Back Blogging....Joe's Birthday

On April 22, Joseph Edward turned the Big 5!  His birthday was celebrated on four separate occasions.

On his actual birthday, we went out as a family to a restaurant of his choosing....he chose SUSHI!  The sushi chefs sang him happy birthday and shot us with water guns and spray bottles!

Then we had a Transformers birthday party at the house with all his friends.

Not a big affair.....just 18 or so kids!

The next week we celebrated at school.

Ruby got to join Joe in his birthday snack.

Then we had a family birthday celebration at grandma's.

There was plenty of sugar......

Tons of gifts........

And fun with the cousins on all of grandma's cool toys.

And Uncle Sam wrote and sang him a song about being 5!

(Now just have to learn how to upload videos)

Kindergarten.....Here We Come!

Yesterday I attended Joseph's preschool graduation.  I am so thankful for the wonderful start he got in preschool.  I was never really worried about his academics, but wanted him to learn about the rules and routines of a classroom and how to interact with his peers.  I have seen him grow and mature as a student.  From this little guy, on the first day in August of 2009 (where he ran into the classroom and didn't even say good-bye):

To this big kid, ready to move on to kindergarten in just 12 short weeks:

He has had wonderful teachers and made some great buddies.

We are so proud of him!

So with diploma in hand, regristration completed, immunizations updated, physical and dental paperwork turned in, and teacher request submitted..............kindergarten here we come!



Blog lag

Well, it has been almost 2 months since my last blog post, but I will not be racked with guilt!  I am holding firm to truth that "There is therefore now no condemnation (even for blog neglect) for those who are in Christ Jesus." Sometimes there is so much life going on, that there is not enough time to post about said life wth cute quips and well-cropped photos.  In the last 2 months the Bronsten Bunch has been up to....well, a bunch!  And I am hoping to "back-blog" on some of them, like.....

Registering Joe for kindergarten and Ruby for preschool
The end of t-ball season
Joe celebrating the big 5
Ruby making big girl changes into a big bed and potty training

Add in a couple of holidays, out of town trips and a stomach bug that wiped out a week of our lives and you can see why blogging just wasn't on the radar! 

Muddy Fun

Rain Water + Sand Box = Muddy Fun!

Coupon Education

Anyone that knows me a little bit knows that I am a coupon using gal. If spending some time clipping, organizing, and planning my shopping trips (and carrying around a big coupon binder) means that I can save money, stay out of debt, and stay home with my kids....I am going to do it.  Plus, I think it is kinda fun to put scenarios together and try to get the most for my buck. 

Every once in a while there's a little glitch....sometimes on my end, sometimes on the store's end.  Today, I had such a glitch at my local drugstore (which will remain nameless, but there's only one drugstore in our little town....so you could probably figure it out) and I had to "educate" a manager.  Just thought I would pass on the information:

a.) a coupon is a form of payment.  When a store receives a manufacturer's coupon the manufacturer reimburses the store the value of the coupon PLUS a handling fee.  I AM NOT STEALING FROM YOU WHEN I USE A COUPON, you will get the full price plus some once you turn in the coupon.

b.) If someone buys something and uses a coupon, and then decides to return it with a reciept, you cannot deduct the coupon amount from the return unless you dig into your drawer and give me my coupon back....THAT COUPON IS MONEY HONEY!

Don't worry, I didn't raise my voice or make a big stink, I just wanted what was fair.....either return my coupons or give me the money for the items, it is all the same to me.  He finally did see what I was saying once he visited the all-knowing higher ups in the back of the store, or something.  I thanked him for his time and patience, and I hope he doesn't cringe when he sees me again.  But then again I hope he will think twice about blowing hot air in my face to try avoid making a situation right. 

I think a lot of retailers would do better if they saw couponers as an asset.  I frequent that store (never did before I couponed) and encourage others to shop there with coupons and taking advantage of their promotions.....people who might not have ever gone there for much before....just sayin', you might want to listen to this Crazy Coupon Lady! 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, mine grows something like this:
1.  When my birthday gets near and I begin to smell orange blossoms in the air, I start dreaming and planning what I want to plant in our little horseshoe shaped veggie garden.

2. I go outside to dream a little more and am struck by this mess:

We purchased star jasmine at a nursery.  And this is what grew....huge enormous palms, go figure!

and this overgrowth of weeds and the much-hated mint.  (Warning to all potential gardeners: mint should never be planted in an open bed.  It must be contained, contained, contained.  It spreads and infests everything around it and no matter how you try to irradicate it, it somehow always returns.  It is like an overplayed, annoying, yet catchy pop song that you can't get out of your head....but I digress)

3.  I remember that I have ignored the garden for several months (like I have EVERY winter since the garden was created) and now have many hours of work ahead of me before I can even think about planting anything.

4.  I enlist the child labor at my disposal, and make a considerable dent in the weed, rotten tomatoes, and petrified bean mess.

It was great being out there with them.  It makes me excited for my favorite time of year, when we live outside and it is not blistering hot.  The garden is such a wonderful place for the kids and I to work together.  They are being helpful contributors to a family project, getting a chance to explore and interact with their environment, and best of all getting dirty!  And I am a firm believer that dirty kids are happy and engaged kids!

And best of all, they are much more inclined to eat the veggies we grow than ones I purchase and plop on  their plates!  I have a fond memory of Joe as a toddler eating "woo-gala" (arugula) straight out of the garden.  When we were cleaning up out there we found some green onions that had survived all the weeds and the kids picked them immediately and started eating!

Looking forward to a lot of fresh veggies this spring and summer once I get the garden cleaned up! 

T-Ball Antics

Joe had his first t-ball scrimmage last night.  And if it was any indication we are going to be laughing our way through this season.  Where to begin......
When the other team was at bat, Joe was suppose to be in left field, but as the game progressed he inched his way into the infield.  He spent most of his time alternating between playing in the grass as a ball rolled right past him and running after every ball even if it was on the other side of the field.  He even had a wrestling match with two other boys from HIS TEAM over who would get a ball!  Oh yeah, and right after this picture was taken he started doing the pee-pee dance and Dan had to rush him to a tree or something because there wasn't an available bathroom within a 200 yard radius.

His first time at bat, he walked from the dugout to home plate, hitting his batting helmet with his bat.  So much bravado for such an inexperienced player!  He insists on facing forward when he bats no matter how many times his coaches crane his body to a sideways position. 

 After a swing-miss-twirl with the ball on the tee, he made contact and started running, but before getting to 1st base he threw himself down on the dirt and laid there face down until a coach came and got him up.



I don't know if you can see him laying there.  I was laughing so hard I am surprised I got a shot at all!

When the next boy came up to bat and hit the ball, Joe ran towards 2nd base, but kinda curved past it and went to straight to 3rd.  When the next player came up and hit, Joe just stood on 3rd base until he was lapped by the boy behind him and got a clue that he was suppose to run home!  His second time at bat was a little more conventional, although I cannot for the life of me understand why he thinks he needs to slide into every base and have a dramatic tag.  

 So, if you want to see #8 in a game and laugh along with us, here's his game schedule:

3-5 @ 2pm

3-7 @ 5:30 pm

3-12 @ 1:30 pm

3-14 @ 5:30 pm

3-19 @ 10:30 am

3-21 @ 5:30 pm

3-26 @ 9:00 am

3-28 @ 5:30 pm

4-2 @ 9:00 am

4-4 @ 5:30 pm

4-9 @ 1:30 pm

4-11 @ 5:30 pm

4-16 @ 1:30 pm

4-18@ 5:30 pm

4-25 @ 5:30 pm

You can cheer with Joe as he chants, "T-Ball!  T-Ball!"