Axton's Birthday

My baby turned 2 a month ago and I've been a slacker. But with everything going on who can really blame me!! Like I mentioned in a previous post we were in Idaho and then flew to San Diego the day before Axton's birthday so he got a little jipped but we made up for it. He got a monkey cake in Idaho with Grammy and Papa and some other relatives which I already posted. Then when we got home (about a week after his birthday) I got around to wrapping his presents so he could open them.

He definitely understood the concept this year but he still wanted to pull the wrapping paper off piece by little piece.


I'm always amazed by the things he likes the most and those that he's not that interested in. He loves his flash cards and his choo choo train, but didn't care too much for his truck with shapes or another one that I don't know how to describe. The movies didn't get his attention either, but boy were they a lifesaver on our road trip to Idaho (more in another post to come).





His cousin also got jipped for her birthday so Kim made cupcakes and we all went to the park with Brad and Corina's family and also Greg's cousin Gina and her family. Once again Axton had no trouble blowing out the candles!!



All of the great grandkids on Greg's mom's (Shari) side of the family. 6 of the 7 are Don and Shari's grandkids and they all live within a few miles of each other!! Family is great!


I can't believe he is 2 already!!

My favorite things:
1. If you ask him how he is and how OLD he is- the answer is the same... 2 using his hands to demonstrate. He can't hold up only 2 fingers so he holds up 4 put crosses the middle and pointer fingers so you get it.
2. He loves the word NO but says it so sweetly that you can't help but smile and laugh when he says it.
3. He is obsessed with coloring, I have to hide all pens, pencils, crayons, markers, etc. This boy will find anything and draw you pretty pictures... even if it is on the bathroom wall where you have spent hours tracing designs (long story-pictures to come).
4. He loves "helping" us with projects. He gets right in with Greg when Greg is trying to fix things and Axton will often times take the screw driver (or any other tool) and try to do the same things as Greg. He loves to help me mop the floors and gets out his own vacuum when I am vacuuming. He loves to wipe down the toilets with disinfecting wipes too!
5. A recent discovery is that he'll repeat anything you tell him too (if he feels like it) except one person's name.... Katie!! Sorry we still love you. We will go through EVERYONES names on both sides of our families and he will repeat them until we ask him to say Katie. Then he just shakes his head and say nu-no in the sweetest little voice. I don't know why he won't say Katie but he just won't.
6. He loves to have clothes on. So often you hear the opposite. This boy does not like to be naked for anything. You might be able to get away without pants on occasion but if you leave him shirtless he cries and cries and until you or he finds one and gets it put on. He doesn't like to get his clothes wet either, that calls for immediate crying or changing of clothes.
7. He's a lover. He will get in random moods where all he wants to do is go back and forth and give kisses alternating between Dad and I. It usually doesn't take him long to start giving kisses to G-mas and G-pas too.
8. He loves his sleep and alone time!! We put him in bed and he plays for who knows how long and then sleeps. We put him to bed at 7 and he usually "wants" out at around 8-8:30 the next morning. I say "wants" because he's usually awake by 6 but loves to just hang out and kick the walls, blabber to himself, or do seat drops in his crib. If we interupt this then he's usually pretty grumpy the rest of the day. I also put him down for a nap around 12 and its not unusual for Greg to get home at 4:30 and have him go get Axton out. I'm spoiled I know!
9. He has the most mischievous looks. You can almost see him plotting his next move. He usually does it when he is planning on taking something that will get one of us to chase him around the house. How the boy loves to be chased and scared!
10. I love that he's just so happy all of the time. I definitely got it easy with my first, and I hope it's not because he'll be my only!! Rarely is he overwhelming. He has his moments when he doesn't want to share toys, or doesn't want to eat dinner, but on the overall he is really easy going and loves people. I am so grateful that I have at least one beautiful child to spend my days with and who lights up my face daily. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to love and grow, and become more christ like. Thank you Axton and Greg for letting me have this wonderful opportunity in my life.

Last Coupon Sense Post.... maybe

Here are a few pictures of the things I got with coupon sense. Axton was pretty excited although he didn't know why!!



We got 5 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of poptarts, 9 hamburger helpers, 6 progresso soups, 16 campbells soups, 2 things of butter, and sour cream. The total: $100.59 WITHOUT coupons. I only spent.... $22.67. So I am sold. It takes time and practice but I think it's a fun hobby for me. Some of this I wouldn't buy not because we wouldn't eat it, simply because I'd rather make something else or it's too expensive for me to justify it. However I did get it because it was such a great deal and because it makes for fabulous food storage which we haven't had before now.

Oh yeah and last night.... we got 3 containers of breyers ice cream (Greg's favorite) and 1 box of klondikes for $5. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay full price again.

Ok I think I have it out of my system for now. I'm telling ya though you should give it a shot!!

Coupon Sense

Several people have told me about couponsense.com and so a while back I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. As my luck would go I went to a class and learned a ton about it and was super excited about it..... and then went to Idaho for 3 weeks and didn't do anything. So I kind of forgot all the ins and outs of how it works. Luckily I have a wonderful instructor that I can call anytime and she will answer my questions.

So despite my lapse of time and memory, I still decided to give it a shot. The results: in the last 2 days my bills came to $146.19. And how much did I pay? $51.24!! That's a savings of almost 65%. On the things I used coupons for my savings would be about 85%. Unfortunately things like "cream of" soups/fruits and veggies/etc. rarely, if ever, have coupons which is what dropped my percentage.

Not too shabby since I didn't do much to prepare. I simply made my shopping list exactly like I would have before, and then compared it with couponsense.com to find where had the best prices mixed with coupons. I didn't buy anything that I wouldn't normally unless it was free. It was easy, a little time consuming since it was my first go, but way easy. I'm not big into going to lots of stores so I limited it. All of this was done at 3 stores: my main grocery store, Target, and CVS since they are all within about 5 miles of each other. I have decided though that if I have time I'm willing to go to more now just as something to do and as a cheap way to get my food storage. So yesterday we went to Fry's and today we went to CVS and Target. We might hit up Safeway and Albertsons (which is a whole block away) and then Bashas which is about 2 miles from us either today or tomorrow, maybe not until next week. But only if I have nothing better to do.

My reasoning for going to these other places is simply to increase my food storage because they have some amazing deals. At Safeway right now I plan to spend $5 and will get 5 boxes of cereal and 5 boxes of poptarts. At Bashas I can get 12 cans of chicken noodle soup for $0.29 a piece!! Talk about great food storage items. Also Betty Crocker Hamburger (etc) helper is only $0.66 a piece. I'm not big into Hamburger helper but I'll eat it if I need to, I can think of worse things to eat. I got yoplait yogurt for $0.30 a container.

The other great thing is that couponsense.com has lists of free stuff and under $0.50stuff. I managed to get 4 body washes, mousse, and hairspray for $.28 each, talk about stocking up. I also got face cleaner, 4 razors, 2 dental flosses, a small first aid kit, a glade candle, and 6 things of crystal light for free. I still plan to get bar soap and baby wipes for free too but only if I end up going to walmart for some reason before Wednesday, which is likely to happen.

And did I mention that I got free lunch today for Axton and I? A gas station is running a promo of buy a sandwich and get a 32 oz drink free. Well I had a coupon for the sandwhich so I didn't spend a penny and it fed both of us and was surprisingly good.

This has turned into a fun game for me and I can't wait to see what savings I can earn for the rest of the month. It would be even better if I didn't have to lug a 2 year old around with me but I think he enjoys being out and about almost as much as I do. I hope this post helps someone else out there. Couponsense is nationwide I believe and exceptional in 7 states including AZ, CA, UT, and ID from what I've heard. If you go forward with trying couponsense let them know that you learned it from me so I get rewarded!! I think you can give them my name or use this number 1718734!! Happy shopping!

BOUNTIFUL BASKETS is on the move too. It is now in Washington State and Idaho. It's also spread to Cedar City for those of you interested check out their site. I got 40 lbs of pears for $12, guess we know what I'll be doing all of next week!