smile

Don't you love it when you can capture cute happy smiles like this one?

cheese

Emma has started to say "cheese" when I pull the camera out. So I get smiles like this... HA!!

Sorry I think she has food in her mouth in both these pictures... maybe that is the problem.

Memorial Day weekend

For Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Arkansas to visit our good friends Hailey & Joey and their little girls. We had a great time hanging out, catching up, sewing, bow making, watching movies, cooking, playing hide 'n seek, swimming, and of course doing laundry and getting ready for the arrival of baby Presley in a few weeks!

Here are the 4 girls...

Avery, Molly, Grace & Emma

One day we went to this cool park that was perfect for preschoolers!

The girls rode horses...

Spun in circles...

flew a jet...

rode a roller coaster...

relaxed on a train ride...

drove a car (all four of them)...and rode the horses a few more times!

It was a blast.

Thanks for a fun weekend guys! Can't wait to meet Presley!!

beeping...

I'm at 1:40am going crazy.

My smoke alarm is beeping. Which apparently means the battery is low.

So of course it happens to beeping when Adam is away on business and happens to be located in a place I couldn't reach if my life depended on it.

Even if I could physically get the ladder from the garage (which I can't even reach), I doubt I could carry the ladder inside, upstairs and into my game room with ceilings that are probably 12 feet to reach the darn thing.

I tried with my step ladder and that was a joke.

I sure hope that beeping doesn't eventually turn into an alarm. Because then I would have to wake up a neighbor and that would suck. Now I'm off to my bed... with the door closed and the fan on high so I don't hear this damn beeping!

my ladybug graduate!

First day

Today

It's Gracie's last day of preschool today. Wow she has changed so much in just 9 months!

Today is the last day she will officially be known as a ladybug.

When I first signed Grace up for preschool I thought... WOO HOO... time for Emmy and I to hang out, time to get my shopping done, time to go to lunch with my friends, etc.

Sure I knew she should would like it.

Sure I knew she would learn something.

Sure I knew she would have fun.

But I never realized she would LOVE IT.

I never realized she would learn SO MUCH.

And I never realized she would have a BLAST doing it!!

This year has gone by quickly. Grace and I LOVE her teachers. (Adam does too... he just isn't there for the drop offs & pick ups). Wow... they are awesome. So caring and just perfect for the job. Happy to see Grace and always ready to give a hug. I wish I could take them with her every year.

They even made this super cute scrapbook of the year with pictures and stories. They also made a color/number/shape book that is super cute... all filled with ladybugs. And gave her a cute new book and some bubbles... all filled in a precious bag scattered with little hand prints of all her classmates! I mean that is totally above and beyond!! (more hand prints on the back... 11 kids total!)

Do you remember way long ago I was bummed that I didn't get Grace into the school of my choice. How silly is that now?!

This year Grace has also learned so much. Her speech is improving slowly buy surely. All her little friends have been great models for her. She knows all her colors, can count to 20 (sometimes higher... something to work on this summer), knows all her shapes (including the cross!), has learned how to trace her name, and she can recognize letters in her name (especially 'G'... anything that starts with the letter 'G' she thinks is her name..). And a list of other things. I'm just so proud of her. I can't believe she only has 2 more years of preschool and then she is off to kindergarten!

coupons part 2

I'm going to attempt to give you a little more information on how to get started on couponing.

I would like to say that I am FAR from the real pros, but in a short time I've learned a lot and I'm just so excited to share.

I should add I did get 4 liquid dial soaps and 4 weber grill mates for free today at Kroger. Gotta love it!


So lets get started...

1. I think being organized is most important.

You really need to buy some sort of binder. I choose a large 2 inch binder with lots of cool pockets and it zips closed which is nice so you don't loose any coupons.

I also LOVE using baseball card protectors for the coupons. That was a brilliant idea from Melissa. That way its easy to glance through and find what you are looking for.

You also need dividers. I did labels like canned items, condiments, fridge stuff, baking, frozen, etc... you can come up with something. I do think having more dividers sort of helps so you don't have to search forever to find a specific coupon.


2. Now to getting the coupons.

I buy 4 newpapers every weekend. You can buy the double pack papers for $5. So right off the back you spend $10... but trust me you will definitly save WAY more than that in one week. Shoot I saved $8 alone today with my coupons! Cutting does a take a while, but just sit down during your kids nap time or after they are in bed and cut and organize in your binder.

You can also get coupons all over the Internet. Here are a few places my friend Melissa recommended, but I know there are tons more out there. (If you know of some you like please add them to the comments section.)
http://www.thecouponmom.com/
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.afullcup.com/target-coupon-generator/
http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/view.php?pg=coupon_generator

There are also usually coupons in your weekly ads.


3. Which brings me to figuring out what to buy....

Around here we typically get our ads in the mail on Wednesday, but for some reason they actually came today. Most grocery store ads run Wednesday to Tuesday of the next week. But then you have places like Target and they run Sunday to Saturday.

So today I went through the ads and compared the sale items with what coupons I knew I had to figure out what great deals where out there to be had. I made a list (separated by store) of what is on sale and what coupon I had. That way when I actually go to the store with my girls I'm not searching for what was on sale where... I know exactly what I need at that store. Plus a list always helps you keep on track.

You also want to be looking for good prices on meats and veggies. Typically you don't get coupons for those, so those things you want to stock up on when you can or for veggies buy what is on sale. This week corn on the cob is on sale cheap (5 for $1) at several places!

Some cool things I've learned is that you can use store coupons in combination with manufacture coupons. Say you get some Target coupons in the mail (they have been sending out a lot this Spring) and you have $1.00 off Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Say that dressing is on sale this week for $1.50 and you also happen to have a $.50 coupon from your Sunday paper. So you would get that dressing for FREE! Cool huh.

Oh and while I'm thinking of it. Target and Walmart do not double or triple coupons. However, Kroger, Albertsons and Tom Thumb double up to .50 and triple up to .39 every day of the week. I'm not sure about Market Street?

So if you have a coupon for .50 off, you will automatically get $1 off at the three places I listed above. This also means if you have a .55 coupon it wont be doubled.


I think this is all I have for now. I hope this all makes sense and that maybe I've encouraged a couple of you to do this. Oh and please check out these blogs as well. My friend Melissa also gave me these so thank her! These ladies tell you where all the best deals are!!

http://www.yourcouponbuddy.com/
http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/
http://www.survivingthestores.com/
http://makingcentsintexas.wordpress.com/

CVS and Walgreens also have some great deals too, but I'm just starting with the grocery store!!

A few more thoughts...
I should add that I'm a pretty big meal planner. This has put a slight cramp in that. Instead of buying everything I need that week, I'm buying whats on sale and using things I've stocked up on to make my meals. You definitely need a little space for when you stock up on things, but if its something you know you will use at some point and it doesn't go bad anytime soon, might as well buy it!

If you have any questions please let me know. If I don't know the answer I will ask my coupon God (aka Melissa... whom by the way is welcoming another baby girl into her life tomorrow!! We can't wait to meet Olivia!!!)

Happy couponing!!

Coupon mania...

Coupons!

They have been consuming my life for the past week!

I LOVE IT!!

One of my friends is a huge coupon shopper. And I don't mean you bring your 5 coupons you cut and save maybe $2.50. She saves like at least half her bill (or more!).

Well she has taught me everything she knows. And its so fun.

I'm actually quite obsessed.

I bought a really big binder and some baseball card protectors (to organize my coupons) and I'm already saving money.

My friend even took my shopping last week to show me her tricks.

I spent a total of $38 at Kroger and Albertsons, but my bills were suppose to be somewhere around $100! Some of the best deals I got where ....ketchup for .40 cents, 5 toothbrushes for FREE, and BBQ sauce for FREE.

I then did Target today and did pretty well. I bought a few other non-food items (you know other essential stuff like cute shorts, gifts, etc!... hey will all the money I'm saving I have more to spend other places... I'm sure Adam doesn't look at it that way!!). But my total on food would have been somewhere around $40 and I only spent $21.54 on food! Over $18 saved.

Anyway, I'm no expert, but I just wanted to encourage everyone to think about it. In these times who couldn't hurt to save a few bucks (or more!).

OH and there are SO many blogs out there they tell you where to find all the deals and what coupons to use. How much easier can get it get??!!

paci business and more

So the paci business is going great. She is still hanging onto her cut paci (and by cut I mean CUT)... she is really just holding it in her mouth with her teeth.Overall though interest has gone WAY down. She really only wants it to go to bed, but by time I go to check on her its across her crib no where near her mouth. I'll probably take the "cut" paci away sometime next week as we are planning a trip to see some friends 5 hours away for Memorial day and I need some sanity :)

Emma also has a little bug or something. Got a fever today out of no where and it spiked to 103.5. I really hate fevers. It's still around 102, but after a quick trip to the pediatrician (just to make sure it wasn't her ears), she is sleeping. Hopefully it will be gone as quickly as it came. And she'll be back to being my happy girl soon.

operation bye bye paci - Day 2

8:00am -
She slept all night. AMEN! She did wake up about an hour earlier than normal (6:45!), but hopefully that will get better over time. I guess she will just be really tired for her nap and tonight (hopefully!).

***********************

2:00pm -
Emma was pretty fussy this morning. Mainly just wanting to be toted around. She had lots of snacks to keep her busy and only wanted the "cut" paci once. She went down for her nap willingly, but then fussed for about 10 minutes and went to sleep!! She is still sleeping (2.5 hours so far!) WOO HOO!! HUGE improvement in just one day!!

I have gotten several emails and calls... thank you everyone. I hope it keeps going this well!!!
**********************

8:00pm -
WOO HOO! Emma went to sleep without crying. I could hear her playing in her crib, but she was asleep in no time. I can't believe it! I will say that she was a bit of bear this afternoon and evening, but really has been managable. Amen for my husband who has gotten home just in time for me not to go crazy :)

So hopefully I'm not jinxing it, but I think we might be weaned from the paci!!

operation bye bye paci

Updates at the bottom....

***********************

So if you know me you know that I've been worrying for MONTHS over these darn pacifiers.

Grace never took a paci. So I feel like I'm in foreign waters with the whole paci thing.

Some people say why do you want to get rid of it. Lots of reasons....
1. I'm surprised I haven't gotten into a car accident trying to hunt down the 4th paci she threw across my suv.
2. She is really starting to talk (I LOVE IT), but I don't want this to be an issue. She typically has it only for bedtimes, but she really wants it all the time. I just want to make every attempt to not have the same speech issues as Grace.
3. I hate cleaning them. Seriously I think we have about 15 pacis in our house. I always have a spare in case it falls on the ground or something and she usually has a few in her crib. I feel like I'm always sanitizing, etc.
4. She does have a little blankie that she carries... so I feel like I always have to hunt for the blankie and paci. (And I have NO plans of getting rid of the blankie... she can have it till she goes to college for all I care!)

Point being... I'm done.

So after a good pep talk from the moms in my bible study I decided we were done.

Since she isn't teething and isn't sick I decided today was the day!

I cut one paci (and hid the other 14!) to were there was really nothing to hold it in her mouth. She would put it in and pull it back out. I'm sure she was thinking "what the heck is wrong with this thing!".

We had a busy morning so I knew she was tired. She laid right down like normal and I could hear her playing her crib for about 15 minutes and then the crying started. She cried for maybe 30-40 minutes. Not really sure b/c I was starting laundry and eating lunch and chatting with my neighbor to tune out the crying.

Well she is asleep now!! WOO HOO! I know its not over yet, but maybe??!! I'll update later how the rest of the day goes and tonight.

I hope no one thinks I'm a mean mom for taking away her something that soothes her. She will get extra hugs and kisses and of course she still has her lovey blanket.

**********************
Update #1: 3:23PM

She took about a 2 hour nap. Shorter than normal, but she woke up happy and smiling. She went to my purse (looking for a paci), but didn't find one.

Off to the park to keep her distracted.
**********************
Update #2: 8:45PM

The afternoon and evening went okay. Emma was definitely upset so we hung out outside pretty much until bedtime. (She LOVES being outside!)

Did the normal bedtime routine and laid her down. This time she was not happy! She pretty much started crying immediately. She cried for 45 minutes before calming down and falling asleep.

I hate this so much... hearing your baby sad stinks. I'm hangin' in there! Not going to start this over!!

Hopefully the night will go okay.

answer...

For those dying to know... here is the answer to the look alike pictures...

#1 - Emma
#2 - Grace

Yes my decore in my house totally gave it away. I just hope when I'm old and grey I can tell you which is which. :)

look alikes

Okay so I haven't done any comparable recently. Really I HATE comparing my girls because they are really so different. But I think its crazy how much they look alike... especially before Grace's hair got curly.

Anyway, I took one of these the other day of Emma and one was taken about 2 years of Grace. Who is Grace and who is Emma??

#1

#2

(Sorry they aren't really looking at the camera...but I thought it was funny that we took nearly the same picture 2 years later. We seem to do that a lot.)

ps... Grace's hair didn't get curly until about 18 months.

some things never change

I was looking through some old pictures of Grace today and came across this one.

Didn't I just post a couple weeks ago that Emma was getting into all my drawers. Maybe one day I can have an organized drawer again.

just a cute one

little emmy - 14 months

wow she is turning into such a big girl!

mothers day

On Monday when I picked Grace up from school they had these cute little wrapped gifts sitting next to their backpacks. I though how sweet. Well Grace picked up the gift and told me it was for me.

Well it was one of those days. Emma was sleepy and ready for another nap and Grace was telling me what they did that day and so I guess I didn't quite hear her teacher when she told me what Grace was holding was breakable. Well I guess I half heard her since I'm writing it here :)

Anyway, so we load up in the car and head home. I open the back door to get the girls out of their car seats and sure enough the cute little wrapped gift fell out of the car and onto the cement garage floor! CRASH! Grace looked up and put her hands over her face and said oh no mommy you broke it! Yup... I did.

The worst part is that it was my Mother's Day gift :(

It was the most precious little mug with her hand print on it.

So I got Emma settled for a nap and told Grace that we will fix it. So I super glued that baby back up. Thankfully it had broken into 5 or 6 big pieces.

While I don't think I could ever drink out of it... I can at least admire it. Maybe I'll put it on my desk and use it to hold pens and pencils.

Isn't it precious. My first real Mother's Day gift....

Flashback Friday

Grace 2007 - At Keenland in Lexington, KY - in honor of the derby tomorrow!

McKinney Marthas!

So one of my super crafty, super sweet neighbors hosted a fun event yesterday. We etched glass!

I decided to do a pitcher after a picture I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog. It was actually a wedding gift that I don't use very often. Maybe I'll use it more now!

Our sweet hostess had everything ready... really I should have taken pictures. She had everything all out in cute little mason jars. I mean even her tables were crafty and organized. I loved it! It was super easy and it was also fun to have some socialization with other crafty moms. Not to mention the yummy deserts!

Here is my final product. I also got some really cool ideas from everyone else! I can't wait to etch something else :) And I really can't wait until our next McKinney Marthas event!