What a GOOD DAY!

I am VERY excited about this post!

As you know, I recently started collecting coupons with a passion:) I used to just clip what we use on a regular basis but now I clip everything because I didn't realize on how much I was missing out. I've told you about the website that I have been faithfully checking out and I really couldn't have done it without the help of www.moneysavingmom.com! THANK YOU!

So, tonight, I went (from 9-9:45 PM) to our nearest King Sooper/Kroger. I am going to do this every week. First, there were NOT 4 little distractions pulling me in every direction. Second, there were NO customers to be annoyed at me, and third, it was SO quiet- I need that once in a while.

Take a look at this picture and you will see why I am SO excited-

I got all these things for $20 (a $110 value) - let me explain-

The things on the far right are WIC (milk, cereal, eggs, cheese, juice and peanut butter) $40 for FREE- if you have never checked out if you qualify for WIC- DO IT!!! It is SUCH a money saver! I get this amount EVERY week which is such a blessing- thank you government...

BUT, this is where it is awesome- I got the rest, a $70 value, for $20 after sales and coupons! Can you beleive it? I can't! I am still in shock!!! It is one thing to write it out on paper but another to actually see and feel all that I got for that price!
4 boxes of Wheat thins
2 bags of Chex Mix
strawberries
dinner rolls
3 cans baby food
3 jars of salsa
2 boxes of Fiber One Granola bars
3 boxes of Orville Redenbackers popcorn
2 Propel fitness waters
toilet paper
jar of mayo
Nestle refrigerated cookie dough
Green Giant Steamer Veggie mix
Quaker Instant Oatmeal (my twins are going to be SO excited in the morning- this is their FAV)
26 items for $20- thats less than $1 for these great name brands.

Some of my friends would tell me that I coud do better at King Soopers than shopping at Walmart and I didn't believe them till tonight! I am hooked on deals! This is the greatest high:) Okay, I am signing off and I hope you don't think I'm too weird for my rantings here!

My advice to you- check out websites in your area for coupon deals, freebes,etc. It takes a lot of the TIME out of bargain shopping. Also, check out WIC- it is great. and get around friends who love bargains (I'm talking about you Erika) they will push you to save as well.

One more thing- this morning I got a FREE big cup of Panera coffee and 3 boxes of Puffs tissues with Lotion for $2-not at teh same place!

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!!

I am officially a bargain shopper

I always thought I was a good shopper finding deals, etc. but I have taken on a new look at it- COUPONS! I just assembled this coupon book and it has made using coupons so much easier. Each category has a page (baseball card holders) and its so easy to find what coupons I have and get good deals while shopping. I am also trying to get into Walgreens and CVS rebates because you can get a TON of FREEBIES through rebates. I am going to use about $50 if my tax refund to save in an envelope so I can use that for rebates. Then when I run out, I have to wait till the money comes back before I do another one! We'll see if it works. I have found all these great deals and tips here. It is an amazing website! And anything to save money these days is a good thing.

Yikes!

My girls know how to make a mess!
I can't tell you how many times we clean up each day !
Its crazy!

Listen...

When we were at the zoo, we went into the Rainforest Room and there were LOUD sounds coming from deep within, We thought it was a sound track but as we got closer we heard this monkey going crazy! Listen here...

Elijah has discovered FOOD! He's been eating baby food for about a month and a half, but
lately he only likes REAL food- he loves Cheerios, Fruit Puffs Biter biscuits
( which make SUCH a mess, as you can see)
and anything else he can get his chubby hands on!

Lovin Colorado Weather...

On Saturday, we headed out to the Denver Zoo to enjoy the almost 60 degree weather and to wear our children out so they would nap and we could nap too:)

Elijah loved the Rainforest and was intrigued by the ceiling and sounds
(poor Mark looks SO tired in this picture:)

Mom and Elijah after lunch

Shedding the coats

The kids favorite part of the kids day!
FYI- they didn't take naps!!!! ARRGGG!!!
Oh, and tomorrow( the 20th) is going to be 70 degrees!!!!

The Picture Says it All

This picture cracks me up because it SO typical of my twins.
Arianna tends to want frilly, pink, princessy things
and Sophia has become infatuated with Spiderman!
Don't get me wrong, Sophia is not a tom-boy at all, she just likes to be different than anyone else in her family. She loves to be "the only one" . She LOVES to be the only one to sleep over grandmas, or aunties, or to go shopping with mom, or out with dad.
We try to do things with the twins by themselves
- one on one-
so they know they are special and unique.
So, for now, I let Sophia be different and she loves that!
And I love her for her uniqueness!

ELMO PARTY!!!!

Ella has never had a really big birthday party, so this year we threw her one! It was Elmo!

I made the cake- it turned out okay:)

Ella had around 10 of her little friends there.

We played pin the nose on Elmo and a shape hunt game

Ella seemed to really enjoy being the center of attention and also being the only one to open presents despite her sisters constant attempts to "help" her:)

I LOVE DEALS...

So, I am hooked on finding good deals:) Its like an addiction! When clothes shopping, I will not spend more than $5 for an item of clothing! This week at Gymboree Outlet, I got 6 pairs of patent leather Mary Jane's (red, brown and pink) for $15- Unbelievable!! I got 5 shirts for $8 and 2 pairs of jeans for $10- that was before my discount of 20% for working there!!! I got a few other items (16 total) for $40 after it was said and done- thats an average of $3 an item for shoes, jeans and shirts! I love finding good deals!

Then, I daily check this GREAT website that one of my friends told me about- moneysavingmom.com. I find SO many ways to get free things (food and household items) or items at a REALLY cheap price using coupons and rebates. This week, I have been getting FREE Chai Lattes at Starbucks (inside Safeway) because they made me aware of a coupon in a flyer that I never really look at. So, I was able to get a BUNCH of flyers and have been frequenting all the Safeways in the area getting FREE drinks! Its great!

I just LOVE good deals so if you know of any- pass them along!

Sophia and Arianna usually go in to school with dad in the morning and they go in through the church entrance. Well, there is this older man named Mr. Davis who sits behind the welcome desk and he always talks to the twins and gives them a piece of candy (at 8 in the morning!) Well, the other day we picked Mark up around 4 and they wanted to go inside and say hi to Mr. Davis( prob just to get a piece of candy!) I told them hey could run ahead. Well, they came running back and Sophia said, "There's someone else pretending to be Mr. Davis at the desk." I went inside and an older lady was sitting their instead. Too funny!

Ella's Special Birthday

My little Ella turned 2 on Tuesday. She woke up to special birthday pancakes complete with a candle and a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" from all of us...
Then she opened a few presents- the ones from the twins and a stroller from mom and dad as well as 2 packs of panties!! She wanted to wear the underwear right away and has been doing a GREAT job potty training for almost a week now! I am SO impresses! Very few accidents!

She is such a big girl!!

We took everyone out to eat for dinner at Fazolis (99 cent kids meals on Tues) and after had Birthday Sundaes at home, where we sang "happy birthday" again!

She then had to open her last 2 presents- what a full and fun day!

I had to throw this pic of Elijah in because he is SUCH a cutie!!

A Coversation with Sophia

I love riding in the car with the kids. For some reason it seems like we spend a lot of time driving in the van (maybe because I hate to be stuck at home with all 4 kids:) So, today I picked the twins up from school and as we were driving this is the conversation we had...

Sophia- "Mom, I don't want to be a pilot anymore when I grow up."
Mom- " What do you want to be then?"
Sophia- "I want to be a mommy like you."
Mom- " Are you going to be married?"
Sophia- "Yes, my husband will work at Gymboree with me and walk the babies in a stroller."
Mom- "How many babies do you want?"
Sophia- "I want twin girls. And I want twin boy babies. And I want a big girl like Elise (the 5 yr old we take home from school)
Mom- "Will you let your kids get a dog?"
Sophia- "Yes, but we need to have a big house." ( this is the reason I tell her we don't have a puppy)

Cute, huh?

The Kindness of a Stranger

So, on Monday we were desperately in need of food, so I made the weekly trek to the grocery store with a very fussy 6 month old and a spunky 2 yr old (the twins were in school, thank goodness) I really don't like grocery shopping- its expensive, its hard to contain kids and people get mad at me because I use WIC checks, coupons,etc.

Elijah was getting sick and hadn't been sleeping well, but thankfully, he fell asleep while I was shopping. Ella was VERY good until we got in line to pay- I had to get her out of the cart and she immediately goes to the candy rack and starts trying to open every candy bar she can get her hands on. While I am trying to get my 2 yr old under control, Elijah wakes up and starts screaming! So, I pick his 100 pound car seat up an start bouncing him to keep him quite.

Usually the check out clerk has her act together and can process WIC quickly so the people behind me don't freak out, but I must have gotten someone new. I immediately started apologizing to the lady behind me, as the clerk was inspecting every WIC product to make sure I didn't cheat the system:) Sure enough, I grabbed organic carrots by mistake instead of the regular brand, so she wanted me to go get the right bag. I told her not to worry about it. Then I had grabbed an extra juice, I also told her not ring it up. Ten minutes later with a pack of Mentos opened by Ella, WIC was done. So she starts with my regular order. I am a sale shopper so I watch closely to make sure everything rings up right (another thing that irrates people in line behind me) Just to add to my fun trip, the apples weren't ringing up on sale. so I told her to forget them. So, FINALLY , I am done and as I was paying, the lady behind me says, "Wait just a minute, I want to buy those 3 things for you." I couldn't believe it- that has never happened to me- of course, I protested, but she insisted and said she knows its so hard to shop with babies! That small act of kindess from a complete stranger, made my day and lightened up a stressful situation. Thank you God, for meeting my needs and letting me know that there are still nice people in the world!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Ella Bella!

My dear SWEET Bella is 2 yrs old today- where has the time gone- it seems like yesterday I was in the hospital waiting for her to arrive, changing tiny diapers and kissing tiny cheeks. I LOVE the fact that she is growing up and look forward to finding out what type of woman she will become, but it is mingled with sadness. She soon will outgrow wanting to be rocked on my lap, or given snacks every 10 minutes! She will go to school and grow more independent as the years go on, but for now and always she will still be my sweet Bella- I love you, Ella!

A look back...

All in the Family

So, I just posted about how much Ella looks like me, well, take a look at my brother Justin when he was a baby and Elijah- they look SO much alike!Justin

Elijah

Justin

Elijah

Double Vision

This is absolutely amazing!!! People have been commenting on how much Ella looks like me. Below is a picture of me when I was 2 yrs old....

And here is Ella at 2 yrs old...Me and my brother Justin at 2 and 1...Ella a 2 yrs old...

Isn't this amazing! I can't get over how much alike we look!

Happy 7th Anniversary

Here is a picture of us 7 years ago on this day walking down the road to start our life together ...

Here we are 7 years later- exhausted after 4 kids 4 and under!
All kidding aside, I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. He is SO loving and patient with me and spoils me more than I can say! Not only does he love me, he is GREAT with our kids. I work part time and at least 3 nights a week, when I arrive home from work late at night, he has the kitchen cleaned, house picked up, kids bathed and put to sleep- who could ask for more! Not only does he take VERY good care of our kids, he also loves them SO much and showers them with attention, hugs and kisses!
He's the BEST!
I love you Mark!

New Years Eve Festivites

New Years Eve was fun this year- normally we crash around 11pm and just stay home. Well, this year, we were invited to the Nash house! We stayed for about2 hours and the kids had fun exploring their HUGE playroom and the adults had fun eating and playing games. After leaving there, we went home and had the Kochacans and the Lutz family over till midnight. Marks parents stopped by for a little too. We played poker and Apples to Apples till midnight!

We toasted in the New Year with the Lutzs and amazingly all teh kids stayed awake except for Elijah who crashed pretty early!

I had fun making food for the occassion- I made crab stuffed mushrooms for the Nashes and crabdip( which we ended up eating on New Years Day) and Chili Con Queso for our house. It was all SO good!