Grandmother Update...

My Memaw Susan... my dad's mother... is still in the hospital. Her doctors had initially thought they would put two stints in to relieve some of the pressure in her heart and buy some time. But now, after seeing all of her test results, bloodwork and everything feel that she is also not a candidate for stints.

It looks like when she stabilizes, they will send her home with no relief and no surgery.

Please Pray

My Dad's mother is in serious need of prayer. She has had three heart attacks in a week's time. She had a liver transplant about 7 years ago and has a history of smoking and for those reasons is considered too high of a risk for surgery. I need specific prayers please:

1- Pray for my Daddy. He tries not to show it, but this is really tough on him.
2- Pray that the doctors find a way to make her more comfortable and that she can regain some quality of life.
3- Pray that somehow, through this ordeal, that a door is opened for someone to talk to her about Christ.
4- Pray that all four of her children can agree on a course of action after the immediate threat has passed... assisted living, a nursing home, something.

I spoke to Nicole yesterday and she was such an encourager to me. She didn't ask questions, she just prayed. Thank you for that Nicole. You will never know how much that meant to me. Thank you for not just reading about my life, but participating in it.

Girl's Night with CD

That's Crystal Dawn, in case you didn't know! Since Hankie is out of town, and Bry had a sleepover last night, Sophie and I called and asked Crystal to come hang out with us! I wanted to do some girlie things like paint my toes and maybe even Sophie's but we just ended up talking, talking, talking, and then watching a movie, and talking! I love that about Crystal... we can talk about ANYTHING! We watched the movie "Juno" which wasn't really what I expected it to be, but it was good just the same. I laughed a lot, and I needed to laugh!

Soph has decided that Crystal is her buddy! She kept crawling all over her and smiling at her and talking to her. It made me happy, cause she really doesn't do that to too many people! She instantly decided that she liked Crystal though! And at the end of the night, she had even found a new pillow!I appreciate you Crystal Dawn. Thank you for listening and talking with me. And thank you for loving my children so unreservedly. They love you right back... how can they help it? You have such a mother's heart.

Bro-Bro

My little nephew Brody is getting big already! He's nearly three months and so stinkin' cute I can hardly stand it! Yesterday, I took the kids over to play for a little while and got to visit with Kayla. At first, little man was in good spirits. Then he got a little tired... Then he decided it was time for a nap! I mean he was awake one minute and passed out the next! He was making these soft little sounds and smiling at first... and it just melted my heart! Kayla and I think that Brody and Soph favor a little bit!

Don't Box Me In

I am not sure if Hank and I will see an end to the boxes any time soon. I mean, we just had a massive yard sale, and that emptied out some. But there are still boxes waiting to be gone through in our garage. And I like to keep a couple of boxes on hand here at the house cause you just never know when you might need one.

For example, we are currently in the midst of a bathroom makeover, and that bathroom is where I normally store all my CVS swag (that's right... that's what I said). So right now, it's all in a box... and overflowing out of the box in our living room. Let's face it... it's also on my dining room table, and any other place I have for storage as well! You can tell that this particular box has seen better days... and probably endured 3 moves too!

I had some cool boxes for packing pictures and stuff when we moved, but they have long since gone to the recycle plant. My sister-in-law had some cool custom boxes from one of their moves that they gave to us. They sort of looked like this:

CVS Saturday

I just decided that since I try to go to CVS only on Saturdays when possible, that you will probably see this post every week! Here's what I got today:I spent $6.48 out of pocket for $298.67 worth of merchandise. I also walked out with more ECB's than I went in with and was able to pick up some items off of Tres's school supply list too. Then I got my mother an Acu-Check Diabetes Monitoring Kit because she is borderline diabetic. It is normally $65. It was a weekly deal of $9.99 and it generated $9.99 ECB. So that was a good deal!

Breakfast with Bryant

Since Hank and Tres are on their father/son trip, Bry and I are doing some special things. One of them was for breakfast, we fixed and Mickey Mouse pizza and then played X-box! He was super excited because I let him have a coke with pizza for breakfast and that never happens. I found the pizza in the frozen food section at Wal-Mart for $1.38. He was so thrilled! It's the simple things in life that make him happy!

Oh My Good Lord!!

I just got home and opened our power bill. I have budgeted for it to higher in the summer, but not quite this high!
Nearly $300! Are you serious???

So, I get my happy little butt on the phone to the power company. After about ten minutes on the phone, and a very friendly relaxed (even though I wasn't feeling it) attitude, they adjusted it down to where it was supposed to be.

Man, it about gave me a heart attack though. Talk about blowing your budget!

Nighttime Swimming

It's summertime and the days and nights seem so long to me during summer! Our summer so far, has been filled with swimming, tee ball, and family time. Last night, we incorporated all three!!

Bryant had tee-ball practice, then we headed over to my parent's house for a night time swim! I like swimming at night cause you don't have to worry with sun block and sun burn. Bryant has become quite the daredevil this year. He is all over the pool with his water wings on! And he is working on conquering his fear of putting his head underwater a baby step at a time. But he sure isn't shy about jumping into the pool or even off of the diving board, just as long as he has those wings on! Tres is our fish! He swims above water, under water, floats on his back, and is working on diving (very early stages!!) Since he opted out of tee ball this year, we have toyed with the idea of finding a local swimteam. I'm serious... we have to drag him out of the pool! And the kid has also dropped some weight this summer! He's still my tan little man!This was Hank's first time to see itty bitty in the pool. She loves the water... as long as being in the water involves being in Mommy's arms! I put her under water at least once when we are swimming and she has never cried. She loves to kick her legs and yell and babble at her brothers!

Swimming at night also brings back some child hood memories for me. My Dad's Mom, who we call Memaw Susan, had a pool, and we would go spend long weekends their in the summer. My cousin Racheal would come over and we would go and swim at night. I remember Racheal convincing us that you can get a 'moonlight' tan. So Tonnie, Racheal, and I all laid our towels out on the concrete and moonbathed! Ha!

Hello, is anyone home?

I keep getting calls from telemarketers lately. The other day, I was getting Sophie down for a nap, when the ringing phone woke her up. I answered the phone to get it to stop ringing and the guys goes straight into a sales pitch! I told him that he woke my baby up and did he seriously think he would make a sale after that, then hung up. Does anyone else have this problem? I've even signed up on the 'Do Not Call' list, but it seems like it doesn't work very well.

With all the groups that do market research nowadays, it seems like there would be a study or some statistics to show these companies that they are getting nowhere fast with these pesky phone calls!

I Miss It On Some Days

I recently heard about a book called, 'The Ten Year Gap.' It's all about a woman's struggle to re-enter the work force after being a stay at home mom for years. When she went in for interviews... qualified or not... she was usually not considered for the position because of the ten year gap in her resume. I'm trying hard to keep my resume going! In fact, I have my blog listed under special interests on my resume.

I was thinking back to my days at the television station. I miss some of it quite a bit. The creative aspect was so much fun. And seeing pieces and packages come together was a lot of fun. We did stories on local businesses, we did consumer pieces that we called "Does It Work?" We even did a story one time on how to make your own natural acne treatment at home. It was very time consuming, but it was interesting and atypical. It made the days go by very quickly. I really don't think I would mind being back in television again if it weren't for the crazy hours!

I Made A Friend!

Isn't the internet a funny thing?? A friend of a friend of mine and I have been able to get to know one another through blogs, emails, and comments.

So, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my new friend, Nikki. She knew of my from All State Choir days back in high school, and we have a couple of mutual friends (Nikki, ask Asher if he remembers Kelly Willis... my best friend!). She is super sweet, and she has so SUPER CUTE stuff at her etsy shop! Go check it out, and be sure and leave her a comment!

This is the one thing I love about blogging! Getting to know new friends.

20/40/10

Did you know that Alabama enforces minimum coverage for cars of $20,000 injury liability for one person, $40,000 for all injuries in one accident, and $10,000 property damage in one accident. They call that 20/40/10.

I know I have more than enough insurance, but I never thought about how we compared to other states. I know that in California auto insurance is required to be 15/30/5. That sure doesn't seem like enough when you live in a place that has a higher cost of living than here in Bama.

Whenever I see an accident, one of my first thoughts is always, "I hope everyone is all right!" Then immediately followed by, "I hope they are covered."

I've always been the kind of person who believes in plenty of coverage. When I lived in an apartment, I had renter's insurance. Hank and I both have life insurance policies. And the kid's all have one too. We believe that insurance is an investment in our families future.

Miss Jamie the Teacher??

I am trying to do my part, as a stay at home mom, to help bring in additional income for our family. Anything I bring in, we use for vacation, savings, or family fun moments like the Drive-In, birthdays, and even Christmas... you know I shop year around!

I have been looking into teaching speech and creative writing workshops for the local homeschool organization next year. If I can get that going, that would be a great source of income, as well as a WONDERFUL use of my education!

Hank says, if I start doing that, that he would get me a laptop. It would be fully equipped so that I would have all the bells and whistles I would need to do a stellar job. He would make sure I have all the ram, or Random Access Memory, that I need, and make sure that I can get my lesson plans ready and waiting for the next class!

Pray that this works out. I really am excited about this endevor and want it to work out so badly!

"Pro Active" about My Complexion!

When I was younger, I never had much trouble with acne or breakouts on my face. But I did have some issues on my back. So at a young age, I was using acne treatments for that. As an adult, I try to maintain my skin and complexion. I use a mixture of products for the occassional break-out. I've used ProActiv, Clinique (mostly because I worked there), Mary Kay, and anything in between!

Some of my nieces and nephews are starting to use some of these products, too! But with modern technology and armed with a lot of knowledge about why we break out and things we can do to avoid it, I feel like they are way ahead of where I was at that age!

I used to sun bathe to get my skin to clear up!! Talk about doing more damage!

Yard Sale Leftovers

When we had our yard sale, I was so surprised that I didn't sell one piece of my maternity clothes. I have a very nice, name brand collection of summer and winter maternity clothes and I had the prices starting at $.50 a piece up to $3 for 2-piece outfits. We had a lot of pregnant women come to the sale, and let me tell you they bought up ALL of the baby clothes, but not the first piece of maternity clothes. So I'm planning to try ebay to sell some of the best stuff. I even have two swimsuits. I'm glad that I won't need them anymore, but it was fun not to have to worry about the old waistband during those 25 months of my life. Oh my word... that is the first time that I've thought about how long I spent being pregnant. That is over two years of my life. It would have been even longer if I hadn't of had Tres and Sophie both one month early and Bryant 2 weeks early.

Does anyone know of anyone who is expecting that is a size large and extra large?

Don't Mess With Me! I'm Hormonal!

Please be in prayer for my Mom! She is currently working on scheduling 2 or 3 surgeries that she needs and is having a hard time doing every day things. One surgery should help her struggle with her hormones. It seems like she has been in a constant state of menapause for 15 years now!! I can remember her having hot flashes before I got my Driver's Permit... and I'm 30 folks!! I've often wondered if she has explored hormone therapy. I did a little research online and found a website that is very knowledgable. Here's what it has to say:
"Ultrapms.com is dedicated to bringing you quality products such as progesterone cream that will help you maintain good health. All of our products are natural, and contain no chemical additives." I would love to see her more active and living a healthier, pain-free life!

Future Vacation Plans

We have Disney passes through December of this year, so we plan to utilize those to the fullest extent this year. But Hank and I have already started to talk about next year, and what we will want to do as a family. I'm thinking, we need to plan a beach trip. Sophie will be over nearly 2 by next summer, and I think it would be fun to do Destin or Gulf Shores, or some other beach destination.

So right now, I'm looking for some really great vacation deals! Before the baby was even a glimmer in our eyes, we took the boys to Panama City and had so much fun doing things that, as a teenager vacationing, you may not even realize were there! So that is even a possibility. I just want my kids to have fun.

Summer Swimming!

Two things happened that made me laugh until my sides hurt yesterday. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took the kids to swim at my parent's house yesterday. The boys love to swim and play, and HATE to do anything that takes their time away from the pool... not even go to an actual bathroom. And who needs a toilet when you're a little boy? I call this one, 'Bathroom Break.' They jumped out, went to the bathroom, and were back swimming so quickly, I barely had time to snap this pic!

When I decided it was time to take a break from the sun and get the kids fed, I told the boys to take off their swim shirts and get dressed. This is what should be under their shirts:But I guess because he was so excited to get in the water, Tres had this on under his swim shirt: His actual shirt. It had to dry while I worked on the closets yesterday.

I just love my funny and fabulous boys! I thank God daily for knowing that they needed to be so close in age so that they could be best buddies.

CVS Saturday

I headed over to CVS this morning. I'm trying to make only one trip a week due to gas prices, so I had several transactions planned. While there, I ran into Ms. Vickie, her sister Renee (whom I met for the first time! Nice to meet you Ms. Renee!), and
Becca. It's nice to see everyone out working to save their families money!

Here is what I came home with today: I used mine and my husband Hank's cards. And after 8 transactions between the two, I ended up spending $12.81 OOP. It would have been less, but I forgot that when they issue the ECB's for multiples of the same item ( i.e. Oral B Cross Action Power toothbrushes), they give all the ECB's in one hunk. So I had a $12 ECB. Anyway, it all worked out fine. I got all of these items... and that is $206.22 worth of merchandise (according to CVS's sale prices)... and earned $42.29 in ECB's to carry over for next week's trip. I'll probably do the toilet paper, paper towel deal again since that never goes bad!

If you want to see how others are saving their families money, go check out the CVS Superstars at the 'Cent'sible Sawyer! I keep this site bookmarked, and check it as often as I can to see what other great deals are out there!

Closets, Swimming, and Tying our Shoes

We are over at my parent's house right now. We got here around 10 and I let the kids swim for a good while. Then we had lunch and I got Sophie to sleep, the boys watching some tv, and I am working on cleaning out my sister Jennie's THREE CLOSETS. That's right, folks. She has three closets and they are ALL jam packed.

When we first came in from swimming Tres was determined that he wanted to tie his shoes himself for the first time. He got so frustrated that he started crying. I convinced him to leave it alone for a while and try again later. I think Hank and I inadvertantly made him self conscious about that. We got a note from his school telling us the things that he needs to be able to do on him own and that was one of the few things he couldn't do. I wasn't about to tell him this after he struggled for so long on it, but I plan to buy him velcro shoes so he won't have to struggle!

Okay, I better go get back to closet #2.

"Honor They Father..."

Happy late Father's Day to all you dad's out there! I hope you ladies all spent some quality time honoring the father's in you life. My kid's and I had fun doing that this weekend! On Saturday, we sent Hank out of the house for a while with Sophie while the boys and I got his father's day stuff ready!Excuse her messy mouth... she recently discovered Doritos! :) Father and daughter took a trip to Lowe's and to get gold... I mean gas. While they were gone, we wrapped presents. And we filled out his card. The boys took finding the perfect Father's Day card extremely serious! They had me read about a hundred cards to them before we finally found and settled on this one! Then we made Hank's favorite dessert, chocolate covered ritz and peanut butter sandwiches.They took it very seriously! Especially when it came to licking the bowl!They even came up with a Father's Day song just for their daddy!
Then Dad came home, and we decided to go ahead and celebrate Father's Day since we knew Sunday would be full, and Hank had to work. I picked him out some plaid short and the boys picked out "Mighty Putty." I just want to say that whoever the marketing guy is who decided it was a good idea to plug in infomercials during cartoons is a genuis! My boys have been telling us for months that Daddy just needed Mighty Putty.... that it could fix almost anything. So when we passed by one of those As Seen On TV endcaps at Target and Tres spotted it, he about killed my eardrums yelling, "Mom!!! MIGHTY PUTTY!!!!" So that's what Dad got. He laughed when he unwrapped it, but my guess is that he'll find a why to use it! :)Here is my family on Father's Day morning! I have one good looking husband and kids! Hankie, I love you. You are an incredible Dad and I thank God every day for you. Thank you for playing legos when you didn't want to... for getting 'un-gettable' video games just because our kids REALLY want to play them... and making every weekend full of special and memorable moments.

The Computer Guy

I would consider my husband fairly knowledgable of computers and technology. In his chosen field, television production, I believe that no one knows more or can deliver the quality that he can. But I have to say, when it comes to problems or quirks with our computer at home or at work, my first instinct is to call on my brother-in-law, Brett. When we were toying with the idea of buying a computer for the boys' room, Brett advised us to get used parts and refurbish an old computer. You can do that pretty easily with some used cisco parts found on the site! Click the link and check it out.

Do you guys remember that old SNL (Saturday Night Live) skit called 'The Computer Guy?' Where the computer guy was completely obnoxious and know-it-all? Well, that's Brett!

Lost Glasses

I think we go on a hunt for missing eyeglasses ore prescription sunglasses every other week at this house! The last time we did this was when we were packing to go to Disney. Hank has been looking for one of his two pair of glasses for a while, and was sure that we would find them in our luggage when we were packing. No luck. Then when we got to his parent's house, he searched there too with no luck. So we are looking for a really good deal to get him new glasses.

Just like the boys, Soph is fascinated with snatching those glasses off of his face any chance she gets! And Hank lets her! It's a game they play. But that game is awfully hard on the one pair he's got!

We usually wait for a good deal or coupon and then get him some new ones, but there are some great deals on eyeglasses at this website! Hit the jump and check out the prices! They seem almost too good to be true!

One Year?? Are you Kidding?

I'm just blown away that Sophie is coming up on her one year old birthday already! I mean, Lord, it seriously feels like I just had her! But here she is, cute as can be, and about to turn one.

With both boys, I planned an elaborate birthday party, sent out invitations, the whole nine yards. But with Sophie's party, I'm thinking of going lower key with just family. I already have plans to do a beach themed party cause I found such a cute cake design to try that is a sand castle!

Crystal actually gave me a great idea too! I'm all about doing stuff to pass on to my kids so they can pass it down to their kids. And she suggested getting her a charm bracelet, and every year, getting her a charm for it.

I wouldn't have begun to know where to look, so thank God for the internet! I found a site that offers kids jewelry, fashion jewelry, gold & silver jewelry and evvery thing in between! They even offer medical id jewelry... watches, bracelets, money clips... you name it. I found this cute charm to remember her first birthday.

A 'Hank' erin'

Last night, Hank and I got to spend some much needed and rare time WITHOUT our children! Gasp! I know. It's horrible to admit that we might need time away from our kids, but we do. It keeps us sane and it helps keep our marriage strong. It was so nice to not have the baby girl needing me, or a son pulling at our legs!

We went and ate at Wings. We tend to do that just about any time we go on a date night. When we were dating, we went to Wings a good bit, because it was close to my apartment at the time, and Hankie loves Wings. In fact, we frequented it so much, that we had our rehearsal dinner there!

We walked around the mall for a very short time, then we decided to just head on home and watch a movie or shows we had recorded on the tivo. Something we don't take for granted is quiet time at home. Quiet at our house is usually a precurser to something wrong. Smile!

We got up this morning, and I asked Hank if he wanted to grab some breakfast and go with me to CVS. He agreed, but I don't think he knew what he was getting into! He was a little antsy, but I think he may appreciate how much effort I'm putting into saving our family money. Because after 6 transactions, this is what we had:This is $114.48 worth of merchandise. I spent a total of $3.87 out of pocket. I went in armed with coupons and $10 in ECB's. I left armed with 10 ECB's. If I do it right, I walk out with the same amount of more in ECB's as I walk in with. All for less than the price of the one gallon of milk. If anyone wants a break-down, I will happily e-mail it to you! It would take too long to detail it here and bore the rest of you to pieces! ;)

After that, Hank and I went to a local warehouse called The Loading Dock South. We found new countertops for both bathrooms... the perfect length and everything... and spent only $25. We plan to keep going in to look for other things too. If you are doing a home improvement project I would suggest looking into The Loading Dock!

Now we are at home, and gonna get the kids to rest. The boys and I have plans later to get Hank's Father's Day surprises ready while he and Sophie run a few errands.

It's been a good day so far!

The 'Hip'pest family around

My Dad has had some trouble lately with his syatica and that has translated to his hip. He was out of commission for about two weeks, then got a steriod shot. He started feeling better and went back to work (too soon). Next thing you know, he's out of commission again! So when we go over to swim, he hobbles out using a cane. That is a strange sight to me. My father has always been larger than life and physically capable of handling just about any situation!

My mother is in need of a hip replacement. She has no cartilidge cushioning her hip joint and is in severe pain on a daily basis. She had originally scheduled her surgery for the first week in July, but has pushed it off for a number of reasons.

Please be in prayer for my parents. I love them very much and hate to see either one in pain!

Our Little Ball Player!

This was Bryant at his first tee-ball practice. He is loving it and doing really well! He's at least running the bases the right way this year instead of backwards! :)And here he is with his Daddy at his first game. He is on the Marlin's this year. Dad gives him a little pep talk before the game. "Go Big Brother!" Me and Sophie cheered on Bry on a blanket with some snacks!

Pictures

I added pics below. I thought I had added them the first time, but they didn't show up. I did it all again! So check out the posts with the pics when you get a chance!

Sunday is for Resting.... Right?

Not so much at our house!

I got up at about 6:30 after crashing hard on Saturday night. So I made muffins and got myself ready for church. Then I woke the boys up one at a time, and bathed them and got them ready and fed. Then I went and got Sophie and Hank up. I fed Sophie one of the chocolate muffins......then had to give her a quick bath before she was ready! :) We were ready to go pretty early.

After church, I would love to say that afternoon naps are a priority, but they are not! With some of our yard sale money, and some money that the boys had saved up over the previous months, it was necessary to stop at Toys R Us. Tres got a new DS, and Bryant got an Indian Jones Lego set.The rest of their afternoon (and Daddy's!) was spent putting together LEGOS and playing on their DS's.

After Toys R Us, we went the longer way home, and swung by my favorite CVS. Since I had clipped the appropriate coupons from Sunday's paper, I wanted to pick up (3) Dove deo, (2) Dove body washes, (1) Schick Razor, (1) 4 Cartridge Schick, (2) Nivea Extreme Comfort Shaving Gel, (1) Nivea for Men Senisitive Skin Body Wash, (2) Smart Rinse, and (2) Brut Deodarants. Thankfully they had everything I wanted.I spent $2.34. On these transactions, I generated more ECB's than I spent thanks to coupons! So that made up for yesterday.

I plan to return at some point this week for some make-up and softlips and a couple of other things! Does anyone know where I can get a Revlon coupon?? I need some concealer! :)

Funny story... I got myself ready sporting my nice red farmer's tan from the yard sale, and I guess I didn't really look in the mirror after I got ready... cause the line for my shirt and the tan line were way off! I led praise and worship like that!

"Hello, my name is Sophie...

...and I'm addicted to nursing!" At least that's what it feels like lately! She doesn't want to go to sleep without nursing, and when she gets upset, she starts pulling on my shirt. I'm trying to make it to one year with nursing, but man... I don't want to be a human pacifier.

I realize that I am a lot less structured this time around since I am at home, and this is, after all, my first nursing experience. So I am making an effort to get her over her 'addiction!' :) No more comfort nursing... unless as a very last resort!

So at nap time, I feed her food and don't nurse her. Then I tuck her in, and she cries. So I went in every five minutes, three times and tuck her in and leave... trying to let her 'cry it out.' Here's what I had to look at and listen to. The red dots are the level of noise... and they are all lit up. The hump on the left side of the monitor is her standing and holding onto the side of the crib!

This was the worst afternoon, and I finally quit trying that day. We had to go to Bry's tee ball game anyway. She was surprisingly very pleasant until the last inning of the game, then the drama queen emerged and she wanted what she wanted, when she wanted it!! The night was a lot better. She went right to bed and slept until 6 am, got in bed with us and went back to sleep with no nursing until around 9.

And the days following haven't been perfect, but I've begun to notice some positive changes!

C'est Finis!

(That's French for "It's Done!") The much anticipated/dreaded yard sale is now over! We are, I am happy to report, $482 richer and a lot of junk poorer!

I'm tired. We started at 6 am with set-up after organizing it until 11 last night. We finished dropping off the last bit of junk at the Thrift Store at about 7:30pm.

I have sunburn.

Hank grabbed a piece of furniture to unload it and a nail went into his finger.

I hurt my toe.

I did manage to get away from the Yard Sale Extravaganza and get over to CVS to get some deals today! I got 6 boxes of General Mills cereal, 4 12-packs of Coke products (not pictured cause they were already chillin' in the fridge!), 5 bags of Chex Mix, 2 Purells, and a package of pencils (starting to gather the long list of school supplies Tres needs to start Kindergarten). I spent $1.69. I didn't generate as many ECB's as I spent, but this is stuff that we can use! So I'm happy. I have another transaction planned for tomorrow, and I will be introducing my sister to it.

I have pictures, but since my toe is throb, tHrOb, THROBBING right now... I'm not trekking upstairs to get the camera and then coming back down. Maybe tomorrow... but no promises! :)

Oh, and I sold about 7 bows today!

California Dreamin'

I don't think it's a secret that Hank has been looking for a new job for a while now. Lately, we haven't been looking too hard and heavy for a number of reasons. First, we just bought a house and don't want to have to uproot if he finds a job out of state. Along with that is the downward spiral that is the housing market right now!

Also, there has been story after story about lay offs and increased rates for unemployment. Plus, if Hank really wanted to make serious money in television, we would have to start looking at Los Angeles jobs. Couldn't you just picture that? Who would I be friends with? I think Paris is too busy for me! Maybe Jessica or Lindsay have some time to spare!

The first step is acceptance...

I have to admit it. I've never been out of the country. I've flown to Hawaii. I've been to California. I've been in Colorado... and of course we've been to Orlanda... the most magical place of all! Smile! But I would really like to go to a beach destination! I want to maybe go on a Caribbean vacation and show off my developing bikini body (I might possibly be exaggerating here). My brother went on a package trip on his honeymoon and they were able to get a great deal! So maybe if I start pricing some Caribbean villa rentals, and flights, I could make it happen for us next year, or the next, or the next. But if I do that... I want it to be some quiet, couple time. I love my kids. They just make vacation so much less of a vacation! :) Guess I should have thought about that before having them, huh?

Do You Watch?

Okay, so I rarely watch 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,' but when I do... I'm ashamed and a little embarrassed to admit that I learn something or answer a question that I think should be a no-brainer wrong!! The same thing happens on other game shows too! Like 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.' I watched it once and the lady on there was asked what the main ingredient was in most diet pills. I was sitting there thinking, "I should know it. This is probably common knowledge and I don't know it... wait, do I know it?" And Meredith Verera... who I don't like as well as Regis... was making it seem like every women in the USA knew it. When she said it was hoodia, I just made a mental note about it... you know, just in case I needed to prove I was smarter than a 5th grader or needed to pull that answer out of my hat to win a quick million! :)

Yard Sale

Saturday, starting at 7 am, we will be out in front of the Neighborhood Plumber trying to get rid of what we no longer need!! If you want to come on by, I'm sure you'll find something... we have anything you could need for babies, including clothes, maternity clothes, a changing table, high chair, car seats, a 32" tv, a microwave, two twin frames, a matching dresser, toys, toys, toys, a bounce around, tons of kitchen items, a treadmill, a foosball table, an artificial christmas tree, and much more.

I cannot even begin to express how sad I was at the amount of brand new clothes with tags still on that will be at this yard sale!

One Big Bug Bite!

That's what Tres and I are these last few days! It all started at the Drive-In. Although I sprayed each of us down numerous times with bug spray, we still got a bunch of bug bites. We got up on Monday and had to put benedryl on them to take our minds off of wanting to scratch! We also went swimming in part to let the chlorine in the pool help draw out the poison in the bites. We went to Bry's tee ball practice Monday night and again... I sprayed us NUMEROUS times... I even sprayed the blanket we were all sitting on, and we still came home with double the number of bites.

So yesterday, I gave the boys both a benedryl, a bath in baking soda water, and coated their bites in benedryl. Then I started looking to see what else I could use to help stop the itching!! So I worked out this transaction at CVS:

(1) Dove Cream Oil Body Wash-$8.39
(1) Dove Deodarant-$2.99
(1) Brut Antipersperant-$3.39
(1) Pringles-$.88
(1) Johnson's Buddy Bar (Soap in mesh bag)-$.99
(1) CVS band-aids-$1.99
(1) Sting Eze-$3.49
(1) Code Red Mountain Dew (for the thirsty tee ball player who is an excellent buggy pusher!)-$1.29

Subtotal: $23.41
-$4 off $20 CVS
-$3 off $15 CVS
-$3 off $15 CVS (I couldn't believe he let me do this, but he did!! Always worth trying, I guess!)
-$4 manufacturers coupons

Used $8.99 in ECB
OOP $.78
Earned $9 in ECB

So I made a penny, and I got what we needed!

Extended Weekend?

That's what today has felt like to me. It just feels like a continuation of yesterday! At the Drive-in last night, I told Hank that I had worked out another CVS deal in my head. So this morning, I fed the kids and did some laundry and then we loaded up and went to CVS. It's gotten a little easier with the boys. They take turns being the 'pusher' and the 'getter.' Anyway, Here is what I got: I spent $1.71 out of pocket and recieved about $10 more ECBs on top of yesterdays.

Then I took the kids swimming for about an hour and a half! Then we came home and rested. Now we are out the door to Bry's tee ball practice!

Family Fun Weekend!

This was such a fun weekend to me! Sophie and I got up early and made a run to CVS to get the end of the week sales. Look who we saw when we got there! It's Crystal and her mom,Vickie!!

We came home with (I didn't take a picture):
(2) pkg Playskool diapers
(2) Dawn dish washing soaps
(2) 1 liter Scope
(3) Ragu
(1) personal care items
(2) 20 oz. Aquafina Water
(2) bags pretzels 2/.99

Subtotal: approx. $50
ECB's spent: $6.99
OOP: $3.80
ECB's earned: $10

I also got to scope out the June deals that started the next day. When I got home, I did some housework, and Hank went to run.
Then we got a call from my parents who had my sister's kids, Luke and Sierra. They wanted us to go see a movie with them, so we loaded up and met them around 2. The boys all went and saw Speedracer and the girls all went and saw Narnia. I HIGHLY recommend Narnia!! So good! I didn't think I would be so into these, but I am!
After that, we went to swim. Our boys swam with their cousins for OVER THREE HOURS!! (I know I have pictures of them swimming, but I can't seem to locate them right now. Maybe they are on our video camera.) Then we headed home, and got everyone in bed early.
Sunday morning, I woke up early... I suppose from the early night. Tres was up, so he and I went to the convenient store just down the road and picked up the Sunday paper. Hank and I got the boys up, fed, and dressed for church. I got lunch going in the crock pot, and then got myself and Sophie ready.

We had a great worship service at church! I mean, it was so good! Sophie wasn't doing too good in the nursery, and the boys both fell asleep during worship, so we left shortly after the worship service was over. We made a stop at Academy Sports and Hank ran and in and picked up some new running shoes. Then we headed over to CVS so I could pick up the June deals. Hank and the kids stayed in the car, which was good, cause it cut my shopping time down BIG time! I was in and out in about 15 minutes. And here is what I got:

(3) Listerine Smart Rinse
(3) Huggies Hair & Body Wash
(2) 500 ct. CVS q-tips
(2) 40 ct. CVS band-aids
(2) 2-pk. Oral B Crossaction Toothbrushes
(1) Gillette Phenom Razor
(2) 4-pk. CVS D batteries
(2) Dawn Dish washing Soap
(4) Caramel Kit Kats (on clearance for $.20 ea)
(2) bags of Smart Pop (request from waiting children in car!)
(2) Push Pops (on clearance for $.20 ea)

Now... are you ready for this?

Subtotal: approx. $80
ECB's spent: $17.99
OOP: $1.33
ECB's earned: $43.43

So after that, we headed home, ate our crock pot meal and chilled around the house for a little while. We had plans to go to the drive-in to see a double feature of "Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull" and "Iron Man", but it started raining, so we checked the weather and saw we could still go cause it was moving on through. So we packed up our snacks (purchased as transaction fillers at CVS!) and headed out. Our kids love camping out in the back of the van at the Drive-in! They all came in pj's cause we knew it would be a late night, and more than likely end in just Mom & Dad watching the movie. Sophie was just about ready for bed when we first got there! She was delirious and wiggley for about 30 minutes, then passed out.

It was such a fulfilling weekend. Easy going and relaxing... perfect for making memories!