March

As I mentioned in my resolution post I want to go a month without spending money on anything other than groceries. I want to do it because I think I can and I want to make sure I'm right. I also want to try to consume less. When I was thinking and praying about what areas of my life I need / want to work on, I kept feeling like I needed to simplify. I needed to slow down, spend more time at home and consume less. I want to have a simpler life. I'm hoping I learn that I can really get by without buying so much and I will hopefully think a little harder about the things I do buy in the future.

Ideally I would like to have a very streamlined house with fewer items but the items we have are things we absolutely love and use often. I think this month long 'spending fast' will be the great start to that.

It may not seem like that big of a goal from the outside, but as I started keeping track of the little things I buy, it started adding up. Things like fabric, restaurant meals, clothes for Calder and me, and decorative things for the house.
So, March is that special month. I vow to not spend any money other than groceries, gas, rent and utilities.

I'm actually going to up the ante if you will. I have been spending somewhere between $75 and $100 on groceries every week. That's a lot of money. I haven't been watching what I spend like I should and I don't choose a meal based on the cost. I want to change that. So, for the month of March I will also be spending $50 a week on groceries.

I'll keep you all posted as the month goes on. If you have cheap but tasty recipes, PLEASE send them my way. I'm not even sure where to start with this and I'm grocery shopping on Monday.

Anyone want to join me? It would be a lot of fun to have a 'spending fast' buddy.

Calder at 16 Months

Dear Calder,

We've had a great month. It has been cold which means there were days we didn't leave the house. There were days we couldn't leave the house! You were such a good sport about it. We found creative ways to play and even more creative ways to make a mess.

This month you have become so much more independent. When we go to COSI or other places where there are lots of kid and things to do, you don't really look back anymore. I love being your best friend and it's nice to see you so confident.

You learned how to go to sleep on your own and stopped nursing. That's huge! Daddy and I are so proud of you. You go to bed happy and wake up happy.

This last week Daddy flipped your car seat around to forward facing. You had to sit with your legs all folded up in order to sit in your car seat. I hoped to put off doing it until you were two but it was time. You love riding in the car now. You yell "Go Momma Go!" from the back seat. I love it. You also like to spot trucks, school buses, city buses and garbage trucks.

This has been such a fun month. I love you Calder.

Love,

Momma

I am embarrassed to post these pictures because this is the most disorganized area of our house. This is my craft corner. UGH. But, they are so incredibly cute. I found Calder hanging out in just a cloth diaper (no cover) and a shirt. He LOVES to play in my craft area. There is so much to do there.

These are Calder's yellow rocker skinny jeans. I LOVE them. He seems to like them too. We get comments from people every time he wears them.

Calder is obsessed with makeup. He has been wearing chap stick for months. This week he moved on to mascara and is pretty darn proud of it.

Happy Valentines Day

Enjoy this kiss from Calder.

Nursing

*Warning: the following words are used in this post: sleep training and nurse, as in nursing, as in breastfeeding. If you are not comfortable or interested in aforementioned words, please skip this post.

Calder doesn't nurse anymore. Getting to this point has been harder than I would have liked. The kid liked to nurse. Since he wouldn't take a bottle, ever, I made peace with the fact that I would be nursing until he was 1. I wanted to anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

Once he had that glorious first birthday I started offering him milk. He didn't like it at first. It took a few months until he started drinking it and even asking for it. I switched to 2% instead of whole and that seems to have done the trick. A few weeks after that I switched back to whole milk and he didn't notice. I think it also helped that he saw his friends drinking milk and would sometimes sneak sips from their sippy cups. Peer pressure starts so young.

I was still nursing him to sleep at this point. *Gasp* I think I've mentioned before that I started nursing to sleep when we moved to Columbus. He was too busy to be bothered to eat when he would rather be playing, so it was a thousand times easier when he was tired. It was also the fastest way to get him to sleep so I could pack. I figured I would do it until we moved and then just revert back to the old way. Of course, Calder really liked nursing to sleep. I tried so many different methods to stop, but he is a very determined little boy. I felt like such a failure for ending up in that position. I also felt like other mothers were judging me when it came up in conversation.

We decided in late November that we would have to try some sort of sleep training. *Gasp* I know. Soon after that we found out he had an ear infection. Poor kid. Then we had visitors, Christmas and a trip to Oregon. I kept nursing him to sleep.

As soon as we got back from Oregon we gave it another try. We used the book 5 Days to a Perfect Night's Sleep for Your Baby. It worked. We were shocked how well it worked. It wasn't just leaving Calder in his crib to cry until he fell asleep. The first night we went in after 3 minutes the first time and then every 5 minutes after that until he fell asleep. The book has you say the same thing each time you go in and you have to say it in a happy, confident way. Basically you say "Mommy & Daddy love you very much and that's why we're teaching you to go to sleep all by yourself with your teddy bear."

It took Calder 40 minutes the first night, 15 minutes the second night and it continued to improve from there. Now he usually goes to sleep happily. I love it. It is so nice to read him a few books, say his prayers and lay him down. Now Jason can put him to bed and Calder is sleeping much longer than he was before. He was in the habit of nursing at 4am and that stopped immediately.

I honestly think Calder thought he couldn't go to sleep without me. During the first week of sleep training he nursed for 5 minutes prior to story time. A few weeks later we switched to two minutes. One week after that Calder said he didn't want to nurse. I haven't offered since. He hasn't nursed for a week.

So, just like that I am done. Calder was one week short of being 16 months when he stopped nursing. At the end I was surprised how quickly he gave it up. I think once he realized he was capable of going to sleep without nursing that he just found it to be a hindrance.

I wish I wouldn't have stressed so much about him nursing so long. It all worked out in the end. and I don't think 16 months is that old. But I will say kid #2 (no, this is not an announcement) will not have the luxury of nursing to sleep. Sorry kid.

Letter to Grandma Janeal

Dear Grandma Janeal,

Thank you so much for bringing me homemade strawberry jam with chunks of strawberries in it. I love it and ask for it every day for lunch.

I like to pick the strawberry chunks out and eat those first. Then I put my sandwich back together and finish it off.

Chunky strawberry jam makes me incredibly happy.

Love,
Calder

Just Like Daddy

Calder has been really into Jason lately. It is so cute. He gets so excited when Jason comes home and loves to mimic him. He often brings me Jason's stuff and asks me to help him put it on. You can tell from this first picture that Calder is VERY proud of himself. His hands are back and his chest is pushed out. Oh my goodness is he proud.

This is Calder ready to go to work with Jason's briefcase and shoes.

Shoveling

Jason is teaching Calder the art of snow removal. We got about 9.5 inches of snow. I find it interesting that most of our neighborhood doesn't get plowed. I know some people don't think Chicago plows their roads well but that's because they haven't been to Columbus in a storm. It is ridiculous. I also find it interesting that nobody on our street shovels their snow. Jason is so good. He shoveled last night and again this morning. He follows his shoveling with rock salt to melt future snow.

2010 New Year Resolutions

Oh my goodness. I just realized I wrote this post and never posted it. Well, we're half way through February. What better time to post your resolutions.

Here are my 2010 Resolutions:

Read the scriptures for 5 minutes a day.
Sew more for me.
Be more involved in our family finances.
Take Calder to the zoo.
Read 6 nonfiction books.
Go one month without buying anything new (other than groceries).
Learn to sand and refinish furniture. Redo Jason's desk.

Playing

I'm looking for your opinion over on Candied Apples, the craft blog I keep. I made this jacket you see and I'm a bit unsure. Please help me out.

If you ask Calder to show you his Happy Face this is what you get.

I loved catching Jason and Calder playing the other day. It's so sweet to see them interact.

Calder loves to wear Jason's boots. He can't actually walk in them but he could stand there for a really long time just enjoying them. He also likes to store his treasures in the boots. I think Jason's favorite item found inside was a wet washcloth. Nice.

Archer

Most of Calder's friends are older than he is. It just worked out that way. Calder does have a good friend named Archer who is quite a bit younger than him. It is so special for me to see him share and help a younger, smaller friend.

He likes to bring him toys, his binky and his sippy cup. I love it.

Jason turns 28!

Due to the timing of my brother Cody's wedding reception, Calder and I were in Oregon for Jason's birthday. It turned out to be okay because Jason had a lot of work to do that week. We celebrated when we got home.

Jason has had cherry chip cake with cherry frosting for as long as he has chosen his cake. This is not an easy cake mix and frosting set to find. In fact, I couldn't find them in Chicago or Columbus. My mom buys them and sends them to me. Honesty, it's not my favorite kind of cake, but Calder and Jason sure seem to enjoy it.

One of Calder's new words this month: FROSTING.