Clean Up

I decided to follow my littlest guy around the other day...he went on a cleaning spree! First, let's put the clothes in the dirty laundry....Let's put this in the trash...hey mom - can you unlock the trash door?
Put these books away....do I have to do all the work around here? humph.
At least I'm HAPPY about it! CHEESE!
Time to get the laundry basket.....
Put the towels in the basket....
Pat pat pat...
Looks pretty good...
Climb on in....cheese! Do I get to go in the washer too? Bath time?
Well, there's a little peek at my little man! He loves to help out - that was all his own idea too! Can you tell who he watches all day? ME. ;) You copy what you see right?

the little things

Yesterday afternoon my neck started hurting; enough that when Joe came home last night I said 'my neck hurts' and I even blogged about it (well it was my #9 bullet point..that counts!)

...and then I went to bed.

Then I woke up. Went to the YMCA for water aerobics and saw a sign.....FREE 10 minute massages from Circle of Healing Arts from 9am-11am for YMCA member appreciation week! They were able to 'sneak' me in at the end (I think she started my massage at 11:10) and it was WONDERFUL. She worked on my neck and even commented on how tight it was.

ALL THAT to say - I had a sore neck last night and then today I got a free massage! Thanks God!

10 on Tuesday

1. It is SO windy today. Our trash can fell over and rolled 1/2 a block away. awesome.

2. I've almost completed my 'Passport to Fitness'! I need one more stamp and then I'm done!

3. Ethan is obsessed with puzzles. He does them everyday after rest time. All of them. I just bought him a new one today - I think I'll have an excited boy tomorrow when he sees it!

4. Judah is really starting to talk more! It's so cute to hear what he's thinking more...

5. Joe and I went on a date night this past weekend: Dinner and a musical! How grown up are we? (not really...)
Here's Joe enjoying the salad course of our wonderful STEAK dinner! And me with my yummy steak...we went all out! Salad, Steak and dessert! Hmmmm...
Us after the musical! We saw Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris - it was good!

6. There is SNOW in the forecast for tomorrow. boo.

7. I don't think it will stick around for long though.....

8. Thanksgiving is in like a month! Then Christmas is in another month....weren't we just in summer? Time is FLYING around here.

9. My neck hurts for some reason. Must've slept on it wrong.

10. I LOVE COUPONS. I don't think I ever pay full price anymore:)

Learning Fun

Here's a little peek into some of the learning fun we have around here!

Practicing writing on the chalkboard; Ethan can write all the letters in his name....we're working on getting them in the right order and in a 'line' - notice his tongue sticking out? pure concentration. Learning more letter shapes....he loves to 'make' the letters out of these pieces! (thanks Christie!) Matching letters on his magnet board; some of the pieces grew legs and ran away (ie: they're probably hiding under the couch or something) but he loves matching the ones we do have! MAZES! Ethan loves these!LOTS of puzzles! He does all 5 everyday. e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y. A few days ago we (me, Ethan and Judah) made necklaces (to practice threading) - they both loved it! I started out helping Judah thread... BUT he wanted to do it himself! (he took the yarn away from me and said "judah. judah. judah." meaning Judah will do it) see the concentration? HE DID IT! I adore his smile! So proud of himself:) Sporting their new necklaces! Disclaimer: I never left Judah alone with the beads....they are WAY too small and he's still young enough to 'taste test' things....

Who says learning can't be fun? I know I didn't! Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek into our homeschool!

Savings

Here's my weekly savings!

I went to Target on Tuesday with coupons and Rainbow today for double daze coupons! Why wouldn't I do it all at Rainbow you ask? This is why....I had some Target specific coupons and some manufactures coupons that said "no doubling" so I couldn't double them at Rainbow....and Target recently made a change that you get 5% off your entire purchase if you use your RedCard! So, if I use a manufacturers coupon that cannot be doubled I CAN get 5% off at Target:) I still win:)

Here's my stats:
Spent: $55.82 (Target) and $8.22 (Rainbow) = $64.04
Saved: $21.27 and $5.88 = $27.15

TOTAL SAVINGS: 30%

Sadly, this week I needed to buy toilet paper and diapers. Those are the two items I DESPISE buying. Mainly because you use them for poo and then throw them away and because they're spendy! I feel like throwing away money! argh. But you can't really go without them......

That's how I saved this week:)

10 on Tuesday

1. I saw a blog about making your own dishwasher soap and laundry soap - it intrigued me. I made some laundry detergent the other day and am pleased with it's cleaning power so far! I'll post the recipe soon:)

2. I'm hoping to make the dishwasher soap soon....gotta love being frugal!

3. Judah can now pee in the toilet:) He can't tell me when he has to go but when I bring him to the potty he goes 9 times out of 10....hooray!

4. He says "bubbles" when he does go pee -- I guess that is what it makes!

5. We had to turn our heat on the past few nights....only going to get colder!

6. I have a new pre-set on my radio in the van: 95.3 Praise FM! It's a nice change of pace from KTIS.

7. I'm going to start writing down some of Ethan's stories; he loves to tell stories and they are getting more complex!

8. I bought a new box of hair dye today (with a coupon of course!) and am excited to re-darken my hair!

9. I want a pair of boots for the winter; like cute fashion boots. I have 'ugg' type boots from a few years ago and want to add a pair of 'riding' boots or something....ideas?

10. Joe and I get a date this weekend! Yippie!

Double Daze

I took my coupon-ing to a whole new level this week: I went on Double Daze. I forgot about it (or rather I heard about it a long time ago and never went) - Rainbow offers Double Daze on Wednesday's and Saturday's where they will double your manufacturers coupons! (unless noted on the coupon of course..)

Man, did I score.

I went and got a TRUCKLOAD of groceries (more than normal because of the good deals) and spent around my 'normal' amount!

Spent: $67.44
SAVED: $35.79
Percent Saved: 35%

Caaaaa-Ching.

I think I may switch my grocery day to Wednesday (normally it's Thursday) if I'm going to shop at Rainbow! I vary where I shop depending on where the best deals are...if I have manufacturer coupons with my list...Rainbow it will be! Can't beat it:)

Have I mentioned I love saving money? I do. I also love new recipes....I've been trying a few new ones out and so far ALL have been a success! Here's hoping to find time to share them with the blogsphere!

New Habits

Remember when I posted about making a habit? Well, I've been trying to make a few good habits lately - I'll enlighten you!

Reading: I've been trying to read more in general; both in my Bible and other books.

Fiction: I frequent the Library with my kids and always get them books so I decided to start picking up some easy non-fiction for myself. It worked! I've now read 2 whole books!

Bible: I have always found it hard to find time to read my Bible ever since having kids...what did I do to fix that? I MADE time. I MADE it a priority. I told myself I need to do it every morning just like I need to brush my teeth or eat breakfast in the morning. Joe gave me an awesome tool that has helped me know what to read: ESV reading plan! I have successfully followed my reading plan every morning for almost 3 weeks!! Great Habit made! In the morning I look forward to my reading time; it's not always quiet (because both my kids are awake) but they know that I am reading and leave me alone.

Lunches: I've been making Joe lunches everyday for almost a month now! I just had to make it into part of my evening routine when I clean the kitchen. It takes like an extra 10 minutes and saves us tons of money! Sometimes I'm jealous of what I'm sending to work with Joe....he's eating good:)

Coupons: I've been using my wonderful pocketyourdollars.com resource for about a month and it's now a habit! I plan on spending about an hour or so searching and printing coupons and creating menu plans from that - it it totally worth it! Yesterday I saved over 35% on my bill! ($36 savings!!) Can't beat that. It's actually kinda addicting....finding good deals and coupons:)

There are more 'habits' I'm working on or planning to work on soon.....

*folding the laundry within a day of it being dried (to eliminate ironing for Joe)
*vacuuming more (I know I'm gross....I do it either when I'm having company or when it gets too gross) **disclaimer: I love my hand-vac and use that daily for little messes!**
*Scrubbing the tub more. enough said.

I'm happy with the habits I've made:) If I happen to make more - awesome. We shall see. Just gotta do it for 21 days:) Happy Habit-making everyone!

10 on Tuesday

1. I LOVE this weather. Sunny and 70's in mid October? I'll take it:)

2. I dread winter. I don't like cold nor snow...BUT it does make me appreciate Spring and Summer so much more.

3. I love having the windows open on these beautiful days - not hot enough to make the house stuffy and not cold enough to make it chilly....just right:)

4. Yesterday morning, while Ethan was going to the bathroom, Judah started freaking out and pulling at his pants...so I pulled them down and stood him on the stool by the toilet (where Ethan just finished) and Judah peed in the toilet! Total fluke but pretty cool:) He thought it was sweet too!

5. Ethan and Judah have been into craft projects lately....most recent: collecting leaves and gluing them on construction paper with a popcicle stick as a trunk. cute.

6. We went to the Nature Center last Friday for a preschool class and during it Ethan learned about 'milk-weed' (along with many other things) and picked some....he later told a friend of mine he got milk-weed at the "milk-weed orchard" - I love seeing how his brain works!

7. My kids are too cute. I love them to pieces!

8. I've been working on creating new 'habits' and have succeeded! Post about the come soon....

9. It's amazing how much more food my kids eat at meals when I monitor their snacks (ie: they get snacks but it's not grazing...)

10. The pool at the YMCA is closed for repair and therefore Ethan's swimming lessons are canceled tomorrow...I haven't told the little man yet....kinda dreading it....he loves his swimming lessons!!!

Good Deals

I love myself a good deal. I got myself some of those this week:) Let me share....

Grocery Shopping: I searched all the adds and found that Cub had the best deals on meat this week so I made my list for there using the Cub ads (online and in mail) and pocketyourdollars.com....

Spent: $48.15
Saved: $20.56
Percent Saved: 30%

I win.

I walked away with close to 5lbs of chicken (3 lbs frozen and almost 2 lbs fresh) thanks to my wonderful coupons! And lots of other delicious goodies....

I also had a WIC purchase of $6 of produce: hello free bananas, kiwis, red peppers and strawberries! We like you.

On top of my grocery savings this week I scored big with restaurant.com I found a coupon code ENJOY for 80% a purchase at restaurant.com and went searching....I found a certificate for Betty's Pie's in Mahtomedi and bought a $10 gift certificate (on sale for $4) and used my coupon code and paid a WHOPPIN 0.80 cents. serious? serious. So then I bought 4 of them. Grand total of $3.20 for $40 worth in gift certificates.

p.s. the coupon code ENJOY is good through 10/12/10 - go use it! They have loads and loads of restaurants ALL OVER! Can't beat a cheap date:)

And then to TOP off my savings cake I was given a $10 certificate for shoebuy.com from restaurant.com when I made my purchase. After careful consideration I decided to buy a new (nice) pair of sandals for next summer. I ordered a cute pair of Teva flip-flops and paid a grand total of $15. For Teva's!!

whew. I love saving money:)

Oh - and a few weeks ago I snagged FREE tickets to the Theatre via Free Night of Theatre for a musical in Bloomington; to go with that Joe and I found a restaurant in Bloomington on restaurant.com and found a coupon code....paid $3 for a $25 certificate to a fancy Steak and Fish place! I'm totally going to get dressed up and live it up:)

Have I mentioned that I like good deals and saving money? I do. Tell me how you save money.....I love new tricks!

10 on Tuesday

1. Joe and I went to the Desiring God National Conference this past weekend and it was wonderful!

2. My favorite speaker was Francis Chan - check out his session at the DGNC here!

3. Joe and I stayed at the Millennium Hotel right; it was connected to the Convention Center by skyway and we got a free sit-down breakfast! Win-win!

4. I'm participating in a "Passport to Health" promotion the YMCA is doing....you get a passport and get stamped everytime you work out - get 3 stamps a week for 6 weeks and visit different areas of the Y (pool, studio, etc..) and you get.....a stainless steel water bottle! I know it's not that exciting of a prize but it's fun to get stamps and try new things.

5. As a result of doing the passport deal I tried Water Aerobics last week...and liked it! I did it again this week:) It's fun to get into the pool again and it can be surprisingly hard if you push yourself!

6. Ethan is a sponge. He is soaking up information left and right! It's crazy.

7. Ethan now knows his left and right....really? really.

8. Both Ethan and Judah need haircuts AGAIN. They both got Joe's hair that grows like crazy! I wish I had that issue:)

9. Under 3 months and Joe will be GRADUATED! YEAH!

10. I love sleep:)

Coupons Count!

So, I'm going to try and document (mainly for myself) all my savings from using coupons and sales; I've been using http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ for a few weeks and it really works!

Last week I spent $38.25 and SAVED $9.04...that's a savings of almost 20% - I'll take it!

I'm working on my list for this week: meal planning (for the next week) and re-stocking the house. Depending how many meals I plan with meat and if they're on sale or not really changes my grand total...now that I have the inside scoop with http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ I can see which stores have meat on sale! booya.

Some may be amazed (and sometimes I am too) that I can feed my family for so little (ie: $40 last week)..here's my partial disclaimer: I use WIC and love WIC. Almost all of my meals have some WIC items in them....and they are completely FREE! For example my WIC purchase last week was valued at over $15....what a huge blessing:)

I'm trying to figure out how I can effectively record my savings...still a work in progress. For now I'm going to record it on here:)

HAPPY SAVINGS EVERYONE!

The big five-O!

My mom is now that....FIFTY! Although, I say she doesn't look a day past 35:)

Her actual birthday was this past Thursday and we celebrated it the Sunday before - we went to the Apple Orchard and then dinner back at my parents house.

The Orchard was a blast! The weather was absolutely perfect and all the kids in great moods:)

All the grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa...

My boys sure loved finding apples!

Judah wanted to take a bit a few times...here he is looking around to see if anybody is watching him....
Of course my boys would need to climb to the top of the ladder! I decided not to join them up there:)
What would a family outing be without my brothers picking on me? ummmm....I don't think that's ever happened (not being picked on) so I can't tell you. I think Luke was trying to stick something up my nose...wonderful:)

We went back to my parents house after the Orchard and Tyler brought Mom for a motorcycle ride!

Vroom Vroom! She said she enjoyed it! But not enough to go get one herself:)

We ate dinner (make your own burrito bowls...one of mom's fave!) and then for dessert we had delicious apple pie from the orchard! hmmm....

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY MOM!