One, two, skip a few....

Yep, I skipped a couple of days. I have been busy. Seriously.

Guess what? I finished my Christmas shopping for the girls!! Minus a couple stocking stuffers and Brave (which doesn't come out for 3 more days), I am DONE!!! I must admit, it is so hard not to go CRaZy. They are girls and they are at such FuN ages, ya know?!??!!! Question, do you shop with your spouse? I know I have mentioned this, but Jade doesn't like to shop. I do not take him. It would be torture for both of us. He doesn't even know I have gone. He just prefers it that way and so do I. Weird, I know.

I have been purchasing a few things here and there for the house. My mom & I went to Ikea several weeks ago and I bought a lot for the house. New frames, curtains, plates, silverware, lamps, placemats and ton of other stuff I cannot even remember. The saying in the picture above is from a party I went to a couple of weeks ago called Simply Said. It was such a fun party. I have new pictures for the frames on their way, as well. It was definitely time to change them since the girls do not look like that anymore. Next up is the girls room. They are getting bunks this winter. I cannot wait to pick out new bedding, curtains and do some fun things to their bedroom.

Tonight, is the daddy/daughter dance at the school. Reyna is SO excited. Roobs & I are going to spend the evening with my grandma.


Day #10
Today I am thankful for the sister bond. Whether they are playing with each other or arguing over a piece of dress up clothing, I love that God blessed us with two beautiful little ladies.

• Jade's dad came over this morning and they were able to roof the entire shed. Tomorrow, both overhead doors are going to be installed.
• My Grandparents are here!!!!!!! My mom is meeting Uncle Dave half way tomorrow to pick them up and bring them home with her.
• While they are here we have lots planned including: Christmas cookies,Chelsea Tree House with Kristin, Gingerbread house, Thanksgiving (yay), making homemade tamales, Frankenmuth and I want my Gran to help me pick out paint for my dining room and our bedroom. Lots to do.
• I have started Christmas shopping. Have you???? I went to Kohl's the other day and picked up a game for Reyna. I have also picked up a few other things, made my list of "who is getting what" and am planning to make my Toy House run in the next week or so. I will NOT be last minute shopping.
• Reyna needed a new winter coat, which I ordered this past week. As soon as it arrives, I am heading to JoAnn's to pick out yard for my first knitting project. I am going to start with a scarf and then knit her a hat.
• Am I the only crazy one who has her DVR set just in case I forget to watch the last episode with Regis on Friday?

Day #13

Today I am thankful for my Gran and Grandpa. Words cannot describe how excited I am to spend the next 3 1/2 weeks with them.

Weekend re-cap

My weekend with Kristin was definitely over due. It was nice to get away and have a weekend to myself. I definitely missed the girls, but it was so nice to shop, eat, drink and do everything else on my OWN time. A few highlights of the weekend included:

• Yummy marg's + chips and salsa Friday night at a Mexican restaurant downtown Milford
• Staying up later than normal talking, talking and more talking about anything and everything and watching tv OH and being entertained by Kristin's new kitten, Charles.
• A delicious lunch @ Nordstrom followed by shopping
• Dinner at an AMAZING Italian Bistro downtown with good food and wine.
• Discovering I have been driving on an expired license since July 12th. WTH! I am really losing my mind with this stay at home mom business. Oh and Sec. of State never sent anything. Hmm. Can you guess what I will be doing today??

Okay, reading this it sounds like all we did was eat and drink. Welllllllll.....:)

So, what was going on here?????

Jade had the girls Friday night, but had to drop them off at my parents (Ruby) and with his parents (Reyna) Saturday so he could work on our shed. We had five guys coming over to help, which was already scheduled. He was pretty bummed he couldn't spend some time with just the girls, but it couldn't be helped. The girls had a blast though.

{This was the haps around the house. Bobby was kind enough to play photog for me so I could see the progress}.

As always, Bobby never disappoints. I am always surprised with a random shot when he has possession of my camera. Love him and his personality. :)

Day #7

Today I am thankful for genuine friends. 

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday-The Shed Part 1

I thought our shed would house a few garden tools...nope. It's going to be big enough for our camper, riding lawn mower and everything else in our garage. It's going to be a very nice addition to the back yard.

Uncle Bobby has been helping a lot! The girls LOVE that. :)

No project is complete w/out a fit from Roobs. She was made I wouldn't let her play in the front unattended. Mean ol' mama.

She was fine when Reyna found her a worm.

Reyna LOVES the dirt.

AND worms. :)

Uncle Brad was here yesterday. We love him, too.

Day #2

I am SO thankful for my hubs. Not only is he my best friend, but he is an awesome daddy. Oh, and the man can build some stuff, let me tell you. :)

((Mostly)) Wordless Wednesday-Numero dos

She has my passion for gardening. I love this about her. Our lilacs were in full bloom and our yard and house smelled amazing.

Couponing

Walgreens:6 Right Guard deodorants, Ajax dish soap & Clearsil face soap $3.83 + 2.00 off coupon off my next purchase!!!

Target: two pasta ronis, two satin care shave cream (small size), one package pads, 3 starkist chunk light tuna, Crest Kids, Oral B Trainer toothpaste (not pictured), Zantac(not pictured) $10.90    I could have saved a little more here, but Jade needed Zantac and the girls have to use different toothpaste still, since Ruby cannot have flouride yet. boo.:(  Oh, well. I was still stoked!



So, I am pretty excited to share these pictures! I have been clipping coupons for a month or so now and it has saved us some serious loot. Tonight was the first night that I really went all out coupon shopping and I was pretty pleased with how I did. I hope to save a little more on our grocery bill, but it will come with time. Is it crazy that I am so excited to get my hands on the paper in the morning to see what is on sale? 

As far as our grocery bill....I spent $64.50 and saved $36.14.

A friend of min estarted a Facebook group about couponing in our area and it has really helped get me motivated + I have a really good friend who should have her own show on how to save money thru couponing. She is amazing! There are a few websites that I have on my google reader that update quite a bit during the week. I still have a lot to learn, but so far, it has been so much fun. :)

Gifts, traditions & our tree

I'm not going to lie, my tree looks like a hot mess this year. Most of the time, there are bright green mardi gras beads hanging from it and dress up jewelry that Reyna thinks looks gorgeous on the tree.

The girls enjoy looking at the ornaments and sometimes touching the lower ones, which I do not mind. I do not want them to not be able to enjoy it. 

Reyna did most of the decorating of the tree and I left it as is. She was very proud of her decorating skills.

One thing that I do enjoy having matching and pretty are the presents under the tree. I finished scrapping tags last night and wrapped the last few that needed to be done. I enjoy picking out new paper each year and matching ribbon & scrap paper. I went pretty plain this year, but was happy with the end result.

Nothing under the tree belongs to the girls. Santa will be delivering everything for Christmas morning. Reyna asks who the presents are for under the tree and I tell her who they are for and that Santa will not be delivering our gifts until Christmas Eve.

Have I mentioned that I am so excited to wake up with the girls Christmas morning? I am excited to watch them open gifts while sitting in the living room sipping coffee & eating dough balls. As Reyna would say, "only three more sleeps!"



We have fallen into Fall

So, we just had a really nice day around the house today. The girls & I got up, had breakfast and lounged until it was time to meet my mom for lunch. Prior to that I filled a vase with candycorn and some dried fall flowers. I took a few pictures to show you how Ruby reacted. The pictures are awful, due to the lighting, but you get the drift. She gets angry everytime she sees the vase with candy corn in the bottom. She knows she has samped these before and cannot, for the life of her, figure out how to get them out. Yes, the second picture is Ruby throwing a fit. She rested her head on the table and started boo hooing. Not really sure what the look on Reyna's face was all about. I couldn't help but snap a few pic's. I know, I am so mean.

And yes, there is a princess crown sitting in the middle of my flowers. Thank you, Miss Reyna.

Reyna & I made cupcakes this afternoon. I love having a child that loves to bake.

We dropped a plate of cupcakes off to our new neighbors. They are a friend of a friend and it's nice to know someone closeby.

Normally, I don't get all into decorating and such, but this year, I am pretty excited about having some fall colors around the house. Reyna was excited to decorate and I think that is my motivation to get a little more Martha-like this year.