Almost a Year....

Can't believe the big man is almost a year old!!!! Time surely does fly. Here's a recent photo since I haven't done nearly as good keeping up as I should recently.

FANTASTIC Target Run

So while I'm waiting for my camera to show up so I can post pics from our trip down south, I have a FANTASTIC shopping trip to share. Target is having a great deal in our area, that you can buy ANY 7 items in the freezer section and get a $5 giftcard. When they say any, it means even the $.89 juice!!! We love our juice... and our veggies... and our ice cream.... and our pizza!!!! So off I go to Target for this fantastic deal.

I spent $ 15.12

I saved $ 71.47, or 83%


Of the above items things that were free due to coupons: 2 cans soup, 2 things of floss, 2 cans dog food, 2 - three pkgs of gum (.04 / piece, I count that as free :O)

Yeah for deal shopping!!

~Olive

Going,.... Going.... Gone.

It wasn't that long ago we were boxed up....

Packed into a truck and moved.

It's now official. Our house was sold last week.

Although we're sad for the friends and family we left we're grateful
for everyone's prayers during that part of the transition. We really appreciate it!

~Olive

Fun Photos

I was getting pics off my camera and found a few that I really liked so I thought I'd share....


Emmett was not in favor of me making strawberry-raspberry jam that day.... he stood at my feet and cried. Too bad for him he was a little too close to the work zone, he ended up getting jam in his hair as I quickly tried to get it in the jars. What a mess!!


This in no way shows his dislike for riding in vehicles! I'm not really sure what the look is for but I believe we had just boughten him these toothbrushes to chew on.... cleanest teeth on the block :O)
Emmett and I were discovering out new neighborhood. We went walking downtown among the shops and stopped at the park with the water fountain and ducks. He would much rather have been in the water! If you can't tell, he's far from interested in the camera!


Last pictures of Emmett in our house. Right before we moved he scooted around while we cleaned up. He loved that hardwood flooring for getting around!

~Olive

Grocery Shopping

Just a heads up, since we're getting back into the couponing thing, I will probably post these from time to time b/c its exciting to save my family money and get great deals on things!!! I'm setting up the post like the coupon sites that I follow so if you're wondering why the totaling.... :O)





Today we went grocery shopping for the week. That means we only buy what's on sale, what we have coupons for, and is a good deal (for the most part). It also means that we stock up so that we don't buy that item again until its on sale (about 6 weeks from now).

So today here was our good finds!!
2 Ketchup, 2 green beans cans, 2 mandran oranges can, 2 beef jerky packs, 1 licorice, 1 cucumber, 1 bag of petit tomatres, 2 hot dogs, 2 frozen veggies boxes, 8 frozen drink mixes, 2 cream of soups, 1 box mac and cheese, 3 pkgs pudding, 5 boxes nature granola bars, 4 V8 juice, 2 smart balance milk, 2 remembrandt toothpaste, 1 no touch hand soap dispenser, 2 cans pasta sauce, 4 grand biscuits, 4 pkgs gold fish.

I was curious so bolded everything that I had Emmett in mind when I bought..... at least he likes green beans and oranges so you know he does eat his fruits and veggies!!! We were running low on things that he typically eats during the day or through the week so I knew this grocery run was going to be focused on him to some degree.

Retails: $139.84
What I paid: $57.89
I saved $81.95 or (71%)!!!


~Olive

Christmas & New Years

Christmas went by fast, as usual. Emmett has mastered the art of ripping paper-- big pieces, small pieces, 'edible' pieces. We spread his Christmas gifts out a bit so as to enjoy them more because attention spans still aren't real great at 9.5 months. He liked to start opening them without us :O)

In all honesty, we were very blessed (as usual) this holiday season. There was no great need that wasn't filled... Popeye's socks.... and we had an overflowing amount of time spent with family and friends (our favorite). We get to spend time with Popeye's family soon for a whole week!!! I asked if it could be two weeks but I suppose there is such a thing as work!

Now that 2011 is here, I have my New Year's Resolutions that I'm 'attacking' with full force.

#1 Get back into the Couponing Game.
I've been pushing it off because of the new area, so many shopping options, and just unfamiliarity of the policies (plus my couponing buddies were gone!!). No longer!! Emmett and I went on our first couponing shopping trip today.
Our $17 purchase: 4 boxes of Special K Cereal, 3 tubes of toothpaste, 1 bottle shampoo, 4 infant advils, 2 toothbrushes, and 2 packages of no-slip hair things. Phew. We should be set again for awhile. We have our strategy planned out for next week too... I'm kind of excited about it!!

#2 Figure out Doctors, Dentists, Specialists, etc.
No surprise I've been putting this one off too. Between lack of knowing my way around and afraid of getting a 'quack', I've been hesitant to venture out. My lovely sister-in-law gave me some names and I'm happy to say that Emmett went to his first Peds appt earlier this week. Let's just say at 24.5 lbs and 30.5 inches long he's doing just fine!

#3 Read a book a month
This might sound like low expectations but trust me, its not. Sad to say, I could count on one hand what I've read since little man was born... boy he's busy and we just have 1! I'm not specifying which books just in case one month has to be a super easy read :O)

#4 Take one community class
This one is negotiable. I would love to take a class at the community college just for the fun of it... learn something new. I went through learning withdraw when I graduated college and while its true you never stop learning from sheer experience, I would love to sit in a classroom again and write, or draw, or something-- I'm even willing to take an exam :O).



So that's it to end / begin the new year. It ended in a tired parent fashion.... I was alseep by 10:30 PM. My HS and college friends can attest that I never was a big late night party animal and clearly that has not changed. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas / New Years!!!


~Olive

Provision

Wow! I barely mention not having many clothes and God provides in full!

I took the little man to Once Upon A Child on Saturday to get a bigger winter coat. When I got there I couldn't believe I couldn't find a parking spot. I had to stalk some people coming out of the store. We head inside and sure enough, on the door was a sign that said, 'fill a bag for $10'. I apparently came on the right/wrong day :O)

Winter Coats were on clearance for $5 so we got him a winter coat and a snow outfit. Then we filled one bag of clothes for him which surprisingly meant 4 long sleeve shirts, 1 sweater, 2 pjs, and 1 pair of jeans!!!

As if God hadn't provided enough extra clothes for him to wear, his auntie and uncle came for a visit on Sunday (not long after I mentioned he didn't have any nice church clothes). What should they bring him for an early Christmas present but an oh so cute church outfit and another every day outfit!! What sweeties!

Isn't it amazing how God provides! Emmett is now one stylish well-stocked little man :O)

~Olive

Ever So Long Now...

I do believe this is the longest I've ever gone without posting anything. It's bad.... I mean really bad. But here I am, 11 at night and when I should be going to bed because my little guy has been getting up at 5 in the morning, (however FINALLY he sleeps through the night at 9 months!!!!!) I've decided to quick type an update. If something doesn't make sense, just chalk it up to my tiredness.


We're finally settled. YEAH! We're still looking for a house of sorts but for now we are so thankful for our apt. I will have to take pictures and post later. It's not big which I'm rather thankful for... less to clean :) It has wonderful features such as walk-in closets, separate laundry room, and washer and dryer provided. (oh yeah! and my own crafting corner Popeye provided for me!!! What a dear!!!) We are more than satisfied! It was fun to decorate and didn't take long because it is smaller than our old house but it turned out great!


We've had a busy December so far. I love getting presents for people. That is most definitely my showing of affection love language. Add that together with my love for a FABULOUS bargain and its been a fun Christmas shopping experience so far.
Along with that, I've decided to try once a month cooking. Funny enough, the day I took all our casseroles (well all but 3 egg casseroles and 4 poppy seed breads) to our freezer in our garage I also LOST our garage opener!! What does this mean? It means I have 5 containers of soup, 10 casseroles, 3 things of party mix, and two pans of fruit cups in our freezer that I can't get to!!! I'm laughing just thinking about it. It really is quite funny even now! I'm not worried. It will either show up or I'll have to call the front desk and buy another opener. Until then... we're going to be eating A LOT of egg casserole and poppy seed bread!

Popeye is crazy busy. I mean CRAZY busy! He's been working 12 hour shifts almost consistently for awhile now. He was sick last weekend so he got what you might call a 'break' but he's back at it again. We don't get to see him much as he's either sleeping or gone so we're REALLY looking forward to the holidays and a few vacation days here and there to see him a little more!


So now what most everyone waits for... Emmett. He's soooooooooo busy. And a whole different busy of his own!! He's learning MANY new things.


For example: Despite an army crawl he has down pat, he's decided that actual crawling is much faster. I happen to agree with this. It's hard to keep him out of stuff when he's so much faster at getting to it!!

He high-fives now! His newest trick :O) Which is a little more like a teamwork clap but he is so very proud of himself!

Standing at Bath time. There is no need to sit in the bathtub when one can stand and drip the very wet rag onto mommy's rug! He still LOVES his bath time though!! I can hardly keep him out of it when there's no water in it. He has graduated to taking some showers too!



He has finally discovered gravity. I dreaded this stage a bit. He doesn't do to bad at this point but every now and then its an obvious throw down.


Cars. Great Grandpa and Grandma gave him some Hot Wheel cars for Easter last year. I pulled them out as a new toy recently and boy he goes to town. I love how his little engine goes.... he's all boy and we didn't even teach him that :O)

We've officially moved up from 12 month clothes to 18 month. We cleaned out his closet today actually. I can't believe how much 12 month stuff we had and it looks so bare now! He's by no means without clothes but I do wish the weather was warmer for a few garage sales. I honestly didn't think we'd be considering this size until next summer :O) Our little man!!!!

And finally... Christmas lights. We don't have much room so I hung a few Christmas lights in our living room and we have a little tree with picture frame ornaments on it. Emmett loves the lights. I think its funny to watch him try to get to the tree. We put the two couches together as a blockade around our tree and he tries to go over and through the bottom hole to get to the lights but to no avail! Next year he will have mastered this skill but for now the tree is pushed far back against the corner.... out of little hand's reach.

Have a Blessed Holiday Season!!!

~Olive

Family Reunion

Recently we went to a family reunion at Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at the Kalahari and the entire Lindy family was able to stay at an entertainment suite. It was great to have everybody there and be able to hang out together. There were several things to do at the resort and in our suite so being bored wasn't really an option. Aside from the indoor and outdoor waterpark, arcade, bowling, and more at the resort, our suite had a hot tub, theater seats with a big tv, pool table and space to hang out and play cards. Here's a few pics of our trip!

Getting Bigger....

Emmett has been getting so big lately. He's started scooching around more on the floor, pushing himself up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He may not always go forward at this stage in the game but he seems to be able to get somewhere to get into something. I had to put a rug down to help him along because all the hardwood floors in the house I thought was hindering his crawling practice. Even if it isn't making a difference in that area, I appreciate the carpeting because being on his tummy makes him kutz more.... its a whole lot easier to clean up that way.

He's also started eating more and more food. I'm not very good at being very regimented on his eating habits because he still prefers nursing over anything else but if we're eating something he is all about getting some too. Here's him eating a pickle. I think it means that he is definitely his father's son because I'm not a big pickle person and for a baby to enjoy them??!! crazy!

He's been getting so big and I do randomly find clothes that I'm like, 'ahhhhh, he didn't get to wear it!' so what do I do but put it on him. I felt a little bad that while it sort of fit, I couldn't button the top button and obviously the sleeves are a little too short. He didn't seem to mind though and after one night I put it away in storage. It was oh so cute though even if only for one night.

'Official, Official'

It's now 'official, official' I guess that we are moving back up north. While we technically still know absolutely nothing - really - about how this is going to work, the word is out for the most part. Popeye was offered a position in the Joliet branch, and has accepted. We will be packing our bags (shortly) and heading up to the windy city.

We had our final weekend at Atlanta Church and it was bittersweet for us. For those reading, if you ever get the chance to visit the Atlanta Church or be a member there, you will be SO blessed. God is moving in that church and the people are wonderful..... with open arms and a spirit for outreach, they are living lives truly glorifying to God. We are going to miss them.

We will also miss being close to Popeye's family, as they now live only 20 minutes away and we are almost weekly with them for lunch after church or other various reasons. We are (selfishly) praying that they won't be too far behind us with a move of their own, however God knows what's best and we really do want it for them too.

The rest of the family up north (particularly a married couple closely related to us and potentially only living minutes away) are very excited for us. I do believe my youngest brother has snowboarding trips planned already.

As with most big changes, it's a little exciting, a little scary, and a lot surreal. Until we know more.....

~Olive

RL Studio Website Complete!

So, after building, rebuilding, taking a break to have a baby, and building again :O) the RL Studio site is actually up and running. It's super simple, nothing fancy ... but I love it. I'm turning the comments on though so you guys can give me some pointers for... color, ease of use, etc.! I would love to hear your thoughts to get it looking real sharp and running well before really 'starting up' taking pics again.

Anywho... tell me what you think!


www.myrlstudio.com

4 Month Appt. Stats

Emmett had his 4 month appt. on Wednesday. We are happy to report a growing boy (if there was a doubt in anyone's mind!)

Here's his stats:

Weight: 19 lb 6 oz
Length: 26.5 inches


He did MUCH better than last time.... he cried a bit during his shots but I suspect it was more because he was being held down on the cold office bed thing. What a trooper!

Christmas in July

I had to put in a quick post about my recent exchange. I found a blog that was doing a 'Christmas in July' exchange and decided to participate. When we got back home from our trip I found a package in the mail addressed to me from the exchange. Let's just say I used it as motivation to get the unpacking down lickety split!!!! Here's what my lovely lady sent me (everything had to be handmade): tissue holder, make-up bag, and a really cute Christmas ornament for Emmett. All is super adorable and I absolutely LOVE that its homemade!!!!! I would love to do this Christmas in the mail more often... so much fun getting random things in the mail :O)

Pool Party

We got to go to the pool of a close family friend for about 4 hours today. It was Emmett's first time to get into a 'big pool'!!! I have to admit I wasn't so sure because of the last pool experience but we packed up our stuff and headed out. We took it slow getting , but it didn't take long and he loved bouncing around in the pool!!!

Aunt Lydie and Emmett going after his new chew toy!!!

Great Aunt Jill helping out with Emmett at the pool!!! She was such a big help! :o)

A VERY tired little boy taking a cat nap on his towel. It didn't last very long though and we weren't a mile from the house when we left and he was OUT in his car seat. We had soooo much fun though!!!!

New Toy

Great Grandma Lank found this great exerciser at a garage sale for only $1!!!!! I absolutely LOVE this toy. There are sooo many things to do on it and I can 'stand' all by myself. I was supposed to take it back home with me but so sad... it wouldn't fit in the car :O( Now, mommy is on the lookout for one for me! She can tell that I'm really missing it!!!!

Emmett & Elliott

Here's a collage of the boys together. It was funny to watch them interact, especially because the age difference right now seems so much greater. Elliott is crawling around and soooo active!!! Emmett is working on grabbing things and rolling over. Similarities? Everything goes in their mouths!!!!

While we were outside, they were 'sharing' the pacifier attached to Emmett's shirt. So cute to watch. Emmett wasn't too sure about Elliott wanting his paci. Elliott typically doesn't use one but how enticing is it attached to the colorful ribbon!!!!!

These two are going to be great friends when they get bigger!!!! Can't wait for us to get together again... especially if they are both walking and able to play together :O)

The Boys are Back in Town

First Taste of Rice Cereal

A Mohawk Curl

When I was a baby, mom used to take my hair (which was also in abundance at this age) and put it in a curl with a little bow. Well, I wasn't going to put a bow in Emmett's hair so a curled mohawk will have to do... unfortunately it doesn't stay after it dries. :O)