Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

Sunday afternoon in TN, Tiffy stopped by the store to pick up a few things, including a paper. She asked if I wanted one and I said no. I forgot that my mom wasn't home and wouldn't be doing her normal "Wal-Mart" trip that morning, and I had forgotten that my in-laws no longer get the Sunday paper. Plus...I didn't have $1.75 on me to buy the paper. I was mad at myself all day long that I didn't get a paper because my friend Teri reminded me that they would probably have been coupons than we have in ours (for some reason, our papers don't receive all of the coupons available). That night when I looked through Tiff's paper (and saw all of the GREAT coupons), I whined and complained that I didn't buy one. So much so, that Jeremy just about left to go buy me a paper (hehe). Well, my friend Teri picked a local paper up for me back home, so I just had to hope that I would get a few of the good papers.

Well, my mom called me when she got off the plane from her trip to Ohio yesterday and told me she had to pack a second suit case because of all the coupons she brought home (she was kidding by the way, she definitely could have carried them on ; ) You wouldn't believe it, but she brought back a zillion coupons for me. I seriously spent an hour last night just cutting them (didn't even sort em then!) You know all of those coupons I was whining about NOT getting in TN? Well...now I have 4, 5 and even 6 sets of most of them. Here is what my dining room table looked like today when I was filing them away (remember, most of these have multiple copies underneath)

So...a GIGANTIC THANK YOU goes out to my Mama Pat and my Aunt Julie and whoever else so graciously handed over their coupons for my use:-) I'm so thrilled because some of these will come in very handy this week at CVS...BIG BIG weekend (Sun/Mon) sale. Check it out here.

Our trip video

I have compiled several segments of our trip into one video. There are a few things I forgot to mention in the previous post. Most importantly....Nicole got to chew her first piece of gum. I wish I had the whole thing on video, it was pretty funny. At first she simply sucked on the end of the the stick of gum. Eventually, a small piece was in her mouth, which she swallowed. The video picks up just after we got her to put the rest of the piece in her mouth...watch to see what happens...

We're back....

We got back last night from a WONDERFUL trip to Tennesse to visit Aunt Tiffy, Uncle Chris and Seth (baby Susannah wasn't ready to be born yet, so we missed her...Tiff is due Dec. 26:-)

Nicole was very excited about riding on an airplane. She was a great little traveler. Both Nicole and Hannah did great traveling. The ride home was a bit difficult because of missed nap times, but it certainly could have been much worse. We are really proud of them.

Nicole's little cousin, Seth, is about 7 months younger than her. They are finally getting old enough to play together a bit. In all honesty though, their "playing together" consisted mostly of watching videos together. Both have a love for Curious George:-)

Hannah got to see snow for the first time. It was cold and rainy for a few days, but one night the rain turned into snow:-) Here are some fun pictures. I would guess it snowed a couple of inches by morning time.

We got to meet a lot of Tiff and Chris' friends from church. They have a nice church family with great fellowship and community. We had dinner one night with their pastor and his family (7 kids between the ages of 9 and 19). It was neat to watch this large family of mostly teens and pre-teens interact with each other and their parents. Jane, the mother, has homeschooled all of her children (and because she is English, they all enjoy a cup of tea after dinner).

We went to a parade on Saturday morning. Let me tell you...if you live in this town, you are either IN the parade or WATCHING it. It's a very small town, but I couldn't believe how long the parade was:-) Their high school football team had just won state in their class, so this was the highlight of the parade.

Waiting for the parade

I love this look of Nicole, it makes me smile:-)

Most of the time though, we just spent enjoying the company of family. We had lots of time to talk, cook...and of course, I found a Publix and CVS to shop at:-) Acutally, I'm trying to give Tif some tips on shopping at both stores so we went to a nearby town and got her started. It was fun:-)

I have several videos to show. It takes a while to upload videos, so I think I'm going to compile them all into one video with segments in between. It'll be up later for you viewing pleasure:-)

I'm happy to be home, but also very thankful we were able to visit them for a few days. It was good for our family to get away (Nicole savored every moment with her daddy) and it was fun to spend time with Tiff, Chris and Seth. We have never really been able to visit with them like this before. I would have to say, it was one of my favorite trips we've taken as a family.

Oh...last picture. Yesterday morning, Hannah was quietly playing on the floor while we were all getting ready. When I picked her up, I finally noticed she was playing with a ballpoint pen. Pretty funny...

Thank you Tiff & Chris for opening up your home for us. We enjoyed spending time with you all.

Pink Hats

Our neighbor gave us two silly pink hats that we often play with. They are a lot of fun. The other day, we got them out and I spoke with a silly southern accent and Nicole and I sang "I'm a little tea pot" (the song that must only be sung with the pink hats on). Of course, Hannah needed a hat as well. Our names were (cue southern accent) "Happy Hannah" "Pretty Nicki" and "Merry Mommy".

I thought this was pretty artistic. To bad the lighting wasn't better.

Unfortunately for Jeremy, when he came home the other night, Nicole asked him to sing "I'm a little tea pot" He did not know the rule about the pink hats. Nicole quickly began searching and even got him to wear it (if only for a moment). Now, I would have spared Jeremy the embarrassment of this photo except....look at Nicole's face. I don't think I've ever captured a split moment of joy and excitement the way I did in the picture. She is SO excited that her daddy is wearing her pink hat. I LOVE IT!!!

Hannah "found" herself in the mirror. Again...I think it's a cool "artistic" shot.

Papa Sam...this picture is for you. I remember how neat you thought it was when Nicole ate from a mesh feeder, so I wanted you to see Hannah eating her bananas the same way.

Hannah has a new trick. She can stand up and play if I prop her a bit. This is a big accomplishment...especially since a month ago when I took her to the doctor and she wouldn't bare any weight on her legs because she was "to lazy" too. Way to go Hannah. Oh, by the way, Nicole looks happy in this picture, however in reality she is Not excited that Hannah is beginning to play with some of "her" toys, proven by some not so nice things she's done in the past few days. Any ideas and more importantly, prayers, about this would be appreciated. Anyway...if you look closely, Nicole is actually covering the keyboard section of the toy because it is "mine"

Finally, here is a video with three segments.

a) a wonderful moment of Nicole entertaining Hannah and making her laugh hysterically.

b)Hannah & Nicole playing

c) a triple Jeremy hit the other night.

I've been busy posting today, so keep reading. I believe there are two other posts that are new.

Fun with Grandma Mimi

Grandma Mimi is still here. We've been hanging out a lot, going shopping, cookies, and just playing. We had fun taking pictures earlier this week.

I know grandma wouldn't like this picture...but I love the interaction taking place here. It's adorable!

Oh, my new favorite of Hannah and I

Christmas Cookies

Monday we went to my mom's to make Christmas cut out cookies. Mom made the dough the day before and all we had to do was roll, cut out, bake, cool and ice. Nicole LOVES to help. She is such a Big helper girl in the kitchen. So, of course she loved this (of course, until she got bored)
Rolling the dough


Cutting the Cookies


More flour for the work surface

Pause for a picture


Decorate the cookies.

Nicknames

Thank you all for your feedback. I've had some interesting ideas brought forth, both on here and on Facebook. I don't know how we will spell Nicole's name. More than likely it will be Nicki. I asked Jeremy last night how he would spell it, and that's what he said....so that's probably what will stick. It has been fun reading everyone's replies. Thanks for joining in.

I have some great pictures to share, however I'm using my laptop right now so I don't have access to them. Maybe I'll get them uploaded tomorrow:-) Until then....

Nickname Help please

OK...I need EVERYONE who reads this blog to reply to me (plus I can see who all really reads this thing).

Nicole has become insistent upon us calling her "nikki" Here's my problem...there's no spell check on that name.

So, I have a poll and I need your help.

How do you spell the nickname for Nicole?

Niki
Nikki
Nicki
Nickey
Nicci
other ideas?

Also...I have some really cute pictures to share, maybe tomorrow or the next day though. Thanks for your input.

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:-)