Some loooong days

This past week was full of some long days.  Good days, but long days.

Monday:  Babysat our friend's 3 children, Benjamin had a blast with his friends over!

Tuesday:  Normal day of household stuff, but we saw very little of Daddy since he worked until 7:45pm

Wednesday:  Daddy came home on time (5pm) but Mommy was busy most of the day cooking for her small group, running errands and well, Benjamin is an active one year old!

Thursday:  Peter went into work super early, wasn't able to come home for lunch, came home just before I had to leave for worship team practice but at least he was home for a bit in the evening.

Friday:  Peter couldn't come to Benjamin's doctor appointment so I took him by myself, no lunch break for Peter, and he wasn't able to come home until 8:30pm.  And I cooked a lot for some church activities.

That left a lot of evenings spent between Mama and Benjamin.  Especially when he decided that he didn't want to take great naps this week, go figure right?  That being said though, I seriously loved my evenings with him.  They were long because it's exhausting chasing around a crazy little boy, fighting with lightsabers, building towers, wrestling, playing football, etc....but there is something so amazing about receiving a genuine laugh and genuine smile from your child.  Nothing like it.

I worked hard to cook a bunch on Friday for potlucks and pie socials so we could have a free Saturday morning/afternoon to spend together.  Benjamin slept until 9 on Saturday!!!  What is with this child sleeping that late on a Saturday?  So Peter made breakfast again and we made a pie together for our church's pie social.  I had never made a pie and neither had Peter.  It definitely wasn't beautiful but it sure was tasty!!

We went to the Gap Outlet because we had 2 Buy One Get One Free coupons!!!  Peter got a couple shirts and I got a pair of jeans and khakis that were really needed.  Oh, and my amazing hubby also treated me to a 50 minute massage in Salem.  I hadn't been in so long that I was given their introductory rate and it was awesome to relax and enjoy the bliss of a massage for an amazing price.

Here's a few random pictures from the rest of the weekend:

 I had made a cake for Peter on Friday night, but thanks to his help putting it together this is what it looked like.  Pretty much the ugliest cake EVER.  But it tasted great!

 little boy fell asleep with Floppy on top of his head, love it!

 Yep, yep I love him

 Benjamin LOVES to have lightsaber fights....I think he's learned from his friends Elijah and Micah!

 I gave him a little cake after dinner yesterday....he didn't want it.  But he was ECSTATIC about the little baby cheetos I gave him.  Right now, he doesn't really like sweets.....I'm beginning to wonder if he's mine!

I may or may not have had a piece of pie and a piece of cake yesterday.  Weekend calories don't count right?

 he's pretty much a ladies man

just a little Praise baby time before bed....I just want to kiss him!

And, I know today is Valentine's Day.  We're not doing anything really special because we're going away for a night in early March, but I still like that there's a day I can especially celebrate my husband.

Peter, I love you the mostest.  I'm so proud of how hard you work....I have to brag on my hubby for a bit because he's been in charge of a big project at work and has now successfully implemented wireless internet services at all of the various schools in our town.  SO PROUD of you sweetheart.

You make me laugh when you shimmy, you have the most loving and strong arms, you love Jesus and His Word, you eat my food without complaining, you let me have the remote, you always drop me off at Wal-Mart when it's raining, you have a really cute bum (sorry if that's TMI) and you are the most amazing Daddy.  I absolutely love how our little boy loves you.
So yeah, you're pretty much amazing and I love being your wife.  Mmmmppphhh!

A good deal of pride

I love being a SAHM to Benjamin.  I absolutely love it and really do know it is a blessing to do so.

I also know that only having one income does require tighter control on our expenses.  Without my extra paycheck there's much less "extra money" at the end of the month that can be blown on toffee nut lattes, Friday night take-out and that adorable-gotta-have-it sweater. 

I do most of the spending in our family (shocker!)  By spending, I don't mean those extravagant, frivolous items, but I mean the groceries, the diapers, the new socks, the toilet paper....you know, the essentials.  As the primary caretaker of our home, I take care of those things during the day throughout the week.  I use our receipts to keep track of our budget, trying to align meal menus, weekend plans, and date night ideas to stay within our allotted amount for each category.

Enter coupons.

The whole idea that I can take about 2 hours of my week to organize or print coupons, do a bit of online research, drive to the store and purchase discounted items to get an amazing deal is awesome.  I really do LOVE a good deal, it's such a weird high.  And feeling like I'm excelling at my job of taking care of my family and my household is satisfying.  Here's the breakdown of this month's good deals:

ITEMS BOUGHT:
* 2 Stayfree Maxi pads
* 2 bottles contact solution
* 2 Bounty paper towel rolls
* 2 boxes Ritz crackers
* 4 containers Dreyers ice cream
* 1 tub Wet Ones wipes
* 1 box Motrin PM
* 2 Finish Dishwasher detergent kits
* 2 bags Halls cough drops
* 1 Milky Way
* 2 bottles Dawn dish detergent
* 2 jars Jif peanut butter
* 11 tubes Colgate toothpaste
* 2 gallons of milk
* 1 adult coldcalm flu medicine
* 1 child coldcalm flu medicine
* 2 Mentos
* 1 box Excedrin
* 2 Gillette deodorants
* 2 Old Spice deodorants
* 2 packages Dixie paper plates
* 1 Skittles
* 1 package elastic ponytail holders
* 1 package hair contour clips
* 1 2pk large hair clips
* 1 bottle Dayquil
* 1 bottle Nyquil
* 1 Starburst
* 1 Conair 1" hair straightener/flat iron
Total # of items: 55
Total cost: $19.46
Total cost per item: $0.35

I mean, really?  It's insane that all the above items averaged 35 cents.  The flat iron alone cost $24.99?!?!  So, in seeing these good deals, I was really proud.  And it got me thinking....why am I proud?  Should I be proud?  Is it wrong to be proud for working out these great buys?

We've been studying what God's Word says about money in our small group class and I've been challenged to become a better steward with what God has blessed us with (why I wanted to start "couponing" more seriously).  Money is such a touchy subject for everyone because when we really break it down, we love money.  We love what it gets us because we struggle with selfishness.  At least I do.  So realizing what great deals I got (90% of items were things I was going to buy anyway) made me think to myself "Sweet, now I get to go to Starbucks because I saved so much money, and now I can justify eating out more, and guess who's going back to the Old Navy clearance with a big ol' bag now?"  In an instant, my initial desire to become a better steward with God's money, once again became about me.  My thoughts weren't consumed with "Lord, please keep my eyes open to a need we can now reach with this little bit of savings this month" or "Thank you Jesus for the extra savings we'll have to put away now, I know it's your way of meeting our needs the next time an emergency happens."  Nope.  I wanted my latte and an 8th pair of cozy sweatpants. 

I don't think it's wrong to be proud of the deals I got this month.  It's okay to find satisfaction in doing so.  Because right now, shopping for our household is a part of my job and I should delight and find satisfaction in it.  But my purpose shouldn't be to find deals so I can gain more.  I should want to find deals so our family is even more equipped to be used of God.  It's all His anyway, I don't know why I continually try to bring it all back to me.

I know this is a random post, but I guess I just needed to sort of my thoughts "out loud" on my blog. 

Lord, please help me use the resources you've blessed us with for Your glory.  Help me not to seek my own advancement or pleasure, but to be used by You to bring others to You.

Past few days

It's been a busy but great last couple of days, but it didn't leave much time to post until now.

Friday:

It was a normal day, just enjoyed playing with my ONE YEAR OLD.  I still can't believe he's 1 now.

 we brought his slide inside so he could play on it during the winter....he looooves it

 okay Benjamin, stop looking like such a big boy, mama doesn't like it

 this picture is the reason why the bean bag is at the end of the slide....sometimes his feet get caught underneath him on the way down.  Don't worry though.....he LOVES it when he hits the beanbag, he thinks its hilarious.  I have a little daredevil on my hands.

see?  He loves the beanbag.

Friday night Peter and Benjamin went to work on a computer for a lady in our church while I went to our Girls Night youth group.  It was Sports and Nutrition night so we had a lady talk about eating healthy and then we played volleyball.  It was a bit of a smaller group but it was still really fun.  I was really encouraged because one of the girls really seems to be seeking for things in her life and I was excited to talk to her more about her need for Jesus in her life.  It was a bit of a late night so we crashed shortly after I got home.

Saturday:

Benjamin slept until 10:10am.  Yes, he slept until 10:00!!!!  I couldn't believe it.  Peter and I woke up at 8 and it was the first time in a long time I actually really wanted to get up in the morning because I felt refreshed.  We made waffles and enjoyed getting a few things done in the morning before he woke up.  I was busy getting some decorations together for a friend's baby shower that afternoon.  There was no real theme but we used bright primary colors and decorated with toy cars and things since she was having a boy.  I took Benjamin to the shower with me and he did great, taking a short 35 minute nap while we were there.  I was really pleased he was so good since we were there from 1-4.  He came home and napped from 4:30 until 6:30 when I had to wake him up.....can we say growth spurt???  Peter worked from 12:30 until about 5:45 so the day went by quickly.  That night we just played around and gave Benjamin his first "big boy" bath in our tub.  He was a bit unsure for about 10 seconds then quickly loved it.

Sunday:

Sunday morning was spent at church, it's been a great sermon series and Peter and I are really enjoying it.  After church we switched cars with our friends and took their mini-van because we were babysitting their kiddos overnight.  Benjamin was loving having Elijah, Haddie and Micah over.  We all ate a quick lunch at home so we could get the 2 youngest down for a nap.  They both napped 2 hours and then we headed to Chuck E. Cheese!!!!  Of course, when I tried to take a picture of us there my memory card was in my computer at home.  DUH.  Oh well, it was a great time!!  4 kids at Chuck E. Cheese is definitely a super fun workout.  Came home and got the kiddos to bed and we vegged for an hour before going to sleep ourselves.

Monday:

We woke up and got Elijah ready for school.  I made waffles and we all ate breakfast and played together.  Benjamin napped great in the morning and I did laundry and cooked dinner while he slept and the kids played with Play-Doh.  We had lunch, then during the afternoon nap Haddie and I painted nails and watched a Princess movie.  We picked Elijah up from school then played at McDonalds for almost an hour.  My son is SUCH a climber.  He climbed the entire playstructure ON. HIS. OWN.  No fear, no second guessing.  Just climbing.  I was of course, a few steps behind him but he didn't need me.  It was his first time in the playland and I think we're going to have a McDonalds playland junkie on our hands, ha :-)

We came home and did homework, and did crazy dances in the living room while dinner cooked.  Jeremy and Kristen came home just before dinner and we enjoyed catching up with them while we ate, we were so glad they had a great time.  We gave Benjamin a bath, I ran to Rite Aid really quick(maybe more on that later?) and Peter and I ate the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake our friends brought back for us.  Um, yeah, THANK YOU, it was amazing. 

It was busy having 4 kids but it went so amazingly well, everyone was really good and I had a blast.

Tuesday:

Just played with little man this morning and now he's napping so I'm blogging.  And thinking about that cheesecake from last night.  Hmmm, maybe we should go to Portland tonight....Cheesecake Factory anyone?

Better go before this little cutie wakes up :-)

Ready for some football?

Benjamin sure is.  TOUCHDOWN!!

(I'm loving the Mr. Potato Head shirt!)

It's been a super busy weekend, and will be be busy until Monday night so I'll post about it all later.

Enjoy the Superbowl :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN!!!!

My precious baby boy turned ONE YEAR OLD today.

I can hardly believe it.  They say it goes by fast....and it sure does.

Sweet little Benjamin sleeping on his last night of "infanthood."

I love when he sleeps with his little bum in the air :-)

When he woke up in the morning it was his birthday!!!

He was still waking up but I was ready to wish him Happy Birthday

I had already finished almost everything for the party later in the day so we were free to just play and enjoy some fun together.

Benjamin took a pretty long morning nap so afterward we went for a late lunch and met Daddy at McDonalds where Benjamin got his first Happy Meal complete with a hamburger, apples and apple juice.

 He hasn't hardly had any juice at all so this was a treat!

I'm pretty sure he was enjoying himself :-)

After lunch we ran a really quick errand then came home to play a bit more before his afternoon nap.

He finally fell asleep and slept about 30 minutes before his party was ready to start....we had to go wake up our sleeping cutie!

Wake up little boy, it's PARTY TIME!

We didn't plan a huge event for his party, but we're super lucky because our amazing friends have a little boy who was born on February 3rd too...but a year earlier so he was turning 2 today.  We love that our little boys share the same birthday so we decided to have a little dinner party with our families.  It was perfect!

Even though we weren't having a huge party I still wanted to have a few little touches that Benjamin can see some day and know that his Mama was really excited that he was turning one.  I didn't have a "theme" but just used a few bright colors.  Here's the decor...

 little star banner made out of scrapbook paper and ribbon

 Happy Birthday banner made of scrapbook paper and ribbon

 close-up of the banner

 view of the "party table"

 close-up of the tissue paper pom poms I made....super easy and cost $1.  I made 3 of them, yellow, red and green

 Benjamin's smash cake.  He LOVES the book "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear" so I thought it would be fitting.  Nothing fancy AT ALL but fit the bill

 the cake next to Benjamin's favorite page of the book

presents, cake, festive plates, M&M's??  What more do you need to celebrate?

We snacked on M&M's, then ate dinner of chicken spaghetti, fresh fruit salad, green beans, and garlic bread.

Then, it was time for presents :-)

 Peter with the birthday boys Micah and Benjamin

 Micah gets a new Wiggles DVD

 Benjamin gets a new Wiggles DVD too!

 He totally recognized Elmo on his new bathmat from Mommy & Daddy

 Micah now has a whole lot of Dart guns to choose from :-)

 I think he could get used to the whole present thing!

 figuring out his new spray bottle from his friends!

playing the Elmo guitar from Mommy & Daddy

It was fun to watch our little boys open a few toys.  It's so joyful to see your kids smiling faces!

Then it was time for CAKE.

 we sang Happy Birthday to Micah!

 then sang Happy Birthday to Benjamin

Haddie helped him blow out his candle

then he started the tradition all one year old's enjoy.  SMASH CAKE.  The pictures show it all.

Oh yeah, this birthday cake stuff is awesome!!!

We gave him a quick shower in the sink and then engaged in some dart gun wars.

It was a great night, thanks for coming over Zderads, we love you guys.

The rest of the evening was spent listening to family members sing "Happy Birthday" over the phone.

Benjamin would clap as they sang :-)

And we just played with our adorable little boy who is walking like a crazy man.  He is soooo steady and really getting the hang of it, it's fun to watch.

 "you do realize your free time is dwindling don't you Mama?" says Benjamin

 TOUCHDOWN!

 walking around with one of his balloons....he actually tried saying balloon tonight too!

tickle time with Daddy!

Like all parties, this one had to come to an end.  Pajamas and bedtime had finally arrived and it was time for night night.  I only teared up right at the end of the night in sheer amazement of how quickly my baby is growing.  I love him so much sometimes I feel my heart could burst.  Oh, I have my moments of impatience, but being Benjamin's mommy is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.  Seeing Peter as a Daddy is the most amazing gift to watch.  Slobbery kisses from my now one year old are the highlight of my day.

Benjamin Daniel Klingler, you are ONE!  You are crazy, goofy, independent, stubborn, curious, observant, lovable and perfect in our eyes.  We are so glad we get to be your parents and will do our best to raise you to know and love Jesus.  I just can't stop smiling when I think about you because you bring us so much JOY.  Today we celebrated your first year of life and we hope you'll be able to look back at these pictures someday and know how much we loved you now and how much we always will.

Happy Birthday Benjamin :-)