February Fun!

This month has flown by.  

So C got sick with pneumonia.  It was quite the bummer of this year. Then we all got sick.

But we got BETTER. :)  

So now we get to enjoy the sunshine.  60 degree weather in February?  AMAZING.

We got to celebrate Valentine's day.  We made homemade heart shaped pizzas and played with C.  Then we tried to watch "A Philadelphia Story".  It had a lot of potential, but ended up being a little weird.

Overall, it was a nice night and really great to be with Mr. H.  

So I wanted C to hold the flowers all cute and this was the best we got. :)

He loves helping me cook.  So we made special V-day cookies to celebrate. 

I took Mr. H and C out to the bird refuge on Saturday for a homework break.  Grandpa W also came.  It was fun.  I wanted to see bald eagles, and we saw one.  So that was cool. 

C and I had to go shoe shopping.  He grew TWO sizes since the last time I was with him.

That little boy is growing!

I took C to his Dr.'s appointment for his 18 month check-up.  

10 % weight

70 % height

96 % head!!!!  As Mr. H always says, big heads hold big brains.

Since Mr. H is going to important interviews and open houses, we decided to pay for a professional haircut for him.  (I have cut his hair our whole marriage).  Well, I guess I will continue cutting his hair.  He came back with it looking extremely short. This is a running battle between us, as he always wants it really short, and I like it a little longer.  He smiled, and said "I told her to go short".  I laughed, and laughed....which wasn't that nice of me.  Next time, we'll save the money and I'll just cut it how we always do. :)

We enjoyed President's day.  I discovered Savers, and also that they had a 50 % off sale.  It was awesome.  We went pant shopping with Mr. H.

It was hilarious.  He told me was a 32" by 38".  So I gathered up all the pants I could find in that measurement.  We got into the dressing room, and the pants could literally almost wrap around him twice.  He started panicking that he had lost so much weight.  I started thinking we were going to need to try the little boy section upstairs.  But then we realized I had brought all the 38" by 32".  ha.  Mr. H was relieved to not have to go to the boy's section.  And just as a side note, we could not find his size anywhere.  :(

We finished this season of Downton Abbey.  For some reason, that show has become 'our' show.  I loved this season.  And I loved being able to snuggle with Mr. H as we would watch the episodes.

Mr. H flew to Philadelphia this past Wednesday.  He was so excited.  I got to give him mock interviews, and ask him all sorts of fun questions.  He looked handsome  and confident.  We dropped him off at the airport, and then C and I headed to City Creek and played on the big sky bridge.  He loved seeing the trax trains, cars and people walking underneath us.  We were able to meet up with my brother's mission companion's family and chat about our cute missionaries.

I spent the rest of the week in Centerville.  It was awesome.  I got to be a buddy for O and go to a karate class, my brothers played with C, I got to hang with my awesome parents, my dad made me delicious crepes, and we tackled the task of organizing and sorting all the pictures in the house.  I am so lucky to have such a great family.  We both loved staying at their house.

Sunday we picked Mr. H up from the airport.  He had a great time, and enjoyed being in a new place.  

I encouraged him to take 'selfies' on his trip. 

This week started off really hard.  But I think I'm learning that hard things that happen may seem really bad or unfair at first.  They may break your heart. You may think that things like that shouldn't have to happen.  But I think I learned that hard things and trials NEED to happen.  We are able to draw near to our Savior, and He will heal our hearts.  We must experience trials to learn from the master Healer.  He shows His love for us by making up for our weakness, and giving us peace that we can't find from any other source.  

Here's to a sun filled week with HOPE, BRIGHTNESS, and LOVE.

Spring is right around the corner! 

18 months

C is officially 18 months. (And a couple of days) 

To start of this new chapter of life,

he is officially sick with pneumonia.  

However, he is on the mend so we attempted to do a 18 month photo shoot.

As you can see, emotions are all over the board at this time of life for C.

I think the biggest change in the last three months for me is how fast he is learning new things.  

He loves parroting new words, with some favorites including 'bird', 'pepper' 'love you' and 'emma'.

He loves climbing things.  His new favorite is to climb into the dishwasher.  

He loves pushing buttons.  On the TV, computers, cameras, you name it.

He loves helping cook.  He pulls over a chair and stands next to me and plays with the utensil drawer.

He loves the fridge and finding bags of cheese inside.

He has started turning all the knobs on the stove, as well as using the toaster---much to my chagrin! 

He loves reading books.  He has started pointing to things in his stories and saying what they are, and he has memorized the pages with fun sounds, mimicking them as well.

His favorite book is "How do Dinosaurs Go to Sleep"

He loves playing ball. Still.  It is safe to say he is obsessed with them.  He asks for them when he wakes up and loves his collection.

He likes 'winking' and making his 'cute' face.

He dislikes getting his teeth brushed.

About a month ago, he gave up his 2nd nap.  He goes down now around 12:30 and takes a two to three hour nap.  He goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up around 8.  It is great!

He loves cuddling, and loves to cuddle on Mr. H's chest.  

He loves singing songs, with "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" and "5 little monkeys" being some of his favorites.  *I do have to mention sometimes I think he more likes seeing me and Mr. H jumping around looking silly than actual singing.

He loves playing the piano. He has picked up from seeing the other kids play, and loves using both of his hands, and will play little melodies. He also likes pounding the keys.  But I am excited as I watch him figure out the instrument.  

He loves playing "Ring a round the rosy" and "Hide and Seek"

'No' means 'Yes' in the H household

It's crazy for me to think that this little boy is already a year and half, and I am so grateful for him. Parenting is definitely difficult, and the toddler stage is bringing new challenges, but it is also such a blessing and joy to watch him grow up.

C one year ago! at six months

*not to be confused with Cat. :)

Saving Money Monday: Walmart Price-Match

Hey team.

So we're ALL sick now.  Which is a bummer of the century.

Hopefully that will be over soon.

I still need to post C's 18 month stats.

Anyway,

I've been trying different ways to save money.

Some friends kept telling me about Walmart's Price matching.

I am not a Walmart fan.  HOWEVER, I am a fan of eating lots of fruits and vegetables and having enough food in the house so Mr. H and C don't starve to death on Sundays.  

SO, I started price matching this month.  I thought I would share what I am finding with you every monday.  I just write down the prices at other stores and then tell the checkers.  They are so great about it.  Seriously. 

Here is for the week of February 10th.

MILK: $1.99 a gallon (skim, 1 %, 2 % generic brand) @Rancho Markets

DaVINCI pasta: $0.88 each @Reams

1 lb strawberries: $1.88 @Sprouts Farmers Market

6 oz blueberries: $1.88 @Sprout's Farmers Market

yellow onions: $0.39 lb @Reams

green onions: $0.39 a bundle @Reams

Cilantro: $0.39 a bundle @Reams

Cache Valley Shredded Cheese: $1.98 for the 8 oz @Ridleys

Roma Tomatoes: $0.50 lb @Rancho Markets

Grapefruit: $0.50 lb @Rancho Markets

Bananas: $0.49 lb @ Fresh Market

Red and Green peppers: $0.50 each @Sprout's Farmers Market

*in Salt Lake locations

Some tips on price matching:

-write down the prices and places you've found

-tell them you want to price match as soon as you start checking out

-grocery shop at Walmart in the morning: the produce is in much better condition

-keep to your list!  You will save so much money if you can keep to your list.  

So an example of our weekly menu:

Monday

Tacos: homemade tortillas, beef, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, green onions

Tuesday

Sloppy Joes on multi-grain thins, paired with sweet potato fries.

Wednesday

Pasta w/ fresh tomato sauce + frozen vegetable we have on hand *our favorite is green beans

Thursday

Pad Thai 

Friday

Heart shaped pizzas topped w/ pepperoni, peppers, sausage and cheese

*homemade sauce and crust found here

Saturday

Omelets w/onions, mushrooms, spinach, peppers and leftover sausage

Sunday 

Red pepper alfredo sauce on whole wheat rotini.  

I try and keep to about $50.00 a week on groceries.  This includes ALL our food.  

Happy Monday!!!!

late night talks

C and I are sick.

He's sicker than me, but we're both sick sick.  

Luckily Mr. H came home last night a little early and saved us both.  

The olympics started!  The team ice skating was last night and in all my sick glory, I felt my heart get bigger as I watched the beautiful performances.  

We have good news in our house!!!  We are either going to be living in Philadelphia, PA or Boston, MA for the next little while.  SO EXCITED!!!!!

So I've been of course researching my little heart out.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Boston

Boston

Last nights conversation:

Mr. H "I'm thinking we should get rid of our car when we move."

me: "WHAT??!!!!" No way!"

Mr. H "It just doesn't make sense financially to keep it when we'll live in a city with awesome transportation."

me: "How will I go grocery shopping with kids???  how will we go places?"

Mr. H "I don't know....you could take a stroller?"

I knew I had to talk some sense in him: "How would we go CAMPING?"

pause 

Mr. H "You know, you have a point there."

My friend K and my mom came over and hung out for awhile yesterday.  It was a blast.  Those two are funny: I think my favorite line of our conversation:

my mom "K, do you not like Mitt Romney?"

pause, K "I'm like GO HILARY CLINTON!"

:)

Anyway, we're getting so excited.  

So here's to a long, great weekend in which we can feel better and keep dreaming. :)

life lately.

Getting adjusted to real life can be hard.

We were so glad to get Mr. H home, but getting back to the hustle and bustle put us all through a loop.
Mr. H played in some intramural,
church basketball
and it's fun watching him play.  I had forgotten that he is an amazing team player.  Not only in basketball, but in life.

We were able to stop in and go to the Natural History Museum with Mr. H.  We were both surprised at how much C liked it.  He got into the exhibits, and liked the dinosaur bones.

Speaking of dinosaurs, C has a favorite book about how dinosaurs go to bed. There are moms and dads, and on one of the pages the dinosaur 'roars'.  He LOVES  finding that page by himself and 'roaring'!

I got a WEIRD hankering to make croissants.  Like real, Parisian croissants.
I followed this recipe.
Dang.
It took forever!  3 days to be precise.  I have not ever put that much work into something.
But when I pulled them out of the oven, and ate one, and it was as delicious as something I could have bought at Gourmandise, I was really excited.
If there is a next time, I think I will add some chocolate and make them pain au chocolats.... :)

C is officially a member of nursery at church!  I was a little nervous to leave him there, but he walked right in with his little friend and I was told he did great.
*side note: he has never had fruit snacks, and discovered them there.  The leaders told me he LOVED them and kept taking the other kid's.
It was really nice to be able to focus on our meetings, and he was the happiest camper when I picked him up.

C loves playing in his room.  He is a lucky boy to have so many fun things.

Mr. H and I have finally got our Europe trip for the summer in the works.  Now pray for airfare to come back down. :)

We enjoyed watching the Superbowl with the H family.  There have been some medical scares, and we are all praying for the best.  Times like these remind me how important it is to LOVE each other.

There was a gorgeous snowstorm the other day.  

Anyway, I'm really starting to learn how much life has it's ups and downs.  It seems some parts of last week, I was so down, and felt that things couldn't get much worse.  And luckily, we got some good news to balance the bad.  But I'm really trying to learn how to ride the down parts and learn to get through them without so many bumps. Maybe even enjoy them.