Frozen Exposure Photo Shoot

My dear sweet friend, Tanya Wright of Frozen Exposure, took these pictures of me and the girls as a favor for me. I had to get headshots done for something and she did these extra ones also. She's amazing!!! I appreciate it so much. She's AWESOME. I LOVE these pictures.

Prayers

I love to hear my little girls talk to their Father in Heaven.

A "Yes" Mom

Are you a "Yes" mom?

I've always been a bit conscious about being a "yes" mom. I'll never forget one time when I was in Arizona, Staying with my older sister.

My sister's fence around her front yard needed repainting. So what did my sister do? Throw on some old clothes on her young girls (not even school aged yet) and sent them out in the yard to paint the fence. At first I thought she was crazy. They were going to make a HUGE mess. Then I thought about it. Out west, very few people have grass yards. My sister's yard had a few spots of grass, but around the fence was dirt or rocks. So the girls wouldn't be messing up a yard. They had old clothes on, so they wouldn't be ruining clothes. And the paint could wash off of them. So why wouldn't she let them paint the fence?

It struck me what an awesome mom she was, because she'd say "yes" when most other mom's would say no. She always had fun things for the girls to do, things that you wouldn't think they should be doing, but why not? What would it hurt?

I read a blog post today and remembered this time in AZ. Me and chris talked about this a couple times over the years. I've always told him that I don't want to tell our girls "no" for selfish reasons. Of course, When NO is appropriate, It will be used. But what about instances when i just don't want to have to deal with a mess? Or I'm just feeling too tired? I don't let them get away with that. They can't tell me "NO" they don't want to pick up their toys cause they're tired. And I feel like I shouldn't tell them "NO", they can't play with the play-dough cause I'm too tired to clean it up.

I want to be a "Yes" mom as much as I can.

Here's the Blog I read.

http://www.theconfidentmom.com/being-mom/be-a-yes-mom-jill-savage/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheConfidentMom+(The+Confident+Mom)

She's challenging everyone to be a "Yes" mom for the month of July. I'm going to try and be more conscious of my "yes"s and "No"s. So what about you? Are you a "yes" mom?

I Heart Coupons

I just got back from Grocery Shopping and had to brag just a little bit.

I'm definitely not a pro at this by any means, but I am saving some $$$. Here's what I spent and didn't!!!

2 Welch's Grape Juice (64 oz)

Regular 3.99

BOGO Sale

2 $1.00 off coupons

Paid .99 for each.

2 Excedrin Migraine (20 count)

Regular 2.70

On Sale for 1.99

2 $1.00 off coupons

Paid .99 for each

3 M&M Bags (2 large, 1 medium)

Regular 3.41, 4.59

Larges on Sale BOGO

Coupon for buy 2 get 1 free

Paid 4.59 for all 3 bags

Total before Sales/Coupons

25.97

Sales

-9.98

Coupons

-7.41

Total Out of Pocket

8.58

(2 welch's juices, 2 bottles of excedrin migraine, 2 large bags of M&m's and 1 medium bag)

2 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs (8pk)

Regular Price 3.49

Sale Price 2/$3

$1 off 2 coupon

Paid 1.00 for each

2 Gogurt (8pk)

Regular Price 2.95

Sale Price 2/$4

2 $1 off coupons

Paid $1 for each

Total before Sales/Coupons

12.88

Sales

-5.88

Coupons

-3

Total Out of Pocket

$4.00

(2 oscar mayer hotdogs 8pks, 2 8pks gogurts)

(I did use Separate Transactions to get my Register Rewards.)

Transactions 1 & 2

2 Old Spice Body Wash Swagger (12oz)

Regular $4.50 each

$4.50 RR when you buy one

BOGO Coupon

Paid $4.50 & received $4.50 RR coupon (basically got both bottles free)

**For those who don't know RR - register rewards - are Catalina coupons that print out when you buy certain items from Walgreens. They're basically like a gift card... free money to be used however you want at Walgreens.

Transaction 3

2 Gillette Body Wash (12oz)

Regular $4.50 each

$4.50 RR when you buy one

BOGO coupon

Paid $4.50 & received $4.50 RR coupon

Transaction 4

2 Right Guard Deodorant

Regular $4.50 each

BOGO sale

$3 off 2 coupon

Paid .75 each

2 Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal (14.5 oz)

Regular 3.75 (ish)

Sale $1.75

Coupon $1.00 off 2

Paid $1.25 Each

2 Fruity Pebbles Ceral (11 oz)

Regular 3.75

Sale $1.75

Coupon $1.00 off 2

Paid $1.25 Each

Total before Sales/Coupons

$51

Sales

$26

Coupons

$17.50

Total Out of Pocket

$7.50

(4 old spice body wash, 2 gillette body wash, 2 right guard deodorants, 2 honey bunches of oats, 2 fruity pebbles)

9 Boxes of Hamburger Helper

Reg 1.60 box

Sale 1.00 a box

3 Coupons for $.75 off of 3 boxes

Paid .75 each

3 Boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Reg 3.71

BOGO Sale

3 Coupons for .55 off one box

Paid 1.30 each

2 boxes of Suddenly Salad

Regular 2.29

BOGO Sale

2 coupons for .40 off one box

Paid .75 each

Total before Sales/Coupons

$30.11

Sales

$13.27

Coupons

$4.70

Total Out of Pocket

12.14

(9 hamburger helpers, 3 cinnamon toast crunch, 2 suddenly salad)

GRAND TOTALS

Before Sales/Coupons

119.76

Total Sales Savings

55.13

Total Coupon Savings

32.61

Total Out Of Pocket

32.24

Not too shabby if I do say so myself!!!

Baby Sitting

I need everyone's help.

We need a babysitter.

Not for a certain date or time, just someone we can call regularly who will watch our girls for us.

The last sitter we hired charged $10 an hour, which is a bit much for us (probably need more like $5-$7 an hour). And she didn't really do all that much with the girls. She didn't clean up after them. She popped some popcorn and sat them in front of the TV. I'm not expecting her to clean our house... But at $10 an hour, I do expect a bit more than a movie and popcorn!

Anyways - Does anyone have any ideas? or know of a Young Woman around here needing some $$$ for summer?

They're easy girls. Heck, my mom and dad would hardly let us bring them home this past Sunday, after watching them for 4 days!!! That should say something!

Anyways - Let me know by email if anyone knows of someone!

Home again, Home again

We're BACK!

We got back in last night/this morning at 2 or so.

We were going to be picking up our girls last night, then my mom said not to worry about it, just to get them today, so we were going to get them this morning. Then my dad wanted to take the girls to church with them, so we're not going to get them until 1. I can't wait to see my babies. I've missed them. But it was SO nice to sleep in yesterday and today.

I'll put up pics and stuff from our trip soon. It was a blast and I'm so grateful to my wonderful husband for letting us go - in spite of our lack of funds.

More to come....

FLORIDA, HERE WE COME

Thank you Priceline.com - Name your own price. Because of you, me and Chris will be staying in a nice $200 a night hotel room for just over $40 a night.

That's right. I'm so excited. This is the hotel we'll be staying at... Hilton Garden Inn

We're within a mile from the beach. I'm so excited. I also called the hotel and told them it will be our anniversary and they said try and upgrade us to a better room, as long as they have one available.

Now, I just need to pack and clean (the unfun part.) I don't know if I can sit still for the next few days. Guess that packing and cleaning thing is good. Keep me busy!

Coupons

I've had a bunch of people ask me about my coupon book.

I figured I'd list the sites I've found and a few different blog posts I've read that have helped me out alot.

http://hip2save.com - heard this one is great - especially for printing out coupons.
www.hotcouponworld.com
www.savingwithamy.com - I think this one is a lady who lives in Franklin
www.southernsavers.com - one of my favorites.
www.fistfulofcoupons.com
www.stretchingabuckblog.com

Here's are a couple of blogs on how different people organize their coupons
The Simple Dollar
Money Saving Mom

I will eventually write on my other blog about all I've learned
But these sites should help you get started!

On second thought...

I called my mom yesterday. I asked her to watch the girls next week while me and Chris go to Florida.

Now, I know that no one in this WORLD could take better care of my girls than my own mom (just as good maybe, but not better) and I know my girls will have a blast with their Mamie and Papa, but I'm a bit heartbroken over having to leave them. Other than having to leave Taylor while I was in the hospital having Maddie, We've never really left them. They have spent the night a couple times with some family. But nothing more than overnight.

This is going to be REALLY hard for me. Can I go 2 or 3 nights/days without my girls? Maybe when they wake me up at 3:30am I think I can... But honestly, They're with me 24/7 usually. They go shopping with me, they go to work with me, they take naps with me. Yes I complain about it sometimes, But do I honestly want it any other way? Well, maybe a little break here or there, but no. I love it the way it is.

Can I really leave them and go on this trip? I will, but do I want to? No. I don't want to. But me and Chris really need a break. Time away from work and life, with just each other. Time to remember that we're not just "mommy" and "daddy" but Keaven and Chris.

I know that we'll come back from this trip relaxed and rejuvenated and ready to go right back into being mommy and daddy. We'll probably even have more patience and play a bit more with the girls. But I AM going to miss them. And yes, I'll probably cry a bit.

But Dang, That ocean is CALLING MY NAME!

Anniversary Update

We are probably going to be able to go to Florida for our anniversary! WOOHOO. We'll know for sure by tonight. And it's thanks to my pack rat skills and craigslist. :) Who knew my junk was worth so much. :P

Motivation

So, I never finished blogging about my spring cleaning experiences. To tell the truth, I never finished spring cleaning. The only room left undone - My office closet. Where I throw the things I want to ignore. Also where I put all my craft supplies and such.

I want to get this room done, but I just HAVE NOT been able to find the motivation to do it. Well guess what??? I FOUND IT - CRAIGSLIST.

That's right, my sale has got me thinking "what else do I have that someone would pay me for?" And another major motivation at the moment? SUN, SAND, AND WAVES!

Now the question is... Do I have enough stuff sitting around here to earn enough money to get us to Florida for our anniversary?

I'll let you know!

My First Craigslist Sale (less than 12 hrs after posting)

I have to say I am SO excited.

I just made my first sale on craigslist. I sold our Glider/rocker and the ottoman. We don't really use it. It's just taking up space. And it looks good.

Lately I've been taking all my old baby stuff to this one consignment shop up the street. They pay okay for stuff, and the little extra money I've made has been fun to play with a bit. But I thought I'd give craigslist a try and see if it would work. After all, I could possibly make more money selling it myself, and not have the hassle of dragging my stuff to the car with 2 kids in tow.

I'm FLABBERGASTED that after my listing was only online for less than 12 hours (I posted it last night when I couldn't sleep) I've already made $$$. And to be honest, It's probably triple what I would have made from the consignment shop.

This extra money may possibly pay for me and Chris to take a mini-vacay next weekend for our anniversary. Depends on how much more I can get. Wish me luck. I'm just dying to get to a beach!

Nightmares

It's strange how nightmares change when you get older.

I had one of the WORST dreams of my life last night. If you know me at all, you know I have some wild and crazy dreams. This one was definitely far worse than any I've ever had before.

Without going into a ton of detail (which my dreams have), my dream was basically that Taylor had an accident and wouldn't wake up. Chris very sweetly laid her down and I just sat by her and screamed and cried, and screamed and cried, and screamed and cried. The crying was honestly about 1/2 my dream.

Bad dreams like this always put me in an odd mood. And having one so awful has me in a VERY weird mood. I've never really thought about what I would do if something like THAT happened to my girls. I don't think I could honestly handle it.

I know it's just a dream. It could mean a million different things. But you better believe I'm going to be loving on my girls all day today. And they will be spoiled relentlessly today also. They are my world (along with their daddy), my literal everything. And I love them more than life itself.

Maybe that's all the dream meant, to remind me how precious they are. Every parent can use that reminder now and then. But I really hate the way I was reminded.

JUST HAD TO! Visiting Teaching Message!

Building Party; Lounging with Padre

When the girls woke up from nap this afternoon, the kids in the building invited them to come out and COLOR!

This looked like so much fun.

I'm so glad to live in an area with tons of kids. And they're all pretty nice kids too.

And they adore the girls. These other kids are 7-12 years old, but they'll come over and play kitchen or little people with my girls.

It's nice to have them entertained for a bit, and know they're okay.

And we recently got a new couch and chair (Thank you Jennifer and Kyle!) in our living room. They're extra comfy. Chris says the chair is his spot - the man chair!

Well, Maddie has found a little spot of her own.

She's such a daddy's girl!

The Great Nashville Monsoon of 2010

Double Hitter: I Heart Heritage Makers, Rain Rain Go Away

A few months ago I went to a party and discovered this online scrapbooking website. There are tons of advantages to using this website over others, or any kind of products you can buy for digital or traditional scrapbooking. But I'm not going into those. I just wanted to show off my latest creations. I LOVE THEM... and I HEART HERITAGE MAKERS. I made this swatch book (brag book) of my FAVOURTIE (english spelling) Things, MY GIRLS.

I just added different pictures of them and some wording here and there like their nicknames and sisters, friends, TROUBLE.

Then I made a family planner to keep me and chris more on the same page with our scheduling.

It is spiral bound so I can turn the pages very easily and even fold it back so only one page is open.

On every page there is a notes side and a calendar side.

And Lastly, I made Taylor's 3rd birthday invitations on it.

I designed them myself and I totally love em.

And Lastly... It has been raining non stop all day. I thought this little puddle outside our porch was bad...

but has anyone seen I-24 lately? It's a RIVER. SERIOUSLY. It's completely covering cars and 1/2 way up semis. There was a HOUSE floating down it early. That's right... A HOUSE floating down the interstate AT OUR EXIT!!!

We're very blessed to be safe in our apartment on a hill, but Chris tried to leave to go to the store, and we're stuck. There's no traffic moving on bell road.

We've had 10-12 inches here so far, and it's not the end of the day yet. It's supposed to continue to rain until Monday I think.

There's no way we can get to Church tomorrow, or even Chris's parents house (they're stuck too, all roads out are flooded.)

This all might not even be cleared up by Monday. They'll have to clean the interstate of all the cars, semi's, HOUSES, and debri before they can reopen it. Just craziness.

But it will be kinda nice to spend the whole weekend in together. And I'm sure we'll be very very ready to get out of the apartment when it all finally clears up!