Well. . .that's embarrassing!

I have to confess, I went over budget this month. I'm embarrassed! Well, I guess it's not too bad I'm only $2.30 over budget. I really thought that I would be under this month. I think I need to work on my math skills!

So, my total was $127.30. But, last month I only spent $122.49. So, my new year-to date total is: $249.79. I'm feeling pretty good about this!

So, I've had a few requests for a menu of what we have been eating. I was going to keep a log for all the things that we ate the entire month but in the beginning of Feb. I was really sick so I wasn't cooking and people brought us meals for a few days. But, for the last few weeks I have been keeping a log. Keep in mind we eat a lot of the same things for breakfast and lunch. So, here is a sample of what we have been eating:

Day1: Breakfast: Eggs, Lunch: Cous Cous, Dinner: Spaghetti

Day 2: Breakfast: Oatmeal, Lunch: Hamburger Sliders (homemade), Dinner: Potatoes with Chili and veggies

Day 3: Breakfast: Pancakes, Lunch: Sandwiches, Dinner: Cheddar and broccoli soup

Day 4: Breakfast: Cereal, Lunch: Homemade mac and cheese, Dinner: made by a friend

Day 5: Breakfast: Cereal, Lunch: Wendy's (reward for girl's chores), Dinner: Homemade Pizza and Salad

Day 6: Breakfast: Eggs, Lunch: Leftover pizza, Dinner: Honey Mustard Chicken, Cous Cous, and veggies

These days were from two weeks (they were mostly in a row). I really like keeping a log of what we have eaten. It is giving me ideas for what to cook in the future. I hope this helps anyone who is looking to save money on groceries and still eat!

January's Shopping trips

I had high hopes that I would post every week, but life gets in the way so maybe once a month is more realistic. I shopped at 2 different stores, Albertsons and Winco. When I went to Winco (for Cub scout food) I was shocked that I never shop there! Their prices are amazing! I will probably be adding a trip down there once a month or so. Anyway, so my grand total for this month is: $105.61 for groceries plus one Bountiful Basket: $16.50

YTD: $122.49

Under budget! I'm really proud. I hope I can keep this up.

Shopping trip #1

As the second day of the new year dawned (okay, before it dawned) I headed to Albertson's. They had double coupons and there were just a few things that I wanted. Here is the list of things that I purchased:

2 bottles of juice

2 bottles of olive oil

2 gallons of milk

4 packages of hot pocket snackers

My total was: $11.88

Later in the day I headed off to Idaho Falls to go to Target. I only purchased 2 things:

2 Lunchables

Total: $1.00

So my grand total for the first shopping day was: $12.88

Not too bad! I hope I can stay close to this total for every week in 2012!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Years!

With the new year I have been thinking about what kinds of things I could resolve to do and actually do it.

Last year on a blog that I read frequently (like almost everyday), Fabulessly Frugal, a woman named Mavis made a goal of only spending $1,200 on groceries for the entire year! Isn't that amazing? She is a couponer (like me) and is obviously experienced. So, I decided to try to spend less on groceries. That is the point of couponing, right?

So, my goal is to spend $1,500 on groceries this year. I'm pretty worried but I really feel like I can do it. That would come out to $125 a month. When I would coupon before Addie was born I would spend about $20-$25 on groceries every week. I really think I can stick to this again.

Here are some ways that I'm planning on achieving my goal:

1. Couponing (was that a given?)

2. Get a bountiful basket possibly once a month (I do want us to eat healthy too)

3. Have a garden, last year's was great, I hope we can do that again

4. This also means eating from our pantry more (which is why we have a pantry right?)

Anyway, I am going to try to blog about my grocery shopping experiences so that I stay on track and I have people to stay accountable to. I can use a lot of encouragement and help so if you have any ideas, I'm willing to hear them!

Tomorrow starts a new year of shopping (luckily there are doublers at Albertson's to kick it off right)!

I'm back!!

So, a few months ago our laptop kicked the bucket. Then, about a month later, our desktop also kicked the bucket. Of course, we had no money to fix or buy a new one so they sat dead in our house. The smell was starting to get to me, ha ha, just kidding.

It was very frustrating and all I could think about was having a computer! I never knew I was so dependent on a computer before! Anyway, we have recently purchased a computer and I am back in action! I couldn't be happier. I will hopefully be blogging a little more regularly.

Family Pictures

The last time my parents were here (at the end of May) we had family pictures taken. Here is just a preview of what she took.
Shelby is starting to look so grown up! Here she is by an old red shed out in the country near Rexburg.
Addie looks so innocent. This is by far my favorite picture of her. By the way, that headband is from the Toasted Coconut. If you haven't looked at her stuff check her out on Etsy.

This one is a keeper. It's going to be on our wall soon!

My Momma's Day

My mother's day this year was one of the best. Mostly, because of this girl:
She was sitting in the car Saturday morning and said, "Mom, I have 20 cents to buy you a Mother's Day Present!" She was so proud of herself! What she didn't realize was she had more like $2.00 but I didn't bother to correct her. So, for the rest of the day off and on she reminded her dad that she had to go to the store to buy me a present.
After she purchased a scentsy type thing, she was so proud of herself. Her face when she gave it to me was priceless.
Jordan also made it a good day. He actually got up before 9am, and, then he made me breakfast from scratch! He did a great job.

Have I told you lately. . .

how much fun two girls are? We love having them both in our lives! Addie was a fun addition to our family. She is crazy sometimes and she doesn't just sit by and take stuff from her sister. She is a fighter! She has red hair for a reason! She loves to get her picture taken and she always looks so sweet in them but guess what? She's not always sweet.
Addie is learning new words, like "NO!" She screams it at the top of her lungs when she objects to anything (which is almost everything). But, our family wouldn't be complete without her.

Shelby is also a sweet girl. She is good to her sister. She usually gives into what she wants. She is quick to apologize to her and to help whenever asked (unless she is watching tv or playing a game, just forget it). She is very excited to go to preschool and some day the "big school." I love being home with them everyday. Sometimes I get frustrated and tired but they never make my life boring.

At the end of the day, I love these girls!

My life lately

I feel like I post about my kids most of the time, which is fine with me. Have you seen them? They are cute and they do fun stuff.

But, lately I've been trying to focus on me. Many of you might know that over the last year I've been trying to lose weight and get healthier. My doctor put me on a "diet" last year and I've been working my butt off (literally) since then. This was totally the push I needed. He was really nice about it but he asked me if I was happy with my weight since the birth of Addie. I said I would like to be smaller and he set up a plan of eating 1200-1400 calories a day and walking 3-4 days a week. Since that time I have started Zumba, bought an elliptical machine, and a scale (yeah, I never owned one before), a kitchen scale and healthier food.

So, what was the result?? Well, I have broken a pair of running shoes! Yay! I can't believe that happened. And, I had to buy new workout pants. . . size Medium! And as of right now I have lost over 25 pounds. I'm not done yet but I feel good about where I am and where I'm going.

If anyone is interested some friends and I are going to run in the Teton Dam Marathon 5k so feel free to join us on June 11.

Winter list - #2, #3, & #4

I have done some stuff on my winter list I promise but the weather has been pretty weird lately first it snowed and we ran out and built a snowman and made snow angels and then, it all melted! Now, we have snow again but it's almost too cold to go outside. I think I saw the temperature peak at about 12 degrees today. I know for all you warm weather dwellers that sounds pretty bad.
It sure is beautiful this time of year. I love snow. . .if I could sit inside and watch it all day long. Unfortunately, we can't do that, we have to drive and take out the trash and get the mail. Anyway, one of my items on the winter list was to have a sleigh ride.
So, #2 is a Carriage ride (we didn't have any snow at the time!)Look at the lack of snow! I couldn't believe it. Anyway, after this ride Santa came to find out what all the kids wanted for Christmas.

#3 is SleddingHere is Shelby on a tube that our friends have. We wanted to get one until our neighbor crashed and got really hurt on one. I guess we'll get something else.

#4- Snowmobiling
I don't have a picture to prove this but Jordan's sister Ashlee can verify it. We went snowmobiling (sort of) on Christmas day. Jordan pulled us around on a sled but I rode on the machine while Shelby and Ashlee were on the sled. It was really fun but really cold too.

Winter List- #1

I finished one thing on my winter list! It was the easiest but it's a step in the right direction! Shelby and I built a snowman. We haven't put a carrot or anything on him but we will get to that. Here is a picture of our fun.This is what Addie does while we built our snowman. She does this almost anytime we are out in the snow.

View from our window

Yesterday it started snowing as we were walking out of church and it stopped this morning about 9 or 10am. This was the view from our window this morning.

We are snowed in!!!!! Okay, that's not entirely true we did take Jordan to work this morning but we are not going anywhere else today.

Another thing I did today was make a little girl very happy. I went down into the craw space and got some old baby clothes out. My plan was and still it to cut down some of them to make baby clothes for her doll. It turns out that her doll happens to be the same size as a premie baby. Here is a picture of the proud mommy and baby.

I did rotate this picture so i don't know what happened. Anyway, Shelby could not be happier. I also pulled out a burp rag and some socks. If you want to make an almost 4 year old very happy, pull out some baby clothes!

Halloween and other news

This year for Halloween Shelby was Tinkerbell (and I made her costume) and Addie was a flower. Shelby kept telling me that she was going to help Addie grow like Rosetta does. She's really into the Tinkerbell movie. So, here are some pictures of them in their costumes.

In other news, Addie is now a walker! She started about 3 weeks ago. You can't tell in this picture but that little devil is walking around. She knows that she is hot stuff and is pretty proud of herself. We are too, of course. It took her 14 months to do it, which I think was faster than Shelby by a month or two. Anyway, It's been fun having her in our family.

Winter List

Lately I've been talking about my "winter list." I just have a list in my head of all the things I want to do this winter. Sometimes we get kind of bored because we do the same thing everyday and the weather is too cold to go outside.
Addie is getting to a good age now that we can go outside for short periods of time. Last year was kind of a bust because we just waited until she was sleeping.
So, now with my Winter list:
Build a snowman
Go snowmobiling
Go snow shoeing
Camp in a Yurt (thanks for all the good info, Raygon!)
Go on a Sleigh ride (as in horse drawn)


Now that I'm starting to write this down I can't remember everything I want to do. This list is subject to change (and hopefully will).

Next, I'll have to post a Fall list. I should have done that first. I haven't really thought of anything yet.

5 years and counting

Yesterday Jordan and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that we got married but other times it seems like it was a thousand years ago. But, the best thing is: I still like spending time with him more than anyone else.
I don't think I recognize these people anymore! We look so different now. Anyway, it's been a fun 5 years and I can't wait for the rest of eternity with Jordan!

Pictures of Shelby

It's so cute to see the differences between Addie and Shelby. They have such different personalities but they have a lot of fun together. I think their personalities really comes through when you take their pictures. Here are a few from Shelby's photo shoot.

There are more pictures but they are still getting enhanced. I think that photo shop is amazing! Anyway, I don't know why I was blessed with such cute kids but it makes life really fun! Stay tuned for pictures of the whole family!

Pictures of Addie

Last week my next door neighbor and I took our kids (minus Shelby) up to the gardens on Campus and she took their pictures. Here are some of the pictures of Addie. She is a little ham!

I think she looks like a little angel. Only I know the truth. . .that she is an angel.

This picture was not planned. Addie was giving me kisses but as soon as Raygon turned the camera around she was all smiles for her.


Here she is talking and making faces at Raygon's son. He was really making her laugh.


Her new thing is clapping her hands. So, we had to get her to clap for the camera.

The Wasp

Yesterday around noon I opened the front door and a little wasp like this one flew in. Shelby thinks that even flies are scary so I tried to figure out where this thing went. I didn't find him until I went to close the window a few hours later. He was just hanging out on the screen. So, I shut the window and tried to decide what to do about him.

Later that night I wanted to open the window again and he was still in there, Jordan came and looked and he was hiding in the corners. This is getting to be a very boring post. I'll skip now. . .

Okay, this morning Shelby and I want to open the window but that dang wasp was still there! So, She watched as I went outside, got the hose and a Mustang Monthly ( don't tell Jordan).
That wasp is amazing! It would not die! I would hit him and he would go back down to the bottom, then I would spray him with the hose (I thought he would drowned). He survived! This went on for about 20 minutes. For a three year old this is high class entertainment! She thought it was great! She was like "Hit him again, Mom!" "Spray him! Spray him!" I don't know why I think this is so hilarious but watching Shelby watch me try to get rid of this wasp was pretty funny.

Sometimes, I wonder what the neighbors think of our craziness!

P.S.- I have no idea where that wasp is now. He just disappeared.

Does anyone have any really good bug killing stories? I would love to hear them.

Sewing projects

Lately I've been sewing for my girls. My friend gave me a bag of clothes that were headed to DI (don't ever get rid of clothes). I looked through all of them and picked out some that I wanted to start with. Here are some things that I made.
Here are some shorts that I made for Shelby. Addie is going to get a pair just like them. These were made from a pair of pj pants.


I don't know why these pictures didn't turn but I made this dress out of a man's shirt. It had an interesting pattern to it. I added a little ribbon in the front to make it look cuter. Shelby loves it wear it.


This was a shirt that I cut in half (width wise) and reattached it. I then cut it up the front and sewed it up to make a shrug. Now, if I can keep Shelby from taking the ribbon out every time she wears it that would be great.
I just realized that all of the projects I've been working on have been for Shelby. My next installment will have to be about Addie.
This skirt is something my mom bought at DI. We thought it was so pretty we couldn't pass it up. It will make a really pretty dress for . . .Who? Shelby. Here is what I'm thinking. http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2009/09/tutorial-dress-made-from-skirt.html

Subarus

Photo from marvel.com

This week for Jordan's birthday we took a trip up to Jackson, Wy. On the way we began to notice that there were quite a few Subarus. We began to count in Victor, ID and by the time we got to our hotel we had counted over 70. On the way back we decided to count right from the start of our trip back. We filled up with gas (because it was 10 cents cheaper in Jackson) and then began to count. From Jackson to Tetonia which is about 41.56 miles according to Mapquest we saw a total of 127. That comes out to about 3 a mile. I think that Subaru has taken over that part of the world! What is the appeal for people who live in that area? I am dying to know! I am not a fan of them myself but if there is something extra special about them I would be willing to consider one.

We looked really out of place because we were not driving a Subaru. We were driving this: