Wordless Wednesday- North Carolina in April
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Category Archives: Zach
Not What I Expect……..
Today is Saturday, day 3 of a 4 day weekend. I can honestly say so far this has not been what I expect! Thursday I did enjoy time in Lily’s spring party. I forgot my camera and was using Matt’s phone so I had no clue how to take pictures. After lunch, we took Zach and Kendall to the doctor’s office because they are both sick. Kendall’s is suppose to have an old fashion cold which she has pasted on to myself, Lily and Matt. Zach has a double ear infection. In fact the doctor said that he actually had a blister on his ear drum. On the way home from the doctor’s office my brother calls and my dad is in the emergency room. I ended up spending most of Friday at the hospital with my dad. Thankfully, Dad is home, Zach is feeling much better with antibiotics. The rest of us are praying we can all make it to church in the morning. On the bright side of things, I have been able to work on my project list and have completed several of the items. The kids and I did dye Easter Eggs today, I took them outside in hopes of some decent pictures. Here is what I got….
Highlights
We managed to add to the calender this week to the point where Matt and I actually did not see each other, for longer than 5 minutes on 3 of the 5 nights. Matt is currently serving on the church governing board and the pool board, this month both of the meeting occurred during the same week. I have also been picking up extra hours at work, Lily continues to have 3 nights of cheerleading a week and Haley’s birthday was Friday.
Things that I remember from this week:
1. Today (Saturday), church pictures and Haley’s birthday lunch. The pictures were really dark and I looked HUGE in them so I was not tempted to purchase any! We ate at Texas Roadhouse for lunch and managed to finish the leftovers for dinner. The meal was really good and Zach had the only meltdown which occured at the end of the meal, while we were waiting for a check. All 7 of us enjoyed several hours together with no major drama!
2. Zach asked to wear underwear today. He managed to stay dry ALL day long even with us being gone alot! I actually caught him in the act so he even pooped on the potty as well!!! I am so excited. He did not want to wear a diaper tonight so I am hoping this is the beginning of something big!
3. We have finally gone through all the clothes for the little kids. I am very hopefully that everyone has enough to make it though the spring and summer. Lily will most likely need new clothes for school next year but I am planning to buy those at the end of the season so they should be less expensive. We have been so blessed in this area with Kendall, not only have I saved alot of Lily’s clothes but we have been given bags and bags of clothes. I was able to totally change out her clothes to the next size today without purchasing anything. On Thursday, we spent some time shopping for Zach, he needed shorts. I did not realize he needed these, because several pair from last year are still way to big. I ended up spending around $80 but was able to purchase 4 complete outfits and 2 extra pair of shorts for him.
3. I actually only saw Haley the morning of her birthday! I had to work late, she and Matt have been waiting to see Hunger Games, since last August. They were able to get ticket to the 7:25 show. My parents watched the little kids till I got home from work and I was in bed before they arrived home from the movie.
4. Matt made Haley’s birthday cake. I got pictures on my phone and on the camera, if I can get the other computer to work I will try and upload for Wednesday this week. It is actually one of the best cakes he has made and it is almost all gone today.
5. I have gone WAY over budget for groceries for this month. Harris Teeter had a triple coupon event and we have made 2 trips. In addition, we most likely will be purchasing chicken breast from Zaycon this week as well. My plan is to replace this overage in the month of April. I also plan only to purchase necessities we run out of and things on stock up. I would like to spend including the pay back less than 400 in April. This would place us in an excellent position for the summer.
6. Ruger has settled in some, he is still peeing in the house but it is down to once a day.
7. I transplanted broccoli outside and it appears that 5 of 6 may survive. I am not so sure of my chills, because of hail, we got today I am afraid it may have killed several of the plants. I am planning to plant both cucumbers and squash this week.
8. Finally I am excited about the weather. We have been have alot of unseasonably warm days. In fact, the temperature has been above 80 on several days. Matt and I have really worked at reducing our electric bill so we have yet to turn on the air conditioning. However, tonight it is cooler, suppose to be in the 50s and rainy so I will be sleeping well!
Lots of Thoughts
Zach is going through a rough time at night..he has begun to wake up at night, several times a night and is currently screaming because I will not open his door!
Zach is asking to go potty at least once a day, he still does not EVER poop in the potty but this is an improvement.
Ruger is still peeing in the house, this is the only complaint I have with him. Otherwise he is so well behaved and lovable, I would have 3
With the unseasonable warm weather we are having, I need to make an effort to store all winter coats and go through all of Kendall’s clothes. We have already been through Zach’s clothes but I am noticing how small most things are looking on Kendall.
I have been work 4 days a week at the hospital so it feels like I never see the kids especially if Matt has a meeting! Please pray that I have more time with the kids….
I actually planted Broccoli in the square foot garden on Sunday. My plan is to plant cucumber and squash this weekend. This is one of the earliest springs on record for NC.
At the book sale today, I purchased 2 separate book on financial stuff and budgeting. I am hope to get some inspiration! We actually are on track for the month but I want and had planned for some bigger results.
My weight loss is at a stand still, I am going to continue to exercise 4 nights a week and see what happens. I am hoping with it warmer outside I can eat lighter as well.
Haley’s Birthday is Friday, we also have church pictures on Saturday. She has agree to go out and celebrate on Saturday after the pictures as a whole family.
On Friday night, Haley and Matt will be going to see the Hunger Games. Matt hopes to finish the third book in the series prior to that.
Harris Teeter is having triples this week. I am planning a trip tomorrow and hope to spend less than $20 but really have no clue what I will spend. I will only be purchasing items that I have coupons for but still don’t have a clue.
Shopping with Kids
I will be the first to admit, I prefer to shop alone, especially when I am using coupons. The reason sound logically, at least I hope they do. I can’t give my whole attention to the transactions when I have to keep an eye on the kids. At best, if I go to the store with more than one of the little kids, Matt is always along. But today, that all changed. I realized this morning that we needed to go to Walmart to get ink. I have been working on organizing and catching up with coupons all week (10 minutes) at a time, so I had in the back of my mind to check out some items. Matt had a dentist appointment this morning at 9:30am and since he has missed 2 because of my scheduling, I was determined not to have him miss another one. The four of us, Matt, myself, Kendall and Zach, headed out the door just after 8am. We were able to get gas and find everything in Walmart, even managed to check out with coupons and not need a manager! But the time was going too quick for us to hit CVS…so I got brave..dropped Matt at the dentist and headed to CVS with Zach and Kendall. Surprisingly enough the trip was much easier and less eventful than I had envisioned. Zach did manage to set off the panic alarm on my car, as well as dart 5 feet in the parking lot just after I explained to Kendall why holding on to the car was important. I also had to stop and go back to the register because of forgetting about ECB from a rain check but that was actually easy as well.
So here is what I managed to do today… spent $7 and saved $15, 63%. I had 5 different transactions,using 2 CVS cards and a rain check. Overall this is not a great saving % but I consider anything over 60% a success especially with the slim picking from CVS and coupons lately.
Tuesday Thoughts
I have spent some time search for a Beach house for us this summer….. just not sure what to do?
For dinner this evening, I tried something new! I made up a recipe using what I could easily unthaw and use out of the refrigerator. It turned out ok, eatable but not a repeat. I am just proud that I tried something new without a recipe.
Haley is tanning on a daily basis now for the prom.
I hope to plant our broccoli outside this weekend in the square foot garden but I need alot of dirt before that will happen.
My work is starting to pick up and I need to learn to manage my schedule a little bit better. This week I am going to stay at home Thursday (my normal day off) even with a meeting. I really need a whole day off because it has been several weeks since I have had one.
I won’t be able to upload cheerleading pictures until the first of April.
My weight loss has hit a stand still. I know part of the problem is what I am eating and not drinking enough water but I am struggling.
I am trying a new method of organizing my coupons, it is from this blog. Basically I use 10 minutes a day and so far it has been going well. In two days, I have sorted through 2 months of expired coupons. My plan is to finish this task this week.
This is still the kids favorite indoor activity….
Andrea’s Wild West Sweet Sixteen
Our friend Andrea turned sixteen yesterday. So on Saturday, we enjoyed her wild west themed birthday party. Haley was present as well and line danced for almost an hour but I don’t have any pictures of her because she has not uploaded them yet! There are also rumored to be pictures of me dancing but I will not confirm or deny that!
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| Matt built the jail for this event..doesn’t it look real? |
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| Partners in Crime |
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| Sushi the Horse was a great guest but by the end of the night she was tired. |
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| Izzy and Andrea |
Consignment Sale Shopping
This is something that is definitely not new for me. In fact, Haley wore only consignment sale finds for several years. However, it seems that in the last several years, I have not been able to consistently find these sales especially that offer good quality clothes. The other issue has been driving to a particular sale, I often don’t remember when the sales occur and forget to schedule the time to get to the sale before everything is gone. The good news is that this changed this weekend.
Lily had her first cheerleading competition on Saturday in Concord (lots of pictures this week). As I was searching for additional information, I discovered that there would be a consignment sale going on in an adjacent building. Lily squad met 2 hours prior to competition time so after dropping her off, we head to the sale. I had gone through Zach clothes so I knew he needed shirts. I decided to start with his size first. I was able to find 1 complete outfit, 4 play shirts, 2 Polo’s for church or just to wear and 2 dress shirts for him. They also had a HUGE selection of shoes. I found a pair of dress shoes and a pair of sandals for him that both appear new. Next I headed over to Lily’s size to check out what might catch my attention. Kendall found a bathing suit so she ended up with that. For Lily, we found 2 outfits, 3 shirts and a bathing suit. Saturday was 50% off day. This sale was awesome, in fact, I am planning to return next year even if the competition is not the same day. I was able to find everything and check out in less than an hour! I am even more excited when I came home and discovered that Zach now has 10 pair of shorts and 10 shirts for the summer. I will continue to look at yard sales for cute T-shirts but even if I don’t purchase anything else he has enough clothes for the summer!
My total was $63.75
Items purchased included: 2 pair of shoes, 2 bathing suits, 3 outfits, and 10 shirts, or $3.18 per piece!
An Educational Afternoon
I mentioned that on Sunday, I began to work out a plan for our square foot garden this year. One of the new things I want to try is to grow broccoli. The main reason is that it is a “cool weather” vegetable. Meaning it can be planted early in the spring and then again in the fall with several harvest each time, this would significant increase my use of the gardening box. I went ahead and ordered some seeds on line. They arrived today, I was home around 2:30 and decided to turn this afternoon into a learning opportunity for the younger kids.
We first all watch a video on how to make paper pots from Budgetsavingmom. Lily was in charge of searching the newspapers to find some without color, each of the 3 little ones got to tear apart the newspaper pages as well as “help” make the pots. Lily actually made her second one alone. Zach and Kendall were learning about positions (before and after) as well as turn taking. After finishing the pots we went out and filled with potting soil. Lily was given 2 word problems to keep her on top of things. Next we all planted the seeds and I watered. Hopefully they will sprout in around 10 days and we will be planting outside the first of March. I am going to keep an eye on the weather and maybe getting all the plants outside by the first week of April?. But alot will depend on when the estimated last frost is, I have been reading that this can vary as much as a month in our area. Finally after putting the pots in a cardboard box for easy transportation, Lily was able to use the calender and write the date we should have sprouts by followed by Zach and Kendall working on their names by signing their names. The total time we spent on this mini project was about an hour. But it provide the most teachable moments that I took advantage of in a while. It felt awesome to just be a mom but also know that I was spending quality time with the kids this afternoon.
Where did it Go?
Seriously where did this week go? My usual excuse is work but this week I know that is not the case, work is actually really low at the moment but I just can’t seem to figure out where my time went. So maybe list will help?
-took down the snow village. I am so sad doing this. But the good news is that we were able to store much better this year so I can purchase a couple of new pieces for next year maybe 🙂
-Thursday was spent between doctors and IKEA.
- Lily has a infection on her face, there is a 60% chance it is MRSA. We decided to stop at the peditricians office on the way to all the kids eye appointments in Matthews (1.5hours south). She missed school on Friday and is on a strong antibodic. We are praying the infection clears quickly otherwise we have been warned that it might require surgery, because of it’s location and size.
- Zach has decent vision. There is a slight concern that he may be far sighted but it will be a mild case and currently will just wait a year!
- Kendall can stop with patching now. Her vision is unchanging at this point. She did get a new presciption but we were told we could wait a couple of month before switching.
- Lily’s vision is improving. She still has extremely poor dept perception, we have to continue patching 4 hours daily and her prescription also changed. The hope is that her corrected vision becomes 20/20.
-IKEA- we joined the “family card” program for free. It allowed the girls to stay an extra half an hour at the play place, Matt got a free cup of coffee and we also received a free ice cream cone as well as saved 0.50. Not bad for a free card.
– we purchased a new frying pan, new lights for over the kitchen sink, and several differenet shelves. I think this will be the last shelves needed for the house in a long time. I am excited to have enough storage space and a home for most things now!
– we daydreamed about purchasing a new living room and kitchen. Never hurts to dream.
-I have been able to keep up with the goals I established for the year! I am excited to be losing weight slowly and keeping on top of devotions!