Halloween

We took the girls Trick or Treating in the condo complex tonight. I was originally bummed about not having a neighborhood to go to but it was GREAT!! They got tons of candy with very little walking. It took Ansley about 3 doors to really figure out what was going on and then the cute little lady bug was a terror, pushing and shoving all of the other kids to get to the door. Ally spent most of the night saying Trunk or Treat instead of Trick or Treat but whatever works. They got waaaayyy tooooo much candy.

Halloween Parade

Today Ally's class had a Halloween parade and party. The kids looked great all dressed up and they really love singing for the parents.

October 30, 2008

So the potty training is a never ending back and forth battle. Some days I feel like we're making progress but most days I find that she could really care less. Today as I was cleaning her poopy diaper she says, "I'm sorry mommy, I know I need to go on the potty." Fantastic. Thanks for the apology. Now could we just try to actually do it????

A Big Day!

Today Ansley got a much needed haircut. She looks thrilled doesn't she. She did really well though. She sat perfectly still. The hairdresser was very relieved. She layered the back to try and take out some of the dead hair. I had them leave the bangs. I really want them to grow out. Now if I could only get her to wear a hair clip.

Afterwards we came home for lunch. As we were eating Ally kept complaining about her tooth hurting. She was just at the dentist and is cavity free so it could only mean one thing.............. a LOOSE TOOTH!!

Coupon Mania!!

So with our current living situation and Jerry being in graduate school I have had to really tighten things up at home. One of the ways I have been doing this is with coupons. I have always cut and used coupons but recently someone at work showed me how to really use coupons and get stuff for free or almost free. Last month was my first really successful month and I was quite proud of many of my purchases. 14oz boxes of cheerios for $1 a box. Natures Valley granola bars for 0.50 cents a box. Family sized bottles of Garnier fructis shampoo for less than $2.00 a bottle. I have found that places like CVS and Walgreen's, places I would have never dared enter before, have some of the greatest deals. The look on the cashiers face at Walgreen's last week when I paid 34 dollars on a 90 dollar tab was priceless. Today I bought 4 3-packs of Gillette razors, 4 boxes of sleepy time tea, and two 90 count bags of satin flossers at Walgreen's for $15.48. Less than the original price of the tea alone. The razors came to about one dollar a box. Crazy but true. The secret is not being a brand snob and cutting lots of coupons. Multiple papers if you can and being super organized. Then at the beginning of each week you go through the ads and make your lists and pull your coupons. Rite aid has many things free this week in their sales paper. If you add the coupon, they are actually paying you to take the product off the shelf. This weeks freebies include kotex and oral B toothbrushes among others. A lot of times you can trade coupons or print extras off the Internet. CVS and Walgreen's frequently have Crest and Colgate toothpaste on sale for 99 cents. With the one dollar off Sunday paper coupons its free, so stock up. It they are out, get a rain check. BJ's is another jack pot. Not only are their prices better than Sam's on most items, they have a deli and they take coupons. They also send out their own coupon books monthly and will allow you to use double and triple coupons. Today I had a rebate on campbell soup 6-packs. Buy 5 cases get 10 dollars off from BJs flier. The store had 2.50 off coupons at the register plus I had all of the Sunday paper coupons. I ended up getting 30 cans of campbells soups for 11.45 (38 cents a can)!! My other jackpot is the Price Chopper. It isn't the most organized store but the sales are great and they give 10 cents off gas for every 50 dollars spent. The cents off accrues so today Jerry and I were able to buy up to 20 gallons of gas at sunoco for 59 cents a gallon. We had accrued 2 dollars off with groceries. It takes time at first but its easy and it saves a ton of money. And given the current economic crisis we are currently in I am sure we could all use a little extra money.

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight the girls and I carved the pumpkin. Ansley was very unsure of the the whole thing at first but quickly warmed up to the idea. They were both a total mess by the end. Tons of ooey gooey fun!!

Fall Fun

Today was a gorgeous fall day so I took the girls out to the park. Tons of great pics of Ansley, Ally just wasn't into it today!

October 26, 2008

So today while putting the girls down for bed Ansley got upset with Jerry. She has quite the temper and was really mad. As he was trying to kiss her goodnite she pushed him away so he asked her if she loved him. Her response was priceless, "No, I love mommy!" I guess he'll learn not to ask such questions when she's so upset. Ouch!

Trunk or Treat Fun

Tonight was our wards Trunk or Treat. We didn't go last year so I don't think Ally remembered what the night would consist of. She and Ansley both loved it! It poured rain though so instead of going trunk to trunk they had to go room to room inside. All of the kids looked Great!! A lot of the adults too! A few of the young women dressed up as their leaders, one of which is me. It was cute!

High Tea

My two little ballerinas having tea with Ally's new tea party set.

My little witch

Ansley loves my witches hat! She has been wearing it all over!

October 23, 2008

So Ally got quite a bit of cash for her birthday so Jerry and I decided we would take her out to Friendly's for dinner and then out to Toys R Us to spend half of her birthday money. What was funny about the trip was she was totally overwhelmed by the idea that she could pick out what she wanted from such a big store filled with toys. All three of the kids had a BLAST!!

October 21, 2008

So ever since Ally's party when Ansley dressed up as the lady bug she has asked to wear the black sleeper that goes under the costume. She absolutely loves it!! She'll wear it all day if I let her. What's funny about it is that as a kid I hated them so I have never put either of the girls in them once they could walk. I guess I need go out and buy some "sleep-paas" as Ansley calls them.

On a side note. Jerry broke Ansley of her Happy while I was in Atlanta. Really she was ready months ago it was her mommy who wasn't. My baby is too BIG!! I noticed when I got home early Sunday morning that she was sleeping without it but that morning when she woke up she told me "No more happy mommy, I a big girl!" Yes you are a big girl Ansley. Now if we could only master potty training! :)

I Love You

So this morning as I was helping Ansley get dressed she looked up at me from her changing table and said I love you!! It was so sweet! She has said it before but only when I say it to her. She usually says, I love you too! It made me melt!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Today we took the girls to a pumpkin patch with some friends. They had a good time. The weather was great and there was tons for them to do. We rode a hayride out to the pumpkin patch for pumpkins, ran through the corn maze and ate hot apple cider and apple donuts. YUM! Ally even had her hand painted. She wouldn't let them put it on her face. She's just like her mom.

Home sweet home!

After a quick but busy trip to Atlanta I am finally home to see my family. The week was hard patient wise but it was nice to work during the day and actually sleep at night. So despite losing 2 patients in 4 days and working over 60 hours this week, I feel pretty darn good.

October 13, 2008

Tonight after dinner the cutest thing happened. The Family Home Evening Phantom rang the doorbell and dropped off Halloween treats. The girls loved it! The best part is next Monday we get to do the same thing for someone else.

For now though it's off to work at Middlesex tonight and the off to Atlanta for the week. See ya when I get back. Have a great week!

October 12, 2008

So today was Ally's actual birthday. She is officially 5 years old. We had another great weather day so I dressed her up to take some birthday pictures of her while Jerry and Ansley slept. I have to work tonight. I don't what I was thinking. I feel pretty bad about it. Ally hates for me to go to work and usually begs me to, "just call out mommy!" so going in on her birthday really stinks. Not to mention that I have to work Monday night too and then fly out to Atlanta Tuesday morning. It would be nice to be at home tonight but oh well. What's done is done.

Happy 5th Birthday Ally

Today we celebrated Ally's 5th Birthday with a Halloween party at our condo. Ally was dressed in her Cinderella garb and at the door by 7:45 this morning. She was so excited. It was a ton of kids but she had a blast and it was totally worth it. I can't believe my baby is five. Time goes by so fast. Too fast! It was a great day, with perfect weather and lots of fun. We ate pizza for lunch and had grandmas famous witches brew for a drink. We celebrated with cupcakes (way easier than cake) and bobbed for apples and painted pumpkins. Ally enjoyed it all but was beside herself over the fact that all of the presents were for her. She loved opening her presents and got tons of great gifts!! Thank you to everyone who came and made Ally's special day so great!

We retired to a very messy house all snugged up on the couch to watch Enchanted in our jams. Happy Birthday Ally. Ansley is still singing, "Happy Birthday to my Ally!" So freaking cute!!

October 10, 2008

Today we celebrated Ally's 5th Birthday at the school. It was nice to be able to be there with her for her special day. She is by far the oldest in her class due to the fact that Jerry and I decided to keep her out another year. She wouldn't have made the cutoff in Atlanta and to be honest there is just so much pressure even in kindergarten now that we really just thought it would be best to wait and start her next year. Not only that but it gives us one more year to have her at home and what better reason could there be!! She is big even for five though so she towers over some of the kids who haven't even turned four yet. She doesn't seem to mind though. She enjoyed the day of attention and is so excited for her birthday party tomorrow. Notice her proudly displaying her rendition of the firemen that came to school and her exit sign. They are learning all about fire safety at school this week.

It's Check-Up Time

Today the girls had their yearly physicals with their new pediatrician Dr. Bush. Ansley's was a little late but we were in Atlanta when she turned two and then the office cancelled her appointment for when we got back. Oh well. Anyway the girls did great. Neither of them minded going even though they knew that they'd be getting shots. Ansley was 26lbs and 35 1/4 inches tall and Ally was 45lbs and 45 1/2inches tall. They're getting so big!

October 9, 2008

Today Ally got her first birthday package. It was from Ethan. She was so excited and she loves her gift. Thank you Hagelthorn family!

August 8, 2008

This week I have had the privilege of being the helping parent at Ally's school. It is a cooperative pre-school so all of the parents do it on a rotating basis for one week at a time. It is a great experience that most parents don't get and I am grateful for it. I love to work with the kids and to see how much Ally really enjoys school and being with her classmates. Today Mrs. Pat came for gym class. She is a woman who the school contracts out to come and do 90 minute gyms classes with the kids about once a month. She is a nut and the kids love her. Today she brought a parachute and they had a blast! It brings back great memories of when I was in school. Everyone loves parachute day in gym.

The Presidential Election

I have been getting a lot of mail from different people and groups lately due to the upcoming Presidential election. I want to urge people to please place your vote with the interest of more than one issue in mind. We cannot place our votes based solely on gun control or abortion. Furthermore, whether or not you love or hate the two nominees (trust me, I understand), we cannot give up our vote. Our country is in the worst position it has been in since the Great Depression and has the potential to get much worse. We have a responsibility to ourselves and future generations to not only cast our vote but to base that vote on the overall picture and best interests of this Great Nation. Watch the debates. Read. Get to know what each candidate really stands for. Pray. But please don't base your decision on one or two major issues. And PLEASE Vote!!!

The Wall

So we have these two enormous concrete walls in the basement that drive me crazy. They are just white walls and because they are concrete you can't hang anything on them. I have despised them for months. The other thing that has been driving me crazy is the door of art that was my fridge door. There are so many masterpieces on it that if it weren't for the fact that it was shaped like a fridge and located in the kitchen you just might miss it. My solution, a clothesline strung across the dreadful concrete wall. Here are some before and after shots. I am quite pleased with the result. A great wall of colorful art where there was a bleak and barren wall and a clutter free fridge. What could be better. I even let the kids decorate the clothespins we used to hang the art. They loved it and they love seeing their art on display in their playroom.

Priceless

New freezer - $279.00

Food to stock new freezer - $250.00

Finding freezer of food thawed - Priceless!

Apples, Apples, Apples

So Ally is home from her sleepover and Daddy is home from his conference so we decided today would be a great day to spend as a family making applesauce. It was a messy project but we got it done. We lost a couple of quarts to broken jars during the canning process and a few due to mommy burning the last batch of apples on the stove top but all in all I think we did pretty well. 22 Quart jars and a couple of pints of applesauce and that's not counting the basket of apples I left out for apple pie filling. I'm guessing we'll probably get about 10 quarts of pie filling too!


Cooking the apples


Making the applesauce


Yummy Applesauce! It was so sweet we didn't even need to add sugar. :-)


Filling the canning jars. I have such good helpers!