My favorite hipster

Sad hipster :(

Hipster going to grab some meatballs and salmon tacos. YUMZ.
Hipster LUVS Hipster food!

Pic365: day 17

Just in case anyone reading thought that Everett was a perfect angel, here's proof otherwise :) He was smiling JUST before this, until Savannah took his toy... so this is all the camera got :)

Pic365: day 16

Ok so now I'm caught up :) Sorry about the delay...We've been busy and tired people this week. We got in a car accident too! We're all fine though. I'll probably post a picture of the car tomorrow. We haven't taken a picture yet.



This is from today when I couldn't find Everett... he just disappeared and it was quiet. Quiet with a toddler=bad. But not this time, he just went the their chair by the xbox and was mimicking papa and pretending he was playing and watching a black screen. Funny kid :)

Oh and the stickers on the other chair? One of Savannah's favorite things to do. Ugh, oh well. They're only this age once. And the chairs don't really matter, they were almost free after all. But these kids need a yard.

Pic365: day 15

I forgot the camera at home when we took the kids to a crazy wild indoor play area yesterday. It was for a little boy 1 yr old birthday party with my friend Jamie and her family. Maybe she'll send me the pictures they took ;)
This picture was from late the night before...too cute...

Pic365: day 14

Pic365: day 13

Finally found the spot in our little apartment for this Christmas gift - an Amish made quilted decoration with three little pockets :) from Marilee. At least that's where it's at for now :)

Pic365: day 12

EVERETT'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!
Wowee he's grown up a lot!
I just reread the post I wrote after he was born... about his birth. It seems like yesterday!

He got a practice candle on his bagel snack - technically it was MY bagel and he only poked holes in it and licked some cream cheese off, but I digress...

And then the cake - German chocolate - which is named after a man surnamed German, not from Germany - with chocolate cream cheese frosting. I was gonna make an apple carrot cake like I did for Savannah's first birthday but honestly with it being just for us, I can't handle that much apple-carrot.
He didn't blow out his candle. He spit a little though.
And he didn't smash it into his face. He's been eating real food a lot longer than most 1 year olds, I think... so he's an old pro using a fork.

Pic365: day 11

Baby's First Haircut!



Nope not that baby... he already had his first haircut...
It's my first baby's first haircut.

BEFORE:

AFTER:



And just too cute to pass up:

Pic365: day 10

Snow in Charlotte

Everett playing drums. And snow.

This is the video of Everett playing the drums he got for Christmas. He "plays" a little bit everyday :)

Here's what Savannah thought of our snow after Christmas:

Here was what Everett thought of our snow after Christmas:

Pic365: day 9

Today:

Everett is usually just in a diaper at home lately... the apartment is too hot for him. He just cries when we make him wear clothes - he turns bright red and tries to take them off. He smiles for the camera now but doesn't usually stand in one place like this. Oh yea, and today Savannah has been trying to marry Everett.

Pic365: day 8

so i lied yesterday. about posting last night.
i think everett's next molar is arriving - he's been crank-tastic.

so last night's picture was a surprise. i thought i was going to get a really good picture of kitten and this is what i got:

oh yea. everett grabbed the camera earlier in the day... and apparently has greasy little kid fingers. so then i had to find the lens cleaner and lint free cloth etc. and then clean it and then took some pictures of everett but he was cranky and i lost my motivation. so this picture really describes yesterday well.

Pic365: day 7

Picture from yesterday. I was too exhausted to put it up last night. It's Everett in his lumberjack onesie. Or Grandpa Rob onesie, if you like.
Today's will be up later tonight.

Pic365: day 6

First of all. I'm trying to decide how to deal with privacy. I'm thinking of posting here when I have the daily picture with a link to see it on Flickr. Otherwise I can't control who takes my pictures and does goodness-know-what with them. I am researching what other people do to protect photos on blogs.
Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the new atmosphere here. Very brown. Very awesome.
Blue was so 2010.
Brown is the new blue.

Picture today.... Drumroll.....
Savannah again! She is really loving getting her picture taken lately. And Everett is really hard to catch. He's moving too fast. His favorite evening activity is walking fast up and down the hall with food in his hand. But at bedtime, this is how Savannah is always found:

pic365 day 5

Paperdolls during Everett's naptime

Pic365: day 4

From today. Heavily edited, thankyou picasa. I guess you could say nothing was very photoworthy today. Or perhaps, since my glasses are broken and I can't see, it just appears that way to me :)

Everett's eyes

This picture from a few days ago was worth blowing up to show everyone Everett's amazing eyes. I am biased but I think you'll agree it's very interesting.

Blown up, you can see that Everett has central heterochromia AND heterochromia (partial?). It's still hard to see in the photo but it's hard to get a good picture of Everett :) Wikipedia:Heterochromia

See on the left? It's got a different color blue immediately surrounding the iris in the center than the blue further away by the whites if his eyes? And on the right, it's a green circle around the iris with blue beyond it.




Above is Savannah's eyes. She's got blue eyes with what looks like solar flares or fire in different shades of blue.




My eyes above, with a strange greenish/brown/olive color in the center. Everett gets his central heterochromia from me! :)



And Savannah gets the wild solar flare pattern from Jesse. Except his eyes are clearly hazel/green. :) He's got a little bit of sectoral heterochromia too - amber colored.

I hope this has been educational for everyone :) I find it very interesting :)

Pic365: day 3

Today's official picture:


Pictured is: Savannah age 3.69 today, her Christmas ornament she's in love with from Allison and Isaac and boys, the edge of a blue book we got for Christmas (awesome book), and the sad remains of a gingerbread house post-Christmas.

Pic365: day 2

Cleaning out the toy box...

Pic365: Commence

Since I'm going to try to post regularly, I figured I needed something more specific for a goal. So I'm going to try to take a picture every day this year. Or more specifically, someone in our house will take a picture.
I'm not a photographer.
And I don't have a great camera (it's better than last year's camera *thanks mom!* but it's still just a point and shoot).
But I can document each day with a flash of light.
I may write with each picture. I may not. I may edit the photos. I may not. Rules suck. So they're not invited.
So that's the plan.
Now to catch up on days.
Here's is the picture from January 1st:

P.S. YOU should do this too :)

Announcing...

my intention to blog semi-regularly in 2011. Cheers to good intentions!

THREE weeks old

Everett

Our second child arrived Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 1:30am.
This is the story of his arrival.

On the Friday before Everett was born, I went to the chiropractor and that evening I started having contractions, 10 minutes apart but not difficult and we thought he might be born soon. But alas, no. He's tricksy like his father :)
At least all the bags were packed (over-packed really, but better safe than sorry...) and waiting in the car.

I kept having periodic contractions through the weekend and then on Monday Jesse, Savannah, and I went out and I got my hair cut at a salon for the first time in YEARS. The appointment went long and so I dropped Jesse off at work to save him time and then Savannah and I went to the grocery store. (They were having super double coupons ending on Tuesday and I wanted to try to go Monday and Tuesday.) Jesse figured that since it was the only time I'd ever dropped him off at work, that I'd for sure go into labor. Of course, he was right. And my water broke in the cereal aisle at 5:30pm. I bent down to grab some baby food and gushed. Ew. It soaked my pants but luckily there were only 2 drops of amniotic fluid on the floor. We left the cart in the aisle and left.

I called Jesse, called the midwife, called my mom, called the in-laws, and went to pick Jesse up at work. We went home and ate and I rested. After a couple of hours, I started walking around to see how intense the contractions would be and within an hour Jesse decided we should head toward the birth center. I didn't think I needed to go yet because they weren't overwhelming contractions but Jesse had a feeling things would quicken soon. And he was right. Again. After more walking and a car ride, I was starting to "cocoon" (ignore the world) by the time we settled in at the birth center around 9:30pm. Savannah had fallen asleep in the car and was sleeping on the couch in the other room. Our midwife, Damaris, got all her stuff ready and started filling the birthing pool. By the time it was full, I was quite ready to relax in water.



With Savannah's birth with midwives at the hospital, they only had a standard bathroom tub and legally could not allow you to actually give birth in the water. In contrast, a nice sized pool to move around in and change positions was great. I got in and out of the water numerous times as I was too hot and too cold and just antsy. Damaris periodically checked the baby's heart rate, I think less than half a dozen times and checked how dilated I was only two times (I think?... I wasn't really in a state of mind to keep track, at the time, hehe). With midwife in the hospital, I was "required" to have fetal heart rate monitor on constantly, but I refused :) and so she checked with the doppler often and they checked cervical dilation more too (half a dozen times? in about the same amount of time). I was very pleased with Savannah's midwife/hospital birth but I was even more satisfied and comfortable with Everett's birth at the birth center. Shameless plug: http://carolinabirth.org

I was able to relax through the contractions much easier in the water than out of it but transition was taking a LONG time -- at least twice as long as it took with Savannah. Around 11:30pm I was dilated to almost 9. And we were discussing whether or not this baby would arrive before midnight. I was hoping so. But after midnight passed and I was growing frustrated, the midwives advised that it might go faster with gravity helping me more. So I decided to get out of the water and try standing and squatting even though it was precisely what I DIDN'T want to do. It was close to impossible to stay standing or squatting through the contractions but I forced myself to try for a few minutes. During this time, I felt like pushing and when they had last checked I wasn't quite fully dilated so I needed to breathe through the contractions... which, anyone who has done this can tell you, is extremely frustrating to do.

Savannah woke up during the transition stage and we had to gauge to see if she'd be alright watching the rest of the labor and the delivery. She was just fine. A little reserved, from waking up in a strange place and watching something new and different, but fine. She went back and forth as she pleased between the birthing room and the other room where she had some of her DVDs running.

So I couldn't bear to stand or squat any longer and got back in the water again. Soon Savannah wanted to hop in the water with me and that's what we brought her swimsuit for :)



I was starting to feel very frustrated that it was taking so long (both compared to the transition stage with Savannah and "textbook" descriptions - though I know they're not really that accurate or important) and I was having more difficulty just breathing through contractions and not pushing. I asked if maybe Damaris should check to see if I was dilated enough to push yet (I was fairly confident my body was ready but I didn't want to hurt my cervix or tear anything) and she said to wait another while. I did but soon I knew my body was definitely pushing that baby even though I was breathing and NOT helping it. I reached down to see if I could feel the baby's head and I had NO idea what I was feeling... but Damaris was surprised to see his head was nearly out. Jesse said his head was dimpled and squished - I was expecting to feel something smooth. Damaris grabbed her stuff and Jesse got into catching position with Savannah right next to him to see best. I pushed with two contractions and his head was out and next contraction his body was out too. As his head was coming out, I was telling Savannah that it was just like the videos we watched of babies being born. Jesse grabbed him out of the water and then he and Damaris passed him over to me onto my chest. He was a "he" and had lots of dark straight hair and LOTS of vernix. He didn't cry at all upon being born, but peeked through his eyelids and wiggled. His apgars were great but we poked and wiggled him to get him to cry to make sure his lungs were fine and he wasn't too cold. The placenta was out shortly thereafter and we started our interesting breastfeeding adventure (maybe that will be another post, maybe). In retrospect, I figure it must have taken so much longer for Everett to make his way down the birth canal because he's so much bigger than Savannah was - more than 2 pounds bigger, so I'm thankful he wasn't my first baby. Recovery has been 10 times easier than the first time too. So all in all, I'm very thankful that God hears and answers prayers :)


They grabbed the first blanket on the stack - a pink one - before we even checked to see if the baby was a boy or girl.



Papa and Everett.
A pair of intense serious guys.



He doesn't really look 6 days old here -- holding his head up so well!

We're moving!

So I haven't been here forever. Like forever. But when big news hits, it must go somewhere. Jesse got a job in Charlotte, NC. So we're moving at the end of August. So yeah. That's about it for now. lol. Not much more to say than that.

Bloggy makeover.

If you only read me through a reader, click through and see my new makeover. Tell me what you think if you have time. Did I change too much, or not enough? I feel like I could spend so many more hours working it over (don't even ask how many hours it took...) but maybe I just need some outside opinions.

Reading to dolls

Helping Kaia take a nap.

All this last Tuesday?

Grandma and Grandpa wanted to watch Savannah while I shopped so I got to 6 stores! In just about 3 hours. Since I only shop off a list now, it's much faster. I'm starting to stock up on sales items, trying to take advantage of the sales cycles and tips I've found online.

CVS (hints)

Out of Pocket Spent: $25.92
Saved: 55%, $31.59
ECBs left: $19
Mail in rebate sent and waiting: $10
(After ECBs and rebate, earned $3.08 (plus all the loot!))

Victoria's Secret

Spent: $0
Saved: 100%, $15 plus lotion

Cub Foods

Spent: $4.30
Saved: 57%, $5.70
Plus free milk (up to $4.69) for next time! So came out pretty even.

Target

I can't find the actually receipt for Target but I *think* this is accurate within a few cents.
Spent: $18.72
Saved: 66%, $36.84
Mom paying me back $5 for 1 razor (bought 2) and 4 soups (not pictured).

Walmart

Paints were full price for Easter projects $4.64 :)
Spent: $7.58
Saved: 44%, $5.98

Walgreens (hints)

Spent: $14.48
Saved: 59%, $20.67
RRs left: $7.49
Easy Saver Rebate waiting: $5
On a side note, I was REALLY disappointed in myself when I got home and realized I forgot to check my receipt here. The checkout clerk forgot to scan two coupons and I should've separated my transaction (into 4 instead of 3) to get another $1RR. So I lost $2.20 savings here, another 2%. Hopefully next time I'll remember. :)


TOTAL SPENT: $70.68
TOTAL SAVED:$115.78
Rebates, Register Rewards, Milk, and ECBs remaining: $46.19
Mom paid me $5
Total cost this week (OOP - RR/ECBs/Rebates/Mom)= $19.49
60% savings out of pocket,
83% savings after everything!

Savings for 2009: $623.21
(starting from March 13th)

Sell your attention for $

This is a website where you get paid to look at advertising. For real!
They says they "are trying to convince consumers like us that we should be the ones controlling our own data and selling our own attention, not third parties like broadcasters, newspapers, and spammers."

It pays 5 cents to just look and it pays another 10-15 cents for clicking the link to learn more. It's even tailored to who you are and what you're interested in. As a result, I'm actually interested in most of the ads I see. I've only done it 3 days (not consecutively) and already earned $4.85. Not huge but nothing to sneeze at when DD's birthday is coming up. I think they pay every Friday, so I've been paid once so far. I'm looking forward to these ads, unlike the "unpaid" junk I see everyday. :)

Here's my referral URL if you're interested. Click this link to sign up. Just put my MeFile ID, rivkaselin, in the "Referral Code."

Shopping Adventures

Target:
I was pretty impressed with this Target run, especially since the vitamins were full price (cheaper than the coupon I had) at $8.04.
That means everything else ran me $3.04.
4 salads, 2 boxes baby safety swabs, 2 cans soup, 1 lotion, 1 wipes, 1 gummy vitamins
Total OOP: $11.08
Total saved: $10.50



CVS:
Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber $2.99
Used $2.75 off coupon
Total OOP: $0.44 (inc. tax)
Total saved: $5.25

Walgreens #1:
Chapstick @ 1.99
Edge Shaving Gel @ 2.99
Glade Candle @ 5.99
Used 2 coupons for Glade, WAGS $2, MFG $4= $6
Used RR $3 (from previous weeks)
Total OOP: $2.71
Total saved: $10
Plus $5 RR for next week



Walgreens #2:
2 Quaker Life cereals @ $2.50 each
2 Quaker Bars @ $2.50 each
Used $2 RR (Register Rewards) (from previous weeks)
Used 2 $1/2 Quaker coupons
Total OOP: $6.00
Total saved: $10
Plus $4 RR for next week.

TOTAL OOP last week: $20.23
TOTAL Saved last week: $35.75
Total RR and ECBs for rolling: $14.49

Another long weekend...

More couponing and shopping and working for Jesse. Inventory (again... how does it seem so often, when it's only monthly?). blah. So hopefully, I'll have some interesting posts next week :)
I'm sure I'll be too busy to post until then. So here's to hold you over til then:

No more snow please.

My favorite snow picture of the season, 2/21/09

Who on earth would bury their own child in snow, against their loud protestations? And then photograph it?!

So it's been a while... again :)

I just wanted to "brag" to everyone (all 4 of you now? No wait, Jesse doesn't read this, lol) that since I've been following couponing blogs and started practicing what they preach (about 20 days), I have saved 66% on our purchases.
On the one hand, I am saving lots of money by really searching out coupons on products we always buy. On the other hand, I am purchasing products that I never would have looked at before -- in order to EARN money (on overages) or to stockpile different branded products if they are free (or very close to it).
My hunter-gatherer instinct likes this. It's really a lot of fun for me. My personality is (apparently) well-suited to lists and clipping and searching etc. Things many people find tedious.
If you think this would be worth it to you, see: . This lady has got some great tutorials and advice. But, like I said, only if you've got the drive, personality, and a little time for it. (If anyone's REALLY interested, I've got a bunch more in my google blog reader).

This is for anyone who says you can't save LOTS of money clipping coupons.
Bottom line:
Full priced would've been:
$718

Spent:
$242

Saved:
$476!

**Normal budget is less than this, but this included some unusual purchases (new work clothes and shoes for Jesse, among other things) and a learning curve to the new techniques. I anticipate more success in April! :)

Getting bunnies sometime soon.

Jesse spent a good amount of time working on making a couple of hutches for our future bunnies this last weekend. It's not done yet, but that's because I made Jesse quit to watch a movie. Savannah and I drank juice and sat in the window sill watching from the warm house. I'm sure that Jesse would agree with me that it's not pretty. But why would you want to make something pretty if it's just going to get pooped on all the time? This pictures is of the bottom hutch (holds two adults) and the legs for the top hutch. You can barely see the chicken wire and we're adding a tray under the top hutch for reasons that will be most obvious to the bunnies in the bottom hutch.



Also, in case anyone reading is wondering... I have used the library bookmarklet more times than I can remember to count already. That means somewhere around 20-40 times. Yea!

The BEST THING EVER!

I am excited beyond words about my new web find. My nerdiness is exhibited most clearly by my shaking hands as I type. No joke, I think this is COOL.

Jon Udell's LibraryLookup Bookmarklet

Long story short, you can make a bookmarklet for your local library and when you are shopping on amazon or barnes and noble or other bookstores that use ISBNs (I'd venture a guess that most do), you click your new bookmarklet and up pops your library catalog and the book you were looking at. How much easier does it get to add new books to your library wishlist or request a copy to a location nearest you?
If you can't figure out his website or how to use your bookmarklets, let me know and I'll try to help.

SO COOL.
You have NO idea how often I am going to use this.
:D