Skate World

During Dr. Seuss week K's school rented out the local skate rink for all the kids to use. K went with her dad and used her new skates she got from Bahmah. She had a really good time but needs to practice some more. I remember when my best friend and I went skating almost every weekend when we were kids. It was so much fun and great exercise too!

When Couponing is Worth it

A good friend of mine got me into couponing about nine months ago. It is very time consuming and we don't always get the good coupons that they get up in Portland, but sometimes it is so worth the effort.

This week I was able to get all this for $4.25 plus I got a $2 off a purchase of $2 or more catalina and a free baked cookies with my next purchase catalina from Albertson's. How did I do this you ask? I will tell you.
Sunday's paper had doubler coupons in it. I had five doublers which I combined with coupons I printed off line or cut out of the paper. Doing this I got the paper towels for free and the deodorant for 59 cents each. The cereal was two for five dollars but I had coupons for those and paid only $5.25 for all four boxes. I was supposed to get a catalina for a free milk and $2 off my next purchase of $2 or more but the catalinas didn't print out. I went to the customer service desk where they gave me $4.40 for the price of their most expensive milk and pulled a $2 catalina out of their coupon bag. I used the cash to buy the Albertson's brand milk and made $1.11 off of the purchase.

I hear that once upon a time couponers could get fab deals like this every week but with the coupon craze going on now many stores have had to change their policies. I do save a lot of money couponing though. I do most of my shopping at Winco, which already has good prices so adding in the coupons makes it great. I also go to Target (which have their own store coupons you can combine with manufacture coupons), Wal-Mart (though now that our Target is turning into a super Target I won't go there as often), and occasionally Albertson's when they have really good deals on cereal and such.

One of my other friends, Sue, finds great deals at Grocery Outlet. I still haven't made it to ours yet. It isn't on this side of town and I hate traveling very far for a good deal. I don't shop at Costco near as much as I used to. They have great food, especially their produce, but their prices aren't nearly as good as I thought they were. Now we do a lot of bulk shopping at Cash n' Carry which is on our side of town, so that's a plus.

I have made a goal of only spending $200 a month on groceries and household items. This website has a budget challenge going on where you keep track of what you spend and save then you are entered each week into a drawing for a free gift card. I already won a $20 gift card to Amazon! They also have an excel spread sheet you can download to keep track of your spending. It is great and has helped keep me on task for the budget I set for this year.

If you haven't done couponing, I suggest you start. It's a great way to save money on the things you already buy. It can be a little overwhelming at first but there are lots of great websites that can help you figure it out. Here are the ones I love to go to:
Frugal Living NW
Thrifty and Thriving
Fabulously Frugal
You can also go to these websites for printable coupons:
Coupons.com
RedPlum.com
SmartSource.com
FreeCoupons.com

Hearts, Candy, and Notes of Love

Last week we had a FHE lesson on Love and how we can demonstrate it to each other. After the lesson I pulled out this pretty box of chocolates. I told the girls we could only have a chocolate after writing a nice note about someone in the family and putting it in the chocolates place. After our Valentine's dinner we read the notes that were left in the box. The girls left a lot of cute notes in the box. I got the idea from this website.

I made the girls some heart shaped pancakes
for breakfast on Valentine's Day.

L had a fun party at preschool on Monday. They played games, made crafts, and exchanged valentines. For snack they had hot cocoa, heart shaped frosted cookies, and gold fish. She had a really good time and was so excited to show me all candy she received.
I was able to go help out at K's Valentine's Day party on Tuesday. There was a heart-shaped pinata filled with candy and the kids took turns trying to break open. It only took four swipes before all the candy came plummeting out. It was a free for all trying to get their cups full of the sweet innards. They exchanged valentines and ate a snack consisting of gold fish, pretzels, popcorn and, of course, candy. K only ate two pieces and saved the rest for later. I have taught her well:)
After dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, our favorite, we stopped in at Star Bucks to buy some dessert with our $2 bills. Some anti-gun group organized a boy-cot of Star Bucks across America on February 14th because Star Bucks allows people to conceal carry in their stores. Because of this many gun owners went out of their way to purchase something at Star Bucks and to use $2 bills in honor of the second amendment. We bought some tasty little cream cakes and brownies. The girls loved their cream cakes.
We exchanged gifts with each other. The girls made valentines for all of us and we gave the girls chocolate filled hearts. M made me some metal paper holders for my awesome memo board he made me before Christmas. I should really make a post about that.
We had a wonderful Valentine's Day together. The girls got a ton of candy which they will nibble on here and there for the next week or so. Then they will forget it even exists and I will donate it to the girls at church. I love that my girls aren't candy hounds. They would prefer veggies or fruit to candy. Their teeth will thank me later.

The Formidable Fours?

L celebrated her fourth birthday this weekend in style. On Friday she awoke to crepe paper hanging from her bedroom door and the ceiling in the kitchen. At preschool they sang to her and enjoyed some cookies with juice.

In the afternoon we invited over some of her friends for a Lego birthday party. We played games, decorated cookies, and ate pizza and cake. She received some pretty cool presents from her friends and had a really good time.

L wanted her Lego cake to be rainbow in the inside,
so this is what I made. Next time I will have to add more
dye to make the colors more vibrant.

L with all her friends eating pizza.

Blowing out her candles.
The Lego's are kind of lopsided, but it still
turned out kind of cute.

All the kids building stuff with the Lego's.
Below are the gifts she got from her friends.

Today Daddy made her eggs and toast for breakfast, as per her request. Then we played with her huge set of Lego's we gave her for her birthday. Daddy made an awesome castle zoo but Larkin destroyed it in seconds, as is her personality. She really enjoys tearing things apart.

We watched the movie Rio and then went out to Road House for her birthday dinner. They sang and gave her an ice cream sundae. We came home where she opened the rest of her gifts from bahmah, auntie, and us.

K wanted to buy her a gift so Daddy took her to the store
where she picked out this neat covered wagon cowboy set
and paid for it out of her own money jar. So sweet.

The tumultuous threes have reined in our house over the last year. L has become more and more willful, pushing way past boundaries and fighting for control. It's been hard since both of us are stubborn and fight to get what we want. She is a formidable foe:) I am hoping that this year things will improve, not just on her end but mine as well.
She has gotten better at walking away from me when she is mad and coming back when she is more calm. This has been a grand improvement. She is such a loving and sweet little girl more often than not and I catch glimpses at times of the woman she will become. She is a great helper and always interested in trying new things. Her speech has come a long way in this year and she can already write her name and all of her capital letters. She loves to count, sing songs, and play with her toys.
Her favorite toys right now are Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies, and Lego's. She enjoys being read to by anyone, especially her sister. She also loves being outside. She is always wanting to go play at the park, even in the rain.
She has grown so much this year, (moving up three sizes!) and now wears the same size as her 6 year old sister. They look and act so much alike. At times they play so nicely together which is a big improvement. It's nice to hear them playing and laughing together, sometimes for as long as 30-45 minutes at a time before the fighting begins again. I hope that one day they will learn to manage their anger and get along better. I always wanted a sister, I can only hope one day they will be friends as well as sisters. I look forward to seeing how she grows and changes in the coming year. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!