Coloring Eggs

I'm a couple days behind on the last of my Easter pictures.  I can't believe how big my boys are getting.  They had so much fun coloring eggs.  Here's a few pictures that I wanted to share.

Love this picture.  He's putting the baby bird eggs to sleep.  "Shhhhh"

More Easter Pictures

We decided to hide Easter eggs in the morning because the boys were in a great mood and it just seemed like a good time to do it.  I went outside and hid the eggs around our back yard.  Caleb was so excited to take his basket out there and find all the eggs!  As for Kaysen, well, he could care less.  He was just happy to be running around outside with his brother.

Yeah, awkward angle...

Easter Morning

I have so many good pictures to share about our PERFECT holiday yesterday!  The sun was shining, the birds were out, my husband by pure luck had the day off, and my boys had a great time.  I took numerous pictures and it's going to be hard to pick out the best ones to put up here.  To be honest, I think I will do it in 2-3 different posts because there's so many that I want to share.

The Easter Bunny came while the boys were sleeping.  I used the eggs that the boys had decorated the day before to make a path on the floor for them to follow.  The baskets were hidden in the hall closet and there were some more things hidden in the dining room under the table.  The boys woke up and followed their egg path until they found their surprises!

Paper Easter Eggs

The boys and I made paper Easter eggs to add to our collection of decorations we are putting up around the house for Easter.  They had a really great time!  Steve has been working long hours this week, and we haven't really had much time together.  So Easter Sunday he is going to color real eggs with the boys for our egg hunt. 

I gave the boys markers, colored pencils, stickers, crayons, and scrap paper and glue.  Kaysen worked really hard on 3 paper eggs, and then he was content with just crumbing up scrap pieces of paper.  I made a few with Caleb.  Caleb actually did most of the work.  I wrote down the names of the people in our family and Caleb helped me spell them.  We had a great time.

Fun at Burger King

The other evening, Steve and I took the boys out to eat at Burger King.  This was a real treat because we very rarely go out to eat at fast food.  This Burger King is one of the only places in our area that has a play area for the kiddos.  The boys had a blast!  Here's a few pictures:

Caleb, riding in the car ready to go eat!

Eating Dinner

...and of course, playing

We had Visitors

The other morning, Steve and I were in the living room, when we saw two tiny visitors come up to our doorstep.

 

I wonder if they were looking for a place to call home?

Trip to the Library

We took our boys to the library this evening after Steve came home from work.  I planned ahead and brought my camera and everything so I could take some pictures for this blog...

...and then I forgot to take pictures.

Kaysen was really excited to be at the library, but he was really energetic.  I think he was overwhelmed.  Caleb was calm and relaxed.  He sat down and read some books, then he helped me search for some to take home.  It's a small library, so there's not a huge selection.

When we got home I took a few pictures as soon as we walked into the door.  Oh well...at least I had good intentions.

Here's Kaysen, hungry and ready to eat! 

Caleb was so excited that he got new truck books.  He knows the names of all the major trucks, and he will correct you if you say the wrong name.  He had to show the camera what he brought home.  Too cute!

What I love about Spring...

Good Morning!!  Spring is here!  We have had so many nice days over the past week or two.  I love being able to take my boys outside and just sit in the sun and do nothing.  Really nice!

Steve and I have been fixing up the outside.  Laying mulch, pulling weeds, fixing our rock path, and preparing the flower beds.  We have been working in the garage and organizing all our things that we want to sell.  It has kept us busy.  One of these days we will be able to enjoy a nice relaxing day at the park with the kiddos.

I think the biggest thing that has happened this past week is that we FINALLY put our house up on the market!  I'm so excited and nervous, but I'm thinking positive.  Plus, it gives me more work to do because I have to keep it super clean.  This week has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  I'm ready for a break.

Here's some pictures of my boys OUTSIDE in short sleeves and shorts eating ice cream!  I love spring.

Did I mention that we finally got Kaysen's new toddler bed?  No more old crib for him...now he has an actual bed to sleep in.  My beautiful baby is growing up.

 

Color Time

Kaysen FINALLY wants to color!  He's just now getting to the point where he won't eat the tip.  Isn't he so sweet!

Outside F-U-N

I love Spring!  So do my boys.  Here's some pictures I took of my boys just hanging out in the back yard.

Afraid of Monkeys

I think I've done some damage to Kaysen...

Kaysen has always been a sensitive little boy.  He's calm and cautious about everything he does during the day.  He has a big heart and he's very sensitive to change...

When I bought Toy Story 3 a couple months ago, I assumed the boys would love it.  After all, we had just got rid of cable, and it would be nice to let them watch a little bit of TV every once in a while.  A nice change from just playing around the house.

The movie was a huge hit...until Kaysen saw "THE MONKEY".

Poor baby came running up to me with a tiny little voice "aa-ee, aa-ee" which is his way of saying monkey.  (get it?  The sound the monkey makes).  I scooped him up and told him that there was nothing to be afraid of and the monkey would be gone soon...which he was.

Every time we watch the movie, he is fine until the monkey jumps on the television.  But lately, it's not just the monkey on Toy Story 3.  Today he came running to me scared to death of the monkey on Lion King.  The other day he refused to read an animal book that had a monkey in it.  And he has even woke up crying during the night telling me about the monkeys.

For now, we have put Toy Story 3 away and we are watching other things.  But my little guy is still afraid.  Poor Baby.  What did Mommy do to you?

Pantry Challenge CELEBRATION!

To celebrate the end of my month long Pantry Challenge, I bought the family ice cream!! My boys were so excited to have a nice extra treat.

5 qts of Ice cream (one of those big, huge tubs) 4.99
Ice cream cones (for my boys & my husband) .99
Chocolate syrup (for me) .99

Total spent: $6.97

For only spending $97.31 on groceries last month, I think it was well deserved! YUM!!!

Pantry Challenge Week #4 Review

As a couponer, I get many things for free or well under retail prices. My pantry is stocked and my weekly grocery budget is low.

Is there a way to make my budget even lower? Yes! Stop grocery shopping all together and see how long I can make good, basic meals using just the food in my pantry.

Obviously, I will have to still buy the basics, but the goal is to make my list as minimal as possible.

Week #4 Review
Here I am, the last day of the challenge. Not much has changed since the last time I updated. The week went by slowly, I used up more ingredients from my pantry, and we managed to make some good, basic meals.

I learned a lot, which I shared toward the beginning of this week. These sort of challenges are always fun because it seems no matter how long you have been meal planning, budgeting, or couponing, you always learn something about yourself when you give yourself a challenge.

Sample meals from this week's menu:

Mexican Pizza (made with tostada shells)
Very Meaty Spaghetti
Pizza style Meat & Veggie Rice skillet (thrown together w/ leftovers)
Sauteed Chicken Breast w/ garden veggies & roasted potatoes
Crock pot Pork Chops w/ potatoes and brussel sprouts
Creamy Tomato Pasta

The final numbers:

Total Spent on Groceries this week: 19.68
Total spent on groceries week #3: 14.50
Total spent on groceries week #2: 48.21
Total spent on groceries week #1: 14.92

Equal to an average of: $24.30 per week