My Monday Walgreens Deal

So, I am normally very wary of doing register rewards, etc, so I havent shopped much at Walgreens yet. But, today , I took the plunge and I was pleasantly surprised by the good deals and it wasnt too much work (although I am NOT going with all 4 kids ever again)

I found a website where every Sunday she gives a $5 Walgreens scenario. (you only pay $5 out of pocket and use register rewards and coupons to make this happen-www.kingdomfirstmom.com)

Her scenario seemed simple enough. After reading it through several times and printing my coupons, I ventured out. Here are a few lessons I learned from my first Walgreens DEAL trip..

lesson #1- dont take kids when you are serious about getting good deals and spending as little as possible. Its too confusing. I ended up with a headache and lots of mean stares.

lesson #2- make sure to check your LOCAL Walgreen sales flyer- 2 of her deals were not in my Walgreens flyer, so I had to improvise with other things making my total spent a litttle more than $5 and I didnt have any register rewards left for next week.

lesson #3- try to get a cashier who is young- I ended up getting this old lady who was very annoyed that I was trying to get all these good deals in 3 separate transactions. I should have gone to the young guy at the next register- I think I would have had better luck!

Overall, it was a good trip and I found 10 items for $7.06. I will use ALL these things, especially the creamer:) Stay tuned, I will let you know how next Monday goes!

You know your THRIFTY when...

1. You know exactly how many miles you can drive your car after it reaches the empty line, until you run out of gas.

2. Your kids run around naked all day so that you have less laundry to wash (may or may not mean that you are also lazy).

3. You turn down a $75/100 Old Navy coupon, because you know you can get a better deal at a thrift store. ( i have yet to win one of these coupons although I try every week)

4. You won’t buy anything online unless you have a Swagbucks gift card for it. (I'm almost to a FREE starbucks card)

5. You are distraught because your spouse came home with something he/she picked up at the store, and didn’t use a coupon! (I LOVE this one)

6. You laugh out loud and uncontrollably when you see someone in a store paying for toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, make up, razors, ect.. ( i havent PAID for toothpaste in like 6 months and still have about 3 unopened tubes in the pantry)

7. You have 100+ different deal blogs and coupon sites in your bookmarks.

8. You have a compulsive tendency to pick up every coin you find dropped on the ground.

9. The stares you get when checking out at the grocery store no longer bother you. (SO true! try combining WIC transactions with coupon transactions- everyone just LOVES me!))

10. You develop a built in radar. You can sense and locate any yard sale, thrift store or clearance bin within a 25 mile radius.

This was from one of my "deal" websites I check regularly and perfectly describes me! I was laughing out loud reading this and if you are a deal seeking mom, you'll get it and laugh out loud too! Just had to share!

Simpler Times

I love taking the kids on educational trips during the day and who would have thought we have a GREAT place about 5 minutes from our house- Littleton Historical Museum- and the best part- It is FREE!

The museum part is pretty boring for kids but they have 2 live working farms outside with houses, barns, transportation,etc. One is from the 1860' era and the other from the 1890's.
All the "workers" dress in period clothing and talk that way too- funny!

The one room school house

The kids LOVED the animals and really enjoyed being able to go in and touch everything in the houses, etc. They thought that was cool. It was like they were playing "house" in a real house!
Sometimes I really wish we could return to the simpler times- I know it was a TON of work but it made you healthier and more appreciative of things. You grew your own food.
You didnt need gas for cars. You went to bed early because you didnt have
distractions like tv, computers and electricity!
Dont get me wrong, I am SO thankful for the ease of life today but other times I wish we could get rid of all the "distractions" of modern day living- but then I wouldnt have my dear blog:)
I LOVE my blog. The main reason I love it is because I want to leave a "diary" for my kids to read when they are older. To SEE and READ about all the fun things (and not so fun times) we have done as a family. I cant get very personal in my thoughts as others are reading too but it still is a good way to preserve memories that I am trying hard to make with my children.

A Better Night

So, I had a REALLY bad day (see previous post) and after a somewhat relaxing naptime, I decided to make Mark a nice dinner to celebrate his first day at school. We decorated the table all pretty and the kids wrote notes for daddy and helped set the table. I cut some sunflowers form the front yard and made a yummy dinner of hot dogs (on the grill),
buttered noodles, baked beans and cantelope.
I really like this meal and so do all the kids so we wouldnt have any problems with them eating dinner since we have a new dinnertime rule about trying everything I make! So, mark was surprised when he got home and we had a yummy meal together!

Back to School Bash

I held Back to school bash for 5 of my friends and their kids, which greatly outnumber the adults! Jeniece, Joy, Erika and Sarah all came over with about 20 kids, mostly little! We all brought food to share (I made pencil cupcakes) and we made a pencil bookmark! It went surprisingly smoothly and I had fun with the other moms!

REWIND please...

Have you ever had one of those days where you wish it were a movie and you could hit the rewind button and start all over? Well, today was one of those days for me. It started out well. I got up in the nick of time to make Mark's lunch for his first day of teaching at Valor and even tucked in a little love note which I have done every day since we've been married on his first day of school. I went back to bed and lounged around for another hour while the kids watched Dora in bed with me. Finally, after having enough of the little blows to my side, face, head, etc by my little monster Elijah, I got up and made cream of wheat and toast for the kids for breakfast. I had a busy day planned so I wanted to get out the door so I skipped my morning cup of java so I could pick up the house and get everything ready to go. BAD MISTAKE.
We were out the door by 9 which is amazing to me. I stopped at the library to drop off a puppet that didnt get returned a week ago. I stopped by the post office to grab some stamps for LATE birthday cards from August that desperately needed to be mailed. I then wanted to take the kids to a new park that a coworker suggested to me- Civic Green Park. It is in Highlands Ranch and has sprinkler and a little wading pool along with playground equipment. It is AWESOME and thought what a great mom am I to take my kiddos here for a fun morning of play. I thought wrong. After an hour, I was sure I was the worst mom on the planet and had the naughtiest children on the planet.
It started with Sophia getting stung by a bee on the way to the sprinklers. (her first bee sting) It swelled up. She was SO upset. She brought along her little cats and a picnic blanket and pretend food for them. After spreading it all out, she went to go in the water. Then Ella took her kitties bowl and Arianna took the kitties cup . Sophia lost it. She started crying and then ran away pouting. I let Ella and Arianna continue to play while Elijah tried desperately to get wet (he wasnt in his bathing suit) and Sophia sat in the grass a good 10 feet from us. After 15 minutes, I dragged Sophia over to me and had her sit in time out the rest of the time they played. Then we packed ALL the many towels,etc and went to the playground where Ella screamed every time I walked away. Sophia, already in a foul mood, went to play on a twirly thing and another little boy jumped in front of her and got it. Sophia lost it yet again- and ran away screaming. I had enough so I packed up all the stuff and Elijah in my hands and called for the other two and started walking to the car which was on a HUGE hill like a mile away (not really but it felt like that) Ella proceeded to scream and run AWAY from me (she never does that) Sophia is crying and Elijah is squirming to get down all while I have a gazillion things in my arms and am ready to snap !!! Oh, I was SO mad. FINALLY, I got them all in the car feeling utterly embarrassed and like the worst mom in the world who cant control her kids. I hate that! So we started driving home and I was fuming. I told Sophia and Ella they were going to be disciplined when we got home and both of them were crying and sobbing. The worst part was, that I needed to get diapers for Elijah because we were totally out, so we HAD to stop at King Soopers which added to my embarrasement by 100 percent as I pushed around 4 kids in a cart with 2 of them crying so loudly. Oh my, how could my day get worse!
We get home and Elijah crawls over to a little table by the door and pulls it down on his head, breaking my lamp, the light bulb and a candle that I loved. Glass everywhere, 3 kids screaming, mom loosing her patience! It was a BAD day!
Since then, it has calmed down. Ella and Elijah are fast asleep in bed. Sophia has told me she loves me at least 10 times since she got in trouble:) and Arianna has reminded me about every 10 minutes that she was really good today! I have eaten lunch and am now drinking my missed cup of Joe. I guess every mom has these types of days and I hope I dont have to experience one anytime soon...
P.S. Weird side note, I was chatting with Mark and he said his day has been horrible. He bought candy for his kids for rewards for a game and placed it by his projector and it melted and he couldnt use it. Then, he accidentally spilled water on his laptop and it wouldnt work for 2 class periods and had all his games and notes he worked on till midnight last night. So, he had to improvise. Poor guy. It's just one of those days!

C is for Candy Flower Arrangement

Mrs. Johnson is the girls Kindergarten teacher this fall and I am SO happy- she has been teaching for over 20 years and even taught Marks sister, Tina! I made this cool candy flower arrangement for her for the first day of school (I am making a notebook as well ) I think this turned out SO cute and was very inexpensive to make ($4) I cant wait to make more!

Twins Play dates are soon over...

We love having the Caucutts over for play dates- our kids get along really well and we have high hopes that Ella and Elijah will marry one day! Here we are in our back yard in the "rainforest jungle" as the kids call it- they LOVE the low hanging willow trees! I enjoy having her over

Sarah is definitely one of my best friends out here in Colorado- she is So sweet! We have the same tastes in many things and its GREAT to have someone who is in the same stage of life that you are in! (Lots of small kids) She is so kind and hospitable as well! She always goes out of her way to help another mom- what a good character trait to have!

Eliana LOVES babies and is often chasing after Elijah when he is over- Elijah will put up with it for a while but then he gets fed up:) Too funny!

Summers coming to a Close

I am sorta sad because school starts in 2 weeks and that means summer is over. No more play dates with the twins and their friends, no more taking the twins grocery shopping and hearing everyone fight over seats, no more library with all 4 in tow. It is going to be SO much easier, but sad too with my 2 little "helpers" gone for the morning.
Someone asked me if I'll be a wreck when they start Kindergarten and I quickly replied, "No". But as the time gets closer, I find myself tearing up a bit and
swallowing the little lump that rises in my throat.
I love my twins and really have enjoyed them this summer!

So little Ella and Elijah will have me all to themselves starting
September 1st from 8:00-11:45 am.
I am excited for them.
I am excited for my twins as they start this new adventure of learning!

(we will miss having Maddie over for playdates every week, but she'll be in K5 too!)

Sweet 'n Sassy

Ella has 2 personalities- sweet and cute (see above pictures) and sassy and naughty (see below). The pictures below were taken right after I had told her that she could not cut with scissors. She then proceeded to go upstairs and open my makeup and put eyeliner on as if it was lipstick! You can tell she did it out of spite by looking at the last picture- her eyes say it all....

He's Back

Mark returned home safe and sound today with amazing stories about his retreat. I am SO excited for this opportunity for Mark at Valor- God is really going to do a work in our lives thru this school and its exciting to be a part of it!
We drove out to Daniels Park in Highland Ranch which boasts some AMAZING views, and we weren't disappointed. A storm was moving in and you could see lightning strikes all along the horizon over downtown. The wind whipped our faces as we gazed out on the mountain tops. You could even see Pikes Peak in a distance. It was breathtaking. God's creation truly is spectacular.

He's Gone...

My dear husband is gone for 3 days on a teacher retreat with Valor. They are staying at some big castle in Colorado Springs. I am a bit jealous. Mark and I were talking about how I cannot remember the last time I have been AWAY from ALL the kids by myself for a few days. I plan to change that hopefully the last weekend of October (Mark has fall break) Any suggestions where and with whom I should go? I was thinking of visiting my friend in WI whom I havent seen since college (5 yrs now?) Mark is good and gives me breaks from the kids so I can go out with friends or go shopping by myself. But I am excited to get away for an extended period of time with no responsibility:) and to RELAX, which I am hoping what mark can do these next 3 days- he deserves it!
p.s. the above pic was taken a few weeks before our lives changed dramatically forever (I had the twins and the rest is history...)

Parisian Market Finds

I went to the Parisian market at Aspen Grove and had the best time perusing the aisles looking at anything and everything vintage and antique. I was in taken in by the buttons, linens, pictures, armors, keys, but mostly the jewelery! It was SO fun!
I found all these great treasures- a vintage post card (I am going to use her face to make a pendant like this one... see below)

I also found a spoon that is going on a necklace with a pendant. A black necklace with a cool big round stone on it, a cool round golden circle necklace, a vintage key, a gold owl pin, a toe ring
(not pictured) and a beautiful ring ($1) that looks like it may be real white gold or platinum with 5 diamonds embedded in it.( i am going to get it looked at by a jeweler this week!)
I spent $10 for all these trinkets and think it was a very good deal!
I will post pictures of my soldering pendant project once I collect the materials to do it-
I am definitely going again next month
(Sept 5th- for anyone who wants to join me in my treasure hunting)

2 for 1

We had 2 birthday parties to go to today-
Makenzie turned 4 and she celebrated at monkey Business-

Makenzie and her sister Katie

Madeleine celebrated her 5th birthday at the park today.
all the kiddos made birdies- too cute

What a fun and busy Saturday!