I've Turned Into THAT Person

you know, the one in front of you at the grocery store trying to do five different transactions, with a pile of coupons and holding up the line for 10 minutes. i don't know who was closer to tears today, me or the cashier. but it was worth it.

yesterday's goods

{23 cans green beans/corn, 4 bags of sugar and 16 cans of soup}

spent: $21.12
saved: $63.64
total savings: 75%

right now you might be wondering why this was a big enough deal to warrant my first blog post in how long?

let me back up.

i'd thought about coupon shopping ever since we got married but first started to seriously consider it when my friend started a blog called Frugal, Not Cheap last spring. it was kind of like a wake up call for me and this is how i see it: dan leaves our family every day to go work to support us financially. my job is to stay at home to care for our girls and run our household. part of that is managing the finances it takes to do that - which includes grocery shopping. that is the one area i have always splurged and probably waste the most amount of money (somehow i don't feel as guilty when it benefits the whole family) so i decided i needed to put in the time and effort to make the most of dan's hard earned money. for me, that meant coupon shopping.

i never thought i would be THAT person buying twenty of one thing, just because it was a killer deal, or the one going to four different grocery stores within 24 hours just to maximize my pennies and take advantage of great offers. i never thought i would have a filing cabinet dedicated just for 'couponing', with organized and dated folders, or that i'd have a mini accordion folder with the names of grocery stores on each tab that i carry with me up and down the aisles as i hunt for one specific item to match the coupon in hand. i've turned into THAT person.

so for months i watched prices and sales, talked to friends, read blogs, printed coupons, joined pinching your pennies, took a class from dan's cousin {who saves incredible amounts of money}, and will finally sign up for the newspaper today to get even more coupons. i've been convinced.

i will be the first to admit that much of my motivation was THOSE people's blog posts - the ones with the pictures like mine above, of all the groceries you could get for such a little amount of money. i wanted to be able to do that - to save that money and post that picture. and finally the time learning and watching and saving coupons paid off.

i feel like i'm just at the tip of the iceberg and i'm still learning how this whole things works but it makes me SO excited. {i know this sounds crazy but hey, i'm one of THOSE people now.} i can't wait to add to our food storage and cut our grocery budget at the same time and make the most of what dan works hard to bring home.

here's to all THOSE people out there and THOSE blogs and THOSE posts that finally got me motivated!!

**on another note: i've got other posts and updates in the works that just need to be finished so hang on just a little longer. {all that technical stuff i complained about is on the back burner.}
we've been busy but loving it- especially spending time with these little people.

Slump

i'm in one.
a full-fledged blogging slump.
i have a ton of pictures.
lots to say.
and no motivation.
none.
whatsoever.

i want my pictures to be BIG when i post them, but i can't seem to figure out a way to do it without it taking forever. (lara, i will be emailing you! here's a link for those interested - bigger blogger pictures. i still have a hard time, even with thorough instructions.)

i don't even want to get started about my header.

and photo shop has been on my computer for almost a year now and i haven't taken a single tutorial! talk about lack of motivation.

so please get on my case.
tell me i am horrible and that i need to keep blogging for family history and such.
or because i have two darling girls and you just can't get enough pictures of them.
or because you want to know what life is like when it's 9o degrees outside in november
or even just because you don't want to see a half-naked picture of grace slumped in her high chair every time you check the blog because it makes you think, "that poor girl - why doesn't her mom stop taking pictures and just put her to bed!"

because thats what i think every time i see it.

so please, give me some motivation.

i need some.

All Tuckered Out

My Nephew

this is a special little boy.

he brings a smile to everyone's face and i experience a happiness that i can't explain. for a long time it made me really sad to think about porter and how he's going through this life without his dad by his side. but it's been wonderfully theraputic to see him just about everyday. he's helping me heal in a way i hadn't expected. having regret is a hard thing and i have found that as much as i've tried to dispell it, it's remained very prevalent. but when i'm with porter, i feel like i'm making it up to dallin and that those things i regret- teasing and not being the sister i should have been and the sister i now wish i had been - are being appeased.

despite my probably typical but inappropriate teenage behavior, dallin and i did became close friends. he was one of my best friends. he called me one day, while kamber and i were both pregnant with porter and grace, concerned about how we were going to make sure our kids knew their cousins since it looked likely the four of us siblings would be spread out. i brushed him off, laughing and teasing him that he was jumping the gun. of course we would make sure our kids were close, is what i was thinking, but surely we didn't need to worry about it then. i am grateful for that conversation {tender mercy} and that now, what dallin wanted, is truly happening.

This And That

~madison's favorite movie right now is Lion King. she's watched it every single day for two weeks and her favorite part is when mufasa dies. or in her own words, "cows run in gorge, chase simba, and his dad dies. then hyenas come again, chase simba. it makes me sad." she says this with the hugest grin on her face! kind of morbid, i know.

~i already find myself missing AZ oranges but we don't move until june and the oranges outside aren't even ripe yet. whats up with that?

~grace is a climbing maniac - refer to last post - from madison's bed and little rocking chair to step stools, our glider, into the tub, and up our food storage shelves. she doesn't walk more than a couple steps at a time but she likes to climb up and over anything.

~i have this thing for hot tamales. i treat myself to them every time dan is on call. so every 5th night, i eat a whole box of them! gross. and unhealthy. but i do it anyway.

~madison's been potty trained for several weeks now but all of a sudden she had an accident this morning on our walk and was quite wet. we were at the farthest point from home and she said she wanted to walk. if you know madison at all than you know stubborn is an understatement for her - so i said she could walk, thinking in a couple minutes she'd get tired and get in the stroller. 45 minutes later we made it home and she walked every step of the way, in flip flops, minus about 10 feet when i tried to make her sit in the stroller.

~my mom is in mexico with mark and his family. i'm going to be honest - i'm jealous. 6 months is too long to go without a trip to mexico. and just a side note - grace went to rocky point 4 times before she was 6 months old. she's practically hispanic.

What Goes Up

and grace hasn't quite figured out the coming down part

My Other Family

i take plenty of pictures of the girls and usually tons during trips and for special occasions. what i don't have visually documented are some of our favorite things about living in mesa - living just a couple miles from my in-laws and seeing them usually multiple times a week, g&g lebaron's house on sunday nights with all the cousins, having my sister-in-laws drop by unannounced or stopping in for dinner, and then manly things like watching sports games and going golfing.

my favorite part about mesa is being close to family.

while my immediate family suffered tragedy, heartache, change and more change, my 'other' family has been there supporting me every step of the way. i love them even more because of it. their latest example of generosity and love is this: they said kamber and porter should be invited to everything family. this week that meant fhe at the park, a trip to the zoo, another trip to the park with aunts and cousins, and finally my mother-in-laws birthday party.

i have been an excited but nervous wreck for kamber to finally move down here. i've felt so much pressure (i totally blame myself) because i want to make this adjustment easier for them and help her get established and involved.

but i shouldn't have worried. i had forgotten how incredible of a family i married into; how welcoming and open and accepting they are. this last week i have felt especially blessed and so thankful to have such wonderful in-laws, that they would rally around kamber so readily. it will give me peace of mind when it comes time to move across the country next summer.

kamber may not have immediate family in mesa but i think my 'other' family could become hers too.

Me and G

{i just discovered picnik.com}

Little Moments

i love them.

Morning Person

we just got home from our walk - grace is looking for crumbs in the seat of the jogging stroller as i type so it's about time for breakfast.

this little girl - quite a morning person


this little girl- definitely not

{pictures taken within 10 seconds of each other}

*sidenote: kamber and porter are on their way to AZ right now and we'll move them in tomorrow!!