The Nelson Narrative

Last Saturday we finally made it to the shelter after talking about it for weeks and came home with two adorable kittens. Cleo Maisy How cute is this? I love animals and never thought I'd be petless for this long (it's been about 4 1/2 years since our last cat died), but then the girls came along and the last thing we needed was yet another demanding creature living among us.  But now that they're older we figured it was about time.  Although, in hindsight, having witnessed these poor kitties being picked up by the neck, chased and smothered (not literally, but with pets and cuddles) it might have been better to wait another year or two, but actually the cats are pretty tolerant and handling it quite well (meanwhile, we're coaching the girls on how to handle them and what not to do).  It's really fun to have cats again.

Kelly's Show Us Your Life topic today is couponing.  Since becoming a stay-at-home mom I've tried to explore the world of couponing a few different times, but have given up on it.  I have two main issues. 1.  I have found that most coupons are for items that I don't need/want.  Things like Hamburger Helper or canned veggies.  No thanks. 2.  Coupon items that I actually need, like paper towels or cleaning supplies for instance, are still more expensive than the store brand, so I just buy the store brand instead. I've also had bad experiences with coupon websites.  I've tried them a few different times and have always had to download software or a special application to my computer, and then I've had trouble trying to print the coupons.  The first time I tried it I couldn't get any of the coupons to actually print, and the second time I finally got one out of several to print, after much effort.  So I've given up on t...

So last week and the week before the girls were fighting colds and we didn't get out much.  Then after being gone most of the weekend, I spent most of Monday catching up on housework and laundry, although we did get outside to ride bikes for awhile.  So by yesterday I was desperate to get out for some fun stuff, and the weather was supposed to be great, so I made plans to go to a new park (not new but one we'd never been to), see the trains (there's a railroad museum in our town and a bunch of old trains along the highway with a walking path along the tracks), and run an errand or two.  I almost scrapped those plans when it also turned out to be very windy (I despise wind), but finally decided what the heck.  So to the park we went where I endured the super annoying wind and on the way back, we stopped to look at the trains, which I've been talking about doing all summer.  Now I can finally cross that off my list. Mount Si   ...

Friday the girls and I made Halloween cupcakes.  They enjoyed decorating them. On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch.  It was a perfect day for it-a beautiful, sunny fall day.  I love those kind of fall days--cool enough for sweaters and boots, but still sunny and pleasant.  Ahhh... Olivia refused to be in this picture for some reason About to navigate the corn maze

It's consignment sale time again.  I did my first one 3 years ago, when the girls were only 7 months old (amazing that I already had enough stuff to make it worthwhile), and I've been hooked ever since.  I now do two a year, spring and fall.  It's a great way to get rid of all the girls outgrown clothes and toys and make a little spending money while I'm at it.  Plus, I get to shop the pre-sale and can usually find some really good deals.  Last spring I scored tons of brand-new Gymboree stuff for cheap.  The girls are pretty set for fall/winter, though, so I don't plan on buying much, if anything, but I'm still going to check it out. Anyway, I've been organizing and tagging items like a madwoman the last several days and our spare room looks like a mass explosion of several children's stores took place in here.  I'll be glad when it's all over.

Here's a common scenario around here: One of the girls has to go pee.  I go in with her to help.  They aren't very good at wiping and sometimes have a hard time getting their pants up and down.  I help them wipe, help them pull up their pants and underwear, remind them to flush, and help wash and dry their hands.  It seems to take forever, but eventually we get it all done.  Then, just as we're finishing up, or maybe about 2-3 minutes later, the other one announces that SHE now has to go.  Rinse.  Repeat.  What feels like 30 minutes later and totally exhausted, I think I'm finally done in the bathroom and start to resume whatever it was I was doing, only to be told by the first that she now has to poop.  Grrrr.... As glad as I am that they're potty trained, I SO can't wait for them to complete the entire process BY THEMSELVES!  And why is it that they can sometimes go, like, 5 or so hours without needing to go, but if...

I love Gymboree clothes for the girls, but darn, they're expensive.  We have an outlet nearby, but even they are way pricey.  I went through a phase sometime last year where I was obsessed, buying quite a bit of stuff there, marked down of course, and then using Gymboree Bucks to buy even more but I finally decided I had to quit.  But a few months ago I wandered in there anyway, just to look and I fell in love with the cutest collection in a horses/cowgirl theme.  As a horse-lover I was all over it.  I drooled for a bit but left empty-handed, knowing it would eventually get marked down (but would the right pieces still be there in the correct size?).  Several weeks later I went back and it was still there, marked down.  But I still decided against getting it.  Then, yesterday while the Seahawks were getting their a$$#s handed to them by the Falcons, I decided to go to the outlet mall for some other things an...