Melissa and Girls

As posted on Facebook but I've included pictures here...

I feel kind of bad. My girls are going to be at their dad's tomorrow night so I decided to play an April Fool's joke a day early. I kept telling them that we were going to have cake for dinner and they actually believed me! I whipped up a lovely "cake" with sprinkles and all. They took one bite and realized it was NOT cake! Instead I had made Shepherds Pie. I dyed the mashed potatoes purple so they looked like frosting. Jordyn and Brooklen thought it was funny but Maegan started sobbing! She is extremely sensitive but I still didn't expect this reaction! She is really, really sad she didn't get chocolate cake for dinner. I think I'm going to have to figure out a way to make this up to her.

This time of year is absolutely insane for me. All 3 girls birthdays are within one month plus all of the end of the school year activities. There is so much to be done that I have to plan out the next two months just to make sure I don't miss anything. I am posting the big stuff here. Keep in mind my 'master' list includes all the little things that need to happen to make all of this run smoothly. Throw on top of this all of our regular activities and it becomes quite exhausting. Wish me luck....I think I'm gonna need it.

March 31st~
Make early April Fool’s Day dinner since the girls will be at their dad’s house.
Make Jordyn’s ‘Explorer Spotlight’ poster for school
Finish my cards for April card group

April 3rd~
Make Jello salad for Easter Dinner
Get Easter baskets & egg hunt ready

April 4th~
Have Easter dinner with my mom’s side of the family

April 5th-7th~
Spring Break!
Make invitations for and finish planning Jordyn’s birthday party
Make Jordyn’s birthday dinner. Get balloons and hang banner since she will be at Sean’s on her b-day.

April 12th~
Take treats to school for Jordyn’s birthday

April 16th~
Make Jordyn’s ice cream cake for her party

April 17th~
Decorate for Jordyn’s party
Have Jordyn's "friend" birthday party!

April 20th~
Take treats to school for Maegan’s birthday
Make Maegan’s birthday dinner. Get balloons and hang banner

May 1st~
Wrap girls birthday presents
Bake cake and decorate for family birthday party
Have family party for Jordyn, Maegan and Brooklen.

May 5th~
Make Brooklen’s birthday dinner. Get balloons and hang banner since she will be at Sean’s on the night of her b-day.

May 6th~
Take treats to day care for Brooklen’s birthday

May 11th~
Jordyn’s performance of “Wonderfully Wicked Wizard of Oz”

May 24th~
Jordyn’s piano recital

May 25th~
Maegan’s gymnastics showcase

May 27th~
Last day of school!
Take gifts for teachers to school
Leave for vacation in Idaho with Trisha

May 28th-31st~
Bear World and Lava Hot Springs!!!!!

June 1st~
Turn in cards for June that I was somehow able to complete during this time.

June 4th~
Get food prepped for Maegan’s baptism

June 5th~
Get Maegan ready for her baptism
Maegan’s Baptism!
Celebrate!!!

June 6th~
Take a deep breath and RELAX!!

Oh, and just in case you're wondering why Jordyn gets a "friend" party and the others don't it's because they take turns each year. There is NO WAY I could have even more parties on top of all this!

Were you thinking I was going to be writing up an inspiring post about my life or family? Sorry to disappoint if you were but this post is a little more light-hearted than that. Last year I was asked to join a card group at work. Every two months we turn in two different sets of 12 cards. I usually do one card that is more of a generic theme and then one that has to do with the time of year or an upcoming holiday. It has been a really fun way for me to express my creative side but not be too overwhelming. I thought it might be kind-of fun to share my creations with the world. It's hard to tell in the pictures but a lot of these I used pop-up foam underneath which I thinks make the cuter. After I posted these pictures I realized that a lot of them kind of look the same to me. I need to figure out some new techniques to try.

June, 2009:




August, 2009:




October, 2009:




December, 2009:



February, 2010:




April, 1010:




Here is the cute box I store them all in and a lot of the cards I've received in the past 10 months. It's so nice to be able to grab a card when I need it!

Apparently Brooklen was not having a "Top o' the Morning" because she absolutely refused to wear the outfit I had picked out for her. I kept telling her it was St. Patrick's Day and she needed to wear green or she would get pinched but she was having none of that. She said to me, "It's NOT St. Green's Day Mom! And when I get to the day care and ask my teachers if it's St. Green's Day and they say it's not St. Green's Day then it's not St. Green's Day." How, in the world could I ever win an argument against that logic? So, I decided to give up (I know, way to cave right?) and let her pick her own outfit. Luckily they made a cute St. Patrick's Day headband and when I picked her up she said, "I didn't even get pinched Mom!" She looks like a little elf in this picture to me! Fitting for the day I guess. Apparently the Leprechauns decided to have some fun out our house while we were at work and school and sprayed silly string all over their rooms and the toilet water was green. Hope you all had a great St. Patty's Day!

Sorry that I'm blogging about this again but I have had tons of questions about how I'm able to do all the coupon shopping. I really suggest you take a class if you are interested. I took mine from the Tori at www.sheshopssmart.blogspot.com. It's been a learning process with some trial and error but here are a few things that I want to point out, based on some of the questions I have been asked.

1) It takes time. It really does take an hour or so per week going through the coupons, organizing them and then coming up with my game plan of what I want and where I need to go. Even with my hectic schedule I don't think it's a huge deal to make the time. On Sunday morning I go through the paper while I'm eating my breakfast. Later that afternoon I will plan out the drugstores I want to go to because their sales run Sunday through Saturday. Because grocery store sales run Wednesday through Tuesday I sit down on Tuesday nights and do this again. Then, as I mentioned in my previous post I have found some amazing websites that are constantly posting great deals so I am now looking online about once a day at the end of the night to see what good deals are out there that I haven't seen on my own and print any coupons that spark my interest.

2) I go shopping twice a week. I go to my drugstores on Monday night because I've found that by the end of the week that a lot of the good deals are gone. However, I've also found out the Walgreens re-stocks on Friday afternoons so if I did miss something I'll quickly stop in if there were any items I wasn't able to get on my first try. I hit all of my grocery stores on Wednesday, again, the first day of the new sale. It's taken a while but I've just found times that work with my schedule that coincide with the ads and I usually have no trouble getting the things I had planned on.

3) I only buy things I will actually use. This one I have worked out over time as well. At first I was buying all sorts of things just because I got such a good deal on them. However, I quickly discovered there is no point buying something that I'm not really going to use and therefore it's just wasteful, no matter how much money I saved on the product. So, for the most part I truly do stick with products that I normally use. If something does look interesting to me I will still buy it to see if it is a new product I will enjoy. If it's not, I won't buy it again.

4) I really do cook meals with what I have purchased. I have most of my basic items in my pantry. I'd say that at least 80% of my ingredients are from my pantry. Because I am now past my "stock-up" phase (as far as food goes) and have most items in my pantry I am now able to shop purely for items that I am either replenishing or stocking up my home and personal care items. For example, here this week's menu:

Sunday: Lasagna, Peas, Garlic Bread
Purchased: Nothing

Monday: Chicken Alfredo, Green Beans, Grands Biscuits
Purchased: Nothing

Tuesday: Taco Pie
Purchased: Lettuce and tomatoes

Wednesday: Whatever Wednesday (This night my kids can eat whatever they want as long as it is food, not junk...leftovers, soup, cereal, sandwiches, etc.)
Purchased: Nothing

Thursday: My girls are at their dad's house so I just eat whatever I want

Friday: Pizza and movie night (Sometimes I order pizza but most of the time we make it from scratch.)
Purchased: Nothing (when made at home)

Saturday: Pork Chops, Broccoli, Tater Tots
Purchased: Nothing

5) I don't do this all on my own. I do not have enough time to walk through stores and spot good deals and scour each ad. There are so many great websites and people who are so much better at this than I am that I use all their tips on the websites I have linked here on my blog. If I ever do find a great score on my own I'll probably be so excited that I'd let everyone know. If I'm not braggining that means I got the idea somewhere else and I'm not ashamed to use their advice...that's why they're posting it online!

This week I shopped at Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Smith's, Macey's and Walmart. I spent $54.39. So, yes I went over my budget by a little but I think it's worth it. The best deal of the week? I bought 3 Johnson's and Johnson's Buddy Bars, 2 packages Kotex liners and 1 Monopoly card game for a grand total of........0.84 cents!!! If you don't believe me I am putting up a picture of my receipt!

Isn't it amazing?

I like to keep a clean house (doesn't always work out that way since there is so much going on but I guess that's life). I wouldn't say I'm a 'germ-a-phobe' but I do get grossed out easily by messiness and I do have some weird OCD behaviors (self-diagnosed of course) that drive me crazy if certain things aren't a certain way. Apparently I have passed this lovely gene to my 3 year old daughter Brooklen. She is VERY particular about the cuffs on her pants and sleeves being rolled up the exact same way and will put her legs and/or wrists together and compare them. That's just one example. Another is that EVERY morning when I am driving her to day care she points out any "mess" she sees. A pile of rocks is a mess. A pile of dirt is a mess. Big piles of wood, rocks and dirt? Oh my does that get her excited. So, the reason for this particular post is to show a silly little thing she did the other day. I came into the kitchen to find my favorite hand lotion (I put it on my hands after doing dishes and I am in heaven) covered in plastic wrap. I was a little confused as to why this happened so when I asked her about it she simply said, "To keep the germs off your lotion!" I was very touched she was thinking about me but also feel a little concerned that my little girl is going be a neat freak like me. Guess maybe it will do a little good to not have things perfect around here. Not that they are, believe me they're not, but maybe I shouldn't put such an emphasis on trying to be.

I LOVE high heels. I know they are terrible for your feet and all that but luckily I have my own office at work and can kick off my shoes when I'm in there. While I was shopping on Friday night (and no, shoes were not on my list) I saw these and fell in love! I even found the perfect outfit to go with them. I was so excited to wear them for the first time. I put them on, took two steps, and realized there was NO WAY I would be able to wear them for more than a minute, let alone actually walk in them. Just the few steps I took in my house had me worried I was going to fall down and break my ankle. So, I kept them on my counter for a few days and tomorrow they will be heading back to their previous home. Sigh.

So a while ago I posted some thoughts I was having about my life and my first complaint was that being broke sucks. A few things have happened since then. One, I was able to move out of the house in Mapleton. This truly was a HUGE blessing for me. Two, I decided I wanted to make my money work for me. I'm trying to learn all sorts of ways to be smarter with my money...swagbucks is my most recent find and I've already gotten over $100.00 worth of gift certificates! I now have a debit card that earns me points on my purchases that gets me free stuff (mostly gift certificates again, and nice ones too....I've got my eye on some stuff at Pottery Barn) and I've also opened a checking account with a fairly decent interest rate that I've set up my recurring bills to filter through. So, I'm really, really excited about all the changes I've made over the last few months. However, the most tangible evidence of making my money work for me is accomplished through my new favorite hobby of shopping with coupons. Everyone I work with knows how over the past 9 months or so I have been a big fan of this because I have seen such positive results. In addition to a stocked pantry, stuffed freezer and a laundry room stocked with toiletries (I mean seriously, when was the last time you only spent $2.20 on two packages of 6 mega rolls of Charmin toilet paper? Oh wait, I did last week!), I also have a 4 tier metal shelf in the garage that is full. I actually need to get another one. Amazingly, I only get one Sunday paper (not one for every member of my family like most couponers do). I'm so excited on Sunday mornings to grab the paper, clip all the coupons I'm interested in and go through all the store ads and make a shopping plan for the week. I created an 'inventory' list of how much I need of all items I use to make our favorite 30 meals for 1 year. My goal is to be able to have enough food in storage that I can make each meal once a month for a year! On top of all this I'm putting together 72 hour kits and stocking a closet full of gifts. The last two birthday parties the girls went to I was able to pull the gifts out of my closet rather than going to the store! So exciting! Well, if you can't tell I'm pretty proud of myself. That was until this past week when I found a couple of websites that absolutely put me to shame. One girl, who lives in Florida and shopped at a store called Publix which apparently has an amazing coupon policy, was able to get over $200.00 worth of groceries for $3.45!!!! I was absolutely shocked. So, I decided that even though I've been doing pretty well I'm going to be even more picky with the deals I spend my money on. So, this week here are some of my best finds!

5 boxes Jolly Time popcorn...$3.35 (.67 each)
1 bag of Cheetos...$1.00
1 bottle Fantastik cleaner...$1.00
1 bottle Joy dish soap...$.70
1 stick Lady Speed Stick deodorant...$1.99 (now this isn't the best price but I got a dollar back in Walgreen's register rewards which allowed me to get the dental floss for the price I did)
1 package Reach dental floss...FREE (plus had an overage of .21)
2 packages Kotex liners...FREE
2 bottles Resveratrol supplement...FREE

I didn't take any pictures of my freezer or pantry because they're not quite as nice and neat as everything else. But, my freezer is FULL of meat. I've got tons of hamburger, chicken, steaks, pork chops, roasts and hot dogs. Plus, my parents gave me a food saver for Christmas so I now have lots of veggies stored away too. Smiths has a great price on cheese this week so I am going to shred it and seal it all up to put in the freezer.

So, how much do I typically spend? Right now I spend about $50.00 per week. Eventually I'd like to get down to $35.00 per week. Not too shabby for a family of 4 and I make the girls home lunches every day!!!!

Final thing of excitment for me is that I decided that rather than carry around an ugly binder with me to the store that I'd treat myself to a cute bag to conceal it in. I think with all the money I'm saving I deserve a little fashion over function. Although, I lucked out because I really like the bag but it was on clearance for $9.95! lol.

I'm so excited to announce that Maegan has advanced a level in gymnastics! She has moved from Red Stars to Orange Stars. If you recall, I signed her up for gymnastics last fall because she was always trying to do flips on the trampoline and when I kept telling her to stop she came in the house one day and told me she was going to join the circus so she could do flips whenever she wanted. At that moment I decided I had better get her signed up for gymnastics so she learn how to do these crazy things correctly. She has absolutely loved it and done really well. So, last Tuesday was pass off week and tonight she found out that she was one of two girls that get to move up a level. She is so excited. The only problem is that the only Orange Stars class that works with my schedule is full so she has to wait for an opening before she can actually move on. I am so proud of her! ***Update*** The next day the gym called and said they can move her into the class we were waiting for. So, looks like next Tuesday she'll officially be an Orange Star!