Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

from

The Serrs

This is as close as we're getting to sending out Christmas cards this year.  Next year they WILL be mailed! 

Brown Paper Packages

Brown paper packages tied up with string...these are a few of my favorite things.

I watched a Martha Stewart episode a lifetime ago where she had this great guest who suggested only wrapping presents in brown paper and then changing the adornments to fit the occasion.  I swore I would never buy wrapping paper again, and I haven't.  I love this idea.  I hated storing rolls of wrapping paper all year round for different holidays.  They rolls are always bent before I the right occasion comes around again.  

I guess I've always been a minimalist when it comes to present wrapping.  In high school, my brothers and sisters usually got their presents from me wrapped in the bag I purchased them in.  Sometimes I added a little duct tape for a nice gesture.  

This year I decided to adorn my brown packages using only things I had around the house.  Newspaper, ribbon, and yarn fit the bill.  I like to think it looks a little classier than a Walmart bag with a duct tape bow.

Santa No-go

Two Santa visits in two days.  Times sat on Santa's lap by my girl? None.  Maybe next year?

Impostor!

Benson, Benson, Benson...or is that even his real name?  Because I'm fairly certain that someone crept into our house one night, took my sweet little boy, and replaced him with another baby.  This baby looks enough like Benson, but he's no longer my content, laid back, calm baby.  This impostor of a child YELLS.  And then yells and yells some more.  He yells when he's tired.  He yells when he's bored.  He yells just because.  And he yells LOUDLY!  This other child no longer power-naps - he's more a cat-napper.  Anxiety is filling my soul as I worry he might inherit his sister's sleeping habits.

This kid is lucky that he still has deliciously chubby cheeks.  He's lucky that we adore him and still love him to  pieces.  I'm just wondering what on earth happened?

Random Bookish Thoughts

• We just got ourselves Rupert Public Library cards last week.  Last year we didn't live within the boundaries of a city with a library, so we (actually my father-in-law for my Christmas present) had to fork over the big bucks to get a library card to the Burley library.  It pretty much saved much of my sanity last winter.  They have a weekly story time for the kids, and Madeline and I would go early just to read together and pass the slow wintery hours.  When trying to check out our large stack of books and movies last week, the self check-out machine told us our cards had expired.  So, off we went to scope out the Rupert library where we knew we could get free cards for living within the city limits.  We found out when we got there that the Rupert library is interconnected with the Burley library so we can still get books there and go to our cute storytime (they do a craft every week with the kids, too - it's like our 1 hour a week preschool).  I love that this area has a pretty well functioning library system. I plan on showing my support for the library any way I can.  I grew up going to the library at least once a week with my family.  Books were important to my parents, and they became important to me.

 

• I recently discovered that Scott likes non-fiction books, especially of the biographical and self-help nature.  I've been suggesting books for him to read for years, and he never likes them.  Even when I'm SURE he'll love it and it was one of the best books I've read, he's bored out of his mind with it.  For some reason it took me until now to realize that he does read, he just doesn't read the same things I like to read.  He's a non-fiction kind of a guy, and I can support that and be done suggesting books that have a great story line, because he just doesn't care.  

• When Benson was born I discovered a little shelf at the library with most of the Newberry award winning books of the last 100 years.  I started reading a couple every week as I nursed my baby.  They were perfect for the late night, sleep deprived hours - not too long, and not too difficult.  They are wonderful little stories.  My favorite was "Bud, Not Buddy".  Read it if you get a chance.  

• We spent last weekend at my parents' home.  I was checking out the bookcase outside of their bedroom, and found treasures.  My mom is a teacher, and had kept a lot of the books she used to use in her classroom.  Some are my very favorites, like "Superfudge", "Ramona Quimby", "Bridge to Terabithia", and others.  I'm so glad she kept them so I can share them with my children.  I remember lying in bed while my dad and I took turns reading "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing", and laughing hysterically when Fudge ate the turtle.  "No chew, no chew.  Gulp Gulp!".  She also kept a collection of children's books on tape.  I remember spending hours sitting in front of a little tape player, listening to books on tape in my room.  Each book was a story of a different virtue, like honesty, and courage. She hadn't kept those, but she had kept others.  I brought them downstairs for Madeline.  She spent a lot of time over the weekend in front of the tape player, listening to those books at the kitchen table.  I'm glad she shares my love of books.

Late Night Pleadings

I love this girl!  She's also challenge to me.  My current goal is not to love her in spite of her challenges, but to love her FOR the challenge.  I know that our trials help us to grow, learn, and become better people if we'll let them.  I hope that little by little I'm becoming a better mother to her.

She's been doing much better at night, and I am so proud of her.  She was sick a couple of days ago and her fever kept her up at night again.  At one point around 3am, she ran into my room shouting, "Mommy, mommy!  You forgot to put the bookmark in our book last night!  I really need you to do it right now so we don't lose our place!!!"  I assured her that I would not get out of bed to replace the bookmark and promised that I remembered the exact page we left off at.  There were some tears, but she eventually went back to bed.  This reminded me of all the crazy things she used to come into my room in the night to say, or yell.  I want to record them so hopefully someday she can laugh with me about her middle-of-the-night-shenanigans.  

• "I found this string in my bed and I need to give it to you"
• "Am I sleeping well so I can have a candy in the morning?"
• "I think I'm all done sleeping tonight"
• "Can you walk me back to my room?  It's too dark for me to see." (How did you get here then?)
• "I need to go potty.  Can I use your bathroom?" (Instead of the one that RIGHT next to her room)
• "I need to put some socks on"
• "Can you take the rubber band out of my hair?"
• "I need you to find my watch.  I need to know what time it is all night long". and then...
• "Please take my watch off because I need to go potty RIGHT NOW and I can't get my footed pajamas off". (the watch was around her pajama sleeve)
• "What are we going to do tomorrow?  And the day after that?  And the day after that?"
• "I can't find Ruby.  Can you come find her for me?" (Her pillow pet)
• "Can you put an ice cube in my sippy cup?"
• "I really need to wear different pajamas".
• "Mommy, I just wanted to tell you that I really, really love you".

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, and sometimes I didn't actually hear the reason she was in my room.  Occasionally I've woken up to find her in our bed with no idea why or when she got there.  She's a child who feels speaking her mind is the most important thing in the world - no matter the time or place.  I'm sure this desire can be a strength in her life if we can teach her to use it appropriately.  Needing to speak your mind at 3am in your parents' room when mom has already been up twice with the baby - not so appropriate.  

*Wow - love the updated post editor.  I'm going to try bigger images - no promise that the photo quality will be any better.  My picture taking skills are pretty awful.  

Cereal

Grandma fed him his first bite of rice cereal -yum, yum. His face says it all. I'd forgotten how much patience it takes to teach a child to eat. He didn't swallow a drop of cereal on his first try. Nor did he swallow any for the next few days. It took a full week for him to like it even a little bit. I find it a lot easier to feed my babies laying down on the floor (them, not me). I'm sure it's a choking hazard, so please don't follow my recommendations. For some reason I don't really worry about that. And I make the cereal a little thicker than some. My mom says I feed my children "rocks".

Starting cereal did help some with his night sleeping. We had gotten to the point where he was waking every 2 hours, acting like a ravenous monster. After he actually started swallowing some of the cereal, it gegan to improve. He even slept the whole night once, for the first time since his blessing day. We're starting to slip backwards again now, so it's probably time to add another feeding. My babies seem to get big fast, and my body can't quite keep up with their needs. No worries - that's what solid food is for.

Projects with the Parents

My parents came up a couple of weeks ago to work on some home improvement projects. The big project of the day was to build a workbench and shelving in the garage. All of the boxes that had been lining our garage are now up and out of the way. Just what projects will be done at the workbench? No one knows. But, Scott has installed ipod speakers out there, so he's ready.

I also have shelves above our washer and drier, which I love very much. I can now hang my non-dryables in the laundry room instead of draping them all over our bedroom. It's a significant amount of clothing due to genetically inherited monkey arms.

Thanks to pinterest, my mom and came up with a project to work on as well. We made a mobile out of balloons, yarn, and watered down glue. Since this picture was taken we've finally bought Benson a real crib. I'm a little sad that I can't rig up his crib mattress like I had the pack'n'play. I had it set up like the cribs in the hospital with the head of the bed elevated and a "nest" for him to sleep in. It really helps with congestion. We're happy with our purchase, though, and will hopefully get many years of use from it.

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 marks the holiday Madeline has been most exited about in her short life. She found out about 3 weeks before the big day that there would be a Halloween party at church on the evening of Halloween. She was sure this party was being thrown just for her. She invited everyone she knew. She would tell me daily, "In two more Sundays and then one more day we're going to the PARTY!" She decorated our house in hand-drawn halloween art.

The big day finally came. She was wild with excitement. And she had reason to be exited, because she looted more candy than a 3 year old should eat in a whole year. After dinner they had all of the adults at the party move their chairs to the perimeter of the gym to hand out their candy. The kids just had to make a big loop around the gym, and ended up with overflowing trick-or-treat buckets. What would have taken us hours in the cold outside only took 15 minutes inside. I'm a big fan. That is THE way to trick-or-treat with a 3 year old.

Chunky Monkey himself

Our container for handing out candy

This video is sideways, and I don't know how to fix it. Madeline's reciting a cute halloween poem Grandma Serr taught her.

Harvest

The harvest season is upon us again. The masses are out in the fields. The roads are caked with mud, the air is full of dust and smells like the sugar beet factory - but people are working and happy about it.

This time has been a harvest of sorts for our little family. We have finally gotten correctly set up with the insurance companies at work, and Scott is reaping the benefits for a lot of the hard work he's done over the past few months.

I stopped working a year ago in July. We were essentially unemployed until April of the following year, at which point we started our own business (you can imagine how that goes at first). I've been asked how we've made it. And we have. Money is not a stress in our lives. Maybe a concern, but it's certainly not something we lose a lot of sleep over or argue about. Hopefully without going into too much personal detail, here's how we've made it:

Disclaimer: I'm recording this so I can remember these times in the future, as well as to give hope to those who are struggling with finances. What we do may not work for you, and that's ok - but it really, really has worked for us.

1. We save when times are good so we can live when times are not. No one ever knows when they might lose their job, or when their health may preclude them from working, or when the stock market takes a dive. But, we can prepare for those things. We saved a lot, even when I was just working part time in Texas.
2. We live frugally. We don't eat out much. We rarely buy anything at full price. We don't give our children everything they want. We live by the principle that some of the most caring words you can share with your spouse are, "we can't afford it".
3. We lived with my in-laws for almost a year. This was a sacrifice for us as well as for them. We certainly still had bills to pay, but this allowed us to stay on our feet. We are so grateful to Scott's parents to allow us to live in their home for so long. It was a time of physical difficulty for me as I dealt with a bad burn, nausea, pregnancy, and illness. Staying there was the right thing for our family to do.
4. We have a BUDGET. I'm actually pretty passionate about this. Up until a few years ago, I was anti-budget. I thought it was too restrictive. I've always been pretty careful with my money, but I didn't want a piece of paper to tell me what I can and can't buy. I also thought it had to be the same every month. Some months I had a lot of expenses, and some months I didn't have many. After we got married, I was still strongly anti-budget. Until we went to a little seminar given by a guy we went to church with. He had a degree in accounting and had designed his own budgeting software (see here). We bought it and gave it a try. That budget has saved our backsides many times. It is a zero-based budget that relies on the income you made the previous month. This was perfect for us, and continues to be because we've never been salaried, and thus have a different income every month. So, the money we spend this month is the money we made last month. There are certain things we only have to pay occasionally, like car insurance. We set aside 1/6th of the total amount every month, and it carries over until we actually pay our car insurance bill every 6 months. We also can choose to put a little each month away for things like vacation, or having a baby, or buying a car. We try to prepare so there are no big surprises. We keep money in categories for the dentist, the doctor, and car repairs for this purpose as well. We know we will get sick, we will have cavities occasionally, our car will break down some day. The most important thing about having a budget and setting it each month, is that Scott and I are able to have a conversation about money. We decide together how much we are going to spend on what each month. That has helped money to not be a stress in our marriage - and that's a wonderful thing. Do we stick to our budget 100% perfectly? Of course not. Whatever extra we spend just takes from what we have to work with the next month, or we can pull the money from a category we underused. Our budget also helps us be realistic about how much we spend and what we spend it on, because we record every expenditure into our software. It's a little tedious, but worth it.

Because of these ideas we use in our family, we are fine. We've made it through a tough year. I'm sure it won't be our last, so we will continue to save and prepare.

4 months

4 Months!

The facts: 17 lbs, 26 1/2 inches long

I thought I'd show a couple of comparison pics of these two cute kids. I've always remembered how chubby Madeline was at this age. We called her 'sumo baby'. I think she looks chunkier than Benson in these pictures, but she was actually a little taller and didn't weigh quite as much.

All about Benson:

• When he's awake, his mouth is wide open most of the time. He's either smiling or trying to shove something inside - most likely his fist.
• He's still a really good sleeper during the day, as long as we're at home. Nighttime: not so good. Madeline did the same thing at this age. I don't know it's how my milk supply works, or if they're just more social and want to be with mom. He's up two or three times at night now. It's ok. I'm not as upset about it as I was with my little girlie.
• He's not rolling over yet, but he'll rock from side to side on his back. He also does "crunches" and tries to sit up while he's laying on his back. He still loves to put weight on his legs. He's a pretty strong kid.
• He sits in his bumbo now. We have it sitting on a chair up to our kitchen table so he can join us for meals. He's pretty interested in watching us eat. I haven't decided yet when we'll start rice cereal. We started Madeline at 4 months in hopes that she would sleep better. It didn't work. We've got a whole supply of baby food ready for him. I caught a great clearance on organic baby food at Walmart a couple of months ago. They were on sale for 4 to 25 cents a jar! I bought 132. We've also been pureeing fruits and vegetables we've gotten off of trees or on a good deal at the store. I'm sure we have more food storage for Benson than we do for the rest of us.
• He doesn't hate his carseat so much anymore! He just whines and yells while in it from time to time, but he's not full on crying every time we go for a ride in the car. I'm so happy about it!
• He gives smiles freely, and when he smiles, he smiles with his whole body.

• He laughs. It's my favorite. He laughs when someone else laughs, and he laughs when we play with him.
• He is so loved!

I canned, I canned, and I don't care who knows it!

Canning is one of those highly domestic things I most likely swore as a teenager I would never, ever do. For one thing, I thought it was an elaborate, industrial process. For my family growing up, it was an industrial process that took all day, if not all weekend. The finished product was 100 + quarts of something or other, most often applesauce.

Fast forward to last winter, when I received a little gift from my visiting teacher at church. She gave me three small jars filled with lemon butter, pear jam, and plum jam. They were beautiful, simple, and delicious. My interest was sparked.

I did a little research, and discovered that canning doesn't have to be a long, drawn out process that requires a lot of special equipment that I don't have and don't really want to purchase at this point.

We were given two boxes of sweet, little italian prune plums. I made a tasty crisp out of a few, and we've eaten a few by themselves. But, they are quickly ripening. I decided the time had come to try my hand at canning. I've made freezer jam before, but our freezer is stocked with it already, thanks to my mother-in-law, and I wanted to make something I could give away as gifts.

I found a new kind of pectin at our little local grocery store that requires little or no sugar. You use fruit juice or juice concentrate instead. I opted to use grape juice concentrate with a little extra sugar. It was a good choice. I also decided to blend up the fruit in our vitamix to make a smooth jam instead of a chunky one.

The whole process only took an hour.

I went from this:

To this:
I opened one up the next morning for breakfast. It was silky smooth, thick, and wonderful. I think it's safe to say I will be canning again - maybe even tonight.

Recently

What's been going on with the Serr's lately? Well, I'll tell you.

A week and a half ago the kids and I took a short trip down to see my parents. I didn't have to teach Sunday School at church on Sunday, so we took advantage of the situation and left town. And what visit would be complete without a project? A project that I again underestimated the time and difficulty it would require. In my recent love affair with Pinterest, I discovered some fun DIY projects. The one I attempted to do was turning an adult sweater into a toddler sweater dress. I had a bag of less than fashionable sweaters ready to go to the DI, so I pulled one out and figured I had nothing to lose in cutting it apart.

Unfortunately, the sweater was so thick it wouldn't fit through the sewing machine. I had to sew it very carefully with the presser foot up. The machine wasn't happy about that. Then I had the problem of the collar. It was originally a cowl-neck sweater that would have looked ridiculous on a toddler neck. So, I cut it off. I decided to use the collar of an old fitted t-shirt. The dress is certainly not perfect, but I think it's wearable. Cost of new winter dress = free.

The other thing we've been doing is taking care of sick kids. Madeline spiked a temp on Wednesday morning, and it lasted a couple of days. I finally figured out at the end of the second day that her ears hurt. The next morning she was fever-free, but she couldn't hear well. She's had on and off low-grade fevers since then, she still can't hear, and she's not hungry. Benson started to get really fussy on Saturday evening. When Scott tried to look in his ears (very helpful to have an otoscope at home), he screamed. My baby who usually wants nothing to do with me when he's sleeping, now can't sleep without me.

So, away to the doctor we went yesterday. There isn't an urgent care facility here, so our choices over the weekend were the ER, or wait until Monday. Benson gets to take antibiotics, and Madeline gets to wait it out. She mostly just had fluid in her ears, which is why she can't hear. Apparently they'll drain it if it doesn't go away in a month. The irony in this situation is that I've been trying really hard lately not to raise my voice, and now she can't hear me at all unless I'm yelling at her. I think she must hear herself really loudly in her head, because she's talking more quietly than normal. It makes rides in the car really fun with a child who feels the need to speak her every thought. She can't hear me and I can't hear her. All Scott hears is "What? What? What?" as we drive down the road. Just another bump in our adventure together as a family. One I'm sure we'll laugh about and remember later.

Falling

Hair is falling all around,

On the rooftops, on the ground.

Hair is falling on my nose,

On my head and hands and toes.

What a fun part of post-pregnancy. With the current rate of hair loss, I just might be completely bald in another month. It's amazing all of the changes a mother's body goes through. I'm one year post conception, and am nowhere near back to my regular self. That's ok - there's a season for everything

Nature's seasons are changing as well. Fall has come to Idaho today. We've had temperatures in the 80's for the last few weeks, until a wind storm blew through last night. We boxed up the kids' shorts yesterday, and are gathering warmer clothing now. I'm finally ready for some cooler weather and the coziness it brings. I was glad to have a few extra days of warmth since I feel like I missed out on the beginning of summer being pregnant, sick, and home with a new baby and all. We're embracing the new season with fall soups and lots of squash.

3 Months

We hit the 3 month mark yesterday. I just love this boy to pieces. These are the facts:

Weight - 15 1/2 lbs - boy is this kid heavy to pack around! Luckily he's pretty content just kicking around on the floor. Unless we're at work and he's tired. Then into the Moby wrap he goes - until my arms go numb from his weight pulling on my shoulders.

Likes: watching his big sister, cooing really loudly, batting at the toys in his carseat and bouncy seat, sleeping in his crib all swaddled up, being sung to, trying to imitate his momma's laugh (we've gotten a couple of giggles, but mostly he just tries really hard to laugh with only a little squeak coming out), smiling, standing on my lap (he gets a very serious look on his face and goes stiff as a board - funny),

Dislikes: still the carseat - although we've discovered that he tolerates it better when we sing in the car, tummy time for more than about a minute, not being able to sleep in his crib - while at church for example, loud noises, being stepped on accidentally by his sister, being held horizontally (he always wants to be up)

He still sleeps quite a bit during the day, usually with a really long nap in the afternoon. I've started putting him to bed earlier at night because he stopped waking up from his evening nap. We had several days where he slept in his clothes all night until I realized I should just get him ready for the night earlier. Generally he's only waking once at night for a 4am feeding. Except last night. He was up FOUR times. Hopefully that was just a one-time thing.

He easily smiles during the day. Except when I bring the camera out. Then he just stares at it with a very serious face, or completely looks away. Although I don't have any pictures of it, he has a really cute open-mouth smile.

He is such a happy, calm boy. He brightens my day every time I pick him up. I'm so happy we have him. When I was first pregnant with Madeline, I was sure I was having a boy and I was scared to death about it. I didn't know what on earth I'd do with a little boy. I'll tell you what you do - you love them. And they love you back. It's so simple and so wonderful!

A little half smile is all he would give the camera this morning - but he refused to look at it

He loves his big sister, and she really loves him too

Renewal

This will hopefully be a week of renewal. Raising our 3 year old has been progressively getting more and more difficult. It's probably a combination of all of the changes we've been through in the last couple of months. Scott was out of town at a seminar for the weekend, and we had an awful time at home. Not that we've never had to fend for ourselves before without Scott, but it's been a while. He's usually the calm peacemaker. I realized on Saturday afternoon, after Madeline and I had both lost our tempers with each other in a bad way, that we needed to change some things around here. Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize the error of our ways.

We set some family goals last night. Some of them are new, some are things we'd just let go of over time. We already have more peace in our home today.

First Real Cut

I've trimmed Madeline's hair several times, but tonight I gave her her first real haircut. Her hair has been a battle as of late. It's so fine that it tangles really easily. I comb it every night before bed, and by morning it's a knotted mess. The same thing happens as she plays throughout the day and as it drags in her food at mealtimes. This wouldn't be such a big deal if she would let me comb it and fix it without a big fuss. But, it's a major ordeal everyday.

My little 2 year old niece was sporting a really cute a-line bob when we saw her family a couple of weeks ago. So low maintenance. I asked Madeline if she wanted her hair cut, but she wasn't happy about the idea. I told her she would need to be better about letting me comb it or we would need to cut it.

Tonight she surprised me (or not so surprising because she often tells me she really doesn't mind the thing I threaten to punish her with, thus making it not a punishment at all) and said she'd like to try a haircut. She was in the bath at the time, so I pulled out the scissors, did a quick search online for "undercut bob" and went to work. Not an easy task on a wiggly 3 year old. I finally relented and gave her a sucker to keep her busy for the finishing touches. I think it turned out pretty cute. Hopefully we'll have less tangles. I maybe should have gone shorter, but I was a little gun-shy.

I have to sneak in a couple of pics of my little man. Madeline thought he might like to watch the action from the seat of her dolly stroller. He wasn't so sure about it. He's still sporting a natural faux-hawk in the back of his head, which won't be cut anytime soon!

Header

Like the new header? It's compliments of my youngest sister, Megan. The same sister who will be leaving on a mission for our church a week from Wednesday to Winnipeg, Canada. The same sister we went down to see this last weekend to hear her speak in church, and to have her choose out clothes for me while shopping. The same sister my kids adore (even Benson smiles and cooes at her more than anyone). She's a talented girl, and I'm proud to call her my sister. We'll miss you, Megan.

Benson's Blessing Day

Benson was blessed in our home last Sunday morning (actually in the backyard because we couldn't fit everyone comfortably in our living room). He was given a beautiful blessing by his father. Much of our family was there, and it was intimate and lovely. Benson behaved well and just kicked his legs during the blessing.

He also behaved well by sleeping through the WHOLE night for the first time. I had put him to bed at 9:45pm, and he slept until 7am. I even woke him at 7 because Madeline, amazingly enough, was also still asleep and I didn't want him to start crying and wake her up. He promptly went back to sleep after I brought him into bed with us and fed him. Until 10am. He's the best baby. He was up just in time to eat again and get dressed before everyone arrived.

We took lots and lots of pictures. It's getting a little more difficult to do now that he's discovered his hands. A good portion of the pictures have my hand in them trying to hold his hands down and away from his mouth.

Miss Madeline and mommy all ready for the day

My very favorite people

Me and Mister Chunkarooni

I loved his little outfit. Madeline insisted that he looked like a girl, and it WAS an outfit that I had gotten for her, but she had never worn. I maintain that it was unisex and just fine for my sweet baby boy. I'm not into the stiff little suits at his age. This was soft and cuddly.

Under him are the blankets Scott and I were wrapped in when we were blessed.

Madeline's Quilt

Here's the finished product. I'm pretty proud of it. Just don't look too closely - it still has chalk lines and strings, and some of the sewing is crooked as can be. That's what happens when you try to make a quilt in a weekend.

And here's the big girl on her new big girl bed. The headboard was a DI (like Goodwill) special that we painted a couple of months ago.