Wow – it is already July!?!?

I realized that the last month and a half have been very busy and that I haven’t been doing very well with keeping up with my crazy life blog post in addition to my coupon savings blog post.  So, here is a a quick update of what we have done since the middle of May and I will hopefully find time to share more and some pictures in future posts.

May – During the last week of May the girls and I visited my family, Steve joined us Friday afternoon, and had a whirlwind time with celebrations.  My mom was an elementary school secretary for 24 years and officially retired the end of June.  The school had a retirement party for her and the other staff members who were retiring at the end of the school year.  That same week we had a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, and a family birthday party to celebrate Megan’s second birthday.

June – We had a family day with Megan on her actual birthday.  Steve took the day off and we got pictures taken, enjoyed lunch together at California Pizza Kitchen, and went out after naptime for bowling and finished the day off with dinner and ice cream at Friendly’s. 

Steve and I were able to add a trip for just the two of us to the end of a business trip he had in London.  He left a few days before me and then I left the girls in very capable hands and flew over to meet him.  We had a great time together exploring the city together and enjoying some time just the two of us before baby #3 arrives in August.  We even happened to get a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth during a parade in her honor. 

July – My brother (who is 12 years younger than me) got married on Saturday.  The girls were flower girls and my sister and I helped with coordinating the wedding.  It was a whirlwind few days with last minute preparations, calming nerves, and making sure everything was taken care of.  The girls did a good job as the flower girls, they were not perfect angels, but they definitely provided some comic relief.

The next thing I have “on my plate” is a reception for a missionary family at my church Sunday evening.  After that the next plan of attack is getting ready for “Baby Brother”.  I have to finish getting the girls settled in their new room, get his room ready for him, and start getting the house ready for guests.  I also need to start thinking about things like packing a hospital bag and picking out a real name for the little guy.

These are just the highlights of the things that have been keeping me busy.  Like I have said before my life is always crazy, just some times are crazier than others.  :)

~Ann

A little of this & that…

I have had a crazy last two weeks.  We had one impromptu and one scheduled meeting that went late (like after 10PM) last week and my 15 hour shift on Saturday put me in a downward tailspin.  The extra 13 hours (over two days) I had to put in this week to learn a new pharmacy computer system for MARTIN’S this week didn’t help.  So, enough of my whining.  I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday that allowed me to have a babysitter watch the girls and give me some “me time” (in addition to seeing some more pictures of the little guy who looks healthy and is growing like crazy.)  I was able to relax a little after the appointment with a manicure and pedicure, hit CVS & Walgreens, met Steve for dinner, and then we headed to a baby class.  It was nice to be out of the house without going to work and without kids and to have a quick meal with Steve to talk and catch-up without little interruptions.

Our neighborhood is having a community yard sale this weekend and I am debating about participating.  Because of our busy schedules the last 2 weeks I haven’t really pulled much out, but I do have some things that I have pulled out in the past that I would like to unload.  I am also considering selling some of my unopened stockpiled toiletry items.  I realized I have TONS of body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, and razors.  My rule of thumb is that I don’t spend more than $1 after sales and coupons on these items.  I was thinking about marking them $2 and then figuring out what I want to do with the money.  I found out that one of my neighbors’ husband and daughter are going on a missions trip this summer and she is using her yard sale to help fund their trip.  (She called me and told me she has lots of little boys clothes if I wanted to come check them out.)  I may look at doing something like that with our profits.

I have had a chance in the last few weeks to find some little boy clothes on sale at different children’s clothing stores.  I have an Old Navy credit card and last week was part of the “stuff the bag” promo they have about twice a year.  This promotion gives you an additional 20% off your entire purchase including sale and clearance merchandise.  I found lots of little boy clothes in an assortment of sizes.  (Our girls were larger babies and this little guy is already measuring by ultrasound a week larger than he should be so we won’t need many little clothes.)  Some of the things were so cute I couldn’t pass them up – like the oxford shirt and sweater vest.  I also found a few things at The Children’s Place for the little guy.  Natalie actually helped me pick out a few things.  She is getting excited about having a baby brother and she picked some clothes and said “Ohhh, won’t he look so cute in this.” 

Here are pictures of the baby clothes I got at both stores last week (I couldn’t squeeze it all into one picture):

I got an assortment of pants, tops, and some pajamas at Old Navy that were originally $283.50 marked down to $137.69 and an additional 20% off for a grand total of $110.17 (before tax).  That gives me a savings of $173.33 or 61%!

I got a pair of overalls, a few shirts, a sleeper,and some socks at The Children’s Place that were originally $45.50 marked down to $19.96.  That gave me a savings of $25.54 or 56%! 

I now have a few baby boy clothes.  I have several friends who have offered up some clothes to us and I will probably check out my neighbor’s yard sale tomorrow.  I am sure he will end up with more than enough clothes!

I looks like it is going be another crazy week

It is Tuesday and I am already caught up in the busyness of this week.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday that I knew was going to be a long appointment. I love it that they ask you to arrive 30 minutes early to register and fill out paper work then when it really is your appointment time you are still waiting, and waiting in the waiting room. I had to have a MRI (a follow-up of a problem from several years ago that I am suppose to have monitored once a year) and that requires me to take Valium. Otherwise I can't handle being in the tube for over an hour. Because I don't normally take sedatives I asked for a lower dose and I still felt rather out of it and in a fog afterwards. Steve had to take off the morning and go with me because I couldn't drive with the Valium on board. I ended up coming home and took a nap that afternoon when the girls (and my sitter) laid down for naps. I just felt "out of it"all day yesterday, so I got very little accomplished. I couldn't even figure out dinner so we had a gourmet meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Because I lost my day yesterday I feel like I have even more to get accomplished today and in the next few days. I am having company over for dinner tonight so we can discuss and hopefully nail down some future plans for the college group at church. Tomorrow night is church and Thursday night I am in charge of the food and set-up for a meeting at church with WMF (Women's Missionary Fellowship). I will spend Wednesday shopping for the stuff I need for Thursday and Thursday prepping and preparing the food for Thursday night. I don't have to work this Friday so we may go to Busch Gardens. I still need to check out the weather to see if that is possible. I have to work Saturday - from 9-7. We will probably grab dinner and some last minute sale items after I get off work before getting ready for Sunday morning and crawling into bed. Then it will be Sunday again - the day of rest that really isn't when you are active with your church. :) I am looking forward to Monday, Labor Day, Steve has the day off and maybe we can have a family day.

I guess with all of the cleaning and cooking and everyday mom duties calling me I should wrap this up and get started. I will get more accomplished if I get moving and stop surfing the internet.