Cheap Candy

It's so much fun to get great deals, isn't it! So I just had to write about a great one I got today on Halloween candy. 4 regular size bags of candy (2 Milky Way, and 2 fun size M&Ms) and 4 individual Reese's candy bars. TOTAL= $3.68. Plus, the guy forgot to scan one of my coupons, so it should've been more like $3.13, but I wasn't about to go back in and make a stink about something that little. Cool deal, huh. Love it.

Smart Shopping Blogs

I know you're all probably sick of me talking about sale shopping, but I just came across some blogs about saving money that look pretty cool. And both of these have a pretty good listing on the side of other similar blogs. Happy shopping! (Btw, just found out that Winco ad matches. Very happy to hear that:)

http://shoppingwithcents.blogspot.com/

http://www.utahdealdiva.com/


And on a sad note, I just found out that most Albertson's (my fave couponing store) in Utah are being sold to Associated Foods. I'm sure I was the last couponer to find out. This means no more awesome Betty Crocker, General Mills, Quaker sales to replenish my food storage. :( Very sad indeed (at least now we have Winco- yeah!). The changeover is happening in the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout for some cool clearance sales.

Winco is Awesome!!

I went to one of the new Winco's yesterday and had a blast! We had them when we lived in ID and WA, and I've missed them ever since. They don't have ads every week (their only down side), and you have to bag your own groceries (which could be an up side if you're particular about how things are bagged), but the prices are so cheap! You have to go through the sale aisle upon entering the store, to get to the rest of the store, but those sale prices are incredible! And with coupons on top of the sale prices, AMAZING things can happen!

Here are some of the best deals I got yesterday, partly because of their big grand opening event:
-corn syrup 1.88 (which I just bought at Walmart for $4!)
-hot dogs .68
-bologna .88
-bananas .18/lb. (with limit of 8 lbs. I think)
-kiwi, 1# bag (8 ct.) .98
-red bell peppers, .48
-4# frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts 4.78
-1 lb. baby carrots .78
-my fave chili (Nalley Walla Walla Onion) .88
-deli meats for less than $2/lb.
-water chestnuts .48
-12 oz. bacon .98
-Aim toothpaste .58 (with free travel size attached)
-32 oz. Tillamook cheddar 3.98
-Green Giant canned veggies .28 (limit 4, darn)
-Betty Crocker fruit snacks .98 (and I had coupons on top of that!)
-Capri Sun 10pk .98 (limit 2)
-10#bag potatoes .68
-24pk water bottles 1.98 (limit 1)

I'm totally in love with their bulk section, which is very big. How come other stores don't do that?!?!? Anyway, I've always been tempted to try different recipes I come across that involve crystallized ginger, but at $5 for a little tiny jar, I've never felt it's worth it. But I got about a cup of it for 65 cents at the bulk place. I was just so amazed at all they have! I wanted to write down all the different types of flours there, but didn't have time, plus there were a ton of people. I know, I'm weird.

Don't you just get a high from great deals? As soon as I got home and was unloading, I had to tell my sister Laurel all about it. Of course, she doesn't really know what things cost, so I had to explain. "I just went to Walmart and got the name brand corn syrup for $4, but this generic from Winco was less than $2!!" Jeromy, of course, has had years of training to show me his nod-and-smile face when I get home from an awesome grocery trip.

So I had fun, to say the least, and I highly recommend a trip in the near future (especially if you got flyer coupons in the mail). AWESOME!!!!

Boy #2

(Sorry this is a day late, yesterday was kind of a whirlwind day.) It's a boy!!!!!!!!!!! You know me and patterns, just love them. So if all goes true to form, he'll look like Jeromy. All of Jacob's red hand-me-down clothing has got to go. :)

The girls were hoping for a girl, but when they found out it was a boy, they quickly and sweetly said, "Oh, now Jacob will have someone to play with! We're so excited for him!" So sweet. We brought the girls with us to the ultrasound and they loved it. I think it made it a little bit more real to them since they've had to put up with Mommy not feeling well for so long. And Audrey asked really good questions (she absolutely loves learning about the human body), like, "Well how is the belly button made?" We got to take 9! pictures home (I'm used to just 3 or 4 tops, so we felt spoiled) and a DVD of a few minutes of the ultrasound. They watched it several times yesterday afternoon, saying things like, "Oh, I'm so glad we saw the baby today" and "I can't wait for the baby!" Even Jacob pointed to the pictures and said, "Baby." Much excitement in our household yesterday, to say the least.

So my scanner is on the fritz and Jeromy (my technical consultant) won't be home for a couple hours, so you'll have to wait to see the actual pix. Sorry. They're so cute! He put out his hand like he was giving us high five! And he was not at all shy about showing us his gender (or outdoor plumbing as the tech called it), spread eagle as he was. And laying down! No fetal position for him. I hope he doesn't get used to that position, oh vey.

It's funny, up until the ultrasound, I couldn't feel any kicks and I was starting to get nervous. I know what to expect by this time around so it was worrying me. I tried to tell myself that I'm probably still numb from my other c-sections and maybe the placenta is on top or something (which it is- which, actually is the best place for it for someone with a scar- so that's good). But ever since the ultrasound, now I can feel little tiny jabs all the time. That never ceases to amaze me. Little life en utero. Even with our ultrasound at 10 weeks (2 months ago), he looked like just 2 big marbles stuck together with 4 little marble appendages attached, and he was already wiggling and kicking! You can't tell me that's not life. So amazing.

The ultrasound tech said this is dos-y-dos (no, not a square dance move), or 2 and 2. Even Steven. But don't ask us if we're done, cuz we don't know. 4 was our minimum, so we'll just see how this one goes. After Jacob, I really thought I was half way done, but I'm not so sure. This is a tricky decision!

So now the Name Game begins. Jeromy and I have been fighting on this one for a couple of years now. I like Benjamin Matthew and he likes Matthew Benjamin. So we might have to just scratch that one all together. So anyway, hopefully I'll get these beautiful pix up soon!

Boy or Girl?

We have our ultrasound tomorrow!! Yeah!!! Any guesses?

Utah Coupon Fans

http://moneybagutah.com/

This looks really awesome! It's supposedly a bag of coupons dropped off on your doorstep every Sunday. What's not to love? So if you're even remotely interested in coupons, you should definitely check this out.

Temple Square Tradition

This adventure to Temple Square during Priesthood Session has become quite a fun tradition for us. This time I had my little sis to help with the kids though, and that made a big difference. I could leave her outside with the kids for a few minutes while I braved the crowds alone to look at books, something near impossible with a stroller and 2 others in tow.

This is what we did: Dropped Daddy off to see if he could get standby tickets (he was given a ticket while in line!), found a parking space, walked up to the JSMB to wait in line for the freebie for the Deseret Book Ladies' Night Out party, while waiting in line we ate our picnic dinner, got the freebie (yeah!), headed right on out to go to the Church History Museum (taking our time walking through Temple Square and looking at the pretty flowers and such), hung out at the childrens' corner of the museum, walked back to the JSMB to get free cookies to go with our hot cocoa from home (which we ate/drank outside next to the temple- very fun), walked over to Deseret Book to paruse through books with less crowds (the girls went crazy in the kids aisle- so happy they love books too), walked over to the taco cart on the corner to meet Dad for a snack, walked over to the mirror pool by the temple, walked back to the car and headed home.

All in all, it was jam packed, but very worth it. Each one of us had an enjoyable time. If anyone wants to join us next time, we'd love it! Although, I'm planning on having a one month old at the next conference, so maybe next fall.


This is the angel Moroni statue in the museum. Audrey had an idea to trick Daddy and show him the picture and say we took it on top of the temple. She couldn't wait to trick him!


Church History Museum's children's corner:



Made a wish in the fountain. Not sure if it's kosher to make a superstitious wish during a spiritual feast that is conference.


Kierra's rockstar pose, midriff and all.



Audrey's Vanna pose.


These last three were taken by my budding young photographer, Audrey.

What's New

Has it been a month since I've posted anything? Shame on me. I just can't figure out how to get things done AND blog it all. Oh well, so here's an update.

We are expecting again. I'm about 16 weeks. Hopefully I can find a cute counter to put on here soon. And even more hopefully, we'll find out which kind of baby we'll be having in a few weeks. Can't wait! I've been a bit sicker with this one. I felt great with the girls, and a little less great with Jacob, and a lot less great with this one, so maybe a boy I'm guessing. But I'm always wrong. Anyway, we've noticed a pattern in our family and wonder if it will hold true with this wee one: we had a girl that looks like me, then a girl that looks like Jeromy, then a boy that looks like me, so naturally, we'll be having a red-head boy next. Right?!?

My little sister (18) moved in with us last week. She's a great help with the kids, but we hope she can find a full time job soon to save up for school. My parents are moving this week to South Carolina, so Laurel is officially "homeless." So we took her in. Can I tell you how nice it is to have an extra pair of hands when you've got a vat of peach butter splurting on the stove and jars to sanitize, a kindergartner to walk to the bus stop, and a poopy diaper to change? Nuf said.

Jacob is almost 2! Eek, when did that happen? He is so delightful and refreshing. I swear, boys are so much easier. He gets over stuff so quickly! Anyway, he's learning to say things, and the girls just LOVE it when he says a new word for the first time. "Hey Mom, he said 'nurgerwabber' for the first time! It's a new word!" Um, it's not a word, sweetheart. But thanks for being excited for him.

Kierra has been going to preschool for the past couple of months, and half the time she says its boring. I can't blame her when she knows all her letters and sounds, and most of the other kids are still learning their colors and shapes. Oh well, at least they have snacks. She likes that.

Audrey LOVES (how many times can one capitalize this word in one post?) kindergarten. She doesn't so much like the bus because of all the noisy, rude, older kids. That being said, she thinks she is such a big kid now for going to school and commands respect for this. Oh vey. I hear that it's very typical for a child to act out at home the first couple weeks of kindergarten, but the whole first month? She is getting much better as we've tightened our discipline, though. But she's doing great in her schooling and is on a fast track to learning to read. She's doing really well with it and is very excited, reading her homework to her younger siblings.

We are eagerly anticipating General Conference this weekend. I've got lots to do today to make the house clean and cozy, and get all the 72-hour kit food out because that's what we eat/snack on all weekend (and I don't have to spend much time in the kitchen!). We've started a tradition since we've moved here, that during Priesthood session, we drop Daddy off at the Conference Center (and cross our fingers that he can get in), then go over to the Church History Museum, walk around a little, go to the children's corner (the kids love!), then stroll around pretty Temple Square, then wade through the chaos of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and their Deseret Book Ladies' Night Out party. Hey, Mom gets to browse at books, and the kids get free cookies, what's not to love. Then, when the men are done, we meet Daddy at the taco vendor cart on the street for a little snack before heading home. We've all really enjoyed it and can't wait.

So I think that covers all that's new in our lives. Hope you all are doing well!

Audrey's First Day of Kindergarten

Can you believe it? Our first is off to school already!! She has been sooo ready for sooo long. I asked her this morning if she was nervous at all, and she replied, adamantly, "No!"


Hannah (our neighbor), Audrey, and Kierra are so excited to walk to the bus stop.


Can I get on now, Mom?


(I asked her how her first bus ride went, and she said, "Swee-eet!")

Working hard already.


Bye, sweetie! Love you, have a great time!


Waiting for big sister to come home.


Oh ya, I'm a big kid now.


Jacob had a little bit of a hard time saying goodbye in the classroom, waving frantically and waiting for his sister to return the wave (which Audrey didn't notice because she was already working on a project), so I had to go back over to Audrey and ask her to wave and hi-five her brother. So sweet.

Even sweeter, both Kierra and Jacob fell asleep on the way home! Rock on!

Diaper Question

While changing Jacob's diaper this morning, Audrey thoughtfully asked, "Mom, why do boys have things poking out of their bums? And how come girls don't have them?"

Well that's just the way things are, sweety. But I'm surprised that it's taken you almost 2 years to notice.

Swimming Lesson Drama

If I survive today, I might be able to survive these kids. It started with a very bad morning, where we couldn't find Audrey's swimsuit ANYWHERE, so she was forced to wear her towel dress to the pool. Then we couldn't find the summer reading program cards for the library so we could go redeem our prizes after swimming lessons. Fabulous. That all meant that we left later than planned, got stuck in a little traffic, and were 7 minutes late for Kierra's swimming lesson. Bring it on, Monday morning.

Last week ended our girls' first swimming lesson session of the summer, so we started a new rotation today. Our girls loved swimming lessons, but something changed with Audrey today. She discovered that not only would she not have the same beloved teacher, but she would have a boy teacher. Ilch! On top of that, she was the only person to sign up for said class, so it would be like a private lesson (I thought that would be a bonus, but alas, she does not agree).

Audrey would not get in the water. At all.

I thought, okay, I can be a nice mommy by listening to her feelings....Nah, here comes mean mommy. You brought it on yourself, kid. So for a half hour, I tried to reach into my bag of tricks that I have learned from almost 6 years of parental training (all the while fearing the judgments of the onlooking moms, and trying to keep my cool in front of them). Hmmm, choices. She works well with choices. "Okay, Audrey, you can either get in the water with your teacher, or have no lesson at all." Well that didn't work. All right, what shall I withhold from her as a punishment? After several attempts of this, I finally brought out the big guns. "Okay, Audrey, if you don't get in the water and go to your lesson, we will not go to the library and get our summer prize today, and you will have no TV, no playing with friends, no coloring, and no Polly Pockets for 3 days. You will sit on your bed and be bored out of your mind." You know what she said to that? "Okay." She was totally willing to withstand that punishment! Aiy-aiy-aiy! I even tried calling Jeromy to have him talk her into going, but that didn't work. So we just sat on the bench (me fuming) for a half hour till her lesson was up.

When we got back to the car, the kids got in and got buckled, while I sat on the tailgate trying to calm down. After a few minutes, Audrey begged me to come back in the car. She then said, while crying, "Mommy, are you grateful for your children? Then act like it!" Oy vey.

So we drove home. All the while trying to figure out how to make her go to her lesson. Or should I respect her feelings that she really doesn't want a boy teacher, and try to put her into another class? Maybe it's a good thing that she's automatically wary of older boys. Then I noticed one of those Rock Chip Repair places and pulled over. I've been meaning to get our little chip fixed for a week now, and I thought that would be a perfect distraction for us all, nice and boring. Halfway through the repair, Audrey said, "Mom, please forgive me." Wow. What do I say to that, mean mommy? We had a nice little talk when we got home, and she assures me that she'll give this boy a try for me on Wednesday. And I promised to be nice Mom again. So who's the teacher here?

Art Fair

The day after the funeral, we wanted to do something fun for the kids, and they happened to have a kids arts and crafts fair downtown that day. The kids had a blast making all sorts of things while the parents exercised patience and stood around and talked.


My cute niece, Abby.

Kierra's first watercolor painting.


Playing peekaboo with Abby and John.


Wow, I don't think you have quite enough paint there, kiddo.

My studious artist at work.

Hannah, Abby, and Jacob.

Granddad treated the grandkids to ice cream. Mmm.

Kierra's mask.

My adorable boy, with his prized balloon.

Rest Stop

I soooo cannot drive long distances by myself anymore!! On the way home from Idaho last week, we had both cars, so we both had to drive. We came prepared with fun books on tape, but that still wasn't enough for me. So we stopped at a rest stop and Jeromy took the kids for a walk and other stuff for awhile so I could take a nap. Come on! A 3 1/2 hour trip and you have to nap, Hilary?!?! Sissy. Jeromy was really into his book, though, and totally missed the street we live on!

Happy 4th Birthday, Kierra!

Kierra, I can't believe you're 4 already! My, how time flies. She had a really fun day, including being sung to by her preschool class. I think that was a highlight for her. And then Daddy took us out to pizza for lunch. That was nice. Poor girl, she came down with a cold the night before, so she had a runny nose all day. Then Grandma came just in time for dinner. Kierra chose tacos for her birthday dinner. Then we had friends over for cake and ice cream. A very fun-filled birthday!

Excuses, Excuses

Boy, I sure am one to talk. "I'm going to start blogging again," and then followed by a 3-week hiatus. Hmmm. Maybe I am all talk. Oh well. In my defense, things have been crazy here. A couple weekends ago, we went down to St. George for a baby blessing and had lots of fun in the roasting heat. Then we moved the party to our house for a couple of days, hosting a mini-reunion with Jeromy's family. Then I had to leave early to go up to Idaho for my Grandmother's funeral. It was great to see cousins I haven't seen in many years, and also to commemorate such a special woman. Since then we've been tackling preschool starting for Kierra and swimming lessons, both of which keep us very busy. So there's my excuse. On to the blogging!

Blog Fast

So this ends my 3 month fast of blogging. It gets so depressing for me to blog sometimes. It's so much easier for me to focus on my family and my life right now than to constantly see what old friends are up to and what my life would be like if we hadn't have moved. I love our house and being so close to Jeromy's work, and the ward is certainly better than it was a year ago, but sometimes I still feel lonely. What makes me feel even more lonely is thinking that if we hadn't moved away from our awesome neighborhood, things would probably still be the same: old friends, not current ones. So I'm trying hard to make some new ones, and I have, but I'm not placing as great an importance on it this time. Yes, Provo was the one time in my life that I can say I had good, close friends (except for college roommates). But that ship has sailed and I need to realize it will probably never happen again. So I'm focusing a lot on my family, and throwing myself into my new calling at church, and it's been great. But I've also just remembered how blogging is so good for our family, capturing all those moments so we don't forget. Plus catching up with friends and family so we can stay "current" friends. Now that the craziness of May, June, and July are done, I can bring blogging back into my life, cuz seriously, we were in Survival Mode for most of these past 3 months. So here goes, I hope I can make it a regular habit again. See ya soon on your blog!

Cream Paintings

To give the girls a break from summer boredom (and me a break from my symposium homework), we cranked out the shaving cream and tempera paint. The girls love this! It seems that the more mixing they do, the more green it gets, but they have a blast. They made swirls in the cream with the paint, then we laid pieces of paper on top, pressed lightly, then peeled off. Very fun.

Golf Lessons

Jeromy taught the kids a little about golf last night. When we drove past a golf course today, Audrey told me that they didn't need to go golfing anymore because we can do it in our own backyard.

Happy Pioneer Day!

I took the kids to the parade downtown today.


It was more like this: (Did you know it's 2 hours long?!? We sure didn't.)


Then we went to the zoo and had a picnic lunch.


And a ride on the train.


Then tonight we watched Bedtime Stories from Redbox and ate pizza from our favorite place, Big Daddy's $5 Pizza. Since it was too windy for fireworks, we decided to have fudge bars instead. Jacob devoured his.


And now we are all exhausted.

Our First Stitches

At 10am this morning, Jacob fell off my bed and hit the nightstand twice. He tore the flappy thing on his upper gums and bit through his bottom lip (not quite all the way through actually). Three hours later his lips started bleeding crazily again, so I finally decided to take him to Instacare. They took one look at him and sent me to Primary's. The cut was right over the part of the end of the lip that transitions from pink lip to normal skin, so it definitely needed stitches, even though it was relatively small. But, since he's a little kid and squirmy, they needed me to go to Primary's so they could properly sedate him before stitching him up.

So I raced home to try to get ahold of any neighbors. Nobody home. So I grabbed some coloring books and headed out the door. Down the street I saw a neighbor out for a walk and [frantically] asked her to take the girls. Went up to Primary's, waited and waited and waited, and finally got his stitches and got home about 7:30pm.

And today was the day I was supposed to get everything done for Girls' Camp that's in 5 days, so that I can spend the holiday weekend with my family. Oh well. I'm just so glad it wasn't worse! When he went down, I totally thought he hit his eye, so I'm so grateful it wasn't. I'll take lip over eye any day!


Poor guy was so bored! He really wanted to rip off his IV, so I was constantly trying to distract him. So here he is hammin' it up for my camera phone. Look how swollen his little lip is! Poor thing! (Sorry about all this, hopefully next time I post something, it will be uplifting good news!)