Jaxon says...

Kuh-kuh for Tukker
pup-peeeeee for puppy
wub-ee for love me (which means love you)
Dah-ee for Daddy
Dee-dih for Katydid
mon for come on
bah bah means put it back
mo-mo for some more
yeth for yes
peeth for please

I'll add more after we talk tomorrow.
BTW his lisp, which I thought was absolutely adorable and had no plans to "fix" till he started complaining about the ceaseless taunting of his junior high peers, seems to be fading.
But I'll keep working on it. ;)

YUM!

This was in the local paper a few weeks ago. I was dying to try it.
So much so that I checked about 7 different stores to find the lemongrass and the red lentils. You'd never know we live in a "big city" as hard as it is to find recipe ingredients sometimes. ugh!
The soup was delicious. This recipe makes about 4 conservative servings.

Rich and spicy coconut lentil soup
2 tablespoons safflower oil
2 leeks, white parts only, washed well and diced
1 jalapeño chili or bird's eye chili, seeded and finely diced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh lemongrass, outer layers removed and inside diced
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
3 3/4 cups vegetable stock or water
Juice from 1 lime
3 1/2 green onions, chopped
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Naan or other flatbread, optional
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Sauté leeks, chili, garlic and lemongrass for 5 minutes, until onions are softened but not brown, stirring occasionally. Add lentils and spices to the pan. Stir in the coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil, stir, and then reduce heat. Allow mixture to simmer for 45 minutes until lentils are soft, almost mushy. Add about three-fourths of the lime juice, green onions and cilantro, reserving a bit of each ingredient for garnish. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle bowls and garnish with additional lime juice, green onions and cilantro. Serve with flatbread.
Source: Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

My sewing machine has been SMOKIN'!!

For Easter, I made matching dresses for the grandbabies. I guess I'm THAT kind of Grandma. Years from now they'll sit around and talk about their crazy Grandma who made them matching dresses. LOL

Anyway, I got the idea to make dresses out of pillowcases from a couple of sites on the web. I didn't have any pillowcases that were worthy. So first I made pillowcases which I then turned into dresses. (Approximate cost: $2 each. )

The Dresses

The Sneak Preview

The Big Debut!

Okay. So it was today that I gave them the dresses. A full week past Easter. So sue me!
BTW Sorry about the redeye. I'm on the dinosaur computer that I can't edit pics on.
Aren't they positively adorable?!?! I'm satisfied with the way the dresses turned out too.

Golden Spike National Historic Site

The weekend before Grandpa went back to West Virginia we took a day trip to see some trains. Actually, it turned out we didn't see many trains at all but we did have fun learning about the transcontinental railroad and the story behind it.
We packed picnic lunches but it was so cold we had to eat them in the truck.
Emily was most excited about the gift shop. She just wanted to buy something, anything, with her allowance money. We obviously have alot to teach her yet about money. ;)Below is one of the only two trains we actually got to see. These are replicas of the trains that met that day on the tracks when the golden spike was driven to join the two railroads. It will be fun to go back during the summer when they use these engines to re-enact that day. Too bad Grandpa couldn't have seen that.

On our way out of the historic site area we came across a herd of deer near the road. There must have been a hundred of them!

Customized cash envelope system!

I wouldn't say we're Dave Ramsey FANATICS. But he has taught us alot about money! And how to be the boss of ours. One of the lessons is to convert to a cash system. It is AMAZING how much money this simple change has saved us! There's just some kind of mental THING that happens when you're deciding if you want to buy something and then you open up your cash envelope and decide you don't want to empty it for anything you don't REALLY need or DESPERATELY want.

While I love the cash envelope system...the paper envelopes? Not so much.


So late one night I was very tempted to order Dave Ramsey's own fancy schmancy envelope system off the internet. But while I was mulling it over I came across some not so great reviews of the product and decided to hold off. See what thinking about where your money goes can do to you?


That same night, as I was awaiting sweet slumber, I was STRUCK with an idea! I could make one! One that fits perfectly in my purse and is customized to my own needs. YES! I had the whole thing completely designed in my head by the time the sand man arrived. And the very next day I created this! (You'll recognize the fabric from the costume I made for Kenzie back in December. And that button? That's from Kenzie's coat when she was a wee, small girl. See how CRAZY frugal I've become?!?)

It is purposely shorter than a paper envelope because I have a smallish purse. I was standing the paper envelopes up on thier ends in my purse and that was driving me nuts.

And it's a little taller than a paper envelope to accomodate checks that I take to the bank for deposit.

Some fellow finance reformers are interested in buying these from me. See? A good idea and a source of $$$ to pay down debt. Not too shabby!

Pardon my serial posting....

I have alot to catch up on!
Let's see about March....
We are still cruising right along with our plan to eliminate debt. In the first quarter of this year we have knocked out over $4K in credit card debt. woohooo!
And some of the credit card companies did not want to conform to our demands for lower rates and fees so we cancelled them. That'll show them! LOL This is what a few dead credit cards looks like. It FEELS so good!

Grandpa and Dinosaurs! What more could a boy want?

I took Grandpa, Jaxon and Tukker to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point today.

We had a good time. Jaxon worked on digging up some dinosaur bones as soon as we got there.

Grandpa supervised!

They met up with lot's of great big dinosaurs and a SHARK!!

And Tukker is as big as a dinosaur's toe!