Botanical Gardens

I absolutely love the botanical gardens in the spring. The bulbs look so pretty! Here is a picture of Makenna at the botanical gardens last spring...

And here she is this year! She sure has changed a lot! I thought it was funny I happened to take the same picture a year later... I thought this picture looked familiar!

Still crawling!

Playing tag. We were one of the only families there... not sure why, it was a perfect day!!

Alllll boy

Jace is a total busy body. He has to be doing something or getting into something at all times. His all-time favorite place to be is outside. He will seriously cry if I don't let him out there. haha. (Sorry for the picture overload- I know less is more but I can't seem to do that!!)

He goes in and out of this hole over and over!

No this did not hurt him, it's all a part of going through the hole

He walks up the slide

Then slides back down

Check out those cute buns

Who got into the flowers??


He's still obsessed with balls

Maybe not all boy all the time- it's not unusual to find a headband or princess crown he's stuck on his head! It's nice he still has a sensitive side...

Other updates on Jace- He can sign a few words now, he LOVES carbs (bread, crackers, cereal- not helping the figure! haha) he's down to one nap a day now (still transitioning), the boy still can't say mama but can say "all done" and "no" (umm, what's up with that??), and... he's finally taking steps!

This is the best video we could get... sorry!

Love this girl

Help a Sister Out

I'm starting a new blog for all my Albuquerque ladies out there, but also for anyone else that wants to read it. It's called Help a Sister Out and is a blog meant to help inspire and uplift each other. Please let me know if you would like to be an author. Thanks!

Coupon Extravaganza

This post was inspired by the many friends that have inquired about my new found frugality... I have to say I am reluctant to do this because I don't want people to think I'm a total cheapskate. :) I've found it's actually fun for me to do and has saved our family a lot of money, so I thought I would share the wealth and let y'all know what I've learned. Like many families, ours is on a budget. I was looking at our expenses trying to figure out where we could cut back without changing our life too drastically. So I thought, you know, the one place we could really improve on is groceries. I typically just ran to the store, got what we needed hoping it was on "sale," and that was that. There was no way around it because we had to eat to live, so I didn't give much thought to it. I heard about the coupon mom and decided to give coupons a try, but it was WAYYYYYY to overwhelming for me, so I gave up on the whole idea. A few months later, I found a blog Being Frugal is Fabulous and I thought maybe if I followed a blog and did what she said instead of doing it on my own, it would make it a lot easier. So I started with Walgreen’s. I have to tell you, the first successful shopping trip you have to Walgreen’s will make you an addict. "Say what, I can get 50 dollars of stuff for $3 and I don't have to sift through clearance crap??!!" Yeah...

Then I started noticing coupons. They are everywhere! You can find them in the mail, walking down the isles in the grocery store, and even online! One time I needed some Uncle Bens rice for a recipe, and I thought, " hmmmm I wonder if I typed in Uncle Bens coupon if I could get one online!" I found one and was able to save money on something I was already buying. Then I realized this amazing question that has since changed how I think- How can I get this for less money??
Then I’m still buying the same stuff I have always bought, but I’m finding a way to cut down on the cost. You may not think you are getting coupons for things you normally buy at first, but after a while you will start finding those precious coupons that will save your family serious money on stuff you already buy.

A great way to cut down your cost in the long run is if you see an amazing deal on something you buy every once in a while, buy a supply of it. Say you normally buy face wash every month for $5, which equals $60 a year. You find it for $1 (Believe me, this is not unusual), and you buy 12 for the year, and you only spend $12!! You are spending a little more up front than you would normally on face wash, but you end up saving $48 for the year! Do you know what I think when I save that kind of money? That would be a sweet date night!!!

Another great way to cut down is to find out what the best sales are for meat and produce for the week, and plan your meals around that. Meat and produce are two things that hardly ever have coupons, so you have to find a way to be smarter about what you buy if you want to save money. For example, last week roasts were on sale, so I planned two meals around the one roast I was going to buy and we had two fabulous meals. I'm not sure I would have planned to have roast that week, but it was delicious and more cost effective. There are definitely times I want to plan a certain meal, but I do usually try to plan for what's on sale.

Something you must realize when taking advantage of the amazing deals that are to be had, is to realize that not every deal is a good deal for me. Before buying something, ask yourself these questions- 1. Is this something I would normally buy? 2. Will I use it? 3. Although I may not use it normally, could it add to my food storage?

One thing you have to know about coupons is you MUST be organized. If you aren’t willing to be organized, you can’t do coupons- simple as that. It will drive you B-A-N-A-N-A-S. You need some sort of a filing system for all your coupons, and then you need a miniature filing system to take with you when you go to use them. You also must be organized in your mind with possible problems you may encounter at the cash register. Know how to fix any problems that may arise- have an ad in your hand, make sure you have the correct product, and you may even want to carry a copy of their corporate policy on coupons. The thing with coupons is there WILL be problems. There WILL be frustration once in a while. But it’s all part of saving our families’ well-earned money.

One amazing thing I have taken away from all this is that being a homemaker is like my job. When I save my family $150 a month, I feel like I’m contributing to our family financially. I have actually thought of doing a little something on the side just to earn a little extra money, but I would much rather be smarter about the money we already have then to spend my free time (my precious free time!) making more money. I definitely feel so blessed to be able to stay at home, so I'm trying to do what I can to help our little family out.

So what do I do? I get the Sunday paper ($6 a month-so worth it) and cut out the coupons, leaving out ones that answer no to the questions above. Be careful with this though. One time I threw out a Tylenol coupon thinking I didn’t need it, but a couple days later I found it was free with that coupon and I really wished I had it! I might not need it at the time, but I’ll take a free one to have Tylenol in the future, or to have an extra in my purse or something. After cutting out my coupons, I organize them. Also, if there are some great coupons I’ll go pick up another newspaper or two. Another part of my coupon routine is to check this AMAZING blog Hip 2 Save. She has pretty much the most amazing blog ever! I always check her for the Walgreen’s and Target deals going on that week, and I like to check throughout the week because she knows where all the best printable coupons are and great internet deals etc. On Tuesday or Wednesday (varies) when I get the grocery ads, I always look through them and find the best deals from the ad, and match them up to coupons I have. This is the best way to use coupons is to use them on “good” sales. Not all sales are good sales. Then I plan my shopping trip for Wednesday. Coupon shopping trips with kids can be a little crazy unless you are really organized and know what you’re doing. I’m good enough now that I can use them with kids at grocery stores, but I usually try to take trips to Walgreen’s by myself and any other trips I know will be stressful. The least amount of stress you let this cause you, the more successful you will be! Start out doing one thing at a time, and before you know it, you will catch on. (it took me a few months to really get it down.)

So that is my 2 cents on couponing. Is that a word? I thought I would include a couple pictures from recent trips. Yes, I have to take pictures if I get amazing deals- hahaha. I'm a nerd. I like to take a second to look at what I did because it is so super rewarding and I take a picture while I'm at it!

Everything here was free, and it is all stuff we use too!!

Free gum, free cascade, and everything else 50 cents or less

$1 or less

My baby

On my 13th birthday, I begged my mom for this...

We've been through a lot together- Long rides with friends, racing down hills, riding along the beach and the Idaho Falls, I've even strapped a beach chair and umbrella to it and rolled around with it! Now it's fun to take my kids on it. They love rolling around the could-a-sac with me, and I love sharing it with them! I wonder how old I'll be when I can't ride it anymore... :)

Food Storage

I am proud to say that we finally have a good collection of food storage! For any of you that aren't members of the LDS church, we believe it is good to have a supply of food storage in case there is a natural disaster, or you are unemployed etc. In my mind this is good advice for everyone, especially with how the economy is going. I don't know why, but I'm so excited that we have our supply! It just feels good to know that we are self-sufficient. I have been grinding our wheat to use for breads and pancakes, and I wanted to share a couple recipes with you guys because they are AMAZING!!

These pancakes are SOOO good and SOOO healthy! They are the best whole-wheat pancakes I've ever had. My kids gobble these up! This recipe originally came from the "Set For Life" cookbook, but I found it on a blog a little while back.

Pancake Master Mix

The Mix:
10 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup baking powder
4 t. salt
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups nonfat dry milk

To make the pancakes:
1 cup master mix
1 T. oil
1 egg
3/4 cup water

If you use freshly ground wheat flour, keep the master mix in the fridge. I actually had to half the recipe to fit it in my tupperware, so you might want to start out with just half the recipe. This feeds my little family pretty well, but I like the leftovers, so usually make 1 1/2 times the recipe for all 4 of us. (2 eggs) I like to keep the recipe to make the pancakes taped on my tupperware.

Honey Wheat Bread I

Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup melted shortening (*I use canola oil, not a shortening fan)
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.
2. Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, shortening, honey, salt and wheat flour in food processor or bowl. Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add white flour, and process until dough forms a ball. Knead dough by processing an additional 80 seconds in food processor, or mix and knead by hand 10 minutes. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide dough in half. Roll out each half, and pound out the bubbles. Form into loaves, and place in buttered 9x5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of the dough, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until doubled; second rise should take about 30 minutes.
4. Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tops are dark golden brown. Butter crusts while warm. Slice when cool.

Overdose and drugs

Makenna has this medicine she's taking because she had strep last week, and she LOVES it. It's that pink antibiotic medicine (I totally remember taking it as a kid) and it tastes like bubblegum goodness. So somehow she got past the child lock and drank over half the bottle- totally frieked me out. I called poison control right away and they said she was right at the limit where they get concerned, but told me I should probably just watch her to see if she's ok. She ended up being just fine, but man was I nervous! Hmmm, I wonder how many thousands of kids have tried to overdose on this medicine...
So then a little later I got a call while I was in the shower. I listened to the message when I got out, and some guy was calling to get "a pound of Bud" and "some dimes." Being the sheltered lds girl that I am, I googled what the heck he was asking for, and it was marijuana and crack!!! What the heck! The guy that used to have my cell number was a drug dealer! Explains all the thuggish people that have been calling me lately... what a strange day...

Kids and Daffodils

I realized I haven't taken a picture of the kids together for a while. (Well since that horrible photo shoot a couple months back... :) So here is one I took today.

Went outside the other day to find my daffodils coming up!! Can't wait for spring!! Not a winter kind of gal... Woohoooo!!

Dog Lover

I knew Jace was a dog lover when we went to my parent's house when Jace was 5 months old. It was one of the first times he had seen a dog and he could not keep his eyes off him! He would laugh and laugh. Then when Charlie left the room he would cry! It was the funniest thing. He has continued to be obsessed with dogs. When we went to Scott's parent's house this weekend, he would not leave Sassy alone!!

Good thing Sassy is such a good sport.

We also had a "do-over" birthday party for him. I knew he would dig in if he was feeling better!

A face only a mother could love!!