Walgreens--Couponing #1

I went to Walgreens in South Jordan today after visiting Nick at work with the kids. They didn't have any of the register reward deals that I wanted, but I still did pretty good....the deodorant I got for free--thanks to Celebrity Apprentice. The make-up was B1G1 (Buy 1 get 1 free) and the Kleenex was also B1G1 and I had coupons for everything! I ended up spending only $15 I saved $31, that's 65% savings!

Albertsons--Couponing #2

After I went to Walgreens, I went down the street to Albertsons. They were having some pretty good sales so I shopped those sales and used coupons on at least 98% of this stuff. My items included--11 boxes of cereal, 6 Totinos pizza rolls, 12 boxes of fruit snacks, 7 Maree Calendar dinners, and a whole lot of other goodies-including a lunchable for Ashleigh's field trip tomorrow.

My initial total was $202!!! After running my discount card and using all my coupons, my final total was only $76!!! I saved $122....that's a 60% savings!

For those of you wondering...we DO buy lots of fruits and veggies too...on Wednesday's in Provo there is a grocery store called the Buy Low Market...they have AMAZING deal on produce! For example--4lbs of apples for $1, 8 lbs of carrots for $1, 6 Romaine Lettuce for $1.99, etc...I go there at least a few times a month! There is also a great place here called the Sunflower Market where everyday is great produce sales!

A Thomas adventure..., but not really

I found out that Toys-R-Us was having a Thomas the train event. Preston is a HUGE Thomas fan and so is his cousin Cooper so we took Cooper along to see the big event.

Cooper was great...so happy the whole time! (Notice Preston's pouty face?)

I made them hold hands in the parking lot...isn't that so cute?!?!

I forgot to get pictures of the Thomas event...which was fine...cause the "big" event was pretty much nothing at all. They were given a coloring paper, crayons, a paper conductors hat (which Preston broke 1 min after I gave it to him) and some Thomas trading card type things...and the girl "running" the event read them a happy birthday Thomas book. Thats it....snore...

After, we saw a ghostbusters car...Cooper was nice enough to pose for a picture. Preston wouldn't...what a surprise!

In the car....

And then I got them ice cream and McDonalds

Even though the Thomas event was not fun, spending time with Cooper and Preston was so much fun! Those boys are going to have so much fun together as they grow up.

Food, fun, and a pool table

We went to my parents house for a little family gathering. We had really yummy food--chicken wings, hot dogs, veggies/dip, and chips...and banana splits for dessert. Then we all helped put the legs on the pool table they just bought and set it upright. The pool table also came with a ping-pong table topper. It was a totally laid back evening with lots of conversation and fun.

Amelia (Mia), My mom, and Maura

Some of my family enjoying the food--Yum!

Mia and mom...Such a little love!

Mia upset that she is wearing glasses!

Mia and Tamsen---"what's she going to do?"

"Woah, where did that bubble come from?"
Mia was mesmerized by Tamsen blowing bubbles with her gum...it was so cute to watch!

Mia giving me a HUGE grin!!! Cute cute!

Assembling the legs on the pool table
Jana, Dad, Mia, Nick and Tamsen

Preston and Cooper enjoying the "manly" dress-up...
they are wearing armor. So cute!

Cooper, mom, and Preston
Some of the family pushing the pool table in to position before flipping it over...

The pool table is up! Yay!

Maura enjoying the pool table...she was really good!

Old Friends....

Do you have a friend who has touched your life in a way that can't be described?

Who, whenever you see them, instantly makes you feel happier and full of joy?

Someone who makes you feel loved, appreciated, adored, and missed....?

I do.

Growing up, I was not the "popular" girl...I had friends, but I only had 3 or 4 really close friends. These were the girls who made me feel the best about myself. We always wanted to spend time together. there was always a close bond there. All of them are polar opposites of myself-and each other, and yet, we blend so well together...and fit together perfectly! These are the girls I had hoped to never lose contact with over the years. Unfortunately, in life, people fall away or move away and friendships end--for no good reason!

I have been VERY fortunate recently to have become reacquainted with 2 of these friends I have so long since missed! They both have filled my heart with so much joy and I long to see them again! I don't know when...or IF I will ever be able to reunite with them again, but I hope and pray that that day will come!

I miss them so much.

I miss our friendships.

I miss that bond we once had.

Vancouver

My mom went to Vancouver--my home sweet home--to see my sister and help out there. I was SO jealous...I wanted to go SO bad!


She went and saw our old house...long story shory, but the new owners of the house have pretty much made it an "open floor plan"...many walls torn down, wood floor is gone, cabinets painted, fruit trees removed, etc... They are going to send pictures of the inside, but I don't know if I really want to see them. I have very fond memories of the house I was raised in. I think seeing it different would hurt.

here is my mom with Emily's girls--Avery is 2 and Bridget is 5. They are such beautiful girls! I miss them so much!

My mom also went to see Christian's grave. The grass had grown over quite a lot and it was pretty dirty. She did her best to clean it off--with out any garden tools and put a pinwheel in the ground. moving to Utah was hardest for me knowing that I was leaving him behind... hopefully someday we can move back.

I am hoping to take a trip to Vancouver in early November....I hope!

Rocking myself to sleep

I have no idea if I posted this already, but I found it in my email, so I thought I'd post it (again). Preston was really tired...he laid on this foot stool and started rocking himself. within a minute or two he was sound asleep! So cute!

Preston's Popcorn

Preston put his popcorn container in the spot between the two windows....funny kid!

Playing with Preston

Hannah Montana...the movie

Nick took the day off work (he worked from home instead) and took Ashleigh on a date to see the Hannah Montana movie. I love that he took time out of his busy work days to take her on a daddy-daughter date and remind her how much he loves her! he is such a great dad!

They went to the theater in Lehi at Thanksgiving point...the first showing of the day. And they had the WHOLE theater to themselves! They were the only ones there! How fun would that be to not have to share a movie with anyone else!?!

They got lots of popcorn


And yummy treats

Then Ash took advantage of the fact that she had the theater to herself and ran around, and danced and sang through out the movie!




the daddy-daughter shot! Ahhh..... I love these two so much!

Free Samples!

On Walmart.com you can request to get free samples of all sorts of stuff. I have received at least 8 or 9 things! It's always fun to get a little surprise in the mail. These picture are just of a few of the items I have received. i have lots more coming too!!! If you want to snag some of these free gifts go here. Whats even better is they almost always come with a coupon!

I love my hubby

Nick surprised me the other night with some flowers! Isn't he sweet!?! What made it even better was he brought a flower for Ashleigh too....the pink one is hers. She LOVED it and felt so adored by her daddy. That just totally touched my heart! I have the best husband in the whole world and I literally thank my Lord everyday for bringing him in to my life and allowing us to fall in love with each other!

Gift Cards...and a freebee to bid on!

Remember my "free" gifts cards I got for signing up for trial memberships? You can read about it here...
Well, I got some more in the mail the other day--$20 gift cards to Target. Yipee!
(I've also received $20 Lowe's gift card and am still expecting a few more in the mail in the next couple of weeks)
I also got a couple of "coupons" for EXPRESS clothing. $30 off your purchase of $75 or more...or $40 off your purchase of $120 or more. I am not interested in keeping these gift cards. Leave me a comment if you want one or both of them...I'll randomly pick someone and send it to you this week! You have until Friday at 11pm to let me know if you want it. ;-) Oh-make sure you leave me some sort of contact information so I can contact you for your address to send you your card(s). Good luck! :)

Potty training

Preston has had a VERY sweet tooth ever since he stopped nursing at 20 months old!
(Yes, I nursed him that long!)
It's been a challenge keeping "healthy" food in him because he literally refuses to eat it! As soon as we find something healthy that he loves, we buy tons of it for him!

I decided to use his sweet tooth to my advantage during potty training. Preston asked me for some candy--demanded, really...so I said...."ok, you can have candy if you go pee on your potty". Well, he got really excited. I put a pull-up on him and told him that he CAN NOT go pee or poop in his pull up!
He went right over and sat on his potty for like 45 min! He got up every few minutes to give me a goldfish cracker.

He never did go potty, but I was just so proud that he even tried! Of course, an hour after getting off he pee'd and pooped in his pull-up...sigh. It's a start, I guess. I am still hoping to have him potty trained by the time he turns 3.

It's definitely different training a boy versus a girl!

Literally, on Ashleigh's 2nd birthday, she was trained to pee on the "big" toilet (we never used a little one) and by the time she was 2 1/2 she was pooping too! Yay! It was literally SO easy to train her... (thank you, Quinn and Elmo)
I definitely need Nick to help me out with training Preston--showing him ya know, how boys do it! :) We have 5 months to go....Wish us luck! :)

Megs Dark Day...

Yesterday was a really hard day for me.
I was having my own personal challenges and frustrations.
I don't like who I have been the past few months... I had a meltdown last night with Nick.
And again with my mom today.
I just needed to let it out.
Get the tears out!!
Write out my feelings in my journal.
And move on!
Which I did...I am moving on.
Nick and I have talked and made some decisions and things are going to change around here. Hopefully, my work will respond well to my new decisions and help me achieve it.
I need this for me.
I need this for my kids.
I need this to be a good wife and mom.
And that's all the details you are going to get from me....
I just need some prayers that when I go to work tomorrow to talk to my boss, he will be receptive and understanding to my needs.

I hope!

Exercising with the kids

The exercise bug came back to our house. Ashleigh LOVES to exercise. I haven't done any real work outs in a a long time so I didn't know how Preston would be...Ha ha...he just wanted to be on the ball with me the whole time. It was really cute...and it made me work harder just so I wouldn't hit him or fall on him. It was a fun time...glad the bug is back in our house! I hope it stays for a VERY long time!!!




Ever done push-ups with a 2 year old on your back? I have! Lol...it sure was a funny sight to see!

Megan? Weeding? you've got to be kidding me?!?!

The other night we got home as it was getting dark and for some reason I had the urge to weed our front flower bed. Now, I am NOT a weeder...I HATE to weed anything. Plus, it usually gives me allergies for days! But I did it anyway...And guess what? No allergies and it was actually pretty fun! I doubt I'll do it during the day time ever, but at night...when no one can see me, and it's cool out...then sure! I'll do it again. i am very satisified with the end results too!

Easter dinner & hunt

We went to Nick's parents house for Easter dinner. It was the usual--Ham and Grandma Lowe's potatoes....YUM...it is my favorite dinner that we have there! I brought a green salad and I made an Apple pie and a Lemon Meringue pie. Yum....

the lemon pie turned out a little more wet than I wanted it, and with all the turns and stops we made on our way to the Calls, it kinds of spilled out a little. but it still tasted good!

After dinner the Easter bunny came and hid eggs out in their yard. The kids had SO much fun hunting for them.



Nick and Randy watching the festivities....
My adorable Ashleigh!

Daddy and Ashleigh

Daddy and Preston

After the egg hunt, we did a little craft project.... We made bunnies out of Marshmallows!
At least, that was the plan! Lol. Some of us were more creative than others.

Quinns bunny in a (thong) bikini

My bunny-not creative at all-on the left. Nick decided to make the "Playboy bunny" Ha ha

Ashleighs

Preston just thought it was fun to stab a marshmallow with a lot of toothpicks

Everyone's final bunnies--Top Row: ?, Prestons, Prestons
Bottom Row: mine, Ashleighs, Mine, Quinns

It was a really fun Easter!