Valentine's Frames

I saw these on Flip-flops and Applesauce and thought I'd give it a try. It was really fun...and easy! We made one for daddy and both sets of grandparents. I think they turned out pretty cute for our first try at something like this. :) ...and bonus was I got to use FREE pictures! While making these I was thinking, hmmm what pictures am I going to use??? I thought I'd have to do one hour photo and run out another time to pick them up, but I ended up getting 3 free Valentine's Day pictures (just enough to use in this project) at the Fry's kids day yesterday. :)

Great restaurant deals!

Go here to sign up for Mimi's Cafe E-mail Club and they'll e-mail you a coupon for a FREE breakfast right away! :)

Buy one entree and 2 drinks and get a free entree at Marie Callenders with this coupon. (not valid on Valentine's Day)

ABC's

Right now Alyssa is learning to recognize her ABC's and the sounds they make...or at least she's trying! ;) I just found this webpage that has some great resources to help kids with this. If you're in this stage too it might be worth checking out.

Emi's 1st Haircut

Tuesday we went and got Emi's 1st haircut...and another haircut for Alyssa. Alyssa decided she's going to grow her bangs out and we added bangs to Emi's 'hair-do'. I was nervous about how Emi would do, but she did GREAT!

Before pic (her hair is especially crazy bcs it had just been taken out of pony tails)

The best after pic I could get...it's cuter than the pic shows! :)

Alyssa would not do a normal smile! I decided to just post a picture of her serious look instead of a super cheesy smile. ;) The hairdresser did her hair so cute, with little flowers in her ponies!

Special Deals at Fry's - Today only!

Today between 3-11pm head over to Fry's to get these deals:

1/2 gallon OJ - .97
3lb Bag of Apples - .99
Bacon - .99
Valentine's Day Colossal Cupcakes - .99
Haagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream - 1.88
Hershey's bag of chocolates - 1.88
Honey Ham or Honey Smoked Turkey from the deli - 4.98
Apple Juice - .97

See all the specifics here.

They will also be having free photos, cookie decorating, samples throughout the store, and create a card for mom & dad between 3-8pm.

ssa, aly

So I'm trying to teach Alyssa how to spell her name. I've taught it to her by saying Aly ... ssa, in a catchy little way of course. ;) ...well, she loves saying the ssa part so that is how she always starts and then she remembers that aly is part of it. So I'll say, "Alyssa how do you spell your name?" and she'll say "ssa, aly!" :) She just loves saying it that way...hopefully she'll switch it around someday. ;)

Another cute thing this morning was how Alyssa was acting towards her sister this morning at breakfast. First of all she asked if she could sit next to Emi (usually I sit between them), then I got them their breakfast and milk, and then went into the other room. I overheard Alyssa say, "my milk tastes like egg-milk (no idea what that means???)" and then she turns to Emi and asks, "Emi, does your milk taste like egg-milk too?" I know this doesn't sound like anything big, but the whole egg-milk thing was so cute, and the way that she was talking with her sister was adorable. She said it so nicely and like she was really expecting Emi to respond to her question and have a big girl conversation with her...it was fun to hear and encouraging to see them interact like that!

Cute beanies and bows... 1/2 off right now!

I saw this and thought some of you might be interested in it. These deals last for today only and they only have limited quantities available so when they're gone, they're gone! :)

beanies and bows

Tips on cutting the grocery bill!

I've had a few of you ask over the past couple weeks how to do the coupon thing or how to save money without all the coupons. I've been meaning to respond to these questions for about a week now, sorry for the delay! ...but it worked out well for me because my friend Kiki just posted a great post on her blog talking about how to effectively use coupons. She highlights 2 great sites you can subscribe to that will help you know what coupons to use on what items and when the best time to use them is. Definitely check it out!

I also want to highlight another option that I've recently found out about and have been very pleased with... A Full Cup. They have great links, for example: explaining how to use coupons, sales lists by store (Fry's, Safeway, CVS, Target, Walmart, etc.), printable coupons (including coupons for Target!), and much more ... and the best thing is, it's FREE to use!

Back to specific questions...
How do I use coupons? Again, see Kiki's blog, because that is pretty much what I do to! I receive the Sunday paper (for a special price of $1/week) for most of the coupons and then I add to those with online sites that let you print coupons for free (smartsource, Fry's, coupons.com, etc.) or let you download them to your stores saver card, like your Fry's VIP card, (cellfire, P&Gesaver, shortcuts.com etc.).

What if I don't want to use coupons? SHOP SALES! Especially meat, bread, and other things that you can freeze for later use. Also, stock up on your favorite toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, canned items, etc. when they are on sale. Another way to save is to buy store brands...with coupons name brand items can be way cheaper, but without coupons store brand items are a great way to save some money!

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions let me know. :)

All this for $23.05!

I think it's so cool to see on other people's blogs what they spent, I mean saved, on their groceries. Yesterday I ran to the store for a couple things and realized that they were having some pretty great sales on things I had coupons for, so I did a little bigger shopping than I had planned, but it is all stuff I will use. Now this isn't as impressive as some other blogs, but I was pretty excited about how much I saved on an impromptu shopping trip. I thought I'd share it with you all to show that it just takes a little planning and some coupons to be successful at saving money on groceries. :)

Total amount$76.35, amount spend $23.05! 70% saved!!! :)

Some of the best buys: free toilet paper and free propel water ....almost free spaghetti sauce, cereal, pie crust, etc. ....discounted eggs .... marked down salad!

Old Navy Baby Sale

Get up to 40% off of Baby, Kid, and Maternity clothes right now...and free shipping on purchases over $50.00 with the code BABYMAT.

One Day Shopping Pass to Sam's Club

This pass is good for one shopping day at Sam's Club (no extra 10% charge!). It expires March 31, 2009.

Free Admission to AZ Science Center for BofA Members!

You can get free admission to AZ Science Center on the first full w/e of the month by showing your BofA credit card and id. If you live in another state check this out to see if you can get in free to any museums.

So if you don't have any plans this w/e, this w/e is the free w/e! :)

FREE LIP GLOSS!!!

Go here and register for a voucher to be sent to you for a free lip gloss...valued at $25.00! You can redeem it at Ulta. :)

4th picture in 4th folder

I've been tagged before but never got around to doing it. My friend Lisa just did it and tagged all of us who haven't done it yet, so I thought I'd finally do it! ;)

It's a picture of my ultrasound w/Emi...about 4mos before she was born. I love it because it's her sucking her thumb. I never went back to look at the old ultrasound pics after she was born, so it's really cool to see now that sucking her thumb really is her thing, she loves it now and she loved it before she was even born! ;)

Alyssa can ride a bike!!!

It took a while, but Alyssa can finally reach the pedals and ride her bike. She's been riding for about a month now and is very excited about it...she loves to ride all the time! :)

One Free Weekend Day Car Rental From Hertz!

Okay last good deal of the day... Hertz is running a special for one free car rental on a weekend day. It's good for one per month and expires March 31, so you can get a free car rental this month and one next month!

Great Round-trip Deals on American Airlines...

I saw a bunch of cities where I know some of you have friends/family so I thought I'd post this. Most ROUND-TRIP prices were $204.00!!! ...You need to travel by the end of April, have 14 days notice, and travel on Tue. or Wed. for the best deals. Check out all the other information here.

Up to 80% off on Kohl's Clearance, plus...

an extra 15% off (code SAVE15FEB) and if you use your Kohl's credit card you can get free shipping TODAY (code MVC2988). Check it out at www.kohls.com .

Free Glades PlugIns and Refill!

The first 10,000 people to respond will receive this gift pack:

*One Glade PlugIns Scented Oil warmer
*One Glade PlugIns Scented Oil refill in Hawaiian Breeze
*$1.00 coupon off two single Glade PlugIns Scented Oil refills or one twin refill

Go here to get more information and to register for your free gift pack!

Mommies don't need doctors!

I'm so bad about blogging about cute stories about the girls, especially funny things Alyssa says, because I forget them by the time I get to the computer! ...but tonight right before Alyssa went to bed she said something pretty cute and I still remember it. ;)

I have a pretty bad paper cut on my finger and it hurts really bad. I was saying how much it hurt and Nate asked Alyssa, "should mommy go to the dr.'s?" and Alyssa laughingly said "noooooo" (like 'of course not, your silly daddy, mommies don't need doctors!').