Sometimes You Don't Want to be the Chosen One

We were informed Monday that Todd's work was going to laying off up to 8 people. I have tried to put it out of my mind and not let the worry and concern consume me. I did an OK job at it, but yesterday afternoon was another story.

The news that we did not want to hear was given to Todd. He had been laid off! On his birthday! His employer has been very nice and sympathetic about the situation.
Todd has been very positive about everything, but I think that is because he knows that I am a worrier, since the reason that I am up at 4:00 in the morning!

Todd was going to actually have to quit before school started back anyway, because he has to work at the Child Development Center at the school for one of his classes. He was going to quit after he got his student loan refund, however!!

The great thing is that we have several friends that have connections that maybe able to get Todd and job (fingers crossed.)

The girls are going to camp this next week and are super excited about that! I am not so excited about the drive to camp, but it will be OK!

The next week, after the girls get home, we are planning on going to the beach with the Goffs and Warners! We have been planning this trip for a year! We have all chipped in for a cottage at the State Park! We may have to ax some of the things that we had planned to do while down there and just enjoy the beach! Not exactly as we had planned, but that is life, right. If we had not already paid for part of the cottage, we probably would not go, but we also have made a commitment with two other families! This maybe the cheapest vacation that we have ever taken.

Oh well, I guess that I have gotten somethings off my chest, maybe I will be able to take a nap this afternoon. Todd will be home after all!!

I will try to post later about Todd's birthday and what we have been up to the past week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!!

Happy Birthday to You!You are a GREAT daddy!
You know how to crack us up!!

You are still a kid at heart!

You are my BEST friend!

Happy Birthday, Todd! I hope that you have a wonderful day. Thanks for all that you do for me and our family! I could not have asked for a better husband! You are a great example for our children! I LOVE YOU!!

Looky Looky!

Look what I got for $1.50!

I can't believe it! I saw this deal here

http://www.forthemommas.com/riteaid/rite-aid-3999-freebie! When I got to the Rite Aid in Millbrook, they were out of the straw looking umbrella, so the manager said that he would give me 2 of the cheaper ones to equal the price of the straw one! I would have been happy with one, but I am STOKED about 2! These will be perfect for our beach vacation!

First Walgreens Trip

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Jennifer, who mailed me the coupons that I was unable to print I was able to save a ton of money at Walgreens today!

The Walgreens in Prattville did not let me do what I was supposed to do, but I still got a good deal. The Walgreens in Millbrook did let me use all the coupons even though the coupon was for more than the item actually cost. At the Walgreens in Prattville, I still got three roll-ons for $1.22! Not Bad!!

They were out of the deodorant that was on sale so they subbed the roll-on that I had coupons for! I got 7 deodorants, 2 bottles of sunlight, and 2 disposable camera (the girls need them for camp for $10. That was going to 2 Walgreens. I am very excited about my deal. I just hope that we like the roll-on!!

Surprise Thursday

Yesterday, I was being lazy (my kids had spent the night with my parents) when I got a phone call from my sister-in-law, Jennifer. She wanted to know if her and Brooks could come down for the day and visit! Well, of course!!! I so enjoyed the time that I got to squeeze his little fatness until the kids got home and I had to share!!

He is so precious! Here are a few pics that I snapped while they were here.

Wordless Wednesday!

Slashing the Bill at Publix

When the kids got home yesterday, we loaded up and headed to Publix! I hear all the time that they are so expensive, but I don't really spend any more there than I did at Wal-Mart. At Publix, I get better service and I rarely have to wait in line. They even take the bags to the car!

After searching for coupons, and looking at the sales, we walked into the store with a stack of coupons and the hope of a lower grocery bill! I had not been to the store (really shopping) in about 2 weeks, so we were really out of EVERYTHING!

At the check out my total was $256.91
I used $39.29 in coupons
Advertised special equaled $47.18
Advantage Buy Savings $5.99
Final Total $164.45

I saved a total of $92.46

I am very excited! I saved almost $100!!!

I think that is the only time that Todd actually enjoyed going to the grocery store! I can't wait until my next trip!

Wednesday!

Our week has been very uneventful. I have been helping Alicia with VBS since Sunday night, so that is keeping us busy and tired. It has also been good for me and Todd. We have had many conversations about our faith, the Bible, and our beliefs. I am sure that was not the goal of this particular church, but it has defiantly had a positive influence on us.

As you know from the last post, I have been really researching ways to shop for less on groceries. It seems like we go through more groceries during the summer, so I am trying to become more frugal. I have read up on things like making your own laundry detergent, fabric softener, cleaning products. The kids ask if we are going back to Pioneer Times, and I tell them that I love my cell phone and computer too much for that, but close. I will let you know how these things work out when/if I try them. I like the idea because, I will know what is in the products because I make them myself. Not only will they be healthy for my family, but also more green for the environment. If it saves us money that is a GOOD THING!

Yesterday, when Zach woke up he said that he smelled donuts and wanted to know if we could go to Donut Heaven. Well, I told him that we could make our own donuts! He thought that I was crazy! I remember my Mom making these when I was younger, so I gave it a try! The kids thought that it was so neat. I am sure the breakfast of fried dough and sugar, frosting, and sprinkles, was not the best way to start off the day, but it was fun, and we don't do it everyday. It is actually pretty easy. Here's what we did.

Yesterday I also had a conversation with Zach that I thought was really funny, I might be the only one, but it was the mind of a child.

me: Zach, you need to clean up your room before Mrs. Christy brings Seth and Jordan over.

Zach: yes ma'am

me: Zach, you need to make up your bed too!

Zach: Why do I have to make up my bed everyday?

me: (not wanting to answer because I said so) Because my Mom made me make up my bed and it makes your room look nice.

Zach: Well, Momma, don't you think that if your Mom was mean to you, you should be nice to your children!!

me: laughing, laughing, laughing, make up your bed.

I could not even respond the way that I wanted because all I could think about was that I was so mean because he had to make up his bed, which by the way takes like 30 seconds!! I cannot wait to remind him of this conversation when he has kids. I wonder if they will have to make up their beds?

I am looking forward to the weekend. The kids are going to Dothan, Todd has to go to ASU and take the Praxis, and we hope to recover from this past week.

Look What I Saved!!

Look at the stuff that I got at Publix for $17.12, when my actual total was $41.27!! I am so excited! I have been doing research on using coupons and how to shop and buy the things that we need for less!! Today we need a few things and I gathered the coupons that I have been saving and we headed out! For those of you who don't know, Publix will take other store's coupons as long as they sell that product.

Vendor Coupons $4.10
Store Coupons $20.00
Advertised Special Savings $11.92
Advantage Buy Savings $4.34
TOTAL SAVINGS $40.36

This is really exciting to me. I can't wait to go shopping next week and to see how well I do!! Todd was really proud too!

Todd & Vaughn plus 5

I offered to keep Landon and Andrew for the weekend, while Ben and Alicia went to Bama Jam. They have never been on a honeymoon or anywhere overnight without their kids, so I thought that it would be fun for Zach to have his friend spend the weekend with him. So far so good. We are actually surviving with extra kids.

Todd didn't have to work today (good for us, not good for the paycheck!) He did do a lot of work today, however. He remowed the front yard from yesterday, mowed the back yard, edged and weed-eated, mowed Ben and Alicia's front and back yard. Tomorrow he said that he is going to go over and edge and weed-eat for them. What a good neighbor he is!

Well, we are exhausted, so after all these children get baths, we are heading to bed!!

Cheap Cheap

I woke up not feeling very well this morning. After I got Todd off to work, I went back to bed. The kids let me sleep in (more TV time for them). Not long after I got up, Christy called to let me know that she was getting ready to bring Andrew over. I had agreed to keep him when she couldn't. The weather was kind of rainy here so I was not sure what to do with the kids. I finally decided to go through their Honor Roll coupons and see what we could do. Here is a list of the things that we used coupons on today.

3 blockbuster videos---FREE!
2 chick-fil-a sandwhiches---FREE!
1 chick-fil-a kids meal---FREE!
3 small fries from McDonald's---FREE!
1 kids meal from Taco Bell---FREE!

Needless to Morgan, Savannah, Zach and Andrew all ate pretty well for lunch. I got an $.89 burrito. Not bad, huh!!

The kids also played the Wii some this afternoon. Not a very exciting day, but it was the best I could do this week on my budget!

Late Wednesday Post

Yesterday was a catch up day for us. I had gotten behind on several things around the house and decided that we needed to take a day and get caught up. I got a lot of things done that I had been putting off. Unfortunately, there is always more for me to do today.

Last night, we went to Sonic for the FREE ROOT BEER FLOATS! The kids thought it was great, but everyone else in Prattville thought it was a good idea too. Boy, was it crazy!

That is about all we did yesterday and I am not sure what the day holds today other than laundry! I am gonna keep Andrew at 1:00 and Landon wants me to pick him up this afternoon, so he and Zach can play.

A New Summer Week

The kids a great time with my parents over the weekend. They swam and swam and went to the movies and swam some more. They had a great time!!

Today, I was not 100% sure what I was going to do with the kids, I decided that we would pack a lunch and go back to the creek in Millbrook. Christy and her kids (and Andrew), met us there and we let the kids play. Christy and set our chairs up at the edge of the creek and enjoyed the nice cool water on our feet and the soft trickle of the moving water ( and the screams of playing kids!)










After the creek, the kids and I headed to Bass Pro Shop to their Summer Fun Family Seminars. The kids had a good time learning how to bird watch, fishing basics, insect and plant saftey, and shooting basics. For each seminar that they listen to and fill in the activity book, they get a cute little pin. We completed four of the eight today. It was neat and something fun to do.


















After Bass Pro Shop, we came home and waited for Todd to come home and we headed over to the Clark's (and the Jolie Kid's) house to swim. Teresa and Frank are some friends that we made from baseball. We enjoy hanging out with them. All of the kids had a good time and Todd and I enjoyed the company.











We got home around 8:00 and luckily I had put a roast in the crock pot to make a great recipe that I got from my friend Vicki ( check out From My Kitchen To Yours under Reflections). It was a huge hit and even little Miss Picky Savannah ate it up.

Well, the end to another busy day. Tomorrow, I "plan" to clean house and do laundry. We will see how that goes.

Back to Iraq

Please keep Todd's brother, Troy and his family in your prayers. Troy was deployed before to Iraq for a year and a half and now he is going to be gone for about a year. His wife and three kids are in Alaska. Please pray for his safety and for all of those in our military. Also, please pray for his wife and kids, that they will be strong during this time while being so far away from family.