Thank you Lesbians!

Thank you to the lesbians riding together on a motorcycle who thought it appropriate to make out while we were stopped at a traffic light behind you. My six year old daughter didn't quite know what to think about that. Although to your credit, neither of you looked like women - but you didn't look like men either......how do you explain THAT one to a six year old? Confusing.

Holy moly! It's been a long time since I last posted! Oops. Now that I'm unemployed and should have all this "free time" I thought maybe I should start again.

I've been officially unemployed for 2 months now, and I'm finding that my dream of being a stay-at-home-mom isn't as glamorous as I imagined! I've always worked, and since having Gracie and Jacob, I've wished I didn't have to! Why is it, now that I'm given the opportunity - if even for a short while - it's not as great as I've imagined? There's still stress! Maybe it's self-imposed, but there still the same! It could be the lack of finances? And the stress of finding another job?

There are perks to my plight though - Jacob and I have snuggle dates to watch the "NeverEnding Story" and "Hook". And it IS baking season now! And with the weather changing to cold and gloomy I can stay in my sweats (don't tell Mike) and bask in it's beauty!! As I write this I hear the light rain pitter-patter outside the patio door! Lovliness!

So, I'll enjoy my "time-off", self-imposed stress and all, and faithfully pray that God will send a perfect job my way!

SEE PREVIOUS POST BELOW BEFORE READING!!!!

Tonight I had to run to Rite Aid to get an emergency re-stocking of diapers because we only had one left in the hosue ! I didn't want to drive all the way to Target - even though I had coupons for Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers. So instead, I sat down and 10 minutes later had a handful of coupons to take with me Rite Aid. This was a great trip!!

Spent $20.54

Saved $22.43!!!

Holy Cow! I saved MORE than I SPENT!! My shopping list was as follows:

2 each Maybelline Eyeliner - one black the other brown

1 each Maybelline Mascarra

1 each Huggies Jumbo pack of Diapers

1 each bottle of Tylenol - 250 count (the biggest one you can find - besides Costco)

Eyeliners were normally $3.49 each

Mascara was normally $5.19

Huggies Diapers were normally $11.99

Tylenol was normally $15.99

I know it doesn't look like alot, but the stuff I bought was expensive without coupons! So, really, I got the Tylenol and Mascara for free!! This was just kind of a spur-of-the-moment trip because of the diaper emergency. And, for the record, I DID need all of these purchases..... :)

This week I need to make a trip to Walgreens, Target, and probably another trip to Rite Aid.

Oh, I did want to mention that I have two previous shopping trips that resulted in quite a bit of savings - one to Walgreens and the other to Rite Aid - but forgot to save my receipts, so I can't give the details!

Hey? Remember me? It's been so long since I last posted, I'm sure anyone who used to follow my little blog has long forgotten me! There have been many times I have wanted to sit down and share things that are going on in life, but finding the time - without interruptions - has been difficult, to say the least! But I am so excited about an endeavor I have recently started, I wanted to share!

About 3 months ago, when visiting my Grandma, she mentioned something about coupons and how much money she saved. She walked me out to her pantry, in the garage, and pointed to individual item and told me how much she bought each of them for, and how much money she saved by using coupons. That got me curious........

So I started doing some research online, and have recently mastered (well, almost) the world of coupons! I don't mean to brag......well......yes I do - because I'm very proud of myself, but instead let my friend and family know that there are great potentials out there to save ALOT of money - especially in this challenging economy.

I'm going to try and keep a blog of how much money I save with each shopping trip - if nothing else, just to keep track of it myself!

So to begin:

Thursday, January 21 Jacob and I, with coupons in hand, started out to Target. Best to get there early, especially with a 2 year old boy, because there aren't as many shoppers yet! So here goes:

Spent $31.14

SAVED $27.91 !!!

I realized early on in my coupon adventure, that just because it was on sale, and a good deal, doesn't mean that I should buy it! The first shopping trip did result in wasted money, because I bought items that weren't part of our usual necessities. Since then, I have tried to be very consciences about what I actually put in my cart - great deal or not!

I will list the items, if not too many, I purchased on each trip so you can see I'm not buying "junk". May Target trip was as follows:

2 each cans of Emerald Almonds

3 each cans of Progresso canned soup

1 each container of Argo Corn Starch

2 each bottles of Method Hand Soap

2 each bottles of Nivea Body Wash (my NEW FAVORITE!)

1 each box of Glad Garbage bags - 35 count

1 each bottle of Men's Irish Spring Body Wash

1 each bottle of Cascadian Dish Detergent

1 each Oscar Meyer Lunchable and 1 each Vitamin Water (Jacob got hungry)

2 each Surf Powder Laundry Detergent - 40 loads each

So, I was proud of myself! I almost saved as much as I spent! I can't imagine paying full price on this stuff!

Ditzy Mom Part 1

Last week I received a phone call from a mother of one of Gracie's preschool friends, asking for our address so she could mail a birthday invitation to us. Diana, the mother, explained with her very thick Spanish accent, that Carolina has been missing Gracie very much and would love for us to come. After trying to communicate with each other for 10 minutes, it was finally agreed she would mail us an invitation and we would see her at the birthday party!

So, indeed, we received the invitation 3 days later, and pinned it up on the fridge. I had it in my head all week that I needed to plan ahead and shop for a birthday present so I wouldn't be rushed at the last minute (which is usually the case). I made sure to communicate with Mike about the party, so he knew what our plans were for the day. As a family, we left the house at 9:45 this morning to do some errands, came home and rested, then Gracie and I did our hair, makeup, and changed our clothes, to go to the party. We looked up directions to the house on MapQuest, loaded up the gift, and left the boys at home. Carolina's house is on the complete opposite side of town, which took about 15 minutes to drive. As I turned the last corner onto the street where her house was, I noticed there were no other cars. What the heck? My first thought was that I felt sorry for Carolina - how come nobody showed up? Gracie and I were 25 minutes "fashionably late", so there should have been a lot of people here already, at least family?! I parked the car in front of the house, checked the invitation to make sure we had the right house, and started to get out. I poked my head back into the car to take one more look at the invitation....right time?....yes, 3:00pm. Okay! "Gracie, get out of the car and grab the gift please." I walked around to the other side of the car to help Gracie out and grabb my purse, ready to walk up to the house. Um, one more time, I stuck my head in the passenger's side and looked at the invitation...Saturday or Sunday?...Yes, Saturday. Hmmmmm. Still wondering why on earth no one is here? Gracie asks me which house it is, which I confirm to her, and starts walking toward the gate on the porch. I open the car door to check the invitation ONCE more. YEP!!! There it was....the party is actually NEXT SATURDAY! ! August 29, NOT the 22. "GRACIE!!" I yelled! "Hurry up and jump in the car before anybody sees us!! NOW!!" Of course, Gracie is looking at me like my head had caught on fire, and just stood there with this polka-dot birthday bag that's as big as she is, with pink tissue exploding out of it. "What?! Why Mom? What are you doing?" I tried to keep my voice in check, but also convey the urgency, "PLEASE just GET in the CAR!"

After putting the car in Drive and pulling away from the house, I looked back to double-check nobody saw us! How embarrassing would that have been if we had really walked up to the house, knocked, and said, "We're here!! Happy Birthday! Where IS everyone?"

I can't help but laugh at myself - how much stupider can a mom get? Gracie isn't as amused, sitting in the passenger's side with her arms crossed, glaring at me like I just accidentally put her favorite stuffed animal, Goldy, in the garbage disposal. She can't contain her irritation (and disappointment) anymore and exclaims "You're a GOOFBALL, MOM!!!" Which, of course, she got in trouble for - but she's not half wrong. I had to make it up to her by treating her to Starbucks.

At least I'm well prepared for NEXT Saturday! I've already got the gift, AND I already know how to get there!

Summer Update

I know I haven't updated this crazy blog in FOR-EVER! It's been a busy summer, but I still don't have much of an exciting life to blog as often as I'd like! We went on our annual week-long camping vacation to Morro Bay in July. My best friend, Melissa, her husband, and two boys came along for two nights - which was a blast! We enjoyed the cool weather and lots of time on the beach!

We've taken the travel trailer to the mountains a couple of times to escape the valley heat and filthy air. Jacob and Gracie are right at home in the mountains - where baths and schedules are non-existent! Not much rest was included in these mini-vacations for Mike and I, as we were chasing the kids and trying to keep up with them, but at least they got getting fresh air and experienced the great outdoors like Mike and I did as kids - making memories!

Let's see, what else? Lots of playing on the Slip-n-slide, swimming in Nana's pool, and getting tan (for the kids, at least).

Last week our little neighborhood enjoyed National Night Out, which is a Neighborhood Watch program. All our neighbors meet at our house and we share food and fellowship! The kids really enjoy this because the police and fire department make appearances and let the kids crawl in and out of their cars and fire trucks! Jacob was in awe of the yellow fire truck! They role in the neighborhood with lights and sirens - I wish I had a videotape of Jake's eyes when they turned the corner...and then stopped right in front of us! He loved it! He enjoyed trying on their helmets and sitting in the "captains" seat!

Gracie has been eagerly anticipating starting Kindergarten this school year. Her first day was today! She is so excited to be able to ride the bus home from school - I don't think she's been this excited since we went to Disneyland last December.

I'm going to try and post a slide show of photos of the things we did this summer - I've never done it before, so it might take some time!

I Give Up

Today was not a good day.  Mike invited two couples over to our house last week, and I guess I took cleaning the house for company a little too serious.  I don't know why I let the stress of company get to me, but I did.  I lost my temper.  Yesterday I spent a good part of the day washing windows, cleaning the kitchen, mopping floors, and cleaning bathrooms - only to wake up this morning with a list of more chores that needed to be done -  and my body ached! How does this house get so grimy when it feels like all I do is clean?  I try and look at my house as a visitor would, and then I'm able to see the grossness of it.  I admit, I was overwhelmed:  So much to do, and not enough time or energy.  After church we rushed home and again I started with the list I had in my head...the company would be here in 1-1/2 hours, and I still needed to make the food for company.  I didn't feel Mike was helping - as quickly as he should be, and I was picking up after him and the kids for at least the fifth time - it got to me, and I yelled at Gracie, making her cry.  Yes, I felt bad, but there were things that still needed to get done!  Is that OCD, or what?  Well, my attitude led Mike and I to fight, quite loudly.  Not something I'm proud of.  I'm overwhelmed, with life in general, and I guess it was the straw that broke the camel's back today.  Needless to say, the time spent with company was not all that enjoyable, neither was the rest of the day after they left (our house a disaster, again.).  Oh well.  Who the hell cares, right?  So, after the consequences of being overly concerned about the cleanliness of my house, and my life's stress, I've decided to give up.  I'm not going to worry about having a perfect house -  not that it ever is, but it is enough to make my brain be quiet.  I give up.  I've decided the happiness of myself and Gracie and Jacob is more important.   Because believe it or not, on my Thursday's, when I stay home, I spend most of my day cleaning, despite my children's begging to play outside or go on a walk.....but not anymore.  I haven't figured out how to quiet the voices in my head that won't rest until I feel comfortable my house is "clean", but I will!!  No more.  So, if you come over and see dishes piled up, and mold growing, just be happy for me!  Know that I feel no stress and am FINALLY enjoying the important things..Gracie and Jake.   Who the hell cares, I give up.