Kaisa had her first Easter yesterday, and it was so fun! Here are a few pics of our Easter day:
Here is what the Easter Bunny left for Kaisa (and the dress is from Grandma Judd).
Kaisa went right for her “puppy,” as she calls it. It’s really a pink lamb. Next, she went for the fruit snacks.
Kaisa won’t leave this cute headband on for more than two seconds. :)
Who could resist this face? (Yes, I made the headband!)
Here is Kaisa in her new Easter Headband, Onesie, and Socks. The only way we could get her to stick around for these pictures was to feed her fruit snacks, and here she’s got a mouthful and is wanting more.
This is the centerpiece I made for my Easter dinner. I grew the wheat grass myself! (Thanks for the idea, Natalie!)
Kaisa’s Easter Dress! What a Cutie!
I shot this as Kaisa was walking toward me and reaching for something I had in my hand to entice her. Doesn’t she look like a little ballerina? So cute!
All-in-all, it was a great day! How wonderful to have a special day dedicated to our Savior and remembering the sacrifice He made for us. I am so grateful for my family and that I can be with them forever through Jesus Christ!
Three years ago today Nathan and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple. I thank Heavenly Father every night for this wonderful man. He has changed me and made me better in so many ways. I am so fortunate to have someone so loving, kind, honorable, and hard working to share my life with. I love you, sweetheart! Happy Anniversary!
I was thinking today about some of the funny things I do to save or avoid spending money. Keep in mind that these aren’t just things I thought of…these are things I ACTUALLY do. Pretty sad, huh?
To avoid buying mp3’s of songs I like, I find people’s blogs that have good music, plug my speakers into my computer, crank up the volume…and listen all day!
I learned from Patricia Stevenson that the library doesn’t just check out books…they have toys, DVD’s, CD’s, and even sheet music! Thus, I’ve been going there a lot more lately.
I shop Craigslist and KSL constantly. If I can’t get it used there, I usually won’t buy it.
I rent movies from Redbox using the free codes. I can’t remember the last time I went to Hollywood Video.
I had this pair of black boots that I loved. I bought them in 2003, and after two winters they started to get holes in the seams at the heel. I sewed the holes up and I still wear them because boots are so expensive!
I accompany for myself while teaching voice to I don’t have to pay a pianist. Hey, it keeps costs down for my students, right?!
I make jewelry, headbands, cards, and invitations. (I occasionally break this rule when I see something super cute that I can’t make or when I find a really good deal.)
I have to admit it…I am a “party” addict. I have had them all…Pampered Chef, Lia Sophia, Close To My Heart, Arbonne…I just can’t turn down those hostess deals!
Anytime I am invited somewhere for dinner, I accept. I can’t turn down free food. Plus, I don’t have to cook! We’ve been to the MasterGuard fire safety dinner three times, even though we got the alarms after the first dinner.
I’m an avid coupon clipper. I keep all my coupons with me all the time, just in case.
When my jeans shrink, I cut them off and wear them as capris instead of getting rid of them.
I sew patches in the seats of our pants so we can wear them longer. Why is it that the first place you always get a hole is by the back pocket? Why can’t it be the calf or somewhere else that wouldn’t reveal your backside?
If I need more than one thing from Robert’s I go there every day of the week and buy one of the things I need so I can get them all at 40% off. Sometimes I even bring Nathan with me and we go through the line separately so we can each get the 40% off.
9 times out of 10, we eat out somewhere that we have a coupon or discount for. We are shameless Starving Student Card holders, even though neither of us are students any more!
I use cheap diapers during the day and Pampers only at night.
So what kinds of crazy things do you do to avoid spending money?
Coming home from my brother’s bagpipe concert at Provo’s Library (great job Matthew!) we saw the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile, of all the things. Although Kaisa was up past her bedtime we thought it was important enough to ketchup to the big dog. She may not have this opportunity again! We want Kaisa to grow up a well-rounded individual and good parents don’t pass up cultural icons…And we wanted to see it too!
I like daylight savings. I woke up at a little after 5:00 this morning and read blogs/news, ate breakfast, etc. But DST isn’t as friendly to everyone. Fiona was still in bed when I left for work at 7:20-ish (the old 6:20, or is it 8:20?)…Hopefully Kaisa will adjust well. She went to bed early on Saturday **6:30!** so I could go to Fiona’s concert (great solo/duet Babe!) and she only took a short nap yesterday. Anyway — Overall I really like daylight savings — Not so much the lost hour of sleep, or going to work in the dark, or the overall grogginess of society, but because it means to me that spring is almost here! Well, at least it did…
So far, I’m doing great with this goal, and it’s been really fun to try different sugar alternatives and snacks. It has given shopping a whole new twist as I scan the ingredients of every box to see what might be inside!
On Monday I went to Walmart and discovered a new drink mix that tastes wonderful and doesn’t contain sugar or aspartame. It’s called Aqua Fusion and it comes in Cranberry (which I love!), Raspberry, Strawberry, Orange, and Lemon flavors. They actually taste just like Crystal Light! And the price is comparable to their On the Go packets. I wish they made this in those 2 quart 6-packs that Crystal Light has, though. We recently purchased a Reverse Osmosis water system and it’s so convenient to fill my water bottles with that and pour a packet in before I go to work out or when I need a sweet pick-me-up.
Another snack I have enjoyed is Mariani Dried Apricots (No Sugar Added) from Costco. A big bas was about $7.50, and let me tell you…these things are delicious! “Dried” is not really the right term, because these are so moist and delicious! I could eat them all day! I also enjoy sugar-free fruity yogurt for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. However, I found out that Yoplait Light is sweetened with Aspartame, so go with the generic Kroger brand at Smith’s. They use Splenda (sucralose).
Finally, I made myself some sugar-free oatmeal cookies yesterday! They are actually quite good! I used brown sugar and Altern (generic Splenda). Altern doesn’t melt like sugar does, so the cookies turned out a little dry and didn’t spread out like regular ones do, but the flavor was almost the same. Here are some pictures:
Above you can see the sweetener I used, along with the cookies before and after baking. The first batch turned out smaller and taller because I didn’t realize they wouldn’t melt and spread. I used a glass to flatten the following batches, and that made the shape more cookie-like.
Above you can see Anya (the girl I babysit) and Kaisa enjoying the cookies!
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