couponing

I had taken a break from couponing and really hadn't done it in a while. But I decided I really needed to get back into it because living on one income is hard and saving money where we can helps. So, I'm back at it again. I stopped originally because all the time it took. I've decided this time to make sure I cut my coupons right as I get them and file them so they don't back up on me. I tried the no cut method where you just pull the insert when you need it, but the problem I always ran into was it would say to pull the insert, so I would, go through every page only to find out that our paper didn't carry that coupon. I went to CVS the other night for my first trip back at it. I did pretty good and got $12 ECB back for next trip. I didn't get a picture of the stuff but my second trip was to Publix. I did pretty well. I spent $41.15 and saved $63.46. Here's what I purchased.  Not bad, I think.

Sick Child

Wednesday night, my youngest son was really fighting sleep. This is a bit unusual for him. He will usually fight it for just a little while and then gives up and goes to right to sleep. However, this night I tried everything. We were rocking until about 11:30 p.m. (normal bedtime 8:00 p.m.) when I finally caved and said "Do you wanna go lay in my bed til you fall asleep?" He said he did and off we went. We got to the bed and he still was tossing and turning. I asked him what was wrong multiple times but he said nothing was wrong. About midnight, as he was still tossing and turning, he threw up. He was laying on his back, so like a volcano, he erupted and the throw up when straight up in the air and back down on top of me and him. The grossest part is that it was in my hair and face. Eww!! Haha (I can laugh about it now) We jumped in the shower to clean up as my husband cleaned the bed and changed the sheets. We got all ready for bed again and as we were laying there about 12:30 a.m., with him on top of a beach towel, just in case it happened again, he said he needed to go throw up in the potty. I jumped up to grab him but he had already started to throw up again. We made it to the bathroom where he threw up multiple more times in the toilet. My poor baby! I got him cleaned up again as my poor husband got the bed cleaned up again. We got ready for bed once again anticipating more throw up. I even suggested that I lay in the bathtub with him instead of getting back in the bed, but luckily that was it and he didn't have any more episodes and he was fine all day Thursday. Apparently, something just didn't agree with him. Glad he's feeling better now. 

The Dentist

I hate the going to the dentist. It's an appointment that I absolutely dread attending. This week the kids and I had our appointments. My daughter is a lot like me and hates it as well so I was really worried about her appointment. The last couple of times she went, she got so upset that she threw up on the lady trying to clean her teeth and they weren't able to really do anything. With her birthday being this week, I really tried to play it up that 5 year old's love the dentist. Anyways, she did great! They said she got scared at first and cried but then calmed down and they were able to clean her teeth. This is a major accomplishment for her and I'm so proud. I had my appointment today and was not looking forward to it. I don't like it for multiple reasons. One reason is, being a stay at home mom means that if I have a doctor's appointment, everyone either has to come with me or I have to find a babysitter. My husband usually comes home and watches them if he can but it takes so long and then that puts him away from work and just an inconvenience. The main reason I hate it though is the whole process. I hate how long you have to sit there laid back with your mouth open. I hate how they poke around on your gums with those sharp hook things and it hurts. I hate that horrible drill sounding toothbrush they brush your teeth with and the gritty feeling toothpaste they use. Then comes the floss where they floss down into your gums and leave you in pain and bleeding. Agh!!! To me, it's a long agonizing hour and I do a little dance of joy when it's over and I don't have to go back for 6 months. What about you? How do you feel about the dentist?

Last week at a glance

Last week, my oldest son went to golf camp. He got golf clubs a couple of years ago and loves to go play with my brother. He had a really good time at the camp and wants to take more lessons. 

We also went bowling again last week. I was a little worried considering our last bowling adventure but this time it went very well. We still weren't able to get 2 games in but considering we had no major meltdowns, I feel the day went very well.

Friday night, we took the kids to a minor league baseball game. We brought our own chairs and sat in the lawn area so the kids could move around and play and have a good time. They really enjoyed it. They had fun rolling down the hill, laying in the grass and watching the ball game, plus the game ended with fireworks!

Bowling

In my last post, I said to stay tuned for our bowling trip, because it deserved a post all by itself. Well here goes… Sometime I wonder why I even try to go out in public with three kids, especially when one is a very strong willed two year old. I decided to take the kids bowling Friday afternoon. We signed up for the kids bowl free program with our local bowling alley. We did this last year and the kids loved it. When I plan to take the kids out to do things, it always goes much smoother in my head than it actually goes in real life. I made sure we went after nap time so the youngest would be in a good mood. Well that didn’t really work out for us. Last year, he was smaller so I could get away with keeping him in a stroller while we bowled, but that won’t work this year. We got to the bowling alley and gave the man at the desk our coupons for free bowling and paid for shoe passes so the older two would have bowling shoes all summer long. I got the shoe passes, our bowling balls, and shoes and proceeded to the lane. The oldest put on his shoes and was ready to bowl. The Princess put on her shoes and was excited at first and then started whining about how her shoes were too big and she couldn’t bowl with these shoes on. I took them off of her and swapped them for a smaller size. She put the smaller ones on and started bowling. The little one was constantly throwing temper tantrums because he didn’t like the fact that he had to wait his turn. Literally, he was the most excited little boy when it was his turn, then like a switch, as soon as his turn was over, he’d hit the floor throwing another fit. I was so embarrassed. I was one of “those mothers who never disciplines their kids.” (This, by the way, is not true) Sometimes, I’m convinced there is nothing you can do but leave in these situations. Meanwhile, the princess decided that these new shoes were still too big and proceeds to melt down. I go back to the counter and yet again get her a smaller pair of shoes. I put them on her and you can only imagine what happened next. She stands up and says in her most dramatic voice, “Oh, this will never work, they’re too tight.” Are you kidding me? By now, I’m about to lose it. The lady beside me is laughing and saying that I’m making her feel good because she knows that she is not alone and that her kids act like that too. Well I saw her kids and they were not acting like that at the moment, and I think I would have felt better if they were. Needless to say, we didn’t stay for our second game and I’m sure everyone around us was very happy. We will be going back because I paid for shoe passes and we will definitely be getting our money’s worth out of those. Hopefully, our next trip will be a little better. 

        It started out good

Here they are all bowling and having a good time

and then......

Summertime fun

Thursday, I took the kids to the Rail Safety Awareness Day at the Railroad Museum. They had free activities for the kids as well as food and drinks. The best part was the free train ride. This was the youngest two’s first time on a big train. The only other train they have ridden is the one at the zoo. They all loved it. After we left the railroad museum, we went to my Grandmother's house for a visit. 

                                                   

                                                                   he was so excited

                                                    not the train we rode, but one on display

Friday, I decided to take the kids bowling. Our bowling experience deserves a post all to itself, so stay tuned for that.

Friday afternoon, my husband came home from work and asked us if we wanted to take a day trip to the beach the next day. Of course, we did. We love the beach. In general, I’m not a spontaneous person. I like to plan things in advance; however, I’m really glad we did this. We had some things we needed to finish up before we left, like getting my VBS room set up. We got that done and headed to my parent’s house where my husband needed to install a light. While there, my wonderful parents offered to keep our 2 year old so we could go and enjoy ourselves with the other two. He had a blast with his grandmommy and grandfather and the rest of us had a blast at the beach today. 

Busy

It's been a while since I've blogged. I've been super busy and haven't had time to sit down and do it. Last week, I went on a mission trip to Kentucky. We did Backyard Bible Clubs in two neighborhoods. I did music with the kids. We had a good time and I think the kids enjoyed it but I have to say I missed my kids and was ready to come home and see them.

This week, I'm busy spending time with my kiddos but also planning for our Vacation Bible School. I'm doing preschool music with our kids and it's completely different music and motions than the Backyard
Bible Club so now I'm learning and planning my lessons as well as deciding how I'm going to decorate my room. VBS is a lot of fun for the kids so it'll be worth it.

I've also been saving up my money to order the curriculum we will be using in homeschool this coming up school year. I finally ordered it the other day and am super excited. I can't wait for it to arrive. That's the nerd in me coming out. I ordered Heart of Dakota, which I decided on after months of research and reading and hearing reviews from friends. It's a Christian based curriculum and I can't wait to get started. Hopefully, the kids will like it just as much as I think I will.

Well I think that's about it for now. I need to go work on VBS.