Good Deals

I love good deals. Most of you know this because if I get a good deal, I tell you about it. Why should my blog be any different? Today, we went to Hy-Vee to get some groceries. By "we" I mean me and the kids. We don't usually shop at Hy-Vee because it is generally the most expensive grocery store. But when we do, the kids know all about the two perks that Hy-Vee has to offer. #1-car carts. You know, those HUGE carts with a "car" in the front so your kids can sit and steer/climb on the roof/stick their heads out the windows just as your careening around a corner, etc. #2-free cookies. That's right, any kid shopping at Hy-Vee gets a free cookie. I would like to see them expand this program to include moms. I mean, what mom with three kids at the grocery store doesn't deserve a cookie?! Anyway, my kids love Hy-Vee because of the perks. Unfortunately, the car carts were covered with snow, but we still got the cookies! So we stopped at Hy-Vee to pick up a few items that they had on a really good sale this week. And while we were meandering through the aisles to find our $1.28 butter, I found the best deal I've ever found.....drum roll please........1/2 gallon of chocolate milk at the price of 4 for $1. Yep, $0.25 each. I bought six. My kids are going to be drinking only chocolate milk for a week. And then, in the same section of the store, I spied deal #2......1/2 gallon premium orange juice......4 for $1. I bought 4. Oh, and I asked the managment and nothing was wrong with the items. They haven't expired. They are perfect. I must have mentioned my amazement at what a good deal we got a number of times to my kids, because by the time we were at the checkout counter, they were telling everyone who looked our way that we got "SUCH A GOOD DEAL!" So Hy-Vee, I don't know what kind of magic day it was in your store, but THANKS!

To Mom

This post is a tribute to my mom, Lea. She turned 60 years old on the 17th of January. If I'm half as beautiful (inside and out!) as she is when I'm 60, I'll be a happy woman. I'm so thankful for my mom. She is an inspiration to me and truly is one of my best friends. Love you, Mom!

And...we're back.

Where did the last month go? We spent the end of December and early January celebrating Christmases and dealing with the stomach flu. Yep. Sophia began the sequence by getting sick on December 23rd....on the way to my parents....in the car.....right after she drank a cup of milk and ate fruit snacks and chicken nuggets......some of you have already stopped reading you are so grossed out. Thanks to the very kind older female cashier at the Casey's for her help in covering the bathroom floor with trash bags and providing clean rags to clean up Sophia and our van! Luckily, the boys didn't get sick until after we returned home the following Sunday. We spent the last few days of December eating jello, Saltines (by the way, for all you moms out there, try oyster crackers instead of Saltines for your kids--same great taste, much less mess!) and drinking Sprite. Cheers to the new year!

My new year project was to switch bedrooms with the boys. We only have two bedrooms and up until now, the boys were in one room and we were in the other, with Sophia in our closet (hey, it's a big closet with a window!). But I was determined to have our own room, so we put the boys in with Sophia and, finally, Eric and I have our own room again. Supposedly, this will allow me to get up early and exercise without waking Sophie up. I've done it once so far this week. Best part-we now have a tv in our room, so Eric and I can watch movies in bed! Yes!

A few thanks to give out....to God for the beautiful, sunny, 40 degree day today....to Grandma and Grandpa Bodin for the new Wii game (the boys are playing it RIGHT NOW)......to Walgreens for free makeup and chocolate covered macadamia nuts....to the South Beach Diet website for awesome coupons on their yummy granola bars....and to all of you who have left me comments. I'm so glad we get to stay connected this way!

A Few Pics for Fun

Since I was posting, I wanted to give an update on the kids, too. They are currently on Grandma detox, as Grandma left Sunday after being here almost a week. Now they have to adjust to plain old mom, who doesn't spoil them! :) Here's Sophia, loving on her cousin, Noah. She loves to "mother" other babies.

Caleb got to tag along to a homeschool get-together where the kids got to make gingerbread houses. It took him a while to figure out that he wanted to put a lot of candy on his house, but he finally got the idea. In case you didn't hear the most recent funny Caleb story, a couple of weeks ago he was in the van, sneezed, and said, "Mom, I sneezed out a piece of corn!" It was field corn! Then he explained to me that the corn had been in his nose since we went to a "corn pool" (see previous post) at the apple orchard 2 MONTHS ago! He had never once complained, although we had noticed he had been snoring a lot! He said it felt a lot better and now he could breathe through his nose when he ate!

Here is Danny with his gingerbread house. He was very careful and particular in decorating. Danny has also become an avid reader. Yesterday he spent an hour on the couch, just reading. I LOVE IT that he likes having his nose in a book. That way I can have my nose in a book, too!

It snowed about 4 inches this morning and the boys have already been outside playing. Caleb came in complaining that Danny wouldn't pull him around the yard on the sled. It is so cold we have ice on the INSIDE of our windows!

Tonight we are hoping to do our family Christmas shopping outting. We got the idea from my sister, Rachel. We all go to The Dollar Tree and we give the kids $1 for each family member. Then they take off to do their own shopping. It is great for kids the age of ours because the store is small and EVERYTHING is $1. They have a lot of fun personally picking out each item. It's cheap and lets them get involved in the shopping. Then we all go out to eat together. Thanks for the idea, Rachel!

Esmerelda

Eric and I just finished performing in/helping direct Cornerstone's Christmas production, "Esmerelda". Eric played two roles and I played a small company role and assistant directed. It was so much fun. However, it is nice to have some family time again! Our family ate supper together last night for the first time in I don't know how long! Here are a few pictures....

Holly as the flower lady and Eric as the Scottish door keeper.
Eric with his fellow door keepers, Todd (Indian door keeper) and Kevin (French door keeper).

Holly with friends, Kristi, Jenni (director/writer) and Lynn.

Todd (music director and "Bob"), Mike (producer and "Papa"), Jenni (director/writer), Holly (assistant director and "Flower Lady")

Swedish rye bread

Today I learned an important Bodin skill. I almost consider it a rite of passage. Let me start at the beginning....

Two days ago Eric came home and informed me that on Wednesday the guys at work were going to deep fat fry a turkey for lunch....and then he sheepishly told me he was supposed to bring a side dish. (He said it sheepishly because he told me Monday night, knowing Tuesday's are my busy day and hoping I wouldn't be frustrated.) In the Bodin family, Swedish rye bread is a staple at holiday meals. Jim (my father-in-law) is the master baker. Eric loves the bread. So being the good Bodin wife that I am, I asked him if he wanted me to make it. I think his mouth started watering before I got the words out of my mouth. Eric went to a specialty grocery store for me on Monday night and got all of the seeds with weird names that go in the bread and the rye flour. This afternoon, I took the rye bread challenge...and it turned out pretty good! It wasn't quite to Jim's caliper(mine was a little denser), but hey, it was my first time! Eric even did the "punching down" and baking while I was gone teaching tonight. And now, having done the work of making it, I will appreciate it oh so much more when Jim makes it!

And I have to admit, I hope the guys at work don't like it too much. I'd love for Eric to have a couple of pieces left over for me!

Eric and I in New York, "kissing" the Statue of Liberty.