First day of summer vacation

With summer vacation here for the kids, it looks like I have a lot more work on my hands. Now I will try to incorporate a ton of activities to keep the kids busy and content for the summer. Today was our first official day of summer vacation. We all slept in late...it was very nice. It was around ten before we all got up. I should say that it was after midnight before we went to bed the night before. I made a yummy breakfast for all. We had bite size polish sausage, onions, and scrambled eggs all in one dish. Tommy calls it farmers meal. It was yummy and no left overs. Then, around noon, we all piled outside to clean the garage. It was clean, then we had to clean the inside of the house for the baby shower. All of the house went in the garage and stayed there until today. We pulled EVERYTHING out of the garage, swept it out, then organized it all back in. It is very nice now! Momma is happy! Kayla and I wound up leaving Tommy and Chris to finish up. The two fo us took off to Tulsa. We went to the Herman & Kate Kaiser Library. It is at Lafortune Park. Kayla was able to participate in the "Paws for Reading" program. She was able to read the story of her choice for fifteen minutes to a theraputic dog named Casey. Casey is a long-haired Chihuahua. She visits nursing homes and listens to children read stories at the library. She is also trained in agility competitions.

Her handler said that they had been in a competition in Amarillo, TX over the weekend. She said that Casey's favorite thing to do was to listen to kids read. Kayla was the second child to read to Casey today. She chose a book titled "Scout", it was a story about a rescue dog. When she was finished, she got to pick a book of her choice and a button to keep. She really enjoyed the time.

Kayla put the dog to sleep reading to it :)

Later today, Chris had his weekly boyscout meeting at Claremore Lake. We decided to go ahead and cook out hamburgers and hotdogs at the lake while Chris was at his meeting. We were almost finished cooking when his meeting was over. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the outdoors. Tommy played with the kids and I sat back and watched. I know, I am a loser! I hope that our entire summer will be as pleasant as today! I posted all of the pictures that we took today on my facebook page. Feel free to browse :) Happy Sunny Days to all!

Dinner with Lemons May 18, 2009

I experimented around with this one. I used the whole cut up chicken that I got at Marvin's in Chouteau on their 10 for $10 sale. I put it in a casserole dish and covered it with some Jim Bean Bourbon Marinade. I got the marinade at Reasors for around $3.00. I baked it in the oven on 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. It probably could be cooked faster at a higher setting, but I had the time. I used some leftover mashed potato's to mix with some new mashed potato's. I only had to use four potato's and had way to much left over. I chopped up some leftover broccoli from my baby shower and boiled it with the potato's. I mashed it all together with the already left over potato's. I used the drippings in the pan from the chicken and added 3 tbsp of flour and about a cup of water and made the yummiest gravy. This meal was awesome :) The kids loved the chicken...Chris ate four pieces and Kayla ate two! The best part was, I got them to eat a ton of broccoli by mixing it into the "green" mashed potato's :) This was a very simply, inexpensive, yummy meal!

Logan is almost here :)

I am pleased as punch that I have made it this far. Logan is almost here :) I went to the OB Dr. today. I am 35 weeks. I was given a "Hooty Booty" test. Dr. Nilson refers to it this way because they swab your hooty and around your booty. He measured Logan while he was doing the ultrasound. He didn't mention the measurements. So far I have gained a total of 15 lbs. He took some more pics.

It looks like Logan is chubby, but I am not sure. If he is I will just adore him that much more:) The Dr gave me the 5 things to call him about. There is the obvious, if my water breaks; if I begin having contractions that are 5 minutes apart for an hour; fluid leakage that cannot be distinguished between fetal fluid or urine; Period like bleeding; finally, lack of fetal movement. I have to monitor Logans movement three times a day now. I have to count his kicks for an hour. I have to have at least 6 kicks in an hour three times a day. If I cannot get that, or if any of the other things happen, then I have to call the Dr.

He explained to me that he is a 38+ week Doctor. If I am past 38 weeks and have a certain percentage of dialation and effacing and tell him that I want to have this kid now he will induce. If I want to wait until Logan is ready to get here, then I will make it that long. I had Chris & Kayla on their due dates so it is likely that I will do the same with this one. I have felt some pains that I believe to be contractions. They have not had a pattern at all, so I have not been concerned.

He also explained to me that hip pain is one of the most common complaints he hears. He has some stretches that may or may not work. He forgot to give them to me. Last night I slept with a pillow close to my ankles and managed to sleep most of the night. I will try that again tonight and then call him tomorrow to see what they have. It is VERY obvious now by the latest anatomy picture that Logan is a boy. I am a believer now :)

All in all things are going very well :D

Holy coupons Batman!

I am totally a believer now! I went to the 918moms coupon queen coupon class. I was fortunate enough to be at the first coupon party. I have been following her (I feel like a stalker) on myspace, Facebook, and Twitter. I check the forum's on 918moms.com as often as possible. Here is what I accomplished today at Homeland...

6 boxes of Jello

2 bottles of Suave conditioner

2 bottles of Suave shampoo

1 box of Premium saltine crackers

4 packages of Deli Creations lunch sandwiches

2 bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce

4 packages of Kraft singles cheese

4 packages of Oscar Meyer sliced Virginia Ham

4 packages of Oscar Meyer bologna

1 box of Honey Maid graham crackers

4 packages of Lunchables

4 packages of Kraft natural shredded cheese

1 bag of Ritz toasted chips

4 packages of Knorr pasta sides

2 boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats

1 box of Kellogg's Raisin Bran

2 boxes of Kellogg's Special K

1 box of Kellogg's Rice Krispies

1 box of Kellogg's Fruit Loops

Before I went shopping I did some research. I follow the 918 coupon queen Sarah Roe on Twitter(http://twitter.com/918couponqueen). She posted a tweet yesterday about printing Kraft and Kellogg's coupons. I followed the link posted on her blog (http://www.918couponqueenblog.com/) and printed off two of each coupon. Each coupon was for $1.00 of the specified amount. I went to the 918moms.com forum and looked at the posting they had for Homeland matchups(http://www.918moms.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=718). I only used two copies of two coupons out of the Sunday Tulsa World and honestly cannot tell you which paper it was or which circular I got them out of. They were for the Knorr pasta sides and the Suave hair products.

I have a 3 ring binder that is full of baseball card sleeves. I put the coupons (when I take the time) in order of item type. Meaning, I try to put all the lunch snacks together, all the freezer items together, all of the deodorant items...etc...I also carry a spiral notebook, a pen, and a pair of scissors in the book. If I have copies of the store ads I keep them in the pockets of the binder. I make sure that I have plenty of time (most of the time).

I had certain items I was looking for. I only paid attention to those items. I have to admit, that the 10 for $10 sales did catch my attention. That is where I got the pasta sides and hair products. I try to write down the regular price and the price of the item that day. I learned from Sarah's class that stores change prices almost weekly and if you track the price you can find when it is the cheapest and then buy in bulk and use your coupons. I learned from the 918moms website that Homeland doubles coupons every day. That is how I chose Homeland.

Before the coupons were deducted my total was $145.79. After the coupons were deducted and doubled my total was $64.27!!! I went to the store on 31st & Harvard. The lady that checked me out was very friendly and helpful. Her name tag said 'lil bug'.I explained to her that I had never used coupons at Homeland and that I needed help to make sure I was doing it correctly. She looked through all of my coupons. She separated the duplicates and told me that in order for them to be doubled to the full amount I would have to separate the transactions. She signed me up for the savings card. She rang up every item slowly, made sure I knew the total before the coupons, explained to me what the difference was between the transaction for the manufacturers coupon and the double on their part. She also let me ring up both transactions in a row and showed me where I had saved $80!!! It was a very slow process, but oh so beneficial. I bagged all of the groceries myself in order to ease her work load a little bit. I did not mind one little bit since she was so helpful.

Dinner with Lemons May 6, 2009

I went for the quick and simple for dinner. Stopped at Reasor's on the way home from picking the kids up from school and got a rotisserie bbq chicken. I de-boned the chicken, chopped up some broccoli, had Kayla cube up half a brick of velveeta, precooked some brown rice, threw it all in a casserole dish and baked it on about 350 for around 20 minutes. Short, sweet, and to the point. A crowd pleaser for sure!

918moms.com and me :)

I just got the knock on the door from the UPS truck! They delivered my Moms Night Out meal for dad and the kids...check it out! I found out about The National Moms Night Out from following the 918couponqueen on myspace, Facebook, blogger.com and Twitter. I feel like a stalker! I can't help it though. She has such great deals! I signed up for the Moms Night Out and registered for this free meal. It arrived today! Two types of Ragu pasta sauce and a box of noodles with a nice little note to dad...all for free!!!

I have been getting so many free samples and coupons and great deals by checking out the updates from Sarah and checking the forums on 918moms.com

I have received a free book on asthma and allergies that I donated to the elementary school next door to my house. I got a free (IDK the correct name) extender thingy for my tp holder...it makes it so that the double rolls fit better. I got a free sample of toothpaste. I got a free nursing cover...I had to pay shipping but still...it was only $7.95! I got a free sample of Quaker snacks. This is just the beginning!

I really wish that all of my friends would join in this group. It takes a little bit of effort to follow everything, but I feel like the benefits are worth it! The ladies on this site post all of the great deals they find at places like Homeland, Walgreens, Reasors & Walmart. They post links to the online coupons so you can print them. I haven't started saving a ton yet, but I have managed to save I would say at least $50 since I have been following them. That doesn't count the freebies either.

If you really want to take part I would love to help you figure it all out! Just drop me a line and let me know.

I hope all is well with you!

Dinner with Lemons Cinco De Mayo!!!!

Wouldn't it have been nice of me to plan ahead and create some sort of mexican dish to celebrate the significance of today. It would have been nice...but I didn't...I modified this dish just a little bit. I used whole wheat penne because I couldn't find ziti. My family doesn't really enjoy a meatless meal, so I added some cheapy Kielbasa sausage. I chopped it into bite size pieces and threw it in a skillet with some EVOO while the pasta was cooking. It is on sale at Walmart right now for $2.50 a package. I didn't realize when I picked this recipe that the squash was a separate dish. I omitted the Lima beans because no one else but me likes those and we had the squash for a veggie.

We haven't officially eaten this meal yet, as it is still cooking. Here is the link to the recipe...http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/09/baked-ziti.html I am most positive that the fam will love it. Hope you try it out!

Again, friends and family...I strongly suggest that you check out 918moms.com and search a little farther on the 5dollardinners.com website. I am on a mission to eat well and eat cheap!