For A Friend

This is actually a replica. She sent me a picture of a painting that she really liked in a restaurant in hopes that I could copy it. Well, I did my best! I sure hope she likes it!

Happy Father's Day!

I know I am 2 days late, but better late than never, right? Besides, I have been in kind of a "blogging slump" lately (if you can't tell by the lack of posts). Actually, I've been kind of in a slump with everything lately. You would think I would be going through my "nesting" phase right now, but I can't seem to find the motivation to do ANYTHING! I am starting to annoy myself with all of this laziness, lol. Maybe, subconsciously, my body is trying to rest before I can't anymore.

Anyways, back to the purpose of this post... Sorry guys! I promise I did not forget you on Sunday. I just want to wish my Daddy, my father-in-law, and Jeff a happy Father's Day. Avery and I (and Norah) love you very much!

Here's a little poem that Jeff found in the paper that we thought great so I had to share:

LCDC Videos

Here's the videos from yesterday that I mentioned wouldnt work...
This first video is actually my favorite. She got so excited when another little girl was playing peek-a-boo with her that she was jumping all over me. I couldnt get her in the frame but you can hear her belly laughs. lol

Louisiana Children's Discovery Center

It is so dang hot outside around here that we are starting to get a little cabin fever being cooped up inside all the time (me especially, so I know Avery was getting a little bored too). We were going to the park a lot but it heats up so early now and we dont have a pool that is close, free, clean (I am very picky when it comes to public pools!) so I have been dying to find something for us to do. I got an ad for the Louisiana Children's Discovery Center here in Hammond a long time ago and it's been on my fridge ever since. Today was a great day for us to go check it out and I am so glad that we did! Since she is not 2 yet, it's only $5 for me to get in (there's memberships but I am going to wait till after Norah is 6 weeks old before I join anything at this point). Anyways, Avery had a blast and we were there for about 2 hours. It is a wonderful retreat and place for her to play during these hot summer days!It is a great place for a wide range of ages. Avery's favorite was the toddler area since she felt a little overwhelmed by all of the big kids in the rest of the place. They also have an arts and crafts room but we didnt attempt that one jut yet ;).

Avery's look of pure excitement when we first got there:

Chalkboard mat. If only Avery could learn to write on the mat instead of everywhere else!:

She loved the big kids and you could tell she really looked up to them:

These foam mats were awesome and she loved climbing and sliding all over them:

Fishing boat:

Dress-up area:

Cow. She was fascinated by this gal. She kept going back to see if it was still there, lol:

Construction Zone:

One of the play tables in the toddler area:

Toddler maze:

Hot Air balloon. It lifted a few feet up in the air and had screens underneath it to make you feel like you were flying. pretty cool!:

If you look behind the balloon, you can see the bubble area. We didnt do this area cuz I really didnt want her to get all sticky. Maybe next time.

Slide:

This little boy was playing with her and showing her how to push the button to make the train go. Look at how she is looking at him! I think she had a crush lol

Then, she went and hid under my legs... Baby bump got in the way of the camera, lol:

Replica of the local restaurant, Middendorfs:

I have lots of really cute videos but Blogger is not cooperating, so pictures are all you get.. lol :)

4 Years

Today, Jeff and I celebrate 4 years of marriage! Life is so surreal when you sit back and realize how fast time flies; it only seems to go faster the older you get, too. I love him more today than the day we said "I do" and I couldn't ask for a better husband and father to my children. I love you, Jeff! Here's to 4 wonderful years and many many more to come. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next :)

Lil' Chef

Avery discovered oven mits the other day while I was cooking...

Complete with her spatula that she plays with, she's ready to help out in the kitchen!

Awesome Deals!

Rite Aid has the Schick Hydro 3 and 5 razors and refill blades on sale BOGOF (buy one get one free). With the $4 off of 1 razor and $2 off of 1 refill pack coupons in this week's smart source, you can get 2 razors and 2 boxes of 4 refills for only 9.98 (before tax that varies)!

(You have to have a Wellness card with Rite Aid to get this savings. It's free to sign up, so I did online before heading to the the store. I printed off a temporary card and the permanent will be here in a few weeks)

Walgreens has a generic brand for Allegra now!
It's on sale this week for $3.99 for the 5 pack. They are giving $3.99 in Register Rewards good on the next purchase so its FREE!

If you pick up the June 2011 savings booklet at the front of the store, you can find a $3 off coupon. So, you will only have to pay $1 plus you will get $3.99 good on your next purchase! SCORE!! I plan to get several tomorrow :)

CVS has Bayer Advanced on sale for $3 (with Rewards card). When you buy, you get $1 in rewards. Plus, using the $2 off coupon from Smartsource this week, you pay just $1 at the time.

Bonus: The coupon comes with a rebate form that you can fill out to get that dollar back. This means it's FREE plus $1 in rewards on your card!

Winn-Dixie had my favorite deals this week.

If you bought 1 Gain Laundry Detergant, you got the fabric softner, fabric sheets, bleach, and Clorox Stain remover for FREE!! Plus, I had a $1 off Gain detergant coupon and a $1 off Gain fabric softner coupon. So, for all 5 items I paid only $10! Whoot! They were limiting you to just one deal per customer per visit but I was so tempted to make the rounds at all the Winn-Dixies to stock up but I have a lot of detergent right now. Tomorrow is the last day, so I may go out and get one more set :)

Also, they had all Cover Girl eye makeup BOGOF. I had several $1 off any Covergirl makeup coupons. To get the best savings, I chose the eyeshadow that was $2.99; I got 4 eye shadows for $2!

Here's how it works if you are wondering:

$2.99 each eyeshadow

BOGOF= $2.99 for 2

I was buying 2 items so I could use 2 coupons: (2) $1 off coupons + BOGOF = $.99 for 2

I just did this twice.

I did the same thing on a mascara but since it was on sale for $3.74 they did not give me the BOGOF deal. I think they were wrong here, but I didn't put up too much of a fuss. I still got some mascara for $2.74! {If they would have given me the deal, I could have used another $1 coupon and got 2 mascaras for $1.74. Bummer!}

Happy Couponing! :)

Miss Priss

Girls just know some things from birth...

it must come naturally to chat on the phone...

or carry your purse on your elbow...

P.S. I've been holding on to this post for a while in hopes to get better pics of her but someone doesnt cooperate when the camera is out!

All You

Have you heard of All You Magazine??

I hadn't.... at least until Allyson introduced me to it a few weeks ago.

You can only get it at Walmart or through a subscription, but it is full of coupons, great deals, recipes, etc.

I love it! Thanks, Ally for the tip!

Laundry

This is our regular routine... while I am folding she graps some shorts and wears them as hats. Goofy gal! lol She can really make me smile!

Coupon Success!!

I am on a high!

I've had some great shopping trips with my coupons lately but nothing this wonderful.

I went to Target this morning to get a few things that I had coupons for, along with some diapers and wipes (that I also had coupons for). I knew I had some great deals on my hands, but I was not prepared for the total at the register.
Long story short,I was able to get away with $50.13 worth of Nivea Lotions (including a $10 bottle of Goodbye Cellulite), Suave body washes, wipes, and diapers all for $16.88 (before tax, $20.39 after tax)!!! I did a little adding as I went and expected to get away around $30, but I couldn't believe the total when I checked out! I was so excited! I have checked and rechecked my receipt to make sure they did it right, and it seems to be correct. That means that I basically got everything but the diapers (which were $19.79 themselves) for free with a few dollars off of those as well.
Avery was a cranky mess so I had to leave after just getting those few items, but that just means that I get to have another fun couponing excursion tomorrow to finish my pack of coupons I have sorted out :). Hopefully it will be just as rewarding!
This all goes to show you that if you are willing to clip and take the time to match the manufacturers coupons to the store coupons and sales, you can find some great stuff for free!

This extreme couponing is so addicting!

P.S. Did you know that Dollar Stores take manufacturer coupons?! This sounds bad, but I have never really shopped at a dollar store before (with the exception of a random item here and there that I may run in and get if I was in a hurry). I had no idea that they carried name-brand stuff! Anyways, I went there the other day to check it out since I got a pack of coupons to Family Dollar. I was able to stack my Family Dollar coupons with some manufacturer coupons and left with over $100 worth of cleaning supplies and toiletries and food for about $70.

It really is a great feeling to save so much money!

Also, if you are reading this and want to give me your coupons, I would love to have them! :)

A Few Videos