Party of Six

Monday, January 14, 2008

Screamin' Deals

This weekend I found some screamin' deals (thanks to Shannon) at Old Navy, and I am so excited about these purchases that I just have to take a minute and show off everything I bought (all for under $60).

Just in case the picture doesn't do my bargain shopping justice, here's a list of clothes I bought:

Four pairs of pants
Four long-sleeve shirts
2 hats (each with a pair of matching gloves)
A winter coat
7 pairs of pajamas (different sizes to last Isaac until he's three)
A scarf (for myself)
A robe (another gift for myself)
A Halloween costume for Baby Payne #2 (my favorite purchase of the weekend)

There you have it. Isaac is set with winter clothes for next year. And everything was at least 75% off! I love it! A special thanks to Allie, Shannon, and my mom for teaching me the ropes of bargain shopping, and to Erinne for loving Old Navy more than anyone I know.

The costume is a little bit unoriginal for Halloween, but it was only $2.50, and it's not gender specific (which works great because we won't find out those specifics on baby #2 until tomorrow).

Doesn't he look handsome in his new pants? I couldn't resist buying a pair to fit him now. --sara

Sunday, January 13, 2008

First Day on the Job

I'm officially a "Proud Peacock." That's my new mascot, at least. Isn't that just the greatest? It almost rivals being a dart...almost. Yesterday I started a new part-time job teaching a class at Upper Iowa University. It's through one of their extension sights, so they cater mostly to working adults. This works great for me because the class I am teaching meets only on Saturdays (which means Ryan can be home with little Ike). It is a curriculum and methods course for teachers who are working on their ESL endorsement. In other words, I teach educators a variety of different strategies that will help them with their students who do not speak English as their primary language. Yesterday I was both excited and nervous as I headed to work--my first time teaching adults instead of children (other than in church). It turned out great! I absolutely loved it. It reminded me just how much I love being in the classroom. My students seemed willing to learn, and I felt more comfortable than I thought I would. I think it's going to be a great learning opportunity for me, and it will give me some good experience in case I want to teach full-time in a university setting someday (though that seems like a very far away "someday"). For now, no one but my brother is required to address me as "Professor Payne." :)

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Being Deceptive

One of our New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier food and cook healthier meals for our family. The whole childhood obesity epidemic kind of freaks me out. Plus, I just don't think it's a good idea to feed my kids full of some of the garbage they sell in fast food restaurants and elsewhere these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm down for a hamburger and fries once in awhile, and I'm a sucker for desserts of any kind, but eating less junk food is my goal here. Ryan helped me with my resolution by getting me this cook book for Christmas:

I love it! It's all about putting more fruit and vegetables in your food. This macaroni and cheese I made for dinner tonight has cauliflower in it.

Who would have guessed? The cookbook is full of kid-friendly foods (like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets) that sneak veggies into them. Right now Isaac will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, but that probably won't last forever. In the meantime, this book is helping Ryan and I eat better. A big shout out to my sister for introducing me to this jem of a text.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Back in the Blogging World

We're back everyone! I won't go into great detail about all of our holiday activities--instead I'll let the pictures do the talking. I will say that we had a wonderful time visiting friends and family.