Shopping for Kids and Saving Money!

Walking into a Macy's One Day Sale looking for ONE thing, is never safe.  I never did purchase that pillow I wanted there.  This smaller Macy's up here in Moscow, ID has such a small selection and lack king size pillows, that I did not buy what I was looking for there.

However, the sales on lil Dude's and Miss Diva's stuff was to good to pass up.  Kyle got hooked up with his favorite Nike Track Suits and shorts.  Hailey, got a bunch of warmer clothes also.

I wish that was all the shopping we had today.  But nooooooo!  We had more and I was determined to find a new pillow.  My other pillow was old and needing to be retired.

Shopping with the family can be fun and a nightmare all in the same trip.  If one kid isn't acting up a bit, then the other may start up, unless they are going at it together.  Sometimes I think they are just testing us parents and our abilities to multi-task between them both.

Yes at Bed Bath and Beyond I found the perfect pillow and yes they too were having a sale and they carry King size!  I FOUND MY PERFECT PILLOW!  And it was not over $100.  King size pillows can be so expensive and you want one that will last long and has the right support for you neck.  I have major neck issues.  Normally the pillow I chose is around $159.00 and I was able to purchase it at $79.00.

Now we are trying to make lil Dude's bed more comfy and tempting to sleep in for him.  So we purchased a faux down mattress pad, also at BBB.  Then we went to ShopKo where they were selling Micro Fiber sheets.  Kyle picked a set with strips with lots of blues.  This goes great with his favorite Blue comforter he got last Christmas at the Ronald McDonald House and the rug I put in his room.  I will get pictures later of his bed.

Yes I do get excited at a great deal on an item!  Yes his sheets had been marked down to only $9.88.  When there is something I need and I can find it at a great price without giving up on quality, I feel like I am doing good for my family.  

I did find a great lap tray for my son's drawing, and writing for UNDER $5!  He starts Kindergarten and has been wanting to practice a lot and this lap tray I found at Michael's yesterday has been great for him so far! I also purchased a few sketch books and sticker sets for him and managed to leave the store spending under $20.  I was thrilled with my loot at such a low price.

Today I want to do very very very little.  I ran around way too much and am so drained.  I can't wait until this heat goes away!

TTFN

Finally Home, New Car, Sick Kids

This past summer has been a whirl wind. It reminded me of one of my favorite roller coaster rides at Knott's Berry Farm, Montezooma's Revenge. A whole lot of, adrenaline racing, back and forth, upside down, full of exciting fun and stressed out adventures.

It was three months living away from home in furnished apartments and trying to keep up with friends and family, my husband's internship at the Public Defenders Office and trying to keep some normalcy in our lives. I really am not sure if we truly achieved all of that. However, it feels like we sure gave it a good try and it was worth all the ups and downs. 

This is a summer our little family will never forget. Well, perhaps Hailey, she is nearly 8 mos and will not have these memories, but I digress.

Our car, our beloved Isuzu Trooper V8, 4WD gas hog, that has brought our family all over the Northwest in good and hellacious weather, is no more. Last summer we dropped in a new engine, when the transmission and alternator started acting up, my father in law looked at me, and said, it was time to get a more reliable car. Yes indeed it was time. 

So yes we now have a more fuel efficient, Eco friendly V6 4WD RAV4. With this car being more streamline and smaller in the back, it was more difficult packing stuff to return home. 

That was a whole other adventure and everyone involved is still amazed at what we achieved! Yes my in laws did follow us back up as they follow us back down with a load of stuff in the gigantic Suburban. That vehicle made our Trooper look like a speck of a car next to it!

Being back home is nice but also hectic. Kyle unfortunately, got a virus, from the swimming pool at the YMCA, he went to for Day Camp, (mind you the week and a half before we was out sick with hand, foot and mouth disease he caught from some kids there).

Having a whining, sick, tired child with a stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea is frazzling to say the least. At first you are confused, wondering why your child is so sick and full of worry and concern. Then your motherly instincts kick into full gear and you do all you can to comfort and nurse your child back to health. 

However, your child is not getting well within 24 or even 48 hours and since this is viral, you have only so much you can to to help your child. 

Your beautiful child is becoming restless, tired, and frustrated with being sick. That pleasant and respectful attitude you are so use to has been replaced by whining, snarling, frowning, mini monster, that is grating on your nerves. You find yourself looking for opportunities to get out of the house alone, even for 15 minutes.

Well for myself this has been my nightmare with maybe a 5 or 6 day break of both kids being sick free. I would say I have gained a few gray hairs, however my recent dye job is covering them up, so I am unable to honestly tell. I have been sleep deprived. It is so bad, that I know as soon as I lay down either the baby or lil dude will need me to get up for them that I am falling asleep while sitting up in bed. Don't even ask how that is affecting my neck.

(see I got new glasses! oh yeah I am styling now!)

I had hoped to get a lot of unpacking done and start a lot of prepping stuff for the fall and planning my strategy to de-clutter things around here, (remove old toys and clothes and things we no longer need or use). 

None of my grand plans have come to fruitation. I have avoided making things worse, by cooking a lot in the crock pot and using paper plates and bowls. I hate not having room to put in a dish washer. It's even worse when you are so worn out, to do a ton of dishes you must resort to such tactics, that are not so environmentally sound.

I am glad my husband has been home this week, helping out.  He has been unpacking, cleaning and taking care of the kids.  Without him as a partner, I would be buried in a bigger mess and in need of a straight jacket!  

A Busy week for a SAHM

You know that saying "Running around like a chicken whose head has been cut off"  That has been ME!  

SOOOOOOOO MUCH has happened this week!!!  I mean SO MUCH!  

Sunday - That was crazy busy fun!  We all had a simple bagel and cream cheese breakfast.  Hailey started being extremely cranky, which later that day we noticed all her drooling and felt her gums and realized, she has teeth getting ready to cut through!!!  The whole family went out to shop for Kyle's friends birthday gift.  Of course Nate and I then grabbed some Starbucks and then drove through KFC for some lunch.  Since we were nearby, we went to the indoor park at lunch and let lil Dude run loose and have a blast.  From there we went to the birthday party.  Nathan and I hung out at this one.  There are a few we hang out at, because we get along really well with those parents and it is usually a lot of fun

.  

Of course Kyle hung out a little later with a few kids at the bday party that was at this really awesome park with GREAT slides!  I was so glad I had already bought the WWE Extreme Rules PPV and had the dvr recording it or we would have missed the beginning.  I had dinner cooking in the crock pot all day and so it was ready when we got home and sat down to watch Extreme Rules.

Monday - it was freaking snowing and cold and miserable and Kyle had been sick with a cold, so I kept him home from preschool.  I was behind on my meal plan and had to shop for a few groceries.  I was just glad to get that all done.  Oh and balanced check book and paid bills and looked at budget for this month. Oh and we sealed a deal on a furnished apt in Boise for the summer!  We are moving into a one bedroom on May 23rd and then a two bedroom on June 2 until August 11th Then we are back up here in Moscow!

Tuesday - worked on sorting things and organizing Kyle's crafts, all of our books, old mail, pictures, and so much more.  This is ONLY the beginning and next week, I will do more, even all of our clothing. Oh and I got my nails done! ( I do them myself to save on money and time)

Wednesday - was my Birthday!  I am rejoicing and praising the LORD that I made it to 40!!!  Yes I am 40 years old!!!  Lil Dude wanted to stay home from school and spend the day with us.  I am so glad he did!  We went out to breakfast at my favorite breakfast place, The Breakfast Club.  We then went out to Pullman, Wa, to get me my "own" Beyblades to "share" with lil dude!!!  That was a lot of fun.  We ran around all over town and then back to Moscow, Id and the mall there.  We grabbed some starbucks and walked around the mall.  Nathan wanted me to go to Hot Topic to pick out some more earrings for my Birthday!  I found some great ones and guess what, you get a discount on your BIRTHDAY!!  

Then it was lunchtime and we went to Smoky Mountain Grill where I got my FREE lunch for my Bday.  Miss Diva was being super cute and wowing the staff there as was lil Dude. We then grabbed a few things we needed at RiteAid and headed home!!!  My hubby and lil Dude had done a ton of shopping for my birthday and I got to get into my gifts.  I had a BLAST.  

We were debating on where to go for dinner and finally chose Casa de le Lopez.  Holey Moley it was Margarita NIGHT!  We went early at 5pm but it still was full of tons of people with lots of large parties!!!  We almost left but we did end up staying and enjoying our meal.  Yes I wore the sombrero while everyone sang to me and got some free fried ice cream I shared with lil dude!

Now Kyle received his first wallet from his grandparents for graduation this week with a few dollars, which he added his allowance too and really wanted to buy something with it.  So we went shopping and Kyle bought this block Angry Bird game for kids, which we all had fun playing that night!

Thursday -  we got the news we had been waiting for.  We knew there were three places all very interested in having my husband intern there for the summer.  Well his adviser emailed them all to let them know whats up and find out the decision.  Now Nathan and I were both up at 6:30am with Miss Diva.  He checked his email and saw that around 7am, the Public Defenders Office in Boise had emailed requesting more information.  Since he was up, he sent it right out.  By 7:30am they called offering him an internship and wanting him to get there ASAP.  They also of course talked down the other places interested in him and promised him he would even get to do a trial  himself!  Of course Nathan accepted this!!  Plus this was his FIRST CHOICE!  

This was when our day got crazy.  There is so much that goes into getting a limited license to practice law before the BAR gives its finally approval.  We had already gotten the Dean to approve it and now needed to fill out an app and get it notarized and get paperwork for who will be his supervising Attorney and send it out to them to get it signed and notarized and forwarded to the Bar!  

Now that we had a date for Nathan to be there and had a better idea of where in Boise he would be working, we had a ton of things to confirm and do.  We didn't have a choice in waiting to rent out the apartment because there was a waiting list behind us and they wouldn't hold it much longer.  There were a couple places we looked at but chose the nicer one with a fenced in area around the apt for Kyle to play outside, plus a gym and pool and other services.

Well this meant I had to scan a ton of paperwork and email it back to the Boise YMCA to register Kyle.  Contact the cable company to see if we could suspend our services while away, find out what to do, to knock down the electric and gas bill while gone and other things.  I ended up on the phone, online and got those things confirmed!  

Then Nathan and I had to GRAB a STARBUCKS! (do you see a theme for us?) Go to the bank to have paperwork notarized, for Free since we bank there!  We also went to the school where Kyle will be attending Kindergarten.  We needed to drop off paperwork to register him and Nate had never been there yet and so we walked through the school.  I am super excited about this and infact already joined the PAT there.  I know a couple of the parents already!  Kyle was one of a few chosen to go there, who did not have older siblings already attending.  I am so thrilled Kyle was selected!

We also had to get to the DMV again!!!  I finally got the email notice that they released the hold on my car so that I can register it!  I printed out the email, to bring with me, since it said the DMV would call to get the number to confirm the release instead of giving it to me to give them.  Oh the woman at the counter was annoyed but called.  LOL  I am just glad it is done.  I prob will want to use the car this summer.

We also had to grab a pair of dress sandals for Kyle.  I didn't want to buy dress shoes that he would only wear once and grow out of before wearing again!  However sandals he will wear often!  We were so hungry from running around, that we managed to grab food at The China Buffet.  I was so glad to get home after all this and unwind!  However with a baby and 5 yr old, how much unwinding can one do?

Friday - Kyle's Pre - K graduation!!!!  Oh yeah!!!  He got all dressed up and looking good.  I still need to post the pictures but been too tired and busy!  (go figure) There were a couple things we had to grab at Walmart for Miss Diva and figured we would make a gift baggies of goodies and a gift card for lil Dude for graduation.  

Yes we did GRAB a Starbucks while we were out and about running errands.  We got the teachers these gorgeous flowers that they can plant somewhere.  

We got home and "tried" to take a nap but Miss Diva wouldn't have it.  Her teeth are really trying to push through and she is cranky!!!  Yes we are using teething tablets and amongst other things.  

Then we all packed up and went to see Kyle graduate from Pre-K!!!  It was so fun and Kyle was so excited when he saw us there!  The teachers each had something to say about each child and I loved what they said about Kyle.  "Kyle is very much a family man and is always telling everyone about his mama, and daddy and baby sister, he also drinks 6 glasses of milk a day, because when he grows up he wants to be a wrestler!"  That is so lil Dude!

Lil Dude gave his teachers the flowers and we gave Kyle his bag of goodies.  Of course he wanted to spend the gift card on something for today. So we went and he got a hulk mask and fists to wear for today!

I was so glad that dinner was once again cooked and ready in the crock pot!!!  

By 8pm Hailey was asleep and the rest of us crawled into bed and watched WWE Smackdown or at least tried to.  We all fell asleep within an hour.  Lil Dude was snoring before Nate and I dozed off!

Today - I got some sleep since Nathan was up with Hailey (we take turns every morning or we both just get up).  Breakfast was simple.  Often Nathan makes us a cheesy egg breakfast on Saturday or Sunday, but not today.  

Kyle woke up excited and anxious to go and see The Avengers today.  This is part of my Bday gift and Kyle's graduation gift.  We will get there a bit early.  Since the indoor park is right out in front of the theater, we will eat a lunch there and let Kyle play until it's time to go in to watch it.  

Dinner tonight is leftovers!!!  We have stroganoff and cheesy ham and potatoes to choose from.  YUM!!!

I am so glad that Nathan didn't have any finals this week or I would have lost my mind trying to do all this by myself! Next week he has a ton of finals.

And I have a ton of house work to prepare for moving this summer!  So glad Nathan helped with the housework this week!!!

So there you have my week.  If anyone DARES say that SAHM's do nothing they can kiss my ass!

By the way best tool I have found online to organize everything from appointments, to do lists and meal planning is www.cozi.com