Club Pub (personal record)

Still trying to do all my couponing! Easter threw me off...there were no coupons in the paper on that Sunday and the sale dates were all different. But I'm back on track!!

I learned a new couponing tip. Really, I can't believe it didn't cross my mind before. So we all know Publix takes competitor's coupons. They'll stack one manufacturer, one Publix, and one competitor coupon PER ITEM! AND, drum roll please.....PER PURCHASE!!

So Publix sent out some $5 coupons a few weeks ago. I called everyone I knew that wouldn't be using them and told them not to throw them away! Then I had some other competitor coupons (rite aid, cvs, and piggly wiggly - depending on which store's policy will take them) to use on top of the Publix $5 coupons! That's $10 off just with those!!!!!

But this trip was my best!



Total before coupons/sales: $100.73

Sales: $38.25

Coupons: $44.44

Total Savings: $82.69

Total out of pocket: $18.04


Let me give you a little run down. :-)

The razors (and i don't need razors - we're stocked up good) were $3.14 each. And I had a $4.00 man. coupon and a $2 Target coupon. They paid me $2.86 (per razor package) to buy each of those razors! Which turns around and ends up being $2.86 (per package) off your total! They don't actually hand you cash. So that was a great buy!

The sour cream was negative $0.01. The 100 calorie packs were $0.25 each, dressings were $0.84 each, juice $1.00 each, the capri suns were FREE (with man. and target coupon).

The cereals were buy 2 get 1 free and I had a coupon for $1.00/3 and free gallon of milk if you bought 3 cereals Publix coupon. So $7.00 bought 3 cereals (the HUGE boxes) and a gallon of milk! Not too shabby!

You get the idea!

It was a great trip. I threw in bread and cheese because I needed some! So if I stuck to my usual of only buying what I have coupons for, it would have been under $10!

Every penny is counting these day! We're sure stretching them far in the grocery/household area!!!

My Twenties

And I'm not talkin' about my age. Though I am still hanging on a little bit longer there too. Anywho...

My twenties weeks in my pregnancy! Not quite the halfway mark. (My theory is you find out your pregnant at 4 weeks +/- pregnant so halfway between 4 and 40 is 22 weeks pregnant - get that?) But who's counting?

I still have a LOOOOOONNNNNNG way. No light at the end of the tunnel yet. I feel GREAT. Best pregnancy yet. Though I'm starting to feel a little more full. And fluffy. I know, weird. That's the best word I have to describe it. You body changes so much in the second and third trimester. Your blood volume doubles. You gain (or regain) assets all over the place. I'm just starting to feel it all.

I think I'm starting to show a little. Not quite enough where people want to ask me yet (no one has the nerve yet). But a little birdie snapped off a "bump photo" the other day while she was supposed to be snapping Olivia.

This is after a big lunch. And I think my back is arched quite a bit. But still...the beginnings of a hump. Though in the other pictures of me that day.....notta. So the bump comes and goes as it pleases.


But hopefully this shirt will clear things up for some.



The bag boy at Publix got a kick out of it the other day. And then proceeded to ask me if it really was true. Um...hello!? Why would I wear it if wasn't true!? I'm hoping my workout class will get the message. We're all workout "buddies" but not friends enough for the pregnancy to come up in conversation. And I'm sure I'm looking a bit rounder to them....and wondered why I don't lay on my stomach anymore. But I kinda want them to know so they don't think I'm a wuss since I'm not pounding it out quite as hard anymore. I swear, I think it's something about the doubling blood volume that makes it SO much harder to keep a cardio workout up. But I'm still trying...and that counts, right?

One more thing. I'm really looking forward (I say that now) to the all the kind, thoughtful, encouraging, well-thought-through crazy comments I'm going to get when I have a big belly and three others with me! I can't wait to see what people want to say to me. I get enough with just the 3. But I since I don't have them all with me all the time, and my belly isn't a "for sure pregnant" belly, no one says anything....yet.

But don't worry, I'm sure I'll let you know all the insane comments I'm getting! And the creative responses I give...HA! One of the wonderful perks of pregnancy!

Real Life Baby Doll

The day has finally come. Where I have a real, valid reason to dress up my little girl! I played dress up a lot when I was a little girl. I loved putting on makeup and playing with baby dolls. Hey, I still love it...my baby dolls are just alive now! :-)

Olivia had her very first (and sadly, her last) ballet performance last weekend! Along with her precious outfit, the dress code called for makeup and her hair down. Olivia and I had so much getting her all dressed up!

Rollers...CHECK! Sparkly eyeshadow...CHECK! Mascara...CHECK! Blush and lip gloss...CHECK and CHECK!







Thank goodness we have the same makeup coloring (cool tones!)! Doesn't she look so BEAUTIFUL!! The mascara and plum shadows made her chocolate eyes pop!

She did spectacular in her performance! They were pilgrim girls. (It had an American theme to the recital). I got a couple of shots. It was hard since there was no flash photography allowed. And were were like 15 rows back! There were SO many people there!


She loved her flowers!



Robert's parents came in town to see Olivia and visit for the day! It was so good to see them! And I know Olivia really appreciated it!



Unfortunately, Olivia does not want to sign back up for ballet. We finished the year out strong but she wants to try something else! Which is totally fine with me. Hey, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing!

Mommy Instinct....WRONG

Lots of you already know this but I thought I'd share the story! Because, boy, what I wrong! Landon broke his wrist and had to have a cast put on it! But this is one tough kid!

A week and a half before I took him to the doctor, he had fallen off the monkey bars. I was standing about 12 INCHES from him...looking up at him! My reflexes were just asleep and didn't catch him. (Isn't that how it always happens!!! I blame the pregnancy)

He was pretty upset and didn't leave my side or play the rest of the time. But his wrist didn't swell and he could move it in all directions, so I really thought it was fine. He was hanging on things and playing on it that night!

We kept checking on it over the next 24 hours and I talked to friends about it. I even called the nurse to talk to her at our pediatrician's office. I was just hesitant to bring him in. I really felt that it was just a sprain and sore.

So fast forward a week and a half (we've heard NOTHING from him about his wrist) and he's playing on the trampoline. When he landed funny on his hand and it set him off again. He was really upset and favored it. We decided the next morning, we were taking him in.

They x-rayed it and sure enough, his radius was fractured right below his wrist! Bless his heart! I felt SOOO bad! My mommy instinct was really off! (I blame the pregnancy!)

We spent practically all day in doctor's offices but finally got a little black cast put on it! We have to keep it on for 3 weeks! He keeps asking everyday when he's going to get it off.

Little does his know, it's pretty much a deadly weapon - coming from Landon! I've tried not to make a big deal about not hitting, etc. because of how hard it is. He could accidentally really hurt someone! We haven't had any incidents yet!


Please ignore the greasy baby in the background. I had just bathed her and she wiped honey mustard all over herself!! But doesn't her pony tail look cute!

Landon has officially beat everyone to stitches AND broken bones in this family. And I'm scared this isn't the last of it!

Duck Videos

Videos of the kids with the ducks on Easter. I love how the adults seemed almost more entertained than the kids!

I hope my cousins enjoy these! It was such a fun (funny) day!

One Finished Product

At the moment I'm definitely on a sewing hiatus. It's so weird that it comes in such strong waves for me. But I kinda like it. I finally got my act together and connected with Carrie to get some things monogrammed! She did such a great job!!! Thanks Carrie!

The girls and I had some time to kill the other day and went back to the gardens. It's not as pretty anymore (the tulips are gone) but I think snap dragons are about to bloom! And hopefully the roses aren't too far off from getting pretty either! I have NO idea when they are supposed to be in full bloom! Anybody know??

But here is one of the matching outfits for the girls! Olivia's dress is a little big...she'll definitely be able to wear it next summer too!! Now that is some clothing mileage!

Just simple {cheap}, easy dresses to put together! You pretty much don't even need a pattern! And there are endless ways to make them unique with trim and ribbon! :-)










I'm thinkin' those eyes may be some heartbreakers some day! ;-)

It Doesn't Get Old

I have to post this stuff. For all the family and friends who aren't here to see all this. But I hope others enjoy it too. I love seeing cute ultrasound pictures!!

We had our big ultrasound the other day. I didn't go in with huge expectations of it being too fun or anything. But boy was I blow away.

I mean, I've had ultrasounds before. But none like this one! The other kids ultrasounds were quick and we never came away with any good pictures. I've learned that it's a lot about the tech you have. And we had a great tech this time!

We took Olivia and Robert went with me to (he's missed the last two kids ultrasounds). And the tech (also named Lindsay) was SO GOOD! She took her time and showed us everything! She got great pictures and chatted with us about everything. She made it so exciting and fun! Since she knew we didn't want to know, she turned the screen a couple of times just in case. She says she tries not to look if people don't want to know, but sometimes she accidentally sees.

I think it helps that this baby was putting on a show for us. Stretching all around and even sucking it's little thumb!! I've never had a kid put on a show like this before! She had to chase around it's little feet to get a decent shot. It was so fun feeling and seeing the little one move in there!!

I'm really regretting not videoing it, but we have plenty of pics to remember it by!!

I think it's something Olivia will always remember. She was so excited to take the pictures to school and show her friends!!!









Anyway, those are some of the pics. Hope you can tell what's what! :-) I'm just glad I have them in the computer in case something happens to the real copies one day!!!

Ultrasounds just don't get old. There's nothing like actually seeing the little baby move around in there. It helps make it really sink in for me...it has yet to...oh well. Thank you Lord for this incredible miracle you've given us!!!

You're Not Going To Believe This

So you know all know how fabulous a Friday I had. And how much I was looking forward to this last weekend, right? Well, forget that! It was so fabulous because it knew how horrible my Saturday would be!

Woke up Saturday morning throwing up. Yes. Sorry if TMI. But I get this bug maybe twice a year. And it had to be this day. I could have sworn it was food poisoning. But I stayed in bed all day while Robert so lovingly kept the kids out of my way. Again, kept the healthy, fun, playful kids.....

So I'm all sick in bed and just about in tears. I was going to go to this wedding.

I manage to pull myself out of bed and shower just in time for the wedding. I did myself as best I could. We made it to the wedding and the bride was beautiful. So was the reception. And I'd love to tell you about all the yummy food, but I can't. :-( I nibbled a bit, but my stomach just couldn't handle it. So I nursed my 1/2 diet coke 1/2 real coke drink and water all night. I did manage to stomach down about 2 bites of the bride's cake. It was one of the best I've ever had. But that could be because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours! And when the server took my mostly-not-eaten-but-I'm-finished piece of cake away, I almost cried again. That was a first. Usually I polish off a piece of bride and groom's cake, plus half the buffet! But I sent away a pretty much full piece of cake. :-(

After leaving the wedding much earlier that I ever wanted to, I crawled into bed and got a nice night's sleep. My stomach even growled Sunday morning.

OH, but it get's better.

I wake up to Robert sick in the bathroom AND Landon telling me he threw up in his bed.

Wonderful.

Our den floor was quickly covered with towels and movies were started. I kept eating to a minimum until I could tell how sensitive everyone's stomachs were going to be.

It ended up not being too bad. Just sore tummies, as the kids said. But I still had some messes to clean up. And I still wasn't comfortable taking the kids out in public. Thus, we were stuck at home. :-(


But this is my question. And it always seems to be like this. Why is it that when I'm sick, everyone else is just fine. Therefore, Robert just has to keep the kids out of the way and leave me to myself to get better. BUT, as soon as I get a little better, EVERYONE ELSE gets sick. Leaving me to clean up not-so-lovely-messes of 4 people by myself all while not quite 100% better yet!?!? I don't get it.....the life of a mom. Got to love it!! And I do. :-)

I hope y'all had a better weekend that we did!! I'm looking forward to a great week though. We go for our big ultrasound tomorrow. I'm excited to take Olivia so that she will have a bunch of pictures for herself of the baby. It's always fun to peak in there. Even if we aren't finding out!!!

Fabulous Friday

I woke up in such a good mood this morning. Don't you just love it when that happens! Not that I wake up grumpy every morning (just don't ask Robert at least), but I just felt especially peppy this morning. It could be the new feather bed mattress topper we got recently and the incredible sleep I'm receiving! Or the beautiful weather we're having today! Or the fun filled weekend we have. Who knows.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Our is filled with a cookout with friends, a soccer game on a gorgeous Saturday, and a wedding of a childhood friend! And that means a date night too!! Can't wait. I might even squeeze a pedicure in!! Double plus!!

I love weddings. Especially when you're married with kids. It's like the perfect date night. Get dressed up, witness something sacred and beautiful, visit with friends, go dance, eat good food...and it's usually topped off by my favorite part of the night....the wedding cake. Good thing Robert is not a wedding cake fan. Because I send him to the groom's cake, I wait by the bride's cake, and then I get to eat BOTH!!! :-) And then we only pay for the babysitter! SO fun!


Now, go and have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!!!

To Crave or Not to Crave

So I guess this is going to be a pregnancy post. About cravings. You know, I had my doubts about pregnancy cravings. I just feel like we read books and it tells you that you will have cravings and then it's all you can think about. I mean, I have strong desires for food/things when I'm not pregnant. So it seems to me like nothing really changes. For me at least.

But this one really won me over. Like, who would ever eat/crave this...ever!

I made veggie soup the other night for dinner. I also made these Paula Deen rolls which I found on another blog. (I use light mayo, skim milk, and bisquick, btw - to lighten it up a bit)

It was all so good. I can't seem to make things spicy enough these days. So I loaded mine up with lots of hot sauce. I mean, my mouth was on FIRE! We're all sitting there at the table chowing down. The honey was also sitting there (for the rolls).

So, then, this strange idea to put honey on my very SPICY veggie soup consumed me. So I drizzled it with honey and finished off the bowl. It was delicious. Hot, salty, and sweet all rolled into one bite. Who could ask for more!

When I told my sister, she just laughed and was like, "That is so GROSS! And definitely a pregnancy craving. Who would have the idea to eat that NOT pregnant!"

I guess she's right. I would have never done that before. And probably will never do that again.

So, what crazy cravings (if they exists! ;-) ) did/do you have?!?

Garden Girls

Run...don't walk...to your nearest gardens. The flowers are starting to bloom and no bad picture can be taken! Go between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. and lighting is perfect!!

I took the girls to play the other day and it was so fun. Lillian ran her little heart out!!

Here are some of my favorite shots...shot on my lenses under $90....imagine what a nice lens could shoot!!! One day...one day.....

They still look a little pixelated here (if that's a word). They look better when pulled up with my Adobe Bridge...oh well....I still love them!

And I know they're all hangin' off the side of my main column....that's just the way it has to be right now! :-)

No Animals Were Harmed...

Our Easter weekend started out like this:


With Lillian busting everyone's eardrums at the Bass Pros Shop. Seriously, that girl can hit some high notes!

Then after a wonderful church service, we headed for some great fellowship and food! That also included.....baby ducks!!!


The sweet little ducklings, pre-traumatizing.


And now....drum roll please....being traumatized beyond anything their sweet little heads can process! Which included...


Being picked up and "accidentally" dropped back into the water!


Being held under the water against their will.




Being held by Landon...nuf said.



And fearlessly pursued by Lillian! Lillian was completely fascinated by them and was bound and determined to get her sweet little hands on them. No matter what part of the body she tried to pick them up by! (head, eyeball, wing, beak, foot...whatever she could get!)





Seven of the eight great grand kids (soon to be 9!!). And so many more to come!!


And look at that...a family shot! It's the best we could do....


Even better...a shot of Robert and I! One of the few we have! Thanks Aunt Lacey for takin' some pics!!



We had a great time with the little ducklings! At least they were spared the wrath of Robert! I just hope they don't grow up with some serious problems and harbor feelings towards people that are unsafe the human species! FYI, there are 4 little ducks that may have it out for someone one day....just sayin'....don't tell me I didn't warn you.

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter Day!!!!!


Seriously...no little ducks were harmed. There were plenty of adults supervise the safety of the ducks and the kids. They will go back to their mommy and daddy today. :-) And the kids were thoroughly cleaned after handling them! :-)

Easter Thoughts

This weekend is Easter, as we all know! :-) This year is a little different because the kids are getting older. This is the first year they have actually asked about the easter bunny. After talking, Robert and I decided will we not celebrate the easter bunny. At all. I can justify santa...because Saint Nicholas was a real guy. But the easter bunny? I can't tie that into the real meaning of Easter. And I think the true meaning of Easter is far too great to mix in a bunny and eggs. The kids will get easter baskets, but they will know that WE gave them to them. So, enough on that...that is just what we personally chose. If you choose to do the easter bunny, by all means go for it! :-) I'm sure it'll be fun.

Our church is having 19 services this weekend. Unbelievable! I'm pretty excited because we love our church and pastor. And this is only the second Easter we've been able to attend at our home church. We plan on going to the 8:00 a.m. service on Sunday (there are also Friday and Saturday services) to hopefully avoid some of the craziness!

Then it's off for some cousin fun. And let me just tell you, it's going to be FUN! I don't want to say anymore about that, but I'll give you a hint. In picture form.



Fun for the kids AND adults! ;-)



I hope everyone has a great Easter spending time with loved ones realizing the sacrifice that was made for all us sinners. Blessings to you all!

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' " Mark 16:6

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." 1 Peter 1:3

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26

Truck Fixed....CHECK!

I don't know if you remember THIS (scroll down to #8) incident last year. It was very scary....but no one was hurt. We kinda laugh about it now. Kinda.

The poor truck has been sitting there since then. It would crank, but it still needed a lot of work. Like $2500 worth or work that one guy quoted us!!! The truck isn't even worth that much!!

So Robert's frugal brain went to work on figuring how how to get a new bumper, fix the hood, tires, and battery (etc) for a lot less than that outrageous quote! And people...I'm so glad he did!!! Because after fooling around with it a little himself and calling around to a bunch of places, he spent less than one FOURTH of the quoted price!!!! Unbelievable! So please do your homework before you jump on board with whoever you plan on giving a wad of your $$ to do some work. It seriously pays to be frugal and do your homework!

But we are so happy to have the truck back. Now he can haul his painting stuff around SO much easier! We are so thankful we didn't get rid of the truck a while back. We are the kind of people that "need" a truck in the family. His little truck comes in handy ALL the time!

But one of the kids favorite things about the truck, are the rides around the neighborhood in the bed of the truck! It's a before dinner tradition around here. And Lillian is finally (kinda) big enough to participate. I'm just glad I'm not there to watch!



Typical Landon....



There she goes! She doesn't quite know what to think...or either she's thinking that she is just...so...OLD!!!

Couldn't Resist

You know I can't keep my blog the same for long!

Happy Spring! Even though it's 30 degrees outside!!!

April Showers...Please Bring Flowers

There are 2 definite things about me. One: I do not have a green thumb. And Two: I am not the craftiest person in the world. But I do give it a try every once in a while.

For our secular Easter craft/decoration this year, we kept it simple and did an easter egg tree. Last year we had a bit of a problem with Landon eating the dye tablets from the egg dying kits!! And then after we dyed them, I kept finding them all over the house! Needless to say, I haven't decided if I want to do them again this year. BUT, the egg tree has got to be the cheapest decoration you can do. And the kids have fun too. It actually kept them busy (and outside) for a while. Lillian kept pulling them down, of course!





Now onto my black thumb. I wanted to plant flowers around the mail box. Keeping it simple...since the rest of our yard isn't professionally landscaped. But I though a little color at the end of the driveway would be nice. Lovey helped me since she's a pro at know what to plant and where/when.

I just hope I don't kill them. I have to remember to water them - sadly that's the hardest part for me. But I'm hoping some April showers can help me out with that!





They loved sprinkling in the osmecote in (a.k.a. plant food).


Maybe my green thumb will turn around after all. But I'm not too sure. I think it runs in the family. Because my sweet cousin has a hard time keeping plants alive too! :-) Rachel...I'm right there with ya!!