Sunday, November 28, 2010

Adventures in Mommyhood-The Poop Incident

Warning to those who don't have children. You may not want to read any further.

Just recently, Brylee started enjoying showers just as much as baths. I bathe her every other day, so on "bath days" I sometimes just put her in the shower with me to "kill two birds with one stone." A couple weeks ago was one of those days. I was actually questioning whether or not I was going to put her in that day because she had not had one of her daily bowel movements. I went ahead though, and braved it! I was busy doing my thing and Brylee's was busy doing her thing playing with her bath toys when all of a sudden she stands up and she gets the "poop face" going. Turning red, eyes watering, and grunting. Yall know what face I'm talking about! That's when I began to freak out. I started looking for something, anything to try to catch these turds! I thought for a second that I would get out and get some TP and catch it but I was scared I'd be too late. Plus geez, I was soaking wet. So I just quickly went for MY wash rag and held it under her booty. Well I'm guessing my freaking out gave her what you would call "stage fright" and she didn't do anything. I quickly finished up my shower, skipping the whole shaving legs thing! Thank God she didn't do anything the rest of the time. We were safe!

That's not the end, my friends!

Yesterday was another one of those let's "kill two birds with one stone" kind of days. Again, one of those days where she had not pooped for the day. AND once again, I went ahead and braved it. Oh silly silly me. This time I wasn't so lucky. And this time, she gave me no "poop face" warning. I finished up my shower and then washed and rinsed her. All was fine and dandy! I turned the water off thinking "We did it once again. We're safe!" I wrapped her up in her towel and picked her up and she decided to lay her head on me, and she was just so still and quiet (what I thought was just cuddling). Which she doesn't do often after bath time because she hates being wrapped up in a towel. So I thought "Aw, so sweet!" That was until I smelled something. I said out loud "Girl, do you have gas? Let's hurry up and get a diaper on before you do something!" WAAAAAAY too late for that Lisa! We stepped out of the shower, I looked back and there was her surprise loaf she left Mommy on the shower floor! And apparently, stupid me, didn't have her booty covered up well enough with the towel that she was leaving a couple poop trails on the way to get her cleaned up and a diaper on her! After doing that and then getting the floor cleaned up, I noticed I had dried poop marks on my thigh, I guess where she was leaving poop trails and it hit my leg and I never felt it. Aaaaaaah the wonderful joys of Mommyhood. I say it often and I will say it again, I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world!

On another note, my sweet girl woke up that night (at midnight) throwing up! It broke my heart. This was her first time to throw up and I'm sure she was more scared than anything because she didn't know what was happening to her. I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband who actually cleaned up the first puke, it being the biggest of them all, all over our living room floor.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Adventures in Couponing



I was hoping to get under $10 on these items but an Herbal Essence coupon didn't work because I had to buy 2 and I also had 2 battery coupons and only one worked. Which by the way, something I learned on this trip is when you go to give your coupons, make sure your best ones are on top in case some don't work. I had 2 battery coupons and only one worked. $1.00 off and $1.50. Well the $1.00 was scanned first because it was on top so the $1.50 wasn't able to scan.

Total with CVS card and coupons: $9.99 plus tax.

Glade Refill on sale:
$1.49
-2.00 off printable coupon
-1.00 off clipped coupon
-1.51 Yay for credits!

Glade Plug In on sale
$6.00
-3.00 off printable coupon
-3.00 off clipped coupon
FREE!

Johnson and Johnson BOGO 50% off
$4.49
$2.24
-1.00 off clipped coupon
5.73

Rimmel Makeup BOGO 50% off
$4.19
$2.10
-2.00 clipped coupon
4.29

Duracell Batteries on sale
$5.99
-1.00 clipped coupon
4.99

Herbal Essence on sale
$2.99
no coupon
2.99

I also had some CVS coupons:
$3.00 off purchase of $15 or more
$1.50 CVS bucks
$2.00 CVS bucks

Total Savings: $30.13 My receipt doesn't say percentage at the bottom.

If you see how I could have done better, PLEASE let me know! I was hoping to have some PRINTABLE battery coupons. Anyone know where I can find some? I already have plenty of clipped ones but would love to stack.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Couponing

Okay, so it turns out, some people actually read my blog! Haha! I had several people asking me different questions from my last post on my first adventure in couponing. I'm glad they asked me because I totally meant to put some links on there of some sites I use that help me out.

These first 2 are good sites that help you out in finding the good deals. They post things numerous times just in one day so I try to check them out every day. I have gotten several freebies all because of them. Just got some Kotex in the other day along with a cute little box of Kleenex! I'm awaiting a sample of coffee and some toothpaste now!

Hip2Save
Southern Savers

Here are a few sites I use to print out coupons.
Penny Pincher Gazette
Shortcuts
Coupons

Kroger also has printable coupons along with their loadable ones that you load onto your Kroger card. For those of you who use Target a lot, they have printable coupons on there as well. Those can only be used at Target though.

This is also another neat site that my MIL told me about though I haven't tried it out just yet.
Grocery Wiz

Someone also asked me about my coupon book. You can get the little baseball card pockets at Wal Mart in the very front where you find "As Seen On TV" stuff. You can do it any way you like but I organize mine by brand in ABC order of course. My sis-in-law said that that's the way the coupon queen suggested. For example, I put my Mini Wheat coupons in the K's (Kellogs) instead of the M's. I keep all non-food items seperate. I have a toiletries/bath section, Makeup/drug section, paper section, Brylee section!, cleaning supplies section, Home section (battery coupons, etc), CVS section, Eating out section, and Retail section. I always keep this in my car because I always hate when I'm out somewhere and realize I had a coupon at home I could have used. I used to be the world's worst about that!


If there's an easier way that yall do it, let me know! I'd love to hear! I'm not a pro and I could actually be doing it the hard way! Who knows! I know when my sister-in-law went to hear the Coupon Queen she had some handouts with great tips along with a list of coupon sites. As soon as I can get those from her, I will post them.

Also stay tuned for my adventure at CVS yesterday! I got a FREE glade plug in!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Adventures in Couponing

I have recently taken up couponing. A friend at church kind of influenced all of us girls with her amazing "skills"!! Haha But thanks to her, we're all doing it now and saving the "moolah"". I've always clipped coupons but I am now learning that I had no idea what I was doing! I would clip some coupons here and there and would save 4 dollars or something at Kroger and thought I was doing good. HAH! Well now I'm learning how to use them. For instance, I had NO clue I could use more than one coupon on just one item. This is called "stacking" and you can actually use up to 3!!!! Hello, why hasn't anyone told me this before! So now I've got my super huge notebook and my ten thousand hundred coupons inside it and I take this everywhere with me now! Yes, call me a dork if you want. It's okay because I'm saving money! And I've really seen a difference too. Since Ben and I have been married (4 years now), I have always struggled when it came to groceries. I've always spent more than I should and Ben will be the first to tell you that. The monthly average I typically spend is $400-500 which I think is just outrageously ridiculous! This month is half-way over and so far I've only spent $160. While the discounts in couponing has helped play a big part in that, it has helped that I am also more aware of what I buy. It kills me now to buy something without a coupon. Of course, sometimes I don't really have a choice in the matter, but more than likely I'm not going to buy that box of crackers that we really didn't even need! Here was my first true coupon adventure a couple weeks ago. Here is what I got:

All for $4.59!
How did I do it?

V8 Juice w Kroger card was on sale $2.49
-$.50 clipped coupon doubles
$1.49

Crescent Rolls w KC 10/$10
I had lots of coupons for when
you purchase 2 cans
$4.00
-$.50 loadable coupons
-$.50 another loadable coupon!!
-$.50 printable coupon which doubles!
-$.50 another which dbls!
-$.40 clipped coupon dbls
-$.40 another clipped dbls
-$.60 Yes, that's right I got credit!

Razors w KC were BOBO.
I had 2 coupons that were BOGO
too! 2 people I know of got
their razors absolutely free. I
didn't get so lucky though I'm
not complaining! Because I still
got a good deal. For some
reason my checker decided to
take $5.99 off the ones I was
purchasing.
$7.39
$6.99
-$5.99
-$5.99
$2.40 +2 Free!

And there you have it! My total savings was 91% -35.82

Monday, November 15, 2010

16 Months

Since it's been 2 months, I thought I'd give a little updating of Brylee. My little lady turned 16 months last week.
-She is one hot mess. Her uncle said the other day that she is a very strong-willed child. Oh boy! She definately knows what she wants and she will make it known.
-She is still loving books. I go around the house to pick up after her and all I pick up are books. She's going to be my little nerd! Her favorite book here recently is her Yankees 101 book. Every time I turn around she's handing it to me. I think she just wants to hear mommy sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
-She plays so well by herself most days.
-She loves italian food. Spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, you name it and she's going to tear it up!
-We have been having a hard time with vegetables but mommy found a way around that. Vegetable soup! I made it a couple weeks ago and she loved it. I think it's the tomato juice. So from now on, when I want her to eat vegetables, I'll just pour some tomato juice on it!
-She is your typical female because she LOVES shoes. Loves wearing them and LOVES saying the word. It's the cutest thing. She'll find one around the house, come find me and hold it up saying "Shoe! Shoe!" She also likes to try to wear my house shoes and today I found her in Daddy's closet trying to put on his shoes.
-Words-Momma, Dadda, Hi, Hello, bye, Nana (my mom), Dadoo (Ben's dad), baby, thank you,and bath, whoa, shoe(s), no, eyes, eat, more.
-She loves to dance and she's really quite good at it too! You know she's really "getting jiggy with it" when she starts shaking her head back and forth. It's the funniest thing.
-Along with a bath, she now enjoys taking showers. Ben or I will sometimes put her in with us. And she doesn't mind at all having the water spray in her face. She's going to love the water just like Daddy. She'll be skiing before we know it! lol
-She has recently started liking Veggie Tales after we went to go see them live and we bought her the "Sweet Pea Beauty" DVD. Though, her favorite it still "Yo Gabba Gabba"
-She loves closing doors. I can hardly have time to get anything out of the fridge or pantry before she's closing the door on me!
-I haven't counted her teeth lately mostly because it's just too hard and I don't want to get bit. So let's just say she's got lots! She has one molar all the way through and several others trying to make their appearance. Bring on the snotty nose and fussiness!
-Her favorite cabinet is the tupperware cabinet. The majority of my day is cleaning up tupperware off my kitchen floor!
-She likes playing the game: "Where's your ::body part::"? She can find her hair, head, ears, eyes, nose, tongue, belly, belly button, hands, fingers, elbow, knee, feet, and toes. The cutest is when she looks down for her belly button.
-She now holds Mommy and Daddy's hand when we pray and knows not to let go until the prayer is over. It is so sweet and a lot of times I find myself opening my eyes to take a peak at her doing it and I can't help but tear up!
-She is starting to understand commands and it's so fun to see this. We will be reading a book and I'll tell her to go put it up and get another one and she does exactly that. I will say "Let's go change your diaper" and she goes straight to the spot where we change her and lays down. It's so cute! And her favorite, "Let's go take a bath!" and she practically sprints to the bathroom!!
-She is becoming so independent. She no longer needs help getting out the door that leads out to the garage. Where she used to hold out her hand for Mommy's, she has figured out to hold on to the door frame and step down. Then she heads straight to the other side of Mommy's car and waits at the door for me to get her in. ::sniff:: Bittersweet! It's nice that I no longer have to make several trips carrying her out first and then going back and getting everything. But it makes me sad that she no longer needs Mommy's help for some things. She's getting so big too fast!

Sometimes it's so time consuming to add pictures to my blog so for any pictures, visit our shutterfly site! Halloween pictures to come soon :-)

Friday, November 12, 2010

50 Free Shutterfly Holiday Cards

First of all, I love Shutterfly! I use them for my share site, cards, photo books and the most recent, Brylee's 1st birthday invitations. I always love the great deals (sometimes free) that they are throwing my way. Last year, they sent me a code for a FREE photo book. So I was able to make Brylee a 1st Christmas photo book. We send out Christmas cards every year, so when my friend, Audra filled me in on this little secret for bloggers getting free holiday cards, I jumped all over it. So thank you Audra, and more importantly, Shutterfly! Blogger friends, if you haven't heard about this great deal, here's where you can check it out-Great offer!

I was so excited to see all of their great and super cute cards this year. There are so many to choose from. I am a bad decision maker so it's going to be hard but here are a few of my faves so far!
1.) Picture Tree I like this one because of all the spots I can put Brylee Kate's sweet face!

2.) Sharing the Love Christmas Again, another card with plenty of spots for pictures. Plus I like the different spots to write in our own things.

3.) With Glee Christmas This one is just so much fun! I love the cute font.

Once again, thank you Shutterfly for this awesome offer!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Fall Vacation

It's been exactly a month today since I last blogged. I guess you could say I've been in sort of a "blogging slump". In my last blog I mentioned how Ben was going to have surgery on his fractured tooth and how we wouldn't be able to go on our fall trip because he would have to take off work and what not. Well luckily, he didn't have to take off at all. And we were able to go on our trip!

We went to Asheville, North Carolina and it was absolutely beautiful! This was our first time to be away from our Brylee Kate for a long period of time! The most has only been 2 days and that was too long for us! We left on a Monday and got back on Friday. We were actually going to stay till Sunday but since Ben's surgeon hit us with a $2,000 bill right on the spot, we thought we would cut it a little shorter! Monday morning Ben's dad dropped us off at the airport. I did great and thought I was going to be fine until we got out of the car and started saying bye to Brylee and she started crying!! Oh my word, you talk about a Momma's heart being broken. I am wanting to cry again right now just thinking about it! She stopped crying as soon as we closed the door but Mommy immediately started crying. We waved bye to her as they drove off and I cried even harder as I looked at that sweet face staring at us out the window. ::tearing up now:: It was all well worth it in the end though!


Ben's dream car that he rented while we were there. I loved this car and as soon as I got in it I said "Hey I think 3 kids could fit in the back!" Then I changed my mind real quick when I got car sick everywhere we went. When I sat normal in the seat all I was staring at was dashboard. I had to sit on my legs every time we got in. I don't see how people drive those. The windows are so small, you can't see anything!


When we got there the first day, we checked in and went immediately to the Biltmore! It was amazing!


Eating breakfast our first morning there at Tupelo Honey Cafe.


I had to force my pharmacist to take a picture in front of this pharmacy right across the street from Tupelo Honey Cafe. Then later I noticed all the stinkin cigarette signs in the window!!


In front of our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Indigo in downtown Asheville. We were able to walk almost everywhere which was nice.






Our day of hiking-Chimney Rock




We went to Blue Ridge Parkway one day it was was so beautiful! I took a lot of pictures as we drove and got out at different spots.




Our last night there we ate at Sunset Terrace inside Grove Park Inn. We were able to sit and eat dinner as we watched the sunset behind the mountains!

I was in awe at God's beautiful creation everywhere we went in North Carolina. I couldn't help but thank and praise him constantly while we were there!

For more pictures, check out our shutterfly site I will be adding them soon.