First Sentence

Caleb said his first sentence last night. "I want milk." However, I was upstairs, and Dave was the one who heard him. I'm not sure if I actually believe him or not. :)

Menu Plan Friday

Here's what's on the menu for the coming week -

Tonight - grilled chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, salad
Tomorrow - FFY (Fend for yourself)
Sunday - lunch at church (I think I am taking Stromboli, but I haven't decided for sure)
Monday - Lemon glazed chicken breasts, wild rice, carrots and broccoli
Tuesday - Potato soup in bread bowls
Wednesday - Brown sugar pork chops, corn, rolls
Thursday - Soft tacos, tortilla chips, corn (leftover from Wednesday)
Friday - Homemade pizza (or maybe calzones), salad

Yet Another Shopping Trip

No, we don't go shopping every day. But I was at my best friend's house today, and she lives near not just one but two Super Targets. There are none near me, so we took a little field trip.

Here's what I got -

1.67 lbs bananas
romaine lettuce
1 lb broccoli
2 boxes poptarts (sending some to my brother)
Glade wisp flameless candle
6 individual bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios
4 boxes of Morningstar farm products
2 cans of frozen OJ
5 bottles of Joint Juice
4 individual string cheese sticks
Honey (for my honey who takes a PB/honey sandwich to work every day)

All for around $10 (I don't have the exact grocery total because I also got a printer cartridge.)

New Word

Caleb said a new word this morning - Chocolate. A kid after my own heart. And even though we had just finished breakfast, I gave it to him. It's okay to have dessert after breakfast, right?

Eight Months Old

Alexa turned 8 months old yesterday. Here are some of the pictures we took of her.

Do you think she will actually unload it for me?

Another fun shopping trip

Well, not quite as good as Publix yesterday, but I did pretty well at Kroger today, too. I spent 63.57 and saved 72.01 for a savings of 54%. I also got $7 that printed on my receipt to spend next time. Not bad if I do say so myself. We even managed to snag a dry car cart (it poured here last night, and our Kroger keeps their carts outside), and both kids were happily munching on Cheerios while I shopped.

Here's my list -
2 packages of 8 hamburger buns
2 loaves of wheat bread
1 package of dinner rolls
18 eggs
1 package of English muffins
1/2 gallon OJ
1 gallon milk
4 bags Green Giant frozen veggies
Frozen strawberries
Romaine lettuce
Blueberries
Aluminum foil
5 boxes Toaster Strudels (it will take me awhile to finish all these, but they were on sale, I had 5 coupons, and they triggered the $ on my receipt for my next order)
Coleslaw
6 cups yogurt
Sausage links
Bacon
Pork roast
2 packages chicken breasts
1 bottle prenatal vitamins (no, I am NOT pregnant, I continue to take these while nursing)
4 bottles Spiderman gummy vitamins
2 packages String Cheese
1 bag shredded cheddar
1 jar peanut butter (this was completely free or I wouldn't have gotten it, since Dave has to have his Canadian pb. Caleb and I will eat it, though).
1 yellow cake mix
1 package taco seasoning
1 package chocolate chips

Publix Deals

Today was my best Publix (or any store) shopping trip ever. Here's what I got.



Twelve 9 packs of Mott's juice boxes (hard to see, but they are in the back of the picture)
One bag Publix tortilla chips
One bottle Oust Air Sanitizer
Two boxes of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta
Two boxes of Pop Tarts Splitz
Two 4 packs of Dole peaches
Two bars of Johnson's Buddy soaps
One carton of Daisy Sour Cream
One carton of strawberries.

My total was $8.85, and I saved $54.65. That is a savings of 86% (if I did the math correctly).

28 Things About Me

In honor of my 28th birthday today, here are 28 facts about me.

1) My children were born at the same hospital I was.

2) I almost got a brother as my 3rd birthday present. He turns 25 tomorrow.

3) I can't whistle, blow bubbles with gum or blow up balloons.

4) I flew in an airplane for the first time when I was 17 on a mission trip to Jamaica.

5) I went to Disney for the first time when I was 21 with my (now) husband.

6) I have become obsessed with coupons lately.

7) I have also become obsessed with car seat safety.

8) I am eating a homemade chocolate chip waffle and bacon for breakfast at the moment.

9) I love to bake and cook.

10) I love to sleep, but my children seem to hate it. Alexa is almost 8 months and has not slept through the night or even come remotely close yet.

11) I am a member of an OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church) Church.

12) I spend way too much time on the computer.

13) I love to read, and I am often reading 2-3 books at the same time.

14) I graduated from Covenant College with a bachelor's degreen in elementary education.

15) I married a Canadian.

16) I love bubble baths, but random children often appear in the bath tub with me.

17) I love shopping, even grocery shopping.

18) I have ridiculously long legs and have to buy tall pants even though I am not the right height to need them.

19) I taught 5th grade for 5 years before becoming a Stay at Home Mom.

20) I just applied for my first passport.

21) I have been in 3 countries - Jamaica, USA, and Canada.

22) I like to microwave things for 11 seconds or 22 or 33.

23) I have a mommy's girl and a daddy's boy.

24) I shop for my kids' clothes at consignment sales. I am heading to 2 this morning as soon as Alexa wakes up from her nap.

25) I lived in the same house from birth until I was 21, and I have lived in GA my whole life including the four years I spent away at college.

26) I love dark chocolate.

27) I often leave the house with no makeup on.

28) I am grateful to the Lord for another year in which to sing His praises.

Meal Plan Friday

I usually do my menu planning and grocery shopping from Friday - Thursday, so I thought I'd share what's up for this week.

Saturday - out to eat for my birthday!
Sunday - dinner at a friend's house after church
Monday - Broccoli cheese chicken
Tuesday - Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup
Wednesday - Chicken picatta
Thursday - Beef and Broccoli
Friday - Bacon cheeseburger roll up

My Little Climbing Monkey

I was in the kitchen yesterday putting away groceries and making lunch when I realized that Alexa had crawled out of the kitchen and sounded far away. This is where I found her.















And this is where I found her later that day.

Kroger deals

I took the kids to Kroger yesterday (despite not feeling well and the rainy day) so that I wouldn't have to go Saturday on my birthday. Well, I did get some great deals which cheered me up. They did not have any bread marked down to $.69 yet like they usually do on Friday mornings, so I had to pay a whole dollar for bread. The horror! Anyway, here are my best bargains.

5 lb roll of ground beef - $2.00 (so $0.40/lb)
1 lb ground bison - $2.00
Heartland whole grain pasta - $0.45 per box
Free diet pepsi 2L (I'll take this to church lunch)
Free cup of Kroger yogurt
Bananas - $.0.29/lb

So Cute

Caleb now says, "Night, night, Alexa (sounds like nigh, nigh a-e-a)," and usually waves everytime I put Alexa down for a nap or bed. So cute!

Shopping Spree

I took advantage of Dave being home today to go shopping with only 1 kid at a time (I took Caleb originally, but I went home after 2 stores and swapped him for Alexa). Here's what I got.

CVS

1st transaction
3 packs of Huggies Supreme diapers (we use these overnight for both kids)
1 pack Kotex pads
1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap

Total - $21.07. I got Extra Care Bucks for $15 on my receipt. So, I went back in to CVS (I had already planned to do this)

2nd transaction
2 Colgate toothbrushes
2 Colgate toothpastes
1 box Mentos
1 bag clearance Valentine's chocolates (not sure where those came from :) )
12 pack CF coke

I used the $15 I earned above and some coupons.
Total - $1.47. I got $8 Extra Care Bucks on my receipt which I am saving for next week.

Next stop Walgreens.
1 Chapsticks Naturals
Jane powder
Jane mascara
Jane eye shadow
Jane concealer
2 Bowl Appettit meals (for a care package I am making for my brother)
Dove dark chocolate Valentine's hearts (not sure where those came from again)
12 pack cherry coke

Total - $7.35. I got a Register Rewards for $2 for next time. I still have 6 more make up coupons, so I plan to go to another Walgreens later this week. They also have a free razor that there is a coupon for, but my store was out.

Went home. Swapped kids.

Publix
6 bags Birds Eye Steamfresh frozen veggies
2 boxes Barber chicken breasts (kiev and cordon bleu)
2L Publix lemon lime soda
4 Cambells microwaveable soup bowls (for my brother again)
1 Easy Mac bowl
Jose Ole Taquitos (Caleb and I love having these for lunch)

Total - $14.32. Savings according to my receipt - $17.74.

Chocolate

Note to self - Do not eat 3 (or more) Harry and David dark chocolate truffles before bedtime. The caffeine will keep your nursing baby up half the night. She will stand up in her crib happily banging on the bars, try to play peekaboo with her blanket, and all sorts of other things that are cute at 4:00 p.m. but not so much at 4:00 a.m.

Happy Valentine's Day

I made Caleb heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast this morning in honor of Valentine's Day.

Did he:
a) notice that his pancakes were heart shaped
b) care that his pancakes were heart shaped
c) smile for me to take his picture with his pancakes
d) none of the above.

And the correct answer is D. He did however eat every last bite while continually saying, "Yum," so I think they were appreciated.

Walgreens Bargains

The kids and I took a trip to Walgreens yesterday to get some deals. Here's what we got -

2 packs of diapers (we usually cloth diaper, but I'll need these for our upcoming trip to Canada)
2 bottles of Windex
Deodorant
Softsoap body wash
3 rolls of paper towels
2 packs of candy (you have to have as many items or more than you have coupons, so I "had" to add these)
Gillette fusion phenom razor for Dave
5 hour energy drink (I'm going to give this to my brother)
2 Glade plug ins scented oil refills
Chapstick naturals

My total after coupons and rebates was like $16.12 (I threw away the paper where I figured it out). For reference, the diapers cost that much by themselves, so basically I got everything else for free.

Alone time

Yesterday morning I was in the shower contemplating how nice it was to be alone for a few minutes. Caleb was sitting on my bed watching Curious George (or so I thought), and Alexa was playing in the Exersaucer. I peeked out of the shower for a second to check on them, and I was greeted by a half-naked 2 year old boy who wanted to get in the shower with me. The selfish part of me hoped he would put his clothes back on and go away, but the good mommy in me helped him get his shirt off and climb in. Oh well! So much for alone time.

New things we have learned this morning

Alexa – pulling up to standing in her crib (which resulted in a very short nap) and on the futon

Caleb – saying the colors red, blue, green, and yellow and stacking the Legos by color (yes, he is 2.5, but he does not talk much at all, so any new words are an accomplishment)

Me – laundry is the job that never ends (okay, maybe I already knew this, but I remembered it today)

My Little Rascal

Caleb was having quite the rascally day today. Possibly because I am sick and running a fever and he wanted to keep my mind off of it.

#1) I was upstairs doing laundry when he came upstairs and handed me a quarter and a nickel. I briefly wondered where they came from, especially since Alexa likes to put things in her mouth, and went back to doing laundry. I went downstairs a bit later to find my wallet in the middle of the living room with the zipper open. I guess that's where the money came from. Little thief!

#2) I was lying on the futon in the playroom watching Alexa. Caleb was playing in his room, and the monitor was on so I could hear him. He was awfully quiet, so I dragged myself off the futon to check on him. I met him in the living room wearing only his shirt. His diaper and his pants were in the middle of the floor. I think is time to potty train this kid!

#3) Once again Caleb was playing upstairs in his room (maybe that is a bad idea) when I heard his music start playing. Interesting, since his CD player is on top of his dresser. I tiptoe upstairs to find him standing on the changing table to reach. Great.

As far as Alexa goes, I found the beginnings of a tooth today. Maybe that explains why I am a walking zombie. I am SO drugging her (just Advil, don't worry) before bed tonight.

Mystery Shopping

In an effort to make a little "fun" money and to have something to do all day besides clean the house and little noses and bottoms, I have signed up with several mystery shopping companies. For those of you who don't know what mystery shopping is, basically you go to a store/restaurant/gas station/etc. and pretend to be a regular customer. Then you fill out a report/survey evaluating your experience. I have evaluated 3 gas stations so far, and I have 2 more scheduled this week. Today we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Since I got paid $35 for the visit, it's basically like getting a free lunch (although we did go over because Dave thinks it is sacrilege to go to a steak restaurant and not order a steak). Next week, I am going to do an assignment at Moe's. You can check out mystery shopping at www.volition.com.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Here are some recent pictures of the kiddos. Caleb is 2.5, and Alexa is 7 months.

In their matching Osh Kosh B'Gosh overalls


Alexa at 7 months (1/27/08)


Some other random recent photos

Sleep (or lack thereof): Part II

Well, being woken up 4 times was highly underestimating it. I think Alexa woke up 9 times in the 10 hours I was in bed on Saturday night and 5 times in 9 hours last night. I think I am going to lose my mind!

Sleep (or lack thereof)

We had my parents over for dinner tonight (It was yummy by the way. We had BBQ sandwiches, homemade mac and cheese, baked beans, and broccoli salad. For dessert, we had chocolate fondue with cheesecake, pound cake, marshmallows, brownies, strawberries, and bananas.). I was talking to my mom about why my children don't sleep. Caleb did not sleep through the night consistently until he was 14 months old. Alexa is 7 months and 1 week old. She has never slept through the night. The longest stretch she ever slept was 4.5 hours, and that is a distant memory. Neither she nor I has slept more than a 3 hour stretch in weeks.

I can't figure out why she doesn't sleep. I love to sleep! I would be very happy with 10 hours a night every night. Maybe in another 7 months, I guess. Everyone else I know has babies that sleep through the night (forced or not), but not mine. Maybe the 3rd time will be a charm, and our third baby (which is still in the distant future by the way) will sleep through the night at 6 weeks. Ha! Well, I guess it's off to bed for me since I will probably be woken up 4 times before morning.