Elf on the shelf...and our Tree

This week has been busy! Jeff has been off of work, we had Thanksgiving, Jeff and I went Black Friday shopping, decorating the house for Christmas inside and out...Oh yea and Jack the Elf has been with us since Thursday morning. Today he even brought the kids some Christmas movies :) We have had a lot of quality time together this week....Some pics :)

Baking pies with mom....

Decorating our tree



The tree looks so much better in person!

Finally our Elf



Poor Nemo was so scared all day


Making Friends

I'm alive

very tired but alive. I cleaned, baked all day Wednesday. Went out to 4 different CVS from 11:30-2:30 a.m. with my friend K. I paid 18 oop for 140 in merchandise and earned 30 more ecb then I spent.

Thursday woke up at 11 and cooked all day, cleaned, dropped the kids off with my aunt...we were up at 3...

Went to Kohls stood in line for 45 mins got everything we wanted, went to Toys R Us stood in line for 30 mins got everything we wanted, went to the mall...got 2 coats for Aubs and none for Trev(insert angry face here), Disney store was able to get the kids one more thing each, Target got everything we wanted but a PS2 game, we then went to Home Depot and Lowes and Jeff was able to do his Christmas shopping...

We had breakfast with my friend K and her hubby and then we came home took a 3 hour nap, went and picked up the kids, got the tree and came home.

It was a very busy past few days but I loved every second of it. I think I'm pretty much DONE shopping for Christmas unless I see a KILLER deal!

I filled the back of my truck up today twice so we got plenty :)

Off to relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend.

What are you thankful for?

As I sit here trying to stay awake for another hr so I can start my ventures to 3 24 hour CVS's I am trying to think about what tomorrow is all about...What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my FIRST and ONLY car. My mom and I split the cost of my Toyota Camry over 4 years ago. Yes I started driving late. It was almost 10 years old at the time with 130k on it. It is now 200k on it and all beat and banged up but it works. Yes I wish I could have a brand new car and look like all the other moms...but I don't have a car payment and have the luxury of a mechanic husband that keeps it running. That shit box has saved me 200 bucks a month EASILY!!!

I am thankful for my house. The first time I ever lived in a house. I always grew up in apartments. I am so thankful to have a home...a place to call my own! I cannot believe I am under 30 and own a home.

I am so very thankful to my husbands job. They treat him so well there...He has learned so much, been paid so much better, has received great benefits and best of all I have been able to stay at home with our kids!

I am so very thankful for my husband. Yes he can be a real jerk but he is a great father and the playmate that I am not with them. He is loving and always tells me how beautiful I am that day no matter how mean I am to him. He puts up with my shit. He has made our first home a home. Its amazing to me what he has learned in the past 6 months. Our house looks amazing! He is a great caretaker!

I am so very thankful for Trevor my first born. He is just so funny. As much as he talks sometimes the things he says has me laughing so hard. He teaches me something new everyday.

I am thankful for Aubrey my baby. She drives me nuts the way she is my shadow but I feel so loved. I love how she just lays her head on me all day long and just hugs and squeezes.

I am thankful for my mom and brother...they are my family. My brother and mother are always willing to help in any way that they can. It amazes me how strong the bond between the 3 of us is and keeps growing.

I am thankful for life. I wake up everyday thinking UGH when I should be so greatful for what I have.

Stairs

This week my house has been consumed with many trips to Home Depot, painting, drywall dust everywhere....Anyways so far it is coming out good. This week Jeff still has to remove the old stairs, drywall, putty, sand and paint the bottom part, add on new stairs, and a new railing and TA-DAH we are done! Its funny when people ask what they house looked like before we would open the door. HUGE popcorn, wood paneling, smelly, old, ORANGE outlets :( The new stairs will have 2 planks for each step hiding our storage under the stairs. They will also be carpeted.

BEFORE:


HALF WAY THERE:



Daddys little helper!

Trevor

Today Trevor had his Thanksgiving party at school today. He had a lot to say on the car ride home. He eated Turkey wif corn, pickles and carrots...He WUVED his carrots. He didn't wike the pickles though. He ate with the kingardens. He said he had so much fun. The only sad thing was his best friend A had to leave early because her friend died. Hes going to find the bad guy that made her friend die and beat them up. Thank god we haven't had to deal with death yet. He has no understanding of it!

Dont mind how dirty he is...He came home and helped daddy with the stairs!

Holiday pics 2008

The kids did really well. Trev had a weird smile all day long...Aubrey just wouldn't smile. However they saw Santa and I got all 3 pics for free from The Picture People. Santa was 21.99 but thats another story :)

Our letter to Santa.....

Let me translate....

Dear Santa,

Aubrey wants Elmo, Trevor wants Geo Trax and Spike the dinosaur

Love Trevor and Aubrey..

I almost cried. I thought this was the cutest thing he has ever done!

This weekend...

A very low key weekend I must say.

My mom and I did a little shopping Saturday morning!! It was sooo freakin cold. I felt like such a bad mommy bringing Aubrey out in it. I did get a few more Christmas presents though :P I came home to a complete disaster and so I had to clean that. I got some new X mas decor and put that up, changed stuff around. Its starting to look more put together. A little at a time....

Today I went and did my coupons...Got a pillow, make up, wall-e, huge box of whitmans chocolates, 4 stocking stuffer's for 8.00 oop :) Stayed home the rest of the day and watching Christmas movies on ABC Family...I'm such a loser I know you don't have to tell me :)

DEBT/MONEY issues

We are still having them....Money is so tight but it will get better after Dec 31st. I know it! Found out I no longer get pell grants from school :( Bummer for sure. Jeff finished our closet however we now need more drawers in there which will run us another 100 dollars we just don't have right now. We gotta finish up the holidays, pay our bills and wait for our you owe more tax then you escrowed bill to show up.

JEFF

He finished the closet Saturday...Today he hung half of the basement stairs, mudded and will probably sand tonight. Tomorrow he will be able to work till 11:30 on it then we have family pics at pic people, visiting Santa, etc at the mall. So then he can maybe work a little more on it when we get home. I figure by tomorrow night we will have it full hung, at least one coat of mud on it all and working on the stairs. Im PRAYING it will be all done and painted by Thanksgiving. Im not getting my hopes up...

Busy week...

Jeff is home...his plans are to get the stair way done :)
Monday-Pics and Santa
Tuesday- Trevor has his Thanksgiving party at school and AUbreys first dental
Wenesday- baking, cleaning, everything I can do for thanksgiving, CVS @ midnight
Thursday- Turkey day then taking the kids to my aunts for a sleepover
Friday- Black Friday Shopping, and starting all the decor and lights outside
Saturday- We get our tree
Sunday- BE LAXIN as Trev says

My 1st Christmas in a house!

The dining room:



Aubrey's room: I think I am going to remove the big tree and put the jingle bell one where it is. The big one can go on the floor. I may get her her very own tree....I just cant decide!



The TV room bookshelf: this seems like a catching ground. Doesnt really have a theme...dont love this either :(

The kitchen: My fav part...I still need more balls for the "ornament trifle" I cant decide what color I want...

The living room: Couch needs more pillows, I need to stop burning candles... I kinda wish my stockings were white and red but these are brand new and Jeff would kill me if I asked to get new ones...

Trevors room: Again needs more...



These decorations used to fill my apartment. I guess it shows how little I have when I get everything into a 1600 sq ft house :( I want more stuff. I just dont have the money. I still have to put all my bathroom stuff up and my village

Update

I did well today....Went grocery shopping. I spent 37 dollars though :( I got tons of Gatorade, 5 jars of pasta sauce 1 being Alfredo, 2.5 pounds of ground beef, 2 packages of ricotta cheese(trevs party), 1 package of Spaghetti, 1 package of M&M's to reward the kids for being good, a 6 pack of water(I figured spend 2.87 on 6 rather then 1.00 on 1), 1/4 pound of ham for Trev, 1 pound of roast beef for Jeff(he will be home all week needs lunch), 2 boxes of Jeff's fav ice cream.....All in all I saved about what I spent so groceries for half off not a bad plan for me. Next week I will need bananas, grapes, Gatorade and lunch meats.

I went and filled up my car which was a little below half saved .50 cents a gallon and paid 17.50:)

It should be a great week. Jeff is home, Trevor only has school 1 day this week which is a party week :), we have family pics and Santas visit, We are going shopping Friday, We get a kid free night Thursday and we get to see my family a lot this week. We are going to stay in a lot and enjoy this week :) I told Jeff he is allowed to finish the closet(needs one small area to be sanded, and start and finish the stairs and he is done!)

$ and bills

I have been doing very well. This week I have been to Shaws, CVS, and Target(only because I needed to get one last gift for Aubrey that I had a coupon for!). I have been doing really good with buying only what we need!

I made our budget for this month and next, paid all the bills I could, scheduled the ones I couldn't and made a working budget. I also did our meal plan and we don't need much for the month....a pepper, Gatorade, bananas(next week), grapes(next week), milk, Alfredo sauce....I have 5/25 coupons for Shaws so I plan on using those each week and spending no more then 20-25 a week :)

Gas!! I filled up my truck yesterday for 29.xx that hasn't happened in forever...It was getting around 40-50 range for a while. This made me so happy. Jeff is off this week so we will be using his car a lot and that fill up will last me two weeks! I will fill up the car today with some gas coupons! It will make it 1.67 a gallon...my friend has more if I can get a hold of her today I will stop by and grab hers to make it even cheaper!

$$ coming in....My school money is finally hitting....YAY I wont have to fork over 4800 I don't have :) I am thinking I will get AT LEAST a 1k grant and around 800 for our tax return. With this money I will be able to free up 85 dollars a month in our budget! I will also pay off 6 of the 16 cards we have with balances off! It makes me breathe a little easier. On average I get between 4-7k a year from school so hopefully I get a ton back this year. If I get another 1k then thats one more card freeing up now 44 more dollars bringing my total to 130 a month! etc etc. I would like to have 5 cards by December 2009!

Elves

Check out these elves YES I have way to much time on my hands!

My weight issues

So far to date I have lost 26.4 pounds. I am struggling big time with this. I look a lot better then I did and I am maintain just not losing anymore. I have gotten into a DEEP funk and am trying to get out. However this week I managed to create our working budget again, pay our bills, and even been better with my weight loss. Yesterday I lost 2.2 pounds just by doing good like I used to and not snacking and drinking tons of water. Thanksgiving is a week away. I would like to be down 2 more pounds by then. It would be AWESOME if I could hit the 30 pound loss. Its time to get back on track! There is no need for me to fail. I do so good when I try. Its just very hard and I feel I will ALWAYS battle my weight. If I could hit my goal I would be very happy. Within that goal I think I would look very good and you stand to gain or lose 5 pounds here and there. I'm back on track. This weight and depression cant hold me down anymore.

Black Friday

YES I am a crazy that goes out and shops on that day. NUTS I know! I just cant help it! I love it. It puts me in the mood. PLUS last year Jeff came with me which is awesome because he is such a bigger hard ass then I and pushes his way though and carries all my crap! Our plan so far! I need to see KB Toys, Toys R Us, Old Navy still!!!

Gymbo:

Winter Outwear is 14.00 reg 32.50-50.00

THIS and THIS will be in 18-24 or 2T for Aubrey for Winter 2009/2010

THIS will be for Trev for the following winter as well.

Fleece Hoodies and Pants are 12.00 when you buy 2. I wont be participating in that deal.

My total OOP will be 45.00 -25% for a coupon and using the Gymbo Visa 33.75 savings of 107.25 69% off!!!!

Target:
-Batman Begins 3.98
-Polar Express 5.98
-Leapster Game 15.00
-Elmo’s Farm Playset 15.00
39.96 total oop Savings of 35.41 a little less then half off

Sears:
I know pronounce you chuck and larry.

Bath and Body Works:
I may go in there are use my 10/30 I haven't decided yet. I don't really NEED anything in there.

Holiday Baking

My friend K and her daughter C came over on Monday. We hung out all day. She is a new stay at home mom and I am a veteran at this job! We baked cookies and let the kids play. The cookies came out very cute and Jeff gobbled them up. He hates sugar cookies..Excuse my appearance I LOOK ROUGH!!! It was a lazy day I didnt do hair or make up or get dressed for that matter :)

Doesn't everyone just lick the icing off!?

Then we made the Pumpkin Spice Roll which was a total bitch! It took forever and a lot of effort. Its not even that tasty if you want an honest opinion.

Trevor's first cake

Here is the pic I promised V! It came out awful. We were supposed to ice the cake with the stars you see on the bottom. However time got away from us and this is what happened:)

Hopey cokey

Trevor did the Hopey Cokey today at school.....AND DATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT...

They also learned about Acorns and Corpacopias :)

That is all

CVS Black Friday

CVS Black Friday
Qty Each Item Cost ecb
1 $5.99 Bic Solei $5.99 $5.99
1 $5.99 Garnier $5.99 $5.99
1 $8.99 Maybelline Mineral $8.99 $8.99
1 $2.99 Aussie $2.99 $2.99
1 $1.00 Hershey Bar $1.00 $1.00
1 $6.99 Headphones $6.99 $6.99
1 $6.99 Schick Quattro $6.99 $6.00
2 $2.99 Colgate $5.98 $5.98
1 $3.99 Playtex Gide $3.99 $3.00
1 $1.49 g2 $1.49 $1.49
1 $9.99 Memory Pillow $9.99 $3.00
$0.00
12 ttl items Total $60.39
Qty Each Coupons
1 $3.00 Bic Solei $3.00
1 $1.00 Garnier $1.00
1 $3.00 Maybelline Mineral $3.00
1 $1.00 Aussie $1.00
1 $2.00 Schick Quattro $2.00
2 $1.00 Colgate $2.00
1 $1.00 Playtex Gide $1.00
$-
$-
$-
$-
8 ttl cpns CVS $/$$ or CRT $10.00
Gain or Total Coupons $(23.00)
Lose Total after Cpns $37.39
ECBS Pay with ECBs $30.00
($14.03) GRAND TOTAL OOP $7.39 $51.42
Thanks Fannie for the awesome spreadsheet

Christmas giving!

My friend Tara id trying to help a family at Christmas. We were thinking a victim of the fires in California. I am going to donate some toys and health and beauty items. We are looking to fill a huge box and give the kids and parents something to help and open on Christmas. If you can donate any toys, clothes, gift cards, health and beauty items or cash it would be appreciated. Check out Tara's blog for more info.

WOW

Okay come out come out wherever you are! I thought it was just my mom, myself, a few of my friends and a few of the people that comment my blog that check it out! Evidently I was wrong.....My little stalker thing on the side shows I have a lot of people from different places checking it out! Do me a favor leave me a quick comment...Who are you? Whats your blog? Love/hate about mine?

The economy is suffering?!

I called my mom this a.m. after going to CVS for my close to free batteries :)

8 pack 9.99
4 pack 5.49
4 pack 5.49

Total: 20.97
-5/2 CVS coupon
-3.00 1.50/1 Duracell coupons

oop 12.97. 15 back in ECB My OOP was of course a lot lower from ECB's and CRT's

Also good deals to mention. Vaseline Lotion 5.99 -1.50 coupon earns 2.00 ecb Crest Pro Health toothpaste 3.49

I went shopping with my mom and I do not believe the economy is suffering that bad. People are still out there shopping...however they are shopping Amanda style. They have a flyer in hand and are ONLY shopping the flyer!!

Toys R Us:

Mega Bloks Diego, Dora and Cars are buy one at 20+ get a free small play set thing. I also had a 5/25 coupon so it made it about 18.00 or 8.00 a piece. These may be put aside as Stocking Stuffers or for the Easter Baskets since they kinda match.

I was able to get Trevor this(he will LUB the pack pack):

Aubrey this:



We then went to the mall where I got tons of Gymbo stuff for the kids with my merchandise Credit. I was able to get them 2 bug fleece lined vests for 15.00 each reg 40!!!!!!!! Awesome if you live in the bitter North East like I do!

We also went to Bath and Body works....My mom had the gift card from the promotion I mentioned a few weeks ago. They also had a promotion buy 1 signature line item get a body wash for a dollar(certain scents). We walked out of there with a lotion for her, a body wash for me, and a wall flower for 1.50 oop!!

birthday parties

Trevor's birthday party is 3 weeks from today. We went to IParty and I let him pick out what he wanted. Now normally we do this in August..I'm so OCD and need control that I always have it done WAYYYYY before time. This year not so much :( Anyways we went and picked up all the stuff we needed and ordered balloons. All I have left to buy is food for that day which will be 60 for Pizza. I also need to get some more beer, water, a pinata, ice cream for the sundaes and syrups and toppings. I'm hoping I can keep it under 100 for all of that. I really am thinking of throwing the kids a joint birthday party in July to celebrate Trevor's 1/2 birthday and Aubrey's birthday. It is so expensive to have parties.

The ever ending house saga

We bought our house as a total fixer upper. Not one thing could really be salvaged. Besides some touch up painting and stuff like that all we have left is fixing our closet, Replacing all but the Shower walls in our Master Bath, Painting and floors in our office and the stair walls and steps. I thought these things would all be waiting. Evidently I was wrong. Jeff is starting the basement steps the week he is on vaca. If we are lucky his brother can come carpet them that week. I may just say screw the carpet and leave the steps as they kinda are now. We also will be installing a different light. It seems as if the house is always being fixed and upgraded. I cant complain though.....If only we could Vinyl Side and fix the drive way like I want!

Meet Jack!

Jack is our new animal. Hes a very good boy except when he makes Trev drive is Matchbox cars up my wall. Trev doesn't want to do it Jack makes him. When Jack is in trouble Trev has to call him Jackson. He does tricks, and eats candy(thats who leaves wrappers on my floor), takes Trevs clothes out of the dirty clothes basket. etc.

This kid cracks me up! Such an imagination.

Christmas Photo Session take 1

My fav....I just want the back crap photo shopped out...Maybe a little enhancement.


Summed up the photo session:



Shes out



Some okay ones that need to be centered and edited




I cannot edit pics for the life of me. If you or someone you know can feel free to touch these up. I would be forever greatful!

So many women.....

We were coming home from school the other day. I told Trevor we invited A(his friend from school) and J(our family friend he has grown up with) to his birthday party.

Me: Trev what are you going to do at your party with both of your girl friends there

Trev: What girl friends?

Me: A and J

Trev: O I will eat cake

Me and Jeff were laughing and Jeff asked him if he was a two timer

Trev: No Im DA KING!

I'm screwed!

Im pregnant! No just kidding. But how screwed would I be...ANYWAYS I started my final class of my third year in college...Research and Statistics. According to my adviser and this teacher this is the number 1 class Business Students fail! AWESOME! I hate math with everything in me. I am really scared about this class. Think of me these next 4.5 weeks. I'm totally freakin out. If I fail I have to pay for this class and thats math I don't like! Give me an English paper I can write a load of crap in 30 mins and make a A. This not so much.

payback

I always tell him to leave her alone that she will get bigger and beat the crap outta him. Well the time has come. Shes not taking his crap anymore.



Dont mind my dirty chair I need some leather cleaning cloths to make it all shiny again!

Playroom

The playroom is finally done....We just have to install our wood stove at the end of the season when they all go on sale :) I wanted a nice Pottery Barn playroom but that didn't happen. We still gave the kids all the things they could have asked for. Nice and organized for mommy :) No I am not a messy it was just used as our unfinished storage area the first few months we lived here. I am so happy its done and the kids have a little oasis :)

Before:












After: