An utter failure

I thought September would be a good month to try and stick within a budget for our food expenses. Since Wednesday is the last day of this month, I guess I should take a good hard look at how I did.

My friends, I give myself a BIG FAT F.

But, I have to give myself a break. Being "Gluten Free" is expensive. And, I didn't go to Whole Foods this month, so I have basically been starving for the past 4 weeks (ok, not that bad, but I've generally been eating the atkins diet b/c of no carbs).

But, there are a lot of things I did learn. People in my neighborhood are CRAZY budgeters. I took a poll at a park earlier this month, and they all said they spent $250-300 a MONTH in SILICON VALLEY for food? This is crazy to me.

(with the caveat that their husbands don't eat with them, or they have a really small appetite?!)

Anyway, we easily double this budget. I won't lie. We like food, and I guess unless you compare budget to budget, you won't really know if everyone is equal. For example, I include diapers, wipes, shampoo, toiletries in my "grocery budget" and some people don't.

And- we hardly EVER eat out. Our eating out consists of "Sweet Tomatoes" when we get the $9.00 coupon for our family in the mail. So, we basically eat in the Leeflang CASA every beautiful day :)

I'm glad I tried this experiment b/c I've definitely reigned in on my splurges, but I think we've both also realized that we just can't say goodbye to some good food that makes our days just that much better.

(Don't you love how I've just justified my expenses?! Ha ha ha)

This week

Last weekend, Emilie and I were pounded with a virus. I haven't been that sick in a while... which has been really great with sleepless nights! It has taken me 5 days to fully recover and get myself and the girls back to normal. The bad news- I think Steve finally got it :)

Saturday, I drove up to San Francisco, and learned/relearned photography tips all day. It was SO awesome(even though I was so sick). We sat in the classroom for the morning and then took shots of a model and worked outside for the afternoon. Here was our fancy model !

It's funny- he is the first person I know that looks better on camera rather than person?! Is that rude to say? Almost everyone I know is the opposite- so it was incredible to see him tranform behind a lens.

I also had a trim this week with Melanie at the Academy of Salon Professionals- she was FABULOUS. If you're in the area, and need something done to your hair- I would wholeheartedly recommend her. (Keep in mind, that they are students and are still learning, but they have a teacher watching over... and it is DIRT CHEAP). Click here for more info: http://www.academyforsalonprofessionals.com/afsp_salon.html . They get scheduled up pretty fast... so just give them a call and say you want to get a cut with Melanie.

Maddie's arm hurts this week, or does it? Yesterday she fell on it and hasn't been moving it for more than 24 hours. I would totally take her to the doctor, but she tends to be on the dramatic side, so I'm going to wait. Last time this happened, I completely believed that I must have broken her arm because she wouldn't move it for 72 hours, but after the 4th day, she was back to normal. This girl is going to win an Oscar someday.

Steve has been working pretty hard lately, and will be going to Minneapolis and then Berlin the beginning of October. He is really excited about his new project coming up...

After having the same cell phone since the Dinosaur Age, I got a new phone. I was really tempted to get an IPhone, but given my track record for losing/breaking/destroying keys or wallets or cell phones, I decided that it's not worth it. When my kids are older and I am more with it, I'll go for the gold. But, for now, this is what I got. Pretty run of the mill, and has a keyboard, which I am REALLY excited about.

Good things

We've had some good times around here. Riding our bikes, planting in the backyard, making yummy dinners, hanging out with friends... it doesn't get better than this.

When it's good, it's nice to soak it all in. For some reason, the stars have alligned this week- kids have been sleeping, which has led to more energy and patience, and thus just happiness all around ! Thank you Emilie :)

One more thing to clean?

Much of life is repetitive. Cleaning the dishes, waking up/taking shower/washing teeth, working out, fixing the car, going to work, taking care of the temporal needs of children... it is easy to be dragged down in the monotony of it all.

But, it's the people that find the joy in this simple stuff that are the most happy. My friend sent me an article reminding me of this, and I am so thankful for it. I have been making a major effort to enjoy these moments and it has made a big difference. Your whole outlook changes and so does your mood!

If you ever want to be inspired by the ordinary- check out this blog- http://colormekatie.blogspot.com. She is so creative, it kills me.

First Day of School

Maddie started her first day of "school" today! School = 4 hours a week, 2 hours on Tuesday and Thursday. (So, it's not much of school, but it's a perfect introduction for her age)

This is Dinah. Her favorite animal... and of course we couldn't leave her out of the excitement.

Getting excited before the doors opened...

Her peers- a dashing group of future world leaders ;)

This picture is hilarious- I just love how the kids attention spans are about 2.5 miliseconds.

She had a fabulous time. Who wouldn't have fun? Snacks, constant entertainment, crafts, recess, dancing, singing, new friends?

A wild imagination

This morning I left for a photo shoot (which was so much fun), and came back to find Steve replaced as Prince Eric, Maddie as Ariel and I was the Sea Witch... no maybe flounder.

What happened? Steve and Maddie watched 1 Youtube clip from The Little Mermaid, and it was all over. Just 1. The rest of the day, Maddie danced around the house and followed Steve saying "Eric? Eric? Where are you Eric?" And poor Steve would have to say "Yes, Ariel?"

Oh dear. I think this all started last week when we rollplayed the Daniel in the Lions den story from the bible where we alternated parts (the lions, the king, and of course Daniel.)

When your kids start doing things like this, don't you wonder what they are going to do when they grow up? We think she'll be an actress /singer /dancer /performer... but who knows? Maybe she's just really creative and will like to invent things like her dad.

But for now, we are trying to hide our smiles and play our roles with poise worthy of her approval!

Bummer of a day

Somedays the stars align where you want to break out in song and conquor the world. Somedays they don't. Today is one of those days that I just want to crawl under my big down comforter and lay there until tomorrow.

Or maybe, curl up around Maddie while she watches Sleeping Beauty and Emilie takes a nap. That's our agenda for today.

Funny Sayings

Bill Cosby was right- kids do say funny things. But, when they're your kids, it is just that much funnier. Maddie is a crack up. These are my favorites over this past week.

1. (Caveat: I say "Do it Rockapella" a lot throughout my day- because I used to love the show "Where in world is Carmen San Diego?" when I was a kid... and they had an a'cappella band on it that was called "Rockapella." Whenever the band would come on they would say "Do it Rockapella.")

Me: Let's do it Rockapella
Maddie: (mad face) I'm not a Rockapella!

2. Me: Exhausted face when cleaning the kitchen
Maddie: What's wrong mom?
Me: I'm tired.
Maddie: Oh, you're tired?
Me: Yup
Maddie: Do you need a break?

3. Maddie: What's that? (while pointing at the nasty varicose vein that has started to show on my leg)
Me: A special vein that only mom has. (urgh!)