on the floor and he CLIMBED RIGHT BACK UP! Oh this is not good. The tv room is our most baby-proofed area. OY!

Busy weekend

We've had a crazy, but not terribly blog-worthy last few days. Here's a brief recap:
Friday: I had the day off school, so we had a pretty relaxing day. After Dan got home, we took the boys out to eat.
Saturday: Went to the rotary pancake breakfast. It's always a good time, good food, good friends. After that, I took Isaiah to a baby shower. It's amazing how well-behaved he is when he doesn't have to compete with his brother for attention.
Sunday: Church then Sam's birthday party at the Borchert's. It was basically a repeat of the icing shoving from the other day. =) In the afternoon, Dan and I headed out to Target to start some Christmas shopping. We realized that we have 22 extended family members to buy for. That doesn't count our immediate family. Yikes! Sunday night, Steeler loss. Stink!
Monday: Sam had his one year check up. It seems like he's right on track, and the doctor said his growth (weight and height) is forming a perfect S curve. So although he levelled off between 6 and 9 months, he's gaining weight well now. He's pretty much on track with everything else.

Isaiah's first report card

Tonight Dan and I went to Isaiah's first parent-teacher conference. This was my first experience being on the other side of the desk, so to speak. I knew which questions to ask and had them prepared ahead of time. When we went in, we got to see his first report card. Apparently these days, kids get L's, M's, and N's. L=learning, M=mastered, N=not at this time. He had about an equal mix of L's and M's. If I had seen the report card outside of the context of the conference, I would have been concerned about the L's, mostly in social areas and classroom procedures. But the teacher assured me that he's right on track. So, it seemed like a pretty good conference!

P.S. Apparently Isaiah hangs out with the train gang. There's a group of three of them that are equally obsessed with trains... It could be worse!

Save me from daylight savings time!

I don't know about anyone else's kids, but my kids definitely have not adjusted AT ALL to the time change (falling back - Dan and I didn't know if we just finished daylight savings time or if it's daylight savings time now...) They have been sleeping in to a normal time, which is wonderful! But the rest of the day is still happening an hour early! I've tried creative ways to hold them off when it's getting close to lunch time, but the next day, they're right back wanting to eat between 11 and 11:30! And bedtime is a total disaster. Normally around 6:30 pm Sam starts winding down, so we give him a bath, slowly get him ready for bed, and put him down around 7:00. Tonight it was 5:30 and he had just about had it!

I don't know what the solution is, but all this darkness in the evening isn't helping! Isaiah starts asking between 4:30 and 5:00, when he notices the light fading, if it's almost time for bed. I'm thinking "Unfortunately not! We still have more than THREE HOURS!" He doesn't even realize that he hasn't eaten dinner yet!

So... my kids are just all confused, and it makes managing them during the day just that much more challenging. I sure hope they adjust before it's time to spring forward!

Weddings

I really enjoy playing piano for weddings. For the last few weeks I've been thinking that I'd like to do more weddings. Unfortunately up until now, I just haven't known very many people getting married.

This past week I was asked to play for two weddings in 2009! One is for my cousin, Jonathan, who is the same age as my sister. He's getting married to Lacy on May 2, 2009. My other friend from WAY back, Charity, has a younger sister who is getting married May 23, 2009. I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of these two special weddings!

It's just one of those ways that God gives us those little things we desire.

What Sam can do now that he's one year old

1. Clap his hands
2. Shake his head for "no"
3. Take 3-5 steps every time he tries
4. Climb up steps as fast as a rocket
5. Eat as much as Isaiah (if not more!) in half the time
6. Go from sitting to standing without holding on to anything
7. Open the snack cabinet and help himself to graham crackers (need to fix that child safety lock!)
8. Splash in the kitty's water
9. Drink from a sippy cup
10. Say "Dada" on command (no mama yet)
11. Take his shoes and socks off in a flash
12. Soak a shirt with drool in under five minutes
13. Let me know exactly what he wants, without words!
14. Wave bye-bye

Sam's first birthday

One is such a funny age. Having a three-year-old who knows all too well about celebrations and presents made Sam's reaction to his birthday just too funny. I would use the word 'bewildered' to describe his reaction to the day in general. We sung happy birthday to him several times, and each time he would just get really still and look rather expressionless. I guess it's not every day you have a group of people singing right to you! After dinner we let him open a few presents, although we were hard pressed to get his attention off the balloon he was following all around the house. He and Isaiah had fun playing with the toys, and Isaiah did a really good job of letting Sam open his presents by himself. After the gifts, we put the cake in front of him, waiting to see what he would do. He reached out and grabbed one of the big puffy icing balloons and squished it in his hands. He looked at me, as if he didn't know what to do. I told him, "Eat!" and boy did he ever! He just dug in with both hands, smearing it all over and shoving it in. It was great. In contrast, Isaiah just barely touched his cake when he was one, scowling the whole time at how messy his fingers got when he touched the icing. Isn't it amazing how different two kids can be?
After his bath he had pretty much had it for the day, poor kid. So we put him straight in bed. When I got home from worship team practice around 9:00, he was crying a little, on and off. I wonder if he had a stomach ache from the nearly adult size portion of cake and ice cream we allowed him to eat. He's settled down now and we haven't heard a peep for a while.
It's hard to believe the little darling is one already! Here are some pictures from the day:There's that bewildered look while we were singing happy birthday!



Amazed at his fun new toy

The first taste... And it's all over him!

He finally resorted to just shoving it in!

Take a picture of me, too!

Finally getting all cleaned up.

Preachin' at the dinner table

Tonight at dinner, Dan was getting all preachy about something (once a preacher, always a preacher?), and when he stopped to take a breath, Isaiah yelled out, "Amen, brother!" We about fell off our chairs and choked on our spaghetti and meatballs over that one!

My first vote

On the eve of this important election, I can't help but think back to the first time I voted. I turned eighteen years old on September 25, 1996, just in time to vote for the presidential election. That year, it was Bill Clinton vs. Bob Dole.

My voting location was my elementary school where I attended from kindergarten through third grade. In that place which held so many memories for me as a child, I stood there as an adult. As I waited in line for the polls to open, what I felt is difficult to put into words. I felt the weight of the future of our country resting on our shoulders, us, the voters. I felt so privileged to exercise the freedom that so many men and women have fought to defend. Voting is having a voice, and I was going to be heard!

What a great memory.

I have to say, now that I am older (and wiser?) and understand the ramifications of electing certain people for president, I am a little sick to my stomach with anticipation of what tomorrow may bring.

So tomorrow, I'm going to vote really hard for McCain, even if I have to stand in line for five hours.

A new twist on an old tradition

On Friday night we went over to Grace Community Church in Cranberry because they were having an event called trunk-or-treating that sounded great on so many levels. They had people park in their parking lot to hand out candy from their trunks! They had the parking lot blocked off so cars couldn't drive through - much safer than walking door to door! Also, since it was at a church, we assumed that there wouldn't be anything scary, and we were right. Everyone's trunks were very festively decorated, but totally kid-friendly. The thought of some life-size scarecrow or something jumping to life and scaring my kids was the main reason I didn't want to take them door-to-door. The best things? WAY less walking than traditional trick-or-treating, and WAY more time efficient. We were done with the whole ordeal in a half hour!
This is definitely the way to go!