Handsome Justus

Happy Birth Day Justus!!

Justus is here and he is Beautiful.

He came today at 7.42 am.
He was 8 lbs 15 oz.
He was 20 inches long.

He is healthy and doing well.

Pictures will come......

Softball

Tonight marks, most likely, the last softball game for us of this season. I am so excited that Chris got to play one more game, Elizabeth and I got to talk thru one more game, and Hannah and Chloe got to play and be silly thru one more game.

Here are a couple of pictures...
One with Daddy getting his Good Luck Kiss and one with Hannah and Chloe together again!

Don't worry, I know we will be back out at the ball field next season!

Not Me Monday

I am actually not very good with sticking with these blog "games" but I actually have a post for this one so I thought I would do it this week.

((I will get back with the Monday Meal Plans but I forgot to post it last week and this week is crazy and Chris and I - mainly Chris since he has been doing it all lately, bless him - decided we did not want to clean a kitchen any of the 3 days we would be home so we are winging it this week.))

You will see that on the left side of my blog I have a button that says I am praying for MckMama and Baby Stellan. If you have a moment to read their story - it is worth your prayers as well.

Anyway, she just started this "Not Me Monday" and it is a post that is to reflect on your past week and tell everyone what you did "not" do, if you know what I mean.. Mckmama is so cute because she calls it therapy.

Here is mine:

I absolutely did not hide the ranch dip from my 2 year old daughter just so that I did not have to deal with her trying to dip and just so that I would not run out of the dip before I had eaten all the french fries I wanted to with it. (We were almost out.) I would never do that. No, Not Me. How selfish.

To see other's "Not Me Monday" posts go to Mckmama's blog here and click away. What fun!

Our Sunday Pictures

Hannah thought it was funny that she could get up into Justus' new seat we set up for him last night. I wonder how she will be once Mr. Justus is actually in that seat? Only 5 more days and we will all get to meet him!! Yipppeeeeeeeeeeee!

2 Things I love

#1
I love Hannah's "look" when she has been dressed by her Daddy and he even does her hair!!
































#2
I love the signs of a morning full of playing outside!

Harris Teeter

I have heard about Harris Teeter Triple Coupon days and I have read about how great they can be. It is not until today that I decided to try it out. Now, my friends LeeAnn and Kathy are pros so if you want to see how a real pro does it - definitely go to their blogs and see how they have done.

Here are the things that have made me not too interested in trying it in the past: #1 I don't want to be tempted to buy things that we won't really use and #2 Harris Teeter always seems more expensive to me anyway that triple coupons on name brand items doesn't seem as though it would be a much better price than my Kroger brand products anyway. #3 We don't really have a Harris Teeter near by so we have to make a special effort to go to one.

Here are the things that made me try it today: #1 I read LeeAnn's and Kathy's success stories. #2 I realized that they will triple a coupon even if it means that you are saving more than the product's price. For example if a product costs $1 and you have a 50 cent coupon then you have an excess of 50 cents. #3 I looked at Harris Teeter's website and their weekly ads and found that they did have some things that were an OK price.

In case you don't know about it, the rules are you can only use 20 coupons in a transaction and they will only triple coupons under $1 off.

My intention today was to buy items that I had a coupon for that could be tripled and to only buy things that I KNEW we would use, even if we didn't need it right now. I bought a couple of products that I wanted to try since I had a good coupon and I did buy 3 items that I did not have a triple coupon for. I bought milk because we needed milk and the price was not more than Kroger. I bought 2 boxes of Raisin Bran because they were buy one get one free. I also bought a pack of batteries for the camera for the hospital when Justus is born and I did have a $1 coupon for them but, of course, that does not triple.

Here are my figures excluding the 3 items that I did not use triple coupons for:
Total amount for groceries: $58.31
Total VIC Card savings: $1.99
Total Coupon savings: $37.88
Total Out Of Pocket amt: $18.44
(These figures don't include tax)

Not too bad.
Here is the picture of all that I got.
I got things like Ziplock bags, toothpaste, Stain Remover, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Hamburger Helper, Cereal, deodorant, Chex Mix.... You get the picture.


Let me know if you try it. I want to know how you did. I think, for this time, Triple Coupon days end tomorrow. I am sure there will be others in the future. (I always find out from LeeAnn's blog when they are but I will try to let you know when I know for the future ones.)

Become as Little Children

I was reminded tonight by my 2 year old (my crancky 2 year old - by the way) of just how precious a child is. I was reminded how wonderful and innocent a child's thoughts and actions can be.

Matthew 18:1-5 (New King James Version)
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."

Hannah saw her next door neighbor friend, Carissa, outside and said to us "I see Carissa, I need to go outside and share!" I know that is probably just a repeat of what we have told her over and over - to share with her friends, to share with Carissa, or whoever she is playing with at the time. I couldn't help but think, though, what if we all looked at our friends and loved ones this way? What if we all saw someone and immediately thought "let's go share"? Share anything. Our supper, our time, our toys, our heart, our listening ear, a hug, anything.... What a world that would be.

When she went out to play, guess what they loved playing with? A cardboard box that Carissa's mom had cut out a window and door on. How simple. In our world of non-stop entertainment, to think that we could ever have so much fun with a cardboard box is beyond some of our imaginations.

Oh, to become as little children...............

Spoiled Rotten

My Husband Spoils Me!!

So, here is the story...

On days that I have a doc appointment I don't go into the office. This morning, I had some time to lay around before I went to get Chris for lunch and our doctor's appointment. (It was very nice.) Anyway, so I get everything ready to leave. Cell phone - check. Purse - check. Drink - check. Keys - check. I go out to the garage and get in the passenger's seat of the car and look over and realize..... Hummmmm....... I suppose I am the one that is driving since Chris is at work.

With us working together, eating together, worshiping together, and all in all living together (seeing as we are married and all) I guess he has spoiled me. I never have to drive!!

Good news is I did drive. I did a very good job of driving. I got to the office to pick him up and everything was just fine.......

And then I got into the passenger's seat so that he could take over for the rest of the day.

Thank You, sweetheart, for spoiling me.
:-)

Our Sunday Pictures

This Sunday we wore a hand-me-down jumper from Chloe. It is so cute!! Have I ever mentioned that I love hand-me-downs? AND I was so excited to have a purple shirt to go under it so that I could put her corker hair bow in her hair. I think those are so cute.

Look at that bug bite on her hand!

This is really how she preferred standing but I made her get up for a couple of pictures. She is a little pill to get a picture from lately. It is really hilarious though.

I guess it has been at least 3 months since she has had to wear a pair of socks and when we put these socks and shoes on her she started whining and said that those shoes were too heavy. Poor thing - having to wear such heavy shoes. (We let her take them off in the middle of worship to get a break from them!)

This may look like an ordinary duck. But it is in fact a chicken that actually does the chicken dance. She loves it. Thank you Grandmom and Grandpop.

This is the smile. This is what we are getting these days when we ask her to look at us and smile. Fake? Ya Think?

So, I finally told her to look at Daddy and think about how he makes her laugh. This is what I got. LOVE IT! She is so so lucky to have a Daddy who can make her laugh every day. Thank you Chris, for being such an absolutely wonderful Daddy!

She is singing The B-I-B-L-E and "standing on the Word of God" here.

This is more the regular Hannah smile.

Each and every one of her faces -- How Beautiful!

New Book

I have finished Fast Track by Fern Michaels. It was great. Another one in the Sisterhood series! Again, it is a good guy vs bad guy book (as all the sisterhood books are) so there is a little crude language and some adult content but not too bad.

When I was looking up on Amazon to see when the next book in the series is coming out, I saw that there are actually 2 coming out in the series on September 30th (the SAME day Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One is coming out - Yipppppeeeee!). Collateral Damage is the next one in the Sisterhood series and then Final Justice is the one after that. I think they all come out on the same day so I will be ALL SET for my maternity leave.

While waiting for that day to come, I am reading Hey Good Looking by Fern Michaels. I think I got this one for Christmas last year and I can not believe I still have not read it. (One day, I will have to share a list of the books beside my bed I need to read, and the list of books that I want to read and just don't have yet - CRAZY!)

Of course, I know this one will be interesting. Remember, Fern Michaels has a GREAT imagination! As always, I will let you know how it goes.

Sarah Palin

I just got a forwarded email from my Aunt Wendy and it was full of Sarah Palin "comics." This was my favorite. For some reason it really did make me giggle. (not in a bad way)

I just thought I would share.

(I am SO not into the political thing at all - and this is my second Palin post - hummmmm..... Weird)

Laundry Detergent

WE DID IT!!
We made our own laundry detergent this weekend.
I took pictures to show you everything and we have already used it so.... here it goes!!

I got the idea and information from Gayle at the Grocery Cart Challenge Blog. She points to a great website that I used for the instructions called The Family Homestead. This is a great place to go to for the explanation of the ingredients and where in the store you can find them.

These are the 3 ingredients you will need. Borax, Washing Soda, and Soap (I used Ivory- there are a couple of choices that you have according to the info on the ingredients). I found all of these items at my local Kroger with No Problem. I told a friend of mine that I thought they, all together, cost me $5-$7 but just to be on the conservative side I MAY have paid up to $10 for everything here.

You will need 1/2 cup of the Borax, 1/2 cup of the Washing Soda, and 1/3 bar (Chris and I used closer to 1/2 a bar because we liked the smell so much) of Soap. This means that in a pack of 3 bars we can make about 6 batches, the box of Borax will make about 19 batches, and the Washing Soda will make about 13 batches of detergent.

You will also need water, a grater, measuring cups, sauce pan, and about a 3 gallon bucket. The other websites say a two gallon bucket but I am not sure we would have been able to stir it well if the bucket had been that small.

First, you grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat it until the soap melts.

Second, add the Washing Soda and Borax and stir until it is dissolved.

Third, Remove it from the heat.
Fourth, Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket.

Fifth, Add your soap mixture and stir.
Sixth, add one gallon and 6 cups of water and stir.
Finally, let soap sit for about 24 hours.

Use 1/2 cup per load.
It makes about 2 gallons worth which means you can get about 32 loads done from this one batch.

Chris and I were both dreading this but really wanted to try it out for money reasons. BUT it was very easy and did not take long to do at all. AND, of course, it was fun!!

Here are a couple of things I have heard/read about this from others who have tried it:

• The finished soap will be like a watery gel that some describe as an "egg noodle soup" look. (For me - I am not sure I would call it a gel at all.)
• If you LOVE that laundry detergent smell, you may be disappointed in this. (For me - choosing to go with the Ivory Soap gave it a nice clean smell.)
• You will definitely need something in the laundry room to stir it periodically as some of the ingredients settle.
• The soap is a low sudsing soap. Don't worry if you don't see suds. Remember that suds is not what does the cleaning.
• Some have calculated it out and it costs you about one penny per load. (I did not keep my receipts like I meant to do so that I could accurately calculate it out but now that I have made it and have seen how much more I can make from what I have already bought - I don't doubt it comes out to about a penny a load.)
• The clothes that we have washed so far look and feel great!

If you try it let me know - I want to know how it goes for you.
If you want me to try to answer any questions about it - feel free to ask.
(I had to ask Gayle a couple of questions before I would commit to trying it!)

Our Sunday Pictures

This morning Daddy took care of Sunday pictures. We wanted to get to the church building early and I was still putting on my shoes and getting my purse when Hannah was ready for pictures. SO, they were a surprise to me this afternoon, just like they will be to you when you see them. FUN!

Daddy did a great job.
Thank You Chris for getting our Sunday pictures this morning!

Palin

OK, I will say it. After hearing Sarah Palin speak the other night - I think I am a fan. I liked her and I think I agree with my mom - - - - I would love for her family to be my next door neighbor. I totally feel like I could borrow an egg from her or Hannah could play with her kids.

I will say I feel a little odd about the whole thing with having a young woman VP but I suppose that is the nature of something different....

In the end though, I did tell Chris that Piper Palin may be the one who really gets my vote. She is SO stinkin' cute! Don't you think?

New Poll

I am a little late on my new poll for this week. Sorry about that.

Last week's poll was very interesting.
13% of you chose Is there a God?
60% of you chose Who is God?
26% of you chose Is there a judgment day coming?

For this week, I have 3 new questions for you. Let me know which is the most interesting to you. Again, this is "homework" for the class that Chris and I are a part of.

Once again, if you would like to explain why you chose the question you did - please feel free to comment that on this post. AND if you would like to talk about any of these questions in further detail please feel free to email me here and I would love to get back with you and talk about them.

In Color

This is a newer song that is out and I just think it is great.
Think of all the things we can learn and see from our old family photos but imagine if we could have seen them all in color!! It touches my heart every time I hear it... Here are the lyrics.

In Color
Sung by Jamey Johnson

Said grandpa what’s this picture here.
It’s all black and white it ain’t real clear.
Is that you there?
He said yeah, I was 11.
Times were tough back in '35, that’s me and Uncle Joe just tryin’ to survive a cotton farm in the Great Depression.

If it looks like we were scared to death like a couple of kids just trying to save each other you should've seen it in color.

Oh, and this one here was taken over seas, in the middle of hell in 1943 in the winter time.
You can almost see my breath.
That was my tail gunner ole Johnny Maggee he was a high school teacher from New Orleans and he had my back right through the day we left.

If it looks like we were scared to death like a couple of kids just trying to save each other you should've seen it in color.
A picture's worth a thousand words but you can’t see what those shades of gray keep covered you should've seen it in color

This one is my favorite one. This is me and grandma in the summer sun all dressed up the day we said our vows.
You can't tell it here but it was hot that June and that rose was red and her eyes were blue and just look at that smile I was so proud.
That’s the story of my life right there in black and white.

And if it looks like we were scared to death like a couple of kids just trying to save each other you should've seen it in color.

A pictures worth a thousand words but you can’t see what those shades of gray keep covered you should have seen it in color.

You should have seen it in color.

Almost 36 weeks pregnant!

Well, Hannah seems very excited about Justus. I, of course, am not sure she really understands but she knows where his room is, where he is going to sleep, that she is going to be able to take a bath with him, that he is a baby boy, and that he is her brother. She kisses and hugs him and tells him she loves him.

We will see what happens when he really arrives.

Our Sunday Pictures

Menu Plan Monday

I know I am a little late ..... Oh Well.

First, when looking at my menu plan please remember that for the next 3 weeks we are thinking "simple", "no stress", "yummy", and "simple."

(YES, only 3 weeks from Thursday and we get to meet our handsome Justus!!)

Second, I planned for 6 suppers but I don't think we need that many so you may see some of the same ones on the list for next week.

Our grocery bill was a lot more this week than we wanted it to be BUT there are some reasons. We have decided to take Hannah out of day care and let her go to one of our wonderful friends homes every day. This means we actually had a little extra money this week. Also, our grocery store was having big big sales for the weekend on items we buy regularly so our next couple of grocery bills should be lots less than usual. We did think about the things we bought off the grocery list and I believe we were smart. We will see next week if we really were.

Suppers:

• Frito Salad
• Pound, Pound, and a Bottle
• Salsa Chicken
• Chicken Nuggets and Frozen Fries
• Taco Salad
  
• Ham Delights

If you want to see some others' menu plans check out Org Junkie. I get a lot of recipes to try from this!!