Coupon Brag!

I really love using coupons and saving $.
I get really mad at people when I see them with the same products, and know they could be getting them for free or VERY cheap.
I want to tell them all about what I do.

Here is my run down from Giant Eagle today.
I saved $14.40 in coupons alone. My out of pocket was $18.20

I got sour cream for $0.40 (Breakstones) x2
I got Breyers ice cream for $1.00 x2
I got toilet paper for FREE x2
I got hand soap for $0.30
Eggo waffles for $0.75 x2

A few more things, only 1 that I did not have a coupon for (chorizo sausage for a recipe).
It feels so good!

Want to know how I do this??
Feel free to ask!!

New YUMS

I have always talked about making my own spaghetti sauce, but just never have done it.
I get nervous when I attempt new things, or should I say think about attempting new things.

We have always been lovers of Ragu pasta sauces.
Recently Ragu has introduced 2 new flavors
Sweet Tomato Basil & Margherita.
Along with these new flavors they have also come up with some fun new recipies.
Being a LOVER of Italian foods, I want to try all of them!
Thanks to Mom Central I was able to try both new sauces!

Just as good as all the rest!!
My ALL time favorite is the Robust Garlic, but the Sweet Tomato Basil is wonderful and tops my favorites list as well!

A few projects

Built in bookshelf in the new basement room

New entertainment unit
(not all the way done, obviously)

Needed to change the color of these
flower pots, I wanted them to match the color of the flashing on our house
What can I say I like color!!


Blue pots and yellow flowers!!
Love it, red ones to join the cool corkscrew grass in
the middle pot!

What is my next step?

As most of you know or have heard me mention, my youngest child will be going to Kindergarten next year, errr, um this year, less than 5 months to be exact. I am a bit disheveled thinking about this. I am a SAHM, and how can I be a SAHM with no kids at home?? What will I do? Seriously. I am sure the first few weeks will be nice, but then...what will I do??

I am trying to decide if getting an unstressful job in retail or something, OR go back to school. The problem with school is I have no idea what Id do, what I want to do etc.

So should I start collecting applications or buy some textbooks???

So many decisions, but maybe I should just get through the Summer first.

28

No it is not my birthday. That was a few months ago. But I realized a few things in my deep thoughts lately.

I am 28 and...

I will never experience having my first child again, that experience is almost 9 years past.
(What an awesome experience it was, and growing further and further blurry in my head).
Soon I won't even be able to pick up my 2nd baby, more than half my height and 32 pounds.
Soon I will encounter a whole new part of my life. A mom with all her kids in school.
Soon I will be married for 9 years, then 10, and so on...
Soon I will see grown-ups, I last saw 10 years ago, still kids in most ways.
Soon I want to find new parts of my destiny.
Soon I WILL be more like Him.
Soon I WILL learn to be a better mom
a better wife
a better friend
a better me
Soon the shadows will be gone.

compare, compare, compare

Now that we own a house we really need to look into some things. We need to make our business into a LLC and we need to get life ins again.

We at one point had life ins but due to finances we opted to get rid of it. Tough times are tough times and $50 a month is $50 a month. Things are now better with us financially so we really need to look at some term life insurance rate comparisons.

It is sad that we have to have insurance for everything now a days. Yeah, it will pay off someday, but we only need insurance because everything is so stinking unaffordable for everyone. Seriously, why should a funeral cost $20,ooo?? anyway?

Don't judge me by the mess in my basement

I am so extremely grateful and appreciative of my husband.
He has shown me a side of him I have only seen about 10% in the past 8 years.
All these home projects he has done have way surpasses my expectations.
I always knew he was handy, but the motivation was not his OWN home, so now his true colors are shining forth!

Here are some pictures of the basement.
Keep in mind this is only the 5th day he has worked down there, and that is not full days either.

The before pictures are on his camera out in the truck, out in the pouring rain....so here are the current pictures, as of this morning.

The list of things he has done to get to this point is a mile long, I won't bore you;)

Without further ado, see for your self:

coming down the step from side entrance and kitchen

Bottom of steps, entrance to new TV room

Far Right wall when you walk into the new room,
this is the wall the built in entertainment unit will be.
It's gonna be GREAT!
(That door is my current pantry)

This is looking from the above wall, so the left corner
of this picture in the entrance to the room
(the space behind the wall will be a full bathroom, phase 2)


This wall is the wall you face when you enter the room, the part
that is not framed will be a built in shelving unit for movies, video games etc.


This is the BEAUTIFUL wood that was what we found when we ripped the ceiling out.
We are going to keep the rafters as the ceiling for now, we may paint all the rafters black, but the wood is so nice, it won't look bad.

Wordless Wednesday ::Our Easter:

New yard, new canvas

I am excited to have a new yard.
I pretty much have a clean canvas to work with.

Our last yard was way too much to take care of.
This yard, nothing growing in the back besides a few daffodils by the back fence and some grass irises. I got a lot of stuff to plant for next spring, tons and tons of tulip bulbs, and daffodils too.

I love that I can start fresh.
I need to think it out and pick out the prettiest (from a nice plant nursery) preferable easy to take care of-minimal work is best for me!

Now the weather just has to cooperate so I can plant everything!
I have a bunch of dead plants in my basement.

It is off, did you even know it was on??

A little over 3 weeks ago, Merci went roller skating with her friend for a birthday party. While she was there a bigger boy stood on her foot while getting up to stand, he had a roller skate on (ouch). Merci refused the parents attempt to bring her home, and because her foot didn't look swollen or anything nobody even thought it was broken.
We didn't even take her to the ER for x-ray's till Monday morning, the accident happened Saturday night. Such bad parents, I know. But Merci does have a tendency to be dramatic, so we just wanted to make sure.

She broke the metatarsal bone.

Today was 3 weeks since she got her bright pink cast on and because the healing was going well, no further cast is needed, but she needs to be very careful, no running, jumping, etc, etc....

Merci was very nervous about the cutting off of the cast.
The tech showed her on his skin that the blade does not cut, and then offered to show her on her skin, she freaked out. My mom volunteered and Merci was still scared, my chicken little!
Ethan is covering his ears because of the vacuum attached to the blade hose was loud.

Happy Easter!

The Jelly Bean Prayer

RED is for the blood Christ gave
GREEN is for the grass He made
YELLOW is for the sun so bright
ORANGE is for the edge of night
BLACK is for the sins we've made
WHITE is for His resurrection
PURPLE is for His hours of sorrow
PINK his for our new tomorrow

A bag full of jelly beans, colorful and sweet,
Is a prayer, is a promise, is everyone's treat.

May the joy of Christ's resurrection
fill your hearts and bless your life!!

Too good not to post

Today Merci and I were driving to a store.
We drove past a bar, that had a sign up.


Dancers wanted

Merci: That sign said dancers wanted, I'm a dancer.
Me: LOL
Merci: But I am a dancer mom
Me: Not that kind of dancer Merci.
Me: remind me to put that on my blog later, Merci.

Wordless Wednesday