Walgreens is AWESOME!...and family updates

Okay...so I am getting WAY into this coupon thing. Today was my first Walgreens coupon adventure. The on sale (nothing was regular retail price) price of everything, including the extra 15% off coupon which I had, was about $21. With my manufacturer and Walgreens coupons I saved $12.85...and so I paid with tax $8.46...and the best part is that I got $6 in Register Rewards which I can use on my next purchase(s). SO its like I spent $2.46 for $21+ worth of stuff. Woohoo!

P.S. This was my first time having to BUY a toothbrush!

Audrey also had her 4 month checkup this week. And she weighs 16 lb 4oz and is 25.25 inches long...putting her in ~90th percentile for weight and ~75th percentitle for height. Yep...she is one growing baby.

Emma talks about her upcoming birthday EVERY SINGLE DAY! I'm not complaining...I'm just surprised that she is so excited about it considering that she cried for the first 45 minutes of her party last year. So, yes, everyday she tells me what kind of party she wants and today she changed it from an Ariel party to a "Signing Time" party with "Signing Time" brithday candles. Oh goodness. For Joy School this week we learned about the letter R. We did R is for Rainbow. After school Emma drew this rainbow for me. It made me smile. :)

Ben had a great week at work...busy, busy, busy! But he loves what he does...and I like it, too. Its nice and convenient being married to a really good chiropractor/Airrosti provider. Ben has started this new way of eating...its called Paleo. He doesn't eat grains or rice except during his "free" day. So we have lots of fruits and veggies...and a TON of protein smoothies! He feels good...I'm getting on the bandwagon, but I'm not as hard core about it. I still love my pancakes and sandwiches!

As for me...well, my favorite hobby right now is getting deals. My favorite coupon blogs right now are The Krazy Coupon Lady, Savvy Spending, and Hip2Save. I would make links to them, but I don't know how and don't want to figure out how to do it. If you want the websites just let me know...or you can just google them. I am still exercising...love that, but I have resorted to P90X...which is awesome, but its not as much fun working out alone. Ben does them sometimes with me though which is nice.

Life is good! We have been soooo very blessed!

Math and Physics not a waste

So this morning Emma and I were playing with her slinky. She was holding one end and me the other. We started shaking it and laughing, and I told her "Look, its a sin wave." And she said, "No, mommy, its a slinky." Ah yes. I was just impressed that I remembered what a sin wave was. All of those math and physics classes weren't a waste after all. :)

The scientific/school oriented part of my brain still works sometimes. The other day someone was asking what the name of the fluid is that surrounds your brain and I remembered that, too...I said Cerebral Spinal Fluid. I hope that is right.
I am sooooo very grateful that I worked super hard in high school and at BYU because an education is an invaluable thing! I will always be a life long learner, but I am grateful that right now I get to learn about motherhood and teaching my children principles and preparing them for formal education. I am so proud of Emma because her favorite song right now is the ABC song. On the days we don't have joy school we try to do a page or two out of the pre-k workbook. I love seeing her learn and work hard. She can sometimes be a little perfectionist...I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

For the last 6 months or so my happiness has significantly increased...yes, we are down to 1 car, yes we owe the hospital some $, yes we are still renting...but as a family we are SO HAPPY. Stuff doesn't bring happiness. What does bring happiness is having faith in the Savior and Heavenly Father and accepting their plans for your life. My life has turned out significantly differently than how I had it planned out at 18 years old...its so much better! I have accepted my role as a stay at home mother. Honestly there is no other place in the world I would rather be...nor should be. My daughters are my world right now. Raising them in righteousess and helping them gain self-confidence and a strong and abiding testimony is what MY role is right now. Am I perfect at it?...of course not, but that is my goal. I am so grateful that I get to be home with my cuties everyday.

Perhaps someday I will be able to accomplish my formal education goals...a masters in Public Health, etc., but until then I am going to try to enjoy every minute of this special time while my girls are young. I am reminded of Elder Wirthlins quote...something like "Come what may and love it." Everyone has a different mission here on earth to accomplish and I feel that I have found one of mine. I hope to live my life in tune with the spirit so that I may continue my education here on earth whether its with crayons and fingerpaints at home or lectures and labs in the classroom.