Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Accomplishments

While Micah has been at school, I have been taking advantage of having only one child to unbuckle and buckle back into the car and running errands. Yesterday, Owen and I went to the bank, where he got a sucker. This was perfect to keep him entertained while I did some work at Walgreens. I have several friends who coupon, and I read even more blogs of people who do. I have decided, after looking over the budget and seeing that no costs can be cut anywhere, that this may be the only hope of saving a little money each month. I have read, bought papers, clipped, made lists galore, and organized mountains of coupons, and the past few weeks have seen a huge savings. I went to Kroger one day and bought $115 worth of groceries-my final bill was $68. Today I went to Walgreens where I bought a new Venus razor, an oral B toothbrush, and a bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo. I used coupons that I had clipped for all of it and paid $11. But that is not the best part. The register then spit out $9 in register rewards, which I then took and bought some deodorant and tylenol (also using coupons on these items). I spent $11 out of my pocket and bought over $20 worth of products that we needed. It feels really good to accomplish this task because I can't do much to help with the income, but I can sure save us some money-and a penny saved is a penny earned (or something like that).

Next we went to get Owen's haircut. I told the sweet young girl that he was in bad need and that I would like to see the back and sides shorter. Next thing I knew she was using the razor to shave a huge hunk off the back of his head! I gasped, and she said "oh he is going to look so cute with a really short style." I wanted to crawl on the floor, pick up with wad of hair, super-glue it back to his head, and run out of there. I instead, took a deep breath, politely smiled, and told myself it would grow back. When she finished, it looked better than I imagined, but still not my favorite. I am sure his Uncle Drewby would be proud, as Matt claimed he looks "high and tight." Thankfully, Owen's hair grows ridiculously fast, so he should be back to a shaggy do in month or two. When we arrived to pick up Micah, his jaw dropped. I seriously wish I had a picture. I then saw a lip quiver and jumped to the rescue with a laugh, claiming that Owen got a new funny haircut (saving the day and receiving a laugh back)! In my head I was thinking that I wanted to shed a tear or two myself. I think I am getting used to it now though. Here is a picture-what do you think?


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Busy September


Wow! September started, and I feel like I am just catching my breath-oh and the month is half over! We started our month with a visit to see the Browns in Atlanta. We always have so much fun when we are there, and this time was no different. We even got a date night on Saturday because one of Taylor's friends was so kind to come watch all the kids while we had great food, wine and conversation (oh, and cheesecake!). We came home and quickly had to reset as the boys began their first week of school. Micah is now in the four year old program at Mustard Seed and loving it. He had a crooked grin (his new thing-he is trying his best to hold in his smile but can't) every day last week when I dropped him off and picked him up. Owen and I are doing a little co-op with five other 2-4 year olds at our church. It is one day a week and a good opportunity for Owen to learn to pay attention and have fun with friends. He felt really special to be able to go to school too. Another big event took place with Owen last week: we threw his paci in the garbage can. He waved bye bye to the garbage truck on Tuesday and has been such a trooper about it ever since. We had a few days of less sleep resulting in some crankiness, but one week later and he is back on track!



Owen and Dylan hanging out on the couch. They loved watching a movie together.
Owen learning all about 'S' at school.
Micah saying "I love preschool!" Okay, he is not really saying that, but he was sure compliant when I told him to give me a great smile, and he really does love preschool. He just tells us by answering "I do" when we ask if he loves it (it's not really his style to be overenthusiastic about things.)