Sunday, March 29, 2009

For awhile I have been stalking, um I mean following the thrifty mom's website on how to get good deals at the stores using coupons.

Today I got this for $24.65..that's 20 boxes of cereal, and not pictured was a box of lasagne noodles, garlic bread and 2 bottles of ajax dish soap.
That is a savings of $85.44!!

PLUS I GOT A $5 COUPON ON MY NEXT ORDER...and I will use that on 6 more boxes of cereal plus another coupon for post cereals of $1, making 5 boxes of cereal only $3.68.
So we now have cereal for a very long time!!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

OR AS I LIKE TO CALL IT: ME VS. THE SCHEDULE
The kids enjoyed spring break this past week and I am certainly glad it is over.
Being a little uber organized, I decided to make a calendar of our week. I had a lot of design projects and knew I would be working in my office A LOT so....
I thought it would be a great idea to show the kids each day and the times of the week, the times I worked, AND the times they got to do fun things as well (so they wouldn't bug me endlessly while I was trying to work).
What I didn't realize, is that my schedule was CRAZY!!! Way too many things and not enough time made for a stressed out, time deprived Momma all week long. I was gone EVERY night to work or church functions, getting home at 1-2AM in the morning after work. Lesson learned.

Prior to spring break schedule, I made a crazy spring cleaning list made in hopes to get the deep cleaning done by April end. Notice how much I have actually done.....(Taylor had to do some of it as a punishment for misbehaving).
So me and my list-i-ness will have to calm down. Somebody save me from myself quickly.


We did do some fun things during spring break. Each of the kids picked a recipe to make and Taylor picked homemade monkey bread and got to learn the ins and outs of working with yeast.

Holding down the 16 YEAR OLD MIXER bumping around that is a bit rickety but STILL works!
(this advertisement paid for by Kitchen Aid)



The exciting part was punching down this beautiful dough and then rolling it in balls.

The finished product all warm and gooey from the oven..I am hungry for more! Taylor was very proud of his cooking skills and he did all the work himself!

Also here is a funny picture of our very own dog/cat whisperer:
They wait until he gets home and is reading and start nestling, the cat is purring, it's a very homey scene.
Note they do not do this with me, the one who trained them as puppies, were with them all the time and walks them most of the time.


My other obsession: this lady (you might have seen her on the news or in the paper) who can feed her family of 5 for $140 a month. Coupons- here I come! This week's hot item, cereal at Albertsons for less than $1 per box. Using her advice I went and got our weeks groceries at Albertsons and at the bottom of the receipt it said I saved $97!! So it does work, takes time clipping, planning and understanding how to use the coupons WITH deals but I love a shopping challenge and so does the dwindling bank account.

On another note about saving money, Mike and I just signed up for a 12 week course called "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey. I am really excited we are embarking on a journey to work together and get out of debt, have peace about our finances and build wealth!! Thanks Melanie to recommending this!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Well, as a Mom to two wonderful kids, how can I not occasionally gloat a little....maybe a lot? The one I want to gush about today is my little Hannah (Taylor will be next in the near future). She is so hot and cold, so independent and has a very FIERY temper, yet underneath that sometimes hard-to-take exterior is the heart of a little girl that enjoys giving and doing for others-especially Mommy and Daddy.

Yesterday as we were out running errands and shopping she said she really wanted to give Daddy and I a present because she loves us so much, and could we please just go back home to get her wallet and get her allowance? I told her that was so thoughtful, but that was something we would have to plan for.

Well, she REALLY wanted to do it, so later that day I took her to the dollar store where she took her own little bag so I couldn't see anything in it and purchased some candy. She then took it home and worked on a treasure hunt for us (she really loves it when I do treasure hunts). She wrote on pieces of paper and hid them and then read us our clues, and at the end we enjoyed mini-snickers and marshmallow eggs. She really wanted to get herself something at the store but decided to spend her whole $3 on us!

She is really creative and loves to gather up our favorite things around the house: lotions, books, etc and package them and have us open them.

Everyday she makes a new picture or several-she is very artistic, or cuts us out bookmarks: here are some of them, along with her LOVEBUG she made for me in class.

She also loves to make snacks and put them on her Barbie tray and then serve us.

This morning, she puts notes on Mike and I's chairs while I was making breakfast.
It says "I LOVE YOU FOREVER" if you can't read kindergarten print, complete with hearts and smiley faces of course :-)
I think these are near and dear to my heart because I used to do the EXACT same thing when I stayed with my grandparents, I would have little notes all over the house and in my Grandpa's shop with the tools.

It's really amazing getting to watch your children learn, grow and mature and enjoy everyday you have with them.
I, too, get caught up in my own agenda, and when Hannah has colored the 20th picture of the day for me, I just say thanks and go on, or when Taylor is telling me this detailed story of his newest toy and how it works, I just nod along, not really listening (thinking about what I have to do). I am reminded that I need to take time and listen. They need constant love, patience and kindness to grow into great adults.
Just little reminders of how I need to embrace each child's strengths and encourage and lift them up. If I don't do it, eventually they will find other places to find that acknowledgment.

Okay I am all done now gushing about my fabulous kids.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I don't have much time and it's been over two weeks since I was last whining so I'll just post a ton of pictures that cover the last 7 days: Hannah posing for the camera, Taylor turning 9 and oh, we just got two more pets (Rex the lizard, Isa the 4 month old chihuauha (sp??), Hannah posing some more and Hannah being our "waitress" and making us sandwiches. She says when she grows up she would like to work at Quiznos. Oh lordy! And the cute picture of the kids and cousins dressed in their battle attire!