I've checked out several of THESE books recommended by my awesome sister. We are enjoying them all.

Tonight I picked up a few I've been wanting to look at for a long time. They're similar to Amelia Bedelia, at least when it comes to the wordplay idea. I love the idea behind Amelia Bedelia, although they're so cheesy and I've always wondered how she could be so dumb. They never do explain that. But I love the wordplay. And I love Tedd Arnold's Parts, More Parts, and Even More Parts. The three I picked up tonight fit in great with these others. They're all by Lynne Truss.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really DO Make a Difference!
Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts!
The Girl's Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can't Manage Without Apostrophes!

And for old times sake, I checked out one of The Stupids books. Oh how I love this stupid family. I may have even been the one to start using the phrase in our family, or maybe it was mom. It became such a common thing in our family to laugh at our foibles and say, "The stupids....fill in the blank!" Like the time Mom picked Liz and me up from the airport and we stood in the elevator for five minutes talking before realizing none of us had pressed the button. "The stupids ride the elevator."

Check out this line from The Stupids Take Off:

she regularly wears Becca's pants as capris.

And I let her. Because they look awesome.

Seriously, did you know that 12 month pants can double as 3T capris? And noone but YOU will know the difference. Mwahahahaha!

Lately I've had Esther helping me with the breakfast dishes each day. She does the rinsing and when it's time to start, I usually say, "Where's my rinser girl?"

A couple of days ago I was cooking something and when I started to clean up she said, "Mom, do you need a rinser girl?"

LOVE IT.

And yesterday at the table she said, "Mom, can Becca have my chocolate bottom?"

I know. WHAT? Where did that come from?

She was eating a chocolate frosted donut and had eaten the top. She wanted to know if Becca could have the rest!

I laughed so hard and Eric and I enjoyed teased her, asking if she had a chocolate bottom.

Last night she put herself to bed at 7:20. In Becca's crib.

Oh, how I love my kids!

I've posted this on our school blog but am so excited about it and don't really think it is "schooly" so I'm posting it here too! :D

We have three kid's cookbooks (Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids, Wookiee Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook, and The Spatulatta Cookbook) and I finally got around to going through them with the girls to make a list of things we'd like to make. As we were picking, I realized what a cool opportunity this is to teach them a little about menu planning and grocery shopping. Kids love eating and they love it even more when they get to pick what they're eating and then help make it, so I think this could easily be a long-term project.

For two weeks, I let them pick:
6 lunches
6 snacks
3 desserts
3 breakfasts
and
3 drinks

I didn't want to have my entire menu taken over by this but I also wanted to gave them a decent number of recipes to try, so I feel like this is a happy medium.

Tomorrow we're going to go through the list again and I'll have them read me the ingredients so that we can make a grocery list! I think even a kid that can't read would be excited by this (you could tell them the ingredients and ask what part of the grocery list to put them in -- canned? fruits? frozen? meats?).

I could see this becoming a regular thing at our house.

So this morning I had to go to one of any sane person's least favorite places to go. The DMV. I had an appointment to take the written test (needing to have a CA license instead of a FL one). When I pulled into the parking lot at 9:30, there was a line outside, all the way down the sidewalk along the building. I started to get nervous because I had told my babysitters I would be back around 11am.

Naive?

Perhaps. But I was right all the same. Even with the monster line.

I went inside and couldn't figure out where to go at first. What is it about government places having so many signs and yet I still can't get where I need to be, first time around? The first DMV worker I spoke with said, "You don't need an appointment for the written test." My reply? "Oh, well I have a 9:40 appointment." So he directed me to another desk and said to go next to the big line at the desk, but that I didn't need to get IN line.

Okay, I can handle that.

I get to the right desk and am told to get in the big line.

I kept my cool and said I had an appointment and that I had been directed to this desk and told to go next to the big line, but not in it. The lady doesn't seem surprised. The lady doesn't seem to care one way or another actually. (But that's also typical at bursting at the seams government buildings with employees who have to deal with so many not nice people that are upset about one thing or another.) She gives me an application and a number and tells me to sit until my number is called.

I breathe a sigh of relief that I have avoided the monster line.

I didn't have long to wait after filling out my form till my number was called. Paid the fee, took a picture, gave a thumbprint, and then I took my test.

And then I took it again.

Oh well!

I'm thankful I could take it twice and thankful I didn't take it three times (which I also could have). I was out the door by 11am.

And the girls didn't even miss me. And now I will have a CA driver's license and be registered to vote in sunny CA.

I think I'll go eat lunch now.

$3.89 for 32 oz of yeast = Costco lifetime member

32 oz of yeast elsewhere? $71.92!
How can grocery stores sell it at $8.99 for 4 oz??? Highway robbery!

And Costco tortilla chips, so wonderful. $3.09 for 48 oz!

Grocery store prices? Scandalous. $2.99 for 14 oz.
48 oz of tortilla chips would cost $10.25 at the grocery store.

I estimate I go through 77 ounces of yeast a year. That's a rough estimate based on the last time I bought yeast at Costco and how long it's lasted me.

$11.67 at Costco for a year's supply + three months.
$179.80 at my grocery store for a year's supply + HALF a month.

Hmmm...easy choice.

I eastimate I go through 28 ounces of tortilla chips a month (again, roughly). 336 ounces/year. Again...

$21.63 at Costco for a year's supply of tortilla chips.
$71.76 at the grocery store for a year's supply of tortilla chips.

That means that even if I were to ONLY buy tortilla chips and yeast at Costco, my membership would STILL be more than paid for by the difference I save not buying those things at a regular grocery store! The difference in tortilla chips alone covers the cost of membership. The difference in yeast leaves me $168.13 to put somewhere else in my budget!

Isn't that awesome?

There are so many things at Costco that save time and are convenient, but what do you buy at Costco that saves you money? I'm all ears!

P.S. - I also love that I can buy two churros for $2.20 and split them four ways for myself and three girls to eat in the car on the way home.

Lemon coconut cake chilling in the fridge. Chicken & white bean stew simmering on the stove. Bread bowls cooling on the stove. Table set.

Six minutes to sit down.

Sounds wonderful doesn't it?

Then I should change my three-year old's wet pants (and yes, she's in underwear...shoot!). And maybe I'll even fit time into my evening to attack the mounds of dishes on my counter.