Just Catching Up a Bit

This is going to be a fairly lengthy post - I am making up for not blogging much this summer - but I hope you will stick with me. Just scroll to whatever interests you.

This Month:

I have two new Nephews. Congratulations to Clayne's sister Kami and her husband Brad. Aren't they darling!

Nathan Larry Weight: 6 pounds and 15 ounces Length: 20 inches Time: 12:00 am Date: Monday, August 11, 2008 & Adam Paul Weight: 4 pounds and 13 ounces Length: 18 1/2 inches Time: 12:00 am Date: Monday, August 11, 2008. I'm so glad that they are here healthy and well. I just wish that they lived near by so I could love on them.

This Week:
School started. I am loving the quite hours I have at home alone. So far I can't say that I have completed any monumental tasks but I am making some progress on getting my house clean from a whole summer of neglect. One of the best things about being back to school is being back on a routine. I am loving having all the kids in their rooms by 9 each night and actually getting to bed by 10:30 myself! Getting up for the gym at 5:20 am this summer was really hard after staying up late night after night. I am feeling much more rested already!

When the kids left for school that morning I told Savannah to be sure to think about what her favorite part of the day was so that when she got home she could tell me all about it. I met the kids at the bus stop that day and she was bursting with excitement. When I asked her what she liked best she said, "I LOVED IT ALL!"

Savannah - First Grade! Age 6

Carson enthusiastically told me, "I really like my teacher. She is nice." I actually had a little time with them off to school to make a scrapbook page with his first day of school picture.

(Credits: Scrap Orchard September Mystery Mega , Stapes by Bren Boone, Font- Wendy Sue)

Carson - Fourth Grade! Age 9

Morgan's report on his first day of school was, "School was really fun. We pretty much just played games the whole day!" He has also loved it that for this first week of school he has had no homework. I am sure that won't last.

Morgan - Fifth Grade! Age 10

Cheyenne burst through the door and said, "I loved my first day. I am friends with everyone in the school." I am thinking that may be a slight exaggeration but I am happy for her positive attitude and her desire to be friends with all. I had time to make her first day of school photo into a layout this week too. Isn't she gorgeous? YIKES!

(Credits: If Only In My Dreams by Ziggle Designs, Pineapple Plantation and Bren Boone, Font - Wilderness)

Cheyenne Eighth Grade! Age 13

Right Now:

I am babysitting my sweet niece Megan. She is almost months old now and she is such a darling. I enjoy having her keep me company once a week. Usually I have her on Mondays but once in a while it will be a different day of the week. This week it was nice to have her on a different day than Monday since it was the first day of school and there was already a lot going on. This is my 6th week of babysitting her and so far she has only been naughty one of the days she was here. She is a pretty good baby.

Later Today:

I am planning to attend an online speed scrap at the Scrap Orchard. If you enjoy digital scrapbooking and would like to join in the fun, please do. It is at 7 pm Eastern or 5 pm our time (Mountain). For the first hour you are given instructions every 10 minutes or so and you follow along with the instructions given and create a layout in the hour. They are nice and give you an additional hour after all the instructions are posted to finish up your page and to upload it in the gallery. For participating in the crop and completing the layout you are then rewarded with a free gorgeous mini kit by Ziggle Designs. If you want to attend the crop join us in the forum here. Following the speed scrap there will be a chat where you may get lucky and win some more free goodies. The chat starts at 9 pm Eastern. Here is the participation prize. Cute huh?

Ok and while I am talking up Scrap Orchard I have to tell ya that the September Mega is available now. I used it to create that cute page of Carson at the bus stop above. It is a huge kit for just $3. The contents of the kit will be revealed on the 7th of Sept, but then the price goes up to $10. So take a chance and surprise yourself with this kit. Pick it up while it is cheap and then see what is inside for yourself. You will love it. Click on the image below to go get it. While you are at the Orchard be sure to check out the Farmer's Market (click on the image below to go to the Farmer's Market) where select items are on sale for just $1. Very cute stuff for such a great price. And if that isn't enough there is another promotional sale going on that you can read about below too.

I know it is hard to read that small print. It says "Excludes commercial use, charity, farmer's market and mystery mega" but there are still plenty of other items that it is good for so go shop.

Removing Moisture From a Watch

Ok I really do enjoy the Rocks in my dryer site and now that the kids are back in school I am hopeful that I will be able to post a helpful tip each week. Today's tip:

Removing Moisture From a Watch

This summer Clayne got some water in his favorite watch. It was just a little bit of moisture under the face plate and it made it hard to clearly see the time. His watch isn't the cheapo WalMart type so I really wanted to try and save it. We placed the watch in a mason jar full of uncooked rice with a tight lid and in about 24 hours the rice had absorbed the moisture from his watch and it is as good as new. Clayne has a co-worker that removed water from a cell phone in a like manner and had good results. Hope this proves helpful to others too. Have a great day. For more helpful tips and ideas visit RocksInMyDryer.net

Grocery Deals - Week of August 27

Smith's

$4.99/lb New York steak or roast
$1.69/lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
19cents/lb seedless watermelon

5/$13 Pepsi or Coke 12 packs when you buy 5
$1.77 Cheetos, Fritos or Lay's chips
4/$5 Bush's baked beans
10/$10 Hamb or HD buns, cottage cheese, sour cream or dips

Albertsons

$1.69/lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
$5.99/lb Bone-in Rib Eye steak

There is a $3 instant rebate with qualifying purchase on several items. I'm going to leave it to you to check this out.

Find Your Wings - Mark Harris

This song came on the radio on my way home from the gym this morning and I have to admit that I actually got a bit teary-eyed. For weeks now I have been looking forward to getting all of my kids off to school for some time alone at home to get things done. But I have to admit that I can get a bit nostalgic when I realize that my oldest is now 13 and my baby is 6. Hope this song will remind you of your wishes for your children too as they enter this new school year.

Grocery Deals - Week of August 20

Albertsons

10/$10 deals
Medium eggs
Alb. sour cream
Sunmaid Raisins boxes 6 count

10lb/$10
whole frying chicken, split breast, drums, thighs or whole legs

Smith's

$2.69 gal. milk
$6.96 Kroger frozen chicken assorted cuts and weight
10lb/$10 green or red seedless grapes
$1.89/lb pork chops or spareribs
4/$5 Bush's baked beans

10/$10 deals
Frozen dinners assorted varieties
hamb/dog buns
frozen vegetables assorted varieties
Kroger dips, sour cream or cottage cheese
Kroger fruit snacks
Little Debbie snack cakes
Kroger cheese singles 12 oz.
Bar S jumbo meat franks

Grocery Deals - Week of August 13

Smith's

5/$10 Big K 12 pack soda
4/$5 doz. eggs
$2.99/lb Petite sirloin steak or London broil

the following are 10/$10
Kroger sour cream, cottage cheese or dips
Little debbie snack cakes
Pringles chips
Mountain dairy ice cream
Crest toothpaste

99 cents 4 pack Cotonelle TP
88 cents Kleenex tissue
4/$4 General mills granola bars - includes Nature Valley, Fiber one, Milk'n Cereal bars

Albertsons

$1.69/lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or bone-in assorted pork chops
98 cents/lb green grapes
$2.99 Albertsons or Crystal geyser spring water 24 pack
$3.99 Charmin basic TP 12 rolls or Bounty basic paper towels 8 rolls

There is also an insert with coupons for some of the deals this week as well as a few $3 or $5 instant rebate offers when you make a qualifying purchase. See ad for details.

Grocery Deals - Week of August 6

Albertsons

Mega Mix or Match sale is going on
When you purchase any 10 participating items in a single transaction using your card you get an instant $5 off with no limit to the number of items you can purchase.
There are many items so I am not going to even try to type them up. See the store or ad for details.

They also have many 10/$10 items and I will list just a few here
Albertsons quick oats 18 oz
4 count bakery cin. rolls
Best foods real mayo squeeze jar

Smith's

4/$4 when you buy 4 Malt O Meal cereals
4/$4 when you buy 4 General mills granola bars (includes fiber one bars)

$1.99/lb extra lean ground beef
99 cents/lb chicken drumsticks, thighs or bone in breasts
$1.99/lb Pork loin or rib chops
$1/lb red seedless grapes
10/$10 Crest toothpaste