Soap.com...My new LOVE :)

Okay, so I've discovered something really cool...soap.com.  They are an online site that sells EVERYTHING!  Any cleaning, household, body product....they have it.  AND, the prices are really good!

I discovered it after I first shopped at diapers.com.  They are "sister" sites and I was offered a pretty good discount code after I made a purchase from diapers.com.  The first time I ordered, I was looking for Travis's contact solution.  He has glass permeable lenses and can only use 1 specific kind of solution and it costs around $12 at Wal-Mart.  I found it at soap.com on sale for around $7/bottle.  A huge savings.  After my discount code I got it for a STEAL!!  They even offer free shipping on orders of $25 or more.

So, the other day I ran out of my FAVE Clorox toilet wand refills.  There aren't many things I insist on using, but these are one of them.  I have always bought the refills at Sams before, but it seems that Sams has quit carrying them.  A refill of 6 was around $5 at Wal-Mart.  I was sick.

So, I went to soap.com to check it out.  I found refills of 10 for $4.99 and I had found a discount code for 20% off your 2nd order from soap.com.  That meant the refills would only cost me $4 each.  Then I started thinking about other things I needed.  Dishwasher soap is one thing that is hard to find cheap, even with coupons.  I comparision shopped and found the Cascade 60 pk. to be quite a bit cheaper than Wal-Mart, plus there was an online "coupon" you could "check" and get a bigger discount.

I also have trouble finding dryer sheets in the "free and clear" version, and again, soap.com had what I needed a bit cheaper than Wal-Mart and again had an online "coupon" to "check" for a better discount.

Then I just started looking for other things I needed.  The face soap I use has NEVER had a coupon  and so it was way cheaper with the 20% off at soap.com.  Again, the same thing with the q-tips.

 So, for a total of $43.04 I got all of the stuff pictured delivered to my door.  I'm in love!! 

On a side note, they actually left 1 bar of soap out of my order.  I emailed to tell them and they immediately sent the other bar in the mail and gave me a $5 credit to my account for my inconvenience.  GREAT customer service!

So, if you think you would like to try soap.com I have a referral code and I would LOVE for you to use it!  I have a "link" over on the right hand column of my blog with my personal referral button.  If you use the  code in the box you will get 15% off your first order and  I will get a credit for each person that uses it.

Go browse around and see if you find anything you need!  You can't beat having your "Wal-Mart" stuff delivered to your front door!!!

***Disclaimer-Just like anywhere you shop, everything isn't cheaper.  Don't expect everything to have "blow you away" prices, but you will probably find that some really will!!  For the convenience factor alone, I will be using this site often!!

Beau's New Bag...

Beau got a new diaper bag!!  Woo Hoo!  I LOVED his first bag, but we had just worn.it.out.  So, Nonnie volunteered to make a new one.  I think it turned out absolutely adorable.  I wanted it to be a little less "baby", but still "little boyish".  I also wanted it bigger.  I've pretty much quit carrying a purse when I have Beau with me, so I needed room for my wallet, phone, and whatever else I might need to carry with me.

 The inside is lined with pockets.  I've already got it pretty full!!

 She even made a little diaper/wipe pouch to carry to the bathroom, or that I can throw in my purse if I don't want to carry the big diaper bag.  LOVE it!!!

Thanks Nonnie for a great bag that we will be using for a LONG time!!!

100th Day of School!

Friday was the 100th day of school and Evan's teacher asked us to bring a cake for his class.  Evan was really excited!!  He picked out the cake mix, and made the cake.  I let him do everything!  He read the directions and did everything from turning on the oven, mixing the ingredients, pouring it in the pan, mixing the color into the frosting, icing the cake, and putting on the M&M's.  I was SO proud of him!

Here he is with his masterpiece!

He even insisted on carrying it to school.  Since they walk, I offered to just drive over and deliver it to his classroom, but he was adamant that he was taking it!  And, he did!!!

Walgreens 101

I made it to Walgreens this week, finally.  I have actually skipped a couple of weeks, GASP, I know.  We have been working on a new budget, and I've been trying to see just what I can and cannot do without.  Walgreens has definitely made it into the new budget! 

I'm going to concentrate even more on only the BEST deals, and let some of the so-so ones go on by.  This week is a good example of just a couple of things that just made sense to get. 

My sweet little shopper was SO good.  I think he has finally found his "shopping position" in the Walgreens cart!

 I bought 7 boxes of Kleenex on sale for $0.89 each, 2 pkg of paper plates on sale for $0.99 each, and 2 cans of Axe body spray on clearance for $1.29 each. 

In my first transaction I bought the 7 boxes of Kleenex.  I used 2 $0.50/3 coupons.  My total for that order was $5.23.  It also triggered a $2 Register Reward to print for buying 7 Kleenex (7 was the magic # for the Register Reward to print).

In my next transaction I bought the 2 paper plates (used the "in-ad" coupon to make them $0.99 each), and the Axe Spray.  I had a buy 1 get 1 free for the Axe, and I used the $2 Register Reward from my previous transaction.  The total for this transaction as $1.68.

So, my total for everything in the picture was $7.47.  I am stocked with Kleenex for probably about a year.  Since Kleenex don't expire, that is great for me!  It may seem odd to buy 7 boxes of Kleenex at a time, but I only paid $0.46 each for them, and Kleenex are one of those things we are ALWAYS going to need.  So, it just makes more sense to buy them for cheap, than to wait and pay $1.99 at Wal-Mart for 1 box next time I am out.

I have had several requests for more detailed Walgreens posts, so I will try to share some here and there.  If you have questions, please just leave a comment!  I really do love to bargain shop!!!

Radical...

Okay, so I finished the book Radical by David Platt yesterday, and I'll admit, I am completely worn out.  This book has rocked me like nothing else has in a long time.  It has made me think about myself, and my Christianity in a way that, to be honest, hasn't been pretty.

I think I'm having one of those moments where I finally get that I AM NOTHING without God. Nothing that I have or ever will have is really mine, it's all God's.  (meaning not only finances, but my family, relationships, and even my salvation). 

I've struggled a lot with "what is my purpose" and with trying to develop a closer daily walk with God.  This book has been a wake up call to me that...hello, my purpose is to tell others about Christ.  Plain and simple.  Do I do that every day as I live my "mommy" life.  NO. 

I've built this great life for myself surrounded by my "bubble" of Christian friends.  Life feels pretty good, until I realize that God didn't put me on this earth to be comfy.  The life of a Christian shouldn't always be comfy and cozy.  I don't mean that everyone should pick up and move to Africa.  I know enough to know that I haven't been called there...yet.  But, what I do know is that I blow opportunies every.single.day. to share my faith with others. 

I was sitting in the middle school big group during Life Group last week and one of the kids shared their life verse.  It was Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.  I felt very convicted right then and there.  Because, sometimes I act like I am ashamed. I don't speak up when I should.  I am very possibly missing the chance to help save someone from eternal life in Hell because I'm too ashamed/embarressed to speak up.

I'm realizing that I have changes to make in my life.  Maybe they wouldn't seem too "radical" to some people, but for me, they are huge.  I have to learn to say "yes" EVERY SINGLE TIME.  I have to be willing,  to do whatever God asks of me.  There are some pretty basic things that God has instructed us, as Christians to do, that I'm not doing.  How in the world can he trust me to do BIG things, when I can't even do the little things.

I'm so excited for our home group tomorrow night.  We have had some awesome discussions that have really helped me "work through" my thoughts about this book.  It has been challenging in a big way.  I'm also thankful for a church who does challenge me.  I'm thankful for Brother Ronnie and his willingness to preach the truth, even when it hurts.  And at least for me, sometimes it does.

Baby Beau's First Haircut!

Little Beauster's hair had gotten a little out of control, so the day finally came to get a haircut.  Travis and I took him and we were both a little unsure about the whole thing.  You know, after they get that first haircut, they just lose the baby "look".

We went to see Rachel, because I love her and I knew she could give him a "trim" and not scalp him!!  We set him up in the chair and he look so BIG!!

 That sweet baby hair!!

 Makes me want to cry, just looking at the picture!

 We truly only got a "trim".  She trimmed his bangs to get them out of his eyes and trimmed the back to make it even.  She blended the sides in a little and he has a nice "feather" look going on.  A little less "mullet like".

That was just all I could bear to do.  He's still a baby for goodness sake!!

 
 Looking more like a big boy!

 Playing with Mommy while Rachel trimmed.

 And....the finished product.  Along with his sucker for being such a big boy!!

 Notice, the paper is still on the sucker.  He doesn't seem to care either way:)  Thanks Rachel for making it as easy as possible!!

How in the world is his already 14 months old with his first haircut??  Time flies!!!

Contacts!!!

We have had BIG changes going on this week! Blake has started wearing contacts!!! I CANNOT believe that he is old enough for this.

We have been talking about it for a while, and he had an eye exam last week. We talked to his eye doctor, and he thought that Blake would be a perfect candidate. So, we ordered a trial pair.

He got them on Friday, and has worn them everyday. He puts them in and takes them out all by himself. I am shocked at how well he is doing! I'm so glad, because I remember how great it felt to be free from my glasses.

Blake is getting a chance to show us just how responsible he can be, and so far, I am SO proud.

He looks so different to me without his glasses. So grown up, and SO handsome!!!

Growing up WAY too fast!!

Lots of Randomness...

I was going through my pics today and found a few random ones I really wanted to post. So, here goes randomness...

Beau playing in his new tunnel he got from Nana and PaPa for Christmas. He loves it!!!

Beau with his drink of choice...Diet Vanilla Coke:)

I just love this. Beau's personality is SHINING!! He couldn't get his bike to move how he wanted it to, so he threw a FIT!!!

Another day on the bike, much happier:) Notice he is also pulling his popper behind him. Multi-tasking...

This was before church on Sunday. The closest thing we got to a good group pic.

My big boys. So handsome!!!

Beau before Mother's Day Out on Tuesday. I know his hair is really long, but I really love it! He is getting a hair cut this afternoon, if I can really follow through. It's still up in the air:)

This is Beau after Mother's Day Out and after a long nap. He will stand at the counter and bounce up and down, point, and BEG for my Sonic cup. Sometimes I give in...

He loves to take the straw out, get the lid off, and eat the ice. He also has learned to break pieces of the styrofoam cup off and throw them all over the place.

And Beau, pulling his clickity-clack catterpillar. It was a toy that was also Blake and Evan's. It's super noisy and Beau loves it just as much as his big brothers did!!

A sweet pic of 2 sweet friends. Beau and Whitney really play so good together. Beau gets a little rough trying to "pat" her, but for the most part, they are sweet to each other! I love that when beau sees Sharon he runs to her and holds his hands up for her to pick him up:) Whitney will do the say to me. I think we all spend a little time together:)

Last of my random posts...the meal exchange-month 2. So far this is working out AMAZING!!! I LOVE to be able to go to my freezer in the morning, pull something out for dinner to thaw, then just cook it in the evening. We are trying all different recipes this month. We have eaten 2 meals so far, and we loved them both!! Woo Hoo!!

Frustrating!!

So, Monday when the boys were out of school they really wanted to do something. So, we decided we would go to a movie. I found a babysitter for Beau, found the movie we wanted to see, and we headed out.

It was kind of a "weird" day since it was Monday and MLK day, but I checked the Carmike website and Fandango and they both listed Yogi Bear for 12:45. Well, we got their and the theatre was closed!! SO frustrating!! And, the next showing at the Malco wasn't until 2:30, and since I was paying a babysitter, we weren't going to hang out until then.

I remembered I had a few Chuck E. Cheese tokens in the car, so we headed there, along with every other school-aged child in Ft. Smith:) We had a good time and the boys were really good sports about it, but I was still REALLY frustrated!

When we got home I went to the Carmike website and sent them an email describing the events of our day and that I was extremely frustrated and probably wouldn't be going to the Carmike again.

Fast forward to today, I got an email back from them with an apology and an explanantion that they were installing "new wiring" because this has happened a lot lately. They are also sending us 3 free tickets to use later.

So, moral to this story...go with the flow. We ended up having a really good time together anyway. But, always let businesses know if you are disappointed with their service. They want the chance to improve and not lose your business. And now, we can go to the movies another time for free!!

Thrilled!!!

I am SO excited!!!  My newest blog book came!!  It is a monster!!

One thing that i wanted more than anything for Christmas was to be able to print my blog book from this past year.  Travis's parents gave me some money and I decided to do it right now, before I spent it on something else.  Well, I am in LOVE!!!

Here is the front...

And the back...

 It is really big!!  It has 326 pages...

 And I absolutely LOVE it!!!

 It reads just like my blog with pictures and everything.

 I HIGHLY recommend it if you are blogging for your family's memories!!  I can't wait to be able to pull this out in a few years and look back on all our memories!!

A funny note...today I noticed a package on my front porch and when I opened it, it was another blog book. I called blog2print and told them, and they said it was their mistake, and I could keep it!  So, now I have an extra copy for my kids some day!!

Just in case you are wondering, I made it at blog2print.com.  My book was 326 pages with a hard cover and it was $132.75.  A little pricey, but totally worth every penny to me!!!

OOPS!!!

Honey, I shrunk your sweater!!

This picture just doesn't do it justice.  It is about 1/3 of the size it used to be.  Yes, I know you can't dry wool.  But, it came out of the washer really wrinkled, so i just threw it in the dryer wet for about 5 minutes to knock the wrinkles out.  Then I was going to lay it out to dry.  I pulled it out about 4 minutes later, and it was TINY!!!  I tried to stretch it, but nope.  It's totally ruined.

Sorry sweetie!!!

MOPS Night Out!

I am on the "Steering Team" for our local MOPS group.  It is basically the leadership team that plans and organizes all of our meetings and activities.  We had been trying to go to dinner together before Christmas, but we just couldn't find a date when everyone could go.  So, we decided to just wait until after Christmas. 

 Well, last night was finally the night!  We didn't let any silly snow stop us:)  We went to Olive Garden and had a wonderful time.  I love these girls and I thoroughly enjoyed a nice, slow dinner with great conversation and NO children.  Well, baby Autumn was there, but she was perfect!

 I can't say enough about these friends and our whole MOPS group.  I have made so many friends and have such an awesome support group with these girls!! 

 If you are a mom of a preschooler (any child through kindergarten) you should come join us!!  We meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month  from 9-11 at FBC Greenwood.  I promise, you would love it!!!

Snow Day!!!

We got our first snow of the year on Sunday.  It is always so exciting to see the snow!  We really didn't get that much, but apparently the roads were pretty bad.  So, school was cancelled on Monday.

We looked out the back door and this is what we saw..

 Seriously...a dog named Snowy is supposed to LOVE the snow!!

 Evan ready to head out to play in the snow.  Notice, no coat.  A jacket was torture to get on him.  He just absolutely refuses to wear a coat. 

 And Blake, ready to head out.  Blake is much more sensible, he wore his heavy coat!!!

 They ended up staying out for almost 3 hours!!  Apparently the golf course is a FUN place to be when it snows!  They came in freezing and it took a while to thaw out.  I think Evan drank 3 cups of hot chocolate:)

It was fun, but I sure was glad that they got to go back to school today!!!

Amy's Baby Shower:)

Sunday afternoon we had a baby shower for Amy and baby Georgia.  I LOVED getting to decorate everything in PINK!!

Here are Amy and her mom before the shower.

 Me, mom, Amy, and Judy.

 Lots of friends that came to the shower.  I had a good time catching up with some old friends while we watched Amy open gifts:)

 She got LOTS of good stuff!!

 I hope Amy and Georgia like pink.  She sure got A LOT of it!!!

 Amy with her doggy diaper bag that Nonnie made for her!

 This is Amy opening up a present from my mom.  The story is that when Kyle was a little boy, he had a security blanket that he called "Bo".  It was actually the green flowered queen size blanket off my parent's bed.  He carried this HUGE blanket around with him everywhere.  So, my mom cut Bo into some smaller pieces and backed it with some pretty silky green fabric and some yellow flannel and made smaller "Bo's" for Georgia.  It's not too pretty, but VERY sentimental for Kyle (and now Amy).  I love it!!

 More fun presents!

 Here is Amy posed with all her new stuff!  I just can't wait for this little baby to get here!!  A girl to play with and dress up!!  What fun!!

Baby Georgia is going to just LOVE her Aunt Erin, I just know it!!!!