Here we go again!!

13 weeks

EDA(estimated Date of Arrival) May 28th, 2012

Let's Do THIS!

Before Me and Maia usually take off for one of our daily adventures We have a little motto-

I say "ok Maia what do we say?"

and she says "Thank you"

And I have to say "No, say Let's do this"

And she quickly excitedly replies with "Let's do dis"!

She really is the most fun to hang out with!! and that is exactly what we have been doing!

I have not been into the computer thing lately- crazy for me who usually spends a bit of time working on the computer or surfing the internet for Kindergarten ideas! There is no time for blogging when there is fun to be had! We have enjoyed a great summer! It's usually just me and Maia because Matt is either at school or at work! Busy guy.... Who knows when we will have more time with him!?

• We have been to Dinneylan (you have to say it like that in our house)
  
  
  And found our way to the Beach while we were there
  
  
  
• We have been swimming more times then we can count(with 4 trips to 7 peaks so far and 3 to the splash pads)!

• We have had a lot of play dates with some new friends in our neighborhood!
• We have taken a few library trips

So it seems like we really just go, go, go this summer! I am just trying to make lots of good memories and make the most of our time together while we have time!!

School starts in a few weeks, and although I only teach half time, it still really seems to rule my life!

so My thoughts to whoever may be reading this....... Have a Happy Rest-of-Summer and play lots while the sun is shining bright and while the pool is still open!!

Maia Turned 2!!!

Yes We have a 2 year old!! How fun!! Maia is getting so big and so smart and she is finally 2! She is growing so fast and learns so much each day! We are constantly saying "OK I swear a 2 year old can't do that!" We think she is a genius!!

She loves...

-Pirates of the Caribbean

-Fruit snacks

-SLeeping!!

-Parks

-Hot dogs

-Brothers(twin boys at my moms day care- they are 4 and they are best friends!!)

-Nursery

-Getting Sick:( Ok not really loves it, but I swear she does it all the time!!

WE had a little family birthday party on Thursday! It was a lot of fun and it turned out great! Everyone pitched in to help and that made it a much more enjoyable day!! Enjoy the pictures!!

She didn't feel totally herself (as you can tell) but she did have a cute costume to wear(That CAroline MADE!!)

Isn't this cake AWESOME!! I just loved how it turned out! I bought it at this awesome bakery!! NOT-Caroline MADE IT!! She is talented!!

So Happy that April was in Town and could come- So good to see her, Avery and Jaren!

Overall She got really spoiled and We had a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY DO

Spring Break

This week I had the whole week off for Spring Break! It felt a little long, cause we didn't go anywhere and didn't have major plans- but we had a good time just being together! Matt still had school and work, so Maia and I made the most of our time together!

Monday-

We went to Lunch with Grandma Karen, and then we went swimming at her pool!

Tuesday-

I went to Zumba with my friend Hillary- and her little girl Livy and Maia had a fun time in the Day care together! Then we went to the Thanksgiving Point Farm country and Dinosaur Museum thanks to Grandma Karen! We got to go with Maia's little friends from Grandma's Day care! She loves those "brothers"!

Wednesday-

I of course had to go to my classroom one day and it was this day! Maia didn't mind since it was only a couple hours! Then we went Shopping with Grandma Jeanne!

Thursday-

I went to Zumba in the morning and then just had a nice relaxing day just being a mom and keeping Maia on a good schedule!

Friday-

I went to Zumba again (and yes I am feeling it now!! I love being SORE!) Then Katie came over and we went coupon shopping(I saved about $20 bucks!! That is always fun) But thankfully I had Katie, because we know how much Maia loves to go to the grocery stores!! NOT!

Then Matt came home and we went to Trafalga and ended up buying the Pass of all Passes!! Didn't think I would- but it will be fun to have something to do with Maia this summer!!

Saturday-

We went to the ZOO!! and boy did Maia Love it!!! WE had a great day just our family and then Matt had to go to work! He works so hard for our family, I am so proud of him!!

So spring break was a nice break! I liked being home with Maia, keeping her on a pretty good schedule, keeping up on the house duties, and making breakfast(isn't there just a sense of accomplishment when you make breakfast? I really love making it for my family! It's like you are starting their day off right!)!! Although I only have to work about 5 hours every morning I still have a hard time keeping up on the everyday life stuff!! Because as you teachers know teaching is not just a 5 hr/day job!!

So this spring break was like a little peak into what summer will hopefully look like! Time to be a good mom, housekeeper, cook, exerciser, and wife!

But being a mom to this little girl I

think is the best job of all!!

Hope you all had a great week!!!

MY New OBSESSION

OK friends- if you do not do this yet you must-- Couponing!! I am crazy about it- I stay up late printing coupons, I dream about good deals, and I just spent 2 hours at the WALMART with Maia who hates shopping! I know I am crazy.

It all got started with this little show-

About a month ago they did this TLC special(It has now turned into a series I guess)- where these extreme couponers got their groceries up to 90% off- it was ridiculous! But it got me thinking... I wanna do that!

Although my grocery bills haven't saved me 70,80,90% off from this new obsession, I usually save about 50% and I think that is great!

I know this is something that I could consume my life with- because it is a fun and it does get addicting- but I have tried really hard to do my best, and if something I need doesn't have a coupon or there isn't an ad for it- then it is ok- I get it anyway and realize that I am saving money on a lot of items I already need!

So here are the trips I went on today!

first stop-

Target

My sister, Katie has been coming with me to target and we have had a lot of fun searching for the deals, and looking on the clearance end caps! So we went today and got a few things....

2 bottle of dove body wash- matt likes the smell, and I had 2 coupons, and it was on clearance- so those were .78 each!

2 bottle of hairspray because Matt goes through this like crazy- I had $1.00 off coupons for it I also scored on this one because it had a mini shampoo and conditioner attached to each of these. so those were 2.24 each!

a bottle of visine- because I had a $2 off coupon on this and it was only 1.97- so yes I will take that free item- THANK YOU!

a bottle of generic ibuprofen- because it is $.99 and I had a $1.00 off coupon on this- so another FREEBIE!!

so this was a total of $6.91- and it would have been 15.20- so that is a % savings of...55%( if Matt did the math right!! Cause I couldn't even figure out how to do it!)

Pretty Cool, huh?? Nothing Crazy like 90%- but I still feel great about it!

2nd Stop -

Walmart

So of course the beloved Walmart that most of us shop at, and their prices are already pretty low on most things, so why price match and coupon? Because it's FUN!! and you can save $$$$!!

Well I went into Walmart with my ads and my coupon binder thinking I was organized! Well next time I will do better, because I think the checker hated me! She stopped asking to see my ads that I was price matching with and just believed the prices I told her, I memorized them anyway- so it was all honest!

So after I felt like everyone was watching me, and my 6 ads, and my big binger, and my crying baby and my unorganized cart- I spent a total of 51.85 on 97.79 worth of things!

among those you will see...

Diapers- for my best friends shower this saturday- which I saved like 5.50 on! So I payed about 3.50!

2 KY Jellys tubes- FREE

Excedrin extra stregth- FREE!

Rockstars- matt buys these for 2.29 at the gas station- and I payed 1.00 each!

Powerade- only 39 cents!

about 6 bags and 2 boxes of pasta only 49 cents each!

Secret deoderant- 1.99! So many people get this stuff free- but I am only a beginner!

Wheat thins- .99 FAMILY SIZE!

eyelash curler- 87 cents

Ground turkey 1.00 each

Frozen veggies 50 cents

(And in the photograph I forgot to add the mayo-

3 boxes of pop tarts- lettuce and grapes!)

Ok the list keeps going but it really is so exciting to me that I am not buying anything I would not normally buy and I can save all that money!

When you think about it I got paid $25 an hour to shop! cause I saved over 50 bucks on these 2 trips!

So at Walmart it is fun because they accept store ads, store coupons, manufacturers coupons! So when it's on sale I buy a lot- and I think I have enough pasta for 1 year!

Now are you thinking, this takes too much time, it seems too stressful and hard? So did I when my sister Caroline told me about couponing months ago- but after seeing what these people were saving I decided to try! And I still get nervous when I go to a lane that the checker is going to tell me NO- you can't do that! And if they did- oh well I wouldn't get it- no big deal! As you can see I was so hesitant to start doing this, and the checkers have been so easy to work with(for the most part) and they are happy to help(for the most part)! and it's funny but with couponing and price matching- you can do it as much as you want or as little as you want- but it still feels good, because you are still saving money!

I just truly believe little Changes will make Big differences, and it is funny to say- But I don't think I could ever go back to shopping like I used to!

OK Enough on my soap box! just don't knock it till you try it and don't go in line behind someone with a shopping cart full of ads, and coupons, and screaming 1 year old!!

See I can Craft... Well kind of!!

So I had the urge to create something today- but Maia was sleeping and I couldn't go to the store. So I went through some of my old fabric scraps and decided to make a V-day table runner( I have been looking for one, but couldn't find a cute one to buy), so it made sense to try and make a cute one!

I am not a patient seamstress, but I decided to try my best on this project (I even pulled out the iron)! I made a huge mess, burned myself, but had a nice relaxing time just doing something that I love to do- CREATING!

The Finished Product- What do you think?

I was limited on my resources, but it's a shabby chic kind of Valentine look and I love it! (it's also the same material that we used to make all of Maia's Nursery set, so maybe it can just go in there when I'm done) And the bottom and the hearts were burlap, and I absolutely love the mix of the two!

Then I went to DI to buy some candy dishes and ended up finding these 3 awesome pieces- The Gold 2 tiered tray was 2 bucks, the small bowl was. 50, and the candle holder and plate (that I just am using as a cute cake stand candy dish- those were 1.00 a piece! For a total of 4.50-
Good Finds I'd say!

And this little girl is tempted by those candy dishes, so I don't know how long they will be there!!

I am no professional- but I had fun doing it and That's all that matters, right?

HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY!!

February Goal

January's Goal to choose the better choice actually worked so well for me! Of course I am human, and sometimes you need to veg in front of the TV after a day of 25 5-6 year olds! (but I LOVE IT, so I'm not complaining)! But it made me so aware of the things I was doing and what I could be doing better!

This month I have decided to choose my goal to be :

SELF MASTERY

I can't think of a way to describe what it means, so I searched LDS.org and found this definition and it is perfect!

"Self-mastery is the power within us to control our desires and actions. Such power is necessary to return to live with Heavenly Father. It requires continual effort on our part, but as we develop self-mastery, we become better prepared to make correct decisions."

I know there are little things that I wanna change about myself, and I don't want those things to control me, So I am choosing self mastery this month to take control of my choices and become better!

A person who is such an example to me of this is my BEST FRIEND and SISTER Katie!! She really takes control of her choices and lives how she knows she should! And I LOVE HER!