Do You Think We Have Enough Games?

We've been home all day today, and Caleb was getting a bit bored and therefore driving me crazy. So we went upstairs to the game closet to see what we could find to play with. Well, I touched one thing and several games and puzzles came crashing down around me. So I got some things for Caleb and Alexa to play with and proceeded to clean out the closet. I should have taken a before picture, but suffice it to say that you could barely step into the closet before and games were piled so precariously that they were literally falling on my head. It took me about an hour, but it looks much better now. The kids were happily occupied most of the time playing with poker chips and an old deck of playing cards. I hope there is not a life of gambling in their future. Oh, and by the way, do you think we have enough games and puzzles?

CVS Steals and Deals

Here's what we got at CVS today. The breakdown is below for anyone who is interested. I spent $0 for all this stuff (because I had a CVS gift card that I used to pay the tax) and got back $26.47 in ECB to spend next time. According to my receipt, I saved $52.56 today and have saved $995.09 in 2008. I have spent $27.99 at CVS in the Spring quarter, which I believe began on March 16th. $13 was just random things I bought at CVS like large trash bags the night before we left for Canada because we needed them to cover Alexa's car seat when we gate checked it and also some drinks I bought for my dad while he was at the hospital with my mom. So, I have spent about $14.99 doing the deals at CVS in the last month and a half and come home with hundred of dollars worth of stuff.

Here's how I got all this stuff for free-
3 18oz Softsoap Spa - $5.49 each
3 Bic Soleil Razors - $5.99 each, on sale
1 CVS Roasted almonds - $4.79
1 CVS Cashews - Free (CVS brand nuts are buy one get one free this week. Dave requested that I get him some since he likes them for a snack.)
2 Zooth Hot Wheels toothbrushes - $3.29 each

Total before coupons - $45.81

Coupon used
$3/$15 purchase (It would have been better to split this stuff up into smaller transactions over different days so that I could use more than one of these coupons. However, with 2 young children that is not happening, so I just do the best I can).
$.75 off of Softsoap
$.75 off of Softsoap
$1.00 off of Softsoap
Buy one Zooth get one free - took off $3.29
$2.00 off of Bic Soleil razors
$2.00 off of Bic Soleil razors
$2.00 off of Bic Soleil razors

Total after coupons - $34.02 - I paid this with $29.98 of ECB and put the rest on a CVS gift card.

ECB earned - $1 for the Zooth, $9 for the Bic, $16.47 for the Softsoap

The Latest News

Caleb - Before lunch today, I was buckling Alexa into the high chair, and I told Caleb to get in his chair. He didn't get in, and I realized that he was telling me something. He was saying, "Poopy." When I asked him if he was poopy, he said, "Diaper." This is the first time he has ever told me that his diaper was dirty or even seemed bothered by it. Potty training is in sight!

Alexa - One top tooth FINALLY cut through today! She has been working on these for a month. The doctor told met at her last appointment almost a month ago, that the top 2 middle teeth were right there. Within the last week or so, we have been able to see them under the gums, along with the next tooth on the top left. You could see them very clearly but could not feel them at all. One finally broke through, though, and she even slept pretty well last night despite it. Hopefully the other two will follow soon.

Non-napping Little Girl

Apparently Alexa has decided that she only needs to take one nap on Sundays. Depsite not sleeping through the night EVER, she really is a pretty good napper. She takes 2 naps a day around 9:30 and 2:00 for a total of 3 - 3.4 hours. Well, last Sunday Molly tried to put her down for a nap (she does this every Sunday because I teach Sunday School) in the crib room at church. Same routine and room as usual. She had her blankie and paci. Well she SCREAMED bloody murder and absolutely refused to go to sleep. So I gave up and let her play with her friends Val and Clara in the nursery. She fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept until 2 something. We decided that was a decent enough nap and went to church last Sunday night.

So fast forward to today. I put her down for a nap at church this morning while Molly was watching my Sunday School kids. She went down with a bit of fussing but no screaming and slept almost an hour. That's a pretty good nap for her considering she was not at home in her crib. We went to the Powells' house for lunch, and I put Alexa down in the crib there after lunch. She has napped at their house several times before. Well, you guessed it. No nap. She kept throwing all her pacis out of the crib, chewing on her blanket, and being loud. Caleb didn't nap either. So we decided to go on home about 4:00 and not go to the evening service. I figured Alexa would fall asleep in the car. Nope. I nursed her after we got home and figured she would fall asleep then. Nope. She went to bed at her normal bedtime like she had not missed a nap and had not been awake since 11:15 a.m., the longest stretch of time she has ever been awake in her life. She turned 10 months old today, and Dave said that she is a big girl now and napping is for babies. No way is my 10 month old getting rid of naps yet! Maybe she will reward us for chasing her all afternoon by sleeping through the night. One can only hope. Good night, everyone.

Playing in the Truck

First, let me tell you a bit about this truck. It was my grandmother's truck. She never had a driver's license, but she did have a truck. We used this truck many, many times over the years for hauling things and for an extra vehicle when one was in the shop. We moved into this house using the truck along with my parents' van. It has great air conditioning; you roll down the windows and the air blows right in. It also has no power steering and a manual choke that I never quite figured out. When my grandparents moved into a retirement home recently, my parents became the not so proud owners of the truck.

Anyway, Caleb was playing in the back of the truck this morning, and Alexa HAD to get in with him. The bed of the truck is very rusted and was full of junk, so we didn't want her to crawl around in it. My mom was holding her, and she was trying to jump into the truck. My mom put her on the grass, and she climbed to climb into the truck. Then my mom let her sit on the bench in the back of the truck, but she arched her back and tried to get down to play with Caleb. Finally, we cleaned most of the junk out of the back of the truck and put down a quilt so she could play. She played happily in the back of the truck until lunchtime. I think she is a little red neck at heart.

New Garage Door Opener

My garage door opener died almost a month ago, and today was the first Saturday that my dad and Dave were free to fix it. Caleb "helped" them, of course. They got the job done before lunch, and the we all enjoyed a lunch of grilled chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, fruit salad, and chips.

Why Oh Why?

Does that little girl feel the need to get up earlier on Saturday than she has any day this week. We've been laying in bed for over a half hour trying to ignore her and hoping she would go back to sleep, but it didn't work. Oh well. Good morning, everyone. I think I am going to go dig the coffee pot out of the pantry.

Grocery Budget Check-In and Menu Plan Friday

Here's what's on the menu this week. Just dinners this time.

Tonight - Bacon wrapped chicken (this got bumped from earlier this week), corn on the cob, rolls, maybe a salad

Saturday - Grilled chicken sandwiches, chips, carrots and dip, coleslaw, ice cream

Sunday - Lunch at Powell's house, bringing a salad

Monday - Chicken with pesto butter, noodles, broccoli

Tuesday - Teriyaki pork chops, rice, carrots

Wednesday - Marinated grilled chicken, cheesy potatoes, green beans

Thursday - Hotdogs, mac and cheese, applesauce

As far as the grocery budget goes, I have $40 left out of my $350 for this month. I need to make a trip to Kroger for a few things tonight, but other than that, we are stocked up for the rest of this month.

I Knew He Was Too Quiet

I was downstairs with Alexa finishing up my lunch, and Caleb was playing upstairs in his room. I had the baby monitor on, and all of a sudden I realized that he was awfully quiet. I called his name up the stairs, and he responded with, "Uh, oh." Not good. So I grabbed Alexa and the camera and headed up stairs. This is what I found.




At least it was free lotion that he spread all over his legs and his floor. And his room smells nice now.

When I changed his clothes, I put on this shirt that says Cheeky Little Rascal on it (Thanks, Uncle Phillip). Oh and yes I am the bad mom whose almost three year old still has a pacifier. It is only allowed in his room (We just took it out of the van this week, and it went surprisingly well. Now he just "talks" the whole time we are in the car, usually in nonsense words) and preferably only on his bed. We plan to take it away completely when he turns three this summer.

Caleb's Summer Haircut

Sorry for the horrible picture, but he hates having his picture made these days. Oh and the thing under his nose is a scab from last week when the driveway jumped up into his face. He also has two scraped knees. He is a little boy alright!

Going CVSing

I got to go out by myself tonight! I bought a garage door opener, adjustable waist brown pants for Caleb, and a milkshake from Chickfila for Dave, and then I headed to CVS by myself (did I mention that already?).

Here's what I got -



3 Alavert
2 Skin effects foaming face wash
3 Zone perfect bars
4 kids Zooth toothbrushes (unfortunately, they only had one in a boy pattern. Hmm, should I save the pink ones for Alexa, who only has 2 teeth so far, or make Caleb use them?)
1 Johnsons Buddy soap (you can never have too many of these!)


I did this in 2 transactions, and my grand total was $.80. I got back $20 ECB for next time. There was a problem with one of my coupons, so I also got back a money card for $2.12 and $2 in cash. My total savings was $68.87, but I never would have actually paid that much for this stuff.

Some More New Caleb Words

Okay, so I have lost track of what number I'm on, and forgive me for any repeats, but here are some words that Caleb has been using lately.

Tricycle
Soap
Towel
Trashcan
Stroller
Bear
Balloon

Bargain Finds

Our garage door opener went kaput a few weeks ago. I headed to Lowes last night to get one only to turn around when a Daddy called on the phone about a baby who was not asleep (see earlier post). Good thing I turned around, too, because today I was looking through some newspapers I had and found a $10 off coupon. Yay! Thanks, Alexa.

Another good find today was adjustable waist shorts for Caleb on clearance at Target. You see, the child has no rear end. It is a good thing that we cloth diaper because that is the only way his pants stay up. However, in anticipation of starting potty training in the near future, I realized that he is going to need some shorts that don't fall down every time he walks. I also got Alexa a few skorts on clearance because for some reason she has like 15 shirts and only 3 pairs of shorts. So now her clothes are a bit more even.

Playing At the Park

A Little Girl Who Should Be In Bed

Shoplifting, I Mean Shopping, at CVS

I haven't posted a picture of a shopping trip in awhile, so I thought I would today. I bought everything in the picture above for $.48 and earned back $17.99 in ECB. I got the magazine because there are CVS coupons in it. The magazine was $.99, and I will be using $4 of coupons next time I go to CVS and will have other coupons for later use, too. If you are interested in the breakdown of coupons and prices, I will post it below.


2 Maybelline lipsticks - 2/$9.99
2 Alavert - $6.99 each
2 Herbal Essences products - $4.29, Buy one get one free
2 boxes Kleenex - $1.29, Buy one get one free
1 Speed Stick 24/7 deodorant - $3.99
1 magazine - $.99

Coupons used -
$4/20 purchase
2 $4 off Alavert
2 $2 off Maybelline lip product
$1 off Speed Stick deodorant
$3/2 Herbal Essence product

I paid with $14.99 ECB and $.48 cash

ECB earned - $6 for the lipstick, $8 for the Alavert, and $3.99 for the deodorant

It's 10:20 a.m.: What Have You Done Today?

I have (in no apparent order) -

Showered and gotten dressed
Diapered and dressed 2 kids
Made 2 beds
Cleaned the master bathroom
Made breakfast for me and both kids
Cleaned up the highchair, floor and booster seat after breakfast
Loaded the dishwasher
Cleaned the pollen off of Caleb's play car that has been on the front porch
Put Brett's laundry in the dryer and then threw it on his bed when it was done
Answered a few e-mails including signing up for nursery and prayer meeting for May
Clipped/printed some coupons for our trip to CVS later today
Packed the diaper bag for our errands including swapping winter clothes for summer clothes
Nursed a baby
Put a baby down for a nap (Yeah! She skipped her morning nap yesterday, and I was not amused)
Cleaned the kitchen including changing the foil on the stove burners and cleaning the microwave
Swept and mopped the kitchen
Read 2 books about trains and one about monster trucks
Told a little boy multiple times that he could not watch a movie or eat chocolate
Sorted laundry
Washed, dried, folded one load of laundry
Washed diapers
Read a few blogs, posted, and surfed the internet
Renewed our library books that are due today
And now I am going to go change a poopy diaper

Have a great Monday everyone!

Church Today

Caleb made it through both services (yes, we go to church twice each Sunday) without being taken out of the sanctuary! I think that is the first time that has ever happened.

Walgreens Shampoo Deal

I went to Walgreens this afternoon after Dave got home because I realized that I had a a $2 Register Rewards coupon that expired today. So, I hopped on the internet during nap time to determine the best way to use. I checked Money Saving Mom first, and she had just posted today about a Walgreens deal on Suave Shampoo. Here's what I did.

Transaction #1
2 Suave shampoos
2 Suave conditioners
2 $1/2 Suave coupons
$2 Register Rewards
Total - $.80 (which I put on a Walgreens gift card)
Register Rewards for next time - $6

Transaction #2
2 Suave shampoos
2 Suave conditioners
2 $1/2 Suave coupons
Total - $2.92 (which I put on a Walgreens gift card)
Register Rewards for next time - $6

So, I used my $2 Register Rewards, plus $3.72 on my Walgreens gift card, and now I have $12 for my next trip. Oh and lots more shampoo and conditioner. Anyone want some? I must admit that I usually like shopping at CVS better than Walgreens, but Walgreens has been growing on my with the great Register Rewards deals the last few weeks.

Grocery Budget Check-In and Menu Plan Friday

Okay, so as always there are things that got bumped from last week's menu to this week. As lovely as my menu looks posted on the fridge, I don't always make exactly what it says every night. It still helps greatly though for shopping and planning when I at least have some sort of menu. So, here goes.

Breakfast choices -
Waffles
French toast sticks
English muffins
bagels
Eggs
Bacon
Fruit
yogurt

Lunch choices -
leftovers
quesadillas
take Daddy his choice of fast food
sandwiches
chicken nuggets

Snack for church - muffins of some sort

Dinners -
Tonight - spaghetti, pizza (for Dave who does not like spaghetti), fried squash, garlic bread
Saturday - dinner at my parents' house
Sunday - sandwiches or leftovers
Monday - orange teriyaki chicken, brown rice, Asian mixed veggies
Tuesday - Eggs, bacon, hash browns, fruit
Wednesday - Bacon wrapped chicken, bread sticks, salad, honey glazed carrots
Thursday - homemade pizza, salad


Total spent in April - $266.97
Total remaining in April - $83.03

Enjoying the Beautiful Spring Weather

For Your Viewing Pleasure

"Uncle" Nick reading Caleb a book. Aren't they cute in their matching outfits?


Grammy reading Caleb a book.

Caleb's new tie from Aunt Andrea.

Caleb and Alexa all dressed up for church.

CVSing

I have a baby shower to go to this weekend, and CVS had diapers buy one get one free this week. Perfect! Here's what we got.

Transaction #1 -
2 packs CVS diapers (Buy one get one free)
1 bottle
1 nail clippers (this and the bottle were buy one get one 50% off)
2 36ct Benefiber chewables

Coupons -
$1 off a Playskool product
$2 off $10 CVS brand purchase
2 $2 off Benefiber
$18 ECB

Total $1.29
ECB received -$10

Transaction #2 - (We had to go to another store to get this. The first one was out. We got the last one at the 2nd store.)
1 Blood Glucose Monitor

Coupon -
Up to $30 off monitor

Total - $0
ECB received - $14.99

Transaction #3
2 packs CVS diapers
1 blue playground ball (Not pictured because a 2 year old boy was playing with it. I had a $10 ECB to use and needed one more item to get up to $10. Caleb was being very good and had pointed to the balls earlier, so I decided to get him one.

Coupons
$10 ECB

Total - $.73

So, I spent $28 in ECB and $2.02 in cash, got all this stuff, and got back $24.99 in ECB for next time.

Grocery Budget Check In

I ran to Publix and CVS this weekend, so here are my updated totals.

Total spent in April - $177.70
Total left in April - $172.30.

Update

I did not blog last night or today because I have been at the hospital with my mom. She had an ovarian cyst that ruptured yesterday morning. She is home now and recovering. I was able to be there with her today because my wonderful best friend, Molly, kept my children, and they had a great day hanging out with "Aunt Molly." Thanks to those of you who have been praying for my mom and please continue to pray for her to recover to full health.

Caleb's New Words

Here are some new words Caleb has learned lately, many of them because of our trip to Canada.

103. suitcase
104. Oma
105. Opa
106. ketchup
107. airplane
108. home
109. whoa
110. hotdog
111. plate
112. train
113. stop it (usually said to Alexa)
114. all done

Dinner

I didn't feel like cooking tonight, but I forced myself to do so. It turned out great! We had oven roasted potatoes, green beans with almonds (minus the almonds for Alexa), and chicken fingers. And we all just finished up bowls of chocolate pudding with whipped cream and sprinkles, but I didn't get any pictures of that. Yum!

100th post

In honor of my 100th post, here are 100 things that I love. (in no apparent order)

1. my family
2. my friends
3. God
4. the Bible
5. chocolate
6. sleep
7. reading
8. surfing the internet
9. shopping
10. blogging
11. snuggling in bed with the kids and hubby
12. lazy days at home with my family
13. a good meal
14. Coke
15. bargains
16. my church family
17. a long hot bath
18. pizza
19. the beach
20. the mountains
21. air conditioning
22. electricity
23. running water
24. unexpected money
25. my children's firsts
26. Alexa's tongue hanging out
27. Caleb finally learning to talk
28. flowers
29. mail
30. magazines
31. books
32. Covenant College
33. going out to lunch with a friend
34. swimming
35. going for a walk with the kids in the stroller
36. playing at the park
37. the library
38. presents
39. watching my children's eyes light up with the excitement
40. baking
41. cooking (most of the time)
42. Caleb hugging and kissing Alexa
43. Alexa cackling when she sees her brother in the morning
44. sunset
45. water
46. saving money
47. a date with my husband
48. leaving the kids at home while running errands
49. a big breakfast
50. the smell of freshly bathed children
51. dessert
52. playing games
53. when people leave comments on my blog (HINT, HINT)
54. e-mail
55. poker
56. staying home with my children
57. teaching
58. grammar
59. Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
60. watching a good movie
61. roasting marshmallows on a fire
62. camping
63. talking on the phone
64. a full pantry and freezer
65. macaroni and cheese
66. fresh berries
67. fondue
68. that my children have all their grandparents and even some great-parents
69. that my brother is doing well in school
70. that Dave is getting his masters degree
71. that I am not in school anymore
72. teaching my 2's and 3's Sunday school class
73. daisies
74. waterfalls
75. rainbows
76. good preaching
77. singing old, familiar hymns
78. music
79. portable DVD player
80. my MP3 player that I got for free after rebate
81. stickers
82. clean sheets
83. fresh towels
84. a clean house
85. naps
86. having friends over for dinner
87. ice cream
88. popsicles
89. going out to eat
90. Chickfila
91. donuts
92. the dishwasher fairy
93. holidays with my family
94. catching up with old friends
95. car seats
96. printer that actually work correctly
97. Winnie the Pooh
98. peanut butter
99. babies
100. everyone who reads my blog

Beautiful Flowers

This morning the kids were playing outside with Daddy while I was cleaning the upstairs and working on laundry. All of a sudden I heard a certain little red-headed boy tromping upstairs calling, "Mommy," which for some reason sounds more like money than Mommy. But anyway, he was carrying some flowers picked from the yard in his hand. He handed them to me very unceremoniously, said, "Here," and tromped back downstairs. So cute!

Walgreens Super Savings

Alexa and I headed out to Walgreens and the bank after lunch today. We did 2 transactions at Walgreens and got everything in the picture above for $0 oop. We used $11.78 on a Walgreens gift card.

Transaction #1 -
3 boxes Kleenex
4 rolls Aluminum foil
4 packs gum
3 boxes chocolate pudding (I'm going to make pudding pops in the Popsicle mold that Dave's mom gave me.)
1 cartridge refill for printer - free
1 tube Aquafresh toothpaste - free
10 seed packs - free
4 tubes Aveeno lotion

My total was $9.53, and I got back $10 in Register Rewards to use on a future purchase.

Transaction #2 -
4 12 packs Coke products

I used the $10 Register Rewards from Transaction #1, put $2.24 on a gift card, and got back $2.00 in Register Rewards for next time.

Grocery Budget Check In and Menu Plan (Almost) Friday

We made it home safely from Canada this afternoon, put the kids to bed early, and I left to run some errands to CVS, Aldi, and Kroger.

At CVS, I spent $2.19 and got back $41 in ECB to spend next time. I got 2 packs of diapers, banana puffs, 2 bottles of baby shampoo, 3 tubs Cover Girl Foundation, 3 Cover girl powders, and 3 bottles of Excedrin. Perhaps you are wondering what I am going to do with so much makeup and headache medicine. Beats me! I will probably head to Must Ministries soon to make a donation. The reason why I bought so much makeup and Excedrin is because I earned more ECB from them than I spent, so they helped pay for the baby stuff that I did need. Confusing, huh?

I bought a TON of food at Aldi and Kroger since we just got back from vacation and had no milk, eggs, bread, cheese, produce, etc.

Total spent so far in April - $135.75
Total left to spend in April - $214.25

And here's what we are eating this week -

Breakfast choices - (served with fruit or yogurt)
Eggs, Bacon, English Muffins
Cereal
Waffles
Toast
Ham and cheese omelet
French toast (Caleb's favorite)

Lunch - (served with fruit, veggies, yogurt and/or cheese)
Sandwiches
Chicken nuggets
English muffin pizzas
Quesadillas
Tortilla roll ups

Snack for church - either lemon poppyseed muffins or monkey bread (We'll see what I feel like making tomorrow)

Dinner -
Friday - Chicken fingers, roasted potatoes, green beans
Saturday - Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
Sunday - Sandwiches
Monday - Chicken parisienne, egg noodles, fried squash
Tuesday - Dijon Pork Roast, carrots, rice, rolls
Wednesday - Chicken picatta, angel hair pasta, Caesar salad
Thursday - Chicken or beef soft tacos, corn

More Pictures From Our Trip

Our trip to Canada is almost over. We fly home tomorrow and hope we can find our van somewhere in the parking lot at the Atlanta airport. It was raining so hard when we got there that I totally forgot to look at what row we were in, but I'm pretty sure Dave did. We have had beautiful weather, although I couldn't tell you the actual temperatures as all the weather reports and thermometers I've seen were in Celsius. Anyway here's the last installment of pictures.

Oma Hoiting reading Caleb a book.


Alexa with Oma Hoiting.

Caleb with Rob and Aunt Halyna.

Alexa riding Daddy's tricycle.

Aunt Halyna helping Caleb with his sticker book.

More Pictures From Our Trip

Caleb at his drive-in movie.

Caleb riding Daddy's old tricycle.

Alexa and Caleb playing the piano.

Caleb showing Great Oma his computer game.