Six Years Later

Chad and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on June 26th. I didn't realize it at the time, but we celebrated our sixth anniversary on the sixth month and on the twenty-sixth day. We enjoyed some kid-free time and spent the night in Ardmore, OK. We chose this because we found a bed and breakfast to stay at, and also we wanted to stop and eat at a restaurant that we went to right after our wedding. After our wedding, we went to Dallas and then on to Jamaica for our honeymoon. On our way to Dallas, we stopped at a restaurant in Ardmore called The Two Frogs. We decided that it would be fun to go back and eat at this same restaurant. The picture above is our attempt to take our own picture in front of the sign. This place has wonderful food. We both got steak, salad, baked potato, and fried okra. We even got apple fritters to go. It was all so good.
This is the bed and breakfast that we stayed at. It is called The Shiloh Morning Inn. This is the main house, and we stayed in one of the rooms. They also have several cottages that are spread out to the left of the house. I did not get any pictures of them, but if we ever go back I think it would be fun to stay in one.

This is us right before we left.

Here are some pictures of our room. We stayed in the room called the Pelican's Perch. That is why it has an ocean/beach theme and pelicans around the room.

Our room was upstairs, and we had a balcony. Here Chad is enjoying the morning air. We had a very yummy breakfast. We started out with a fruit smoothie. Then we had the main course of an egg and ham souffle and creamy potatoes. After that we had a small piece of lemon pound cake with strawberries on top. It was all so tasty, and I felt like I was in a gourmet restaurant.

Chad and I got there kind of late on Friday night, so the next morning we decided to take a walk around the grounds. We found this nice hammock. It was comfy!

We really enjoyed the time to get away, even if it was for a short time. Thank you to my mom for watching Mitchell, and Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart!

Coupon World

I know that I have been M.I.A. from blogging. I wanted to tell you about my new hobby. I guess you could call it that. I have been getting into the couponing world. It really takes a lot of time if you want to do it right. I have found myself spending way too much time doing this. I have not been doing it long enough to know if we are spending less money over all. But I know that I am getting some good deals. I love getting free stuff. I have been able to get free and almost free items either through the mail or with coupons.

This all started a few months ago when I took a coupon class. A friend of mine told me about it, and I had been trying to use coupons but I just felt like I was not saving money. At the class the lady told us about how she set up her coupon binder. She would cut out coupons and put them in this binder according to categories. She used baseball card holders in the binder to hold all of her coupons. I can tell you right now that I have not done this. I just don't have time to cut out every coupon, and plus I know that I would never use all of those coupons. But here is what I am doing. I get the Sunday paper every week. I don't cut any of the coupons out unless I am going to use them. Then I just save the coupons and put the date on the front of the first page. Usually we get the Red Plum and Smart Source. Then I learned about reading blogs at the coupon class. There are probably hundreds of people that blog about using coupons. They will list the store and what is on sale from the Sunday ad. Then they will match up the sale price with a coupon so you get an even better discount. On these blogs they will list SS for Smart Source or RP for Red Plum. Then they will give the date of when they were sent out. Since I have been saving all my coupons, I just go through my stack and look for either SS or RP and the right date. Then I find the coupon and cut it out. It is just easier for me to do this then keep a huge binder.

There are a few stores that I like to go to. I use to just shop at Wal-Mart, but now I have branched out. I still go to Wal-Mart but not as often. I go to CVS, Walgreens, and Homeland. I will occasionally go to Target. I think that I have found the best deals so far at CVS. They have similar prices to Walgreens, but usually they are just a little bit cheaper. What I like about CVS and Walgreens is that they have Register Rewards or Cash Back. That means they will give you a print out with your recite to use on your next visit. If you use the money from week to week they call that "rolling." Who knew that couponing had its own language. They also call it playing the drug store game. I like this game because I have gotten shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash, and many other things for very cheap. The only problem that I have is that I have very little space to store these things. I try not to go overboard and just get what we need. The lady that taught the class talked a lot about paying it forward. That means she likes to give away many of the items that she gets. She works at her church as a volunteer, and she has been able to provide her church with many food items through her couponing. I hope to also be able to give away the items to those in need.

I thought that I would share a few blogs that I like to read.
This one is my favorite one from a local lady. It really helps having someone local because they have the same stores and get the same coupons. Here is the website http://www.simplesavingsavvy.net/.

Here are some other local ladies that have blogs.
http://www.couponprincess.net/
http://www.consumerqueen.com/ ( she lost almost everything in flood that we had a few weeks ago, my heart just goes out to her)

Another blog that I really like but is not local is http://www.momsbyheart.net/

A blog that just has tons of stuff on it everyday is http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Then if you like Target you should check out http://www.totallytarget.com/

There really are so many more, but these are just a few that I like to look at.

This has just been something that I have started to get into that I thought that I would share. I am sure there is still more that I need to learn. Chad and I have been blessed with money, but I want to make wise spending decisions. I also love to shop for a good bargain. I think I have a little bit of my dad in me.

Turning Two

Mitchell is now two years old!

I had a hard time deciding on what pictures to put on here, so this could be kind of lengthy. On Mitchell's birthday he had a nice day with Mommy at home. Mommy made him pancakes for breakfast. Then for lunch we had mac and cheese, green beans, and strawberries. All of these are his favorites. We played cars, which is another favorite. He could play cars all day long. Daddy gave him this homemade race track. He had it for one of his projects at work.

I tried to get a few pictures of him during the day. Mitchell loves to turn on the music on his car. He will turn his head back and forth with the music.

When Daddy got home from work, we went out to eat at Cheddar's. We ended up going there last year on his birthday. I thought that we should do it again. I am taking advantage of this time when we don't have to go to Chuck E Cheese or some other kid place. After we ate we went by campus. There was a silent auction going on, and Chad wanted me to look at a few items. I tried to get a few pictures of Mitchell around campus.

This is my favorite! They are in a phone booth on campus.

When we got home we let Mitchell open his presents from us. This is one of the presents that he got. It is a Yo Gabba Gabba dance mat. When you step on the pictures they make music.

He is testing it out with his new sandals. Mitchell LOVES the Yo Gabba Gabba show. He started watching it last summer after we went to a friend's Gabba birthday party. We had never heard of it, like most people. It is a fairly new show. It comes on Nick Jr. We started DVRing it, and Mitchell will sit and watch the whole show. So for his party this year, I decided that I would go with the Yo Gabba theme.

I had to order all the party supplies on-line. They did not have anything in the local party stores. But I found a lot of things on nick.com. I was able to print them out and use them as decorations.

We had his party the day after his birthday.

I got party hats and blowers, and we really did not even use them. We should have passed them out when we did cake, but my mind was so scattered that I did not even think about it.

Mitchell's party was at 11, so we had lunch for everyone. I got the large chicken nugget platter from Chick-Fil-A. We ended up having lots of nuggets left. We will be eating those for awhile.

We also had fruit, veggies, Cheetos, Cheerio mix, and sugar cookies.

Mitchell got a slide from his Uncle Todd and Aunt Audrey. We bought the pool and the balls. We put them together for our entertainment.

Mitchell was not so sure that he liked the slide at first. I don't know why because he goes down the slides when we go to the park.

Mitchell's party guests were all girls. I did invite a boy, but he could not come. It just happens that most of my friends have girls and those that are close to his age at church are girls.

The weather was kind of funny. When the sun was out, it was great. But when the sun went behind the clouds it was cold, especially with the wind.

Mitchell helped open some of his presents, but then he got preoccupied.

He liked wearing this crown but would not wear the party hat.

I decided that I was going to make his cake this year. I liked doing it, but it was a big head ache. I made the cake look like Brobee, a character from Yo Gabba. I thought that I would make a practice cake. So I did this a week before his birthday. I liked the cake, but I thought that it was a little dry. Then I made a different cake the day before his birthday. It ended up not coming out the pan very well, and it just looked like a mess. So I made a third and final cake about 10:00 the night before the party. Can you tell that the cake stressed me out a little?

This is one of the goody bags that I made. They had the patterns on nick.com, and I just had to cut and glue the pieces on the bag. Overall it was a great party. I am so thankful for our family and friends that came.

Easter 2010

We had a very busy Easter weekend. It started with an Easter Egg hunt in MWC. Nana went with us, and we met Mamaw, Uncle Todd, Aunt Audrey, and Vallien there. Daddy had to work, and we really missed him. Mitchell and I practiced hunting for Easter eggs in the house before the big hunt. This was his first time to really do an egg hunt. Last year he was still pretty young and could not walk yet. At first he just wanted to open the eggs when he found them. Then some how I convinced him that he just needed to pick them up and put them in his basket. So when we were at the actual egg hunt he did pretty well. He did get a little distracted by all the kids, but he walked away with a full basket.
I held his basket, and he dropped the eggs in. Maybe next year he will do it all by himself.

The Easter bunny was there, and we attempted to take pictures twice. The first time Mamaw tried to put him on the bunny's lap. He stayed for a few seconds and then started fussing.

I took my turn at it too. I am not sure why I thought that I would do any better. The second time around he would not even sit on the bunny's lap. But the funny thing is, after the picture he gave the bunny a high five. Silly boy!

After church we went over to Chad's parents' house for lunch. This is the best family picture that I got, and it is terrible. I tried and tried to get a good picture, but Mitchell was not cooperating. I finally gave up.

You can see Mitchell's outfit a little better in this picture, even if his shirt tale is hanging out.

Nana and Papa tried to get him on a tricycle, but he was not going to go for that.

Mitchell got to open some early birthday presents. His great aunt and uncle from Texas gave him a truck and a baseball outfit. The tissue paper was also a great hit.

Papa and Mamaw gave him an Elmo Easter basket with lots of goodies. Let me tell you this boy is spoiled!!

It looks like our little Mitchell is the King, but in the midst of our busy Easter weekend we stopped to remember who our real King is. I am so thankful that we do serve a Risen Savior who is the King of Kings!

Almost Two

Mitchell is almost two! He has a little over a month before his big birthday. It is funny that he now refers to himself as baby. Now logically he should be thinking that he is a big boy. But I guess two year olds do not have logic yet. It all came about when we were at Ci Ci's Pizza, and Mitchell saw a little baby. He kept pointing at her and saying baby. He was so into this baby the whole time that we were there. But then he would point at himself and say,"baby." We tried to tell him that he was not a baby. This went on for a few days, and one night he came into the living room and started saying baby and pointing to himself. Chad and I gave in and said,"Yes you are our baby." Then he pointed to himself and said,"Me!" He said it two times in a row. He was so proud. It was also very funny. So, while he should be growing up, he still is our baby!

Cool Dude

This Cool Dude will be two years old in just two months. I can't believe it. It seems like it was yesterday that he was turning one. The other day I had something funny happen. Mitchell and I were in my bedroom. He started banging on my curio cabinet. I told him several times to stop. He kept on doing it, and so I told him that he was going to have to go to time out if he did not stop. He then ran into the living room. I followed after him, and he went straight to the place where I put him for time out. Now Chad and I have been doing time out with him for a few months. I am not sure if he understands it all, but it at least gets him away from the problem. I was so shocked because he went to the exact spot and even faced the closet door (this is how I have him do it when I place him in time out.) Now he only stayed for a few seconds, and then he grabbed my hand. He wanted me to sit with him. I sat down and again he only stayed for a few seconds before getting up again. At least I think that this is progress because he is associating the place with the words "time out." I have always been sceptical about placing kids in time out, but here I am doing it with my own child. I think it can be beneficial if it is used in the right way. And I think that I am going to need all the help I can get with the terrible twos coming. Oh wait, I think I am suppose to call them the terrific twos!
Along with shoes, this boy loves his accessories.....sunglasses and hats!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Yes, my son is obsessed with shoes. I just can't imagine where he gets it. :) Every day when I get him dressed, I will put shoes on him. He will leave them on all day until he gets his pajamas on. Now he usually does not wear the same pair all day. He will take my finger and lead me to his closet. That tells me that he wants to pick out a new pair and put it on. He likes to change shoes at least three or four times a day. And yes, he does have that many pairs of shoes. I cringe when he picks the black dress shoes to go with sweat pants, but I usually let it go.

Mitchell does like his own shoes, but he is also into his daddy's shoes too. He loves to put them on, and he can actually walk pretty well in them. He has been known to put mommy's shoes on too. As you can see, Bob and Elmo have also gotten into the mix. I think shoes is also his favorite word, but juice is also another favorite. And in Mitchell language they sound very similar.

Chad and I also have to wear shoes around the house. If we don't, he will pull our finger and take us to our closet. I am so glad that I got a new pair of house shoes for Christmas. They are comfy to wear around the house, and Mitchell allows me to wear those. We have started to call Mitchell "bossy." He does like to get his way! Oh, he is a funny child!