Happy Birthday Big Girl Lily!

Well it's been a while since I did a major update for Lily.  Anyone who has kids will tell you that even though they do still change quickly and stuff but not quickly enough to really warrant a monthly update I guess.  So here goes.

At 3 years old Lily....

...is completely, 100% potty trained.  We don't even wear pull ups at night anymore.

...probably knows more words than I do.

...is so independent.  Rarely wanting help of any kind.

...loves to read story books, and can remember stories almost word for word.

...recognizes probably half of the letters of the alphabet by sight.

...would wear pretty princess dresses every second, of every day if she could.

...is SUPER stubborn.

...cannot be told of things ahead of time because that girl is an elephant and remembers things, even the smallest most mundane details of things for MONTHS on end.

...absolutely loves her baby sister and very rarely has anything bad to say about her. (the feeling is mutual)

...is starting to give up her nap.  It's about a 50/50 chance we can get her to take her naps now. Instead opting for "quiet time".

...loves all things edible.  It's hard to find something she doesn't like, but like all kids, she goes through phases where she prefers things more than others.

...hates having water poured on her head in the bathtub.

...had her first dentist appointment, which went swimmingly.  No cavities and her teeth look great, though the dentist said to prepare for braces.  The poor girl has my overbite.  Lucky her.

...thinks Max and Ruby is really just the bees knees.

...loves to help clean and do chores (if only it would last).

...says that when she grows taller she is going to have coffee with me and have a scissor and knives.

...gets pushed around a bit by other kids since she is so kind hearted and mostly soft spoken.

...is kinda klutzy.

...is not even remotely a baby anymore (unless you call the screaming tantrums baby-like) but a beautiful little girl instead.

And as much as some days I'd love nothing more than to run off to the Caribbean with the pool boy, I can think of no other little girl I'd rather spend my time with.  She is amazing.  Sweet, funny, bright, beautiful and such a wonderful ball of energy (if only she'd share that energy)  We really are blessed to have such an amazing 3 year old in our lives.

Snow Lily

Sleeping Lily

Happy Birthday Princess Lillian!  We love you!

Good Morning Blog Followers

Wow, it's been a while.  To put it the easy way.  I'VE BEEN SO BUSY.  90% of the time at work I feel like I am a chicken running around with my head cut off.  Which is ok really.  It's nice to be busy and it's nice to be needed cause everyone who knows me, knows that I need to be needed.  The only downside (besides not getting my daily nap...j/k) is that I don't have the time to keep up with my blog and all my other internets.  So I've pretty much ONLY been keeping up with Facebook and my email.  On the plus side, my days FLY by these days, I mean look at the date?  It's already May 23rd.  Where the heck did the rest of May go?  I surely don't know.

So what's been going on you ask?  Well not a whole lot.  I don't want to update too much on Lily since her birthday is this week (Thursday) and I have a big post in the works for that.  And Claire turns 6 months next week so I want to save stuff to add for that.  So that leaves the children out.   So what else is there to say.

We  Adam has waged a war on the Squirrels around our house.  With some clever pellet gun usage and a few live traps we are hoping to get this problem taken care of swiftly and get the holes in our house patched up.  I'm so happy that after several years of this we are finally taking some action and getting some results!  It's a good feeling even if it's not as instant as I'd like. 

We're also having problems with our drain in the basement, heaven forbid you run two things at once (dishwasher and shower, or whatever) because the basement drain backs up all over the floor.  It's really just not fun.  Most likely tree roots in the line, which is not fun and we aren't looking forward to dishing out the money to have it fixed.  Blech.  But it has to be done I guess.

We've done some work out in our 3 season room too (or really Adam has)  We got the TV working out there and he took the pellet stove out so that we can have more room for all of the girls' junk.  It's really nice, and it's actually crazy to me how much space there is out there now without that in there.  Adam plans to use it out in the garage, which will be a great use of it since our girls are so little and that thing is not exactly kid proof.

I'm still working diligently on the coupon front.  I haven't posted many of my good deals, which I really should.  LOL.  Maybe I'll make Wednesday my Deal day here.  I will post some of my local match ups and good deals.  Usually by Wednesday I have my list together and have gone through most of my ads.  It'll be nice to have the structure.

I think that is about all the updating I have for today.  I have a ton of work as I just am here 3 days this week.  Thursday is Lily's birthday and so we are going to do something special with her and then Friday I took off to get ready for lily's party on Saturday!  I'll update on Thursday with lily's 3 year update!

This Just In...

Miss Lily is officially potty trained!  She stays dry ALL day and even at night sometimes.  She Poops in the potty and is Super excited about it!  I couldn't be prouder of her.  Only a few weeks til she turns 3 as well!

Miss Claire got her helmet!  She doesn't mind the helmet itself but she isn't a big fan of getting it off and on.  Which I can't say I blame her, it's a snug fit and seems to kind squish her head as it goes on.

I'm SUPER busy at work.  It's crazy actually.  In the entire almost 6 years I've worked here I've never been so busy.  It's nice and a pain at the same time.  The days go by pretty fast but sometimes it can be stressful.  Or stressful for me anyway, any normal person who's used to having so much to do and managing projects would probably call it a cake walk.  But I hate dealing with problems and trying to fix them.  That isn't really my strong suit.  But I'm doing good.  At least I think so. It's also why I don't update as much as I should.

Adam is busy at work too,  but he always is, so that's nothing new.

We got new phones.  The upfront cost was rough because we didn't get a deal on the phones.  BUT it will save us a ton of money in the long run as we went with a prepaid plan with no contracts and it's just $25 a person for unlimited data and messaging with 300 minutes.  Perfect plans for us and it moved us into the current century with our phones so we're happy about that.

Easter was good.  We had two Easters and both were great.  Lily loved the Easter bunny and hunting for eggs and such.  One of these days I'll post some pictures.  As usual I'm really behind with that.

Hmmm.  That's all I can think of for now, I just thought I would do a quick update so ya'll don't think I've forgotten about you.

Could it be?

4 years already!?  Our 4 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow.  I can't believe it.  In some ways it seems like just yesterday and in other ways I feel like it's been WAY longer than that.  I'm sure everyone can relate to that.   We've done some big things the last 4 years. We've bought a house. Had 2 kids. Haven't killed each other. Paid off most of our debt. (everything but out mortgage) and figured each other out pretty well (the goods and the bads).

It's been a fun ride too.  And I'm so thankful to have a husband like Adam.  Who is kind and sweet (always saving me the folded over sour cream and onion chips, or the last crunchy bit on the stick of the corn dog).  Makes me laugh even when I am so mad I don't know how I find anything funny.  Who balances me very well with his obsessive need to shop around for things, as everyone who knows me, knows that I'm an impulse buyer.  A man who would do anything for his friends and family, and has friends and family who would do the same for him. 

I have wondered what life would be like without him.  Sure it would be a lot quieter (and probably cleaner) But without him I wouldn't have my beautiful girls and a best friend that I can tell everything to.  And so in short.  I'm glad I married him.  That he married me.  And that we chose each other and love each other through the good, the bad and the screaming (the children that is).

I love you Adam.  Happy 4 years!  Here's to many MANY more.

(as a sidenote:  OMG look how skinny I was.  Makes me sick. HA)

Claire's almost 5 month update

(((Sisters)))

 Colored eggs.  It is easter after all!

Miss Claire Helping mommy make dinner.

12 pounds even (7th percentile)
25.5 inches (90th percentile)
Head is about 10th percentile.

Miss Claire is practically perfect in every way.  She is right on track with where she should be.  Heck she barely even cried when they gave her shots.  Which was nice.

Here is a long overdue update on Claire at 4.5 months old.

She....

....Smiles and giggles at us all the time.  For the most part seems like a pretty happy baby.

....Can still be pretty fussy from time to time.

....Still loves to be cuddled...mostly by mommy.

....Is so infatuated with her big sister.

....Usually drinks about 6 ounces at a time now. 

....Has been measured and casted for her helmet.  She gets that put on on May 3rd.

.....Loves to be played with and tossed in the air.

....Still wakes up at least once a night to eat a bottle.

....Loves food.  Pears. Apples. Carrots. Green beans. Peaches. Sweet potatoes. And of course Oatmeal.  She eats a whole container of fruit or veg along with her oatmeal.  Once a day.

....She's getting easier to take places now that she doesn't scream like you are murdering her in her car seat.

That's about all I can think of right now.  I'm sure there's more that I'm just not thinking about right now so I'll update the list if I think of anything.

36% You say?

Yup!  That's what I said!  I saved 36% on my grocery bill this week.  I scored some AWESOME deals and saved a lot of money on stuff I would have bought anyway.  I can't tell you how much yogurt I've bought without a coupon.  Or how many ketchups I bought without thinking twice.  But THAT is a thing of the past.  Here are some highlights of this weeks shopping trip!

I went to Coborns as they do Double coupons on Tuesdays through April. (it's something they do pretty frequently actually)  ***Beware though, they only double up to 10 coupons.***

Heinz Ketchup.  Priced at $1.99.  I had a $2.00 off 1 coupon.  So in theory I made a 1 cent profit.  However the girl told me they could only scan the coupon for $1.99.  Oh darn right?  FREE

Lawrys Marinades. 96 cents each with Penny Pincher Coborns Coupon.  PLUS I had a 50 cent coupon that doubled to $1.00  I got two of these so I made 8 cents on this deal.  FREE + 8cents.

Food Club 1 Dozen eggs.  98Cents with penny pincher coborns coupon.  PLUS I had a 55cents of 2 coupon that doubled to 1.10 off 2.  for a total of 43 cents for each dozen of eggs.  (perfect for coloring eggs for Easter!)

I spent a total of 98.24.  And I saved 53.92.  I can handle that.  ALL on things I would buy anyway.  I just got the name brand instead of generic this time!

I was also complaining yesterday on Facebook about Coborns double coupon policy.  The woman told me that I can only double up to 10 coupons.  Which was true.  I was irritated because I would have done two transactions or I would have chosen different coupons to double.  But when I really sit down and look at my receipt I noticed two things.  1.  That I THOUGHT when it says they double up to $1.  I thought that meant if I had a coupon for 75cents, they would throw in 25cents to make it equal $1.00.  But that is not the case.  I had some $1.00 coupons and they gave me the full amount so I got $2.00 off on those coupons which is a pretty good deal.   2. I was irritated cause I would have picked out the highest coupons to double since I could only do 10.  Again after looking at my receipt, I noticed that their system actually does that for you!  So it went though and only doubled the 10 highest coupons!  So I actually ended up saving more money than I thought I would.

So the lesson here:  LEARN YOUR COUPON POLICIES PEOPLE!

Coupon Frustrations and a Question.

Hi all.  Lately I've been doing a lot of coupon research and inspired by the TV show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC, I've been trying to find some good deals.  The hard part is this:  Here in St. Cloud we don't get as good of coupons as some other areas of the country.  Not to mention we have a pretty limited selection for stores.  There is Coborns and CashWise (which are owned by the same people and pretty much the SAME store)  and Walmart.  Sure we have a Target and they offer some groceries but not as much as a big grocery store.  We have an Aldi, but they don't accept coupons and even if they did they don't carry name brand products there (ok rarely).  Awe sweet Walgreens.  Really where you can get the best deals and where you can actually find information online regarding sales and such.  And none of the stores around here offer double coupons...except Coborns and that's just one day a week monthly promotion right now.  And they only double up to a dollar.  So if you have a 75cent coupon they will only bring it to a dollar, which, hey.  IS better than nothing but still.

So I'm feeling motivated.  Motivated enough to maybe try out some of these deal match ups.  I think I could do this and do it pretty well.  (I'm not talking extreme or anything) Just well.  Get some discounts on name brand stuff cheaper than store brand, which has always been my number one complaint.

So I want to know...Is ANYONE interested in me posting these deals?  Will ANYONE actually read and use the match ups I post?  I mean I don't really wanna be wasting my time with this (as it IS super time consuming) if no one will read it.  So either post here if you are interested OR comment on my facebook link if you are interested...And of course you can pass this on to other people too!