Date Night

Keith and I have found our new favorite way to spend time together. Scorpion hunting! After we found scorpions #3-5 in a single day, we invested in a black light flashlight. Internet research informed us we would probably find between 20-40 scorpions on our first search (we live in a scorpion hot spot apparently). If we continued to search once a month that number would hopefully dwindle.

So it was with great excitement that we set out on our first adventure. We found absolutely nothing! We searched the house twice and the yard once and didn't find a single one! But we freaked Addison out enough that now we have to check his room every night before he will consent to go to bed.

Today Addison spotted scorpion number eight in the hall and Keith smashed two more in the garage on his way in from class. So we decided to go scorpion hunting again. It was much more fruitful this time. We saw a grand total of ten scorpions! More than we have seen in the two and a half months we have lived here combined. And just for the record, Keith killed seven. I think he even enjoyed it. Maybe since he was sneaking up on them rather than the other way around. Unfortunately two got away in the chase. Both of us have seen enough of them to give us the heebeegeebees for a month, so I'm sure I'll have nightmares of those two finding us in the house to get revenge for their friends.

Anyhow, it's kinda fun. You know, in that weird scaring yourself kind of way. I'm too chicken to visit a haunted house but I'll hunt for scorpions. We get to hang out together, talk and do a little stargazing along the way; a good time all around.

Here are some of the fruits of our labor. Sweet dreams!

Must Have Qualities

Did your young women leaders ever have you make a list of desirable qualities in your future husband? It seems like we drew one up every year. Mine included typical things like temple worthy, returned missionary, working towards a college degree as well as personal things like won't show love in materialistic ways and thinks I'm pretty without make-up on. What it didn't include was anything about a fear of heights. It just didn't cross my seventeen year old mind as something important.

Well, let this be a lesson to you single friends. You might want to double check that your potential mate is not afraid of heights or you too may be climbing 28 foot ladders while somewhere between four and eight months pregnant to patch stucco holes or paint fascia boards. Or in an even more embarrassing event, calling the neighbor to come take your Christmas lights down because your husband is having a panic attack. Just a warning.

And not to bash on my husband too much, but it might also be a good idea to see about his tolerance for creepy crawling creatures. Out of the seven scorpions we have found in our house thus far, my "man" has maybe smashed one or two. The rest of the time he calls for me, points it out and then leaves the room while I take care of business. Good thing I grew up with creepy crawly things all around me huh?

Shopping Tips

So there were a few comments about my poll (which has now been removed) and how I spend so little money at the grocery store. A few months ago, my SIL asked me the same thing and I emailed her a list of "my secrets." I thought I would share a modified version of that email to appease your curiosity. Mostly it comes down to having a budget and a plan.

1- I sit down with the ads and my recipe file each week and plan out a menu based on what is on sale. I never buy ANYTHING unless it is on sale. I try to do all of my shopping at one store so I don't go crazy running around with the kids, so whichever supermarket has the most of what I want on sale is the store I go to that week. I'm trying the coupon thing too but I'm not that good at it and it mostly helps me get a little more food for my money, rather than a huge savings. MoneySavingMom.com is a great site to help match up sales and coupons.

2- I generally know the prices of what we eat a lot, so I can tell if it's a good sale or if I should wait for another week. I only buy cereal if it's under $2 a box, yogurt if it's less than $0.50 a cup, etc. Then I try to stock up at the cheap price. (You can freeze a lot of stuff like bread, milk and cheese too). A lady at church says she never has to buy anything on a need basis, only on a "this is the cheapest price I can get this product for" basis; someday I would like to be that good. If you never run out of diapers, you won't be making extra trips to the store and forking out more money than necessary and ruining your budget.

3- I do a lot of brand comparisons. Most stores are good about telling you how much something costs per ounce on their little tags (if they don't have tags I whip out the calculator on my phone. Seriously). So I always go for the least expensive item per ounce even if it means buying a little bit bigger bottle than I need right then. It also means buying generic sometimes, but sometimes the brand name is on sale for less than the generic. And, I try to remember to get rain checks if they are out of something I want or substitute another item for the item that was on sale.

4- I only spend $10 out of the $50 on produce. I would like to have my kids eat more fruits and vegetables, but they are expensive and so I can't put as much money into that or we wouldn't have enough for everything else.

5- I rarely buy junk food like chips, candy or ice cream. The only time we have dessert is for FHE. Treats around here are chocolate milk or popcorn on Movie Fridays. Or lately we're into frozen Go-Gurts. I don't get already put together meals either. It's so convenient to pop a frozen lasagna in the oven but a lot cheaper to make it yourself. Often Keith complains that we have nothing to eat, but it's really that we don't have anything "ready to eat." Most stuff around here has to be made.

6- My menus are pretty simple (though sometimes lacking in variety). Breakfast mainly consists of cereal or instant oatmeal. I don't buy a lot of lunch food, we generally eat leftovers from dinner the night before. I do keep PB&J on hand, and occasionally we have Mac 'n' cheese or turkey sandwiches. We also eat a lot of quesadillas! Dinner is the meal I spend the most money and focus on.

7- I try to stretch the expensive ingredients. I only use one chicken breast in a casserole and usually I split a 9x13 casserole into two 8x8 pans, eat one and freeze the other for another day. Or split a 1 lb package of hamburger into two meals. We probably shouldn't eat so many carbs, but pasta and rice are good filler foods!

8- And really, it just comes down to sticking to the budget. I know I only have so much money to spend so I walk around the store adding everything up in my head. "Bananas $2 + celery $1.50 (I always round up to the nearest half dollar to try and account for tax) is $3.50. Plus bread is $5, etc" It's a great mental exercise, especially when you start throwing in those BUY 8 save $4 sales because you have to keep track of how much you are spending and how many items you have, plus entertain the kids. Once I get to $50 I have to quit or start putting things back that are not entirely necessary so I can get the stuff I do need. There are some tough choices sometimes, but I've done it enough that now Addison knows we don't have money for everything we want and even explains to Charlotte that we're getting this instead of that because it's not as expensive.

I admit that my budget may have to increase soon. My kids are getting older and eating more, but the principles will remain the same. Do you have any helpful hints for grocery shopping?

It Ain't Over 'til the Fat Lady Sings

Whew! This selling and buying a house business has turned out to be one heck of a ride! So much so that I don't even really want to relive it for you. But we are finally done with the whole thing. Thursday afternoon the paperwork was officially filed and we now own (or are at least paying a mortgage on) our new house in Anthem, AZ.

I think we landed the perfect spot, except for the fact that it is a few hours away from family. It's nice and deserty around here, but still populated enough that we don't feel like we're out in the boonies. I have enjoyed listening to the birds wake me up in the morning, actually being able to see the stars at night, and watching the wildlife skitter about my backyard. Of course, the scorpions in the house aren't very fun or the woodpeckers pecking a huge hole in the side of my house, but there has to be opposition in all things right? We are within walking distance to preschool and the library, get admission to the pool and gym with our HOA fees and have plenty of shopping close by. As soon as we make some friends our lives will be complete.

So if you ever find yourself on the way to Flagstaff and need a potty break, call us up and we'll be happy to have you!

These are a few pictures from the MLS listing. I'm not a wine bibber, I promise. We have barely begun to unpack so the after pictures will take some time to be posted.

Poll

By the way, thanks to all those who voted in my poll. A few recent conversations have left me feeling like I might be starving my family by spending so little at the grocery store each week. Your answers pretty much confirmed my fears. Most everyone spends more than I do. So if my kids eat all your snacks at church, I apologize. I'll work on that.

A New Low

I may have just earned the title of the world's worst hostess. I served chili mac (aka three boxes of Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese and a can of Hormel chili) and two loaves of frozen garlic bread to the missionaries for dinner. No fruits, veggies or dessert to be seen. Pathetic.

In my defense, I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week. (I was waiting until after our upcoming move so we wouldn't have to transport so much food.) And I didn't know they were coming until 30 minutes before. Our friends desperately called three times in a row (that's how long it took me to find my phone) to say they had forgotten their assignment and were out of town, could we possibly fill in for them? The chili mac was already made for our dinner, so I kept it warm on the stove and then busted out the bread, knowing three boxes of macaroni and cheese wouldn't be enough for two fasting missionaries.

The elders were very gracious about the whole thing, eating off of mismatched plates (who has the dishes done when company isn't expected?) and stepping around already packed boxes piling up all over the room. But I felt terrible, the way they scarfed down four helpings, even scraping the last bits out of the pan (that's right, I served them out of the pan I cooked it in. Don't tell my mother) because I knew they could've eaten more if I'd had it.

All in all, it might have been my lowest moment. Good thing we're moving right?

AWK-WARD

Dear Awkwardness-

We can't be friends anymore. I am tired of being embarrassed and uncomfortable in social situations. Go find someone else to bother okay? I would appreciate it tremendously. Thanks!

AmandaA little background on the above letter. In September I got pregnant. Over Thanksgiving we announced the news to family and a few friends and ward members. Three days later I hit the twelve week mark, went to the doctor for a routine check-up and found out that the baby no longer had a heart beat. A couple of days after that, I had a D&C.

The awkwardness comes from the fact that I was far enough along to be showing, that horrible stage where people aren't sure if you're just gaining weight or are actually pregnant. I was squeezing into a few of my normal pairs of pants and beginning the transition to maternity clothes. Only now it feels like that stage is going on and on and on forever. I'm not getting any bigger because I'm no longer pregnant, yet I still have this kind of post pregnancy pooch without a baby to show for it.

So when all of the "Oh, are you expecting?" and the "Are you having another baby?" and the "When are you due?" questions come my way I'm not sure what to say. If I reply with an explanation along the lines of, "Well, I was, but then I had a miscarriage," people feel terrible and trip all over themselves to apologize for my loss. But then if I just answer, "No," they are so mortified they trip all over themselves trying to cover up or excuse their blunder. It's embarrassing for everyone no matter what my response. Maybe if I could come up with something witty like, "Just a few too many treats over the holidays," it wouldn't be so bad. I dunno. What would you say?



PS- I am not looking for pity in this post. I've had plenty of that. I'm just venting about a discomfiting situation and perhaps looking for some helpful suggestions. Thank you for your consideration.