Photo Shoot: Baby L and Family

It has been a few months since I last took pictures of Baby L. I had the opportunity this time to photography Baby L and her family.

Amazing in just ten short months Baby L went from this at 1 week old.....

to this at 4 months....

to this at 8 months....

... to this!

Baby L with her brother and sister.

I see a Christmas Card in the works!

All the cousins, my mom and grandmothers will love this photograph for Christmas this year.

Before my brother and his family arrived I had a chance to do a few test shots of Sara and Josh.

I love his expression!

Kroger round two...better the second time around~

I made a second trip to Kroger this morning after I read to my daughter's 2nd grade class. I love reading to those kids, it is more of a treat for me than they will ever know!

Back to the shopping trip, I did ok the other day and missed a few coupons, this time I double checked my coupon, my list and they had everything stocked that I needed. Score one for me!

Note: this is another non-organic trip, look away now all organic readers! ;-)

Here is the break down:

6 Toaster Strudels

6 Chex Mix Snack Bags

3 Cocoa Puffs

4 Gardetto's Snack Mix

4 Nature Valley Granola Thins (dark chocolate) I will be hiding these!

4 Betty Crocker Fruit Roll ups

3 Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate bars

2 Sobe Waters

Total before Mega Deal, all coupons & bag credit......$91.05

Total after all discounts.............................. $13.67 (2.85 tax)

Breaks down to .43c an items (32 items)

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Also there are two coupon catalina deals at Kroger until the September 5,2010. Catalina are the coupons that print out at the register.

1.) Nature Valley Granola Bars

Buy (3) get $1.50

Buy (4) get $2.50 or...

Buy (5) or more get $3.50 coupon off your next order

2.)Gerneral Mills/Betty Crocker any variety fruit snacks

Buy (3) get 41.50

Buy (4) get $2.00

Buy (5) or more get $3.00 coupon off your next order

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Sometimes it's a chocolate milk & blue pancake kinda night

Ok, so they don't look blue, more green than anything but they were blue before I cooked them.

The first Thursday on the new school year is coming to an end. We have almost made it through the first week of school. Boy did that go fast. Tonight we decided to have pancakes. I thought I would make them fun and added blue food coloring. Big, big hit with the kiddos! Amazing how something so simple as adding food coloring to pancake mix can make them feel so special.

I also made chocolate milk with almond milk. This stuff is fabulous, the hubby even likes. He does, he really really does and yes I told him what it was, I didn't sneak it into his coffee! The brand I get is Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Vanilla. they come in half gallons and are around $2.50-$3.00. Kroger has them on sale for $2.50 and I found some $1.00 coupons so for $1.50 that is not a bad deal since we are trying very hard to cut out the regular cows milk. Almond milk is 90 calories a serving, Soy Free (if that is an issue), Lactose Free (if that is another issue), Gluten, MSG or egg Free too!

It is rich in Antioxidants and Vitamin E a & D, packed full of Calcium and no cholesterol! Here is Blue Diamonds Almond Breeze Web Link: http://almondbreeze.com/index.cfm?vid=355

And I can admit 6 months ago I would have never thought I would be buying milk made from almonds, I am truely impressed.

A Mega Deal at Kroger that anyone can do right now! So go.....

All of my coupons came straight from http://www.coupons.com/

I haven't devoted much time to major couponing lately because I have been cleaning out old odds and ends around the house, donating them to Goodwill and enjoying a well organized house! After reviewing Kroger's ad this week, I decided just to check coupons.com just to see if they had anything that would match up and to my pleasant surprise they had tons! This post will not include any organic items, I fell of the organic wagon for this deal at Kroger. We were in need for some major stockpiling of school lunch and after school snack items. Quick, easy and make them happy is my goal for these two times of day.


Here is what I got:

4 GoGurts
4 Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
4 Pillsbury Crescent Dinner rolls
4 Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls
10 Sobe waters
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars
2 Nature Valley Granola Thins
2 Fiber One Bars
4 Betty Crocker Gushers
2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mixes
2 Cocoa Puffs
2 containers of Strawberries 2/5
2 Dozen Eggs .98 each this week


Before coupons Total:..........$79.44 (tax not included in total)
Mega Deal savings:.............-$20.00
16 coupons.......................-$17.20
...................................- $ 0.15 bag credit
TOTAL:...................$42.09 (tax not included in total)

That is like paying $.97 per item (44 items purchased)there are a few more coupons on http://www.coupons.com/ that will also work with this deal!

Added bonus is all the Box Tops for Education!!!

First day of Second Grade!

My sweet 2nd grader!
Ready for school and no tears!

Little brother was a little sad to see her go back to school.

7:00 AM time to hit the road!

One last hug...

Her new backpack and lunch bag so stink 'in cute. I got it from Pottery Barn Outlet and it wasn't cheap. I told her she had to use it the next three years!

Off they go... Ok so I will admit that I actually cried this year. It was the first year I didn't go on the first day. (Avoiding the parent, student and school supplies mob at all cost.) Joshua was quick to hug me and tell me, "but mommy I'm still here" which made me choke up even more. Because then I started thinking about him next year being old enough to start kindergarten. I need to stop now because I feel my eyes welling up again.

Afternoon pick-up went great and she was happy enough to play around with me and say she didn't have a good day... that little stinker. She talked all the way home about her day and who she liked and who she didn't and who sat beside her and who was bad and who was good and the games they played and how hot pink gogurts got all over her new white shirt~

Happy first day of school.

Tomorrow begins a new school year

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of school. The Summer just flew by so fast this year and I personally was not ready for it to end. We hadn't made it to all the museums and art exhibits that I wanted to share with my daughter. I hadn't gotten all my Summer projects completed. And I just plain wasn't ready for 6am morning again. I may have to start drinking coffee again, my husband will be happy about that.

(He is the one that got me drinking coffee to begin with)

'Meet the teachers' was last Friday and the parking around the school was pure hysteria. I think parents loose their brains when kids go back to school. We unfortunately will not be doing the carpool lane again this year. Second grade has not convinced my daughter that she is ready for jumping out of the car and walking about 100 foot to the front door of the school. Oh well, I am really not complaining, so many of her little friends are 7 going on 18. What happened to childhood, kids being kids for a few years.

Why is everyone so gung-ho about growing up so fast? Slow down parents, your kids are only kids for so long, enjoy them being carefree kids not mini adults. Jumpimg off soapbox now... Tomorrow my daughter will walk into her first day of second grade. She is nervous and excited, I think deep down she is thrilled to start this new year, but she will never admit it. She has accomplished so much over the Summer.

She participated in the Memphis Public Library Reading Program for kids. She read books every week without being ask and wrote the titles into a log book that we brought to the library every week. One of the children's librarians checked her progress and my daughter was able to pick a weekly reward every week. It is such a great program I can't begin to tell you how much it has influenced her reading and speed of reading. She is so much more confident when she reads out loud and she has found joy in picking up a book and exploring the adventures it holds inside. http://www.memphislibrary.org/node/403

I hope they are able to provide this program every year to students. It keeps their minds going and their reading skills sharp. Good job Memphis City Schools and the Memphis Public Library System.

Sara also participated in the Border Reading Program: http://media.bordersstores.com/pdf/summerreading.pdf

When you read 10 books you get to pick a free book out.

This program runs through 8/26/10, so there is still time.

Also this Summer I made her and her cousin do school work at my office. I know that sounds so mean doesn't it? I remember my mom making me do worksheets in the Summer when I was a kid and I loathed every minute of it but I also started the next school year with my brain still working and NOT full of mush!

I am fortunate enough that my children are able to come to work with me every day. This Summer we made a daily schedule board, set up very much like a day at school and it worked so well. We had quiet time in the mornings (so the adults could get their day started) then reading and craft time. I gave each child worksheets of math, spelling, grammar and reading comprehension each day. We had lunchtime and cleanup time, and afternoon rest/free time. It work really well and kept the kids from saying they were bored all Summer. Of course there were a few "I'm bored" moments and I promptly ran off another worksheet and made them do an extra one! LOL I didn't hear that very often after that. I hope with all the extra work they all did this Summer that they feel even more prepared for the grades they are entering. I always made it fun and everyone always got an A+ even if we had to go over a few wrong answer.

Hope everyone has a happy beginning semester of school!

Good Luck and set that alarm clock~

Our trip to Kentucky Lake

~Beautiful Kentucky Lake~

God has His hands in everything we do each and every day. This trip would have never been possible if He hadn't made things happen just so. It is never just a coincidence that things work out, they are blessings we are given every day.

On a boat ride with Uncle John...

We city folks don't get to enjoy a simple boat ride on a lake very often and this was defiantly one of the highlights of our trip.

It was late in the afternoon and most boaters and tourist had already gone home so we had the lake to ourselves.

The sun was setting and the occasional mist coming up from the waves was so cool and relaxing.

John pulled up to a beach just around the corner from Sweet Valley and we had so much fun playing in this quiet cove on Kentucky Lake.

This was Joshua's very first boat ride and I can't even begin to tell you how much this little guy enjoyed every minute he was on Uncle John's pontoon boat. it was like seeing magic happen right in front of you. He was so excited, he couldn't even sit down, all he wanted to do was stand and soak up everything he would see on his adventure on the "river" as he referred to it.

This is our little beach at Sweet Valley Cabin. You need to check out their website. This is the most beautiful secluded slice of Heaven on Kentucky Lake. You walk in this beautiful cabin and immediately you feel at home. The cabin is comfortable and welcoming and you truly feel at home. It is full of family mementos and personal details.

Check out Uncle John's website:

http://sweetvalleykentuckylake.com/default.aspx
Book early, we were lucky and he had a cancellation the three week-days we were there, it has been booked every day this Summer.

On the front porch of Sweet Valley Cabin

Joshua had more fun with a bucket in the water then all the toys we carried down to the beach from the cabin.

What happened to my little girl, I have looked at this picture many times on the computer and think WOW, where did the time go.



My sweet kiddos!

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On our way home we stopped by Tennessee Safari Park in
Alamo, Tennessee.

http://www.tennesseesafaripark.com/
This place is so wonderful, well kept and clean. Of course we went in the middle of Summer and it was blazing hot. I want to go back when it is cool and we can spend more time walking around.

The giraffe was my favorite part, it has been a life's long dream of mine to feed and pet one of these gentle creatures. I feed him way too many carrots and enjoyed ever moment watching him.

The baby kangaroo lives in the gift shop!



Can you tell we were roasting with our rosy cheeks?


Baby camels too!


See the donkey ears, he wouldn't move for quite some time, dumb a$$.

I was a little scared of the animals during the safari drive, mainly the Ostrich.

This one to be exact:

I was busy watching Joshua out his side window of the truck, trying to pet another Ostrich and I turn around and look out my window and this beck is about three inches from my face, naturally I started screaming and of course my daughter starts crying and my only reaction was to snap its picture and tell my husband to DRIVE!!!

Happy End of the Summer blogger friends!

I hope everyone was able to enjoy a little relaxing quiet time this Summer.