a contest

Go to Iheartmesa.blogspot.com for lots of giveaways- including free window washing. But hurry because they end tonight.

We're off!!!

I'm late posting these. These pictures are from the fair on 10/25/08

Bridget (why do my kids always pose?)
Tessa and Jess at the petting zoo

Emily and Hannah after their performance (yes, there's that pose).

We'll tomorrow we are off to Chino to visit my parents and we are also going to Disneyland for 5 days. That's the longest we have ever gone. Usually we just do 1 day at Disneyland and one day at CA Adventure. I hope we survive! Hannah and Emily are dancing there on Saturday so it should be really fun for them. They love to perform and really are talented (they didn't get it from me). I've had a busy couple of weeks with Bridget and Dr's appts. I've been to the Dr. with her 8 times in just over 2 weeks and she's had a ton of tests done. The 1st thing was for an abcess that ended up being MRSA. And then she had a fever that lasted 6 days and so the dr. wanted to run a bunch of tests to make sure it isn't anything serious. We just got back from getting an echocardiogram and I hope that's the last of it. She's doing really well right now, so I'm not worried. The test today was just a precaution. Well I'm off to do laundry so I can start packing. UGH!! Packing is the worst part of any trip!

Why I'm voting Democrat...

I'm voting Democrat because English has no place being the official language in America.
I'm voting Democrat because I'd rather pay $4 for a gallon of gas than allow drilling for oil off the coasts of America.
I'm voting Democrat because I think the government will do a better job of spending my money than I could.
I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq, I know the Islamic terrorists will stop trying to kill us because they'll think we're a good and decent country.
I'm voting Democrat because I believe people who can't tell us if it will rain in two or three days, can now tell us the polar ice caps will disappear in ten years if I don't start riding a bicycle, build a windmill or inflate my tires to proper levels.
I'm voting Democrat because it's alright to kill millions of babies as long as we keep violent, convicted murderers on death row alive.
I'm voting Democrat because I believe businesses in America should not be allowed to make profits. Businesses should just break even and give the rest to the government so politicians and bureaucrats can redistribute the money the way they think it should be redistributed.
I'm voting Democrat because I believe guns, and not the people misusing them, are the cause of crimes and killings.
I'm voting Democrat because when someone with a weapon threatens my family or me, I know the government can respond faster through a call to 911 than I can with a gun in my hand.
I'm voting Democrat because oil companies' 5% profit on a gallon of gas are obscene, but government taxes of 18% on the same gallon of gas are just fine.
I'm voting Democrat because I believe three or four elitist liberals should rewrite the Constitution every few months to suit some fringe element that could never get their agenda past voters.
I'm voting Democrat because illegal aliens are not criminals, are not sucking up resources through government aid, hospital services, education, or social services, but are just people trying to make a better life by coming to America illegally. We can't blame them for that, can we? I'm voting Democrat because now I can now marry whatever I want, so I've decided to marry my horse.
I'm voting Democrat because I have no idea how socialism works, how universal health care works, but I don't want to work and when I get sick from overeating and general laziness, I want a hard working doctor to work on me and then have the same doctor pay my bill by his raised taxes.
Makes ya wonder why anyone would ever vote Republican, doesn't it?

Halloween!!!

I'm so unoriginal. My girls were the same thing as last year, but the 3 oldest did have different witch costumes. Since I totally forgot to even think about a costume for Tessa it's a good thing that the one she wore last year still fit her. So we had 3 witches and a cat again this year! We went to our cousins (Jake and Karalee's) house for homemade soup and bread and then the big group went out trick or treating. My kids had so much fun. Tessa got the hang of getting candy at each house real quick. She would walk right up and put her hand out.

more coupons!

Okay, so I know I've been so bad about posting and I have tons of things I should journal about(like bridget's birthday, Tessa's 18 month mark, Hannah and Emily dancing at the fair- to name a few), but I just got back from the grocery store tonight (well a few hours ago) and I can't believe how much I got for so little. This coupon thing is amazing! I get free stuff or make money on things at CVS and Walgreens all the time now, but with food it is a little harder to do, but tonight I scored.
I got:
2 gallons Blue Bunny ice cream,
3 boxes hamburger helper,
3 boxes quaker simple harvest oatmeal,
3 boxes quaker oatmeal to go bars
4 drinkable dora yogurts, &
3 packages of instant potatoes

The grand total $1.83!!
Can you believe it?!

Coupons!!!

Okay, so for the past few weeks I've been using coupons to shop and I have to say that it really makes a difference. My neighbor told me that she started using coupons and cut $400 from her grocery bill by doing it. I'm not hard core by any means, but I do try to match the coupons I have with sales and I can't believe the difference in my grocery bill. Tonight I went to Albertsons and Fry's and between the 2 stores spent $30 plus change. I got the above items:
3 pkgs Dan Active,
3 pkgs activia,
4 cartons sour cream,
4 pkgs cream cheese,
1 easy mac,
2 pkgs frozen veggies,
8 boxes lean pockets,
2 pkgs cookie dough,
2 cartons ice cream,
2 bags lettuce,
24 cans chicken noodle soup,
1 can lays stax,
2 gallons milk,
4 gallons juicy juice.
I have to say that I didn't have coupons for everything ( I got some things just because I needed them right now) and I'm sticking to the rule to only buy what I use and therefore there are a lot of deals that I pass up because I don't need extra "stuff" in my house. (ask anyone who knows me)
I got the majority of my items at Fry's and I have to say I felt a "rush" as I left. This could be addictive!

I've also recently learned to can and I've done pinto beans, green beans and peaches so far. Between the canning, couponing and not having my house cleaners come anymore I think I'm heading for a burn out. What do you think? Which of my new hobbies do you think is going to fizzle the fastest?


I vote for getting the house cleaners back!

More funny Bridget comments...

For the sake of documenting... A few weeks ago Jess and I were sitting in the living room talking with Bridget sitting next to us itching her ear and she says, "Mom, why do I have butter in my ear?" Um, I guess I've missed using q-tips on her recently. Oops!

Today as I was having the girls help pick up and Bridget (who is the worst when it comes to picking up) came up to me and said, "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a Mom so I can tell people to clean." I guess she thinks that they do all the work and my only job is to order them around.

The above picture was taken on 9/2/08 on her 1st day of preschool this year. She really loves to go. I just wish it was 3 days a week instead of 2 because she loves it so much. She goes to Orange Patch Preschool again this year and I ended up putting her in the older class even though she is still 3 because I think I'm going to let her start kindergarten next year. She is growing up so fast and is really a fun little girl.