Ketchup 9/8

It’s been an extremely busy, fun, productive and did I mention BUSY last couple of weeks! Life has gotten busy!! Here’s a recap of what I can remember:

*Kalaya has finally, FINALLY decided she’s ready to use the potty. For those of you that don’t know, this has been one of the biggest frustrations of my life. Things were bad folks. Every time she was successful on the potty (and this was only with extreme force or bribery) she cried like her heart was broken and the world was coming to an end. It was so bad that we took it to the pediatrician, who determined there was something much more emotional attached to the potty and wearing diapers for her, some kind of security issue and we were to let it go and wait until SHE decided to be ready. Well, we’re getting there!! Lots of regular times on the potty lately, dry pants during the day, asking to go and lots of stickers going on the sticker chart! This is HUGE!!! (still flat out no #2 on the potty, but I’ll take what I can get. Luckily, her preschool is willing to work with us)

*I have been pinterest project crazy! Mainly in the kitchen. I’m trying to save more and more money by making as much as I can from scratch and/or buying in bulk. My freezer is filling up! I’ve made: 15 quarts of chicken stock, a quart of greek yogurt every other week, multiple muffin recipes, cookies, make ahead breakfasts, hummus, whole wheat sandwich bread every other week, granola bars, and some 10 or so different types of baby food; spinach, pears, mangos, apricots, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, prunes, broccoli, cauliflower, peaches, plums, blueberries, raspberries, kale, and carrots. I’m trying to lower our monthly grocery budget even more, now that we have a small car payment!

*We are LOVING having a mini-van. Nelson makes fun of me for how happy the new van is making me, but it’s AWESOME!!

*We had a fun Labor Day weekend, which included a trip to the beach, visits to both sets of grandparents and an unplanned FREE trip to the Oregon State Fair! Highlights included catching teeny fish in a sand pail, making a nest in the sand, watching the goats climb on a see saw, petting a llama that had ‘just had a bath’, seeing the bunnies and ducks, tasting strawberry lemonade, eating ice cream and having a picnic. (I’ll let you decide which activity happened where)

*Jakiah is 7 months and MOBILE! I’ll try to post a (late) update for him in the next couple of days, I hope.

*Pre school has started!! Again, another post in a couple of days.