I love this kid. . .

Masyn Kahana Savage

I L-O-V-E this kid!!  He has a special way of making anybody laugh.  Masyn can be somewhat,  extremely stubborn (no idea where that came from , hee hee).  He just turned three on January 18.  It has been wonderful seeing him grow and create his own personality.  I know there are lots of pictures, but it is the only way to show his silly personality.

Masyn adores ketchup!  He will ask for it on salad, chicken nuggets, pizza, steak, sandwiches (peanut butter and ketchup has been made more than once), EVERYTHING!!!  He will lick that plate to get all of the ketchup.  Which is exactly what he is doing here.

Masyn loves to read any and all books!  He will always ask to take a book to wherever we go.  The car is also a wonderful napping place.  Masyn is just like his momma in that cars put him to sleep, no matter the time of day.

Masyn took his first trip to the dentist this past year and did amazing!  He sat calmly and even giggled when it came time to brush his teeth.  Masyn's favorite part was wearing cool sunglasses and then picking out the toy at the end.

Masyn knows exactly where our winter gear is kept.  He will put it on no matter the weather outside.

Masyn also loves to find his daddy's hats and wear them around.

We have had issues with Masyn picking his nose this year.  We have had several times when we would find him using his thumbs.  This time he thought he could get more with both of his thumbs.

Masyn's favorite story at this time of the year was " Go Dog Go".  We had just bought this toilet seat to introduce him to potty training.  He came out with it on his head and said. . . "Like it my hat mommy?"  I couldn't help but laugh and say yes as I took the picture.

 Masyn thoroughly enjoyed camping this year!  He loved "mallow samwichs" aka s'mores. 

 Masyn also enjoyed playing in the river and finding rocks, twigs and who know what else.

Masyn again adores his Dad, here he was being a solider just like daddy. 

Masyn loves hats!!  He will always find one and wear it.  This is a duct tape Santa hat that was given to Doug from a fellow teacher.

Doug had just gotten his formal police hat, and of course Masyn had  to try it on.

Masyn is always taking the shoes out of our shoe baskets whether in the front room or in his room. 

 Masyn also enjoys his naked time.  If he could he would run naked all day long!  Today we found him playing in his room in the buff.  A lot of the time I have to have him compromise on at least underwear.

Happy birthday little man, your momma loves you more than you could ever imagine!  You bring so many smiles to my face and others.  I promise you will have challenges in life, I only hope that you will keep your wonderful outlook on everything.

Sometimes you can't catch a break. . . .

GOODBYE CAST!!!!

On January 11 we took Ryleigh in for her LAST orthopedic appointment for her broken leg.  We went and started with taking an X-ray to check her femur.  When the doctor came in the room afterwards, he was glad to report that her leg looked fantastic and that she didn't need her brace/cast any longer.

YIPPEE!!!!

This is what the back of her leg looked like the next evening after a bath.  It is hard to see, but you can tell how high her road rash went.  The area that is the deep red is approximately where it was broken. 

Ryleigh was sooo excited to be free and out of her cast.  On the following Saturday my sister came down with her kids to play before the adult session of Stake Conference that night.  Ryleigh and her cousin, Katie Jo, were twirling in the living room.  The girls lost their balance and fell several times; but the last time Katie Jo fell on top of Ryleigh's left foot.  Ryleigh let a scream out that had me revisit the day her leg was broken.  I was able to get her calmed down and some ice on her foot but the swelling was already starting.

My parents came down to watch the kids that evening.  Once I returned home my mom told me that Ryleigh refused to stand or even walk; she scooted around the house like she did when she first broke her leg.  Her foot was pretty swollen on Sunday morning, I considered taking her into urgent care but decided against it.  We continued to ice her foot and kept her on ibuprofen for the pain and Monday morning we called the doctor. 

Lucky for us we got in to see our family doctor (which is an added bonus because she is hard to catch on the fly).  They took an X-ray but wasn't able to determine if anything was broken right away.  The doctor requested a radiologist take a look at it.  The doctor told us to keep icing her foot and Ryleigh in her tennis shoe for support.  Tuesday Ryleigh started to get a little braver and tried walking on it, but the foot still bothered her quite a bit.  In the afternoon I got a call back from the doctor with the results of the X-ray. . . . her foot was fractured.  Yep, fractured!  I was supposed to call the orthopedic center to schedule an appointment for that day to get her taken care of. 

All I could do was laugh.  (Please don't think I am a bad parent!!) It took me a good 5-10 minutes to stop laughing after I got off of the phone with the doctor.  I felt horrible that she had been out of her cast a mere three days and then broke something else; not even something else the foot of the leg she broke. 

Seriously!!!

After visiting with the orthopedic doctor was unable to determine if she had fractured her foot or not.  So, he is treating as if it is fractured.  Ryleigh now is sporting an awesome post-op boot that she is wearing for another week.  We go back mid-next week to see if she can take the boot off and finish remembering how to walk properly. 

Now I am trying to decide if I should put in her bubble wrap to make sure she doesn't break anything else for a LONG time!

Homemade Laundry Soap - Review

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been addicted to pintrest.  The social media program has a plethora of ideas for anything that any one person may want to do.  A couple of months ago I saw my neighbor had pinned a website that had a recipe for homemade laundry soap.  We had talked about it and I asked her to tell me about how she thought it worked; next thing I know she brings me a sample.

I used to use Tide free and gentle and also I used Downy for fabric softener.  With these products I was finding I had to run my rinse cycle twice to ensure I got all of the soap and softener out for Masyn.  As some of you know Masyn has eczema.  His eczema flares up really bad in the winter.  I have tried using lotions, and various creams to help him.  The eczema just turns his skin to leather and using "regular" lotion is painful for him.  Once I started using this laundry soap his issues minimized A LOT!  I still used fabric softener so he still had small issues.  I re-read this blog and she stated that you can use white vinegar for fabric softener and it would work great.  I was skeptical but gave it a shot. 

I have fallen in love with this soap hook, line, and sinker.  Not only has it helped my little man be more comfortable in his clothes but it saves me a ton!!

Here is the recipe in short:

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Super Washing Soda (different than baking soda)
2 Gallons of Water (divided)
3+ gallon bucket/pot

Grate your laundry soap and add to 6 C of water.  Heat on low temperature (careful not to boil).  Once the soap is melted add your borax and washing soda.  Continue to stir mixture until it thickens (similar to honey).  Remove from the heat.  In your bucket pour 4 cups of hot tap water and then add soap mixture and stir.  Then add 1 gallon plus 6 more cups of hot tap water.  Stir for few more minutes and then let it sit overnight.  The next morning you will need to whisk it or blend it to break up the clumps (she said this was normal) and then it is ready to use. 

You use 1/2 cup of the laundry soap per load and if you use the vinegar, for your softener, also use a 1/2 cup.  Now I will offer a caution; this is not stellar on flannel or fleece, only because it creates static in all of the clothes in the load.  I plan on keeping some commerical soap on hand to assist with that specifically. 

The cost of making this soap. . . . well I bought a the bar of soap (which is good for 3 batches of soap) for $0.97, the borax for approximately $3.00, and the washing soda for about the same.  I have more than enough borax and washing soda to make laundry for at least six months.  So now laundry cost me pennies per load.  I also am using the vinegar because I can buy 2 gallons of white vinegar from Sam's club for just under $4.00. 

So. . . if you have eczema I highly recommend this soap, my parents and my sister have already converted who have eczema much worse than Masyn.  They all swear by it now. 

*The recipe and step by step directions can be found at http://frugallygreen.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-soap.html

Christmas 2011

I know that this is late but, better late than never right?  Christmas this year was a ton of fun.  I always thought growing up Christmas was fun.  Something about waking up at some horribly early hour and running upstairs to see what Santa left for me and my family.  We would always go and peak and try to count how many was for ourselves.  I see my kids doing that now.
This year we stayed in a beautiful large house in Fort Collins with all 19 members of Doug's family.  We had a blast.  We were able to meet three new (two are identical twins) nephews while everyone was together.  We were able to get everyone together for pictures. Here are a few:

Having the entire week together was a blast.  On Christmas we went to church at 9:00 and then came home and everyone put back on the PJ's and we opened presents.  The kids thought it was great becuase they stayed in the PJ's all day!

Masyn opening his Sheriff car from his stocking

Ayden showing off the new favorite toy.  This was constantly played with!!

Ryleigh was super happy about her dollhouse

The books from Grandma Savage.

What the tree looked like when everything was done.

Santa was smart and even seperated the gifts by family.

Santa's plate, he was hungry!!

Masyn playing with his "docker" set

Ryleigh opening a dress

It was so wonderful having evveryone together.  I only hope I can remember the difference between Logan and Brennen!

I try to be crafty. . .

Recently I have discovered the wonderful world of Pintrest.  Doug thought this was a silly website to get involved in, but now he has changed his mind.  If you haven't been on yet it has been best described as "looking through a bunch of neat magazines and being able to tear out the pages and then organize them for your use."  I have found several new dinner ideas that my family L-O-V-E-S and they are easy too (always an added bonus!)

I got this super cool kindle for Christmas from Doug and was more than excited to make a cover for it, so I turned to pintrest to help me find the answer.

I used information from this blog but wanted it to look this cover.  Here is what my mom (who also received a kindle for Christmas) and I came up with. 

 

 

I am pretty happy on how it turned out and it only cost me about $3 in supplies to make. 

Here is another find.  I wanted to make this for my mom and my mother in law for Christmas, but got too busy.  So I just finished this yesterday (thanks Michelle!)

If you are not on pintrest yet, let me know I can send you the invite you need to get started.

I highly recommend the website, and dare you to not get addicted!

Meet our favorite Elders!

These elders use to serve in our ward.  They were transferred out quite a while ago.  At the beginning of December they showed up in our building during church to assist with a missionary transfer and stopped by the primary room to say hello.  These two missionaries (Elder Gross on the right and Elder Everett on the left) are amazing.  We enjoyed having them in our home for meals and whenever they stopped by.  These guys would always have object lessons that kept the kids attention and even somewhat aimed for them.  In fact the kids still talk about the mouse and rat trap, as well as the tea bag on fire. Doug shared some magic tricks and taught them how to relate them to the Gospel.  They stated to me that they still use these in their teachings with non-members as well as member families.  These missionaries will always have a special place in our hearts.

Ayden's Holiday music

Ayden started at a new charter school this year named, Loveland Classical School.  The coursework is challenging and keeps him on his toes.  Just before the holiday break Ayden's class put on a small sing-a-long music program.  It was a lot of fun to go to and participate in.  We sang all of the normal Christmas carols, except one.  Ms. Lanciotti (the science teacher) helped this kids rewrite Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, which is the version we sang (below are the words.)  In Ayden's science class they are learning about the human body.

The Question . . .

Now that I am an adult I think I get more excited for Christmas than I did as a kid. Something about watching the look of surprise and wonder in my own kids eyes as they see everything that Santa brought for them. This year we almost had to face "the question" from Ayden. Ayden asked me if Santa was dead. I was caught off guard by his bluntness, especially because it was in front of the two kids.  I asked where he had heard that Santa was dead, he stated a friend at school. 
After a conversation about Santa and what he does for people in the world.  I tried to remember when it was I learned the truth about Santa.  I have to say I honestly have no idea.  Doug and I talked about what we would do when Ayden or any of the other kids confront us about Santa, we decided we had to be honest.  Santa is the wonderful spirit of Christmas that brings joy into many people lives. 

I have been talking to people who have faced this already and have been looking online for different ideas on how to handle it all.  I found this amazing sweet letter from a mom to her daughter about Santa on the mom's website.  The mom got busted playing tooth fairy and then her daughter started to question Santa as well.

Dear Lucy,

Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.

This won’t make you Santa, though.

Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.

I love you and I always will.

Mama

I don't look forward to when my kids learn the truth, but only hope that they can feel of the love that Doug and I have for each one of them when they do.