Making money and saving money

Well, the economy is bad. I think we can all agree. I'm doing my best to contribute as a stay at home mom. Here's what I've got. :)

I bought a plain long sleeved t-shirt at Target and appliqued and embroidered it for a friend. I had so much fun doing it, I'm thinking of adding applique to my business line. (for which there is now a link on the top right portion of my blog. Let me warn you, my site is free, so it's not the greatest website in the world, but it works. And it's free. :) How's that for an introduction?). Here's a picture of the finished shirt:



Isn't it PRECIOUS??? I love it!

*********************************

Now, for saving money...on my weekly trip to Walgreens I had some great deals.

5 (12 packs) Diet Dr. Pepper
3 (12 packs) Diet Coke
2 L'Oreal eye shadows
1 Almay mascara
1 Almay eye liner
2 (1 qt. each) bottles Pedialyte
1 super pack Huggies pullups.
2 (2 pack's) of Walgreens brand Nuby sippie cups

Grand Total: $80.88

After coupons, store credit and sales my out of pocket was: $5.39

Plus, I have $2 reward dollars for next week, and a $7.70 rebate coming to me.

Healing and funnies

Well, we are all better (Praise the LORD!!!) and GOING OUT!!! (no more cabin fever!). Anna-Kate went to school on Tuesday where she got to use "real" paint (as opposed to the crayola magic kind she gets at home) to paint her own pumpkin. She was so proud if it..."punkin" is sitting on our front porch. The beauty of MMO? They do real paint and glitter. So I don't have to.

Today we went to Bible study at church, then to the hospital to visit Papa. Last night he was admitted and originally diagnosed with pneumonia (what is it about this illness and us?!?!). Thankfully, we found today that it's only acute bronchitus. I was scared to take the kids in, so Mom met us downstairs and played with the kids in the chapel--which was empty--(is it less germy in there?) while I visited with my grandparents and Julia, my moms sister. Should be an interesting day as we didn't get home from the hospital until 2:45...the kids usually go down at 1/1:30....

Anna-Kate has had some funny new sayings and perceptions on life lately...

"I have dimons Mommy!" (referring to the shiny new dime Chris gave her for her piggy bank).

Her new thing is discussing her favorite things. Like, the yogurt I buy (because it's cheap), "o, yum, that's my favorite yogurt Mommy". Milk? "Mmm, my favorite milk". Guess her favorite color? You got it, "PINK!"

When she poops she likes privacy...except for Copper, she requires that he sit in there with her. Misery likes company? :) But it generally takes Chris or me calling him, because, he isn't interested in joining her in the bathroom. But, she tries. "Copper, Cop? Come here Copper. Mommy, Copper is not obeying me. He needs big pops ok?" (conversation from yesterday).

"Chill out Ryan, Mommy help me now" (she is generally really patient and calming for her brother, but after "shhing" doesn't work and "it's OK Ryan" she is over it. :)).

She has learned a lot of praise songs and will randomly start singing them. What an unbelievable uplift it is to hear a two year old sing so sweetly, "Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your holy name" and "my God is mighty to save...forever, Author of Salvation, He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave".

Disappointment

So both of the kids went to the pediatrician today. Both for rechecks. Anna-Kate's lungs are clear and she is acting and feeling normal and great. Unfortunately, she has to stay away from other kids over the weekend as she doesnt' cough into her elbow 100% of the time (do you?). I almost cried when the doctor told me that this morning. Seriously? We havent left the house since Saturday. All week she's been asking about her friends. She didn't get to go to school, we skipped the Halloween craft at friends' house yesterday, and today was the big Halloween party that she and I stuffed goodie bags for weeks ago. She (and I...) have been so excited to go! I know it's piddly and not a big deal in the grand scheme of life, but we were both so sad and disappointed. Thankfully, Chris worked from home today (to help me at the ped's with 2 kids), so he stayed home while I went to the party to set-up. I got to see some of my friends, and brought home party food, crafts and a goodie bag for Anna-Kate. She LOVED it--her eyes were filled with such excitement and joy at her dino shaped chicken nuggest, mini-cupcake with a candy corn on top and cheese and crackers.

In less self-centered news....Ryan has really bad double ear infections. Explains why he cried 80% of the time he was awake yesterday. Thankfully, he is still sleeping and nursing well. We started him on his first prescription today, amoxicillan. Unfortunately, I am stupid. The safety plastic part that comes on the syringe...ya, I didn't realize you were supposed to take it off before giving the medicine. So I spilled a majority of it on the front of him.

What can I say, it's been a long week. :)

8 months old!

Well, he's had better month "birthdays", but here it is, his 8th. :) He is in better spirits after his nap, so hopefully he's on the mend now as well.

As I found out yesterday at the pediatrician's office (ah-ha! another "silver lining"--to keep up with his stats for the baby book!)that he weighs 18.1 lbs. So much bigger than Anna-Kate at that age. She's 29.1 lbs now.

Happy 8 month birthday, sweet boy! I love you. Hope next month is better for ya! :)

Silver Linings

So, I'm not gonna lie, today was harder than yesterday. It's been a looooong 72 hours in my life.

As posted yesterday, Anna-Kate is sick and has been very needy of me as of late. Last night, I heard Ryan coughing a few times but wasn't too concerned. The doctor told me that he would likely get a cough, not to worry. This morning however he woke up covered in various colors of snot with an alternating "productive" cough and a hoarse/dry/croak cough (it sounded painful and like he had lost his voice--even though he isn't talking). He was miserable. So was I.

Chris encouraged me to take him in.....so, for the second day in a row, I hauled it to the pediatricians office. This time with two sick children. I am so lucky.

After waiting for 45 minutes (during his morning nap that he skipped) he cried the whole time the doctor was in with us. She couldn't draw a conclusive diagnosis because of this and because of that, coupled with his young age and Anna-Kate's diagnosis, she sent us to the hospital for x-rays. Could my day possibly get any better? (dripping with sarcasm...)

I had to wait another 45 minutes, then strip him to his diaper, sit him on a mini-bicycle seat with his arms straight up around his ears and then all strapped in around his belly, arms and head. Needless to say, he hated that. Can you blame him? He was screaming. Anna-Kate was hysterical at being taken behind the door to avoid x-rays. I was crying to see my baby so upset. I finally got him, redressed him and got everyone calm.

Then the tech came back.

Yep, the image was blurry. I had to strip him and do it all again. Nightmare, end, make it stop!

The doctor called a few hours later to say that his lungs were not inflamed yet--but to be really aggressively saline drop him to keep it clear. Obviously, I didn't want him to be sick, but all that and it's just a bad cough/cold?

So, after feeling sorry for myself all day I determined that my attitude was completely out of whack and I needed to just be thankful for my blessings. Here is my list of thanks.....the silverlinings, if you will, to this black cloud of a day (or week, so far).

1. Anna-Kate is a little better, Ryan isn't too sick, and they will both ultimately be fine.

2. When babies are sick they are deliciously snuggly, warm and cuddly.

3. People feel sorry for you and are kinder and more helpful (while I was filling out paperwork a lady walked my stroller in circles around the waiting room trying to calm Ryan down).

4. You get to cut in line (they moved me up in front of 2 others at the hospital--possibly since he was screaming, but whatever).

5. My ego gets stroked (you know, "wow, you are so patient". "what a saint, this must be so hard for you". "your kids are precious even when sick".)

So the last one is kind of a joke.

Kind of.

Sicky-sickerton

Anna-Kate, as she is also known.

She had an extremely high fever (and etc...) on Saturday night and we have been giving motrin around the clock......took her to the doctor today on a friends' suggestion (I'm always hesitant to be that mom who takes their kid in for every cough...). Yep...verdict is....she has pneumonia. Poor kid. She is so listless and miserable. Had a fever today of 102.5, but we're on the heavy duty meds now, so hopefully we're on the road to recovery.

Say a prayer for her--and also that Ryan won't get it. And, if you really feel sorry for us, for me too--patience, and energy, are underrated needs in the life of a mommy of sick kiddos.

Here they are......hysterical!

Here are the videos of Anna-Kate dancing at the wedding on Saturday (thanks Mom for the video and Kendel for informing me how!!).



and another.....

Playgroup and Walgreens!

Playgroup was at our house today, and Anna-Kate sure enjoyed having her friends over! As I've been trying to be better about scrapbooking, I have been trying to be better about taking pictures that can then be scrapbooked. (See how nicely that works?) :) Anyway. Here is a picture of the kids today taking a break in the 88 degree weather (it is October, isn't it??)



And now for Walgreens. I'm hoping my parents stop by tomorrow before they head to the airport (going to San Antonio for a visit). So, in an effort to be here, I went to Walgreens tonight while Chris was home instead of during Anna-Kate's school time tomorrow. Jolly the things Ryan gets to do with me, huh? Poor guy...but I digress.



2 containers clorox wipes
2 lysol kitchen spray bottles
2 (64 oz)bottles Welches grape juice
2 Reynolds aluminum foil
2 Robitussin cough syrup
1 Dimetapp cough syrup
1 kotex pads
2 kotex tampons
1 RX
1 each of milky way, snickers, 100 grand, and twix (for halloween)

Initial total: $69.01
Total out of pocket: $5.40 (PLUS $13 in register rewards--free money--for next time!)

I should add, Walgreens had an add in the paper this week for a $25 gift card for a transferred RX. I already had my prescription there. So, I asked the pharmacist if I really needed to move my business to CVS and then back again. She said no, she'd just give me the gift card if I filled my prescription there tonight. Super, consider it done. :)

Sweet Anna-Kate

Chris worked from home today so while Ryan was taking his morning nap, Anna-Kate and I went to the final consignment sale of the season and ran a few other errands. For a while now, every time we get in the car she asks, "where I going?". So I told her we were going to a store. She looks up and says, "Oh, we go Target". Sure enough, we were in the Target parking lot....think we go too much? :)

We have been talking alot about whispering (like, in bed before going to sleep she can whisper). Tonight we were all 4 on the ground playing and Anna-Kate walked over to me and said, "Mommy, I need to tell you a secret" and leaned in to my ear. In her best toddler whisper (you know, the very loud quiet voice :)) she says, "Mommy, I sure love you" then gave me the sweetest smile. Melt my heart.

School

I love school days. Apart from the sweet time I get with my little Ryan, (and the work I get done during his nap!)Anna-Kate has such a great time at school and there are always such cute things to report on. For example...we are always the last to school in the morning. Always. But every morning I open the door and her friends, Asa and Ansley, both start screaming, "Anna-Kate, Anna-Kate's here!" and run over to give her a hug. Now while this is precious, I have a great sense of joy that my child has made friends who care about her...even at the tender age of 2.

Her age brings me to my next "nugget". When we get home, I put Ryan down for his nap and she and I have a little snack and talk about her day (I've found she won't nap if I put her straight down since she's too riled up, and I love our special time). Anyway. We have a digital picture frame in the kitchen and she looked up just in time to see a picture of her, on her first birthday, covered in cake. She said, "Oh, there's Anna-Kate eating cake. I so messy Mama". I agreed then told her that was the year she turned one. I then asked, "how old are you now Anna-Kate?". She didn't say anything, so I held up 2 fingers and told her to count them. She says, "one, two...I TWO! I am so old Mommy!"

It has begun.....and the weekend.

We moved Ryan's crib to a lower setting over the weekend. Ahh! How can it be? Our boy is getting so big! He is C-R-A-W-L-I-N-G! He is, however, quite selective about what he will crawl for. For example, a paci or toy? Absolutely not. He'll content himself with something else, or roll to it in a minute when he feels like it. Food or something electronic (Daddy's blackberry is a personal favorite)--he is on it! He gets up on his knees and goes backwards, or he goes with the tried and truly mastered belly/army crawl and can make pretty decent time. :)

Last Wednesday, my oldest childhood friend (we've been friends since we were 6!!) and her 4 month old son came to visit! We had such a great time hanging out and doing fun craft projects together. She taught me how to make a dipee and wipee (diaper holder) but until I've played with it a bit more, I'll hold off posting a picture. :) Her parents were also in town for a fundraiser for the justice foundation and they came for dinner one night. In addition, Christina's mom (who has the same embroidery machine that I do) was very helpful with tips and suggestions. All of the women and kids went to the square in Marietta and enjoyed window shopping, sipping on coffee and eating pizza for lunch outside--SUCH FUN!

On Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for my good friend with a couple of other girls. She got a lot of great gifts and we all had a lot of fun. I love going to showers! :)

Anna-Kate and I left the boys at home and went to a family wedding in Gainesville. We had a lot of fun seeing extended family (my parents, grandparents, aunt and other family I see far less often were all there). The highlight of the evening, even though the food, open bar and candy bar were all fabulous, was the dancing. As this was Anna-Kate's first wedding she was like a kid in a candy shop--big wide eyes and LOVING it! The girl danced up a storm! She danced with me, then Nana and Poppy--then moved on to bigger and better. She danced with the bridesmaids, the bride, (the "pretty princess") the band ("watch that baby go" the singer said a couple of times), and finally led the second line with a parasol in the New Orleans style dance. She danced for about an hour. Straight. Took a quick water break and wanted more! We finally left at 9:50 for the 1 hour + drive home. The next morning she told Chris about all the food we had ("and cake" was added after each addition) and then she mentioned the dancing and told him all the people she danced with. She closed with, "daddy, you want to dance with me to?" Precious memories.

My mom got video of it...so if anyone wants to share how to post that, I will gladly put it on my blog. :)

My big deals!

So at Walgreens last week my total was $86.44.



2 full size cascade dishwashing detergent
2 Puffs boxes
2 legal size boxes of envelopes
2 full size bottles of Crest
2 bottles of Dawn
2 bottles of Febreeze
2 bottles of Gillette Shampoo
1 package (of 8) Quattro razors
1 Oral-B toothbrush
1 L'Oreal disposable washcloths
1 Pledge multi-surface cleaner (wipes)
1 bag of Dumb-Dumbs (trick-or treaters)
$6 of non-sale personal things, not pictures, enough said. :)

After coupons, etc, new out of pocket total: $16.86.

I also have almost $20 rebate coming to me and $9.50 to spend (free) on my next purchase--so in essence, they paid me to take all of this stuff! :)

Growin' up!

Well, Ryan is a little over 7 months now.....and yesterday, went from sitting, to on his belly, to rolling everywhere and then sat back up again! He also is getting on hands and knees and moving backwards and--SAY IT AIN'T SO--getting mobile! He is pulling up on stuff and practicing his walking holding my hands. Ahh, my sweet little boy....time flies too quickly.