Puddles and Prayers

This week the weather has not been that great; pretty indicative of the whole summer, actually. A couple days ago Vivi and I went to check the mail when there was a light rain and I could barely get that girl back inside! There weren't any big puddles, but whereever there was any amount of water gather she'd run over and stick her hands, feet, and sometimes her ponytails in it! She loved running around and stomping in the water so she could her the 'smack, smack, smack' of her shoes (ok, sandals because I didn't think we'd be out there that long, but at least it was pretty warm) on wet pavement. She had a blast! When we got inside her pants were soaked up to her ankles, but it was so much fun. I'm lucky to have a girl that doesn't mind getting dirty...even if it bugs her mom.

Last night the we had the sweetest experience as a family. At dinner time, Doug and I each took one of Vivi's hands to say the prayer before dinner. And she actually held our hands (before she just ripped them away). Progress! Then before bed we all sat down in our big leather chair for stories and afterward I said 'Time for prayer.' Right away, she reached for Doug's hand and then turned around and reached for my hand so we could hold hands again! Progress progress! I couldn't believe it. I actually got a little choked up and had trouble starting the prayer.

After the prayer, it was time for bed. We've been working on our kisses (she doesn't really like to get or give kisses) so we took this as an opportunity to practice. At first she was a reluctant, but when I demonstrated on Doug, she leaned forward and let Doug kiss her lips. Then it was mommy's turn and she did the same. It easily turned into a game where she just went back and forth getting kisses from mommy and papa. At one point with me, she actually pursed her lips. So cute. I did have to play defense a couple times when she got too overzealous and started biting my lip, but mostly it was all love.

We need to have evenings like that more often...

The family that smells each others armpits...

This morning I went to work and Vivi stayed home with Doug. I realized part way through the morning that I forgot to put deoderant on (you know how it is when you get out of routine, right?). Sorry all the folks at the Y, but I don't think it got too bad. Anyway, when I got home, Vivi and Doug had been playing all morning and when I went to give Doug a hug, he said "uh, I haven't showered yet today."

"I can't smell you, I don't care. Give me a hug," I said.

"Are you sure? Smell me," he said.

So he lifted his arm and I did. Honestly, not an uncommon sight in our house. I did what any good wife does, and stuck my nose in his armpit. Honestly, honestly: the only reason I do it at all is because he rarely smells bad to me.

Anyway, so I said I wanted a hug and he said something like "well, you forgot to put deoderant on today, so maybe I don't want to hug you." So what did I say?

"Smell me..." I said as I lifted my arm. Apparently, he did understand the reciprocal nature of this deal, but he refused nonetheless.

All of this occurred as I'm holding Vivi. We both laughed and not wanting to leave Vivi out, I said to her "Your turn!"

And what did she do?! She lifted up her arm so Doug could stick his nose in her armpit. She smelled like a rose of course :) Doug and I both cracked up. So I concluded that the family that smells eachothers armpits stays together!

This past weekend we took Vivi to Pullman for her first Cougs game in Martin Stadium. We had a ton of fun as you can see from the pics! She's definitely a future Coug!

Triumph and Tragedy

Ok, maybe that title is a little dramatic.

Triumph: Yesterday Vivi officially found her eyes! She was playing with her stuffed lion (which is still a 'kitty') and I asked her where the kitty's eyes were...and she pointed to its eyes! Then I asked her where her eyes were and she pointed to her eyes! Wanting to push my luck, I took off my glasses (she's prolific glasses grabber) and asked her where mommy's eyes were...she pointed to the glasses in my hand :) She's so smart.

Another triumph was that she woke up just jibber-jabbering away. She woke me up with her usual 'Hi-yo' (hello) and when she knew she had my attention she literally said 'jibber jabba jibba gibba jabba...etc.' for about 30 seconds. She let me ask her questions and then she answered with more jibber-jabba, it was the funniest thing. I'm glad she's talkative and I know she knows exactly what I'm saying most of the time. Sometimes she can definitely express what she wants or doesn't want, but we will both be so much better off when she can TELL me what's going on.

Tragedy: One of my goals in staying home was to cook more non-ready-to-eat-meals (as found in your frozen food section, etc) for health and financial reasons. I'm happy to report that I think we are eating healthier as evidenced by the fact that both Doug and I have lost weight and I rarely make frozen meals. However, yesterday I went through our family ledger and added up our grocery bill and it wasn't any lower than it had been previously. Which sucks. I was really hoping I was saving my family money by not buying certain things, but it doesn't look like it. I knew I could do a better job, but I thought I was doing a better job than that.

After I got over the initial disappointment, I realized I need to make some changes. And I also need to ask for help from people who know better than me how to feed a family on a budget. Any ideas?