Ben, Katie, Emma, and Audrey

Saturday, June 25, 2016

...And then 6 Years later...

Wow its been awhile!
The number of kiddos in our family has doubled since I last posted!
And we have moved from Davenport, Iowa, to Seattle, to Houston, and now we are settled in Dallas.
So much has happened and changed since I last wrote.

Ben and I have learned a lot about ourselves and what really matters the last few years. It has been a time of trial, but also a time filled with many blessings...including the additions of Scarlett and Jocelyn to our family.

Overall life is good. Nothing is as constant as change, right? And during the hardest days I know I'm being cared for and helped by angels. And I know miracles happen all the time. I'm feeling very grateful for the love and help given to me and my family!

A lot of days I take all four girls to the grocery store with me. Its chaos, and sometimes I do enjoy a moment by myself, like when they are all in bed or when Ben's home. But I want to treasure each and every day with my daughters because someday they will grow up and I will miss them. Kiddos are only little once. Cherish every day!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Old Navy and more updates

I wanted to share an amazing deal I got at Old Navy last Saturday. All denim shorts were 60% off and I had a Groupon to use so I went to the store. My Groupon was a $20 voucher I paid $10 for. I was there at the right time because they were significantly marking down a bunch of baby/toddler clearance items to $1.97 or $0.97. So I picked up a jacket and pjs for Emma, 2 sun hats, a batgirl onsie, and shoes (for next year) for Audrey, some 3-6 month pjs (for my gift bin), and a pair of bermuda shorts for me.

My total out of pocket at Old Navy was $0.88! Yep. I gave them 88 cents at the store. Score! Even with the $10 I paid for the Groupon, it is still a rockin deal! On sale the shorts themselves would have been over $11 by themselves, so its like I got everything else for free. Anyway, it was a happy day. :)

I've had a few people approach me about giving them coupon lessons. I'm happy to share with them what I know. Maybe there could be more to this coupon game than I thought.

My sweet baby Audrey is a thumb sucker! Emma was a pacifier baby and Audrey is a paci-hater!!! They may look a lot alike, but they each have their own cute quirks. I love them!

We went 'neighborhood shopping' in The Woodlands the other day and we may have foung the perfect area!...within our price range, too. We would be very close to the elementary school, the library, a YMCA, a park, and our church building which would make us all very happy. Here we are just playing at the park.

Life is good. Busy...always changing, but good. There could be some big changes ahead!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

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!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Target Clearance

I was a very happy camper today because I got some AMAZING deals on Valentine's Day Clearance stuff at Target! The display said everything was 75% off...but nope...everything was 90% off! And some things weren't even marked...for example: I found the Dora book in the media/book section of the store not marked on clearance or anything. So when I did a price check I was like, "WHOA!"...I may have even said that outloud. $0.69 marked down from $6.99. I'll take it!

Here is everthing I bought:
4 placemats
3 Sets of window cling-ons
1 Valentine's Day Banner
1 Set of Valentine's Day Bingo (Emma will hopefully like this next year)
1 Set of 75 cupcake liners
1 Hershey Kisses/Hugs Box (I may be able to eat chocolate again) :)
1 small box of chocolates
1 Dora & Diego box of chocolates (Guess who picked that out!?)
1 Dora Valentine's Day Adventure Book

TOTAL: $3.88 with tax!!!
(and on my receipt it says that I saved $33.80)

I was partially sooo excited because we have ZERO Valentine's Day decorations! And I just love a good deal on stuff I like. So I tried arranging everything in the shape of a big heart for the photo. Hopefully you can tell. I just wanted to share my awesome deal I scored today. Bargain shopping rules!