The Coupon Trip

KMart in our area is doubling coupons up to $2. $2! So my beloved coupon conspirator, sensei, and neighbor and I headed out this afternoon. We didn't make it home until 5 hrs later. Yes, we spent over 3 hrs in a fluorescent-ridden store searching out the deals. Since this was my first time all out couponing, I was amazed. There were so many free and nearly free items and I stocked up. I saved half of my bill!


It was not without laughs. It took a good 15 -20 minutes for the clerk to ring up my items and then as I swiped my debit card, the whole screen on the register went blank and started to reboot. I had nuked the machine! Good thing I had my friend to laugh with because by then there were several people behind me and I was starting to get nervous.

Here I am showing Lee how impressed I was with myself and my savings. I bought lots of cleaning supplies and personal products. Some food and baby stuff as well. Since the register died during my transaction, the manager had to print a huge receipt on the old dot matrix printer from the back of the store. Too funny.

Here's the proof:

Most things were $.99 and some were free. Free! A few were more than $1 but not much more. Lee now has 14 deodorants. He's now wondering how bad he smells and how many years it will take for him to go through it all.

Crazy. I am totally addicted.

On the way out, the man in the first picture was looking at us strangely (must have been all the commotion we were causing) as we were taking the picture. I said, "This will be great for Oprah" joking. He caught us in the parking lot and casually said, "Oprah huh?". "Yes" I replied... "Watch for us".

Sleepover

James is having his first sleepover, his friend Nathan. James was thrilled and was showing his all of our rituals - all the different prayers we say for dinner, the XBox games, and sword fighting. Lots of activity in our house tonight. Good thing Lee is gone or he would have shut himself in a room all evening.


I also heard James saying to him downstairs, "I am real happy you are here" which made my heart melt. He has been a pretty good host, except for getting a bit wild (Nathan is a few years older which is the only reason I am not going crazy right now). I had to explain to him a couple times how to be gracious when having a friend stay the night. Good lessons. Good friend.

Happy Valentine's Day

Outside the kiddos' room:


Some little surprises for Valentine's Day!

Bedtime

Bedtime around here is my favorite time of day. Not just because it means the house will soon be quiet (like a Friday before the weekend). But also because it's when the funniest things happen.

Exhibit picture A. James thinks it's hilarious to wear (clean) underwear on his head for laughs.

Then while I left them upstairs to unwind, James stands up at the top of the stairs and says, "Mom, when I swing Blue over my head like this and yell 'COWBOY' that means come up here". Blue is his favorite stuffed animal. A Blue-eyed white and black striped tiger of which is the main character of many stories from Dad.

This statement got a laugh from me. He is always saying, when I say this, it means _____. When I say this, it means _____. Like he's making his own code.

We're all finally feeling better around here. Thankful for that! Just in time for tennis tomorrow which is always a highlight of my week!

The L-O-N-G Weekend

It's been a long weekend with all four of us cooped up inside our 11 ft. wide house. I have been sick and all our plans to go tubing went down the drain. So now it's the end of the weekend and I feel like nothing has been accomplished.

On the good front, James' lip has healed so well you can hardly tell he even had an accident.

We are having a warm spell (not that we got out to enjoy it) but it's an encouraging sign. Dreaming of days at the beach and pool this summer.

We're planning activities for Valentine's Day with James asking how many days 'til that holiday, his birthday, and his grandparents' visit. Lots of exciting things in the near future!