Nicole's first official hair cut

Nicole has only had one other REAL haircut (and it was a trim at home) other than her bangs. Saturday however, I took her to my mom's salon and she got the whole shabang! Nicole got her hair washed, cut (several inches in the longest area), blown out and even ironed a bit. It was so much fun. Nicole was very serious about it and I think she took in every moment. Of course, pictures to share.

She looks like she is terrified to have her hair washed, but she wasn't. I kept asking her if she was scared, and she said no. I think she was trying to keep herself up because she started complaining of her back hurting her.

She was watching everything Yaya was doing to her.

The finished product

And, we can't forget Hannah...she was oh so patient. Unfortunately, she didn't have any hair to cut:(

Bed Time Silliness

Tonight we were being silly before bedtime and Nicole wanted her picture taken. First she smiled

Then we asked for a "silly face" and immediately, this is what we got (mom...your going to crack up laughing! It's "Big house, little house" face:-)

Pizza and a movie

Tonight we had pizza and a movie night. Jeremy has been working all day programming for a very big job that is ending. So, we stayed in tonight and just chilled out. I brought a rug into our living room, threw some pillows and a blanket down and we sat on the floor and ate pizza while watching Moses, Prince of Egypt. It was fun, and Nicole really liked it. We'll have to do it again sometime. Here's the only pic I have



And, here is a fun video from yesterday. Nicole is a thrill junkie. She loves to go fast and to spin around. She kept asking for more but Jeremy and I gave out on her before she was done:-)

Black Friday at CVS

Well...I have had several friends and family ask me about my Black Friday CVS adventures. The "Black Friday" sales for CVS actually started Thursday morning. So I, along with my veteran CVS friend Teri and my "in training" friend Jami set off for CVS and opened the doors at 7 AM with an egg casserole and Turkey cookies for the employees. We had a lot of fun shopping and getting excited with and for each other. We saved so much money...it's ridiculous. Check out Teri's post. There were a lot of items that were free after ecbs...which means you get the same amount of ecbs back that you spent on the item. I walked in the door with about 40ecb and I believe $25 of coupons. Here's what I bought...

This picture is missing one of my biggest purchases. I bought myself a belgian waffle maker (it works great by the way!) I'll try to list everything else (2) bic soleil razors, (2) sally henson nail polish, (2) colgate total, (2) headphones, (1) Schick Quattro trimmer, (2) aussie hair products, (1) norelco shaver, (1) contact solution, (1) playtex, (3) G2 gatorade, (1) Maybeline foundation, (2) Loreal lip gloss, (1) Johnson's lotion, (1) Garnier Nutriste towlettes,

Now, in all honesty, most of the stuff on sale I didn't need... so it will be donated.

However, Teri gave me a tag from a Christmas Tree at a local business that collects gifts for seniors in the area who live in nursing homes and don't have family to celebrate Christmas with. I have a man, and all he requested was "mens personal items". Pretty broad. Anyway, I had a coupon for $5.00 off the norelco shaver, plus it was 50% off. So I thought I would give him that, along with items like tooth paste, shampoo, etc. What do you think?

Here are my general numbers

I purchased just under $150 in products

I spent $8.59 out of pocket (this should have been $3.59...my first transaction, I was so excited that I forgot to give the cashier enough ecb...I had another 5 to give...oh well).

I walked out with about $25 in ecb.

Here we are, after our big purchases.We figured that we spent around $14 between the three of us (again...that should have been $9 if I hadn't messed up my first deal, doh!)

Baby toys and Softball

Yesterday I walked into the kitchen and saw Nicole playing, not with, but IN one of Hannah's toys. This is a jumperoo. Nicole never liked it when she was a baby...she seems to like it now though.

Last night we went to Jeremy's softball game. Nicole's little buddies, Peyton, Caulder and their cousin Noah were all there. Aren't they cute?Mom and grandma came to the game as well. Nicole is so worried about seeing the picture after it's taken that she forgets to smile for the actual photo. Silly Hannah. I think she looks good with blue hair...what am I kidding, she looks good with ANY hair :-)

This video has Nicole jumping in Hannah's toy, and one of Jeremy's hits from last night.

Hannah is not crawling yet. I keep saying she's close, but really, I think it'll be a few more weeks. However, she can push herself backwards, which of course can get her in quite a predicament sometimes. Today she ended up under the sofa chair (she doesn't seem to be to bothered by it though).

I have a big praise! The A.C. in my car has been slowly going down hill, and this weekend it finally bit the dust. Jeremy called me this morning because there is a new automotive place near his office who didn't have any cars this morning, so I took mine down. The guy was really nice and it only cost us $110. He charged us for the part ($70) and 1/2 an hour of time, even though he drove a total of an hour to go get the part needed. My AC is freezing cold now and we may have found a mechanic. Let's hope he's always that nice. But, I'm thankful for cool air again. And...bonus, the girls got to spend the morning with Grammy and Gramps, and we all went out to Cracker Barrel for Lunch. Thanks Gramps!

Money Saving Monday

I'm pretty happy about my shopping this week. I feel like all the work I've been doing clipping coupons, using them and stocking up on supplies is starting to pay off.

This week, CVS had a deal where you buy 3 American Express gift cards then you get 10ECB and a $15 mail in rebate for a gas card. Well, I purchases 3 $25 gift cards (I did have to pay a handling fee...but it still worked out in my favor). I then used those gift cards to go grocery shopping this week. I also have 10 more ECB to use during CVS's black Friday event:-)

I was just shy of $30 under my budget this week (can I get a woot woot! Well...I did go and buy frozen chic breast and ground beef at Sams, but that put me right at my budget and will last me several weeks). I saved $51.51 at publix. This was a 40% savings:-) There weren't any crazy wonderful deals, but I had lots of coupons for items that were bogo.

This was the best deal:
Bird's Eye Voila family meals $4.69 BOGO
I bought 4 (paid for 2) I had 2 $2/2 Q
So I got 4 meals for just over $1.00 a piece
There is also a mail in rebate for a free Charlie Brown movie when you purchase 3 meals:-) So, 4 dinners and a movie for less than $5.00...not bad.

Well, I'm looking forward to CVS shopping this week. Their "black Friday" stuff starts on Thursday (yes I know it's Thanksgiving, but I'll be there and back before anything needs to go in the oven). I have $40 in ECB and a $10 off $50 purchase and $5 off $25 purchase. Maybe another one will print that day. Not to bad, huh? I don't know what I'm going to get besides a waffle maker for myself, haha.

So...anyone else have a good grocery week?

Circus

Tonight, Grammy and Gramps took Nicole to the Circus. We got the run down from them, and it sounds like they had a blast! Nicole got to ride an elephant, eat a snow cone, watch gymnast on the flying trapeze, watch elephants and see a man shoot out from a canon, along with many other amazing stunts. She's alseep, so I haven't gotten to talk to her about it. However, I've heard that the elephants were her favorite. I can not wait to talk to her tomorrow. She has been looking forward to the circus all week.

Tagged by...well, several people

My friends Jennifer, Teri and Jen K. tagged me. I'm suppose to share the following information about my husband. Here it goes...

1. Where did you meet? In the parking lot at church before our college group went to Busch Gardens for the day. Our mutual friend Michelle told me a new guy was going to be there and asked me to introduce myself and make him feel welcomed. We ended up becoming good friends for several years before we started dating, although I have to admit...I was smitten immediately

2. How long did you date? 1 1/2 year before we got engaged. We were engaged for 5 months

3. How long have you been married? 5 very wonderful years!

4. What does he say that surprises you? That I'm a great mom.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His eyes...especially when he smiles

6. What is your favorite quality of his? His integrity. His desire to walk uprightly, let his yes be yes and bring Glory to His Father in Heaven

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Babe

8. What is his favorite color? Red

9. What is his favorite food? Most anything with cheese, pistachio pudding, cow tails, sunflower seeds

10. What is his favorite sport? He enjoys both playing and watching sports (however he doesn't get to watch very often). He likes to play men's softball and flag football and does Tiger Woods Golf on the Wii count? And he likes to watch football (especially with Nicole)

11. When and where did you first kiss? In front of AVI when he was dropping me off at my car. I've been married now 5 years, so I guess I can't get in trouble for this...it was our first real date:-)

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? If he were answering this, he would say sitting by the fire talking...but for me, it would be sitting on the pier talking:-) I guess the location doesn't matter much, it's that we are together.

13. Do you have any children? 2 beautiful little girls, Nicole 2, and Hannah 6 months (you should know that by now:-)

14. Does he have a hidden talent? I'm not sure if this is a talent, but he can bend his thumbs all the way backwards...

15. How old is he? 27

16. Who said, "I love you" first? He did, on the couch at AVI, I didn't say it back for almost a month...I was scared to.

17. What is his favorite type of music? He likes most anything that gives glory to God. Sometimes he likes to sit back and listen to hymns by Red Mountain Church and other times he's bumpin down the road with rap or hard rock (Toby Mac, Cross Movement or LeCre). We even had a little stint with country music a few years ago. He spends a lot of time listening to sermons by John Piper, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, Leonard Ravenhill and me reading C.H. Spurgeon.

18. What do you admire most about him? He is an incredible husband and a loving father. He works so hard to provide for our family and constantly encourages me and wants me to be a stay at home mom. I love his commitment to his family and desire to raise the girls in a home that bring Glory to God. He is so patient, kind and loving and I'm blessed to be his wife.

19. Do you think he will read this? Yes, because the posts get e-mailed to him.

Ok, so now I am tagging my friends Kim and Kirsten (all my other friends have already been tagged and posted) . You're IT! Can't wait to read all about your sweeties!

We love play-doh

While I was typing my CVS post this morning, Nicole was playing with Play-Doh. When I was all done, I went over and we started making animals together. It was fun and we of course, had to take pictures. I must say...the older I get and the more chidren I have, the better I become at art:-) I am quite sure these are the best play-doh animals I've ever been a part of making.

I'm not sure why the giraffe is sideways.

This is Nicole's Dog

Sillyness in the mornings. And...I can't post this picture, without posting the coutnerpart.
(August 2007)

Quick CVS Savings

I have been dying to share this with you for several days, but I simply have not had the time to write this....hopefully I'll get it out right now (Nicole is playing with Play-doh and Hannah is trying to take a nap).

I went to CVS Tuesday night with my trusty friend Teri. We racked up!

I bought approx $125 worth of stuff.

I spent $3.35 cash out of pocket

I earned $30 in Extra Care Bucks.

So...where did the rest of the money come from that I used to buy my stuff...from coupons and ECB. I made 5 different transactions....Let's see if I can explain.

*Deal: If you buy $20 in Duracell batters, you get $15 ECB (do this deal 3x)

*I had 3 coupon for $5.00 off of two packs of batteries (therefore I got the batteries "for free

after ECB)

*I also had some little $.75 off coupons for batteries

*Deal: Buy $10 in Glade products, receive $5 ECB (do this deal 5x)

*I had a TON of Glade coupons, including several Buy One Get One Free

*Deal: Buy Loreal Age perfect cream for $15.99, get $15.99 ECB...so it was free after ECB

It would be crazy for me to actually type out my transactions (I will though if you want)...but I will detail what I got.

6 packs of batteries (3 AA and 3 AAA....all 6 packs had 16 batteries in them)

2 Glade plug in (with 2 refills in each pack)

2 Glade plug in twin pack refills

4 Glade candles

4 Glade Glass Scents

2 Glade scented oil candles

1 Deodorant

1 Loreal Age Perfect cream

I'm very excited because now I have $30 ECB for their "black Friday" event...which actually starts Thanksgiving day (guess who'll be there at 7am?)

Then, Wednesday night I took my friend Jami to CVS to show her the ropes...I think she's addicted now. She could only do the battery deal twice (because I only had two other $5/2 packs coupons), but she did the Glade deal 5 times I think. Anyway....here's a snippet of her e-mail. I'm just FLABERGASTED at the savings I saved tonight that I had to share numbers with you!!! I bought $79.27 worth of products in total spent a total of $4.58 which is a savings of $74.69 PLUS I walked out with $12 in care bucks!!! It was very fun to share the excitement with a friend. Yay!!! So...I'm set on batteries for a little while. Next week they have another great deal I can't wait for...I'll share more about that later though. OK...off to play with play-doh (don't I have a great job?)

to my mommy friends

If you have one spare minute....you need to click on this link and read this short post on Girl Talk.

I'll write more later about my best trip ever to CVS last night...and of course a few pictures of the girls.

Our Weekend

We had a GREAT weekend...well, Sunday together as a family. Saturday Jeremy had a side job most of the day for a friend and I went rollerblading first thing. Then we had church, so we didn't have a lot of time all together. However, that was made up for on Sunday. In my eyes...it was a perfect day.

We woke up to a beautiful "cold" front. (I know, I know...some of you would say cool) It was in the 50s probably by the time we got out of the house around 9:00. We took a walk up to Dunkin Donuts. As you can see by this photo ...we were bundled:-) Hannah fell asleep in the stroller. I think she really likes to be bundled. She gets all cozy and falls asleep almost every time. Anyway...we walked to Dunkin Donuts for a nice healthy breakfast (yeah right). We had to cross a major intersection to get there. Once across, I noted how much bird poop there was on the sidewalk from the birds that sit on the stop light polls (they weren't above us on the way there, they were across the interesection). Well...of course, since I have the big mouth, on the way back the birds moved and were sitting above us as we waited for the lights to change so we could cross. Yep...I got pooped on!!!! (Side note, tonight I had my jacket on and Nicole looked at me and said "mommy, bird poop" hahaha It had already been washed, but she knew that was the jacket).

After donuts, we went up to the park again. This is becoming a favorite pastime of ours. We took a ball, a frisbee, and a croquet set Grammy got at a garage sale a few weeks ago. We had a blast. We ran, and tackled, and tickle, and hit things...it was great. Nicole crawled under some bleachers to get a ball, almost got stuck, and had to be coaxed out by Jeremy (we didn't get a picture in time, sorry). I've loaded a video with two segments. Jeremy and Nicole had a blast chasing and tackling each other. Nicole was worn out, and was asleep before we got home, I mean to lunch with Jeremy's parents and their friends from church.

Next Jeremy and the girls went back to his parents house to watch some football and I went grocery shopping. Unfortunately I don't have any stupendious deals to share with you. I saved $56 in coupons and sales, mostly sales. Oh...I did leave my coupon binder in my shopping cart and had to go back. The sales people were quite impressed by my binder (thank you Teri:-)

Then Jeremy and I went to Bible study...we just finished Revelation. I wish every one I know could go to this Bible study we go to on Sunday nights. It is so rich and full of such depth. It's nice to go somewhere where the Word of God is taught and it's not just fluff that "tickles your ears" like so many preachers out there. Jeremy and I then went to one of our favorite restaraunts, SilverSpoon and had a Spinich con Queso appetizer and dinner. It was nice to sit, eat dinner at a normal pace, and talk without little voices interrupting:-) We had a great time together:-)

So, anyway, I don't usually give a play by play of the weekend...but, I felt like sharing. I'm thankful for such a wonderful family. And I'm always thankful for days like Sunday...it was perfect!

Oh....I almost forgot these last two pictures. Uncle Justin came over Saturday to toss the football with Jeremy. He took a few minutes out to push Hannah. I wish I would have snapped a shot of Hannah laughing. It was sweet to watch them play.

And...today my mom bought the girls matching pajamas. Nicole was so excited when I was put her jammies on. She was giggling, and thought it was really funny to have them on (they are footies and she hasn't worn those for probably a year and a half). Then we showed her the Hannah had matching jammies. At first I thought Nicole might get mad, but then she smiled and thought it was fun. Here's a cute picture.

Obedience

This morning I was walking with my friend Amanda and we were talking about discipline (a matter, she hasn't fully visited as her sweet baby is just short of two months old). Nonetheless...she was a good sounding board for me. One thing we talked about was how difficult it is to be consistent in disciplining obedience. Often times, someone on the outside might think it's silly that Nicole get disciplined for something, however they may not realize that she is being disciplined for disobedience. Now is the time in her life that Obedience is our major issue. Obedience is obeying an instruction immediately and with a happy heart. Our main issue has been the immediacy of obedience. Anyway....this article on Girl Talk encouraged me. She struggled for 2 hours for her 2 year old to eat a piece of toast...trivial and even silly to most...but to her, it was a struggle of authority and disobedience. I just wanted to share for my other mama friends out there:-) Be encouraged....you (we) are not alone.

Grandma's here

Nicole woke up this morning saying "Mimi, airplane". Mimi is what most of the great-grandkids call my grandma. Hannah and I went to the airport this morning to pick grandma up. Hannah was thrilled to see her. She was jumping around, smiling and laughing for her. Yay! She knew grandma was someone special:-) We went back to my mom's and had lunch. Nicole was also very excited to see grandma Mimi. She ran to her with open arms. Nicole was also shocked to find out that Mimi is "Papa's mommy" (my dad's mom). Here are a few pictures from the morning.

Hannah has on a new outfit today, well...sort of. This is the famous Nicole dress. One of my all time favorite pictures of Nicole is her in this dress.

Here is Nicole (Jan 1, 2007...days under 7 months old)

And here is Hannah (will be 7 months old in aobut 2 1/2 weeks).

Adorable, BOTH of them! I'm excited because Jeremy just got down two boxes of clothes that Hannah can now fit into. It's rediculous how many clothes these girls have. Tiffy...here's hoping tomorrow you get pink news:-)

I was almost late to the airport because I had to swing by CVS. It should have been quick, but they didn't have something I was looking for, and the nice manager went to the back to see if they had anymore:-) Anyway, I bought one thing I went in for...mascara. Here's the deal (Teri...you'll be proud!)

Rimmel mascera $6.99

Manufactuer Q -$1.00

CVS Q -$1.00

CVS ECB -$3.49

Grand total OOP $0.59

ECB +$4.00!!! (for my next purchase)

Here's the cool thing. The manager was trying to find out for me if something (vitamin water) had ECB, because it wasn't in the flyer, however there was a tag on the shelf. So, she did a transaction just with my Vitamin water. Turn out it didn't have ECB, however all my coupons printed...which was where I got my CVS Q for any Rimmel product. I grabbed that coupon and used it on my next transaction for the mascera which greatly reduced my out of pocket price. I was pretty excited that happened. Oh...it also came with a free eye liner. Woohoo!!!

I just got a sneak peak of CVS's black friday add. Who's in? They don't open until 8, so I'll be able to hit other store first:-)

Well, it's about time

I know I know....I haven't posted in a while. I don't know why, but it has been very busy, in a non-busy sort of way. Make sense? no. For the past several days I've had all these ideas about things to write on here, and now that I have 5 minutes to do it, I can't remember anything:-)

Did I tell you that Nicole knows her ABCs? Well...she usually skips M and V...but she does know those letters separately. Here's a little video. She even sings "Now I sang my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me" at the end. Oh...I totally forgot to tell you what she's saying at the beginning. Hannah had been "spitting up". Nicole says it funny "spit up up up up". I don't know where she got that from, but it's funny.

She can also count to 10 now! Woohoo....way to go my little mathematician. In fact, this morning I was making Jeremy's breakfast and lunch. There were two plastic spoons, but I took one and put it in his oatmeal. She noticed and kept telling me one of her spoons was missing. She didn't know it, but she did subtraction. 2 spoons - 1 spoon = 1 spoon left in her hand.

Hannah and I had a photo shoot again the other day. She is a doll baby. I just can't get enough of her smiles and laughter. We are still struggling in the sleep department. She's waking at night again. I guess that's just her personality though and we'll work through it.

Jeremy golfing with Nicole on Sat. morning

My grandma is coming down to visit for a month tomorrow, so you'll be seeing lots of pictures with her. I'm excited because Nicole knows who she is now and is looking forward to seeing her, and Hannah's never met a stranger:-)

Air freshner

My Sister-in-law, Tiffany, sent me a recipe for a yummy air freshner for you home (yummy meaning it smells good...don't drink it!, hmm...well, maybe with some sugar it would taste good too:-) For my organic friends...this is all-natural so you should like it. I tried it today and it does smell good:-) Oh...I just realized I forgot the cin. sticks, I'll have to get those next time.

1 Orange
1 Lemon
3 Cin. sticks (she told me to get them in the craft section at walmart for the best price)
6 bay leaves
1/2 cup whole cloves

Cut lemon and orange into quarters, combine fruit, spices and 2 quarts of water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer as long as desired. Add more water as needed. Cover any left over mix and refrigerate for several days and reuse.
She said that it lasts for about two weeks

Praise the Lord

Both girls are asleep, at the same time, without crying. In case I only have hour...I'm signing off. Have a super weekend!

I have to share

I have a few things to share...first I just want to thank my MOPS friends today. We had a meeting, and honestly...I didn't feel like going. I wasn't ready, we've been busy a lot and not home much, the girls obviously both wanted to stay home, however I am a table leader and I had to be there. For some reason, on the way there, all my emotions started welling up inside me, and by the time I got Nicole in the nursery, I had tears in my eyes. Why? Who knows??? I cry a lot. I think though it's just my way of getting feelings out of me. Most of the time when I cry it's something very small that brings it on. However, I feel better almost every time I cry. Anyway...sweet Jennifer was at the door and I walk up with huge tears in my eyes explaining that I didn't know why I wasn't crying...hahhaa. Anyway...the point was not that I cried today, but that I enjoyed being with other moms who are supportive and encouraging. I'm thankful I get to be a part of the group. I have no idea why I'm a table leader because I am always frazzled, and never put together, and I feel like I don't have much to offer anyone. I always walk away feeling blessed by everyone else and I just pray that somehow someone else walks away feeling blest my be in all my craziness! hahaha.

Hannah is spitting up like a champ....it's getting so bad that I am seriously considering taking major items out of my diet to see if it's the milk doing this to her. Those of you who know me know this is big and it must be bad, because I've never been willing to do this before. I think after I eat my brownies tonight I'm going to do some research and evaluate what I need to get rid of (or maybe add). She also has a rash were she got her vaccines. I'm pretty sure those are the last vaccines she's getting for a long long time.

Finally, I went to Publix today because I needed to pick up brownie mix and supplies because (I thought) I was going to be making a pie today. I used a few coupons and got some great deals I just had to share!

My total was $36.56. I used $9 in Q and about $12 in sales and BOGOs so I saved a little over $21. My total out of pocket was $14.89. Here were the great ones....

College Inn Chicken and Beef broth $2.79

BOGO and 2 $1/1Q made them $.79/2 or $.40each:-) (bought 4)

Nestle chocolate chips $2.50

BOGO and $1/2 Q made them $1.50/2 or $.75 each:-) (bought 4)

Glade whisp refill $3.50

Clearance $1.75 and $1/1 Q made it $.75

Organic Dark chocolate candy bar $2.99

$1/1 Publix Q and $1/1 Mfct Q made it $.99

I had to buy my brownie mix and pie crust full price :-( and an unexpected pear because nicole was hungry and took a bite out of it:-) I was pretty excited though about my beef broth and choc. chips. Woohoo:-) So...if I didn't buy the pie crust (which I don't need now) or the pear, which Nicole ate, then my total out of pocket would have been about $10...that would have been great.

OK...my brownies smell good, and I need to go. Have a super day!

Who for President?

Nicole has her own special endorsement:-)

I put the pack n play up in the kitchen and Hannah sat and played long enough for me to do the dishes. My dad has been telling me to do this since Nicole was born. Why didn't I listen to him sooner?

A silly daddy/daughter moment

I hate vaccines!!

ok...I guess that's not totally true because I am honestly glad small pox and polio aren't around much anymore...but I hate what they do to my kids! Poor Hannah has had a fever since early this morning....and been crying a good portion of her awake time. She's also (hopefully) cutting teeth very soon. I have not touched my house in two days because I've been so tired I've had to take a nap...or try to anyway when both were down at same (short )time. I thought I was done with waking in the middle of the night. As my dear mother in law always reminds me...this is such a short season in my life...so short in fact that probably in a few weeks I'll have forgotten about it:-) I just want my poor baby girl to feel better.

On a different note, I voted today, did not wait in line & nicole sang her abc's for everyone in the poll booths. I'll take a picture of her when she wakes up...she has a cute shirt on for today.

Hannah's 6 month check

Can you believe little Hannah is already 6 months old??? The time has went by much faster than it did with Nicole. Hannah went to the Dr. today for her check up and a couple of vaccines. First of all...Hannah is perfectly average, with height and weight anyway...she's hanging tight in the 50th percentile. (of course we all know in intelligence she is extremely advanced! haha). Hannah was 15lbs 8oz and 25 inches long The Dr. was happy with how she is sitting up, "flying" on her tummy and "talking". I told her that I was a bit concerned because Hannah doesn't bare her weight on her feet when I stand her up. She did this and commented that she CAN bear her weight, but she is to lazy too. Hannah wants me to do all the work :-) She gave me a few little exercise to help encourage her. Hannah also spits up ALL the time. She gave me a few things to try to help ease this, so we'll see. We could also see two teeth getting ready to cut through very soon. Perhaps this explains the fussiness and not sleeping much in the past few days.

Nicole went to the Dr. with me and she commented on how tall Nicole is. We measured her and she was about 37 inches and 33 lbs. Oh....Nicole went to the bathroom while at the Dr. office and took a cup and asked it to be filled with water because she was thirsty. A few minutes later we discovered it was actually a urine sample cup!!! Un-used of course, but still a bit gross anyway. It gave us a good little chuckle before Hannah's shots:-)

Then, we went to the mall and had pizza. I went to get shoes for Jeremy and my mom took Nicole to get ice cream. Nicole knew exactly what she wanted and pointed at the chocolate sundae (that's my girl!). I ate a double doozie...oh....I just love those things. It was much past nap time, so we came home and here I've been listening to Hannah, and at times Nicole, cry for the past hour and a half. Grandmas....please don't let me stay out past nap time. It simply isn't worth it. My poor mom kept trying to hurry me along and remind me of the time, but I was just having a good old time eating and shopping. I thought the girls would be fine...really, I should know better! So...I have to be home by 1 every day, no exceptions!!!!

Well, Hannah is finally asleep, Nicole I think is on her way, she's fighting it pretty hard though.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow if you haven't already!!!
Yes on Ammendment 2

Money Saving Monday

I had a much better week at the grocery story yesterday. First of all, I went ALL BY MYSELF!!!! You other moms of young children I'm sure appreciate that comment. It is so much easier to go grocery shopping alone. Most other things I can do with them without much of a problem, but for me....grocery shopping is much easier when no one else is with me and I can concentrate. Jeremy spent the morning with them (of course with a promise from me that I would make French Toast when I got home:-) I think he had fun with them. When I drove up, Nicole and Hannah were both in the little kiddie pool outside playing. Yay for fun daddy!

OK...on to my shopping. I was $10 under my budget which was GREAT! I've been way over my budget lately, so this gives me hope that a change is in the future. However, I must admit I didn't buy my meat at Publix...I went to Sams later, so that blew my budget a bit. Here were my savings at the big P.
Coupons..$21.45
Advertised /Advantage buys...$34.74
In store savings... $4.77
Total Savings...60.96!!!

Woohoo! Here were some of my best purchases. (Q means Coupon, BOGO means Buy One Get One free)
Green Giant Veggie steamers - 50% off, minus $1/1 Q= FREE (bought 3 packs)
4 Uncle Ben's Rice dinner/sides - BOGO $1.59 /2 minus $1/2 coupon = $.56/2 or .28/1
2 cans Muir Glen organic dice tomatoes $2.67/2 minus $1/2 mft Q and $1/1 Pub Q = $.67/2 or $.32/1
Stouffer frozen family size lasagna reg price $6.49, sale $5.00 minus $.75 Q = $4.25
Brailla pasta sauce BOGO $2.83 minus 2 Q $.60 = $1.63/2 or $.81 each (bought 2)
Clearance deals (wouldn't have been able to do this with kiddos in tow, to many distractions...)
Beachnut baby cereal. Reg. price $2.39, on clearance for $1.30...minus $1/1 = $.30 per box (bought 2)
Triamic Vicks Formula (cough and cold syrup) Reg. price $3.99, on clearance for $2.00 minus$1/1Q = $1.00

Those were my best deals...other BOGO items with no Q
Arnold Whole wheat bread
E.L. Fudge cookies (Jeremy doesn't know I have those yet....I was going to break them out for a special occasion....hmmm...he'll be reading this post soon oh well)
Lays potato chips
Olivio butter spread

Hallelujah Night

Our church has a big festival called "Hallelujah Night" as an alternative to Halloween. They had over 65 game booths, pony rides, hay rides, laser tag, bounce houses, food....just about everything you could think of (except I couldn't find the Kettle Corn this year:-( So...that's what we did last night. I have so many pictures....are you ready??? Hannah was about the silliest, cutest clown you have ever seen....and Nicole LOVED her braids and face paint for her Indian costume. Seriously....there is nothing cuter than this!

The girls with their little friends, Peyton (spider man) and Caulder (lion)

This would have been a great family picture if it wasn't a bit blury. Oh well....I still love it.

The end of the night. Nicole is almost asleep, and Yaya is trying to warm her under her sweater.