Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving Recap

Well, it was a quick, but WONDERFUL Thanksgiving break. We started out on Wednesday in Big Canoe with my mom, Dale, Aunt, Uncle, Stephen's Dad and my Grandparents. LOTS of yummy food, good memories and even some Christmas Cheer! We always celebrate Thanksgiving, my Grandfathers birthday and Christmas all at once so that we can celebrate these occasions together. We always have so much to be thankful for...especially when we all get to gather together for such a beautiful Holiday!

I have discovered a blog that I absolutely LOVE!! (http://www.foodallergymama.com/) All of her recipes are Caleb-safe since they are made without milk, eggs and nuts! I made chocolate cranberry cookies that I found on her site for Caleb's daycare Thanksgiving feast. It made a lot, so we had plenty left over to bring to Big Canoe. They were very yummy and everyone raved over them! I love being able to make something that tastes GOOD and is safe for Caleb to eat. I also tried her cranberry raisin pie on Sunday and it was yummy, too. In fact, it may just be a new favorite pie for this time of year! (and we all know how much this mama loves pumpkin pie!)

Thanksgiving day was spent watching the parade, eating left overs and relaxing. I love being able to relax on actual Thanksgiving day instead of having to scramble around in the kitchen. We have all the great food waiting for us in the refrigerator to warm up! :)

I actually went out on Black Friday this year and had a fun time! Stephen and Caleb stayed at home and I spent all my Christmas money and gift cards from my family! I love to be able to shop and not feel bad about it! Gift cards are the most perfect gift for me! (for anyone who needs any ideas!) ;)

Saturday and Sunday were spent decorating and just having some nice family time together. We are always so rushed during the week that a few days off spent at home just fill my heart! It was tough getting out of bed this morning, that is for sure! Now we are back to the grind at work and daycare. Stephen and I both have some time off before Christmas, and I am sure that we will enjoy it! This is my favorite time of the year!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Parent Teacher Conference

Well, Caleb had his first parent teacher conference today. I guess I should say that Stephen and I had our first parent teacher conference today! Caleb, along with his classmates, slept right through it on their little cots!

All in all, it was a good report! For the information section they wrote: "Caleb is a very sweet, loving child. He enjoys everything that we do! He has excellent listening ears and always does what is asked of him." They also said that "Caleb does well when transitioning from one activity to another. For the part where they had to write their concerns, they wrote "Caleb is very cautious and weary to try new things. However, he often warms up to the new activity and enjoys it! Sometimes his speech is difficult to understand, but we have already noticed improvement."

Isn't he a good boy!? There were just over four pages of developmental guidelines that he should be doing and only two weren't checked. One was " Uses words or gestures indicating a need to go to the bathroom." Both teachers laughed and said, well, he didn't do that until Tuesday and he started to do that out of the blue! Stephen and I also noticed this at home on Tuesday because he asked me to go sit on the potty and then went #1 and #2! The other blank that wasn't checked was "pulls at another person to show them some action or object. They agreed with us that rather than taking us to the object, he will usually bring it to them instead...which isn't too bad. The teachers did say that SOMETIMES he will not play with two or more peers at the same time, but that really just comes with his age. The younger twos are all doing the same thing and sometimes prefer one on one play with another child.

We are proud that we got a good report on our little man! Maybe he will keep up with his "Cautious manner" into his teen years and will stay out of trouble!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

THE Coupon Mama!

So, a few of you have been asking about my couponing experiences the past month or so, and I am FINALLY sitting down to blog about it. I am far from an expert (there are some people who feed large families for under a dollar a week!!!) but I will give you the tips that I have on how I have saved so much money. I owe all of this to my friend Lauren who started posting pictures of her groceries and receipts on facebook. She was spending next to nothing for a lot of yummy looking food!

So. How do I do it? Well, my main source is http://www.southernsavers.com/. This is a fantastic website that lists many of the stores (in the South!) and what their weekly specials are, and what coupons are out there that can be matched up with the deals. The key is to start a stockpile of coupons from the Sunday paper. I also get a special Thursday paper that also has coupons inside. Publix has weekly B1G1 (buy one get one) deals. You do not have to buy both products to get the savings. They actually ring up at half price. For these B1G1 deals, you can also use TWO coupons (one for each product) Publix is a fantastic store to use your coupons. They will double coupons (unless specified not to) up to 50 cents. They also accept competitor store coupons and you can use these store coupons WITH a manufacturers coupon. For instance, last night I had a 50 cents off one bag of chex mix coupon from target. This coupon was doubled to $1 off. I also had a manufacturers coupon for 50 cents off (not to be doubled, per the coupon). They had their bag of chex mix on sale for (around) $1.67. So I paid 17 cents for a bag of chex mix!

I do find that Kroger usually has the better price on meats. If I am buying a lot of meat (and milk...they usually have great milk prices!) then I will make two trips. I live one mile from Publix and less than a mile from Kroger, so this is economical for me and still save money, rather than spending gas money to get from one to the other! That may not work for everyone!

I now try to only buy things I have a coupon for and, unless I have coupons that add up to make a product free, I won't buy something JUST because I have a coupon for it. I will also still comparison shop. For instance, I had a 60 cent off coupon for mayo last night, but that still made the name brand more expensive than store brand so I bought the Publix mayo instead.

Publix does have a Sunday and Monday special every week. It is their mystery coupon and most stores do not require you to have the actual coupon...check with your local store to see if you need it. Last night, I got a pack of hotdogs for 1 penny! The week before was a container of oatmeal. I have also gotten four rolls of toilet paper for only 1 cent.

The website I mentioned saves YOU from having to go through each weekly ad and comparing what coupons you have, etc. AND, it also gives you links to printable coupons. She will only write out the best deals of each weekly and will list what items you can walk away with for FREE! Last night, I got two packages of gravy mix, a container of softsoap, some zantac, and a box of cereal for free. I also paid next to nothing for the hotdogs, chex mix, BATTERIES!!, juicy juice and produce, to name a few.

Going to the store is actually quite fun for me now! I love hearing the total, then handing over my coupons and just watching the savings add up. I spent $34 last night for a weeks worth of groceries (plus some!) and spent $43! So nice!

Like I said, I am far from an expert....but these are the tips that I use. I do still have to be loyal to some name brands because of Caleb's allergies. In fact, I have emailed some of those companies complimenting their products and they have sent coupons in the mail! let me know if you have any questions, and I will be happy to try and help you save as much as I have!!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Shake Shake Shake

I am not quite sure what song Caleb decided to sing last night, but he was very into it. They must have learned a new song at school because I took Caleb to his room to get him ready for bed last night and he busted out in a song and dance! It was adorable. I think he sang something along the lines of "Shake Shake Shake" (and he pounded his fists together with each "shake" and then said something like "Shhhh--oooo--oooooo!" And rolled his arms around each other. He repeated this over and over and also added a clapping section in there. I wish I had the video camera upstairs when he was doing it! Such a silly boy! I will have to ask his teachers if they have recently learned a new song!