Brody's Cowboy Party

We were lucky enough to have a very special birthday for Brody. Amber's parents have a ranch, and Brody got to have a real ride on a horse for his party! What a lucky little cowboy! He was a little nervous on his solo ride, but when he got on with Collin he was a lot more confident. The boys were able to run wild in the field, ride horses, eat cake, and ride four wheelers. That sounds like a perfect party for any little boy. Brody's cake was a very cute farm cake. He is still playing with the cake decorations. Thanks to Amber and her very kind family.

Brody's Mohawk

I buzzed Brody's hair a couple weeks ago. I might as well have fun with it, right?

Our Perfect Tree

We decided to get a live tree this year and I am so glad we did. It smells wonderful! It is so perfect too. Full, but not too full. I love it! Now I need to get some more ornaments on it. I just love turning all the lights out and looking at the Christmas tree. I love Christmas!

Betty Crocker Bit the Dust

Today is Stake Conference so the boys and I are just chilling at home. I decided to do some baking with them. I bought some bananas a few days ago so I could make my famous banana bread muffins. At the same time I was cutting up veggies for some fresh salsa to take to Amber's house tonight for dinner. I figured since I was doing two things at once, then I might as well do one more thing. I decided to make some macaroni salad which is good to have for lunches, and Darrell is coming tonight so I gotta feed him more than pb&j. I was feeling like a rockstar Betty Crocker. Salsa was almost done, first batch of muffins had just come out, and the pasta was ready to be taken off the stove. I grab the handle of the pot and go across to the sink when all of a sudden the handle broke and hot water and pasta went everywhere!! Look at the carnage below:


Of course Collin had to be in the picture.

That sucks, but accidents happen. I mean look at the picture of the pan! It was time for a new one. BUT to add insult to injury check out the picture below. Our toe board was taken off the cabinets because of our water leak incident that has been ongoing for the last two weeks.

I had to reach all the way to the back of the cabinet to get out all the pasta that was getting mushier by the minute in the hot puddle of water. Face the facts though: It still beats going to 3pm Stake Conference with a 3 and 5 year old. :)

What I Want For Christmas

This is freaking awesome!

Click HERE to buy it for me. :)

Thankful Tree

Thanksgiving is a holiday that kind of gets skipped over. It's crammed between Halloween, which seems to be getting busier every year, and Christmas, which is a retail power house. Being thankful for our blessings should happen more often than just one day a year. I saw a cute idea to be thankful all during the month of November. This tree is in my entry way and it's at least 6 feet tall. We cut out leaves and wrote one them something we are thankful for. We did several last night and we are going to do at least one leaf a day until Thanksgiving day. What a fun reminder of all of our blessings. The kids LOVED this idea. They had so much fun cutting out leaves and hanging them up. It was a fun conversation we had about blessings and what we are thankful for. Please no comments on my artistic skills, or lack thereof. It's the thought that counts. :)

Couponing the Easy Way

Lots of people have asked me about couponing, but lots of them "don't have the time" to get fully into it. Here are a few easy ways to get started and also to use less time couponing.

1. First of all you have to get the newspaper. You must have coupons to use them. There are printable coupons too, but you really need to have the weekly inserts.I recommend at least 3 per family, more if you can. Ask around to see if people will give you their coupons!

2. Buy only the hot deals - and buy a lot! So you don't have time to go through the ads every week, but you want to keep your pantry stocked. If you hear of a deal where something is a five star deal buy as much of it as you can, granted it's something you know you will use. For instance wipes are only $.29 this week at Target after a Target printable coupon. I am going to buy at least 10, probably more!

3. Every week there are a few produce items that are on sale. Plan your weekly veggie intake around these items that are on sale.

4. When milk or cheese, which rarely have coupons, go on a great sale then buy A LOT and freeze them. This brings me to my next point:

5. Make your freezer your best friend. Right now turkey is on sale for $.40/lb at Walmart. I am going to fill my freezer! Ok so only 3 at the most will fit in there, but I am going to make it fit. If I had a deep freezer I would buy 10. When there are rock bottom prices on meats or anything for that matter buy in large quantities and freeze it.

6. Know when to buy what. There are a lot of seasonal sales during the year. Right now, in the fall, baking items are on sale. In the summer there are condiments, sodas, and meats. A lot of stores have case lot sales in the the fall as well. Buy at least a six month supply of these items when they are at their rock bottom prices.

7. Know what is a good deal! When I first started couponing I didn't know what a good price for meats or produce was. I had no clue! Start paying attention to what a good price is.

8. Plant a garden. I am looking forward to having a garden now that I have a backyard to put it in! Plant what you know your family will eat.

9. Can or freeze produce from your garden or when they are in season. I made raspberry jam for the first time this year and it was so much easier than I thought!

10. Figure out one drug store and stick with them. Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid all have good deals. This does not mean you need to run around to all of them! Pick one, get it figured out to a science, and just stick with them. Of course if you hear about a smoking deal that you can't pass up, by all means go to the other store, but otherwise I would stay loyal to one so you don't overwhelm yourself.

11. If you need to go to the store for just one thing check the blogs or forums for free/smoking hot deals for that store. That way you are not making an extra trip for your couponing, but you can still get a few perks.

Here are a few blogs that I like:

Money Saving Mom

A Thrifty Mom

Krazy Coupon Lady

I Heart Wags

If anyone has any questions please ask! I am still trying to get this coupon thing figured out here in Texas. I am REALLY missing Albertson's. I am going to get my budget down to about $50 bucks a week again, but it's been tough to get going. I can't wait to plant a garden. Planting starts in February here in Texas!

New flower bed

Darrell wanted me to post pictures of his project today. (I guess this makes him famous.) Since our house is on a hill and we don't have gutters, we were having a serious problem with our new flowerbed eroding very quickly. Today Darrell put up a fantastic brick barrier for me. What a hard working man! I helped too, but as little as I could. :) Oh, and just to make ya'll jealous, it was 85 degrees today! (Did you see my correct usage of "ya'll"?)

November 30 Day Giving Challenge

I came across a link to a blog about a 30 day giving challenge! What a perfect month to try this out. I have so many things to be thankful for so I would love to try this out. Plus it's a great way to meet people (since I don't know anyone here in Texas yet!) It can be something small like opening a door for someone or planning a formal service project. I will put some updates on here and I would love your feedback too! Let me know what kind of service you are doing during this Thanksgiving month.