Saturday Morning Scene

 

Please notice the missing bedding. Why is it missing? Is it laundry day? I have one word. Poop-ocalypse. That's right, folks. I woke up to Aiden calling for us at 5:55. Opened the door, breathed in, and knew. It. Was. Bad. Bless his little heart; he was half asleep/half awake while I cleaned him up and even while on the toilet. I had to make sure he was awake so he would fall off. He was so pitiful. Once we cleaned up, I started the laundry, opened the windows, and sprayed a LOT of Lysol. We cuddled back up in our bed and, thankfully, he was able to go back to sleep. I just hate it when he is sick. He is such a trooper, though. The good thing was that it got me up early so that I can start cleaning the house. Hope you get better soon, little buddy!

Today's Tackle List

I got up early (unintentionally), so I figured I would be proactive. I have a list of things to do that seems like a mile long. But I'm going to just start DO-ing and not sit and think about it. Like in football, don't lead with your head. Or else, you will get knocked-the-freak-out. If I worry about it all day, I'll get just as dizzy and worn out. So let's do this. I'm a cashew (for Jen). First, it's time to clean this house. I can't stand hanging out with dust, crumbs, footprints, etc. on my floors. Then, I'm going to tackle my coupon bin/notebook. It's getting a little crazy up in there, up in there (for Brandon). I would also like to head to Publix for next week's meal plan. I started e-mealz and I'm really excited about using savings to make actual meals. It's getting a little difficult to make nice meals that aren't repetitive. This subscription uses all sale items from Publix and makes a five day menu and shopping list. SO EXCITED! If I can get all of this done, I am rewarding myself with some new expensive Phyto shampoo. Don't tell Jamie. Finally, it's time to get the camera outside and work on my photography. Okay, so that's all the thinking I'm going to do. I blogged about it. Got it out of my system. Now it's time to HIT!

Royal Obsession

So Friday...Any other normal Friday, right? Not. Well, it was until a couple of days ago when I went home sick with a horrible stomach virus. Lying in the bed all day with nothing to do but watch television and run to and from the bathroom, I became sucked into the whole Royal wedding explosion. Normally, I would watch Food Network, but in my condition, that was certainly not an option. That left E! and TLC. And let me tell you, they had back to back to back specials on the wedding, the family, past weddings, past divorces, you get it. Same shows, different titles. But I couldn't can't get enough. So now, I am completely invested. As I type, I am watching a special on demand (I know, shameful) on Fergie, the Duchess of York. And there are several more! That means hours and hours more of drama and scandal! Not to mention beautiful fantasies of what the wedding might be like. I love all of the pomp and pageantry. The dress, the flowers, the food, the hair, ALL OF IT!

Consider yourselves warned. I will probably be revisiting this topic after the nuptials. Silly, I know, but try to understand. I am a girl.

Silver Lining

Wow. What an interesting day I have had today: wake up to a tornado warning, get ready (with hopes of canceled school), go to school anyway, try to get gas-power's out, make it to school on fumes, teach seven kids, hold two kids for 3 hours while they wait for their buses. While it is quite simple to begin my rant and talk about all the things that could have been better, I am going to look for the silver lining of my "hectic" morning. I'll leave the complaining to the parents on the DNJ's webpage.

Lately, I have been trying to find Jesus in whatever moments I can throughout my day-to-day activities. It is a constant struggle, especially when I come face to face with the WORLD all day long. I find it easier and much more effective to write things down on my calendar or to come here to blog about it. I like to write. So here it is, today's silver lining:

1. I got to see, talk to, and cuddle with Aiden and Jamie this morning before work. Usually they're both sound asleep when I leave. What a wonderful start to a day!
2. Having only seven kids in my class, I was able to make the lesson more intimate and it allowed for more open discussion. Something that is very hard to do with a group of 24.
3. I was able to sit and play the movie/actor game with my mini-school team while all of our 8 bus riders were on computers or playing board games. Social time with adults never goes unappreciated in our line of work.
4. I came home to find that Jamie and Aiden had stayed home due to the weather. I got to cuddle Aiden (sweetly sleeping) and put him to bed to finish his nap.
4. I got to eat pizza. Straight out of the box. On my lap. In front of the TV.
5. I am now in the bed with the macbook and some more E! specials about the royal wedding which are feeding my new obsession (but that's my next blog).

So, thank you God, for showing me the great things that today brought me. Please help me to find You in  my days to come and to not complain about the details in the story that You have written.

Saturday Morning Scene

 This morning, Daddy joined us for our early (to him) morning routine. While the boys watch Buzz and Woody (a.k.a. Toy Story), I hit the world of coupon sites to get my drug store game plan together.

After drug store hopping (pardon the Easter pun), we're headed to Cool Springs to pick up the oh-so-cute-impossible-to-find shoes I have been obsessing over. Also, we hope to find a Buzz Lightyear or Woody for Aiden's Easter basket.

I hope all of you are enjoying your day and wish you a wonderful Easter Sunday with family and friends!

MISadventures in Couponing

Since beginning this new hobby, I have learned valuable lessons:

1. It's okay to bring your binder with you. You never know when something is on clearance that wasn't on a matchup printout, and if you start looking around, you'll see other binder-ladies (phew).

2. Learn the names and faces of NICE cashiers and the not-so-nice ones.

3. Most of those nice cashiers work at Publix.

4. Don't rely too heavily on your printout from the coupon sites. Sometimes, they are wrong.

5. Go alone, on Saturdays, during naptime. 

Lessons I learned in the past two days (These will make sense later):

1. Buy a sturdy binder.

2. Check your receipt at Kroger (ALWAYS).

3. Don't be afraid to stand in line at Customer Service.

4. Don't be afraid to correct the person helping you at Customer Service.

5. DON'T GO ON SUNDAY.

6. My favorite--Don't forget your Kroger Plus Card.

So, as you can see, I pretty much learned more in the past 24 hours than I have in a month of couponing. What an exciting experience I have had! This began as a vent-post. However, I have since dried off (rain), taken a breath, and calmed down. I'm taking it as a lesson from God on patience and not panicking when things don't go as planned. So, I will refrain from posting in bold and all caps as I had planned...

On Saturday, I had a super-wonderful-amazing trip to Publix. I went alone while Aiden napped which saved me from feeling rushed. I had a nice chat with one of the clerks about the wonders of couponing and even picked up some pointers! I spent $52 and saved $98. I picked up enough for two weeks of meals, so I was extremely pleased!

Yesterday, I was able to hit the drugstores and got all of the items below for $6.50! The best trip to CVS yet. I got 14 candy bars for free and even got paid $1 at Walgreens. I bought six travel deodorants, two travel toothpastes, three dental flosses, and two bags of Skittles for 90 cents at Target! So, you could say I was surfing the wave of savings until...

wipeout.

I gathered my coupons, shopping list, and binder to head to Kroger yesterday evening. As soon as I walked through the doors, I was not feeling the calmness I had earlier. I don't know if it was the fact that I was tired or the fact that there were more people around. But I continued. This was the first day of the ad, so many of the items I went for were gone. I was okay with coming back, but it was still a bummer. I was sulkily pushing my cart down the aisle to the checkout lane when SPLAT! I look down, and there are all of my super-slippery plastic pages in a huge sad pile on the tile floor. I tried to pick them up but drop them in the process which makes them get all out of order and even more screwed up. I finally took a breath and reminded myself it was just a notebook. Not important in the grand scheme of life. But again, it still was a bummer. So I stacked them up in the buggy and continued on to checkout. I, of course, chose the guy who would rather watch paint dry than smile and have a conversation with me. His expression is unchanging as I tell him about my notebook exploding onto the floor and numbly hands me my requested extra bag to place it in. Yay. 

I'm ready to see my amazing savings, looking eagerly at the screen when he gives me this look and says, "Do you have a Kroger card?" *Well of course I have a Kroger card, but this is my first time shopping without Jamie (who has the Kroger card)* I just looked at him, rolled my eyes, smiled, told him my husband had it, and asked if there was anything else I could do. Of course there isn't. Awesome.

I got home, put the groceries on the counter, and walked straight upstairs to take a shower and cry. After getting my guts up, I got in the car (Kroger card in hand) and drove back to fix it. Which they did. Except they didn't give me my $5 gift card. The girl told me I bought the wrong cereal, but that I could return the boxes to swap out for the right ones. Double Awesome.

So this brings us to today. I go in after work (and a looooong faculty meeting about TCAP) with minutes before the rain hits. I take my cereal to Customer Service, get the same lecture about it being the wrong kind of cereal, go to the lane with the correct cereal, see that my cereal is the correct cereal, and march back up to Customer Service. They fix it. phew! I take my gift card to buy my items that were sold out yesterday. And, again, I don't get my gift card. I am taken to Customer Service to be shown that my granola bars are not part of the deal, when duuuhhhh...there they are in the ad! Sweet success. I get my Kroger gift card and a sincere apology. Apparently it's a new thing, and they have a few kinks. I walk out into the pouring down rain, but it's okay.

I feel more confident now, not as shy to prove that I am right, and I like that I accomplished something! I also learned that I will only go to Kroger late on Friday night, and only if it's a really good deal.

EXHALE.

Spring Projects

This week was my fabulous Spring Break. That week I have waited for since Christmas. That week where I can accomplish things around the house, enjoy fresh air and sunshine, get lots of rest before the marathon that is TCAP review, and most importantly, spend time with my baby boy!

Project #1: The Garage

This week, I had several projects to start and hopefully finish. The first was the garage. As most of you know, I have decided to start couponing. While researching it last week, I realized I was going to need a place for my stock pile. Don't worry, it will not be one of those crazy ones on TLC. Anyway, due to the lack of extra storage in our house, that left one place...the garage (cue the suspense music). I hate to admit it, but we have completely neglected our poor garage. Other than adding some shelves last year, we've done nothing to it in two years other than let the junk accumulate. It was my goal to actually put those shelves to good use, instead of letting it be a catch-all. In my mind, this would be a Saturday project for the hubby and me; however, boredom got the best of me when I got home on Friday afternoon. So I grabbed some boxes, a broom, and my Lenny Kravitz CD and tackled it! It felt so good to get that done. One funny side note...while I was cleaning, a couple walked by and asked, "Did you guys just move in?" Maybe we should get to know our neighbors...

after photo: coming soon (keep forgetting)
Project #2: Back Porch

When we got our tax money, I had a little fun at the LOFT (of course), we bought some new rugs for the house, paid some bills, then finally started to fix up our back porch. Like the garage, it had been neglected since we moved here. So, we got up and headed to Martin's Nursery to buy a porch swing. We thought about a patio set, but swings are way more fun! Then it was off to Lowe's to get a grill! With the great weather we have been having, I was super excited for this purchase! Not to mention the fact that it frees me from preparing a main course. Now I can just do fun sides...something that I normally don't put too much thought or energy into besides opening a can or letting a bag thaw out. Our next step is a garden. I decided to start small, but that post will come later. I will have to consult some experts first, seeing as how I know nothing about gardening other than I like pink and I want cute gloves to work with. I am willing to learn, though. I did purchase some cheap potted palm tree looking things. They're pretty, nothing awesome, but still progress!

Project #3: Closet Switch-out

One of my all-time favorite activities of Spring is trading my drab, heavy, dark clothes for the airy and bright colored clothes! It's like a shopping spree, but FREE! The worst part is switching out the cheap plastic hangers for the wooden ones (because I'm too cheap to buy enough for all of my clothes). That is very time consuming, but a good activity to pass the time while Aiden's napping. Then there's the lugging it all back and forth...UGH! But it got done, and I am happy that everything is neater, more organized, and brighter! The sad part of this project was Aiden's. I always get sad when I have to place his sweet little outfits into a rubbermaid. I get a little emotional when faced with how quickly time is passing. But it's good that I am reminded of it. It encourages me to savor more and more moments spent with him. So we're ready for Spring, aw heck...let's get real...we're ready for SUMMER! Bring. It. On.