Target is an Evil Place

The kids and I went to Target this morning to get a few things we needed for camping next week and some t-shirts for Dave. We got everything we needed and were headed to check out. And then we walked right by this dress.
And since it would be a shame to go to Target and only purchase what was on the list and not come home with something random, I tried it on. It fit perfectly. It has an empire waist to cover the flabby baby belly, and it hits right at my knees. It's not often that I find a dress the right length since I'm on the tall side. And, as an added bonus, it will coordinate nicely with the kids' Easter outfits (The oranges really do look better when right next to each other. The light is just a bit off in the top picture for you to really be able to see the true color).
So, of course you see why I had to get it, don't you?

$1.57 at CVS

I haven't blogged about CVS much lately. I still have been going, but not every week. This is partially because the deals aren't as great these days and partially because I am so stocked on health and beauty items after playing the CVS game for over a year now. I did go today, though, and I got everything in the picture for $1.57. Pretty good!

Alexa Cuteness

Menu Plan Monday

My goal this week is not to go to the grocery store until Saturday and then only to pick up a few necessities. This week and next week, we will be eating from the pantry and the freezer (which are stuffed full). So, here's what's on the menu this week.

Tonight - T-bone steak, potatoes au gratin, broccoli

Tuesday - Barber chicken breasts, pasta, green beans

Wednesday - Pork tenderloin, rice, corn

Thursday - Pasta Carbonara, garlic bread, Caesar salad

Friday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, homemade French fries, applesauce

Saturday - To be decided

Sunday - Lunch at church, bringing a vegetable and maybe something else

Grocery Totals for March 22-28

I think it has been a whole month since I've done this. Oops!

Grocery Store Spending - $56.11
Grocery Store Savings - 67%

Drug Store Spending - $0

Total Amount Saved - $114.76

Easter Portraits

I took the kids to have portraits made this morning, and they turned out great! Alexa is 21 months old today, and Caleb is almost 3 3/4.

Alexa's Haircut

Alexa's hair had grown out stringy and uneven, so I did my best to even up the back so that it will grow out nicely. I think it turned out pretty well!

84% Savings at Publix

Here's what $9 buys at Publix without sales or coupons.

And here's what I got for $9 and some change.
Some of you may be wondering by now if we recently acquired a cat since there is cat food in the picture. No, but Publix paid me $.75 to take home each bag, so I gladly obliged. I threw them in the back of my van to take to Molly on Sunday. Anyway, here's what I got with prices listed after coupons and sales. I also used a $3 Catalina from Kroger to lower my total.

4 bags Goodlife cat food - $.75 overage each (I had 6 coupons, but these were the last 4 bags.)
3 jars Peter Pan peanut butter - $1.00 each (This will only last us 3-4 weeks. We use A LOT of peanut butter.)
1 jar O'Charley's honey mustard -$3.00
1 package strawberries - $1.67
4 bottles Coffemate creamer - $.17 each
2 boxes Uncle Ben's rice - $.50 each
1 package Oscar Mayer beef franks - $2.00
1 package Perdue chicken nuggets - $2.20
3 3-packs Dial soap - $.34 each (Just in time, Dave is on his last bar of soap.)

You can find more Publix savings at Fiddledeedee.

Mischief Makers

My mom wasn't feeling well yesterday, so a friend from church kept the kids yesterday morning while I worked. Alexa apparently had lots of fun playing with purses and hiding behind the exercise ball.
Then, Aunt Molly kept them in the afternoon where they had all sorts of fun.

Thanks again for watching them!

Rainy Day Fun

It was a dreary, rainy day. Here's what we did today, somewhat in order. I'll let you guess who did what.

- watched some PBS Kids, Veggie Tales, and Elmo (pass me the bad mom award)
-helped Mommy vacuum
-actually vacuumed
-washed the sheets and mattress pad that someone had a nose bleed on
-sang and danced at the library's story time
-made copies for school
-ate a free cookie at Publix while Mommy shopped
-went through the drive through at the bank
-ate hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch
-fell completely apart and got put down for a nap early
-didn't nap and got in trouble for loudly banging a doll's leg against a book instead of being quiet at nap time
-played with Playdough
-painted with neon color paints and managed not to get any on anyone's clothes
-did school with Mommy learning about the 7 days of creation, the numbers 1-7, Genesis 1:1, and the letter "a"
-clipped and sorted coupons
-made a grocery list
-stripped down to a diaper and ran around like a crazy person...twice
-actually ate everything served at dinner (London broil, baked potato, salad, and garlic bread) without complaining
-ate three bowls of popcorn as a bedtime snack
-went to the library AGAIN because several books came in after we'd already been there this morning
-went to Kroger and got some free gum and got paid to take home several Pillsbury items (biscuits, cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, and pizza dough)
-accidentally ate a few doughnuts that accidentally hopped in the grocery cart
-prepped dinner for tomorrow night
-blogged

More Alexa Words

31) Up
32) Eye
33) Ear
34) Nose

I Guess We Wore Him Out

Molly and I went shopping at the mall this morning(and neither of us had an accident on the way like we have both done once before). Caleb had the difficult job of riding facing backwards in the stroller (it's a Sit N' Stand where the back just has a small bench for the older child) and whining. I don't think he walked more than a few feet, but we must have tired him out anyway because this is what I found when I went to get him out of quiet time.

Alexa's Words

About a year ago, I posted all the words that Caleb knew. It's amazing how far he has come in a year, from 70 something words to complete sentences, singing songs, and chattering almost constantly.

Alexa's vocabulary is really starting to take off lately (a whole year before Caleb's did, but that's another story). Here are the words and phrases she knows.

1) Daddy
2) Mommy
3) Baby
4) What's that?
5) Stuck
6) Cat
7) Meow
8) Dog
9) Roar
10) All done
11) Yeah (She doesn't say "yes." It's always "yeah.")
12) No
13) Ball
14) Truck
15) Eat
16) Amen
17) God
18) Cup
19) Uh, oh
20) Blue
21) Hi
22) Bye
23) Hat
24) Socks
25) Jacket
26) Thank you
27) Please
28) Book
29) Back
30) Molly

Small but Good Publix Trip

The kids and I ran into Publix today to get the penny item, a few deals, and a few things we were out of. I spent $5.72 and saved $15.40, which is 73%.

Here's what we got -
1 big roll Publix paper towels - $.01
2 packages Yoplait Fiber One yogurt - $.25 each
2 packages Yoplait Yo Plus yogurt - $.25 overage each
1 bunch bananas - $1.47
1 dozen eggs - $1.39
1 package Publix Monterey cheese - $2.00
2 boxes Chicken Helper - $.30 each
1 Publix reusable bag - $.01 overage

Fun at the Park

The weather is beautiful here today, but it is supposed to rain later in the week. So I decided to take the kids to the park this morning. They had lots of fun!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's on the menu this week -

Tonight - Marinated chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, green beans

Tuesday - Grilled pork chops, rice, carrots

Wednesday - London broil, baked potatoes, salad

Thursday - Some sort of frozen meal in a bag, garlic bread, fruit

Friday - Dave gone, something easy

Saturday - Hamburgers, hot dogs, oven roasted potatoes, applesauce

Sunday - Molly's turn to cook

69% Savings at Publix

I didn't take a picture of my shopping trip today because the kids were ready for lunch. Considering the 3 gallons of milk and 2 T-bone steaks that I bought, I did great! I spent $32.62, and I saved $72.08. I used a $3 Register Reward from Walgreens on my order.

Here's what I got -
4 1/2 gallons Tropicana orange juice - $.90 each
4 tubs Smart Balance margarine and 4 1/2 gallons Smart Balance milk - $3.58 total for all 8 items (anyone need some margarine?)
2 bags Fast Fixin chicken nuggets - $2.32 each
1 package Oscar Mayer bologna - $1.85
2 packages Yoplait Fiber One yogurt - $.25 each
2 packages Yoplait Yo Plus yogurt - $.25 overage each
1 gallon Publix whole milk - $2.79
3 packages Lenders bagels - $1.00 each
2 T-bone steaks - $13.32
1 package strawberries - $1.67

Sleepy Boy

Caleb all but gave up naps several months ago. But he still does this sometimes, passes out in the car seat on a 30 minute drive. He was so funny, too. His eyes kept fluttering open, and he was talking in his sleep.

Painted Piggies

It's warm enough here this week to wear flip flops and sandals, and I even bought two new pairs at Old Navy today. So, I was painting my toe nails tonight to prepare for sandal season. And as you have probably guessed, Alexa came running and grunted and gestured that she wanted hers painted, too. I decided to take her our on the porch to paint them so that they could dry before she smeared nail polish on my carpet. She LOVED having them painted and continued to look at and poke them for the rest of the evening.

New School

I mentioned several weeks ago that I would be starting a new preschool curriculum with Caleb. Because of the craziness surrounding my accident and hospital stay, we have really just gotten into it this week.

He used to have a learning poster, but now we just have this one sheet where I write what we are doing that week. It is really more for my benefit than his.
Last week we did days 1 and 2 of creation, and this week we are doing day 3 and 4.
We are also working on the numbers 1-4.

Birthday Silliness

I grilled steaks for dinner tonight while Dave and the kids hung out on the porch. Here is the silliness that ensued.

I Am Officially Married to an Old Man

Happy 30th birthday, Dave. I love you!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Sunday during church, Caleb was coloring with a pen and got some ink on his hand. He pointed at it and whispered to me, "Oh no! I need go doctor and get band aid."

Caleb calls the kitchen the chicken. Today it was, "Oh no, there's a ball in the chicken."

Alexa's new favorite words are socks (she prefers wearing Caleb's to her own), back (as in I want to ride on your back), and truck (she loves to point out trucks in parking lots).

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we might be eating this week (I did not stick to my plan AT ALL last week) -

Monday - Out to eat for Dave's birthday (It's actually on Tuesday, but it works better for us to go out on Monday)

Tuesday - Steaks on the grill, potatoes, rolls, green beans

Wednesday - Chicken fingers, mac and cheese, broccoli

Thursday - Bird's Eye Voila, cheesy garlic bread

Friday - Calzones, salad

Saturday - Heavy Hors D'oeuvres for Dave's birthday party

Sunday - Something casseroley (I have to take a meal to a new mom on Monday, so I will make something I can double)

And Finally - My New Ride

I finally have a chance to sit down and blog about my new van. Molly and Nick arrived to watch the kids about 2:30 this afternoon, and then Dave and I left for a Kia dealership about 30 minutes from our house. We were there for almost 4 hours, but we finally left with a new van. It's dark blue with gray interior, just like Dave's car. Blue was my third choice of colors (following red and black), but we were able to get a good deal on the blue one because it was a demonstrator model. When we got home from the car dealership, Molly had dinner ready (Thanks!!!!), and we all ate. Then Dave put the kids in bed while Molly and I ran to get my check from the consignment sale I participated in this weekend (I made $150) and some newspapers (for the coupons, of course). I just finished installing the car seats, so we can take the van to church tomorrow. It is dark and cold and rainy, so it was hard to get good pictures since I had to take them in the garage, but here are a few.


Some features I love:
Remote keyless entry (Well at least I will have this once I go back and get my remotes on Wednesday.)
Captain's chairs (No more listening to Caleb whine about Alexa touching him at least while they are in the car.)
Rear air (My old van did not have this. Dave and Nick sat in the back on a day trip one summer, and they almost died from heat exhaustion while Molly and I were freezing in the front.)
Back seats that fold into the floor
Latch and tethers (for installing car seats) in the back row
V6 engine (I really didn't think I cared about this, but it drives SO much nicer than my Caravan.)

Caleb and Alexa's New Rides

The kids' new car seats (to replace the ones that were in my van when I wrecked it) arrived via UPS today. I must admit that I am a bit obsessed with matching and with car seat safety, but don't you think these are pretty? They look so nice together and are some of the best car seats on the market. I had these same seats (in boring blue and gray) in my van when I had my accident last week, and the kids were completely unharmed. They weren't even crying. Now, all I need is a van to put the seats in. We plan to go shopping tomorrow afternoon while Molly and Nick watch the kids, so hopefully I will have pictures for you tomorrow night.

Redneck Fun

As soon as Dave got home from school today, the kids climbed in the back of the truck to play. I think they will be very sad to realize that we are planning to return the truck to its rightful owner once we get a van.