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!