Holy zucchini Batman!

Yikes! These things are taking over!

These are growing like crazy... must be loving all our sunshine!
HERE is where they were about a week ago

Dress up

Yep, you guessed it... Beckett was in on it too! Just another one of those "perks" of having an older sister.  Fyi... sister put the engineer hat on him, but he chose to play with the fairy wand and the beads.

Grocery trip

Ok, so I really don't plan on posting these all the time, especially since this will become the new "normal" for us, but I'm just so excited that I did an actual grocery shopping trip today with my new coupon system and saved a ton! 

I got all of this:

SPENT $64.14    SAVED $73.84!
(oh, and there were 61 items, so that averages out to just over a dollar for each item!)

Tea party

Here is our son's 1st tea party... we are so proud. *giggle*

He is definitely still all boy though...

After a few minutes, he took his sister's cup and started rolling around.

Guess tea parties are just part of having a big sister.

Silly, messy ones

Yep, that's my kids! Silly and messy!

Kids checkups

We took the kids in this week for their 9 month and 2 year checkups.  Both are doing very well.  We are so blessed to have such healthy children!

Beckett had a minor ear infection, so minor that if we hadn't mentioned he had been a bit fussy lately, the doctor wouldn't have even prescribed medicine for him.  It is his first ear infection and we are pretty sure he's got a few teeth on their way in so that may be affecting his ears too?  Here's the funny part of his checkup...  He is 20lbs 2.5oz (which by the way is already bigger than Charlotte was at a year old) and the doctor suggested we start adding butter to his foods to help him gain weight!  Seriously?  He is a chubby little guy!  Really, I do understand her concern though.  He was in the 75th percentile for his weight and now he's only in the 50th, so mostly its just to make sure he doesn't start losing too much weight, but we're not too concerned about it.  He is our little guy that only eats bananas and crackers though (seriously, that's it!) so we were open to suggestions of other foods to try and will continue to add other things to his tray of food to hopefully get him to eat something, anything else.  By the way, if you are reading this and can think of any suggestions, please comment and send them my way!  I feel like we've tried everything!

Charlotte is still our little growing giant.  She continues to be tall and skinny - what a curse!  :)  She's almost off the charts for her height - above the 97th percentile for the first time even!  And finally up to almost the 50th percentile for her weight.  Good thing she's smart - people always mistake her for a 3 year old.  :)

My babies are growing up!  On a sidenote, it's a tad crazy trying to take both kids in for a checkup at the same time.  Luckily, Kevin was able to come with us and help out.  And Beckett didn't need any shots this time, so that helped control the chaos too.  Oh, and Charlotte is now officially done with the crazy first 2 years of doctor visits - she won't have to go back in for a checkup til next year and no more shots til Kindergarten for her! Woo hoo!

Crazy bargain day!

Made a trip to Target yesterday and got all of this for only $2.85!

Then went to Dollar General and Walmart today and got all of this for only $3.87!

I am so addicted to this couponing thing!

Want to know how I did it?

Target:

manufacturer coupon for $1 off Aquafresh x2

Target coupon for $.50 off Aquafresh x2

(made the toothpaste only $.12/tube!)

temporary store markdown on Dove body mist

manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off Dove body mist x2

Target coupon for $3.00 off 2 Dove products

manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off any Rimmel product

Dollar General:

Welch's juice on sale for $2.00

manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off Welch's x2

Suave deodorant on sale for $1.50

manufacturer's coupon for $3.00 off any 2 Suave deodorants x2

(got all 4 deodorants for FREE!) 

Walmart:

manufacturer's coupon for $5.00 off any 2 Tucks items

manufacturer's coupon for $1.00 of any Ronzoni Smart Pasta

coupon for FREE Sargento product

Most of these coupons I just printed straight off the internet (www.coupons.com is a great site!)  A couple I found in magazines and the FREE Sargento product was from me emailing the company and telling them how much we liked their products.  I'm subscribed to the newspaper now too, so looking forward to collecting lots of coupons from there too. 

I know this isn't a "normal" post on this blog necessarily, but I'm just getting into this bargain hunting and having so much fun and saving so much money, I just had to share.  Hopefully someone else will be inspired and able to save too!

Mary, Mary quite contrary...

Our "garden" is growing...

And so are our flowers.

We are loving Spring!

Zoo trip with Nana, Auntie Kim & Jordan

Coupon queen

I've decided that I have found my calling... couponing! It combines my loves for shopping, bargain hunting, and researching; and as a stay at home mom, it has also given me a way to feel like I am now contributing financially, in addition to all the other ways us stay at home moms do. I would love to share any of the things I am learning with anyone who asks, but of course I want to share in my bargain finds too.

Here's what I got from a quick shopping trip to Target yesterday:

Regular price:  $23.91  What I paid:  $6.45!

Man vs. machine

Kevin met his match while doing yardwork today. The weed whacker snuck up on him and got him in the leg.


Here's the damage:

Cousin time

Charlotte got to meet her cousin, Jordan, today for the first time.  They really do seem to be having fun playing together already.  Here is lunchtime today.

Thanks Nana and Auntie Kim for coming out to visit and bringing Jordan too.  Time with family is priceless!

Charlotte's dictionary

So I think sometimes it would be fun to come up with a dictionary of the words that come out of my daughter's mouth.  I love how kids hear things and remember them. She is an excellent communicator for her age, but some funny ones we've heard lately are:

*head band-aid (headband)
*potato head chips (potato chips)
*barbie cubes (barbecue)
*water mountain (water fountain)

more to come...

Miss America

She sure is one patriotic two year old!

"I pledge allegiance..."