Pumpkins

Between work, school, playdates, getting sick, and other various things, we have not (and probably won't now) made it out to a pumpkin patch. I felt bad about that though because I knew that Elliot would love it and it would be a good photo opportunity and scrapbooking page. We went to visit my parents this past weekend and my dad took Elliot to a pumpkin patch! Didn't get any pictures at the pumpkin patch and I don't think they spent much time there because it was very busy, but Elliot got to pick out a pumpkin. She came home with these 2 little ones and quickly named them John and Sarah. My cousin Brooke was over and along with the babysitter they had that night (Justin and I am my parents went to a scout benefit auction and dinner) they decorated the pumpkins. We didn't want to cut the pumpkins and my mom didn't have the right paint or markers to draw much on them so they got a thing of elmer's glue and a box of old material and a sharpie pen and went to town dressing John and Sarah.

Just looking at them still makes me giggle a little. Elliot had her friend Lacey over yesterday and the two of them played for a very long time in the craft room making the whole room John and Sarah's house. I love it when they use their little imaginations.

Coupon update (aka: I Love Rite Aid)

So I still have been pretty successful in my couponing lately. Mostly using info from fistfulofcoupons.com. Really it isn't that hard because other people do all the work for you. You just need to spend a little time and effort to plan it all out. It is forcing me to plan out my weekly meals which is just a good idea to make the days run smoother anyways.

Tonight I went to Rite Aid again (went last week and was tremendously successful). I had three different transactions (so that I could use the 3 $5 off coupons that I printed off- Rite Aid freely gives as many as you can print!). First was 5 things that after rebates are FREE (and one of the items I had a coupon so I actually made money), plus some tylenol that I needed. Spent $22.04 and will get $22.46 back in rebates. Second was 4 packages of huggies diapers (starting to stock up for baby #3) that were on sale for 8.99 each but had 4 coupons- 2 $3 off and 2 $1.50 off. So ultimately, each package averaged about $6 a piece- a very sweet deal. Third was 2 gallons of milk (always 1.99), 4 bags of halloween candy (coupon from paper buy three, get one free), hair mouse that I needed, $5 birthday present for a little girl in Elliot's class, and package of baby wipes for 6.99 with $2 rebate. Total will be $20.72 after rebate. And rite aid is cool about the rebates that you can get them grouped together in single checks. Now this all would be great enough, but Rite Aid also has a promotion where you spend a certain amount and get a certificate back- I think that promotion is over now, but I am waiting for a $20 gift certificate to come. Pluse I have bought enough huggies recently to earn a free pack too! It just keeps getting better!

Seriously if you have the time and want to save money on things that you are going to be buying anyways, look into blogs around about it and start giving it a try. I only wish that I had other options other than Safeway, Rite Aid and Walmart to shop. And I have found a tip on how to double some coupons. Shortcuts.com lets you load coupons right onto your rewards card (like Safeway club card). Sometimes though I will have a coupon printed for the same thing and both work. Today I bought a box of cocoa puffs for 17 cents!!!

And just because they are cute:

I made these shirts using my cricut and wonder-under. Their names are on the back too, but Grey wasn't being very cooperative for the photo op. They turned out pretty cute.

Picnic

Elliot has her friend Emily over every other week. They play really well together and I hardly see them so I get to get things done too while they play. Well, it has turned cold and wet outside, but they wanted to go out and play for a bit. This is what I found on the porch: They had pillows and towels for blankets, snacks (healthy too- yogurt and apples), an umbrella and a baby doll. They were out there for a good 30 minutes just having a picnic under the porch while it was raining and cold all around them. Too funny.

Couponing

I have heard for quite awhile that if you are diligent with your couponing that you can really save a bundle if you do it correctly. So I have been doing some research on different blogs and learning via podcasts the best ways to go about it. It has been a little time consuming, but kinda fun- like a treasure hunt. And when you can find something for free or nearly free, you feel oh so successful! One of the best sites that I have found is www.fistfulofcoupons.com. You can go on that site and she gives all kinds of great tips and links to coupons. Plus, you can enter your area, a specific store and a spread sheet will pop up with that week's deals, how good they are, and what coupons to use to sweeten the deal. I have gotten packs of diapers from Rite Aid for like $5-7, several free items there (like a razor for Justin, toothpaste, toothbrush) and Rite Aid has a very nice rebate program where you get just one check with all your rebates together. Yesterday at Safeway I got 5 boxes of ceral for just over a dollar a box, 12 yoplait yogurts for 37.5 cents a piece, a loaf of bakery bread for FREE, large bag of carrots for $1.50, Hamburger Helper for $1 a box, 2 boxes of potatoes for about $1.50 a box, and a large thing of dish soap for a dollar. I know these aren't like smoking hot deals, but every little bit counts. And it is all very satisfying. So fistfulofcoupons is a great website, so is coupons.com and shortcuts.com (this one puts the coupons right on your Safeway card or other club card- and I found out that you can use a printed coupon AND the ecoupon still works!). Safeway.com sometimes has good coupons too and I know there are a ton of others. There are LOTS of blogs on the subject too so if anyone has any tips or knows of other good sites, please share. I have started to pick up a Sunday paper or two (too cheap to have it delievered though at 2.95 a paper!!!) and am going to stop at Walgreens today in Moses Lake after my doctor's appointment to see if I can score some free and cheap stuff there. Sweet!

Sign laungage

I have been trying for a long time, and a lot more lately, to get Grey to pick up some sign language. He still has yet to say a single word. Elliot was so early and very proficient with her talking that this has been super frustrating. So when Grey finally signed "more" to me when he wanted more sunflower seeds, I was ecstatic! He did it again this morning and I caught it on video. I've been trying more signs too, like "bath" and "milk" and "all done." I am hoping now that he realizes how cool it is to sign and all the praise he gets from it he will want to keep it up.

Bicycle Riding

Elliot has had a bike for over a year and a half now and could not get the hang of riding it. Part of it was I was never patient enough to help her the way she needed. Part of it was that our driveway sucks for bike riding (it is flat and narrow at the top and then slopes down very quickly to the street. And part of it was that she would once in a while try and just get frustrated and stop. She never wanted to do it enough to really learn. Yesterday though she just got on her trike first and it just clicked. She finally understood that pedaling forward is how to make the bike go forward. Her knees were practically hitting the handle bars so I pulled out her Dora bike and she gave it a try. It was a little more of a struggle, but she got it! She still sometimes gets stuck and needs a little push to get her feet moving, but she was riding her back (yes, at 4 1/2). Now please don't judge about some of these pictures and one of the movies about not having a helmet on. We've just never told her to get it on because she never really rode or stayed on the bike for more than a couple minutes. When I realized she was going to really be riding, we pulled out the helmet.

This was later at the elementary school so she could practice a little more freely.

We stayed at the park for a while so the kids could play. We had a really nice time.

(Please ignore my chubbiness...remember I am 4 months pregnant and it is definately showing!)

Grey kept wanting to go down the slide on his belly and, of course, Elliot had to follow.

MIA again...

Between feeling yucky, getting sick, busy with work and just trying to survive around here, I have not updated my blog in quite awhile. Nothing extremely earth shattering has happened, but it is still nice to check-in once in awhile.

Elliot is back to preschool and loving it. Her teacher said that she is being a little less shy and participating more with the class during circle time. I feel a little guilty because she has standing playdates either here or elsewhere everyday of the week. It makes for a happy girl and a happy mom because I get things done and don't have to hear "I'm bored" or "what can I do now?" much at all. It actually makes Saturdays and Sundays the hard days even though Justin is home.

Here she is on the first day of school:

And here (Justin was doing the photo shoot- the one finger for the first day?):
And just because these were cute:

Justin is loving the school year as well. He loves to be in the classroom and in front of all those kids. And they seem to really enjoy his class. I wish I could just go watch sometimes to see him in action.

Grey is keeping me very busy as well. He gets into EVERYTHING!!! Way more than Elliot ever did. I have a garbage can in the kitchen that you step on the pedal and lid goes up. Today I found him eating a chicken nugget that he pulled out of the garbage! He still isn't sleeping well on his own, but is a whole other blog topic I am sure somewhere in the near future. We have 6 months to get that resolved before baby #3 comes. He loves to be naked and runs as fast as he can after bathtime anywhere we aren't such as into Elliot's room to play.

He also loves to play in the kitchen with the pots and pans, getting out wooden spoons and stirring imaginary things. Just the other day though, I found him here and stuck:

And on Tuesday we were at the park and he got his first bee sting. It ended up being very uneventful and he didn't even cry much. You can see on his upper lip though where it was red and swollen. By that evening though it was gone. We shall see what happens when he is stung again. Given his track record, he will be allergic...
I am starting to feel like I might survive again. I got hit with a really bad cold that had me down about a week, not to mention still feeling sick to my stomach all the time. Both have been subsiding though which is a huge relief. At the begining of the month I had a doctor's appointment and we heard the baby's heartbeat which was another big relief. I am at 14 weeks now and am so thankful to be starting to feel better!

So that about catches us up. Thank goodness. And I will try not to let it go so long next time.