The H1N1 Bandwagon

People at Greg's work and school have been getting it right and left, so we knew it was only a matter of time before we got it too...
dun, dun, dun... the Swine Flu!
I got hit last Monday at 11:00 am- it's amazing how suddenly it came on. Then a few days later Isaac got it, then the next day Will got it, and finally, several days later Greg got it. (He was proud of how long he was able to hold out). Zac's complicated into croup and then a few days later a bacterial infection in his ear and throat, but we got him on antibiotics and he's fine now. Greg went to the doctor and got Tamiflu so his was shorter than mine, but still no fun.
It's a little ironic we got the swine flu because we've been metaphorically rolling our eyes at the media frenzy over it. Still, for us the swine flu was really just like the regular flu. Now we've all had it and we're done! Bring on winter!

Weird Week

I don't know if it was because it was Halloween or what, but last week was sure a weird week. Monday morning Greg looked out the window and saw this:

A construction truck hit the pole and we watched it nearly fall over. At first we thought it was holding up the power lines and we were nervous, but it was just a street light. Still could have fallen on a car, though.
Then at 5:00 Wednesday morning, our cat, who always sleeps in the living room and is very calm and quiet, tore down the hall into our room, around our bed, and then under our bed. There are some plastic shopping bags under there hiding Will's Christmas presents and she got her head through one of the handles and was choking and Greg couldn't reach her. He did finally get her and had to tear the bag to get it off. She acted so weird the rest of the night. I've never seen her so scared and I have no idea what it was about.
Also Wednesday we found out I had downloaded a computer virus and we ended up losing everything on our computer (it could have been a lot worse, but it's a fairly new computer, so we have almost everything backed up, thankfully).
On Friday (this wasn't weird, just fun) we were able to go to the Enchanted Forest at the Treehouse Museum with friends Connor and Joseph and Will had a really good time. They all looked so cute in their costumes.


We had Darth Vader, Yoda (lost his costume by this point), a frog, and a skunk (or kunk, as Will says).

For my birthday my brother gave our family tickets to ride the Heber Creeper. We finally went last week and it was so fun! The weather was perfect and there was almost nobody on the train. Will especially loved it. He kept calling the engine Thomas and now he asks to ride Thomas every day.



I am amazed at how well our boys play together considering their ages. Usually Isacc likes to sit and watch Will do interesting things and Will frequently stops to make sure Zac has toys to play with.


Will discovered he can drag Isaac around when he's wearing overalls- and they BOTH like it! Last Sunday I didn't notice till they were to the end of the hall. I love this picture- they look so caught in the act.

Will is doing much better. He's pretty much gotten over the terribleness that was plauging us for so many weeks (it felt like an eternity!). Last night he wanted applesauce with his dinner. I was feeding Zac so I told Will to get the applesauce out of the fridge, get a bowl (his are in a low drawer), and get a big spoon and a little spoon and bring them all to the table. He did it all and was so proud of himself. After dinner I started putting things away and he was right by my side helping me. He really is so sweet!
Isaac is eating baby food and lots of it! He has his bottom two teeth and is very good at sitting up and rolling around. He always has a huge smile on his face and always brings a big smile to my face.

I told you so!

Greg and I are often accused of having perfect children, and no matter how much we try to convince people this is not true and that although our children are off-the-scale adorable, and very, very sweet, they are still human children, I think there are still some out there harboring this crazy belief.
So, to set the record straight, I will now update you on the last 3 days William and I have had. In the last 72 hours, my 2-year old has:

Colored with crayon on the walls
Colored with crayon on the furniture
Peed on the carpet (sorry Aaron and Lyndee)
Locked me out of the house
Thrown up in his bed
Decorated the love seat with lipstick
Refused to nap 2 out of 3 days, and
Thrown 3, 4, 5...(I've lost count) tantrums a day

That's just one kid! When anyone casually asks how I'm doing I feel like replying simply "I have a toddler." That explains everything. I know many of you have it even tougher. The other day I commented to some friends that children are sent to teach mothers patience. I should have added, "or send us to the nut house in the process!" Really, doesn't that sound like a nice break sometimes?
I know it won't solve all our problems, but I am counting the weeks (seven) until Greg can go back to his regular schedule and come home at 5:00 every night to bail me out!
(Side note: Isaac is such a sweet little guy, but I know someday he will also be 2 and will surely follow in his brother's footsteps. Then I'll have a pre-schooler AND a toddler. The madness!)

Haircut (finally!)

Will's hair was getting pretty shaggy. I've been cutting it myself (kind of scary- I don't really know what I'm doing, but he's 2, so he doesn't care), but I hadn't gotten to it for a long time. Greg decided he would do it and it turned out pretty good. The hardest part is keeping him still long enough. This time I gave him a Capri Sun and sang primary songs. I don't know how you would do it without someone to entertain. What do you guys do to get your kid's hair cut?


Isaac ready for a walk

Story time

Isaac's doing really good sitting up. He also has started solids and is a big eater. He is always so happy and patient. Isn't he so cute?

Summer Fun

I'm so sad summer is almost over! We've had a lot of fun, especially since Greg didn't take any classes this summer. Greg is now doing 12 credits and working 30 hours, but his classes are spread out in the day, so he has to work around that. Kind of a pain. On the plus side, we're already a week into fall semester, so only 15 weeks to go!
Fun at the park- Isaac's first time down a slide.

Will loved the zoo this summer, especially the elephants. And, of course, the merry-go-round, or "up and down," as he calls it.
I love being able to bathe both the boys at once, and they have a lot of fun in the tub together.
Will jumped in the laundry basket and asked me to take his picture.
How many Ritz crackers can you fit in your mouth? This kid got in 3.

My New Favorite

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is my new favorite book! Please, please read it! The format of the book is all letters which is different to read but used so wonderfully by the authors to tell the story. The places and characters are so vivid; I really think that if I visited Guernsey Island today I would be able to meet them all. Read it- you'll love it!

Rollin'!

Our little Isaac is rolling now! I can't believe it! He had only been really working on it for a couple of days, and then he did it. The first time was on Friday. I put a ball just out of his reach for incentive and he rolled right over to get it and then chewed it to death. He can even roll front to back too. He is so strong and determined. He loves to play on the floor. This picture is right after he rolled the first time and you can tell by the look on his face how pleased he is with himself.

Yesterday I got the boys dressed for church and then realized they matched, so of course, we had to take a picture!


Last night Greg went to bed a little before me and I jumped on the computer really quick and found out Smith's is doubling coupons today and tomorrow (actually it started Sunday). So, crazy girl that I am, I got up at 5:00 am (ok, I was already awake by 4:00) and drove off to the store without telling Greg! I didn't want to wake him up, plus he would have just told me I was crazy anyway! The shopping was well worth it, though. Here's what I got for free:
5 tubes of Colgate toothpaste
2 Reach flossers
3 packages of dental floss
5 tooth brushes
3 4-packs of yogurt
5 bottles of salad dressing
1 jar of pickles
I also got Honey Bunches of Oats cereal for .88/box, family size yogurt for .38, deodorant for .25, Huggies wipes for 1.09 and 1.59, and Extra gum 3-packs for .19! In all, I got $79.85 in groceries for $8.64! Not bad for a beginner, I think. Yea for coupons!

Bear Lake

We spent last weekend camping at Bear Lake with Greg's parents. Will had such a good time swimming, playing in the sand, and being outside all day. I think Isaac had fun swimming too and was spoiled being held every second. My favorite part was being up in the mountains in the COOL air!

Horsies and more

I finally broke down and let Greg get us a new computer. Our old one was SO SLOW! Now I can post lots of pictures and it doesn't take me an hour!

This is so funny to me. Will was having a little snack before nap time and was so tired he just laid his head on his hands and went to sleep at the kitchen counter! I promise we get him to bed at a decent hour... I have no idea why he was so sleepy! Of course I had to take a picture before I put him in his bed.

Little Isaac is holding his head up so good. He's also quite the chatterbox. He coos and buzzes his lips and blows bubbles and sqeaks all the time.

While we were in Montana my Grandma just loved holding Isaac every chance she could get.

Will enjoyed seeing Grandpa Buroker's horses. Greg tried to give one of our apples to the horse but Will protested and ate it instead. He prefered the horses eat the hay instead of his snack. You can also see Auntie Tanza and her boyfriend Mike in the picture and my Grandpa on the far right.

Greg's mom bought us this wonderful double stroller and the boys and I have been walking all over town. We all LOVE it. It's a great workout for me, too. The weight of the kids and stroller and gear adds up to about 80 pounds.

We love going to the planetarium in Salt Lake. It's free and Will loves to see the rockets.

We went to the Riverton 4th of July parade and me, my parents, Will and Issac, my brother, and Tanza's boyfriend all wore red shirts. Will's favorite part of the parade was the motorcycles and the classic cars. Oh, and of couse all the candy!
We've had a fun and busy July and there's more to come- we're headed to Bear Lake this weekend!

We're still alive!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged! Time sure gets away from me sometimes. We just got back from a great trip to visit my family in Montana. Will had a great time playing with his cousin Scott he hasn't seen for over a year (that's a long time when you're only 2!) We celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday with a big party- about 60 people came. It's about a 7 hour drive (Greg claims he could do it in 6, my parents say it's closer to 8)... but the boys did really well.
This week we are moving... again! This will be our 7th move in 5 years of marriage. Yikes. We really are stable people, I promise! The people we are house sitting for are coming home from Italy, so we are going back next door where we lived before. Hopefully when we move out of that house, sometime next year, we won't be moving again for a LONG TIME!
Greg got a new job at L-3 Communications in North Salt Lake. He liked his old job but was ready for a change, and of course a raise. This company is really nice with great benefits. Good job, Greg!

Favor

Does anyone out there get the Sunday paper and not use the coupons? If so, can I have them? I'll come get them or pay the postage if you want to mail them to me. Thanks!

Today we got an awesome deal on a pair of shorts for Greg at JC Penny. They were originally $49, marked down to $15, and we had a $10 off certificate we got in the mail. That's almost a 90% discount! Woohoo!

On Saturday we took a little day trip up to Causey Resivoir to fish for Will's first time. He kept whining about the cold (really there was just a nice mountain breeze) and then he fell in the lake (probably woke up the whole mountain with his screaming!) Luckily we were prepared with extra clothes and Will eventually settled down for some relaxing fishing.

On Memorial Day we went to the Riverton Cemetery and then to my Uncle Steve's house for the annual family swim party. The weather was a little iffy at the end of the week so we weren't sure about getting in the pool, but it cleared up for a nice day.



Our sweet little Isaac is growing up so fast. The last picture was in his blessing clothes. Luckily we got some pictures before he grew out of them! He a very smiley boy and content to watch us go about our business or sleep the day away. His smiles really light up my day.

The Secret of my Success

So, like I said, I'm a beginner at this coupon thing, but here's how it works. It takes some time and effort, but I think of it as a job since I have the time to put into it. I use a site called www.pinchingyourpennies.com and they list the grocery deals each week. They even rate them as to what is really a good deal and what isn't (don't you hate it when you think something is on sale and you find out you got 10 cents off? Lame!). The idea is to save the coupons from the Sunday paper each week and then match up your coupons with the store deals for extra savings. The website tells you where you can find deals for coupons that have already come out.
Like I said, I've only started, so I don't have my coupons saved up yet, but just going off store deals has already saved me a lot. I had to go to 3 stores, but I got what I would normally buy plus the $78 extra; and they were all foods that we like and eat all the time. But they do say if you're willing to try new brands and varities it's easier to save. The idea seems pretty straight-forward, but I think some parts can get complicated when you get into it. I still have a lot to learn, but I got my first newspaper yesterday, so I'm on my way!

Chatter and Coupons

William is becoming such a chatterbox! Some of his recent sentences include:
"I have fun in Papa's Jeep!"
"I like Grandma's car."
"How 'bout some Curious George?"
"I see a big bus!"
"Uncle Nick work post office." (I guess he thinks Nick should get into the mail delivery field)
"I go buy a paper."
The conversation is non-stop with this kid! And like a lot of kids, he'll repeat himself over and over until one of us acknowledges what he said. I've been really impressed with some of the things he says out of the blue.

In other news, I have been inspired by some awesome deal-finders in my ward and decided to become a couponer. I just started this week so I don't really have any coupons built up to use yet, but I got some great deals at Albertsons just with their store deals. I ended up getting $61 worth of groceries for $20! I almost felt bad, like I was stealing from the store or something! Overall for the week I spent $95 and got $78 in free groceries! I'm excited to see our food storage build up and our grocery bill go down!

Pictures

This past weekend I dragged Greg and the kids to Temple Square to see the tulips and it was AWESOME!!! This is in my old area where I used to work. Spring is without a doubt the best time to go there. I miss seeing this every day, but I love being at home with my boys.



I let William vaccum the front room while I went to change Isaac's diaper, and this is what I came back to find (note the sunglasses- it never hurts to look good when you're cleaning).

Easter Blessing

We were able to bless Isaac in our ward on Easter Sunday. Greg and I are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that we couldn't even fit them all in our house! We wish everyone could have been there. It was a lovely day though and we were especially glad to have my Grandma and Grandpa Buroker here all the way from Montana. I didn't get any pictures of Isaac in his blessing outfit becuase my camera died half-way through the day and I lost the charger, but today I found it (whew!), so I will do a few belated pics and post them later.



Isaac doing what he does best- sleeping through all the action! (Except when he is crying through all the action!)


Will had his first Easter egg hunt at Grandma Barbara's this year with all his cousins. Grandma and the aunties went all out on the prizes! Will filled his bucket up after a lot of coaching from Daddy.


Isaac is doing really well. He had a couple weeks where he cried quite a lot, but he has calmed down some. He sleeps well at night and I think he's starting to get into the routine of eating, sleeping, and playing (or staring at Mommy making faces and watching brother play). He is a really big little fellow. His best clothing fit (length-wise anyway) is 6 month clothes (cringe). He is a strong guy, working on holding up his head, and very curious to see what's going on, but from the safety of Mommy's arms.

William is his typical, un-fazed self. He ignores Isaac most of the time, but will occasionally help me burp the baby or examine the baby's facial features. He's had especially fun time the last two days with Auntie Tanza staying with us. We're so glad she will be home all summer!