Back to Bargains!

I took a little bit of time off from couponing since we have been going full tilt on the basement in order to get it done for Charlie's birthday party. But I have been starting back at it! Today was actually pretty fun! Charlie and I went to Target with an empty cart and a whole lot of coupons. It really only took me about 20-30 minutes to get everything. At the end, I had a full cart and the cashier was impressed with the amount I saved! That's always refreshing to hear instead of the sigh when they see my coupon pile. (I can't say the same about the woman in line behind me) Oops. She thought she got in the short line.... Anyways, This is what I got:

2 Huggies mega pack wipes

2 Aveeno baby washes (with bonus travel lotions :-)

3 Johnson's baby washes

2 Pledge Multi-surface cleaner sprays

3 Boxes Pop secret popcorn

5 boxes Fruit snacks

5 Gillette Body Washes

4 Gerber Graduates cheese puffs (Charlie's Fave!)

5 12-Packs of Pepsi products

My total before Coupons was 105.04

After coupons: $35.82!!

Just for perspective, this is what I would have gotten for $35 with NO coupons:

I'll take the sigh from the lady behind me anyday!

Too Fast

Do you ever think that your kids grow up way too fast?? I'm sure you all do because plenty of you have told me so! Well, our little guy is growing up! He's starting to walk and he likes to take naps with a pillow! Some of my friends have had babies recently, so that gives me my baby fix because Charlie won't cuddle much :-( Here's his latest accomplishment for your enjoyment!

And the picture of him napping with his pillow. (Don't worry-he doesn't sleep with it!)

Where is your tongue?

Charlie has found his first body part! I know that sounds a little sketchy, but everyone likes it when you ask your child, "where is your nose?" and they point to it. Well, this is Charlie's version!

Our Mission Trip

I know that it's been a week and a half since we've been home, but I can't leave this off the blog. Steve and I went on a mission trip with our church's group called Master's Builders. This year we went to Folsom, LA to work with Habitat for Humanity. We drove down to Louisiana on Friday night after work, and stayed for a week. We built a whole house in three days! My girlfriends, Jaclyn and Emily, also went. Since we were the only girls, we also had a fun time making supper and baking goodies with Donna for all the guys! It is a very rewarding to go on trips like these to help out people who are less fourtunate and have been through devastating things like hurricaines. It makes you very thankful for what you do have, even if it isn't much. If you ever have a chance to do something like this, it's 100% worth it!

The cooking and working girls!

We are painting the outside of one the the bunkhouses at the place where we stayed

Our first day of work

After the second day...

The third day!

Jaclyn (left) and I building an inside wall

The girls installing the hurricaine brackets

My hubby, looking buff...

Jaclyn and I tearing of melted siding from Pastor Ray's house

The Providence CRC Master's Builders 2009

P.S. Charlie spent the week with both sets of grandparents and did just fine, and I'm pretty sure all the grandparents still love him...:-)

Vacation #1

Well, we are finally back in Michigan! (For a while at least :-) I'm way behind in blogging and I'm sorry for that, but I'm going to try to make up for it! Steve, Charlie and I had the chance to go to Florida for a week with my parents, so we went! It was Charlie's first plane ride also. It went ok...he was beside himself for a while in the plane, but he eventually fell asleep. We arrived in Orlando, Fl to 70 degree plus temps! That was great! We really didn't have a whole lot planned, just hanging out. We had to make sure to visit with my grandparents, Cec and Barb Harkema and Heather Price. Other than that, we did nothing too special. That was perfect. We made sure that Charlie got his naps and got plenty of pool time! We had a great time and hopefully someday we can do it again!

Hanging out in the pool...with Grandpa's sunglasses

Floating in his crab

Walking in the Ocean

My poor baby!

First of all, we had a great trip to Florida! It was sunny and nice each day. I will post more about that when I get some of my mom's pictures. For now, you get to experience my poor baby's sickness. Charlie has hives! If you have never seen hives before, they are really scary! They are patches of reddened and raised skin, and they can cover your entire body! Charlie started getting them when we were at the airport coming home Saturday morning. Well, that is when we noticed them! We changed his clothes and gave him a bath when we got home at noon. They weren't so bad at that point, but the next day...WOW!! They were all over, red and hot! He never acted like he was sick, but he looked horrible! My mom took a few picture of him while she was babysitting so I could show people at work and get their opinion.

Here's my disclaimer: Some of these images may not be suitable for younger viewers...

Don't worry, he's much better since these pictures have been taken! He only had a few little spots on his tummy left.

9 Months

Charlie was nine months old in January, so of course we got pictures taken! We tried JC Penney this time and they did a great job! I guess one benefit of Steve not working is that he could come with so we could get some pics with him. Well, here they are!!

He had had it by this one, but it's still funny! Possible black mail for when he's older...