What a Night!

Tonight was the highlight of my year as a auxiliary volunteer with Children's Hospital, the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

The auxiliary puts on this very special event for the children of the hospital the first Friday of December.  The hospital's lobby Christmas Tree is officially lit, after Ms. Mary Ann Glazner performs a sing-a-long and Santa arrives on an antique firetruck at the end of her reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas.  Santa visits with the patients in his chair in the lobby, the Big Top Clowns paint faces and celebrate with the kids and it's an all around wonderful way to kick off the holiday.  This year we also enjoyed performances by the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Birmingham and Christmas Carols by the Children's Idol contestents (CHS employees participate in a singing talent show & contest each spring at our Volunteer Banquet).

My week was a little stressful with some final details of the event getting shaken up a bit. I was informed yesterday that due to some miscommunication, the media coordinator from MYO had sent out a press release to all the Birmingham news, radio and print media that the event was open to the public!  Thankfully, the retraction they sent out on Wednesday seemed to have worked because we didn't have a mass of people arriving to meet Santa which would have been a logistical nightmare, not to mention possibly pose health risks to the patients who the program is for.  On top of it, Cory has been in Mississippi and Georgia since Monday and not expected home until tomorrow and so I had both boys in tow and at this age, no matter how much I prepare them, there is always the chance for some wildness to come out, which I definitely didn't need. 

Happily it all turned out fantastic!  The clowns were tremendous, Santa was jolly, the music was wonderful and the boys well behaved!  Although I wish we didn't have an audience of patients to host because that would mean good health for the kids, we did have a nearly full hospital so I am glad we were there for the patients and families to enjoy some holiday spirit. 

I even got a special blessing. 

While Mary Ann was playing the piano and singing carols with the Idols - Duke wandered over to her, fascinated by her playing.  He's always been drawn to music, and it was a special moment for me to watch this...

Mary Ann was so dear to involve them in her playing and I really enjoyed seeing them, especially Duke, be so fearless in trying something new.

Special thanks go out to Howard Holmes of CHS Volunteer Services who was my man on the scene for the event, Frank Hrabe his partner in crime at CHS and a dear friend of mine for years who I can count on to keep me sane, Mary Ann Glazner for her continued energy in bringing the program to the kids, the Big Top Clowns for keeping everyone joyous and happy, the MYO for making sure our concerns were addressed and playing wonderfully and being flexible, Leigh Douglas for lending me a special hand ;) and of course SANTA!

This is the way a great holiday season should always start!

The Love Turns 2

How many birthday celebrations can one two year old kid have you ask?

Well, three in our house, for our 2 year old Duke!

Back in October we celebrated a joint birthday with brother Jack (3) and all our school friends, over the holiday weekend we celebrated at Grandma's house and shared it with our cousin Kevin (16) and Daddy (hmmm...). But today, today was the real thing, and we celebrated in style.

Micky Mouse cupcakes with orange and blue icing that doesn't wipe off (until you are immersed in a bathtub for 20 minutes, ah well).

I truly cannot believe how quickly time has passed in our little world down here in Alabama. But then I look at what he was doing just one year ago today and I am amazed at how much has changed in him. From just happy to be here with his smile to shouting "Big Truck Mommy!" at the passing of every semi on the highway as we drive along. From the staggered, steady first steps to a dancing maniac (oh and just wait until I get the chance to post the latest Lion King "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" ode to Elton John moves the boy has!). From the instantaneous temper fits - although short lived they are - to the gentle lovin' he gives whenever we ask for it and each "snuggle?" he requests. My baby Duke is all his own. Nothing like his brother other than the big eyes and lashes. The rest he's made of himself and I'm so happy to have such a sweet, strong, independant darling little man in my life.

Happy Birthday Duke. Your name serves you well.

Not to be outdone, I just got to sorting through pics of our holiday weekend at Grandma's in Tennessee and found this one to share - Grandma makes the BEST cakes as evidenced by the smile!

RUN Forest RUN!

Just testing a feature on my blog and emailing a post…we’ll see how it works.

 

Have to publically thank my husband for allowing me to do something for myself and join the newly opened Snap Fitness in Chelsea.  Well, I shouldn’t really use the word allow, PUSH would be more appropriate, since I tend to put just about everything in this world before myself.  (Isn’t that the definition of MOM in Websters?)

 

So, last night was our first attempt at the park and swap.  I call him after I’ve picked up the kids and he met me in the parking lot of the club, which is located exactly in our path on our way home every night, where we swap vehicles, he takes the kids home and gets them started on supper and I spend 30 minutes or so on the treadmill for a run.  It worked well last night.  I still made it home by 6:30 and was able to have supper with them and spend an hour with the kids before they went to bed.

 

Of course, last night worked because Cory is in town, but the bonus of this place is that you can use any of the clubs across the country…or city in my case, and there is one just around the corner from my office so on the days he’s out of town, I can still get in my run. 

 

Run Mommy Run…we’ll see in a month how it’s going.

 

 

 

 

A Country Halloween

While all our city friends are getting prepared today for a cold and rainy time trick or treating, we are counting the candy we scored last night at the annual Columbiana Monster Walk. For us country folk, since we can't really go door to door being that the doors are quite some distance from one another, the businesses of our county seat, Columbiana, hosts a trick or treating event each year. So after having a wonderful dress up day at school, we headed to downtown Colubmiana in balmy 70 degrees, though cloudy, to go door to door with our country neighbors the Schobers.

It was a blast, though the line around the town went pretty slow at times. Duke figured out pretty quickly that he could score quite a few suckers early on, and by midway through we heard one of his favorite lines over and over again "openit, openit, openit?"

And bonus of the evening, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with the Schobers at our favorite Columbiana Eatery, Bernie's. Even had a sweet woman come to our table to compliment us on how well behaved our children were. Since I have not braved the kid dinner at a restaurant in nearly 6 months, this was a HUGE boost for me. Maybe we can try it again soon without Cory cringing at the thought.

The Publix Post

My most dedicated friends know I am a power shopper when it comes to Publix. A year ago at our women's conference at Church of the Highlands I sat in on a session about how you win at the coupon game, and it changed my life. I'm serious.

I have always been frugal, ok maybe even to the point of utterly indecisive, when it comes to spending money. Don't get me wrong, I can drop a dime or two when in the mood. But I will also wear a pair of jeans for 5 years, until there are holes in the butt and my underwear show through (would have been nice if someone had tipped me off on that one when it first happened, there is no telling how long I walked around with my arse peeking out at everyone!) rather than spend the $15 a year it would have cost me to replace said favorite jeans - which I just did, see facebook post from a month ago.

However, those 45 minutes of learning the tips and tricks to saving money - saved my sanity! And a nice wad of cash every month too. I have dropped our monthly household spending amount on grocery, cleaning supplies, diapers, wipes, beauty needs, etc. a minimum of $300. All by shopping at Publix, and doing it the right way. And bonus - HAVE NOT BEEN TO A WALMART IN 6 MONTHS!

That's right. Of course, I am a little bummed I don't get to gawk at the interesting clientele at the local supercenter, however I know I can always get my fix at the evermore popular People of Walmart, when I need a good OMG! Are you seriously out in public in that and in the BABY AISLE?!?!

The thing about Publix, it's not just the savings, it's also the fact the baggers always ask me if I want them to take my groceries (including the 2 very active children in the cart) to my car for me and if I need help any time I look remotely confused or lost or am in search of an item that should absolutely be right in front of me. It's the fact it reminds me of Willie's Sentry in Racine, WI where we shopped when I was a kid and every employee new me, my sisters and my mom by first name.

So I figured I would finally post an example of just one weekend trip to Publix and show you what I'm really talking about when it comes to savings. I so wish they would open a store up north so my sisters could take advantage of all the deals they offer. Buy 1 Get 1 Free (on stuff you actually use and which you only have to buy 1 of to get the special price), Doubled Manufacturer Coupons up to .50 - that means $1!, use of competitor store coupons (in addition to any mfg coupons and including the $5 off $50 grocery purchase coupons that Target often sends out or you get at the Target register), plus their own store coupons - and hey, if you have a mfg coupon, a competitor store coupon and a Publix coupon for the same item - JACKPOT - you can use all three on that one item!

The whole process has catered to my competitive edge at getting the most for my buck. I stock up on what we buy when it's on sale and I rarely if ever spend more than $100-125 a week now on what we need to run our house and feed our family, which I consider pretty darn good considering I still have one in diapers and the other one is still going through a Pull Up each day and I do about 6 loads of laundry a week.

Here's what I bought:

Gallon of Milk
Baguette of French Bread
Bag of Romaine lettuce
3 Tombstone frozen pizzas
2 pkgs of Pillsbury Savorings Artichoke & Cheese App Bites
Gorton's Fishsticks
2 bottles of ALL Small & Mighty (50 loads)
3 Sixpacks of Mott's Applesauce Cups
5 lbs of Idaho Potatoes
Starbuck Coffe (10oz)
2 cans Pringles (Mega Pack)
4 cans Chef Boy R D Ravioli/Beefaroni
Spice Islands Crushed Rosemary
Excedrin Back & Body (I'm getting old!)
2 cans of Planters Mixed Nuts (Chex Mix Season coming!)
4 boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
40 ct Pullups ($15.99)
132 ct Huggies ($33.99)

Total Bill before coupons/savings: $166.94
Vendor & Store coupons: $31.40
Store Ad Savings: $42.89
Total Saved: $74.29
Paid: $92.65

You may not consider this great, I didn't have any meat on the list (because I had just stocked up on chicken breasts at 1.99/lb and we have venison burger in the freezer already) and don't have a lot of staples, since I have the pantry pretty built but wanted some fun things as the holidays are coming and we will be home this year. Just consider Pullups and Huggies alone would have cost me $50, so all and all it was a pretty good day. (I got the ALL for .99 a bottle after using a Publix $1.00 off and a Mfg $1.00 off when they were on sale at $2.99 each...when's the last time you could do that?!)

I have also learned a great deal and find excellent tips and links on a website I visit a couple of times weekly Southern Savers. Jenny posts each Wednesday the specials at Publix (she also does Kroger, Harris Teeter, Harvey's, Walgreen's, CVS) and even on Sundays will post the Penny Item so I can check it to see if it's worth getting the last $10 of specials that week. (Publix offers a mystery item on Sundays and Mondays at their stores - buy $10 in groceries and get the mystery item for a penny, and it's usually a good item - this week it was a 4 roll pack of toilet paper - who doesn't need toilet paper for goodness sakes! I usually hold back on buying about $10 worth of products during my regular trip that I need but don't have a chance to have a coupon against (think meat on sale, milk, eggs, etc.) so if the mystery item is worth it, I have $10 worth to buy and can get it without buying junk I wouldn't need. Plus she pre-posts the weekend Sunday coupon inserts on Fridays, so I can check out quickly if anything on my list for Saturday I might want to hold off picking up until Sunday/Monday with the penny item since I would have a coupon to use toward it from the Sunday paper.

Finally I have a few vendor sites that I have subscribed to (and have a separate email address for to receive all the emails) such as Betty Crocker, Kraft, General Mills, Conagra, Pillsbury (some of these are redundant since they are owned by the same company but if you sign up for their brand newsletters you get multiple prints of coupons - really handy for B1G1 free items when you want to stock up) which Jenny also links to, but that I have signed up for to get their regular monthly coupons. Oh! And don't forget Upromise - great site for ecoupons if you shop at Publix, Winn Dixie or CVS - am sure there are more stores- which you can earn $$'s toward an investment plan for college for you kids - and if you join be sure and reference me so I can get some extra savings from it!

So for all of you wondering, how to do it? Sunday coupons, vendor internet coupons, Southern Savers, competitor direct mailers and Publix. Put em together, spend about a total of an hour a week at different times, and you feel a little less guilty about indulging once in a while on that Starbucks Grande No Foam Skinny Vanilla Latte.

Only Wish There Were More Time

We had an awesome weekend visit with my parents. It was packed busy, but we were able to enjoy doing some really fun 1st's with the kids and allow my parents to particpate in some specials times with the boys. And although the weather was more chilly than normal this time of year, we still were able to enjoy some outside events.



A mommy friend of mine, Leslie, was able to score us some free tickets Friday night to Boo at the Zoo, the Birmingham Zoo's annual Halloween event. I was still finishing up Jack's costume on Thursday night but pulled it all together and the boys were in my humble opinion - ADORABLE! It really was worth every yard of yellow felt I had to cut and glue to a straw hat and the 45 minutes of constant stirring as I dyed the clothes a RIT "golden yellow". And to top it off, Duke's little swagger made a memorable monkey.

Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat

Saturday, we planned an easy at home day, since we spent most of Friday antiquing and running around. Plus we had a big day planned for Sunday, 25 kids and their parents for a birthday bash for both boys. I still had race car cookies to bake and the cake to pick up and Cory had to setup the trailer for the hay ride. We burned some of the boys energy off that morning playing on the hay trailer and Mom enjoyed seeing the "power of Cars" and watching the movie that afternoon. They got to experience such exciting and memorable moments as Duke's new style of wearing Yaya's hat backwards and givin' "lovin" and Jack's excitement at showing how well he does on the potty (not one of Dad's most exciting memories of the trip I am sure!) I think just being around Jack and Duke that day wore Mom and Dad out!

We capped off the weekend with an amazing birthday party Sunday afternoon. And after about 10 days of clouds and rain, we couldn't have asked for a prettier fall day. It was still cool, upper 50s, but the sun was shining and it was just what every parent needed to get the kids out to the country for an afternoon of fresh air. We had a Cars Moonwalk, the playset, the kids bikes, a hayride, hot apple cider for the parents, sugar and icing to deocrate racecar cookies, and a Lightning McQueen and Mater Birthday Cake for the big moment - #3 for Jack and #2 for Duke. Jack is still talking about having all his friends come to his house to play and Duke hasn't stopped asking to "jump!".

The entire weekend sped by too fast. I know Jack and Duke were so happy to have Mimi and Yaya visit. It will be something they will always remember and will so be looking forward to seeing them soon again!

"Heaven", Ok - Maybe just "Heav..."

In my past life I used to spend HOURS in the corner garden tub I specifically built into the plans of our former home. I would light 25 candles, pour a glass of wine, fill up a steaming bath with whatever the latest potions I had on hand, grab the latest Smithsonian (hey - I like reading about history and art!) and sink into oblivion. My favorite time of the year for this ritual was the fall or early spring, when I could open the windows and let the coolness of the night air fill the room while I was neck high in steam and water.

When we built our new place just before Jack was born, the "temporary" residence, like a carriage house, that we would live in while the kids were small and convert to a place family from out of town can stay when they visit, I had to compromise on a few things to keep costs relatively reasonable. One of those was a garden tub. Instead we opted for a couple of showers and just one standard, actually low sided, bathtub we could bathe the kids in.

So for the past 3 years, other than a few times when I was pregnant with Duke and absolutely needed the relief of bouyancy (which in a low sided tub didn't work too well since my belly nearly stuck all the way out of the water!) I haven't had the luxury of my past life. Not that my current schedule would have allowed it anyway, but trust me, there have been nights I wouldn't have cared that it would be as late as 9pm to have such a treat. It's basically bedtime at that point anyway and a good soak would have been great.

But this Sunday, I decided enough was enough, I was just going to suffer the low tub and take a good soak. And it was HEAVEN. For 45 minutes, while the kids watched Cars in the living room with Cory, I turned on the bathroom fan, turned off the lights, lit some candles, filled a glass, grabbed a magazine (Parents this time, ah well....current events at least, right?!) and ahhhhhh...into the scent of Huggies Lavendar Baby Wash I descended.

Not quite the same atmosphere with the "accessories" but it'll do for now.