Santa Claus Came to Town

Self explanatory. Little Man got what he asked for. A yo-yo, red Cars cup, a little stuffed puppy, and a stuffed cat.

Look what the hubby got off my phone for me. Example: one of those times you wish you had a good purse camera. Still a picture full of amazing memories. This was at the Shoney's in Fayetteville, at about oh, 11:00 pm. Tiff, Missinator, Jacob and Nic were with us also. Fun, fun memories.

Playing with the new toy for Christmas. I wanted a small camera for my purse, for those times I don't have my Nikon with me. SLR, does not equal purse size. Anyway, the parents got me this great little (and I mean little) Nikon S570. It even does video. Wow, cool. Perfect purse size for those times you just really wish you had your camera.

Kid-O's Vision

Kid-O thought that the area under the TV needed to be a fireplace. So she proceed to make one of construction paper, with logs and flames. Then the stockings had to be hung. After that, she looked and decided that there was a need for a Christmas tree to finish out her vision. So, Saturday evening we ventured to Wally World to purchase her a 4 foot tree. Her and the brothers decorated it. Now she believes the vision is complete. What do you think?

Red Rooster

Red Rooster week is here and so much to do. Get my stuff together, print photos, buy supplies. Lots and lots to do, but I can't wait. I think I will have to not transcribe any after tomorrow.

Update of the fast...

Well, we are doing better kind of sort of, but we still don't like it. We know God is in control and He will continue to carry us through, even though it has gotten more difficult with each passing day, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and the Hubby.

So I've already called AT&T, Nintendo, and Knology this morning. Now off to transcribe two files and then clean house. Wooh, I'm already tired.

Results

The Boobs are just fine.

How do you like that for a whole post?

Mmmmm...

Headed for a Diagnostic Mammogram this morning. Sure that will be lots and lots of fun to have my boobs flatten in to pancakes for how ever long it takes. Can't wait. I'll let you all know how it comes out.

Silly Quiz...

Take the Quiz here!

Coupon Saving Update...

So I did not get around to posting my couponing update last month, up I have managed to get October's up plus my overall total since I started couponing back in April. Remember my budget is $300.00 per two weeks. So since April the amount I am allowed to spend is $4500.00.

So here are the totals:
Monthly Totals (October 09)
Total before savings $812.01
Coupon total $188.23
Advertised savings $225.42
Total out of pocket $398.36
Spent of total 49.10%


Totals (Since April)
Total before savings $7,245.90
Coupon total $1,753.13
Advertised savings $1,372.38
Total out of pocket $3,807.07
Spent of total 52.40%

So as you can tell I am inside my allowed budget by $692.93. So your next question, what have we done with that money. Well, we do what we want with it. Eat out, save it, buy Christmas gifts, pay for Red Rooster, etc. Just whatever we feel like doing with the money. As I said in another post, I am inside my budget which is fabulous, but the greatest part of us is that I used to actually spend the total before savings. We are even eating even better than we were. I love to try new recipes which usually requires none staples, therefore, increasing your cost. Well, before couponing we would eat two maybe three new meals in a two week period. This two weeks, twelve meals.

Pork chop with apples
Beef and sausage stew
Chicken and red bean tostadas
Slow cooker Ratatouille
Beef Fajita stir-fry
Chicken marsala
Shrimp scampi
Oven fried chili chicken
Mini penne zucchini and sausage pasta
Gaucho Chimichurri steak
Tenderloin with black bean salsa
Shrimp Po-boys

Yes, you see steak, shrimp, pork tenderloin (center cut), and pork chops, not just the standard ground beef and chicken. Couponing is so worth all the work and effort. By the way, I have 24 bottles of laundry soap, lots of toilet paper, more shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, tampons,and shaving cream to last a year along with 20 + boxes of cereal. And I have given lots of stuff away.

My children love this couponing thing too, becuase they get more of the snacks that they love. Kid-O is even beginning to figure out you can get things for free. I gave her my coupon for a free bath and body item no purchase required. Couponing is trickling over into everything else. Example, I went to Children's Place, bought two pairs of blue jean (2/$28) and a bath robe for Kid-O for Christmas ($24.50). I used my 20% coupon on the total, then gave the cashier my $20 off $40 purchase and got all three items for $23.00. Can you say fabulous?

A little getaway...

During fall break, the hubby and I left the kids with grandma and grandpa for about three day. It was really great to get away, even if it was for all a couple of days. We were able to get a little bit of Christmas shopping done, as well as have a great time together. One day before a little bit of shopping we went this place call Alligator Alley. It was fun and interesting.

By the way, I don't want this guys job. Although, it looked like he was enjoying the gators.

He is the hubby holding a little gator. We only took this picture for the kids, then we forgot to show it too them, so I guess you guys get to see it. It was wonderful spending alone time with the hubby. Eating what we wanted, when we wanted, and not having to stop to go potty every hour. It was fabulous. On night you even order Chinese take out to the hotel room. It just doesn't get much better than that.

I'm 3

Mini-Me turned 3 badck on October 5th. I'm a bit behind it you haven't noticed. Anyway, I thought I would just upload a few pictures from his birthday. It fell during fall break, so we were in Mississippi for his birthday this year.
Mini-me got Mack and Chick Hick's semi trucks for his birthday. He loves things that he can stick other things in side of. So of course you have to have Lightening McQueen and Chick Hick to put in the semis.
Ice cream cake... Well, there's really nothing else to be said about that.

Homemade pizza. It's a toss up between the homemade ice cream cake and homemade pizza. Mini-Me seemed to enjoy both.

Fast...

Update: Day 12 or 40
Scripture is how it is going...

1 Corinthians 10:12-13
"So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall? No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a wya out so that you an stand up under it."

Build-A-Bear

So for each of the grandchildren's third birthday, Mamaw takes them to Build a Bear. Mini-Me picked the monkey, which is fitting being that Mini-Me is a bit of a Monkey himself. Anyway, he had alot of fun building his monkey, especially the bathing part. He was a bit bothered by the fact that the fake hair drier did not work.
He was a lot of fun to take. Kid-O, crying and whine the whole time. It was too loud according to her. Little Man, well he's a down to business kind of kid. Task, check mark, done. Mini-Me took his time in each spot doing everything they told him to do and having lots of fun with it.
By the way, he doesn't like stickers on his clothes, they go on your belly.

Trouble

So Mini-Me got into trouble a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember what he did, but anyway, I sent him to his room. So he got up on his bed and fell asleep. I though he had covered himself up with all the books before he went to sleep. But the truth came out later. His sister decided he needed to be covered up with all the alphabet books. We knew he likes to read, but this beat all.

I'm 5

So Little Man turned 5 on September 28th. I just posted the pictures of his favorite gifts. First off, he loved his new shoes. Which by the way, he asked for. I thought that a little odd, but hey, he is my kid.
Another one of his favorite gifts was his five dollar bill from his Uncle Scott. He says he is going to buy a red cup, but he hasn't yet.
Then his Mamaw got him Mario Party for his DS. I have to say, Mario Party is a pretty fun game. Little Man and I play it a lot.
Then of course the cake. Which the ice cream store messed up, so Mamaw and I did a little re-decorating of the cake. Little Man like it much better when we were done with it.

First Day of Preschool

Okay, so this post is almost two months behind the first day of preschool, but I still wanted to post it.

This was Little Man's first day. Which by the way, he loves preschool. The first week, he was upset because there was no school on Saturday. I'm sure that won't be the case next week when we hit Kindergarten, but I can always hope.

All Aboard

So over a year ago, my dad, Papaw gave Little Man his old Lionel Train that he got when he was about five or six. This train is about 58 years old. Anyway, the hubby and I were going to get it up in the old house, but then we decided to sell, so that never happened. As finally, the hubby has been able to find time to get the train up. I think if could about a month of working along for a couple of hours several times a week.

Anyway, this is the finish project. It looks great and the picture just does not do it justice at all because you can't see the whole room. But anyway, the train track goes all the way around Little Man's room which the bridge going across the door way at an angle. Hanging the bridge was the most difficult part, because we wanted it to look nice, but be structural sound, since the train is so old. Also figuring out how to put a fence around the train that looks nice, but yet again was functional was difficult. We needed the fence because there is no way to regulate the speed of the train, so we were concerned about derailments with a five year old, seven feet off the floor with a 58 plus year old train. Imagine that.
Anyway, here is a picture of Little Man and the hubby playing. I think they are both quite happy.

So much to post...

Just some pictures of the kids. They are growing up quick.

Here's Mini-me and Little Man. Mini-me turned 3 October 5th, Little Man turned 5 September 28th. I've got birthday pictures to post, if I make it that far.

Mini-Me, knowing he is cute.

Little Man hamming it up for the camera. He has now entered that phase of goofy smiles. Hope it doesn't last long.

Kid-O and Little Man being silly.

Kid-O, beautiful. We're hoping for awkward, not embarassing teenage years, then into a beautiful women inside and out.

Day 2

So day 2 of the 40 day fast has begun, what had God shown me already?

Let me start with, we are not fasting food; however, many are on this journey. For the hubby and I, we both truly believe that God was telling us to fast something else, other than food. Something for us that would be a great sacrifice for us. Which by the way, we are only on day two and God is carrying us. Fasting is to give up what is a sacrifice for you. For some it is food, for some spending, for some watching TV, it depends on the person or people. Fast what God leads, then you know you are in His will.

First, He will carry me and the hubby through.

Secondly, we are reading one chapter a day starting with Jonah to the end of the Old Testament. There are exactly 40 chapters. Last night reading the first chapter of Jonah, which I have read several times, God gave me something different. It's found in Jonah Chapter 1 verses 5, 6. It reads:

"Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.

So the captain approached him and said, "How is it that you are sleeping? Get up,call on your god Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish."

So where do we see such a response in the New Testament? Can anyone guess? You got it Matthew Chapter 8: 24,25 along with the other gospels as well.

"Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

Anyway, nothing profound, just found it interesting that Jonah obviously trusted and had faith, otherwise he would not have been asleep as Christ did.

??? Balance ???

I completely agree with Going Goofy. It is difficult to find a balance between work, home, children, etc. Most of you know I started transcribing for an insurance company several months ago, to make saving for that family ski vacation that the Hubby would like to that a reality. As you can tell, no post in one month, finding a balance is nearly impossible.

If I work around the house getting things done, I'm not transcribing and falling behind. If I am transcribing, I'm not getting things done around the house. I have tried to cut back to three hours per day, but it still seems impossible to get it all done. Along with taking kids to school and preschool, doctors appointments, picking kids up, grocery shopping. Or I get done all the things I need to get done, but not the things I want to get done. Example: blogging, scrapbooking, painting, etc.

So, It is very difficult to find that balance. You don't want to let anyone down, so you try to do it all. Needless to say, I have seriously cut back on the amount of transcribing I am doing. From about 150 to 200 pages per two weeks to around 100 pages per two weeks. Which is still a lot of listening to people and typing what they say. Like you know like what I mean like. HAHA.

I have so much I want to post with no time to do it. I guess I am going to have to take another day and just marathon post as many post as I can.