What we did this summer…..

We had a busy summer!  I know that for some people they don’t consider it to be over quite yet, but at our house summer is unfortunately over.  Natalie started first grade on Monday.

 

So here is a quick recap of a few of the activities that we did this summer:

Megan turned 4 in June! 

She asked for a birthday Barbie and was so excited to get one from my parents.

We went to the beach with my entire family.

 

The girls got their hair braided as a beach souvenir.

(They stayed in for a little over 2 months!)

In July I catered a wedding reception (with lots of help from great friends!) for a couple from our church.  I only have a few pictures that Steve took before the ceremony.  We were just a little busy during the reception. 

We covered a big piece of styrofoam with “pretty” lettuce and then filled it in with the veggies.  My friend Rebecca made a mini radish bouquet in the center.

Another one of our amazingly talented friends, Stephen, (not my husband), spray painted and stenciled watermelons for the centerpieces.

We had a beef tenderloin carving station and a mashed potato bar.

We also had a flavored water bar – cucumber mint, mixed berry, citrus, or plain water were the options. 

Steve & I ran in the Color Me Rad 5k.  It was a lot of fun – and yes all of the color came out.  The blue was the hardest to get off, but we looked normal after a much needed shower.

Michael turned 2 in August!

Natalie & I both participated in the $10 school supply challenge this year the school supplies went to the Henrico Education Fund.  The school supplies we gathered went to Donahoe Elementary and Henrico High School.  Natalie’s total was a shelf price of $58.47 that she got for $10!  (She was excited to pose with her purchases.)

 

 

This is a picture of my haul.  I technically won the challenge with a shelf price of $178.97 for $10, but this year prizes were randomly awarded.  It is nice to have bragging rights. :)

Steve and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in August and were able to get away to The Homestead Resort for two nights – I snagged a LivingSocial Deal.  Steve took this picture of me when we went to the complimentary afternoon tea on Saturday.

Thanks for checking out my summer pictures!

~Ann

No Match-ups This Week

I have decided to take a week off from my MARTIN’S Top Deals Post.

We have had a busy week and have enjoyed catching up with family and friends in addition to reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.  This is also a busy time for us because it is Natalie’s birthday.  (My oldest daughter.)

We have been really trying to avoid adding more clutter and things to our home. I have been purging clothes and toys for the last month. In an effort to cut down on things being brought into our home we were trying to focus on spending time together, and making memories. We have season passes to Busch Gardens and were able to take the kids down to Busch Gardens Christmas Town and enjoy lunch with Santa. Here is a family picture that we were able to have taken in front of Santa’s fireplace before the kids got to talk to Santa. The kids had a great day, enjoyed the shows and loved the decorations.  We were even able to catch-up with family and friends who were also there for the day. When we got home Natalie and Megan both told us, “Thanks for a great time and a fun lunch with Santa.”

 

Check back next week for match-ups, but until then have a Happy New Year. 

~Ann

My Little Guy is One!

We have had a busy month of August so far and it doesn’t look like it is going to slow down.  In addition to Michael turning one Steve and I will also celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary and Natalie will start Kindergarten.  (She is going to go to a private Christian School that starts the week before Labor Day.)

Here are a few pictures from Michael’s birthday party – he sure did enjoy that cupcake!

Michael and my mom – aka “Nana”

Mom, this birthday crown is not cool.  You are really cramping my style.

What is this?

Maybe I’ll try a little taste….

I am still not sure…

I think I will have another bite.

This stuff on top is really good.

I can’t pose for a picture – I am afraid my sisters will take this away from me.

“All gone” Can I have more?

That was great!

My sister and I usually don’t take great pictures - Steve finally got a decent one.

Aunt Heather, “I was saving all of that chocolate frosting for later!”

Michael had to take off his shirt because of the chocolate frosting.  He was telling me about the trauma of Aunt Heather wiping his face down. 

I learned how to do so many things this past year, I wonder what I will learn this year?

Happy First Birthday Little Man!

A little of this and a little of that…..

I want to start of and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Here is a picture of just three things that we have to be thankful for this year.

Natalie (4&1/2), Megan (2), Michael (3 months)

 

I wanted to share a few tips and some info that will hopefully help you as you shop with the upcoming holiday deals.

I first want to share a tip from Katie a friend, who I have known since Kindergarten.  I haven’t been “playing the drugstore game” since Michael was born, but she found a great deal that I wanted to share.

...at CVS they have SOME shades of L'oreal make up on clearance for 75% off! I've been to 2 CVS's and gotten some! Plus, there were coupons for $5 off 2 and $1 off 1 in the paper. So I just bought $30 worth of make up for $3! Yay! !

I checked the coupon database and it looks like the coupons Katie is referring to are from the 11/14 RedPlum Insert.  The $5/2 is for any L'Oreal cosmetic face product and the $1/1 is for any L’Oreal facial cleanser.  If you can find these they are not only great for “grown-ups” but to use as stocking stuffers for any teenagers.

My second tip is just a coupon tip in general.  Did you know that just because a manufacturer coupon says “Do Not Double” it may still double at the register? If you look at the barcode on the coupon look at the first number.  The coupon will double if the first number is a “5”, if the number is a “9” it will not double.  I know from experience that this is the case with both MARTIN’S and Kroger.  (Just don’t forget that MARTIN’S only doubles one “like” coupon per customer per day.)

The final thing that I wanted to share with you is about Groupon.  I had read about Groupon for a while and finally took the plunge this fall and bought my first one.  It is awesome!  If you don’t know what I am talking about here is the “Ann version”.  Groupon is a coupon that is available to a group usually for one day only that allows you to purchase a coupon to a retailer for a discount.  They are usually valid for 6 months after your purchase.

I bought a Groupon recently for $40 to The Body Shop for only $20.  I am planning on going there and buying a few gifts and maybe a little treat for me as well.  Saturday there was a Groupon for a new doughnut shop near our house – Daylight Donuts.  I was able to buy a $10 Groupon for $5.  I took the girls there this morning for a special treat and we got a dozen doughnuts for only $0.51 with my $10 Groupon.  (So, in reality I paid $5.51.)   The doughnuts are made fresh at the shop and tasted sooooooo good!

Here is a picture of what we came home with.  Can you guess which two I let each of the girls pick out?

If you are interested in Groupon check out the link.  I will let you know that if you click on that link, sign-up and buy a Groupon within 72 hours I do get referral credit.  If you feel uncomfortable with the solicitation you can just go to groupon.com.  By the way, you can sign-up for Groupon in your area if you live outside of Richmond.  There are both local merchants (like the doughnut shop) and national retailers (like The Body Shop) who participate.

 

Happy Shopping and Happy Thanksgiving!

~Ann

My first night alone with Michael

I had to share a story about the night I had Wednesday night.  Steve and the girls went to church and I stayed home alone with Michael.  I really didn’t expect any big issues, if it was my first baby I would have been freaked out about being alone with an 8 day old baby, but with Michael being my third baby I am thankful for a few moments alone with him. 

**I am going to warn you before you continue reading this that I am going to be discussing a topic that many moms are familiar with – nursing my baby.  If you are not comfortable with this topic just skip the rest of this post.**

It was time for me to nurse Michael, which we are doing really well with.  I successfully nursed Natalie for 8 months and Megan for a year.  (You will probably laugh when you realize that part of the reason why I continued to nurse them past the minimal recommendation of 6 months was because formula is expensive and breast milk, besides being good for them, is free!)  I picked Michael up and noticed that his diaper was wet.  No big deal, I changed his diaper.  I got him positioned and was trying to get him to latch on when I felt something warm.  He had peed again and somehow it came out the side of his diaper – all over his little shirt, the nursing pillow, and me.  I was evaluating the situation and starting to take off his wet shirt when I felt something wet on the front of my shirt.  I looked and realized I was leaking on the side that I was about to nurse from.  I grabbed a nursing pad and got that taken care of.  I stripped Michael down, put a dry blanket over the wet area of the nursing pillow and we were able to get the feeding accomplished.  I went to burp Michael after I finished feeding him and he spit up a little bit – on my shoulder and it was on his face.  I cleaned the little guy up – again.  I finally got him into a clean shirt (his fourth outfit for the day) and cleaned up everything from before the feeding.  I had to laugh, it really didn’t bother me.  I found it rather comical.  I thought to myself if this had been Natalie (my first baby) I would have panicked and probably called Steve and cried on the phone to him.  I looked at this as just another day and was thankful that it was just the two of us and not the craziness of having my two “helpers” involved.

The story continues.  Right before Steve and the girls came home I thought I had things under control when I heard Michael have another blow-out.  I went to change him again and realized that he had also peed again and this time got the front of his shirt wet.  He was now on his fifth outfit for the day.  I started a load of laundry for him.  (I just did all of the laundry yesterday.) He wet the other three outfits he had on earlier today along with the sheet in his crib this morning and his play mat this afternoon. He got that wet during a diaper change, and thankfully I escaped that “shower”. 

The poor little guy didn’t last long in the fifth outfit either.  Steve picked him up shortly after they arrived home because he was a little fussy and the girls wanted to tell me about what happened at church when Steve told me that he was wet again and that the bassinet sheet was soaked.  They sheet got added to the laundry and Michael ended up in his sixth outfit for the night which thankfully he managed to stay in until the next morning.

I am sure I will have more stories and that life will get even crazier for me in the coming days, but I do want to end with another cute picture of three of the reasons why my life is crazy – in a good way.