Subdivision Bandit

That is exactly what I felt like as I rolled out of our driveway tonight headed to Publix. Something about the black toboggan, gloves and scarf made me feel extra sneaky haha! This is probably going to seem strange to a lot of people, but I have developed a hobby/job out of couponing and getting stuff for free (legally and encouraged I promise). About every other day I am coming home with my sacks full of things we need at prices I never knew were possible. It started out as a way to save some money for our family here and there, and turned into a pretty good reserve of toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, pasta, crescent rolls, coffee mate, red potatoes, and cereal, to name a few. Its not that I have THAT much stockpiled, and its not THAT simple to do, but it works for me. I won't bore you with too many details, especially since most of my blog readers are in Arkansas and unfortunately there isn't a Publix, Rite Aid, or CVS there that I know of...but I am hopeful that by the time we move home (IN 17 MONTHS HALLELUJAH!!) that at least one of those stores will open up near me. Anyway the basics of my tricks are:

~~~You may want to skip over this part if it doesn't interest you :)~~~~

*Double coupons (at Publix they double all up to $1, and it seems like Kroger does too?) 

*Buy one get one free sales (most stores you don't have to buy 2 items, you can just buy one at half off
  then use a coupon on it)

*Using a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon  (all stores that I know of will allow one of each per item)
   Ex. Target has Suave Shampoo on sale for .89. They offer a coupon on their website for .75 off any Suave product. There is a coupon in the paper for .75 off a Suave product. Use both coupons ($1.50 total) and you just made .61 cents and got free shampoo.

*Register rewards. Every week at Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid they have products listed that when purchased, you get money towards your next purchase. If you can match coupons in the paper, with store coupons, and get money back I say why not!

  Ex. Crest toothpaste is 2.99 at Rite Aid. This week Crest (through Rite Aid) is giving $2 towards your next purchase when you buy Crest toothpaste. I have a $1 off crest coupon. So 2.99-1.00=1.99 out of pocket for me at first, but with my receipt prints up $2 towards my next purchase.

This is where you really rack up. Now you take that $2 and buy something else with it that has a reward, like Halls cough drops may be on sale for $2 but you get back $2. So you take your $2 that you earned, go put it towards the Halls cough drops (so you pay nothing) and you get another $2 back. This is just an example of course, and you can do much bigger transactions once you get comfortable with the system. Now every week I see what is free, I take my free money (register rewards) and buy what has more rewards, I roll it into the next week and only pay tax. Does this make sense?

*Mail in Rebates. I used to think they were a pain, but when you get something free and can submit for money back on top of free, I do it.


Those are the basics.  It may sound like a lot of trouble, but once you learn how, it is easy. Start small! It took me a week or 2 to get comfortable with how coupons work, but now I can not walk into Wal Mart and throw things in the buggy like I used to. We still buy things we need of course, but I have decreased our grocery bill by about 75% and other things such as toiletries, paper towels, cleaning supplies by 90%. I'm loving it because it also frees up some money for other things we want! Oh and by the way, stores don't mind this at all! They get reimbursed by the manufacturer, so the more the merrier.

So what have I been up to lately in my "spare" time? Now you know! That and taking care of my loves and vertigo. I have been SO dizzy and it isn't getting better so I have to see a doctor before we head to Arkansas. My right ear is in pain so I know that is whats going on and I think I need help!

On to the important stuff!

 Jackson made his first batch of cookies with me this weekend. We are just doing the simple ones until he is old enough to really help in the kitchen, in which case I too will "learn" how to make cookies from scratch. Maybe. Christmas cookies are just so cute so I got the ones with snowmen and Christmas trees, since he has started recognizing them everywhere and saying "snowmam and kreemusth-treeeeeee"

 Chloe isn't too fond of Jackson's entertainment. The boy loves stickers.

They are still buddies though, she follows him everywhere or he chases her.  

We have been spending quite a bit of our days indoors lately since it has gotten colder. I'm loving being with my baby, just hanging out in our pajamas and staying warm.

 Dad got him this tool bench and set for Christmas, so he has been a little handy man this past week.

Tomorrow we are going to the General's house to see Santa!

Now what?

One of Our Fall Pics

Our little buddy



Reading with Nana and Barney

Well we are here, settled, Thanksgiving is behind us and we have a little bit of time before we head HOME for Christmas (which I am so ready to hit the road, I would leave now for Arkansas if I could). It feels funny having a day with "nothing" to do! Amazon made it way too easy for me to Christmas shop today during Jackson's (shorter than ever)nap and I even had the stuff shipped to Mom's so I don't have to haul it from here. Nice! I started getting ready to head to Publix but that never happened. Good intentions I guess. That is fine with me though because we will just go tomorrow when Jeremy can go with us. Every time we grocery shop I wind up telling Jeremy that next time I'm going alone, but when next time rolls around no one wants to stay home so off we go! I assume that I could think better if I went alone :).



Jackson, on the other hand (literally) has wanted Mommy 100% of this day. Usually he will play fine for a little while or at least aggravate Chloe, but not today, not without me by his side. I'm not complaining at all, but it does make things such as laundry, dishes, and dinner a little bit more complicated. I'm wondering if this is a new "thing" or not. He has been so funny, I think I always say that, but it is true. His words are just precious and he can repeat anything you say. Right now he likes saying "Jackson's room" and he loves getting onto Chloe. He will tell her to hush and tell her no. It's cute. He also gently sat on her yesterday with his paci and juice and said go horsey. The look on her face was priceless!

Stats on our boy:

At 20 months he is 34 inches tall and 32 pounds. He is borderline 3T, but mostly 2T is still fitting him fine. Size 9 shoe.

Favorite things to eat are: Cheese, yogurt, broccoli, pizza, chicken nuggets or any other kind of chicken, tractor snacks, spaghetti, cinnamon toast crunch (only a little because it is so sweet).

He drinks plenty of milk and juice.
Counts to 12 and knows chunks of the alphabet.
Sleeps through almost every night for 10-12 hours and has a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour nap every day around 2:00.
~~He is kind of a big deal around here, as you can probably tell and always will be!~~

I love our new place, however I would not mind being in Las Vegas or Hawaii or Disneyworld about now. My brother Brian is singing in Las Vegas this week (lucky).  

At the Riverwalk last week with Brian

My great friend Autumn just moved to Hawaii (lucky and warm!) So we are going to Disneyworld. Not right now, but we have decided to go in March. I am so excited! We used to go every year and I haven't been since 2006 so it is very much time for us to go.  Jackson will be tall enough to ride a lot of rides (accompanied) and Jeremy has never been! We decided to make it Jackson's 2nd birthday trip, but I think we will go in early March to avoid the Spring Break rush. Shades of Green is a military resort that has great deals and right now active duty families get a huge discount on park tickets! AND we are less than 400 miles from there. So, I have said this before but this time I mean it! We are going. Will it be stressful and tiring with a 2 year old? At times, but it will so be worth it.

Macy's Parade with Grandpa



So that is what is on my mind. We are ready for the weekend and ready for Christmas break! I am happily back into blogging now. I am so mad at myself for not keeping up. This is like my journal and helps me to document the memories we are making! In my defense we have been crazy busy and covered a lot of territory this past couple of months!

Gearing Up

This week we have been preparing for a new kind of recreation! We have been talking about bicycling for awhile now, but the bikes were not in Kentucky. We finally went to Nashville last weekend to see Brian, and brought the bikes back with us. As you can see Jackson has been working extra hard on getting them ready for us to ride.

Yesterday was our first outing. I think we rode about 6 miles total, with a couple of good size hills! I am feeling it today, but not too bad. We were looking for a good deal on this bike trailer for little man, but we decided to go ahead and get it at Wal Mart yesterday so that we could get started. We have to wear helments when riding on post, so you know we were a funny looking bunch coming down the road!

Jackson actually loved it! he sat the entire time and enjoyed the scenery. In fact, he climbed in himself and tried to buckle himself in, he was ready to roll. I couldn't stop laughing while we were riding because it was too cute. The only thing that would make the ride easier would be a softer seat for my bike, for sure.

By the way, he normally only has his paci at nap and bedtime, but yesterday he found one in his room and was determined to keep it. After we leave Arkansas for Georgia, the fun begins as we try to break the habit!

We have been outside as much as possible lately, enjoying the mild weather! I just love this little outfit that Grandma got him.

Moments

Tonight I had one of those moments where all I could do was smile :)

 Of all the career paths in this world, all the hard work earning my degree, and everything I wanted to be when I grew up, tonight as I drenched a size 2T shirt with Stain remover all I can think is how lucky I am. I truly believe I have the best job in this world, and that is taking care of this little mess. If only time could stand still....

Lots more pics to post soon!

To Blog or To Sleep

Tonight I finally chose blog! The reason I even have this thing is to keep track of our journey in the army, and to keep my family and friends informed on what is going on with us. So in several years when I want to look back on this year, I will probably be mad at myself for not being very detailed and consistent.

Anyway, so the army is being typical and we won't get orders until around September 1st (one month before we move). This is exactly what happened to us when we left Hawaii! We know for sure that we are going to Fort Benning Georgia and we know when. Jeremy has his work equipment scheduled for shipping and receiving (he is the shipper and receiver so we HAVE to be in Georgia on those dates). The main inconvenience with not having orders is that we can't schedule movers, fence removal, clear housing, apply for housing there, schedule TDY (10 days max there in a hotel to find a house), schedule leave, etc. It mainly hurts us on the personal level and doesn't really affect his job very much. 50 days from now we are leaving here to start over in a new town and we will just have to roll with the punches! I am very excited about Columbus, Georgia though. It is a larger town with lots to do and is right outside of post. It will be a fun 18 months of exploring the area! I think we are only 2 hours from Destin and I know for a fact it is 380 miles to Disneyworld. That was one of the first things I checked into! Another tempting aspect is that the Razorbacks are playing at Auburn this year and Auburn is only 20 minutes from Fort Benning. I'm pretty hopeful.

Jackson Update:
The almost 17 month old comedian that lives with us is doing great! I love him more every day and I think I probably kiss him too much. He is a smart, happy little man and he makes us laugh SO hard all the time. He learns new words daily. You never know what he will repeat perfectly.
Currently, he loves Yo Gabba Gabba and will bring you the remote control and ask for it. I'm having to limit the number of times a day he watches it. I'm trying to let him watch it once before bed, but his Daddy gives in sometimes and lets him watch it more. He loves playing outside with the water hose and in his pool. He also is loving the evening walks we take while he rides in the wagon. He has 16 teeth as far as I know, they're king of hard to count! Luckily he enjoys brushing his teeth as much as I will let him. He is still weighing in at about 29 pounds and is 31.5 inches tall. Size 8 shoe, I think we have one pair of size 7's that he can barely fit into still. 2t or 24 month clothes. He will eat anything, but loves peaches, cheese, chicken nuggets, watermelon, apples, eggs, spaghetti, ketchup, broccoli (cooked or raw with ranch) and juice. He still loves his bath time and naps once a day for around 2 hours. He sleeps at night for 11 hours straight unless he really needs something. We play outside every day when the weather lets us! This past week it has been so nice, especially compared to the heat and humidity we were having earlier in August. He is playing in the sprinkler below.

One of my favorite things he is doing right now is walking himself to his room for bedtime. All I have to do is ask if he is ready to go night night, and he grabs his blankie and walks to his room and gets in his rocker and waits for me to come put him to bed. It is so cute and sweet! He requires his sippy cup with milk just in case he gets thirsty :) and his pacifier. The paci is going bye bye soon, probably when we get to Ft Benning. Usually he has all 3 of these things in hand as he walks to his room. It is precious. I still hold him and rock him until he falls asleep. I know this may make it harder in the long run, as far as getting him to go to bed when he gets older, but I don't care. We both love our quiet time in his room before he goes to sleep and I know one day I will be glad that I took the time out to love on him while he let me.


The picture above was taken while he was talking on Skype with Grandma and Grandpa. He was showing them pictures.

More to Come

Today at Saunder Springs Nature Preserve

Blue Jean Baby

Welcome to the 80's little man! We think this look would go perfect with a mullet :)

Discovered his reflection below.

Strike a pose baby

Hey Dad, are you in there? I wanna talk to you about these new diapers.

Mommy's little sweetheart

Gotta have his shoes on!

He was being such a little ham

I had to put these next two on. The first one below was when he was laying in my lap and we were talking (he is agreeing to never get married and let me be the dorm Mom when he goes to college).
He's had this rash around his mouth for several days now. This next one is when he started throwing a fit for the camera. Poor baby.

Jeremy and I were talking tonight about how your idea of "fun" changes once you have a baby. We had so much fun laughing at Jackson tonight and doing nothing. We went to the PX and to Wal Mart and then came home and watched our little entertainer. I just feel so lucky to have both of them in my life. I just thought I was living before but this is what it is all about.

For our record.....Lately:
*Airplane sounds like A-tee and he is still a little afraid of the low flying C130s and helicopters
*Daddy sounds like Dadee or A-tee, and he also points at Jeremy and says momma just so we will say no...then he points at me and says momma and grins real big.
*Umbrella, Toothbrush, and Zebra sound a lot alike but I can barely tell the difference. It sounds like Debra only with a Z.
*He says outside very well
*Clo for Chloe
*Anytime he sees anything that looks like a dog he howls
*Roosters and baby chickens are CheeChees
*A hen is called a Cluck Cluck
*He reaches out and says Hi to everyone in a very funny way, like Hieeee
*He says Nite nite at bedtime and bye bye when appropriate (on the phone and leaving)
*Bird still sounds good
*I think we are finally finished with bottles but not paci
*He loves using his lawn mower and is drawn to all lawn mowers and tractors.

I guess that is all for now. I will try to keep the pics coming!

Sweet Summer Time

What a weekend we've had! Really it has been great since Friday evening. Friday started off really rough with the hospital here on post. I am NOT a fan of Ireland Army Hospital and we had to fight pretty hard for Jackson to be seen at the pediatric clinic. He is on medicine now, so hopefully these bumps or bites or chicken pox or whatever he has will be going away soon! He saw the head of pediatrics and he thinks Jack is having a reaction to some kind of bug bites or poison ivy. Who knows! By the way, at 15 months he is weighing in at 28.6 pounds and is 32 inches tall.

So after our 4 hour hospital fun we missed the organizational day that Jeremy's battalion was having. He worked so hard to help get it together and we showed up as they were pulling away from the park. The rest of the weekend was great. Saturday we went to Elizabethtown to get Jackson's first haircut!

It was too cute, Jackson watched his Daddy get his hair cut first. Then it was his turn, at first he was trying to look at the scissors. Then he wanted a comb so he played with about 4 combs for a minute. The rest of the time I distracted him by going through pictures on the camera. He was a very good boy, the lady said he did great! He didn't cry or anything! So he was rewarded with 2 Dumdum suckers (first time to ever have a sucker). He ate them like a pro. I was very proud of him.

His next reward was Chic Fil A with Hi C punch (he loves it) and then the park. We introduced him to lightning bugs and chased them til dark. These are the days I wish we had more of. I know when I look back on our time at Fort Knox, this is one of the days that will come to mind.

Our Sunday consisted of hanging out at home and cooking out, followed with watermelon. It was so nice having no agenda. Also I think Jackson is back on his schedule. He goes to bed now between 9:00 and 9:30 and sleeps until 8:30.

I am so in love with this boy. He is saying Momma ALL the time now and I am eating it up! He has been saying it forever but now he uses it when hes looking for me or wants me or sees a picture. Also, he is trying to say toothbrush and slide and he started saying bite and outside this weekend.

So that sums our weekend up...the laundry is caught up and the house is clean (until Taz wakes up :)). I guess we are ready to do it all again this week. We miss you family and friends. Goodnight!