Saturday, December 4, 2010

Another project completed!

Having company is truly a great motivator for getting projects done. I know that I absolutely don't have to get things done for my friends and family to come visit, but sometimes that is just the kick I need to get things done. :-) So, my friend and her family motivated us and now my inlaws are coming in a couple of weeks. Truth be told, we decided that we were tired of having things half done and want to keep going and finish things up.....including unpacking the few boxes left in our closet from when we moved in almost 4 years ago!! Obviously we must not need what is in those boxes!! Although, I did just get some tent poles out of one for a tent the boys have been wanting to play in. :-)

Anyway, back to the project. Today I scraped up the remainder of the old sticky tiles in our house (the pantry) and my husband got the new ones installed. There were two layers of tiles hidden under a piece of carpet in the pantry.

Here is a before shot (this was an old picture that I found because I didn't technically take a before shot today, so I don't have a great shot of the floor)...

and here it is now!
Also, I finally got the drawers painted and I've been promising my dad I'd take pictures!
Before (if you look closely near the pantry door, you can see where we had stopped the installation of the new flooring)...
After...

Oh, and here is a picture of the light in the pantry. Before doing work in the kitchen, we had to walk in and pull a string to turn the light on (you can see it in the first picture above). My dad helped us get a switch outside the pantry to operate the light . What a brilliant concept, right?? :-)
Slowly we are getting things done around here and every little bit that we accomplish feels good....especially when I can look at it and know we did it ourselves!! :-)

Friday, December 3, 2010

Thanksgiving Feast....

On the 22nd, Logan and I joined Lucas at school for their Thanksgiving Feast! When we got there, the kids were all in a circle playing "pass the turkey". When the music stopped playing, if you were holding the turkey, you were supposed to stand up and say, "I'm a turkey. Gobble, gobble!". To watch Lucas participate without prompting was so much fun. Him sitting quietly and participating without a teacher right beside him (there were 2 kids between him and the teacher) is HUGE progress for him. In the past, I've watched as they've physically made him do the motions to a song to get him to participate. Now, I won't say that he doesn't have his moments still, he most certainly does....but he is really making huge progress and I'm proud of him. His screaming is far less than it once was, too. Here are a few pictures of our day!



Playing pin the feathers on the turkey.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

It's coming together....

We just have the finishing touches left to do on the room in the basement we've been working on. My inlaws will be here for Christmas and we are going to try our best to have it done (except for the crown molding....have to replenish the funds!) before they arrive. Once Christmas is over, we'll work on moving the school stuff down there and it will be our new school room! I'm super excited! Right now we just use the dining room. I have a large cabinet in Logan's room and a small cabinet in the dining room, but I hate running between the two places all the time. Anyway, go to the post here for pictures of the basement before and how it was up until recently. And here are a few pictures of the way it is now! :-) I know it is not perfect, but I love looking at this room and knowing that we did it ourselves!!


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The proof is in the picture....

It's that time of year again! You know, the time of year to start thinking about Christmas cards. Yes, I still send out Christmas cards, though my list is a lot smaller than it used to be. These days, my list mostly includes only family. Looking back at our Christmas pictures is always a fun way to see just how much our boys have grown. Check it out for yourself!!

Here is our 2007 card...
our 2008 card...
and here is our 2009 card!Getting that perfect shot is always a challenge when kids are involved. For the 2007 picture, getting the boys in the shot with the whole tree in the frame and no strangers in there, too....yeah, not an easy task. I was practically laying on the ground while my husband tried to hurry me along because I was in the way. In 2008, I just pulled some shots of the boys that I loved and in 2009 I went for that perfect family shot. I won't even begin to tell you how many shots it took for me to get just one that I was happy with! :-)

So, this year I'm not real sure what we will do, but I have certainly been thinking...and looking! Shutterfly has tons of cute cards to choose from! There are sooo many choices out there, but I'm really liking this one! Or maybe this one, or this one, or this one! So many cute choices, for sure!! Next up, calendars!! This will be the 3rd year that I will put a calendar together with pictures of the boys for my husband to have at work. :-)

Full disclosure: Shutterfly will be compensating me for this post by providing me with 50 free holiday cards!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Tonight, I'm sleeping in the "closet"...

Tonight the boys were put to bed a bit early and I went to get dinner at Wegmans from their $6 meal options for myself and my husband. We had just finished our meal and I was refilling my drink when something in me decided to look up the stairs. We have a cabinet at the top that we keep extra blankets and towels in, essentially our linen closet. Well, I noticed the door was open on the cabinet so I turned the light on to get a better look. The following is what I found.....

Hmmm. I don't recall having a camouflaged blanket with planes on it.

Wait....could that be a boy sticking out of the cabinet??




By golly it is a boy! And when we tried to wake him, he just found another "comfortable" (??) position. :-)


Also note, upon looking at these pictures on my laptop instead of the little screen on the camera, I discovered that Lucas not only likes to use the cabinet for sleeping purposes, but also to store empty paper towel rolls!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Ramblings....

Sorry I've been MIA. We were super busy working on projects around the house preparing for a friend and her family to stay with us. They were here for almost two weeks and have now headed to visit family for a few weeks before heading back to this area to settle into their first home! We've been friends since 8th grade when we both lived in TX. It is amazing to me that both of our husbands joined the military (different branches), yet here we are both settling down in VA.

Speaking of the projects around the house, I will be sharing pics soon. I just haven't taken the time to take pictures. We finally got the drawers in the kitchen painted and we have just about finished the room in the basement! Super excited about that because it will be our homeschool room!

While our friends were staying with us, we went to Mt. Vernon for their Fall Harvest Festival. The boys really enjoy going and the weather was perfect! The boys enjoyed running through the hay bale maze, playing corn cob darts, hay rides, and more!







Lucas especially loved spinning in circles in the barn, riding the shuttle bus, and saying "cheese" for the camera!



And most recently, they enjoyed dressing up as Luigi and Robbie Rotten while scouring the neighborhood for candy! :-)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Some funnies....

There have been a few things lately that Lucas has said that I knew I had to remember to add to the blog. Tonight Logan said something that had us laughing, too! :-)


A few weeks ago, we bought Lucas a sock monkey on clearance for $5. Truth be told, I think I wanted it more than he did. Anyway, he keeps asking if we have a "shoe monkey", too!

This one is something that he has been saying for a while and I keep forgetting to share. He LOVES Mr. Potato Head. Honestly, I wasn't sure how he would do with them, because he STILL puts things in his mouth. However, they have them at school and he was doing well with them there, so he got one from the Easter bunny this past Easter. I'm sure you all know that Mr. Potato Head has a little compartment to store all the pieces in. Well, Lucas loves to take things apart, so he is constantly taking the door to that compartment off. Then he can't find it and he wanders around saying, "Where did the butt door go?".

Speaking of butts.....tonight, we were all laying in my bed snuggling and I told Logan to stop picking at his butt (the boy has some sensory issues and can't stand things to be bunched up). Anyway, his response was, "Well, it is that season you know!". I said, "There's a season for butt picking? I knew there was a strawberry picking season, but I didn't know about the butt picking one." He said that indeed there is one and today was it. Oh my!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

He likes it, he likes it!!

Lucas LOVES the show Lazy Town. Thing is, it was on all last year and through the summer, but it isn't on any more. Luckily, I have some recorded episodes for him. You can't find toys for it at the store, but I've been keeping my eye out on e-bay and just found him a Robbie Rotten (the one he is wearing in the video) and a Sportacus costume (2 of the main characters). I'm not sure, but I think he likes it!



Oh, and sorry for the loud Weather Bug alert. It decided to warn me of flash floods and coastal flooding right in the middle of my video. :-)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Somebody stop me!!

Seriously, it might be a problem! I went to Safeway again last night....

Transaction #1:
1 pkg. OreIda southern style hashbrowns = $3 (reg. 3.50)
1 pkg. OreIda curly fries = $3 (reg. 3.50)
2 pkgs. OreIda tater tots = $6 (reg. 7.00)
6 small containers Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, these have 5 in them, I think = $6 (reg. 11.34)

Total before tax and coupons = $18

-$4.04 OreIda Safeway coupon ($1.01 each times 4)
-$6.00 OreIda manf. coupon ($3 each times 2)
-$3.00 Pillsbury coupons ($1 off of 2 times 3)

Total after tax and coupons = $5.31

Club card savings of $7.34, coupon savings of $9.00 for a total savings of 80%!! Plus, I got $3 off future purchase by purchasing 6 Pillsbury items.

Transaction #2:
2 small containers Grand biscuits, 5 biscuits per can = $1.98
4 small containers Pillsbury crescent rolls, 4 rolls per can = $4.00 (reg. 6.76)
1 container Rocky Road ice cream (my husband's request) = $3.99 (reg. 4.99)

Total before tax and coupons = $9.97

-$2.00 Pillsbury Crescent rolls ($1 off of 2 times 2)
-$1.00 Pillsbury Crescent rolls ($1 off of 2)
-$3.00 (coupon from Pillsbury purchase on transaction #1)
-$0.75 Lucerne ice cream coupon

Total after tax and coupons = $3.45

Club card savings of $3.76, coupon savings of $6.75 for a total savings of 77%!! Plus, I got another $3 off future purchase by purchasing 6 Pillsbury items.

Transaction #3:
4 bottles Pepsi, 2 liters = $3.96 (reg. 7.96)
1 Amp energy drink = $1.19

Total before tax and coupons = $5.15

-$3.00 (coupon from Pillsbury purchase on transaction #2)
-$1.19 (free Amp when you buy 4 bottles, 2 liter, of Pepsi)

Total after tax and coupons = $1.06

Club card savings of $4.00, coupon savings of $4.19 for a total savings of 89%!!

So, my total for the entire trip was $9.82!! Now, looking at this week's sale at Safeway I'm thinking I may get some Toaster Strudels as a treat for Logan (he likes the ones with eggs) and after coupon, they will be 88 cents. Also if I can find creamer in the flavor that my husband likes, those will be free after coupon!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Adding to the invenotry.....

Super excited about my Safeway trip today! And, in case you are asking yourself, "Gee. Didn't she post an inventory of her pantry and freezer to use up what she has instead of buying more?". Well, the answer is yes and no. I seriously can't pass up a good deal. As long as I know we'll use it and we have the money to buy it, I go ahead. Now, if there are no more good deals for a while, I'll steer clear of the store.....LOL! The Pillsbury stuff was actually better than free and the OreIda stuff was 49 cents each. The Triscuit and Wheat thins I had coupons to try them for free by signing up at Kraft First Taste. They periodically send you coupons for free products. The fish after coupons was $2.99. I guess that isn't super cheap considering it is only 2 filets, but it makes for a super fast, healthy, relatively inexpensive meal.

My purchase:

Safeway mayo (no coupon used) = $1.99
2 containers Velveeta easy Mac (no coupon used) = $2.50
1 box Triscuit thins = $3
1 box Wheat thin stix = $3
2 packs Ore Ida steam and mash = $6
2 packs Pillsbury Grand biscuits (the small packs) = $2
2 packs Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (the small packs) = $2
2 packs Pillsbury crescent rolls (the small packs) = $2
3 pound beef brisket = $11.73
1 pack Waterfront bistro Tilapia = $6.99

Total before coupons and tax = $41.21

-$0.30 e coupon for biscuits
-$0.30 e coupon for biscuits
-$0.50 e coupon for crescent rolls
-$0.50 e coupon for crescent rolls
-$0.40 e coupon for cinnamon rolls (not sure why only one came off)
-$2.00 e coupon for Rancher's Reserve meat
-$2.00 paper coupon for Rancher's Reserve meat
-$2.00 e coupon for fish
-$2.00 paper coupon for fish
-$3.00 (two) paper coupons for OreIda steam and mash
-$1.00 off 2 paper coupon for biscuits
-$1.00 off 2 paper coupon for crescent rolls
-$1.00 off 2 paper coupon for cinnamon rolls
-$3.59 on Tricuits (made 59 cents here)
-$3.59 on Wheat things (made 59 cents again)
-$1.01 store coupon for OreIda
-$1.01 store coupon for OreIda

Total with tax after coupons = $16.79

I saved $13.70 with club card savings, $17.18 with coupons, for a total of $34.92 saved. That's a savings of 69%!!

I also got the $3 catalina for next shopping trip for the Pillsbury purchase. I applied that catalina in my next transaction for 2 pieces of cake for dessert, making them $2.10!

My dad brought me some marinade for brisket when he came to help with the kitchen and I've really been wanting to try them. I'm pretty cheap when it comes to buying meat, but I'm super excited with my deal on it today!! Yay!

I pretty much get all my coupon matching info from The Krazy Coupon Lady. Seriously, you need to check her out!!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

And so it begins....

Today was one week since pre-school started back up for Lucas. This morning it was 10:30 and he was still sleeping. I was just about to go wake him to get him ready for school (we leave at 11:45) when he started crying. I went upstairs and he was talking about throwing up. He hadn't, but I could tell that he wasn't feeling well. So, one week in and already he is sick.

This is how he spent almost the entire day.

Normally my boy is LOUD. It was so quiet here today. It is how I know when he is truly sick. He let out one yell and it startled me. After that he was talking and hanging upside down off the couch and drank a cup of water, so I thought he was feeling better. Turns out it was short lived. I could barely convince him to eat or drink, he just wanted to lay there.

At about 8 o'clock, the door bell rang and I headed to the door. Lucas started crying and screaming, so went to him instead. At the door were two little girls going door to door selling things for a fundraiser (I had already bought cookie dough earlier from a different little girl). They were peering through the door as Lucas was screaming and puking. I couldn't help but laugh. I called my husband to answer the door for me. He said there was no adult out there at all. I know these girls had to be in elementary school, but they were very young. I couldn't believe they were out walking door to door that late.

After we ate dinner (a late one because my husband was working a 12 hour day and didn't get home until around 7:30), I went out to get some gatorade and medicine for Lucas. I had all kinds of meds, but no fever reducer. I just wanted to give him some to hopefully help him sleep tonight. I made it back home just in time to hold the bowl for Lucas to puke some more.

I managed to get him to take the Motrin and sip some gatorade and was going to let him stay up for a bit longer. When I announced it was bed time, he declared it wasn't. "No. It's not bed time. I need lunch. I missed it." So, he is presently sitting beside me on the couch eating the crackers that have been here all day.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Pantry inventory.....

I said I wasn't going to do it, but I couldn't take the mess anymore. I figured that once I had it clean and organized, it wouldn't take much more to inventory the contents, so I just went for it. As you will see below, we seem to have a thing for condiments. :-) I'm going to try to update this as I use things, too.

Prepare to be bored (When I buy new things, I will add them in red to make it easier to see what was part of the original inventory.).....

Pasta/rice:
3 boxes thin spaghetti
2 boxes elbow macaroni
1 box Farfalle
1 box rotini
1 box med. shells
1 box mostaccioli
1 box mac and cheese
5 ½ bags (1 lb. each) brown rice
1 bag white rice
10 pounds Jasmine rice

meal kits:
1 box Hamburger helper (got this free in the mail somehow)
2 boxes Macaroni Grill kits (garlic herb and chicken penne)
1 box Cajun style rice and beans

Misc. side dish items:
1 box chicken flavored rice
2 boxes potato pancake mix

Sauces:
1 jar Trader Joe's curry sauce
1 jar Trader Joe's Masala sauce
1 jar gourmet antipasto sauce
3 jars pasta sauce (Arrabbiata, Artichoke pesto, and Tomato Alfredo)
1 can four cheese pasta sauce

canned goods:
1 large can Hatch green chilies
4 2 small cans diced green chilies
4 3 cans chili beans
12 11 10 cans green beans
1 can coconut milk
9 8 cans 4 oz. sliced mushrooms
7 6 cans Rotel
3 cans tomato paste
10 98 cans diced tomatoes
1 3 can cream of mushroom soup (I bought more)
3 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans Golden mushroom soup
1 can French onion soup
10 9 cans tomato soup
3 2 cans sliced carrots
5 cans black beans
4 cans garbanzo beans
1 can black beans and rice
4 cans black eyed peas
1 can field peas with snaps
1 can hoppin' John
3 cans cranberry sauce
2 cans pumpkin

dried beans:
1 bag pinto beans
1 bag lentils
½ bag red lentils
2 bags 15 bean soup mix
3 pounds black beans
1 bag red calypso beans

Grains, etc.. :
32 oz. bag Pungo Creek Mills Indian corn meal
½ bag Harvest grains blend
1 box Israeli couscous
4 pounds of Quinoa
1 box steel cut oats
1 container old fashioned oats
1 bag organic barley

Condiments, Marinades, salsas, and dressings:
2 1 jar pepper relish
1 bottle Mexican chili and lime marinade
1 bottle bbq sauce
1 bottle Tuscan style basil herb dressing
1 spray bottle Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
1 bottle honey teriyaki marinade
1 bottle buffalo wing marinade
1 bottle mango curry marinade
1 bottle peppercorn steak marinade
1 bottle Caribbean jerk marinade
1 jar salsa verde
1 can salsa verde
1 jar olive medley bread spread
3 jars Herdez salsa (hot, medium, and chipotle)
1 bottle Louisiana Gold hot sauce
2 bottles brisket marinade
2 bottles fajita marinade
2 bottles spicy brown mustard
1 bottle dijon mustard
1 bottle yellow mustard
1 bottle mayo
2 jars Trader Joe's vegan mayo (my husband got these to try)
3 bottles ketchup

Peanut butter, jams, syrup, etc.. :
4 3 half pint jars homemade apricot jam
2 pint jars homemade apricot jam
2 bottles Agave nectar
1 jar 26 oz. almond butter
1 jar natural peanut butter
1 jar strawberry fruit spread
1 jar organic peanut butter
pancake syrup
1 jar simply fruit (blueberry)

Misc. soups and lunch items:
2 containers noodle soup
2 boxes pad Thai
1 package microwaveable rice
1 container New Orlean's style chicken and rice
2 cans curry beans
1 container microwaveable chicken noodle soup
3 cans minestrone soup
1 can lentil soup
3 cans chicken soup (2 Spongebob ones and one Cars one)

Misc.:
1 giant bag French fried onions (from Costco)
4 3 boxes taco shells
2 boxes Ritz crackers

The above is what I figure I will mainly use to make meals. Here is the remainder of the pantry. These lists are not complete, but a general idea of what else is in my pantry.

Baking goods and nuts:
pecans
almonds
walnuts
pine nuts
pumpkin seeds
dry milk
flour
sugars (organic, Splenda, brown, powdered, and sucanat)
chips (chocolate, cinnamon, white, mint, toffee bits, etc..)
marshmallows
2 boxes brownie mix
3 boxes jiffy cake mix
1 container frosting
50 pounds wheat berries

drinks:
soda
Nestle flavored water
Sobe life water
Lipton 20 oz. bottles half and half (tea/lemonade)
Arizona gallon half and half (tea/lemonade)

snacks:
organic fruit rolls
animal crackers
pudding
crackers (wheat thins, gold fish, cheezits, saltine, graham)
gummy fruit snacks
trail mix
cashews
dried fruit
chips

cereal/granola bars:
3 bags granola
2 boxes frosted mini wheats
3 boxes cinnamon toast crunch
1 box apple jacks
1 box corn pops
1 box fruity cheerios
1 box chocolate cheerios
granola bars (blueberry, strawberry, peanut butter, chocolate chip, Fiber one, Kashi)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Back to School.....

Sweet boy's first day back to pre-school. The report was that he had a wonderful day with no screaming. That is HUGE! Tomorrow is a new day, but I am thankful for the good day today! :-)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Menu Plan Monday...



*= new recipe

Monday--?? spent too much time going through the freezer making an inventory and cleaning it

Tuesday--breakfast casserole, fruit (Edited: ended up making quiche minus the onions instead)

Wednesday--chimichangas (baked instead of frying), salad

Thursday--Letcho * (got to find something to use up the summer sausage!!) and rice

Friday--beef stroganoff over egg noodles (with the addition of celery because I need to use it before it goes bad!), green beans, salad



Lunch:
chicken pasta salad (using some more of my celery)
sandwiches
hot dogs

Time to get organized....

It's Labor Day and labor we have! We are finally trying to finish the room in the basement that had the massive brick wet bar and 70's paneling. We had hung most of the drywall down there and did the electrical work, but in May we finally finished tearing down the little bit of paneling in the room and hallway and got the rest of the drywall up. This weekend we got tape up and corner bead and the first coat of joint compound is currently drying.

Once we finished that, I took inventory of what is in our freezers to more easily plan meals around what we already have. While everything was out, I cleaned the freezers and put it all back in neatly.

I'm trying to get more organized because Lucas starts pre-school tomorrow and Logan and I will start school this week as well. I had planned on starting tomorrow, but I procrastinated with ordering some of his curriculum. However, we have plans to meet some friends at the park for a bit while Lucas is at school and we also need to go to the library to pick up books for our first week of school!

I'm excited to get back into a routine. My husband is now working four 10 hour shifts a week, with Wednesdays off. We will use that day for any appts. that we may have (most especially for Lucas) and he will also be teaching Logan science. I love having him home an extra day, but I don't like him getting home later each day. Now he gets home right around 6. It is only an hour later, but I typically would wait until he got home and start dinner then. Now if I do that, we don't eat until closer to 7! That just won't work with school starting back up.

So, it is time to get back to planning out my meals and being organized! I have enough food to cook for a while, too. I'm listing out the contents of my freezer and will start planning my meals. If you have any recipes you wish to share based on my freezer contents, I welcome them. :-) There is lots in my pantry, but I'm not going to inventory it at this point. I know most of what is in there for meals and I'll try to plan using things in there, too. One thing I'll obviously still have to buy is any fresh produce needed for recipes. I'm going to update this list as I use the items.

Anyway, on to the list (I've bought a few things since the original inventory, so when I buy something new, I'm going to put it in red text to make it easier to spot.):

Meat:
9 8 quart size ziplocs ground beef (appx. 1 pound each)
8 hamburger patties
1 pound maple sausage
8 4 boneless rib eye steaks
4 flat iron steaks
2 T-bone steaks
4 petite steaks
1 4.5 pound roast
3 packages hot Italian sausage
1 package cube steaks
3 pound beef brisket

Chicken/Turkey:
1 pkg. boneless buffalo chicken nuggets
2 pound bag breaded chicken chunks (like popcorn chicken)
18 16 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I stocked up when they were on sale!!)
1 pound ground turkey
3 pounds breaded chicken strips
5 lemon pepper boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 smokey bbq boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 Italian boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Seafood:
1 Tilapia filet
3 pounds shrimp
1 pound jumbo shrimp
7 tuna steak filets
1 bag (2 filets) Sesame Chili Tilapia
1 bag (2 filets) Tortilla crusted chili lime Tilapia
1 bag (2 filets) Herb crusted Parmesan Tilapia


Veggies:
1 pound bag corn
1 pound bag sugar snap peas
1 pound bag field peas
1 pound bag crowder peas
1 pound bag winter veggies

Misc:
1 pie crust
four veggie patties
1 24 oz. roll summer sausage
1 ham bone
1 pkg. of 10 med. flour tortillas
1 pkg. of 30 corn tortillas
1 pkg. roti bread
1/2 gallon of orange juice (I got several for free with coupons a while back and froze them)
10 mini cinnamon raisin bagels
10 homemade biscuits (ready to be baked)
5 bags OreIda French fries (2 zesty, 2 steak, 1 curly....I got them on sale for 49 cents each!!)
2 packages OreIda tater tots
1 package OreIda southern style hash browns
3 packages of cream cheese (I got them on sale for 49 cents each!!)
2 1 bag OreIda steam and mash potatoes

Monday, August 23, 2010

Sweet, sweet boys....

Friday, August 20, 2010

Breathing it in!!!

This absolutely NEVER gets old!!! :-)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Random post of the day.....



My organized junk drawer! Yes....I really am that proud of it....LOL! I don't have a before, but let's just say that it was very difficult to close the drawer without a cord hanging out the top of it! I love this drawer organizer, too!! :-)

Sorry about picture quality. I have to reformat my memory card before I can use my camera.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Bedtime Stories....


I've talked on here a little about Lucas being developmentally delayed. One of the things that he is delayed in is his communication skills. He actually has a large vocabulary, but getting him to use it can be difficult. Just recently he has started holding longer conversations and taking more turns in the conversation. He is also starting to get out of his bed nightly again.

Last night my husband went upstairs to check on him and get him back in bed. It was 11 PM and Lucas had not gone to sleep yet. When my husband entered the room, Lucas started talking to him about frogs. Lucas said that the frogs were mad at him and that they were hiding under his bed and in his closet and were going to bite him.

Tonight the frog conversation continued. I learned more about the conversation that my husband had with him last night, too. It is possibly a tactic on Lucas' part to delay bedtime, but I just can't make myself leave. I love listening to him tell stories. I have no idea where he gets things sometimes.

So, as I said, tonight the conversation continued. Lucas is a little anal about how he is tucked into bed. He likes his arms under the covers and right against him. I asked my husband if he had noticed that and he said that he had and that he likes to take them out and watch Lucas put them back where he likes them. Tonight he did it and he told Lucas that this way his arms were out to defend himself from the frogs. He said, "This way you can punch the frogs", as he punches the air with his fists. "Like this! Punch the frogs, Lucas". Lucas stayed perfectly still watching his daddy punch the imaginary frogs. "Is Daddy shooting the frogs?" "No, I'm punching them." Again Lucas watches and asks again if his Daddy is shooting the frogs (mind you, we have no guns real or play in our house). Finally my husband says, "Sure. Daddy is shooting the frogs. Peeeeew-peeeew-peeeeeew! Peeeeew!" Just so you know, the gun sound effect that he made was a joke. That is the sound effect that Logan makes for guns. I'm guessing because he has only seen them on Sci Fi movies he watches with his daddy.

Anyway, back to the frogs. My husband pretended to shoot the frogs and Lucas started crying. He was sooooo upset that his Daddy shot the frogs. "No. I want more frogs!", he cried. We both started laughing. My husband said, "Lucas, they are just pretend. If you want more, just imagine a new one." That wasn't good enough. I actually had to put out my hand and offer a new frog to him.

Happy now, he started more talk about the frogs. "I don't want to eat the frogs. Frogs are yucky. I don't want to hold the yucky frog. I want to hold the clean frog.........."

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Happy Birthday, PaBob!!

Happy birthday, Dad. We love you!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Bowling fun.....

The boys really enjoy bowling.......I really enjoy having some fun where there is an AC!! :-)




Saturday, July 31, 2010

Target and Safeway shopping trip!!

Up first, my Target trip. I'm most excited about this trip. Although, upon getting home and looking at my receipt, I discovered that my BOGOF coupon for Bear Naked granola did not go through. I asked him because I saw it come up as $0, but when he scrolled up, we saw a -$3.50 and assumed that my coupon did go through. However when I looked more closely, I discovered that was my $3.50 off for the special promo of by 2 Dannon yogurts get one Bear Naked granola free. One of my 50 cents off Bear Naked granola coupons did go through, but I should have spent $3 less than I did. I still got an awesome deal, though!So, I got all of the above for $20.74. I should have paid $17.74, but I'm still super pleased. I saved $77.74!!! The only thing I didn't have a coupon for was the bread. I'm not going to list out all coupons used, etc. because I just used sceanrios from Krazy Coupon Lady. If you haven't checked her site out, go do it! Just so you know, I do have 3 laptops and a desktop that I had running printing coupons from! :-) I will say that I got the Chef Boyardee, Sobe water, one of the Bear Naked granolas, the first aid bad, and Red Baron pizza slices free. I paid 29 cents each for the candy bars, 29 cents each for the Bagel Bites, and 29 cents each for the Benadryl itch relief sticks. Since it is hard to see in the picture, here is a breakdown of what I bought:

  • 6 cans Chef Boyardee
  • 2 bags Bear Naked granola
  • 6 boxes Kashi TLC bars
  • 2 tubs 32 oz. Dannon yogurt
  • 2 boxes Red Baron pizza by the slice
  • 1 loaf of bread
  • 1 (10 ct) Papermate pens
  • 4 Benadryl itch relief sticks
  • 1 first aid bag
  • 8 bottles Sobe life water
  • 2 bags Dole salad
  • 4 boxes (9 ct) Bagel bites
  • 8 Willy Wonka candy bars
Above is my Safeway shopping trip. I spent $33.24 at Safeway. I saved $45.83! I did 2 transactions at 2 stores to get the cheeses that were on sale for 99 cents each. The only thing not on sale and I didn't have a coupon for is the Lipton tea. The Jimmy Dean sausage was marked down to 99 cents, the Pepsi's were 99 cents, and the Gatorade was 99 cents. The string cheese was $2.49, the Lipton tea was $3.69, and the cereals were 78 cents each (after a 55 cent off manufacturer coupon that was doubled and a store coupon). The avocados were on sale for $1.25 each, but I had two coupons for $1.50 off of 4 and I also had a catalina that printed yesterday for $3 off a $10 purchase of produce that I used. So, I got my avocados for 50 cents each. I couldn't find the $1 off 2 avocado coupon anymore or they would have been even cheaper. $33.24 seems a bit high, but when I look at my stockpile of cheese, I'm okay with that. Good thing I have a deep freezer!
  • 3 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  • 4 bottles Pepsi
  • 2 bottles Gatorade
  • 1 jug Lipton tea
  • 1 bag string cheese (16 oz)
  • 6 bags shredded cheese (8 oz each)
  • 6 blocks cheese (8 oz each)
  • 2 rolls Jimmy Dean suasage
  • 8 avocados