a big kindergartner.

it's so hard to believe that my first born is now starting kindergarten.

he is in a private/home schooling school...all the moms pitch in and help...it's really a great idea.

i am not teaching (i was not blessed with teaching bones---or nerves). but i am doing childcare for the other moms who are teaching. one morning a week i watch kiddos for the moms who are teaching the K-8th graders.

it's such a neat set-up...ask away if you have questions...i don't even know where to begin in explaining it.

the night before school started we had a "school celebration feast".

caedmon got to be king for one night...he wore a crown, picked his favorite meal, helped set the table, got to drink out of the best glassware we have and we got to chat about what he's most excited about for school.

his answer? learning.

he's just like his dad.

i would have said "the boys".

but i've always been a little boy crazy...yes, probably even in kindergarten.

anyways, i'm losing track here.

here he is...the first morning of school.

he was in a bad mood...i had to tell poop jokes to get him to smile.

so handsome.

i love this kid, but man, the few mornings i've had away from him have been nice too :)

and he loves it...it's a win-win situation for all!

a frugal vacation.

if you know mr. anderson and i personally, then you'll know that we love being frugal.

okay, love is a strong word...but we do enjoy being frugal.

it's fun to clip coupons and see what kind of deals you can get on the things that you need.

and yes, i used to call my husband cheap, until i jumped on the bandwagon...now he is definitely frugal.

anywho.

we decided that we needed to take a family vacation.

even though this baby is costing us an arm and a leg right now, we decided it would be worth it to go on the cheapest trip we could do.

the kids wouldn't care...they would just love being out of the house for a few days.

so, we took advantage of living in the "happiest place on earth" and decided to do a "disney" vacation.

i put quotes around "disney" because thankfully, the kids still think the free part of disney is disney.

we got a good deal and booked a hotel, right across from downtown disney, and stayed for 2 nights.

oh my.

the kids had a blast.

here's a recap of what we did and how frugal it was:

-we made sure to book a room on the resort side of the hotel, so that we could sit on our balcony each night and watch the fireworks show. (free fireworks show!)

-we ate dinner before we left on friday, and i brought us bagels and donuts for breakfast saturday, as well as all our snacks.

-we shared a meal for lunch on saturday at the espn restaurant.

-we had a coupon for cici's pizza (the classiest place around) and decided to eat dinner there saturday night. and the bonus there was that they had a free magician doing magic tricks for everyone and caedmon is obsessed with magic tricks, so it was a fun, free show!

-we took advantage of the hotel pool and playground.

-finding nemo was on t.v. one night, so the kids got to stay up late, cuddled in bed watching it.

-we went to downtown disney and did all the free things they have to offer.

-our hotel has a "character" breakfast sunday morning. aside from hadley screaming her head off because she was scared, it was a good breakfast.

so, all in all we had a lot of fun...only spent money on food...and got some great memories.

you don't have to spend a lot of money (or sometimes, none at all!) to have fun.

cheerios a plenty.

apparently milo was hungry for some cheerios today.

just like the box says, the only thing i could say was "wow" when i walked into the kitchen to find my brown boy and the whole box of cheerios on the table.

he, of course, thought it was so funny.

if he wasn't so darn cute, i might have been mad.

i blame mr. anderson...i'm pretty sure he left this box out at lunchtime.

thanks babe!

the chunky brown boy makes me laugh.

seriously.

there is not a day--or a moment--that goes by that brown boy doesn't make me laugh.

his comb over.

his chipped tooth.

his cute, chunky body.

i love it all.

jamming with the i-pod...

and the kid loves to mow the lawn.

naked too.

we had to force him to wear a diaper in this picture.

just kidding about that.

but seriously.

what kind of child aspires to be a landscaping professional when they are older?

my brown boy does.

and when he's not busy mowing or weed-eating, he is wearing hadley's dress-up clothes.

such as these bracelets.

he almost looks like a pretty girl in this picture.

he (almost) always makes me smile.

all 3 of our kids are amazingly different.

makes me wonder what anderson baby #4 will be like?!

new shoes.

welp.

caedmon is officially starting school in a week and a half!

crazy.

we got to pick out our new shoes the other day.

love all-stars.

wishing they had a pair in my size.

more prego pics.

here's a few more from my time with sarah bray!

i'm loving my brown boys comb over and collar flipped.

classic preppy kid.

and one with my sister (she keeps me young and hip).

she was in town that week and helped me out more than i could have ever imagined!

she's heading off to college in a week...crazy.

homemade applesauce.

my kids eat applesauce, almost as much as i eat chocolate.

seriously.

they love it.

we go through jars of it, rather quickly, so i decided to try making my own.

it actually was very easy...and the kids love it.

and the best part is i know what's in it...for real.

i started off with 11 apples--granny smith are our favorites, but choosing organic would be great as well.

i also added 1 peach for some flavor and vitamin C.

peel all your apples and your peaches.

on a side note---strawberries, blueberries...any of that fruit would be a good addition to your applesauce.

i steam all my fruit.

a lot of people boil it, and add lemon and other stuff, but that's just too dang complicated for me.

then i add it to my handy dandy food processor.

where would i be without my food processor in my life?!

looks just like the real stuff, huh?

oh, and i add about a tablespoon of honey or brown sugar to the food processor...just to offset the granny smith tartness.

now, don't get me wrong.

picking up a few jars off the shelf at my local grocery store would be much more easier.

but, this way, i get the kids involved in the kitchen...and like i said i know exactly what's in this applesauce.

now, there's not much for the kids to do while we make applesauce, cause it's a lot of using sharp utensils, but they definitely love the final step which is the taste testing.

how is it, caedmon?

do you have any yummy applesauce recipes or tips? i'd love for you to share!

oh.my.goodness.

i was totally and completely overwhelmed by your response to the necklace!
thank you for loving it as much as i do.
nearly every comment gave me goosebumps and/or a lump in my throat.
how i wish i could give you each one...but then, erin would be slave-driving away for the next 10 months, so no to that idea.
and seriously ladies, could you make it any harder to pick a winner?
well, you will be happy to know that erin has decided to give away, not 1....not 2....but 3 necklaces!
woot woot!
so, i decided to hand pick 2 winners and then use random.org for the 3rd.
winner #1.........
Amy said...

What a pretty necklace and a gorgeous thought. My first daughter passed away at 2 days old due to a birth defect that we found about at her 20 week ultrasound. I carried her to term and although there were many days that I didn't think that I could keep going, the 39 unexpected hours we had with her were pure heaven. My Natalie was "worth it all" Thank you so much!

8/5/09 1:47 PM

congrats amy! your story really touched my heart.

winner #2..........

Life With Our (Growing) Family said...

I would give your beautiful necklace to my neighbor Courtney. She is 23 weeks prego with her third baby. It's a girl and they have two healthy boys already. Everyone's dream, right? At the same time that they discovered the joyful news of having their first girl, Courtney and Tom discovered that this precious life may have Down's Syndrome. They had a very detailed ultrasound that confirmed that out of 6 points on a checklist, their daughter has three of these traits....smaller pinky finger, shorter arms, the valves of her heart aren't connected just right. Pain, questions, sadness abounded. In the days that followed they prayed about having an amniocentesis to get the final word. To not have to wait until the end of November. But alas, God spoke and they listened. This child is His precious gift, His will, His design for her life and theirs, and whether they find out now or in several months, nothing will change that fact. They chose to trust Him and His supreme sovereignty. There are still hard days for them, although they never show it as they are the type of people who put the needs of others first.

I would love to give this necklace to Courtney, as a reminder that through it all, this life inside her, no matter what her health status, is worth it all, both in God's eyes and in ours.

8/3/09 8:52 PM

i would love for courtney to have this necklace...what a great reminder that we are worth it all in God's eyes too. He knows us from the very beginning and how we will be knit together in our mothers womb.

and the random winner #3 is........

#25 which (after counting over someone who posted twice) is.....

Christina said...

Oh my goodness i love your post and your necklace!!! As i think about this time in my life and all the trouble i am having with the baby thing it is good to be reminded that the baby i want so bad is worth it all!!! Thanks em...miss you and cannot wait to talk to you soon!!!

8/3/09 8:50 PM

please know that i would have loved to have picked all of you. you made it so incredibly hard, and each one of you is deserving to win one. thank you for sharing your beautiful stories with me.

they really touched my heart.

if you didn't win and you'd still like to order one, here is the direct link to the necklace on erin's website:

http://thevintagepearl.com/item_18/large-layers.htm

remember today....they are worth it all.

you are worth it all.

a few months ago, erin from the vintage pearl asked me to design a necklace for her...i was stoked at such an offer! i have a major crush on the vintage pearl and all of the goodies in her shop, so to think that something i designed would be in there...well, that was just a fabulous idea!
anyways...about the time she asked me was about the time i was getting friendly with my toilet.
remember those days?
immediately i knew i wanted to do something that went along with the things i was dealing with right then and there...not that i wanted to remember the toilet times, but because i wanted to remember why i was putting myself through the toilet times.
a song that i've loved for a few years now is by FFH.
the lyrics are supposed to be God singing to us, but i always think of my kids when i hear it.
"you are mine,
you are loved,
you have always been thought of,
when you hurt i feel it every time.
you are mine,
you are loved,
and i'm never giving up,
till i've dried all the tears you cried"
and then it goes to say
"you are worth it all"
i knew i wanted that saying on there...erin suggested putting baby feet on it too, and well that was it.
i LOVE how it turned out:


and what's even better?
erin is giving away one of these beauties!
everybody say "yah!"
now, here's a little something i must say about this necklace.
if you are a mom of young kids, you know how hard it is being a mom.
but it's worth it all, right?
if you are a mom of older or grown kids, you know how hard it is being a mom.
but it's worth it all, right?
if you are not quite a mom, but desperately wanting to be, you know how hard it is.
but it will be worth it all, right?
motherhood, no matter what stage you're in, is hard.
but we all know those little babes, that turn into big babes are worth it all.







so, in order to win this necklace, just leave me a little ol' comment.
even if you're not a mom, i'm sure you know a friend/sister/grandma/aunt...someone who is.
this would make a great gift!
tell your friends too...i just might give you some extra points.
i'll leave this open until thursday morning!
speaking of moms...mine gets into town tomorrow night!
woo-hoo!