from the mouths of babes

My favorites this week include;

Camden
"Does Optimus Prime love God?"
If only all their questions were this easy to answer.

And

Jude
"Do Kix sometimes have legs?"
Think about it for a minute.

Gwyneth pronounces fudge as "sludge"

Camden thinks hiccups are called "the make-ups"

And Adah now has a vocabulary of approximately 10 words.
But she can understand virtually everything you tell her.
Her ability to communicate is astounding.
I realized just yesterday that she has her own word for Jude.
Whenever he enters the room she lights up and says something similar to "B-you!"
She just adores him.

the girl loves food

Our best eater yet, except when it comes to squash and bananas.
Despite her appetite she is turning into quite the petite little thing.
Just as tiny and as happy as can be.

food

*We go through at least 3 loaves of Milton's 12 grain bread every 2 weeks, 2 Costco sized loaves. I'm planning on starting to bake all of our bread. Wish me luck!

*1 large box of Cheerios, monthly

*Adah consumes 1 box of multi-grain baby cereal and at least 35 containers of baby food each pay day. (about 3 a day) And also eats whatever she can of our meals, diced.

*We spend about $30 a month on diapers. That number reached nearly $100 when we had 3 in diapers...for 2 years! Yipes.

*It takes us 1 month to go through a gallon of blue cheese dressing. Don't judge!

* And along with all that dressing?
a costco size bag of broccoli,
a costco size bag of carrots,
a costco size bag of Romain,
a costco size container of cherry tomatoes,
a costco size bag of snap peas,
a costco size bag of baby bell peppers,
each payday.
+ whatever else is in season, we love asparagus & green beans.

*Until I weaned the kids off their sippy cups a couple of months ago we made it through 5-7 gallons of milk every 2 weeks.
Now? 1-2
Huh.

*Fruit;
1 costco size container of blueberries in a matter of hours
(Jude and Mama's favorite!)
costco strawberries, kiwi, cuties, bananas, pineapple, grapes, raspberries, cherries, and pretty much 1 of whatever else they have in season...every pay day. And I try to get something new for the kids to try each pay day such as papaya, a coconut, pomegranate, mango, star fruit, or passion fruit, etc. (note; we only ever make it to costco about once a month, the rest of the time I just have to buy that much quantity, or we go hungry!)

*the kids eat, on average, 1/2 an apple apiece every day during the winter. Camden usually can eat 1-2 on his own daily. They're his favorite. My grandparents go to Wanatchee every fall and bring us back boxes and boxes, never charge us, and then store them in their garage for us to use as we need them.

*1 bag of costco chicken every 2 weeks

*20 lbs (?) of hamburger every month

*we have steak once a week

*I never buy...
nuts (Jude's allergic),
seafood (gag.),
mac and cheese
(though aunt Heidi makes a special lunch of it for the kids every week or two),
any kind of breaded chicken,
hot dogs,
corn dogs
or sugary cereals.

*Snacks usually consist of fruit and crackers; graham, or occasionally animal, fishies, or likewise.
I try to limit myself to 2 items from the snack aisle each pay day.

*I usually bake about twice a week

*I try to buy only un-bleached or whole grain flour and sugar.

*We've been known to make it through a 12 pack of soda in 3 days. We try to not always have it around, but somehow my husband just can't stop bringing it home! It's probably our very biggest downfall. The kids are hardly ever allowed soda, except at birthday parties.

*Sour cream is another of our loves. It's not hard for us to go through 2 large containers each payday. Especially when I'm making lots of casseroles. Lately we've been trying to have a grilled meat and side of veggies each night, so our sour cream consumption has gone WAY down.

*It seems we go through about 18 eggs each payday. I'd like to eat more.

* We (not including Daddy) LOVE beans. We're always stocked up on kidney, garbanzo and black. We use them in soups, salads or straight outta the can!

*Yes. I admit it. I try to limit myself to 1 latte each week. It's a work in progress! I also no longer allow myself any coffee creamers because I cannot stay out of them!

favorite things

10. clean sheets
9. baking
8. sleeping with the window open and waking up to the sound of birds
7. lattes
6. jeans that fit (Yes...Over my big buns!)
5. the smell of wood smoke
4. brushing Gwyn's hair
3. lazy days with my family
2. my babies' chatter
1. lyle's massages

just a few of the things that make me happy.

What makes me grumpy(er)...?

10. Manipulation. If I feel I'm being manipulated in any way you can bet your bottom dollar I'm not gonna do it.
9. Mud. Really; mud and 4 kids.
8. Competition. Who cares if you win a silly game, or lose? Does it really matter? Just have fun.
7. Cold showers = grumpy mama.
6. Tardiness. I'm not talking about the occasional 5 minutes, I'm talking about being perpetually late. Those who are consistently half an hour late. You may as well grab a megaphone and announce to the rest of us, "MY time is more valuable than yours!"
5. Clutter.
4. Those who make themselves look good at the expense of others. That's scummy.
3. Laundry. I never got it. Until I got married and had 4 babies. Now I get it. Mountains of it. Every day.
2. Laptops, iPhones, video games, etc, etc, etc. Come on guys, there's a real world with real people out here!
1. Being ignored. The ultimate betrayal.

Oh, And WHINY KIDS!

look who's growing up...

I ask him nearly every day why he won't stop.

"Because that's the way God made me!" he says.

happy friday!

thank heavens for all the sunbeams outside
'cause we sure don't have many inside. teething;
it's the pits.