All in a Day's Work

Ever wonder what it's like to be a Stay at Home Mom?! Well, here's a rundown of what my Wednesday was like...

Up at 4:00am...potty break...7 months prego & can't go back to sleep...finally get out of bed around 5:30am...work on our budget since it's payday

Cole up at 6:00am & Owen up at 7:00am...breakfast and cleanup (it's craziness, but I'll spare you)

Our goal for the morning is to purge toys that the boys hardly ever or never play with anymore. Christmas is in two weeks and it'll be like Toys R Us up in here.

All hell breaks loose.

Timeouts. Spankings. Disciplining for hitting baby brother. Endless.

As I put up toys that we are going to keep, the boys are right behind me taking them back out...argh!

Time to get ready for gymnastics. I take a half shower (no time to wash my hair...oh well, the other mommies understand). During my whole 5-minute shower, the boys have managed to throw my shoes EVERYwhere...on the floor, shelves and in the laundry basket. Then Cole says "mommy's undies stuck on the shelf!" What?! Yup, he found a pair of my undies and somehow got them stuck up on the top shelf...it's about 7-feet high (or something like that, I'm short so I dunno know). They're still stuck up there today.

Get Owen dressed...onto brushing our teeth. Owen climbs up the step stool before I get in there and he's using Cole's toothbrush. Moving on. As I'm fixing Cole's hair, I look over to see Owen reaching his toothbrush into the toilet...I squeal. He stops. Must stay one step ahead of this little guy!

I FINALLY get Cole dressed (he's entered this phase of not wanting to get dressed...boys). We're out the door. Oh, I made sure to take him potty before we left. I KNOW he has to poop, but I don't DARE put him in a pull-up...he's been potty-trained way too long! In the middle of gymnastics, his teacher comes running towards me carrying Cole. Oh crap. Literally. She says they were jumping on the trampoline and worked it right out of him. Crap. I practically throw Owen at his instructor and run Cole off to the bathroom. Get him cleaned up (hooray for an extra set of clothes and undies in the car). Back to class. Thankfully the instructors are understanding and say they have dealt with MUCH worse. I don't even want to know.

As we leave the gym, Owen decides to have a meltdown. Oh joy. Hard enough to handle those when I'm not prego, but after having Braxton Hicks all morning, carrying a screaming squirming 18-month old is going to make me drop one of these babies, if you know what I mean.

We make it home. Yay!

As I'm making lunch, I hear a crash and a muffled "mom, hurry over here" cry. Owen has fallen head-first into a small toy box we keep in the living room. It was full prior to the toy purge, but afterwards, it was hard for him to reach the toys at the bottom. Cole promptly tells me "Owen real stuck!" I look over to see this...



I'll spare you the details of all the boring tasks I completed during naptime, but let's just say it's a whirlwind once the boys fall asleep...my to-do list seems to grow rather than shorten so I have to work like a madwoman.

With all the craziness aside, my boys certainly have their moments of sweetness and compassion. For instance, when Cole gets up in the morning (the boys now share a bedroom in preparation for baby #3), he quietly closes the door leaving it slightly cracked so that Owen can continue to sleep :) So sweet! And in the middle of the toy purge, I decided to lower a bookshelf full of text books (I've done it a million times trying to get it just right), but this time the shelf tipped and all the books fell on my head and around me. Before the books were done hitting the floor, Owen was by my side (as close as he could get without being smashed himself), whimpering hysterically. He then starts frantically grabbing at books trying to get close to me. Poor guy needed more consoling than I did! But it sure put a smile on my face to see how concerned he was. Sweet boys! I love them and all their craziness!

And even though I am one pooped puppy at the end of the day, I sure get joy out of making my husband laugh as I share the craziness that happens in our house in a day :)

Giving

Deuteronomy 15:10 - Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

Every Christmas we try to give some sort of gift to those in need. This year, I decided we would give in a few different ways. One gesture we are keeping secret (except for the recipient), the second gift we donated this past week (discussed below), and the third we plan to go in with other members of our family & adopt a child or family from the Angel Tree. The reason I share this is in hopes that it encourages you to give if you don't already, I absolutely believe that you will be blessed many times over for even the smallest gesture! And for anyone who is still skeptical about couponing, maybe this will help sway you towards the coupon side (and save you some big bucks!).

So, I decided I wanted to take a set amount of money, work my coupon magic and donate items to a local charity. Here's how it went. I took $105 to CVS and purchased $185 worth of items...that is a 43% savings! I called a local charity to find out their needs at this time and tailored my shopping to what they needed most in their stockpile.



Transaction 1:
(4) Pantene $6.97/for 2 (on sale) - $3/off 2 & $1/off 2 = $9.94
(9) Jumbo packs of Pampers @ $9.50 (on sale) - (4) $2/off 2 bags = $77.50
(1) Jumbo packs of Pampers @ $9.50 (on sale) - (1) $1/off 1 bags = $8.50
(1) Tide $5.94 (on sale) - $0.50/off 1 = $5.44
(3) Puffs $0.99 ea (on sale) - $0.25/off 3 = $2.72
(3) Dawn dish soap $0.99 ea (on sale) - $0.50/off 1 & $0.50/off 1 & $0.25/off 1 = $1.72
SUBTotal before tax = $105.82
*Special Promo this week, for every $30 you spend on specified products, you get a $10 gift card, I received $40 in gift cards because my balance BEFORE coupons was $120.82.
*I got (1) $10 gas card to donate and $30 in CVS gift card, so onto...

Transaction 2:
(2) Always $6/for 2 (on sale) - $1.00/off 1 & $0.50/off 1 = $4.50
(1) Glide floss $4.29 (on sale) - $0.50/off 1 = $3.79
(1) Crest 6oz toothpaste $4.69 (on sale) - $0.75/off 1 = $3.94
(1) Crest double pack 8oz toothpaste $8.29 (on sale) - $0.75/off 1 = $7.54
(2) Crest mouthwash 500mL $4.89ea (on sale) - (2) $1.00/off 1 = $7.78
SUBTotal before tax = $27.55 (I then used the $30 CVS GC and owed $0.30 out of pocket to cover tax!)
*Special Promo this week, for every $10 spent on Crest ProHealth, get $5 ECB, I earned one $5ECB (I goofed and came up $1.24 short to get my second $5ECB...but had the boys with me so I didn't have time to go back). So onto...

Transaction 3:
(2) Old Spice deodorants $5/for 2 (on sale) - $1/off 2 = $4
(1) M&M (impulse buy to keep boys from running out of patience, plus needed to get to $5 to use all my ECB) = $1.19
SUBTotal before tax = $5.19 - $5 ECB = $0.71 out of pocket to cover tax!

BOTTOM LINE...had I just walked in and bought all these items on a random day, I could have paid up to $184.35 before tax
If I got lucky on my random day and the items were all on sale, I would have paid $141.82 before tax
However, I did about 30 minutes of planning with coupons and promos before going to CVS & only paid $105.82!!! That equals a 43% savings from retail and 26% from sale price!!

Anywho, my point was to give more than just cash, but to use something I've been practicing and am enthusiastic about to give even more than I imagined! Good luck to you & I hope you find some way to give this Christmas season!

Being Green(er)

So, last Friday (I tend to post on Fridays, anyone else notice that?!? Maybe I'll write about that one day!) I posted about recycling. But, there are many other ways to be green around your home (and thus teaching your children about being green). It's about making it a habit. If something is a habit, you're more likely to do it regularly, right?! Well, here are some simple outside-the-usual-recycling-box things that we do around our home to do our part in being green:

1. Use reusable shopping bags. Now, although I preach this, I am terrible at remembering them at the store, especially the grocery store! Once in awhile I will remember them if I'm going clothes shopping or something, but for some reason it slips my mind at Target & Wal-Mart. Anyhoo, I decided to place them in the front seat of my car in hopes that I will remember :) Plus, Target gives you $0.05 off for each bag you use and Whole Food gives you $0.10!

Say "green"


2. Reuse your dryer sheets!!! Who woulda thunkit?! Those little suckers are packed with a lot to give. With Bounce sheets, I will dry two loads of laundry, saving the sheets from each load and then use those two for the third load instead of grabbing a fresh sheet. If I'm using a cheaper brand (will remain nameless, ha!), I will use three sheets to get the softness I'm looking for (I'm very picky!). I can typically reuse a dryer sheet about two - three times before I've decided it's been beat up enough.

3. Unplug appliances. We have some lamps we use daily & those stay plugged in at all times (along with the televisions). However, all of my small kitchen appliances (even the ones I leave out on the countertop) stay unplugged unless I'm using them. Same goes for the boys' humidifiers, iPhone chargers & computers.

4. Purchase & use cloth napkins. For some reason it really bugs me to use paper napkins! I'm quirky like that. I will even save the extra paper napkins from restaurants. Anyways, I purchased some cloth napkins & they have worked out great! I just throw them in with my usual towel laundry loads and it doesn't create any extra loads (better for the environment and your wallet)! They quickly paid for themselves. Plus, they just look nicer on the table :)

Speaking of laundry, Baby O likes to get into things...


There are other things we/I do that have become so much of a habit that I can't think to name them here. When I do, I'll share for anyone interested in doing their part :) If you have any ideas/suggestions for being green(er) around the home, please share, I'm always looking to improve!

Being Green

And no, I'm not talking about being Green with envy or the color of Kermit the Frog or wishing you had more of it in your wallet :) I'm talking about being Earth-friendly!

After spending nearly a decade in Austin, TX, we picked up some Green habits, one of them being recycling. And while Tulsa offers curbside recycling, I opted-out because they only accept a few of the many recyclable items in their bin. Thankfully, Tulsa also offers a great resource for recycling household goods...The Met

So, I created our own little "recycling center" in our garage...


Doing their part!


Excited about recycling!


Here's how we have it set up...

1. We separate out all the recyclables (as preferred by the recycling center). Items that the BA location accepts include:
   
   #1 Plastic
   #2 Plastic
   Glass
   Paper Goods (magazines, newspaper, office paper)
   Paperboard (boxes that Kleenex, cereal, toothpaste, etc. come in)
   Aluminum Cans
   Batteries (household batteries - not just car batteries!)
   Plastic Lids
   Plastic shopping bags - reuse asl trash bags or take to Wal-Mart for recycling
   Paper shopping bags - I reuse almost all of what I have
   
   When we use up a Plastic, Glass or Aluminum item, we rinse it out (if needed), remove any outer stickers or paper/plastic wrap & place it in the corresponding bin. With Paperboard, we remove any inner plastic bags or attached plastic (like with cereal & Kleenex boxes).



2. Once a month we take Paper Goods to our church and dump it in their Green paper bin (looks like a dumpster). Many schools and churches have these in their parking lots and they get money for recycling paper goods. So not only are you helping the environment, you are helping your local school/church! A tip: usually these items do not need to be separated, you can simply dump all your paper items into the bin.




3. Once a month the boys and I take the remaining recyclables to The Met in Broken Arrow. There are usually people there to help unload the items and place them where they need to go (this is nice when the kids are in the car with me). This particular location works with the Gatesway Foundation...again, not only are you helping the environment, but you are helping a local charitable organization and others in need!



4. Note: The Met doesn't take Plastic Lids, but Aveda in the mall accepts them.

Recycling is a small thing we can do to make a big difference - it provides products that can be broken down and reused as well as minimizing our landfills and leaving the Earth a better place for our future! Check out The Met for the closest recycling location to you!

Try, try again

Proverbs 4:25: "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you."

Goals. Does reading that word make you cringe?! My confession...sometimes setting goals makes me cringe...identifying area(s) that I would like or need to change within myself and then holding myself accountable. Cringe. It can be hard! However, other times I find it energizing to challenge myself to be a better person. Depends on the goal and what mood I'm in :)


Cole playing with a glittery spider...I'm a bit phobic of spiders but I'll take one for the team...cringe!








While in Nursing school, I learned more than just how to be a nurse, I learned a lot of lessons that can be applied to life in general. One of those was setting and measuring goals.

Tip #1: How to create goal(s)...first, assess what it is you want to change. Then determine what you would like the end result to be, make a plan for change and implement that change. Lastly, evaluate the progress and continue the process until you reach your goal.

Tip #2: Goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART). In other words, it's not very effective to say "I want to change the way I eat." It's much more effective to say "I want to eat healthier by eating all my meals at home for one week." You see the difference?! Confession: Craig and I used to be guilty of creating overly-general goals. They proved themselves to be useless.

Tip #3: It can help to write your goals down and/or share your goals with someone. Something about seeing it on paper can really increase your motivation and sharing your goals with someone holds you accountable. I also like to assign us a "grade" based on how we are doing. This helps us measure our progress and identify areas for improvement.


Too fun not to share this one!

Overall, we feel as if we've done a good job at setting BIG goals and meeting them. But in the process of working on these BIG goals, the little ones have gone by the wayside (something about working full-time while going to school full-time and "working" part-time at clinicals all while having a newborn)! Things such as exercising regularly, eating at home, keeping a clean house, etc. just weren't as important at the time.

So, fastforward almost three years and we are finally revisiting our smaller goals. Each Sunday, Craig & I review the week ahead and have begun discussing what we want our weekly goal to be. Our first goal was to eat out less...and to make it SMART, it was to eat every dinner at home and allow one lunch "out." The first two weeks, I gave us a C and a B+. This week, we get a HUGE A+!!! This has been a long-running challenge for us and now that we have children, we want to set a good example. And the point of today's title is that even though you may not accomplish your goal on the first try, try again!


Owen loves corn on the cobb...I wish I had a pic of it after he was done!






Next week, I plan to write about being Green (aka Earth-friendly)...one of my goals that I've had for my family for a long time (and actually something that we've successfully stuck with over the years)! BTW, it's also one of my quirks :)

Happy Howmuchfunween!

The ToT Group - Lou, Owen, Cole & Bailey





I've always loved this time of year! First comes Halloween (I admittedly was one of those teenagers who continued to dress up and trick-or-treat well past the acceptable age...thankfully I look young for my age so I pulled it off easily). Next comes Thanksgiving with all the yummy food, time with family & cooler weather. Then there's Christmas (undoubtedly the BEST holiday of the year) with more yummy food, family time & of course the celebration of Jesus' birthday! And then there's New Year's...how exciting it is to begin a new year of life and feel as if you get a "fresh start" every 12 months! Well, I don't want this time of year to go by too fast, so back to Halloween :)


Cole was Thomas the Train at the church's Trunk or Treat...silly boy!


And Owen with his wobbly waddle made a perfect Frankenstein!

Anyhoo, I thought I would post some pics of the boys enjoying Halloween (and especially for our out-of-town friends...which btw, I need to see pics of your kiddos dressed up asap...you know who you are!). The boys had a BLAST this year! Cole finally understood what it meant to Trick or Treat and really enjoyed dressing up! Owen just wanted to be like big brother, so he quickly followed suit :)


Last-minute change...Cole decided he wanted to wear last year's costume as Nemo...ended up being a huge hit!


And my little Franken Baby!

Between treats from Mimi & Papa and Grandma & Grandpa, Trunk or Treat at our church, Pumpkin Town with Mimi & Papa, and then a potluck & neighborhood ToT with neighbors and friends, we had a T-O-N of fun!!! So much fun that Cole had a "Halloween Hangover" the next day :) We hope everyone had a fun & safe holiday!

IT'S A...

BABY!!!

Cruel, I know, and not like me to tease. But now you know as much information as we do! Yes, it's true, we will not be finding out the sex of baby #3 until he/she makes his/her arrival in February. It's funny, when I tell people that we aren't finding out the sex of this baby, I get one of two very enthusiastic responses:

1) Oh, that is awesome! I wish I had/I want to do/I did do that with my kid(s)!

or

2) What?! Why?! That's going to drive me crazy!

The second response always makes me laugh because it should drive ME crazy being the mom, right?! Yet it's driving others crazy :) I should've expected this since we kept the boys' names a secret until they were born (which drove family and friends bonkers). And yes, we will keep the tradition running strong with this one! Maybe we have names picked out...and maybe we don't. Ok, I'll throw you a *small* bone, we're fairly certain we have decided on the names (one for a boy and one for a girl), but my lips are sealed...don't hit me!


Here is another pic from yesterday's sono...the little bugger was stubborn & wouldn't give us a good face shot but he/she did give us a high-five!

So, why do we (or mostly I) not want to find out this time when we found out with both the boys? I think there is something special and a bit romantic about waiting nine whole months to have that moment of excitement in the delivery room! And with the boys we were in a different place in our life where we felt we needed to be able to plan ahead. This time, baby #3 was a huge surprise in itself :)


And another pic with a thumbs-up (or the hitchhiker thumb LOL!)!

And to answer a commonly-asked question, I really do not have a preference on what I want it to be...a boy would be great, we think we have the boy-thing down(along with all the boy "stuff") and a girl would be fun because it would be something different! Also, I really have NOT A CLUE as to what we're having...I keep joking that it's a boy but we'll see...the ultrasound tech didn't even bother to look so she nor my doctor knows what we're having! It's gonna be fun!!!