Living the Dream: Musings of a stranded housewife

Giving

2008-07-29T14:30:00.001-07:00

One thing that has bothered me tremendously lately is that we can't afford on our budget to give. We barely barely make it by as it is, so there has never been leftover for a charity, or church, or whatever.
I realized while coupon organizing yesterday that I can give now. I get so many things for free through coupons and deals, that if I only had some more coupons, I would be able to fill the shelves at our church pantry! So I called some people, begging coupons off of them and explaining my plan. Everyone I talked to was on board! Woohoo! And I discovered there is a newspaper recycling center behind Kramer's (the small market here) that I can go dumpster diving in. (teehee...only the coupon-obsessed would get giddy at the prospect of dumpster diving!)

So ya...there's my plan. I hope that I can round up enough q's to start filling those shelves! (I mean, why else would I need a free glucose monitor?!)

Oh Susie-Q...

2008-07-29T14:12:00.001-07:00

Susie-Q.....OH! Susie-Q....Oh Susie-Q baby I love you, Susie-Q. I like the way you walk(or don't hehe) I like the way you talk. I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk, Susie-Q.

Courtesy of one of the best bands EVAH! (CCR...Creedence Clearwater Revival for those of you with the blank look)

My little Susie-Q (or susie-blueeyes) has been making leaps and bounds on her journey to walking and talking. "blah blah blah COO! Razz, blah blah" and it goes on.... The jumperoo is a new favorite. This girl gets AIR! Yes, at a mere four months old I think I see gymnastics in her future. Here are a few I took yesterday. You'll see why I call her Susie-blue. :)

Want to make some money?

2008-07-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Want to make some money? Ever heard of ebates? I'm in love with this program! Basically, you sign up with them, then do your online shopping by clicking on the stores through their site! Most major stores are on there, and each store offers a different percentage in cash back. For example: I shop at The Children's Place online a lot (or shall I say that Bama does lol) and they offer 3% cash back. If I go to their site through ebates, then I will receive 3% cash back on my order! Great deal, isn't it? You also receive $5 for just signing up! This is a verified, legit program. I'm not one to fall for a scam! There are a lot of baby/kids sites on there *wink at sara* and even the big-names like Target, Zappos (dylan) and Overstock (Elaine). Check it out! Pretty simple really, and you can make money shopping! (and no, they don't require your SSN mom lol)
Ebates cash back program

If you sign up without this link, please put my email address- jillybeansmacnab@yahoo.com - in the refer box! I earn $5 when you sign up through me as well!

Deals of the week!

2008-07-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

I got six more bags of free diapers from walgreen's! That fills the closet and Bryce has officially banned any more, considering we only use disposables at night and while out!

Also at walgreen's this week:
*Free Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber starter kit! They had a free-after rebate form in the ads, and I had a $2.75 off coupon, so after a stamp to mail it I made $2.34!
*School supplies on sale! A lot of 5cent items. With the $5 register rewards from the diapers, I only spent $4.84 on a huge bag of supplies! And nothing out of pocket, as I used my walgreen's gift card from last month's rebates!

Kmart:
*4/$1 colored pencils (G. loves these!) and 5/$1 glue!

Staples:
*More 5cent supplies! I spent a whopping $.65 here lol.

There were more, but it's been a long week folks, and I've got a nephew to go play with!

In memory of Michael

2008-07-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

A very special woman I know, a part of the group of women that has kept me going for the last three years, has lost her husband, the father of her little girl. D'anne, my whole heart goes out to you and Fi now, as always. Life isn't fair sometimes, and you certainly didn't deserve this. Remember the good man that Michael was and the love he had for you and Fi and J. That memory alone will keep him with you each day. Lots of love to you!

Gorgeous! Simply GORGEOUS!

2008-07-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm a tad biased, but my girls are gorgeous! Here are some from mid-June. Miss Aylers wasn't so thrilled at getting posed, and was more interested in the chest-region, but I'm sure her next set will be full of smiles.

Once upon a time there was an uncle named "Didin" He was magic. He could quiet fussy babies in an instant:

and make little girls settle down too.

Mama wished he were available every day. He'd make a great nanny.... *sigh*

Did I mention gorgeous yet? Daddy is cleaning his shotgun already. We've only got about 12 years you know...

It's a green sort of day!
Gracie decided Wednesday that we needed to have a green party. (don't ask...) So we got out our green things...decorations, toys, clothes, etc. Even made green food, drink and dessert! Margarita jello, taco salad and greenade! (the non-explosive variety hehe) She thinks that we should have a PURPLE party next. Any ideas as to what sort of dinner we could have in that particular hue?

Mid-July garden update:
Things are slow this year with the colder summer thus far. We estimate our garden, even with soaking seeds this year, is about three weeks behind schedule. That's ok, we've got fresh salad into July! Peas and corn are enormous, as you can see in the pics. Tomatoes are starting to turn (can't WAIT for those!) and the rainbow chard and rainbow carrots have been lovely additions to our meals. The onions, both red and walla walla, are to die for. Do you suppose Mart would notice if we stole a coupla truckloads of dirt when we moved? (teehee) We'll definitely miss this garden and the space next year. More creative measures will be put in place, and our green thumbs will be truly tested once we leave this little garden paradise.

(Peas are the things between the tall stakes. Beans on the trellis. Notice the rainbow chard! Borage plants abound as well. Squash/pumpkins behind the peas, cukes in front)

(Crazy corn isn't it? Much higher even after a week! Tomatoes to the left, along with potatoes in the very front. Spinach is done, can't you tell? We really need to pull it.)

Get Ramseyfied!

2008-07-17T20:52:00.002-07:00

Dave Ramsey is my new hero. At the gentle prodding of my dear friend Cat (*smooch*) I picked up Dave Ramsey's books Financial Peace and The Total Money Makeover from the library. The first one was an easy read with it's large font and not-so-subtle accusations. (haha) The second was the get 'er done book with it's easy plan-of-attack.

Bryce and I have never been the type to put ourselves into much debt. I think the biggest debt we've ever had is our van, which we borrowed $5200 on. We've always paid our credit cards off each month, up to a few months ago (because of not-so-sage advice from a stupid mortgage broker that we needed to keep a balance in order to build already-outstanding credit...I could kill you MICHAEL LEASH) Ha. Etc, etc, we've been good with our credit, and thus our credit is good.

But why have credit in the first place? As Dave asks us, why fall prey to the belief system that we must have credit cards and other debts in order to survive in this modern age? Why feel pressure to apply for three million credit cards, have two big car loans, a big mortgage that we can't pay? We've become a society so in debt that it will be a miracle if we leave this earth without leaving behind huge bills for our children to pay. (as if leaving them a broken and torn earth wasn't enough...) That's not the way I want to live. And I certainly don't want that for my girls!

I could go into detail as to what the books are about, but I encourage you to read them yourself. I presume you'll fall into two categories, you either don't bother, or you do and your life is changed.

Bryce and I have figured that our debts (minus the house payment coming up) will be payed off in the next 18 months. And our savings will be stocked with at least six months of fall-back money a year after that. And hopefully we can pay off the house in the next ten years.

If you are willing to live like no one else now, you WILL live like no one else later.

Wish us luck!

Deals of the day

2008-07-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today was town day and I found a couple of good deals!

Remember the great razor deals at the beginning of the month? Well I had a rain check and three coupons for Albertson's for the $.29 cartridge refills. They honor competitors coupons, so I hopped (skipped really) over to Fred Meyer's and grabbed three more coupons hanging below the refills. I got six boxes (4 refills in each) for $1.74! Great deal if I do say so myself! The normal retail price is $7.99 a box. (do i see your jaw hanging open yet?)

Next to Rite-Aid. They had Electrosol tabs on sale for $2.99, with an SCR of $2.00. I had a coupon for $2.25 off of a box, so spent $.74 out of pocket and will get $2.00 back! They also had Crest whitening expressions (vanilla mint mmm) on sale for $2.49, with an SCR of $2.49. I had a $.75 off coupon, so will make $.75 on the deal!

I also got two coupons for free dog food (5lbs) and cat food (4lbs) The nice stuff, Nutro, that you can get at Petco. Lucky pets!

At Fred Meyer I picked up my free 16oz coffee-mate liquid for my beloved lattes...mmm

frugality rocks!

2008-07-10T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we picked up two free kettle brand items. You know, the maker of the BEST CHIPS EVER! They sent me two coupons for free products, any price or size. We got some almond butter (mmm!) which we could NEVER afford in real life ($7.99!) and some of our favorite salt & fresh ground pepper chips! Grace loves these....she's my spicy girl. Thanks kettle!

With my faster connection, I'm downloading couponbar in my attempt to print internet coupons. I'm one of the unlucky few that has a lot of problems with it.

And for my coupon friends, and my MT fellow addicts, a HUGE LIST of printable coupons for you! (thanks Freebies4Mom!)

I haven't found much I'm interested in as far as coupons go this week. I've got enough toothpaste for a lifetime, so I'm passing up Rite Aid's free toothpaste SCR. I do need to check into Albertson's next week to claim my IOU's for the BIC soleil razors! ($.29 each!)

Btw, did I mention how much i LOVE albie's? They take all coupons from other stores. You just can't beat that. Is it terrible of me to find the coupons at Freddie's (they have the best hangers) and take them to Albie's? Nah, there is nothing wrong with being cheap! And we need to make every cent count.

Praise to the computer gods!

2008-07-10T10:49:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY have a faster connection! After three years at a mere 21.6bps (ya, that's bad) they hooked up the fiber optics today and got us up to 49.2. Laugh all you want! I'll stick with my 49.2 very happily thank you very much!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-07-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Four years today! Not so unbelievable, until I remembered that it means we've been together for NINE! Holy crap! That's most of a decade! Where has time gone? We spent last night reminiscing about our younger years. And how different our lives our now than we thought they'd be. We're so incredibly lucky to have our sweet girls, and each other.

And can I just say that we're SO going to miss Mary-Lou (that red-hot luscious beast you see above) She's going to a new home soon.

The 4th

2008-07-04T16:24:00.001-07:00

I used to hate the 4th of July. When I was six a spinner went around my ankle and burned my sock in half. As they ran me into the house my pinky got slammed in a metal door. Fun times. When I was 14 I tore my ligament on the 4th. There went my cheerleading career... (ha! I say this with good humor. I was a horrid cheerleader) And there was more. So anyways, the 4th is on record as being my least favorite day of the year.

But that all changed last year. (ahhh here I go. Eyes are tearing up) One year ago today we found out we were pregnant. Again. After 13 months of trying, we had a bunch of drugs, medical bills, and two miscarriages under our belt. When that faint (and i mean, hold it up to the light, I *think* I see a shadow faint) line appeared, we were terrified. And overjoyed. And terrified again. One year later, as I hold my perfect little girl in my arms (and I do mean perfect, this kid is a rare one!) I realize that the 4th is no longer a day I dread. It's a day that will always hold that precious moment where our little miracle made herself known. It's now one of my favorite days of the year. And as she stares up at me with those big blue eyes it's like I know her, and she knows me. One of those indescribable mama-feelings. I realize just how lucky I am.

And it's also abby's birthday, as Grace is currently reminding me. Off to make a whipped-cream-bacon topped dog bone dessert!

The wait...

2008-07-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's killing us! Only 8-9 more business days left for our appraisal to come through so that funds can be secured on the house! And we hope that there are funds left....this is torture! Our mantra of the summer? "Not if, but when. Not if, but when....." *sigh* happy thoughts for us please! :D

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

We're headed to Hood River for the fireworks show over the Columbia tonight. It's become a 4-year tradition and we love it! There is nothing like sitting along a great river and watching the fireworks reflect off of it's surface. Let's hope that Aylers isn't too scared!

Dinner tonight: Caribbean jerk chicken, fresh salad and onions from our garden, maybe some couscous, and red, white and blue jello!

Happy Birthday to Abby, she's 3 today! Grace has been giving her a "party" all day long. Poor Gail-dog!!

Tuesday's mad dash!

2008-06-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

Luckily it will just be the bug and I. Bear will be at Tiffany's house for the day. Here's a quick rundown of what I've got to accomplish in just a couple of hours (luckily all the stores are within a couple blocks of each other!)

Albertson's:

Buy 2 12pk pop (pepsi, coke or 7-up brands) get 3 free!
Tostitos are BOGO, so we'll be stocking up for salsa season!
Ball park franks (good for BBQ season!) are BOG2! Wow!
Boca burgers (yum!) are 2/$3 with two $1off coups I have
100ct tea is $1.00 (we go through tons in the summer!)
Bisquick and Betty Crocker brownie/cake mixes are 4/$2 with two $1off/2 coups
Soleil Razors (yup...the same ones as before!) are $4.29, and I have three more $4off coups! That's $.29each! And regular price is like 8 bucks. That makes 2 razors and 5 refills (4ct each) we'll have gotten by Tuesday for a whopping $6.83!!!
Dannon Activia & DanActive 4pks are 2/$5, I have 2 $1off coups, so 2/$3, or $.37 each piece.
S & W beans are $.50 each. We use a lot of black beans on salads!
Progresso bread crumbs are $1.00
Redbox (inside Albie's) Free movie with one of my numerous free codes (email me if you want one!)

Fred Meyer:

Nature's Way Rice-a-roni pasta mixes are between $.97 and $1.10, and I have three or so $.50off coups making them between $.47 and $.60 each.
Ortega diced green chilies are on sale 4/$5, and I have two (ok, a lot more than 2!) $1off/2 coups, making them 4/$3, or $.75 each. We love these!
WestSoy Organic Tofu will be the same price as non-organic with the $1/off coup I pulled off the packages. *blush* (yes, I went through the store peeling coups off of products I planned on buying so I could remember the deals!)
Free pet stuff again! Another free Meow Mix Market cup, and a Healthful life 16oz pouch for free this week!
Going to check the price on Wholesome Goodness Cat & Dog food, I have $2/off and $3/off coups on 3lb or 3.6lb or more.
Santa Cruz organic lemonade and limeade, all flavors, are $.99 this week!

Walgreen's (slim pickings for the July FAR!):

Hebert's Fully Loaded chocolate bar is FAR this month (mmm...goodies for mama!)
And now for my diaper deal, as seen on Babycheapskates this morning (see bloglist) You can read the whole report, with details of how to do it here. It boils down to paying $4.47 out-of-pocket (OOP) for three jumbo bags of Walgreen's brand diapers, and then getting a $5 register reward back, so you actually MAKE money on them. Craziness? Watch me! I'm going back twice. Yes, we use cloth on Aylers, but we do use disposables at night (the girl pees gallons I swear.) So we'll be set on dipes for a very long time. (sara, if you want some let me know!)
With our two $5 rr, and $2 rr from last week (or $12 total) we're going to buy a bunch of vitamins, which are BOGO, that we just ran out of. Great, isn't it?

Rite-Aid:

Oxy Face Wash is free after Single Check Rebate

Phew! And then after all of that we have normal grocery shopping to do! Which means perusing the isles looking for sales, and then heading to Grocery Outlet to complete it all. REALLY glad that Grace won't be along for the ride on this one!

Hot hot hot! and other news

2008-06-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've got to post some pics this week of the girls...got some cute ones recently! It was HOT this weekend. Today got up to 100 here, which means town was around 105+! Ayla slept like 13 hours today, she just hates the heat. Grace took a loooong nap too, which is unusual for her. We got some summer storms late in the day that cooled things down, but we were a bunch of pathetic slugs all day.

In other news..... :) We're meeting with the USDA to sign papers and get our COE on Tuesday! The house is going through! Title should be opened this week, and site work will *hopefully* begin withing a couple of weeks. We're still kind of in shock lol.... Grace is going to the sitter on Tuesday and aylers and I will be meeting daddy and the USDA guy in the morning, then she and I are off to mommy's weekly deals (see the first post!)

by the way, does anyone want a really cute red heeler? She ate Grace's Dora slip n' slide while we were at church today. No, we didn't leave it out. She OPENED THE TOTE AND DRAGGED IT OUT HERSELF! Freaking houdini dog! Gaah!

Added a poll...

2008-06-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

On the left sidebar. I'm curious what all of you think about the potential for off-shore drilling here in the U.S. I won't open up a can of worms by telling you all what I think about it, but it does intrigue me to hear other views, so long as they're not rude. ;) Leave a comment and let me know!

First pool trip of the year!

2008-06-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

It wasn't overly warm for this time of year today...right around 80 degrees I think. But Grace was begging to go to the pool. She even insisted on wearing her "dotdot" swimsuit around all.day.long. Ugh.

So we met daddy in town, after picking up a swim dipe from Mo and Nolan (who is crawling at 6.5 months! This boy is a go-getter!)

Grace, who last year was terrified of the "big" pool, scared US this year. We were the only ones there (ya...it's a small town after all!) and she went WILD! She had it in her head that she could do it by herself without any help from mommy or daddy at all. She didn't want her floatie. She didn't want to hold onto the wall. She would just take off on her tippie toes across the pool to one of us. Even after practically coughing up a lung more than a few times by going under. She was relentless! So we may have to work on the whole "me-do" thing. I blame it all on Daddy...Grandma says he was the same way! (gee, as if we didn't see the similarities thus far!)

Ayla of course was her usual i-love-the-water-let-me-eat-my-hand self. And then:
OH-MY-GOD-THEWINDISGETTINGMEWAAAAAHH!
Yup. She was fine, chillin' like she usually does, until the breeze got her. She threw herself back, getting water in her face, inhaled it, and then couldn't figure out how to breathe because the wind was still "getting" her. *eye-roll goes here* Little miss dramatic!

So after all of THAT, we came home, made barbecued chicken pizza, and the Man and I had a drink. And then lattes. *teehee*

Scores of the day!

2008-06-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Lots of coupons on their way today from our favorite companies! And from Bordeaux's butt paste (love this stuff!) I got a HUGE package of samples in the mail! I was thinking...yeah, a few coupons and a sample maybe. So imagine my surprise when I got:

About thirty samples of the butt paste, with 3-4 applications in each! Great to share with friends!
A full-sized tube of their Baby Butt Smooth which I swear was divine intervention! Ayla's skin is very very dry right now and nothing I've found has worked. As soon as I put this stuff on, her skin was smooth and soft again within minutes! And it wasn't greasy feeling at all!
A full-sized tube of Baby Kisses, which is a great lip moisturizer! Of course, being the lip balm snobs that we are, Grace and I had to try this right away. She approved and so did I. Worked great after the pool today!
Two Butt paste bibs! These will be great for the diaper bag!

Thank you Blairex labs!

Today's theme: Handy tricks for moms

2008-06-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

You acquire a lot of "tricks" as a mom, and today I thought I'd share a few that I've learned, in the hopes that some of you will return the favor (if I ramble...it's the caffeine. See yesterday's post)

Summer fun:
We are cheap. If you know us, it's pretty obvious. But we still like to have fun, and want our girls' to feel the same. In lieu of fancy play equipment for Grace we have done some things to make her outdoor experience more enjoyable.

TIRES! Ask around, and I guarantee you can find as many old tires as your heart desires (ha I rhymed!) We even found an old tractor tire to use. We buried some in the ground, and they serve as "the pits" in which Grace is currently attempting to communicate with China (Kai-lan maybe? hehe) Others we buried part way at various depths to create "the snake" for all her hopping pleasure. The tractor tire is also set upright, and has become a make-shift slide (thank the stars she hasn't discovered hopping off of this one!)
Need a sandbox or water table? Ok, ours doesn't have sand or water (dirt instead), but it will! I promise! She won't always be a dirty mange. How about an under-the-bed storage box? They are low and large...perfect for little ones and easy to move about! And they even come with a lid to keep out wild critters (or cats in our case!) Bryce plans on making a mounting system for ours so that it will sit off the ground a bit.
Grace doesn't like the sprinkler. It scares her because it's a bit strong. I got an idea from another blog that works great! Take a sprinkler hose, you know, those really long ones, and run it across the yard. A lot less pressure and it won't soak your lawn! (we are actually able to use the soaker hoses because we have really strong pressure out here)
With the annual Rockaway beach trip approaching in a couple of months, I've been thinking of how awful it's going to be lugging that annoying beach gear around with an extra little one. I think I'm bringing one of Grace's sleds. It's not too big, so won't take up needed room in the van, but will come in SO handy on the beach to pull stuff around (including tuckered out little girls!)

Other random things:

Teething rail for the crib! Our crib, don't ask me why, didn't come with plastic rail guard. Grace chewed it to bits one cranky afternoon, and I've always wondered if the ingestion of crib chemicals led to her kookyness! Since then I've looked and looked for rails to put on it, and the only ones I've found are stick-on gummy covers. Which naturally have gotten horrible reviews! They do make tie-on guards made of things like terry or cotton knit, but they are upwards of $20...each side! So now that Ayla-girl is teething, I'm going to make one of those fabric ones myself, but with velcro! That way they'll be easy to remove and wash, and the crib won't get eaten alive again.

Does your purse look like World War 2 now that you're a mom? Even with a diaper bag, I always have to have the "little" things in my purse in case I need them in a store. You know, the teething tabs, tylenol, chapstick for Grace (I swear she didn't get it from me! *whistle*) etc, etc? I made up a few tiny drawstring bags out of muslin to organize things in there. I'm going to revise that and make some out of different prints for different things, like flowers for Ayla's things, crazy-tantrum-throwing frogs for Grace (ribbit!), etc. Since the system was started it's been a CINCH to find things!

Ok, more on this later!

Mmmmm....coffee!

2008-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

After nearly four years of generalized abstinence from caffeine (thanks, poor broken body! sheesh!) I've been enjoying my dear friend coffee again. There is nothing better than waking to the smell of fresh ground beans and the sound of the slow-drip.
But in the evenings my darling walking-dead husband needs something not only caffeinated (maybe an I.V. in the arm would suffice?) but cold to wake him up. And in comes the iced lattes. He's been making them himself out of my Lactaid (puke) and the espresso machine, using whatever we have to flavor them. Usually chocolate syrup of my beloved Coffee-mate (which he tries to sneak, in fear of a rabid attack from a caffeine-crazed housewife) After reading the MotherLoad(see sidebar), I was lead to this site on how to make your own coffee syrup!

I made two flavors, vanilla and almond, but I used 2tbsp flavoring in each instead of the recommended 1tsp. We like our flavors strong, because we make BIG lattes (think 7-11 big!)
Each batch made a jelly jar full, enough for more than a few pick-me-ups. I intend on making more of this in flavors like lemon and orange for Grace's new snowcone machine.

And here is a recipe for our iced lattes:
Fill a large(no, really) cup with ice. Pour cooled coffee (or espresso for those of you wanting more of a buzz) to the half-way point (or be like Bryce and fill it to within an inch of the rim of a 24oz cup) Add about 3tbsp for a really big cup, or less for smaller. Experiment with what you like. Mix flavors too! Fill rest of the way with milk, then stir. Enjoy!

For a blended latte, you can fill ice cube trays with a pot of strong brewed coffee (after it has cooled of course!) and freeze. When you are ready to make a latte, simply take them out, add your flavoring and milk, and blend! Lots better than those nasty-sweet lattes that cost you your first born at Starbuck's, or the chemical-full-whole-milk-infused cups of death from McDonald's.

Now go! Go make some lattes! (or in mom-E's case, drink the one you already have in your hand *wink*)

Me? Cheap? Why yes I am.

2008-06-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

No surprise there, right? Well I've been busy.
I've started clipping coupons, and have been obsessively prowling the 'net looking for ways to score the following:
a. free samples
b. printable coupons (and my frustrations with this would take up the whole page)
c. ways to get free or very cheap products at stores
d. companies to write with praise in exchange for free samples and coupons (LOL!)

It's amazing what you can get with minimal effort. Here is a run-down of the last few days:
Riteaid:
Has the single-check-rebate program, with FREE after rebate items each week.
*I spent 27.97 on a Conair hair clipper set, Crest night care toothpaste and a hair product. The toothpaste and hair stuff was free after rebate, the clipper set I'll get $5 back.

Walgreen's:
Has the EasySaver program with various "free after rebate" items along with coupons and rebates galore each month.
Spent $25.46. I got:
*2 Theragran multi-vits-130ct (Buy one get one free-BOGO) for $4.99, and there is a full rebate on it, so two for free!
*Walgreen's calcium chewies-75ct, were $5.99, free after rebate (FAR). Ecotrin 80mg was FAR as well.
*I also got three boxes of cereal (fiber one and honey nut cheerios) on sale 3/$7. You get a $2 "register reward (rr) for use on your next purchase so they were 3/$5. I had two $1/off coupons and one .50/off coupon, so they ended up being $.83/box! Grace loves the cheerios (honey!) and the fiber one is good in granola and cookies!

Fred Meyer:
*4 free cans of catfood at 0.50 each (TryMeFree-TMF-coupons)
*Two boxes Near East couscous, on sale 2/$5, I had two .50/off coupons, so 2/$4(bryce LOVES this stuff!)
*Thomas Bagels were on sale 2/$6 (LOVE the Everything bagels!) I had a buy 3 get $3/off coupon, so they were 3/$6! Not much different than store brand prices, but SO much better tasting!
*Tums Quikpak, 24ct $4.59, free after mail-in rebate form
*Excedrin back and body, 24ct $3.69, free after mail-in rebate form
*BIC soleil razor refills (4ct) on sale for $4.99, had $4/off coupon, so $.99
*BIC soleil razor on sale for $5.99, had another $4/off coupon, so $1.99 (these are regularly around $8/each)
I also had a surprise with this one! I earned $1/off next purchase(anything) from Excedrin!

Safeway:
*grapes on sale 2lbs/$1.99
*Free attune bar with coupon they sent
*and asked about Starbucks coffee for soldiers program. (emailing them today...for my brother)

I've also been emailing companies with praise, and have gotten these responses so far:
From Boudreaux's butt paste:
"Dear Jill:
Thank you for taking the time to comment regarding Butt Paste. We'd be
happy to send a few complimentary samples for your friends. We'll
also include a tube of the new Baby Kisses and Baby Butt Smooth for your little girls to try."
From StonyField Farms (great organic dairy products):
"Hello Jill ,
We are thrilled to hear that you and your family love our products and
we appreciate your support! We have placed some coupons in the mail for
you to use the next time you purchase our products.
Sincerely,
The folks at Stonyfield Farm"
From Coffee-mate (man I'm addicted!):
"Thank you again for your feedback. In appreciation of your loyalty, we will be following up
via regular mail with a complimentary coupon. Please allow seven to ten business days for receipt. We appreciate your interest and hope you will continue to use and enjoy our products. Please visit our website often for the latest information on Nestlé products and promotions."

I'll continue posting good deals I've found! It's fun coming home with a bag of free stuff!

Fun in the (lack of) Sun and more!

2008-06-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

Despite the absurdly cold summer thus far, we've managed to have a blast the last few weeks! Here are a few of the little princesses (ha!):

And to leave with two for the memory books:

New pics of the girls

2008-06-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

First off, some soakers that my lovely friend michelle made for Aylers. Aren't they darling? I can't decide which one to have her first pics in!

Some smiles from Wednesday. She's a ham now!

And hooray! She discovered her thumb! Binky isn't being used as much anymore. :)

Cheese-O girly number one. Playing dress-up as usual!

With Maisy Mutt.

One of her first captured smiles.

And one of the dipes I made for her a few weeks ago...isn't she cute?!

Random pics!

2008-04-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Our new couches! I got a great deal on them and got to practice my bargaining skills. They were listed for $1200(their final final going out of business price lol), I got them down to $950! They're a lot bigger than we originally thought lol, but we like them. :) (thanks J&E for being our delivery service...we promise *wink* that you won't have to move them out of here)

My girls (I swear she isn't REALLY evil...just likes to act it)

My aylers (who is currently licking my elbow...yummy!)

Ayla with our midwives Lynette(holding her) and Yvette. We love them dearly and will miss seeing them monthly!

Some of the cheese-O:

Baptism!

2008-04-29T11:15:00.001-07:00

It went very well! Considering we all went to bed late and had to be at mass at 8:30am!
Aunt Meghan is the godmother, and Father Fabian is the priest that baptized her (only his second baptism!) There was a shower for Ayla and breakfast after mass in the hall, and there were quite a few people there! It was so sweet of everyone to come and show how much they cared, and Ayla got so many outfits I don't think I'll ever have to do laundry again! Auntie Karen outdid herself yet again lol, and not only made A. a beautiful quilt(still need to get a pic up of it), but a beautiful knit(or crocheted?) blanket and Grace a matching mini-quilt for her dollies! (in addition to the clothes and the doll lol) We also got a bunch of gift cards for fred meyer and joanns! (and mama got a massage....thank you thank you special "friend!") Thank you everyone!

(l to r) Father Fabian, Aunt Meghan, Mommy and Ayla, Daddy, Sister Patricia)

Aunt maymay and Aylers

Aunt Karen getting down and dirty with the girly

Gorgeous hand-pieced sunbonnet sue quilt from Josie!

The little macs.... (l to r) Xander, Ryan and Ayla, Grace, Hayden)

Alex and Daddy (what a little ham!)

To Great-Grandma's house we go!

2008-04-29T11:07:00.001-07:00

After the parade we headed up the river to Great-Grandma Doris' house. It was a great visit! Grace slept on daddy for a while when we first got there (kid was beat after all those tootsie rolls!) and Ayla enjoyed meeting her namesake. The marie in Ayla's name comes from Great-Grandma's middle name (also marie). Marie was her aunt, a nurse, who helped deliver her at home! How fitting, huh? And we didn't even know all of this until after A. was born!

We got some great generation shots, and one lovely one of our little plumber.

Cherry Festival!

2008-04-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

That time of year again! The annual Cherry Festival came and went this past weekend, and once again it was beautiful just in time for the parade! It was nearly 80 degrees and we got our first mini-roasts from the sun. Our "shy" little girl decided that she wasn't going to be outdone on the candy runs, and walked over and stole some candy from the neighboring kids more than a few times. (Mommy was a bit aggressive too lol) The fatty just slept the whole time. Here are a few pics. Enjoy the one of the painted dogs....that was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!

gifts from the heart

2008-04-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Some adorable things that my friend Michelle knit up for our princess. The soaker is almost too tight and I'm devastated! The hat we just got in the mail and adore it. I'm going to have to have her make some more! Thanks michelle, we love them!

Some baby pics!

2008-04-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

she's here!

2008-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ayla Rose-Marie Macnab was born March 22nd at 5:04 am after a four-hour labor. She was 9lbs 3oz, and 21.5 inches! A lot bigger than we expected, even at 6 days late! Here are some pics!

More pics while I can!

2008-03-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

A few more of Gracie taken yesterday:

Been a while!

2008-03-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some new Grace pics! Hopefully we'll have new baby pics very very soon as I'm due in 6 days!

November and birthday

2007-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

Late pics!

Playing in the leaves

Smiley girl hamming it up

Catching snowflakes

Picture People portraits

Alex helping Grace open presents

Aren't they adorable?!

Mmmmm cake! (frosting rather!)

Grace and daddy

Alex wants more cake!

In bed with all of her babies

Decorating the tree

Lots of overdue Gracie pics!

2007-10-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma Lori's visit and the pumpkin patch:

Carving pumpkins:

Dancing with Uncle Blake:

Being Grace:

It's a girl!

2007-10-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

First one is of Ayla looking at us the day we found out she was a girl.

20 week belly shots, with some Halloween fun!

Some really late Labor Day pics!

2007-09-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

We've been really busy with the garden and trying to paint the house, so have been neglectful in both taking and posting new pictures! This month will be better! Promise! :D

Showing us her "smile" at the beach house:

Playing on the beach with cousin Alex (who just turned 1 on Sept. 4th!)

With Uncle Josh:

With Daddy on the beach, running straight to the waves as usual!

Rocks and seashells make great memories!

With Mommy on the beach, wave hopping!

At the zoo, looking at the elephants:

Playing with Daddy and the silkies!

Pics from the ER

2007-09-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics we got of Sprout in the ER Saturday night. I couldn't believe how much our little one was moving!

Back. You can see the head on the right and the little white line (spine) along the bottom. i love that you can see the little hand and arm on the top!

Face on the right. You can see the little eye sockets and mouth, although Bryce and I agree it is more than slightly alien looking lol!

The whole body. Profile of the face on the right, and you can see the beginning of the femur on the left along with the rest of the leg. Look at that little budda belly!

Nice profile of the face. Right before this one was snapped we saw the baby sucking it's fingers!

A new pic of sprout!

2007-08-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here is sprout at 10 weeks. Forgive the blobbishness! S/he wouldn't cooperate and kept turning away. You are seeing most of the back in this pic (it's a 3d ultrasound) Heartbeat was 164, so I'm betting girl! And grace calls the baby Ayla, which will be her name if she's a girl, so it must be true. lol
(ok, adding this the next day...forgive my pregnancy brain. I had sprout flipped upside down! Here is the REAL pic lol)

Stunt double at age twenty months

2007-08-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

She's lost her tiny little mind! I thought girls were supposed to be into dolls, and tea parties, and all that stuff! Nope, this is what we caught Grace doing tonight. (that table is very wobbly and about 2.5 feet tall)

And one of sprout, taken today. Growing like crazy! I'm HUGE, and not even 10 weeks!

Grace and her new pool! (and other pics)

2007-08-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

Grace and dad in her new pool!

Mom and Sprout get to play too. :)

Grace and Jeffrey, the boy next door that gave her the new pool.

Grace "helping" pick the garden. She loves her broccoli!

And some garden pics:

Roma tomatoes (we have three or four of these plants)

Cherry tomatoes. These are about 6 feet tall and just laden with tomaters. We have about six or seven of these type.

There are five Brandywine, a pear, a jellybean, some early girl, patio prize, and a few more full of maters. We're kind of getting overrun... lol.

Sprout and it's home.

2007-08-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

We had an early ultrasound of Sprout on the 27th to make sure everything was going as planned. S/he had a healthy heartbeat and was a perfect size. We go back on the 20th, when I'm 10 weeks, to have another looksie. Hopefully we'll see a little jumping bean(sprout) lol.

And here is the belly! It feels like I'm growing so fast this time. I guess a combination of losing some weight and having been very recently pregnant makes things all that much more stretchy!

8 weeks (now)

and for comparison, here is two weeks ago at 6 weeks:

A silly pic of Grace

2007-07-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

helping daddy wash the subaru... (the bikini is just for you G'ma Mac lol)

Welcome!

2007-07-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

The other blog was getting overcrowded with pictures. So pictures will be here, for the most part, and chatter will be there. :) Not to say that I won't mix it up a bit!