Cute Things Kids Say & Do

I've been wanting to write down some of the cute things Nico has said or done over the past few months, so here it goes....
Compliments:
Just before Nico turned 2 1/2 he won me over with compliments all in one week. We were riding in the car one day and out of the blue he said, "Mommy, you're my best friend." Ding ding ding! He won treats for an entire day! Then, the next morning I was getting ready for work. I was finally done and I said to him, "How do I look?" He looked up at me and said slowly, "Beau-ti-ful". Ding ding ding! He won treats for an entire week! Man....this kid is really learning how to play his cards right. He officially won me over!

Generosity:
One day Nico got a little blue ring out of one of those 25 cent candy machines. He played with it for days and then one morning before he went to preschool he said, "Mommy, I want to give this ring to Libby" (his favorite little girl friend at school). I was surprised b/c it was his treasured item & I was worried that he would want it back after giving it away, but I encouraged him b/c I didn't want to shoot down his generous spirit. That day he gave the ring to Libby and she loved it!!! She kept it for weeks! DANGER....note to self.....first gift my son gave to a girl was a ring....AHHH!
Since giving Libby the ring, Nico frequently asks if he can give his toys or snacks to his friends at school. I've encouraged him to do it (only when he brings it up) and it is so cute to watch him walk into class with his matchbox cars, bouncy balls, or watermelon in hand excited to give them away to his friends. What innocent generosity! I envy it!

Little Helper:
Since I'm pregnant (yes..I'll post about that later) I have not been the ball of energy recently. Nico totally understands the pregnancy so far and is so considerate of the fact that I don't always feel great. In the mornings I'll lay back down after he gets up. After playing by himslef for a little while he will come in the room and say "Mommy, do you feel better? Did you rest? Can I give you a hug to make you feel better? Are you ready to get up? Do you need to rest more?" How sweet is that???? I feel sooo well taken care of by my 2-year old!!! haha!

The other day I came in the room and exhaled really loud (the way you do when you're exhausted). He said, "Mommy, are you tired?" I said, "yes" and he said, "Mommy, lay down here (pointing to the couch). I'll get you a pillow (and he put a pillow at the end). Here mommy, you can put your feet up." I said, "Nico, if I lay down I'll fall asleep." He said, "It's okay. I'll get you a blanket." Hahaha!

Funny Assimilations:
Today we drove by a place that sells boats. Nico asked, "What are those boats doing there?" I said, "People who want a boat take money there and they buy the boat at that store." He said, "and they put it in a really really big bag??" hahaha!

This week we were pulling out of our carport and Nico asked, "Is this a garage?" At first I said yes, but then I thought, why lie? I should just tell him it's a carport. So, I decided to explain to him the difference between a garage and a carport. He actually got it (which I couldn't believe), so I drove past a house with a garage to quiz him, and he got it right. Then I drove past a house with a carport where a car and truck were parked inside. I said, "What is that?" He said, "A carport! ....and....a truckport!" Hahaha!

Why have escapee dogs?

So, last Wednesday, our 2 dogs (Tank & Dakota) got out and were seen near a major road. How'd they get out???? Well....the day before, I locked my keys in the house (not the best week so far) and was stranded outside. I opened the gate to the back yard and did not tie the gate back up with the level 4 boyscout knot that David uses.....evidently the dogs picked up on my lack of skill and escaped. Although they have gotten out before, they've never gone far and have always come back on their own. I was worried when I heard that they were near a major road, so I rushed out to look for them. Of course within minutes it started to pour down rain! Great! A few hours later I get a call from someone who found Tank on the other side of Trenholm Rd. and Dakota was no where in sight. As relieved as I was to see Tank, I was so sad that Dakota was MIA. I've never seen them apart! We were heading back with Tank when my neighbor called and said that Dakota just walked back into our yard. She came back!!!

Here's the funny thing about the whole "missing dog" drama......these dogs drive me crazy!!!! I mean, they bark while I'm sleeping, they wake up my child mid-nap at times, they act like attack dogs when the neighbor's lawn guy comes, they got fleas and we had to spend money to treat them and the yard, and their dog food bill is often more expensive than my grocery bill (after coupons). They jump, they lick, and they have no street smarts! So....none of this was that big of a deal while they were just minding their own business. But now, they are escaping!!! Are you kidding me.....after all that I put up with, you escape! So now, I'm out chasing down dogs that drive me crazy, just so that they can come back and figure out another way to escape.

We believe that our dogs have been addicted to this negative behavior after we fostered an 8-week old black lab 4 months ago that escaped about 3 times in one week. Our dogs followed suit and haven't laid off since (even thought little Onyx has a new home). Ignorance is bliss! It was so much nicer when they didn't realize that they could dig or escape....I want those days back!!!

Why buy expensive toys?

Anyone who has EVER met Nicolas has noticed that he bounces all the time. Ever since he was 9 months old in his bounce seat, that has been his way of getting out his energy. Now, he just bounces on the tips of his toes anywhere and everywhere. Of course we've battled with him jumping on the beds, couches, and other furniture. A while ago David and I started searching for a trampoline or something that he could jump on. A month ago I found the perfect toy! We call it his "jump toy". It is safe, easy to move, and just what he needed. This toy has remedied any problems we had with him jumping on the furniture and it also helps him get out his energy before he goes to bed. Here's a picture of him on the toy after a bath.

Well, yesterday, I walk into the living room to find that Nico has picked up one of David's screw drivers that he had just taken out and poked it right through the jump toy. Yes...that's right....a hole...right through the only half-way decent toy that I've spent any kind of money on in the past year! The beloved jump toy slowly, but surely began to deflate. By the time that we let Nico out of time out, the outer ring was completely deflated. So...tell me....why spend money on toys again?

Why Coupon Shop?

Now, just as I never thought I would be a "blogger", I also never thought I would be a "couponer". It's amazing what life and the economy can change about our lives. So....a few months ago, I started to pick my friend's brain about couponing b/c I desperately needed to save money. Things were really tight and I had little to no money for groceries, so I had to do what I could. After working on it for a few months, I'm down to a couple of hours a week and I've been able to reduce my grocery budget to 1/3 of what it used to be.

Today I spent $31 and saved $76!!!

For those of you that have heard of people being crazy coupon freaks, no worries, I'm not one of those (yet). I don't go dumpster diving for newspapers to get coupons that people have thrown away, but I have hit up my parents and my grandparents for their coupons. They both get the Sunday paper and don't use their coupons. This is another money-saving method b/c I'm not paying any money for the paper (or coupons) to start with.

For any of you who don't have a clue about couponing, here's the 1-2-3 of saving money at the grocery store:
1) clip all coupons that come in coupon booklets in the Sunday paper
2) check out what all of the Buy One Get One Free deals are at your grocery store of choice
3) Use coupons that match up with those items (sometimes only buy 1 item instead of 2 b/c it's 1/2 price with the deal)

I wish that it really was just a 3-step process, but there's is definitely more to it. For example, you need to organize the coupons if you're going to do this more than once. It takes a few weeks of doing it to build up your coupon selection and to come across the deals that you want. You need to be prepared to stock up a little...when you can get something really cheep, buy a few of them and then you won't have to buy it for a while. And lastly, be willing to try new things. I have become a better cook since I started couponing b/c I've bought things that before I would have never thought to buy.

Is it worth it? That's your call. It is for me.

Why Blog?

Well, I never considered myself to be a blogger, but I have also never been a scrapbooker, album creator, or one to do anything creative with any of the cool things that have happened in our life. For all of you really creative people out there, you will cringe when I admit that my way of keeping up with my son's baby memories consist of a file folder in a file cabinet, right beside the "important receipts" folder.....and that's if I'm lucky enough to put the "treasured item" in there. Seriously....I have a lock of my baby's hair in a file folder!!! Hey...the way I look at it....at least I have the lock of hair! (although it is still in a business envelope, completely unlabeled). For all of this time I have basically just accepted this about myself and only occasionally felt a little guilty for not keeping up with any memories for my family, friends, or son to look back on in the future. Although I don't start this blog out of guilt, I do start it with a glimmer of hope. My hope is that blogging will help me balance my lack of creativity and my plethora of interesting experiences, to create some sort of archive that otherwise would not exist. Follow along if you'd like.