Fast Friday

In honor of how I live a lot of my life these days (after baby...and then baby number two), I thought I'd do a post about one of my quick fixes.  The story goes like this:

The day before the Easter party at Ella and Noah's MMO (Mother's Morning Out) class had arrived.  What's sad about this story, is that I had actually planned ahead and gone to Sam's Club to order some super cute cupcakes to take.  (I briefly...as in maybe 5 seconds...contemplated making them but then I realized although I've baked lots of things, I've never made cupcakes and don't even have a cupcake pan - I think I just forfeited my mother of the year nomination)  When we had gone to Sam's Club the day before they had a MOUNTAIN of cupcakes on display.  Naturally, I thought..."I don't need to order any when they have this abundance of super cute Easter cupcakes available, I'll just swing back by tomorrow to get some fresh ones."

                  ((Fast forward to the next day - the day before the party))

OF COURSE when we went back to Sam's there had been a run on cupcakes (I pictured something similar to the scene in Wal-Mart during Black Friday, except replace the huge tv's with cupcakes)  There were absolutely NO cute Easter cupcakes like there had been the day before.  In fact, we were lucky to get one of the last boxes of generic party cupcakes.  We had to do some quick thinking to make transform these into Easter cupcakes.  They wouldn't win an award or even make it to the Pinterest prestige level...but they worked, and I think they went over well with the preschoolers.

The BEFORE picture - these don't exactly say "Easter", right?

The AFTER picture - add a green icing nest, some Eastery sprinkles,
A peep (we used a toothpick to stick them on), and a few jelly beans,
 ...and voila - Easterish cupcakes.  

What is your latest and greatest quick fix?  I'd love to add some great ideas to my arsenal of quick fix tools!  Happy Friday!!

Perfect Timing

This time of year is so perfect for Easter, don't you think?  I mean, what if they (the infamous "they") had put Easter in, say, October...or February.  Ugh!  When I think of Easter I picture beautiful greens with shocks of pink, yellows and whites mixed in (I try to ignore the evil pollen that accompanies the amazing colors...although it can be difficult when I'm clawing my eyeballs out because they itch so freakin bad!)  Isn't that just perfect?  (not the misery pollen brings, the colors...stay with me here :)  It's perfect that Easter isn't about peeps or pollen although we kinda think it is...but it's about restoration.  Something ugly and broken being made beautiful and whole once again.  (Maybe we could call it shabby chic or thrifting...hmmm)  It's perfect because the ugly brown plants that I would've sworn were dead and ready for the fireplace, were just playin possum (I'll explain that to you later if you're not from the south).  It's even more perfect because Jesus restored our relationship to Him on Easter...see our relationship was actually dead...as in flat lined, with no hope of being revived.  There just wasn't anything we do to reconcile it...kinda like I can't jump to the moon no matter if I'm me or Michael Jordan..no amount of good acts would do the trick.  We were doomed to be punished.  To die and stay there forever.  But...
                     wait for it....
                              wait for it.......
Jesus fixed all that.  He came, lived a perfect life and voluntarily died in our place (he could've gotten off that cross with one flick of his pinky - he was God in the flesh, remember?)  HE reconciled us to himself when he came out of that tomb and beat death.  He made all things new...on Easter.  I know peeps are pretty good...I may have actually just eaten one...but man, what Jesus did is SO much better.  It makes Easter pretty stinkin amazing.

So in the spirit of realizing God is making all things new and beautiful...here are some things I've noticed around me these past few days that are beautiful in their own way:

PS - If you want some theme music to go along with the pictures, check out Gungor's "Beautiful Things"

We have three dogwood trees in our yard, but only one is pink.
The kids and I recognized how gorgeous it is right now, and
decided to bring some of that gorgeousness inside!  (I
shook as much pollen off as possible though, of course!)

You know I couldn't post about beauty without including my
kiddos, right??  Here is my sweet Ella climbing her way to the
top of that same gorgeous tree.  She was getting tired of
smiling for me...so this smile was a product of her fav joke
(Q:  What do you get when you cross a crocodile with a rooster?
A:  Croc-a-doodle-doo)
That was a freebie, just for you!

  Here is Noah blowing a dandelion.  (After
successfully clearing off the dandelion, he moved on to
try to blow the petals off the flower in his other hand...it was
pretty stinking cute.

I love this color of purple against the background of the bright green stem...
I'm secretly wondering which room of my house I could
 redo in this color scheme.  Hmmm, I'll keep you posted.

These two items have been sitting by each other for a while, but
 I just noticed how the m&m colors compliment the little roosters
 feather spoons.  That fact plus the fact that the rooster was my
great-grandmother's rooster (and I remember her using it to measure out
 flour when she let me help her make biscuits) makes this scene
 beautiful!  Love it...there could be tears involved with this one
 if I thought about it too long...so, moving on!


So what are your thoughts about Easter?  Have you noticed any beauty around you lately in this season?

and the winner is...

me!  of course.  and you! ... if you have decided to give couponing a chance.

I told you I'd follow up to yesterday's post so...

Here's what I scored this morning at Harris Teeter:
basil, mozarella cheese, lunch meat, 2 packs of cinnamon rolls, cascade dish detergent packs, two boxes of organic whole wheat pasta, 2 steamfresh green bean packs (love these!), 2 ginormous boxes of tampons, a crap ton of easter eggs, 15 ct. allegra, 2 greek yogurts, 3 cans of grands biscuits, cheerios, 2 homestyle macaroni and cheese, great grains cereal, bread, applesauce, AA batteries, alfredo sauce, peanut butter, 2 cans of pineapple, 4 lean cuisines, 4 packs of green giant frzn veggies, 2 bottles of head & shoulders, turkey dogs, 2 boxes of kids yogurt, 2 cans mandarin oranges & toothpaste (free!!)
                                                                                                 ...yeah, a picture would be easier, huh?

Before coupons or preffered member pricing, I would've paid $154.56 for all of this...but I paid $83.37.  That's a savings of $71.19!  Heck yes! (as Napoleon would say)  I must have coupon skills...you can borrow them if you want.  (btw - I like your puffy sleeves)

            woah - sorry...back on track...

Couple of other things you've know about this picture:

1. Allegra is in the front purple box (originally 15.49, but I paid $6.49...I had a $7 coupon, those make my month)
2. I had several other expensive items like $10 worth of lean cuisine (because sometimes I just like to not have to think about what I'm gonna fix to eat....can I get an Amen?)
3. On the far left is hydroponic basil.  I know, I had no clue what that meant either...but it is a little mini basil plant in the bag that's supposed to stay fresh longer if you keep the roots moist.  That was my one splurge (it wasn't on sale and I didn't have a coupon), but seriously, you think Wal-Mart is going to have hydroponic basil.  Ummm, no.  
4. I didn't put it in the pic, but I got three coupons off of the biscuits...plus I got a $4 voucher off of my grocery bill for my next trip.  

All in all it was a good trip...can't wait to hear about yours!

the big deal

So what's the big deal about couponing, you ask?  Well let me tell you...

It's a big enough deal to make Wednesday mornings a highlight of my week.  If you'd told me as a senior in high school that a highlight of my week in 13 years would be going couponing at the grocery store, I may have sunk into a deep dark depression.  BUT - here I am now, living in full blown mommydom, and I love couponing.  I save money, have some alone time (I go alone bc the last time I took the kids we entered with 6 shoes between the three of us and left with only 4 - not a successful trip!), and I walk away with a feeling of accomplishment.  Tell me what's not to love about that?

It has taken me a while to be able to say I feel like I've mastered the art of couponing, and if I'm telling the whole truth, I fell off the wagon for about 9 months.  (Oops)  See, when I first started I was trying to be one of the coupon divas or The Krazy Coupon Lady...and although they are rocking the coupon world...that's just not me.  (I am feeding a family of four not an army.  I'm also only bathing a family four - I can't figure out why they need 58 bottles of body wash, even if they were 25 cents each?)  When I was starting out I thought I needed to buy EVERYTHING that was a good deal.  Yes, I got some amazing deals, but I couldn't figure out why I wasn't saving any money.  Turns out, I wasn't saving money because I was buying WAY more stuff!  (Funny how that works, huh?)

My system these days isn't a large scale operation, but it's working great for us.  Here's my plan:
Sunday - Buy a Sunday paper, preferably from the largest town around (if you have a large family you may want to buy two.)


Sometime between Sunday and Wednesday morning - I hunt for the coupon flyers in the massive Sunday paper (they like to hide) and go through them.  I ONLY cut out the coupons of items that I would normally buy for my family. (This is the key to not buying way more stuff than you need and therefore not saving any money)  I leave the rest in the flyer and throw them away.  I take the coupons I've cut out and file them in my notebook (I have a three ring binder with baseball card sleeves.  I also have different sections tabbed off such as: meat, dairy, baby, etc.  However, I've seen so many different filing systems being used by fellow couponers...I'd encourage you to do whatever will be easiest for you to maintain and quickly find your coupons while you're at the store)


Wednesday morning - I get up as early as I can make myself (my bed and I have a tight relationship and are not easily parted) and I check my email for the grocery store ad that was sent to me during the night.  The ad tells me what things are on sale.  I then match up what's on sale to my coupons, giving me the most bang for my buck.  (Most stores run their sales from Wednesday to Tuesday of the next week.)  After making sure I have my list made out I hit the store.  In my area it's imperative that you go to the store asap because all of those great deals will snagged (you know all that early bird stuff...) and you never know when the store will restock.

Other free tidbits because I love ya:

• My preferred grocery store is Harris Teeter, and I'm in no way paid to say that. (wish I was though...anybody out there have any pull with HT advertising???)  They not only have great sales, but they have one of the most pleasant store atmospheres.  That may sound crazy, but after wrestling two preschoolers all week, a calm and peaceful atmosphere pretty much rocks my world.  PLUS, they have complimentary coffee, AND.....wait for it....a cup holder built in to the cart.  Oh yes.  (that's why we mothers all love minivans, because they have a bazillion cupholders....I'm convinced heaven will have more cupholders than a minivan - watch out!)  In the beginning I tried to go to several different stores to coupon, but that boggled my simple mind and quickly overwhelmed me.  Now I only go to HT to coupon and then go to a cheap store (Wal-Mart, Aldi, etc) to buy whatever else I need for the week that I didn't find couponing.  

• Whatever store you choose, make sure you sign up for their emails and preferred member card (both are free).  These both get you extra deals and/or coupons.  For example, at HT they have electronic coupons that you can save to your preferred member card.  Not only that, but you are allowed to use one paper coupon AND that electronic coupon for the same item...and then if the item is on sale...it's enough to have a couponer hyperventilating.

• Before you go for your first trip find out about their coupon policy.  HT will double all coupons whose value is 99 cents or less.  That's pretty awesome.  (BUT - some stinky coupon makers put a "Do Not Double" label on their coupon, and, yep, you guessed it - those won't double.)  Find out how many coupons you can use on the same item and how many coupons you can use a day (20 at HT).  It's also sometimes helpful to find out if they do rain checks for items that are out of stock.  This is a price guarantee that you can come in next time and get that item for the sale price that you missed because they were out of stock.  Usually these do not expire - they're pretty much like gold :o)

Mmmmm...I'm gonna go to bed now and dream of my amazing couponing trip tomorrow morning.  Maybe I'll even follow up and show you what I got...(I know you're hoping that you could only be so lucky...)

What about you - how do you feel about couponing?  Fellow couponers - what did I leave out that newbies need to know?

A Quiet Place

So I've been thinking...that I wanted to jump back into the blogging world.  I miss it, and now that I have a two year old (instead of the infant I had two years ago) I'm gonna give it a go.  Although I got an impulse last week and started a new blog (I'm one of those people who love to start new projects...and may or may not have a lot of unfinished projects sitting around), I really still love my old blog.  I decided to give it a face lift and pick blogging back up in the same place I left off.

However...in order to blog I really have to have a place to gather and record my thoughts in peace.  A place of solitude.  Today I realized just how difficult it may be to find this place...

I realized this as I was visiting the potty today.  I assumed to make the visit alone (that's not unreasonable, right?), but I realized I was sorely mistaken as my family burst through the door.  (I love the beautiful retro glass door knobs in my house...but why oh why did they not need locks in 1935??)  It was urgent of course, because Ella, my 4 yr old, HAD to give me a Belle squinky, while wearing a crown and talking in a British accent.  (who knows??)  Then my 2 yr old had to follow...of course...because he was pretending to be Ella's dog.  Everyone knows that good dogs follow their master no matter where they go, so here came Noah, barking happily into the bathroom.  Finally, my husband came in after realizing the kids were no longer in his line of sight.  As the whole family played in the bathroom I realized (not for the first time) that I badly need a place of solitude...not to mention a lock on the bathroom door.

SO...the bathroom is not my place to blog.  (Aren't you thankful?  :o)  I'm gonna keep looking for a place of solitude to not only blog, but also to sit and think...to pray, to read, and be filled.  I think that's pretty important in this season of my life.

Where is your place of solitude?  I'd love to hear your creative ideas especially if you have a crazy busy life life...

Garbie & the Blocker

Ella, Noah, and I took a trip to Wal-Mart the other day.  (Yes, I seem to find myself in Wal-Mart a lot.  You're welcome, Walton family!)  At the end of the trip I made a promise to myself NEVER (at least not in the next few weeks) to take both of the kids to Wal-Mart by myself again if I had more than three things on my list. 

The morning started off wrong.  I thought I was going to get to catch up on some work that was starting to pile up on me.  However, that plan had to quickly morph itself into a new one when I listened to a voicemail from the previous evening.  The voice on the phone said that Noah had a well-child check for the following morning at 9:15.  (When I listened to the message it was 8:15am.)  This quickly threw me into a panic because I can't seem to get anywhere on time even when I am planning ahead, much less when I only have 45 min. of prep time to get myself, the kids, and the diaper bag ready.  Somehow (with the help of a hat and my amazing husband) we made it to the doctor's office at 9:20.  (That's pretty good for us!)  We waited in line only to have the receptionist tell me that Noah didn't have an appointment today.  She said it was the next business day.  (Great!)  I told her that someone had called and said that the appointment was today, but I got the feeling she didn't really believe me.  (Did I not look credible?  Maybe it was the hat??)  I decided that while we were here I might as well pay a bill that was due instead of mailing it in.  So, we went around to the other window to wait.  We had to wait forever because the woman in front of us must have been making follow up appointments for the next five years.  Then we got passed by another lady, and had to wait even longer.  (I guess she thought I was just hanging out with my 3 yr old and 9 month old in the doctor's office hallway?) When we finally made it to the window it took another year for me to get the bill paid, and in the meantime Ella about pulled Noah's leg off and informed me (and the whole office) that she had to go potty. 

(Enter the Wal-Mart trip) After the 45 min. non-appointment for Noah, the kids were already getting pretty tired, hungry, and Ella still had to potty (of course the doctor's office hadn't had any toilet paper for their potty.)  I decided to push on through and go to Wal-Mart anyways since we needed some pretty important things like pull-ups, (yes, if you read the blog from a few days ago...these are the same pull-ups I forgot about 3 Wal-Mart trips ago) formula, baby food, and milk.  After transferring the kids and all our gear into a cart, we made it to the Wal-Mart potty, which, thankfully, had plenty of toilet paper.  We were then ready for our trip!  We visited the medicine section, the household goods, and we were headed for the baby section.  Ella started to reach her limit of sitting in the back of the cart, and wanted out.  I quickly told her no, and tried to distract her since we were passing by the toy section. 

Ella: "Ooooooh!  Garbie!" (translation: Barbie)
Me: "Ella, it's Bbb...arbie."
Ella: "Gggg..arbie."
Me:  (Ok, I guess it's going to be Ggg...arbie, but I don't think Barbie would be too happy with her new name.)

I kept that cart moving because I was sure that if we stopped that one of two things would happen. 1 - Ella would jump out to chase Garbie, or 2 - We would end up with some clutter...I mean, toys...to take home with us. 

As we entered the baby section, Ella started pointing and waving frantically.
Ella:  "Look, Mama, the blocker!
Me:  "What?"
Ella:  (still pointing and waving) "The blocker!!"
Me:  (I'm looking in the direction she is pointing, but I truly don't see a blocker of any sort??) "What are you
          talking about?"
Ella:  (exasperated with me and my ignorance at this point) "NOAH'S BLOCKER!"
Me:  (Is she speaking another language?)
Me:  "OH!"

I finally saw it.  She was pointing to a WALKER that looked just like the one Noah has been zooming around in the house lately.  It must've seemed like a miracle to her precious 3 year old mind that Noah's walker was sitting on that shelf instead of at home where it belonged. 

We made it through the rest of the Wal-Mart trip without any more language-barrier issues, although we had a few other issues that I'll just give you the quick verion of...
--Noah cried because he was hungry
--I had to open up a no-mess bowl package so that I could give Noah some puffs to eat.(we bought it of
   course, but, yes, I am one of THOSE people.  It's like I told the cashier - It was either do that or go
   home.)
--Unfortunately, Noah left a trail of puffs all over that Wal-Mart floor.  I was praying they'd forgive us
   since we almost single-handedly keep Wal-Mart open.
--Ella left with an "Auwowa" (Aurora) doll in spite of my best (yeah, maybe not my best) efforts.
       

In spite of all of that, the thing I left there thinking about was mine and Ella's communication issues. 

It's not too far from the communication issues that I feel like I have with God sometimes.  Of course God has no problems with communication...I'm pretty sure those are all on my end.  Just like Ella was trying to tell me about "Garbie" and the "Blocker," I know sometimes God is trying to tell me something, and I just...don't...get it.  I'm so thankful He is infinitely patient (way more patient than Ella was) with me, and continues to show me truth...even when it takes me forever to finally get it.

The Swiss Army Knife Car

My car is an interesting place to find yourself.  Not because I am a bad driver, (althought I have to admit some people might argue this point...getting sued after being in an accident doesn't neccessarily mean you are a horrible driver, right?) but because of the...um...landscape.  It used to embarrass me.  Ok, it still does embarrass me sometimes, but I'm learning to love my car.  (I will post a picture of the last time I "cleaned" out the car at the bottom of the page for your viewing pleasure.) It feels...comfortable.  It's comfortable because it's got everything you could ever need in there!  It's like a swiss army knife (only not.) 

It has plenty of food, should you get hungry:

- A half-eaten breakfast bar (Ella never seems to finish her "snack" that her belly was "so hungry for")
- Some of Ella's animal crackers that escaped an early death and are now hanging out in the "car 
   organizer" (at least it is organizing something, even if that something is trash!)
- Noah's puffs in his carseat (cause, really...1 out of 10 make it in his mouth, but he does try hard so he is
    probably destined to get some"Best Effort" awards, just like his mother)
- A banana peel.  Oh, wait...guess you wouldn't want to eat that. 
- There is usually a half-filled water bottle or fast food cup filled with a liquid-like substance sitting
   somewhere.

It is well-stocked for all your cleaning emergencies:

-  Wipes
-  Wipes
-  More wipes
- Wadded up kleenexs (Clean ones!  Although...it does get difficult to tell the dirty from the clean if we're
    being honest!)
-  Grocery Bags (because you have to throw everything somewhere, right?)

It has something for your entertainment:

-  It's a great place to play "I Spy"
-  You could easily do arts and crafts with all the fun stuff laying around
-  You could even play hangman in the dust on the dashboard


So, tell me...what's not to like about our car?  I think it's just perfect.  The "landscape" may not look like "everyone" says it's supposed to look, but it serves our family well.  I think following God is like that sometimes.  (No, you don't have to be dirty to follow God.)  In my car, I have exactly what I need and I get to where I need to go...even if it doesn't look how "everyone" says it should.  When you follow God, He gives you exactly what you need and you're going exactly where you want to go.

  The LORD will guide you always;
       he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
       and will strengthen your frame.
       You will be like a well-watered garden,
       like a spring whose waters never fail.
                                  Isaiah 58:11