Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Twins Are Here!

Here are some of our first pics taken on our last day at the hospital and when we first arrived home.

Here we go!

My husband, Eddie really surprised me with how he handled the delivery. During our first daughter's delivery he sat for the entire thing and did not dare look over the sheet. But this time, he was a totally different man. He took lots of video and pictures during the delivery. I'm so glad he did. At one point, the doctor asked him what he thought of the entire process. Eddie replied, "It's got to be the Holy Spirit, because I should have passed out by now!" Here is my favorite video from the delivery. Beware: It's pretty graphic...you will actually see the babies come out.


Saturday, December 27, 2008

Happy Birthday

On Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 our twins entered the world! What an exciting time. Mariah Brielle was born at 1204 p.m. weighing 5 lbs and 13 oz. Maxwell Eddie arrived 2 minutes later weighing 4 lbs and 13 oz. They are PRECIOUS and greatly loved! Here is a slideshow of pics from our hospital stay.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Party of 3...soon to be 5!



We took these pictures on Saturday at Portrait Innovations. I was very pleased with their service and quality of the prints.

Nesting

The babies are scheduled to be here in 4 days!!! That's soon, don't ya think? In preparation, I have done a little sewing and LOTS of cleaning. We are also working hard on our budget and getting business stuff in order.
Here are some pics of a few things I have made.







I thought this apron was super cute. Apparently, Halley did not! Here are the directions for this super easy-to-make apron. I taught my friend Nicole how to make one for her daughter, Kaiya.


I made this quilt for Max. I took it to be embroidered and will pick it up today. I also did one for Mariah, but I did not take a picture of it yet.


This is a "hooter hider" aka nursing cover up. You can learn to do anything on the internet. Here are the directions for this item. I changed a few things to make mine a bit nicer. I sewed two fabrics together to make it a little thicker, added a decorative stitch to the outside, and put on a pocket as suggested. I saw this same cover up here on sale for $19.95. Maybe I will go into business making these!


I taught myself how to crochet when I was pregnant with Halley. She has a nice sized blanket now. I decided to do one for the twins. So far, only Max's is done! I learned how to do this "granny square" on the internet. Click here, to learn to do one yourself. I do have one for Mariah, but it looks more like a cape than a blanket! Oops. I am going to start over using this same pattern that I used for Max. My goal is to get hers done in time so that they can come home from the hospital with them. I would love to have them as a keepsake to pass on to their firstborn.

I just went in the nursery and noticed that I need 2 curtains for it. My plan was to make them, but I think I will have to purchase them...time is of the essence. I also need to get something to put on the wall over their cribs. So much to do, so little time.

I have my last MD appointment as a pregnant lady at 815 this morning! If all goes well, we will have the babies Friday. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! When I get done with that, I have lots phone calls to make and a few errands to run. I have to get it all done now, because by Friday I will be milk distribution center ONLY! Well, not only...I still have responsibilities as a wife, mother, domestic engineer, accountant, delegator, friend, daughter, sister, organizer, etc, etc, etc!!!

A Tribute to My Parents




Lately, I have really been thanking the Lord for my parents, James and Cynthia Caine. They have brought lots of joy to my life as my parents and the GRANDparents of our children. By God's grace they have been together for 38 years and married for 34 years! That's unheard of in these days. What a blessing to be their child. Their entire lives were changed in 1980 when they both accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior together at a Sunday church service. God completely turned their lives right side up and changed the course of their lives and their children.

What has most impacted me lately is the love they have shown by caring for our little Halley. I absolutely love that they feel the need to visit her every other weekend (like they have visitation rights) and they faithfully do so. They leave Atlanta on Saturday morning and drive 2 1/2 hours to get here around lunch time. We spend the day together and then they are back on the road by 6:30 a.m. to make it to their church. Now that's dedication...5 hours driving only to spend less than 24 hours with us.

Halley has been with them since last Wednesday afternoon. My dad met me at the stateline to pick her up and take her home with him. This gave me the chance to get my hair braided (it took 11 hours), get some much needed rest (what a joy to have uninterrupted sleep at night), run errands, and spend quality time with Eddie. They all came to visit Saturday. My mom and I went to the commissary while my dad stayed home with Halley. Then Eddie, Halley, and I went to take some family pics. Thankfully, my mom came with us. Halley was not on her best behavior and I know Eddie and I would not have been able to take any pics together if my mom weren't there to take care of Halley. On Sunday morning they packed up to leave and took Halley back with them! We do love and miss her, but are so appreciative of the chance to get stuff done without a 2 year old.

Guess who watches Halley most of the time while she's in Atlanta. My Dad. My mom is still working and my dad is retired due to a medical disability. Because of that, he takes care of her until my mom gets home. Opa, as Halley calls him, is wonderful. He says it brings him great joy to take care of her and is no problem at all. I have been most shocked by this...I never knew this side of my dad, but I'm very thankful for it!

Opa, Oma, and Halley will be back Thursday night for the birth of the twins on Friday! They are going to stay with us through Christmas and New Year's and a little beyond that to help with the babies. My mom says she will be on duty during the day and my dad will be on night duty to help with the feedings. What a huge blessing they are!

Mom and Dad, we love you very much!


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

23 Days and Counting...Down!

Have you looked at my baby ticker lately? Take a minute and scroll down...looking to your left for the 2 babies floating in the womb.

Go ahead.

Obey.


I'm waiting.

Did you see that? 23 days (as of Nov. 26) to go! The babies are moving around like crazy. I can look down at my belly and see body parts doing the bump in there! It's hard to believe that by Christmas, Lord willing, we will have 3 children. Boy, did we catch up with some our friends very quickly. Their names are Mariah (she still needs a middle name) and Maxwell Eddie. It has been such a joy and privelege to carry them. I thank God for giving me the joy of bearing children. What a delight and honor.

The other night at our Thanksgiving service a man shared that he delivered their 7th child at home because the midwife did not make it in time! You all know my husband is quite the businessman, right? He got the mic and said, "Scott, they are charging us $10,000 to deliver these babies, can we cut a deal?" The church went into an uproar! Afterwards, someone told me that I gave Eddie the evil eye...oops!


Seriously though, we are having to pay out of pocket for this pregnancy. We have medical insurance (which we pay nearly $400 monthly for) but we did not sign up for maternity benefits when we got the policy. We had just had Halley and weren't "planning" to get pregnant for awhile. Since this pregnancy, our thoughts on "planning" pregnancies has changed. We believe that God is sovereign over the womb. It's not to us to determine how big our small our family will be. God knows what's best. He declares in His Word that children are a blessing from Him and that the fruit of the womb is a reward. We don't think that we should say, "No,God don't give me any more blessings. We are going to use "wisdom" and cut off the blessings that you want to give us." The world sees children as a bother, a hindrance to your career, and anything but a blessing. But as Christians, we know that Christ is opposed to the world (He is on the extreme end of the spectrum to what the world says)..."feed your enemies, bless those who curse you, the first will be last, the greatest among you is your servant, etc." To give control of this area of our lives over to the Lord is a huge step of faith for us. After all, I was just a few days late picking up my pills and we got pregnant...with twins! But we trust that our God truly knows what is best. We want to have an open hand to His will for our lives.

As for Halley's thoughts on the babies...she doesn't have much of a clue what's going on! When asked where are the babies, she does lift up my shirt and point to my belly. And she knows that we have been keeping her out of the nursery, but I don't think she knows why! She is a great helper...really. She carries her stool to the sink to help wash dishes and to the washer and dryer to help with the laundry. She loves to get the clothes out of the dryer and put them on the couch and even tries to help me fold them. When I get the broom, she immediately gets the dustpan. She helps to vaccuum. My parents bought her an iron and ironing board, so she does that as well! What a domestic diva! I hope this continues when the babies come. She is going to the potty on her own these days...#1 and #2!!! Praise the Lord. She wears panties all day and has not had an accident in a couple of days. Even in the church nursery she has used the potty. I am so thankful to the Lord for this! My goal was to have her potty trained before the twins arrived. She has met and exceeded the goal! We are still working on her staying dry at night. She just turned 2 on Nov. 7, so I really believe her progress is excellent. I just hope she won't regress when they get here.

Well, keep praying for us. I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions...especially at night. We are shooting for Dec. 19 to become a party of 5!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Common Ground Montgomery

My friends, Nicole and Delta serve with an inner city ministry called Common Ground Montgomery. I have witnessed so many great things as a result of God using them and their families in the lives of people living in West Montgomery. It has been a joy to be a small part of joining with them in the Lord's work. Here is a video that someone made about the ministry.

Body Parts

Being a part of the Body of Christ is such a blessing. I have been so encouraged by my friends in Montgomery. They are like family and make living in BAMA an easier pill to swallow. Last Thursday was a wonderful day surrounded by friends. Here's a snipet of an e-mail that I sent to my friend Keisha telling her about my day:

Yesterday, was a fun day for me. Me and Brie met Sylvia and her boys at the mall. We let the kiddies take a train ride...we thought it would be cute. Of course Brie started crying, so Champ started too! The conductor had to stop the ride and let them off! Next time, I'll keep my $2 in my pocket and we'll just look at the train! We came home and took a nap. Then Brittany Wright came over. She's like you...my single friend who lives around the corner who always comes over. We have become pretty close. Then Nyema and the girls came over before picking up Zuriel from school. Then Delta and Nicole stopped by for a few minutes to bring baby Max some boy clothes. Then Chas and Ashley came over and along with Brittany, they put up my Christmas tree! It's so pretty. I have bronze and gold on it this year. It just puts me in a happy mood to look at the tree. I will take some pics and upload them. Then, I went to dinner with a friend from church. What a day.

What a blessing to have such wonderful friends. My parents comment quite often about the friends that we have here. They are amazed with how we serve and take care of one another.

I want my frineds to know how very thankful I am for them. They are a real blessing and truly exemply love in action!


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Honey...It's Time!

No, not time to have the twins...time to update my blog! Gotcha!! So much has gone on over the last 6 weeks or so. I'll try to give you a quick run down. Let's start with family first... Eddie and I spent the whole week together last week. Just. the. two. of. us. He is working really hard on some new projects (building 3 townhouses, trying to sell houses he built earlier this year, managing rental properties, and looking at a new business venture). He's such an entrepreneur! He also has been teaching Sunday School. He is great at engaging others to join in the discussion. I really enjoy his class.


I was put on bedrest last week because the babies were growing at different rates. The boy was measuring 25% bigger than his sister. Twins should not be more that 20% different in size. Plus, I was having contractions every 3-4 minutes. We sent Brie to my parents in Atlanta, becuase who can really rest with a 2 year old?!! We prayed and prayed for the babies. When I went back this Monday, things were great. The twins are only 8% different in size now. I was taken off of bedrest and declared a low risk patient again! Oh how my heart rejoiced! I believe that the mishap last week was due to operator error on behalf of the U/S tech. She was not as skilled and I think her measurements were way off. However, God is in control (even over "mistakes"). He was testing my faith and all things worked out for His glory and my good.






Brie turned 2 on Friday! Wow! Before I went to bed last night I peeked in her room. She takes up half the toddler bed with her length now. She is becoming more verbal. Her speech is not that good, but she can definetly communicate! Everyday is an adventure with her. She mocks lots of things that we do...which is scary and funny! She loves music...anytime she hears it, she starts to sway to the music and swing her head back and forth. She loves to pray. We sing "God our Father, we thank you..." before meals. It's nothing for her to take a few bites and then say again, "Wan pray." So we do it all over again.




I've had 2 baby showers...one in Atlanta and one in Montgomery! What a blessing. Here are a few pics:


That's enough for now. Please keep us in your prayers. I am 32 1/2 weeks preggo. We are shooting for Dec. 19 for the due date. Pray that our buns stay in the oven on 400 degrees until bubbly and brown!

Monday, November 10, 2008

John Piper on the Election

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

My Favorite Things




This weekend, my husband and I went to see Fireproof for his birthday. It was EXCELLENT! The movie was very God-honoring and Christ focused. I love that the Gospel was shared and not sugar coated at all. We both cried during the movie. I think it was because we understand that marriage is a fight and both people have to be fully committed to the Lord to make it work. We truly enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it yet, you must go. It will definetly give you something to talk about with your spouse as you learn to Fireproof your marriage.

Here is the trailer from the movie.





P.S. In the kissing scene, Kirk Cameron's real wife was flown in to shoot the scene. He was not willing to kiss another woman. I just love that. Now that's commendable and being above reproach. To God be the glory!

For more favorite things, check out Fiddledeedee

Friday, September 26, 2008

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

I have such wonderful friends here in Montgomery. My friend, Sylvia has watched Halley for us on several occassions. This week, I had the privelege to return the favor. The thing about calling another mom to watch your child is that she understands where you are coming from. I so appreciate this. Now that I have a child of my own, my eyes are opened to the need that we have for one another. I try my best to help my friends whenever I can, because I know what it's like to be in need. Eddie and I could have done so much more to help our friends when we didn't have a child (one of our friends referred to us as single). But, we didn't understand what it was like. I wish we would have volunteered to help more.

Anyway... I was in the kitchen and I heard all this noise coming through the monitor. I went into Brie's room and this is what I saw...





I Gave Brie a Promotion!

Since Brie can iron, sweep, vaccuum, dust, wipe down the counters, and much more I thought it was time I gave her a promotion. Check out her work!





CVS Superstar




Sorry I don't have a pic. Please use your imagination. I bought a 54 count pack of Huggies Diapers and a 44 count pack of Huggies Pull-ups. (The last time I bought Pull-ups I thought they would be the last ones I would buy, but maybe these will be it!)

Diapers $15
Pull-ups $15

Total with tax $33
Qs used:
$3/$15 CVS CRT (prints on bottom of reciept)
$2/$10 CVS Q
$2 Pull-ups
$1.50 of Diapers
$7 ECBs

OOP = $16
That's a savings of 50%
Plus I earned $10 in ECBs! That's like paying $6 for $33 worth of stuff! What a deal. If you're not into CVSing, you should give it a try!

Want to see more CVS savings? Visit the "Cents"ible Sawyer's CVS Superstars.

TRUE WOMAN 08

TrueWoman08: Now is the time

In less than 2 weeks, I will be in Chicago with 6 of my friends (Nicole, Antoinette, Delta, Monica, Kim, and Aftan)for the True Woman 08conference. I am so excited and can hardly wait! The conference features Nancy Leigh Demoss from Revive our Hearts, Pastor John Piper (my friend, Antoinette's cyber pastor...LOL), Karen Lorritts, Joni Earkson Tada, and many others. 6000 women will attend from the USA and other countries. Now doesn't that sound exciting? Also, Keith and Kristin Getty are the worship leaders. They have written many hymns recently, one titled, The Power of the Cross. They are wonderful.

At the beginning of the year, I heard about the conference and shortly after found out I was pregnant. One of the first questions I asked my OB was whether or not I could go (I will be 7 months preggo when it rolls around!). He said it was too soon to say. Well, by the time he did say it was ok, all the tickets were sold out. I still didn't lose faith. I got on a msg board and posted "Pregnant momma needs a ticket". I was a little discouraged when I saw that there were several other ladies who were looking for tickets and had been looking for one much longer than I had. However, it was in God's plan for me to go! About 2 days after posting, someone contacted me! How great is that. I'm going to insert one of the e-mails that she sent so that you can see God's hand at work. Here it is:

Shaunta',

The mail came today but my stuff did not come yet unfortunately. In the meantime I just really wanted to share how this all came about with you because I feel it really shows God's hand at work.

My girlfriend and I have not seen each other in 3 years, since my wedding. And before that day, it had been a couple years as well. (We are old roommates.) Anyway, we both have moved away and have kids now, and so we haven't been able to keep in touch like we would like to. In fact, we really hadn't talked in several months, but she just had a baby a few months ago and that rekindled our emailing recently. In our emailing she shared with me about this great conference she heard about on the radio and that she really felt like she was called to go to this conference, but she couldn't find anyone to go with her. She had asked everyone she knew in her area, and was then so desperate she even asked her husband if he would go with her. ha! In looking into it, I thought it looked pretty great, so I offered to go with her. At that time I thought my little girl would have weaned herself from nursing by the time the conference came around, and I had saved some money in my personal acct in our budget, so it all seemed like a perfect plan and I would get to reunite with my friend after several years.

Anyway, because we are on a tight budget, I made sure I was going to get the early bird price! I signed up and waited to hear if my friend got hers, but LONG story short, she totally forgot due to some family drama and was not able to get one. She said to still plan on going, because she would just keep trying to get a ticket somehow. In fact she thought she had one because a lady contacted her about selling hers, but then never returned any of my friends calls or emails. With all this going on, I realized there was no way my girl was going to wean and it made me nervous to just up and leave her for 3 days, and my friend said she was trying to figure out what she would do with her newborn as well. Together we made the decision to just cancel it and I would sell my ticket, and we would try to get together some other time.

I then got on the internet to figure out how in the world to sell my ticket and came across the message board on the True Woman website and saw the hundreds of postings of women wanting tickets. My heart sunk as I wondered how in the world could I possibly pick out one person when all of the stories seemed so compelling!!! I just signed off and thought about it for a few days and concluded that I would answer an ad for someone that was only looking for one ticket, because I had more of a chance of working in that one woman's life, than just giving a bible study group one more ticket, when they still need like 5 more. But still, I was so lost for how God was going to make the woman stick out that He wanted to give it to. And then as you know, out of nowhere my girlfriend emailed me with your posting. I honestly think she picked it out because you said you would pay the full price and not just the early bird price, LOL. But regardless of what you said, I took that as God singling you out for me to contact. And I prayed, ok Lord, if this is who you want to go to the conference, you will work out all the details. And you know the rest of the story. ;)

So my girlfriend just actually emailed me today sharing a bunch of stuff that has come crashing down on her family in the past few days and is just feeling overwhelmed by all of it. And in emailing her back, I was telling her not to worry about the conference or feeling bad about how it all turned out, etc. And in doing so, it hit me! She felt so compelled to go, but couldn't find anyone to sign up with her. We rekindled our communications, I say I will go, I sign up, she forgets, now I have a ticket and she doesn't. One could ask, why if she felt so called to go to the conference did it work out this way? - but I fully believe it was for YOU to go. I have NO idea if I would have picked your posting out of the hundreds, but I certainly wasn't looking forward to having to choose someone. And God knew that! So he had her send me your information. Now I truly believe that God used the two of us to get YOU the ticket you need so you can be there. I am totally jealous, because it is going to be so great, but I don't doubt for a moment that you are supposed to be there. Not with how this all played out! So I really want to encourage you to see God's hand in this and to really open your heart to why he wants you there so badly. He obviously has a plan for you and is reaching his heart out to you and it's so beautiful to see all of this happening! I am honored to be used in your life when you are a complete stranger to both of us! But God cannot be limited, right? His ways are not our ways, and his plans are perfect! Since you won't be getting out to any conferences for a while after your babies are born, I know that you need this. And I will have plenty of time to get out to something else in the future.

So sorry for sending you this huge email, when you don't even know me. But when emailing her this morning, I just really felt that it was important for you to see God working in your life so intimately. I hope this touches your heart in some way. And I will be in touch about when my stuff comes in the mail.

Take care,


Were you encouraged? God is in control of all things. He is so good! I recieved the ticket in the mail this week. Thanks Jenna!

Some of you probably think I'm crazy to be flying when I'm 7 months pregant...with TWINS! Let your heart be at rest...I feel wonderful and I am trusting God to keep all of us safe. One friend that's going has 5 kids, so she could deliver my 2 with ease! This will sound even crazier...Eddie is flying to India (yes...the country) next Thursday for a missions trip with our church! He will be gone for 10 days. The plan is for Halley and I to go to Atlanta to spend the week with my family and then I will fly out the following Thursday. He'll be back that Saturday and I'll be back that Sunday. My parents are overjoyed that Halley will get to spend much of October with them. Actually, I haven't told my dad yet. I'm going to surprise him.

So, please pray for us. I will list specific prayer requests in a separate post.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Some Things I'm Most Thankful For

My blogging friend, Jess, had a post with this title on her blog. I thought I would blog about the same topic.

1. Being a wife and mother. I am thankful that the Lord wrote this in to the story of my life. I absolutely love taking care of my husband, Halley, and soon to be twins! It's not peaches and cream everyday, but I know the Lord is sanctifying me through it all.

2. Having a wonderful family. My parents are celebrating their 34th anniversary today! How cool is that? They have been together since they were 16 or 17! Without them, I wouldn't have such wonderful siblings. I have 2 sisters, Erika and Joy, and a brother, Jason. I've never posted about my family, but I will put up a pic soon and introduce them to you.

3. Great Friends. Oh how I love them. It is so much fun to have Christian friends to walk through life with. My friends here in Montgomery are like family. I love that they point me to the Lord and are willing to challenge me. We have such a great time together.

4. The Bible. It is alive and powerful. It sharpens. It encourages. It is food to my soul. It enables me to know our God. It makes my soul sing! Amen and amen.

What are you most thankful for? You can also go to Jess's blog and read what others are thankful for in the comment section.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Check out my Freebies!

So, I decided to add a new store to my regulars! I feel like I have the CVS game down and Publix, too. This week, I added Walgreen's. Since CVS and Walgreen's are right across the street from one another and less than 1/4 mile from Publix, I have a savings seizure every time I drive by! Check out this post at Frugal is Fab to learn how to shop at Walgreen's. I did exactly what she said, and made out wonderfully. Here's what I got for FREE after rebate:



1- Excedrin Migrain 24 ct - $1.99
1- Excedrin Gel Caps 20 ct - $3.99
1- Lypsyl Lip Balm - $1.99
1- Crest Pro Health - $2.99
1- Nivea Bodywash for Men - $4.99
1- Revlon Nail Polish - $4.49

Coupons used:
$2/1 Excedrin Migraine (makes it free...actually overage of $.01!)
$1/1 Nivea Bodywash (with rebate of $4.99, they paid me $1 to buy it!)

Rebates I will recieve
$3.99 for Excedrin Gel Caps
$1.99 for Lypsyl Lip Balm
$2.99 for Crest
$4.99 for Nivea
$4.49 for Revlon

OOP $19.48
- 18.45 in Rebates
= $1.03 for all of this stuff!
Plus I recieved a Register Reward (RR) for $1, so I used it to buy some butter for $0.31!!!!

Here's what I got at CVS:



Transaction 1:

4- Suave Body Wash $2 each
2 Colgate Advance $2.99 each

Coupons used
2- BIGI Free for Suave
2- $1.50 off Crest

Total $19.54
- $4.26 in store sales
- $7 in coupons
-$1.30 on Gift Card
= $6.98 oop
ECB's earned = $6 ($4 for Suave and $2 for Crest)

Transaction 2
2 Covergirl Wetslicks (B1G1 50% off) $5.99 and $2.99

Coupons used
1- BOGO any Covergirl item

Total oop = $2.99

Lots of great deals are out there. You can do it, too!


Monday, August 25, 2008

Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

A blogging friend, Emily and her family, are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to get the child that the Lord has ordained to be in their family. Go here, to see the glory of the Lord! What a mighty God we serve.


U.S. Women Having Fewer Children

Pls click here and read an article that really is one of my heartbeats.
As Christian women, we have a delight and a duty to raise Godly children. We are told to be fruitful and multiply. Our attitude toward children should be far away from that of the world. The world thinks that children are an interruption, a distraction, a drudgery and not the blessing that God calls them.

Eddie and I waited 4 years to have a child. We thought that we needed to spend time together and focus on one another. The truth about it though, is that Halley has brought us closer to one another. The fruit of our love has strengthened our marriage and given us a common thread. She has brought so much joy to both of us. I just watch with great joy as she runs to him in the morning when she gets up and when he comes to the door in the evening. She adores her father, and he adores her. I have loved seeing this tender side to him, as a result of having her in his life.

Do you have the attitude of the world or the attitude of the Lord concerning children?


CVS Superstar





Ok, this is the best deal I have ever done at CVS.
Here's what I got.
Transaction 1
2- Advil Children's Fever Syrup ($5.79 each)
Coupons used:
2- $1 off Advil
1- $2/$10 ($2 off $10 purchase)
ECB for $7.58 (I've been holding on to this for about 3 weeks)

OOP $0.20!!!! And I earned $11.58 in ECBs for the Advil. Can you believe it?

Transaction 2
1- Delsym (it's a great cough syrup) $8.99
1 Mr. Goodbar $1
1 M and M's (not pictured...we ate them. I had to get the candy as a filler to use up the entire amount of the ECB) $0.79
1 CVS Toddler wipes $1.49

Coupons used:
$11.58 ECB from preious transaction

OOP $0.76!!!
Total I spent $0.96 for $28.11 in products! Wow! What a great trip. Halley is stocked up on meds. Now, if I could just keep her well!



I could have done even better with Transaction 2 b/c I had another coupon for $2/$10 but I forgot to use it! Oh well. I just took the Q to Publix and used it! I bought my last pack of Pull-ups for Halley. I only bought them b/c she will be going to Mothers Morning Out (MMO) once a week,and may need them there...if they don't put her on the potty. The pull-ups were regular price $15.99 and on sale for $13.99. I used the $2/$10 Q and a $2 Pull-ups Q, making them $9.99. Mmm, mmm, good!

Menu Plan Monday



Planning a menu is yet another way that I save money and time. Since having Halley, I've learned that having a plan is ever so important. If I don't, I will have to run to the store for 1-2 items. Mind you, just having to get a few items is still not a quick trip. I have to put on her shoes, buckle her in, take her out, put her in a cart, keep her from touching things, etc. etc. Hence, the need for a menu plan. I like to shop on Mondays after going through and picking out our meals and making a list of items that are needed. This saves me so much time. Plus, during the week, I don't have to think about what we are going to eat. I just look at the calendar that I keep on the side of the fridge with our dinner meal written on it. I don't necessarily cook all of the meals on the specific day of the week that's designated, but I do cook something from that week's list of meals. Without further ado, here is our dinner menu:

Monday: Cynthia's Cheesy Chicken (recipe follows), rice, corn
Tuesday: Peasant Pasta
Wednesday: Pizza (Nicole is coming over with some girls from her Bible Study)
Thursday: Maui Chicken (scroll down the linked page for this recipe), rice
Friday: Fried Tilapia, baked potato, spinach

We may go out of town for the weekend, so our weekly Fish Fry may not happen. I'm trying to make this a family tradition. When I was growing up, we usually had Little Caesar's Pizza on Fridays. Oh what a sweet memory.

Cynthia's Cheesy Chicken
(My Mom, Cynthia, always cooks this when company comes over. Its very good, and very easy!)

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
Pepper
4 slices Swiss Cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c. milk (to thin out soup)
1 cup bread crumbs (I use Pepperidge Farm. crush them up)
Spray butter

Preheat oven to 375. Pepper the Chicken. Place in glass dish. Top with Swiss Cheese. In a separate bowl, mix soup and milk. Pour over chicken. Top with Bread Crumbs and spray with butter. If you don't have spray butter, use some pats of butter. Cover with foil and cook for 35 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5 minutes more to allow bread crumbs to brown.

For more Menu Plans, Menu Plan Monday here.


Saturday, August 23, 2008

I Won!





I entered a random drawing at Money Saving Mom and I won. The drawing was for coupons for 4 free packages of Bertolli Premium Pasta Sauce. I was entry #869...forreal! I looked back later in the day and there wer 909 entries. I just entered because it was easy, but didn't think I would win. But, I got an e-mail telling me I had won. So for all you sceptics out there...this stuff really works.


Publix Super Savers




This is kinda late, but I'm trying to inspire my friends that couponing really does work. These are some great deals, for things that we can use. I'm learning that I don't have to do every deal. I didn't go to Publix since the new sale stared on Wednesday, and I probably won't go until we need milk or eggs or something. We're pretty stocked up for the month.




So this is what I got:
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars (Raincheck BOGO $2.89)
4 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish ($6)
2 Del Monte Frozen Strawberry Chillers(BOGO $2.43)
2 Del Monte Frozen Peach Chillers (BOGO $2.43)
2 Niagara Spray Starch ($1.98)
1 Publix Coffee Filters ($2.59)
2 Lunchables ($2)
4 Shout (BOGO $2.89)
2 Muir Glen Tomato Sauce ($1.58)
2 Apple and Eve Fruit Punch ($2.67)
1 Publix Gallon Milk (One Day Sale 1/2 Price $1.80)
2 Oust ($6)
1 Publix Large Eggs ($1.79)

Coupons used
$5/$30 ($5 off $30 purchase- Publix mailer)
$.60 Nature Valley
4- $.50 Goldfish Target Coupon (Publix does not double competitor's coupons)
2- $1/2 Delmonte Chillers
2 - $.75 Lunchables
2- $2 Shout
2- $1 Muir Glen products
2- $.50 Apple and Eve (coupons were doubled)
2- $1 Oust
1- $2/$10 CVS Q (coupon)

Regular Price $63.97
- $22.69 Sales
- $22.35 Coupons
= $18.93 OOP (out of pocket)
Savings of 70%
What a great day that was at Publix!
You can do it too. Check out Sarah's Publix Posts and Publix Super Savers at Fiddledeedee for more deals. That's what I do! It makes my shopping so much easier, fun, and full of savings!


Friday, August 22, 2008

A Walk in the Neighborhood



Since it wasn't super hot today, Brie (that's Halley- for those who don't know her by this)and I took a walk in the neighborhood. Here are some little moments with My Sweet Love.







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