Bragging Rights

I think I had my best shopping day ever since I started couponing and, even though I didn't take a picture like I should have, I thought I'd share what I brought home yesterday for just under $40.

• 45 boxes Quaker cereals
• 30 bottles Ranch and Italian dressing
• 15 containers Tropicana orange juice (most of which I stuffed in my freezer)
• 12 cans Hunts diced tomatoes
• 9 cans Chef Boyardee (disgusting, but I found it's something Tyler will actually eat!)
• 8 packs Snack Pack puddings (that's 32 cups folks!)
• 4 packages Marachman Japanese noodles
• 4 tubes of Colgate toothpaste
• 5 Colgate toothbrushes
• 2 Yoplait Greek yogurts
• 6 pounds apples
• 2 packages Goldfish crackers
• 4 Dial liquid handsoap
• And 1 Rotisserie chicken ($6--NOT on sale--but I felt I'd earned not having to make dinner for one night!)

I've certainly spent less before--even got paid to shop--but I've never come home with so much for so little. Just thought I'd brag a little...So thank you Albertsons and thank you gals at www.fabulesslyfrugal.com.

Davis is EIGHT!

This May, Davis has turned EIGHT years old! We can't believe it! He had a really awesome SPORTS party this year. The invitations we sent out were made to look like sporting events tickets (took me forever, but were totally worth it!) Kids played a variety of sports games, including an excited noodle soccer relay race!

In this picture the kids are literally dogpiling for pinata candy. We made our own pinata this year and, unfortunately, I did not get a picture of it. It was awesome. We used a beach ball for the form, so it was completely round, then painted it to look like a baseball. It was a lot of fun to do together, except that we didn't put on enough layers and it broke with the third swing! The bottom half fell to the ground with a thud and kids swarmed a three-foot diameter of the playground trying to get at all the candy, which had not bounced very far from where it fell. Ah, well...we know for next time. Definitely more than the three layers all the internet do-it-yourself sites suggest!

Uncle Matt came up (and Grandma too) and made an incredible cake. He totally outdid himself with the lettering. I was in complete awe! The footballs are actually little cocoa rice crispie treats. We found the recipe on the box and they are totally yummy!

You can see in the background that I set up the canopy like a food stand at an arena. We had candy and bags of chips hanging, plus lots of drinks and, of course, hot dogs. The kids went to stations and earned tickets by playing the different games and then turned in the tickets for different foods. It was chaos, but they all loved it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVIS!!!!

Eden's Fashion Show

A couple of months ago, Eden got asked spur of the moment to participate in a fashion show at one of our boutique's that was featuring my friend's mother's darling dresses. She was really excited to be asked, as we had already watched the morning session together and she was DYING to get up there and "spin" on the catwalk.

And spin she did. It was hard to capture it, but she really did not walk a straight line up and down. She did about a dozen twirls in the center of the catwalk (amazingly keeping her balance through it all,) gave a coy little smile, and then escorted herself off.

She had such a great time doing it and after seeing her in one of the dresses in it's full ensemble (each dress comes with 3 or 4 interchangeable parts) I decided maybe we'll need to splurge and buy one for her birthday this year...

Tyler is ONE!

Ha ha ha...Okay, I can't believe it's been almost a year exactly since I last posted. How embarrassing! Well, as you can see, Tyler looks nothing like the 2 month old of the last post. I'll try and update on the other kids soon, as well. But, for now, let's talk about TYLER. Sturdy little kid that he is, he took his first steps on his birthday, actually, and about a week or two later, really figured it all out. He is constantly moving, much to my chagrin whenever I'm trying to change a diaper, and he always has something in his mouth. I've pretty much given up on baby-proofing the house (with 2 other kids it's ridiculous to try and keep every single choking hazard off the floor all the time) and have resorted to doing routine is-Tyler-choking-checks every 15 minutes or so. "Tyler? You still breathing?" Pop the penny, marble, pen lid, magnet, paper clip, bouncy ball, key, candy wrapper, lint, USB plug, etc. out of his mouth...and I move on. Tyler loves listening to his brother and sister--they can really get him laughing. Eden is still the great abuser where he is concerned and constantly pushes, "hugs," and knocks him around. But if he's safely in my arms or his highchair, he thinks she's pretty funny. I have never seen a kid love the bath so much. He gets down on his tummy like he's swimming and actually sticks his face in the water to blow bubbles. I'm actually thinking of getting him in some swimming lessons (mommy & me) this summer. And speaking of summer, now that the weather is getting warmer, if the back door even opens a crack, he makes a run for it. I think he's been cooped up way too long and can't wait to get out and enjoy the open air. We sure love our little Ty-Guy!