another giveaway

There's another giveaway on wondermommy! More fabric and patterns too! Check it out!

I'm hooked...

I'm hooked. In January my neighbor told us at our monthly neighborhood bunco how she had been saving so much money with 'couponing', yes, I think it's a verb. I was slightly interested, but not so much. Then, a couple of weeks ago a friend told me how they were having triple coupons at Harris Teeter that week from Wednesday through the following Wednesday. Now this got me thinking.... wow, if I had some coupons I could probably save quite a bit.... So, I bought the Sunday paper and clipped my coupons then off to Harris Teeter I went on Tuesday. I have to say that I was a little leary as I usually shop at Walmart except for meat and some produce because the prices there are consistently lower and Harris Teeter (or Harris Cheater as I sometimes refer to it) is one of our most expensive grocery stores, but I took my chances. I was instantly very suspicious of everyone in the store upon walking in as they were obviously there to get all the good deals I was after. (hello? can you say paranoia?!) I became very competitive and took a quick look at my list and decided the toothpaste was a deal not to be passed up and went there first. After getting that in my cart I was slightly relieved. It turned out that out of 3 possible free items, I was only able to get one as the others were out of stock, but I was ok with that. Anyway, I ended up getting all the above items for $33.71 and this includes tax. I saved $30 in coupons!! I have to say that I was thrilled! I came home and told my neighbor about my savings and she said, "That's good, you'll get better." She bursted my bubble just a tad as I thought I had just outwitted the supermarket world with my savings, but I was still very excited! So, I am following a few local websites and blogs that post the weekly good deals with sales and coupons and if there is anything that I **need** (this is key), then I will go take advantage of that deal. I have been saving my receipts this month so I will have to add up all my coupon savings at the end of the month to see how I do. It definitely makes grocery shopping more exciting!

Easter

We had a great Easter. It was very low key, which was nice. We tried to really reflect on what the season is actually about. In fact, the kids didn't make any big deal about the Easter Bunny at all. We had to remind them Saturday night to get their baskets to set out. We watched 'Passion of the Christ' Saturday night as Samuel had been wanting to watch it and this seemed like a good time. A very somber movie, but one that everyone should watch. It was my second time to see it and I knew it would wipe me out emotionally as it did the first time. The scene that stands out to me the most, the scene I just about cannot take, is when Jesus is so badly beaten and he is carrying his cross and he falls down. This actually happens many times, but in one scene in particular, Mary sees him fall, then flashes back to when Jesus was a little boy and he was running and fell down, and she runs to him to help him and comfort him, then she flashes back to present and runs to Jesus as He has just fallen.... Nora Kate was in the room, but thankfully not really watching the movie. She saw me crying and went and got a tissue, then wiped the tears off my face. It was very sweet. "I wipe your tears off, Mommy". So, here are the kids Easter Sunday morning. We went to church. It is amazing to see all the people that come out for church on Easter Sunday, but who don't normally go. It would be wonderful if all those people came all the time. After church we just came home and cooked our own Easter lunch of ham (which had been cooking in the crock pot all morning), green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. Josh made 'resurrection rolls' with the kids while I cooked. We then just relaxed the rest of the day and started researching for our upcoming trip to Alaska that we just booked! It was nice.

Hope everyone else had a great Easter!

Daddy Daughter Dance 3-28-09

Our church hosted a Daddy Daughter Dance at the end of March. Nora Kate had been looking forward to it since January when they announced it. She got a new dress, and we curled her hair, and..... Daddy gave her a beautiful toddler size wrist corsage (you have never seen anything cuter) which she refused to wear but carried as a small bouquet....

From what I understand, they had a fabulous time and it was a very special night for both of them. Josh took her to her favorite restaurant, a local Mexican place (Fiesta Mexicana -yum!) where she got an order of her beloved guacamole and soft taco. At the dance they were together for a little while until Nora Kate found her friend Rachel.... Josh said it was just like getting ditched by your date at the prom....

turning 8

I can't believe my little buddy has turned 8. His birthdya was 2 weeks ago today on March 25. Half price parties on Wednesdays at Pump-it-Up made it the perfect year to have his party on his actual birthdate. The kids all had a great time.

The theme was 'Army', as it was for his 5th birthday also.

He got to sit in the big birthday throne to open up his gifts. LOTS of cool stuff for the birthday boy.

I think he had a really great day and that is what we were going for. Can't believe he is 8, that seems so old...... next will be 9, then 10, and then..... the days crawl by, but the years fly.