Update...

COUPONING...

• I'm a closet coupon-er. T's grandmother got me started and then Ole Miss Mom provided some great info and pointed me to a few other blogs that have helped me "learn the system." I've been doing this for a while, but hadn't posted yet because... I'm prideful. 

Ok...in the rush to beat two grown women to the last few boxes of Kellog's cereal at CVS...I spied one of their couponing systems...and it made such sense. So I copied her.

I spent a morning making my own mini filing system...and I'm smitten with it! It works so well! I can find everything I need so easily...the coupons don't spill out...it's fantastic! And the best part is that I only spent $3 on the container...the paper was excess from freelance jobs. Sweet.

So...here's a recent example of why I am so pumped about this couponing thing:

Monday, at CVS, I bought:

-Viologie Shampoo (reg. $3.99) on sale for $1.99

-Viologie Conditioner (reg. $3.99) on sale for $1.99

-Cover Girl Outlast Lipcolor (reg. $9.99) on sale for $7 (they'd give me $3 in Extra Care Bucks {ECBs})

-6 Right Guard Deodorants (reg. $4.99) on sale 2/$5 (they'd give me $2 in ECBs per two deodorants)

-2 gallons of 2% milk on sale for $2.99 each

-3 pack of Dial Bar Soap on sale for $1.99 (they'd give me $1 ECB)

By combining sales with coupons with Extra Care Bucks (you get these back on certain purchases when you use your CVS rewards card) plus store coupons (these usually print out on your receipt when you make a purchase at CVS) I paid $4.80 out of pocket. Pretty sweet, huh?

Every time isn't that great...but that's the beauty of the system. We're stocked up on drug store items so I can wait for the really good deals and save $$$.

And by the way...T's mom and grandmother pass on the coupons they don't use to me...and Katie cuts out all the coupons she won't use from her paper and mails them to me. Every Tuesday or so I get a sweet note from her, packed with $$$ savings! Thanks, guys!

MW's END OF THE YEAR PROGRAM...

• MW did SUPER in her end of the year program. (She even picked her nose...on the front row...for all to see!) And the little man sat contentedly through the ENTIRE thing! Hooray!

THE GARAGE...

junk growing in the back yard...

• Our garage, like my sister and bro-in-law's, is rotten to the core and falling down. It floods several inches deep every time we get a good rain...Like Katie and Matt's, the previous owner covered ours in vinyl, too. Sweet. So we've spent some time drafting ideas. T made a scale model of the house and yard and we've spent hours playing...

We think we have a plan, but the push to clean out the back yard is also being prompted by a certain combined birthday gift...a gift all the fam is going in on for both children's birthdays. It's big and wooden and will be used to burn off lots of energy outdoors this summer, and hopefully for years to come...it's a S-W-I-N-G-S-E-T. shhhh...don't tell. MW's birthday isn't until June 22nd.

T dug up and ripped out the clothing lines...I can't believe the space that created! He also chain sawed a bunch of junk down...we've got to mark out our new plan for the garage, as we'll be building in a new location...exciting times!

THE DOG HOUSE...

• We'd debated on selling the dog house in the paper...Scout sleeps inside most nights and if she does sleep outside, she doesn't sleep in the dog house...it's been uninhabited for over a year now...so T went over to take a closer look and found evidence of termites...so we decided to haul her to the street for road side pick up...T put a strap around her, put his truck in gear, and hauled her to the curb. Low and behold, before dawn the next morning, she was gone. Our rotten, termite infested, falling apart dog house had been scooped. Hope they enjoy her!

THE STUNT BABE...

• Little Miss had a BIG day! She FINALLY learned how to pedal/ride a bike...THROUGH WATER!!! We're still with training wheels...but she can pedal. SHE CAN PEDAL!!! This is BIG!!! I thought the little man might figure it out before MW. 

T gets "Dad of the Century" for the countless hours he's spent holding the hose "just so" so MW can "ride THROUGH water!" 

THE HYDRANGEAS...

• blooming...there are tons of blooms! HOORAY! I LOVE hydrangeas!!!

THE RECITAL...

little man...being a super little bro! He hung in there through the entire recital!

• MW rocked the recital. Ok, really, she did great, and my fav. part was at the end of each dance when she struck a pose that said, "I kicked rear up here!" She cracks me up!

WEEKEND WITH FAM...

• The whole clan came for the recital, but only Mom stayed for the weekend...and surprise!!! late Friday night, post recital, my sister, A, 

and her husband, 

and their little boy

joined us. (I could just eat him up! He's SO CUTE!!!) It was SUCH a FUN weekend! I just wish Katie and Matt and Mary Thomas could've been here, too!

I LOVE this pic.!!! Seeing the smile on MW's and Mom's faces makes me smile!!!

The little man has a new favorite line:

"Dat's mine. OHHHH-KAAAAAYYYY???????"

He said that a lot while his cousin was here. 

GRASS vs POTTY...

Little man stripped down in the back yard in the swimming pool...potty training is becoming a little more interesting to him. While stripped down he became a little more aware of what was going on...he won't tee tee in the potty...but he sure will tee tee in the grass! Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go outside. His reply: "Tee tee in dirt!" As MW reminded him, "You can only do that in OUR backyard."

THE TEA PARTY...

• MW gave baby a present. She decorated my tummy for a tea party for baby. 

THE LAST DAY OF 4 YR KINDERGARTEN...

• And she had her last day of school...and I cried. She wouldn't stop hugging her teacher goodbye...we were holding up car line...and kind of got in trouble with the pre-school director. Oh well. I could barely tell her to get in the car because of the giant lump in my throat. I can't believe how fast these days are flying!

It makes me wonder... am I using my time at home with her wisely? Am I investing in her heart for eternity? Am I pointing her to the cross daily? Am I intentional? These days are like sand sifting through my fingers...God, please give me wisdom! 

No, Mr. President.

My friend Misty shared this on her blog...I hope you'll take the few minutes to watch.

ReThink the UnThink

We used those “freebies” for a grilled KFC lunch…unless you just really like your “chicken” to be 75% fat – and you only want about three bites of MEAT – or if you’re a crazy fan of KFC sides…it just ain’t worth it. (Please do share if your experience was different.)

The children took one bite…and-that-was-it.

NOT worth the drive. To us, at least...

The little man and T made breakfast this morning while I was on the phone with Apple...my laptop battery is dead. I mean, really! When it rains...it pours! sigh...

We went to "Older Americans Day" where MW and her ballet class performed for about, oh, I don't know, maybe 1,500 older Americans...I thought she might freeze once she got on the stage, but she smiled and danced and ROCKED it! We were fortunate enough to arrive in time to see the costume contest. I'll leave it at that.

Ok…I finished them…FINALLY!!!!

On to the next project…the guest room…7 weeks and 5 days until baby arrives - if I go full term…PANIC!!! 

Chicken~Chicken!!

Mom sent me an email with a link to Oprah's site...

head on over and get your coupon for a 

"Free Kentucky Grilled Chicken Meal"

but HURRY...

the coupon won't be available to print after 11:59pm CDT today (May 6th)!

Enjoy!

In the Midst of it all...

A "Daddy sink bath"

A yummy start to my morning...

That little sewing project...hope to finish tomorrow...

Ice Cream Run!!!

and...

In the midst of it all…I think I’ve lost my focus.

 

T has been working an outage. Yesterday was day 31. That means that for the last 31 days my husband has risen at 4am, left our home by 4:45am, “turned over shift” at 5:30am, and worked at least 12 straight hours, without even an allotted time to eat a meal (as in, he eats on the “go” during that 12 hour shift). He doesn’t return home until 6:45 or 7pm. Each sixth day he is off. That means he comes home dead tired and is asleep by about 9. His off day is packed with yard work, fixing the latest broken thing, and whatever else needs his attention (insurance co, leaky roof, dog had to go to the vet…), etc. and then he’s in bed again by about 9. 

My goal each day has been to have the house picked up, our (mine and T's) dinner ready (to serve or warm up), both children fed, and bathed, and their toys put away, with school clothes laid out for the next day by the time T gets home. (This doesn’t always happen.)

Bet I sound like super mom, huh? (I’m being sarcastic…if only you knew how often my heart has revolted at this…)

A few days ago I ran into a friend who was with a friend I don’t really know. They asked me about my pregnancy and how things were going. I told them I was feeling “over” the whole pregnancy thing. Ready to not be pregnant. Ready to not have to deal with sleepless nights and leg cramps and the sciatic nerve stuff…and as soon as those complaining words were out of my mouth, I remembered that my friend isn’t having more children…because she can’t. And the friend she was with…has been trying to have a baby for a long time, a very long time. I felt shallow. Pathetic. Snubbing my nose at a miracle God has given me. 

Last night was rough. I pushed dinner later than normal…little man had a fit and threw alphabet magnets all over the floor. He pulled MW’s hair…she wound up in tears…things were falling apart.

 At one point I had to stop cooking dinner, turn off the stove, and deal with my sinful children.

By the time T made it home…later than planned…he was worn out. I was worn out. I thought if either of my children said my name one more time I might go insane.

I think I’ve lost my focus. I love my husband. I love my children. This calling – to be a wife and a mother – is an honor. It is a gift. My husband and children are gifts. My husband’s job is a gift. This baby growing inside me – the one who kicks me awake several times a night – is a gift from God.

I mentioned cereal spilled on a curtain panel in my previous post…I love my house and I love doing projects…and I love making things in our home beautiful…but this home, this earthly dwelling, is temporary. This isn’t forever. It’s just spilled milk.

I’ve lost my focus. I’ve forgotten what is forever, eternal. I’ve turned my eyes to outward behaviors, rather than internal heart issues. I’ve corrected the offense, rather than the well from which the offense came. Make sense? In a nut shell…embarrassingly, I stopped caring about my children’s hearts and pointing them to the cross and instead I've been quick to correct without thought to their sinful hearts…the place from which the sin came. It takes so much more energy in the short-term…energy I’ve struggled to find…to deal with their sin AND take them to the foot of the cross. (Let me spell it out - raising my voice at screaming children is not a mature or effective way to deal with an issue.)

Last night MW crawled up in my lap and said, “mommy, I’m sorry for the things I did wrong today.” My heart broke. I told her I was sorry for the ways I’d sinned against her, too.

SMACK…my sin hit me in the face.

I once heard that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps jumping off the altar. I keep jumping off…and running away…and God graciously brings me back.

In the midst of it all, I lost my focus. 

Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

 

 

He-Man & Transformers & other things...

Aside from wiping out in the CVS parking lot Sunday afternoon (like...my knees are swollen and slightly cut up - real classy move)...made me glad my car has brush guards...they sure came in handy (to break my fall)... our weekend was rather uneventful...we hung out in the house...had a "pajama day" Saturday...curled up and watched The Tale of Despereaux (which is fantastic!!!)....stayed home from church thanks to a little boy with a green nose...

The little man continues to talk about Caroline and tells and re-tells, "I kiss Care-line up-tairs." Followed by a fit of giggles. Look out!!!

T has boxes and boxes and boxes of childhood toys, baseball cards, etc....they've been claiming residence in what is about to become our "official" guest room...it would kind of be nice if the faux bedside table, made of stacked boxes (containing all those toys, etc.) and a tablecloth disappeared...and it would be nice if guests could hang their clothes in the closet...until this weekend there were too many boxes, etc. in there. (And yes, a few of those things are mine.) So anyway...I asked him to please label each box as to when he thought the toys within would be age appropriate...he said he thought the kids were ready to play with all of it (toys - not baseball cards, etc.)...and so I broke out four boxes of transformers and I'm really not sure what the other stuff was...I can sort My Little Ponies and Barbies and Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop all day...but when it comes to the boy stuff...um...I'm quiet clueless. 

Little man was SO EXCITED! He had stripped down to his diaper and a colorful necklace...and he "man handled" one of the boxes from the guest room to the playroom, shouting, "TOYS" all the way. He dumped the box out, onto the gigantic pile created from the other three boxes and proceeded to SCREAM and wiggle his hands in the pile...storage...we'll be needing to come up with a storage solution...for now, MW has forgone her "dress up" storage bins so the Transformers can take residence within. (I'm thinking maybe T can build her a trunk for dress ups?)

So anyway...during our restful weekend (T worked ALL weekend) we pretty much wrecked the guest room...that's ok. Hopefully baby will be on time, and not too early...and we'll get things finished up in there.

Someone had a bit of a meltdown. I'm sure me breaking out the camera helped things.

I'm lacking in pics of MW. She doesn't particularily care for me taking her picture.

Um...and now that the SHOCK of the haircut has worn off...I am floored by HOW MUCH HE LOOKS LIKE HIS DADDY!!! His daddy's whole side of the family!!! In fact, he has a cousin who is a little older, and there is a DEFINITE resemblance in my opinion!!! Kind of funny...

I've posted before about our love of blackened fish. I always used "Red Fish Magic." It's kind of pricey...around $3.50 for a bottle...and that usually lasted us 2.5 times...so I decided to attempt to make my own. I think I might have gotten it. If you like things blackened...give this a try:

Blackening:

4 T sea salt

6 T paprika

4 T garlic powder

4 T onion powder

2 T red pepper 

2 T six pepper blend (ok - I bought this at Sams, thinking it was blackening seasoning - IT'S NOT!!! We almost died with the first bite!!! I'm sure black pepper would work fine, too, but I just have this HUGE tub of the six pepper blend. If you live near me and want some...let me know!)

2 T oregano

I mixed it all together and...ta-da!

Regarding the little weekend project...I think I see the finish line...six panels, double lined, five are sewn, one pinned, and I've done the detail work at the top of two...all six still need hemming...not to mention a small set back...a two year old dumped his sister's bowl of cereal and milk on the pinned panel...it's been a great day for the Gospel!