School Supplies

We've been getting Austin ready to go to school for several weeks now. Boy, the stores really do make out big at "back to school" time. We got Austin some new clothes (nice quality from consignment), new shoes (New Balance on Amazon- spent more than I spend on my own shoes :/), new socks, underwear and undershirts, and today we bought some school supplies and a new pair of jeans. It's crazy how much stuff kids need for school supplies. Here is our list:

6 glue sticks (seriously? Who needs that much glue? At least they are only 20 cents a piece right now.)
2 spiral notebooks
1 composition book
24 pencils
5 jumbo pencils (couldn't find these at Target- I'll have to look around)
2 boxes jumbo crayons (They were way overpriced at Target. $2/box for 8 crayons)
2 boxes regular crayons (cheap right now- like 50 cents)
pencil box
vinyl 2 pocket folder with inside brads
3 two-pocket folders
kleenex
zip top gallon bags
wet wipes
zip top snack bags
blunt end scissors

We don't have to buy a backpack because Austin has half a dozen different backpacks that he has gotten from the library's summer reading program every year.

We are getting down to the wire here- only two weeks until school starts! I've got nervous excitement. I'm nervous for Austin because I know it will be an adjustment, but honestly, it is exciting to think of all the free time I am going to have with him at school. David still takes a long mid-day nap, so I will have 3 extra hours to do housework and hobbies :)

About hobbies- I've always thought that I needed a hobby, but I've never stuck with crafts and such. It hit me the other day, though, that I really enjoy blogging. So, I guess I do have a hobby after all.

What have we been doing during the heat wave of 2011?

I'm so excited to get back to church this week. I've missed the past four Sundays in a row, and I'm really missing my church family. Here's what we've been up to:

- The boys were sick around the Fourth of July. David ended up with an ear infection. Austin had a cough. I got a sinus infection. Joseph has had allergies off and on. We missed two weeks of church.

- Then we were all finally feeling better, and our car started acting up. Joseph took Austin to church in the truck that week, and David and I stayed home.

- Last week I was in Tennessee visiting family and attending my friend Chelsea's baby shower. My Dad also fixed the car problem we were having, and he changed my brakes as well. It's too bad we live four hours away from my parents because my Dad is great at fixing cars (and anything else, for that matter). We usually just have to take the car to Pep Boys and get charged $90/hr for labor plus parts. Thanks to my Dad, I only had to pay $30 for the front and back brakes, and the labor was free :) I hung out in his shop while he worked and learned a thing or two. One important thing to remember is to never breathe in the brake dust that comes off if you change your own brakes because brakes are made of asbestos. Yikes!

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Making zuccini bread with Aunt Jane

Getting muddy in the garden

Rinsing off in the creek

Walking in the back field with Aunt Meg and Uncle Ben

Chilling outside

At the Discovery House in Murfreesboro

Chelsea was my Maid of Honor

Just hanging out

Taking a wagon ride

Huggies Snug and Dry on Amazon- $0.15/ diaper

If you like Huggies, Amazon has a good deal for you. Here is a link to explain how to get a box of size 4 Snug and Dry 140 count for $22.14 shipped. That's $0.15 per diaper after taxes. To compare, you would have to get a 31 count Jumbo package for less than $4.65 (after taxes) in order to match this deal in the store.

Beckman eyes

I have blue eyes, and I like having blue eyes. My parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all but a small number of cousins have blue eyes. It's in our genetics. Somehow we have kept that recessive gene going.

In spite of my blue eyed pride (just kidding :), I married my husband knowing outright that our children would likely have his brown eyes. Brown is dominant over blue. Sure enough, both Austin and David have brown eyes. It seems that the line of Beckman blues ended with me.

Not to worry, though, because it seems that I have passed on a different family trait- Austin is color blind.

My Dad is color blind, so I am a carrier, which means my boys have a 50/50 chance of being color blind. I've suspected that Austin was colorblind for awhile, but the eye doctor confirmed it today. Basically, imagine turning the color knob on an old model TV, and all the colors come out distorted and changed. That's how color blinded people see. It shouldn't cause much trouble for him unless he wants to become an electrician and has to sort out wires of different shades of the same color. My Dad is color blind, and he doesn't have much trouble that I know of. I guess they just learn to adapt. (FYI- 1 in 10 males is color-blind, so it is actually pretty common.)

I really like Austin's eye doctor. He is an older, very experienced opthamologist, and he is so good with little kids. Austin has been seeing him since he was three years old.

It seems that I have passed on another eye trait as well- Austin is slightly near-sighted. The doctor gave me a glasses prescription and said I could decide whether or not to get it filled. Austin would only need the glasses for seeing board work at school, and if the teacher lets him sit in the front, he could do without the glasses for now. I'll have to talk to Joseph to see what he thinks.

Joseph got glasses at 4 years of age, I believe, and I was in the first grade when I started having trouble seeing the board at school. Dr. Douglas says that it is inevitable for Austin to have poor eye sight. Just like how a tall child usually has tall parents, if both parents have poor vision, their children usually end up wearing glasses, too.

Austin's vision isn't too bad yet, but he will likely need glasses for sure by next year. Hmm... I bet they have lots of different options for glasses than they did when I was a kid. My first pair of glasses was pink plastic. Maybe I can dig up a picture one of these days :)

CVS- diapers, razors and more

I just got back from CVS, and I wanted to brag about my savy couponing trip. The trick to shopping at CVS is to "roll" your Extra Care Bucks. You can do this by dividing up your good into separate transactions. Here's what I got for $21.35 (before taxes):

Transaction #1:

Skintimate shave gel $2.19- used $1 off coupon
2 Schick Quattro 3ct disposable razors $8.99 (used B1G1 coupon)
(There is a deal for shave products- buy $20 worth, get $10 back in ECB.)
8 ct pens $1.99 (free after ECB)

Spent $7.17, received $11.99 back in Extra Care Bucks

(The math doesn't add up right on this because the B1G1 coupon scanned as the full price of $13.99. I just noticed when I got home.)

Transaction #2:

3 pk Brita filters $14.99 (used $2 coupon I printed on their website)

minus $11.99 ECB I received in Trans. #1

Spent $1, received $5 back in Extra Care Bucks

Transaction #3:

Crest toothpaste $2.99 (used $0.75 coupon)
2 pk Opti-Free contact solution $14.99 (used $3 coupon)
Kotex $3.49 (used $1 coupon)

minus $5 ECB from Trans #2

Spent $11.72, received $9 back in Extra Care Bucks

Transaction #4

Huggies jeans diapers $8.99 (used $4 CVS coupon that printed when I scanned my card at the entrance +$1.50 Manufacturer's coupon)
Pampers sensitive diapers (on clearance for $5.50 minus $1.50 coupon)
Ludens cough drops (on clearance for $0.54)
Mucinex for children (on clearance for $2.44)

minus $9 ECB from transaction #3

Spent $1.46 out of pocket.

So, I spent $21.35 out of pocket for ALOT of stuff. I mean the contact solution and Brita filters were $14.99 a piece regular price, and those are things that I would eventually buy anyways.

There were lots of good clearance items throughout the store today. I left Austin at home to watch Spiderman with Joseph, and David and I were able to browse around. It was so nice. David is a good little coupon shopper :) Austin isn't so patient with my 45 minute shopping trips. I guess that's why I don't make it to CVS every week!

If you want to try these CVS deals for yourself, here is a good link to a blog that lays out the deals for you.

About Group Deal Sites

I've gotten hooked on the Group Deal movement. Sites like Groupon and Plum District, Living Social and Totsy. There are some really good deals to be had on these sites. You just have to read the fine print. Sometimes they expire within a few months. You might have to pay additional shipping costs. Or, the coupon might only be valid at certain store locations. I've also gotten hooked on Amazon diaper deals. I don't think I will ever buy diapers at the store again when I can get them cheaper shipped directly to my doorstep!

Here's some of the good deals I have gotten lately:

$40 worth of Discovery Toys for $15
$20 worth of food at a local cafe for $20
$15 worth of toys for $5 at a local toy store
$75 worth of toys for $25 online

I've also used these sites to get discounted CiCi's Pizza and Papa Murphy's and half-off on Amazon.com.

I think I'm set for birthday and Christmas shopping for the boys. $130 worth of toys for $45- not too bad :)

Disclosure: The links above are my referral links. If you sign up and buy something through these links, I will get a credit on my account.

Got the camera out today

When Austin was David's size

I couldn't help but share these pictures of Austin when he was wearing these clothes the first time. The great thing about having two boys is that we are getting to use our baby clothes twice. The seasons are working out perfectly.

how sweet!

goof

hi!

the curiosity at this age is universal

who doesn't love a good swing?

Summer 2008

It's fun re-living this toddler stage with David. They may have different personalities, but in a lot of ways, kids are the same. Now I just need to start taking more pictures of David! One thing about the second kid is that you never take as many pictures as with the first. I'll try to post recent pictures in my next post, I promise :)

Are we home yet?

Joseph and I have lived in Louisville for six years now. We were married for six months before Joseph started seminary, and during that time we lived in a little house in rural West Tennessee. I was finishing up my bachelor's degree and working part-time at the campus library, and Joseph was working at Lifeway and serving on staff at a church as a youth pastor. Looking back, those six months seem like such a short time compared to the six years we have spent in Louisville. I kind of forget about them, actually.

Our families are in TN. We both grew up in TN, went to college in TN and were married in TN. We lived in our first home together in TN. But we have lived in KY for most of our adult lives. The question is- Are we home yet? Has Kentucky become our new "home" or do we still consider TN to be home?

I'm really not sure.

Our boys have been born and raised in Kentuckiana (Kentucky/Indiana= Kentuckiana). We are still living here even after Joseph finished seminary. We like living in Louisville, in fact. It is a neat city.... However, when we go to TN to visit our parents, we still catch ourselves telling people that "We are going home to TN for a few days." There is a special place in our hearts for our home state of Tennessee, where the grass is greener, the air is cleaner and the potholes are smaller. (Kentucky has terrible roads!)

So, the question is still out there, "Are we home yet?" Only time will tell.

One Big Sick Family

There  has been a little cold swimming around our home this past week, and a few days ago, I caught it. It had already bitten Austin's hook, who gave it to David (who was already suffering from teething congestion, mind you). I started feeling bad the beginning of the week, and it has only gone downhill since then :(

It's been a long time since I was really sick, probably since about the time I had David. It is no good for the momma to get sick because she still has to cook dinner and wash the dishes, not to mention washing the laundry and taking care of sick children.

I took the boys to the doctor yesterday after David woke up with a 102.5 degree temperature under his arm (which is like 103.5 in the mouth). He has an ear infection, so I started him on an antibiotic. Austin has had a cough, which turned out to be just a virus (no strep, thankfully!).

Side note: So I don't forget, Austin is holding steady at 34 pounds, and David was 23 lb 7 oz.

I remember a few years ago when Austin was about 2 1/2 and he had several bouts of strep throat. I made a video about it, and you can view it on my old blog.

One more thing, remind me to never take Benadryl during the day. I don't know which is worse- being miserable with a cold or being hungover on cold medicine (while taking two sick boys to the doctor's office). I think I'll stick with my hot peppermint tea. That seems to be providing me with some relief.

Summer Reading Wrap-up (Books 91-100+)

We have officially finished our summer reading goal of 100 new books by the end of the summer. Here are some of our latest reads:

Backyard Bug Battle by Scott Nickel, illustrated by Andy J. Smith (a "graphic novel" aka comic book- Who knew? I would have thought a graphic novel would be something like a dirty romance novel.)

Something Might Happen by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger (cute fiction book about a worried lemur)

Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey (We have read this at least ten times. Austin loves this ridiculous Godzilla knockoff.)

Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins (a hide and seek adventure about two lemurs)

Giant Shark: Megalodon, Prehistoric Super Predator (You've got to say MEG-uh-lo-don with a dramatic emphasis for the full effect :) by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Laurie Caple (non-fiction)

Hey! I'm Reading! by Betty Miles, illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom (a book for new readers- gives hints and tips about learning to read)

Stop, Drop and Roll by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Arthur Howard (brought about good discussion about fire safety)

Dinosaurs: Big and Small by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, illustrated by Lucia Washburn (non-fiction)

A Kangaroo Joey Grows Up by Joan Hewett (non-fiction)

We also checked out three more non-fiction lemur books. Can you tell that Austin likes lemurs?

Austin has a little more than five weeks left of summer before he starts his kindergarten adventure.

Cheap Diaper Deal

Here's how I got a box of Pampers Cruisers size 4 (68 count) for $11.76. That's $0.17 per diaper, which is as good or better of a deal than off-brand diapers.

I signed up for an Amazon Mom account. It's free, and you get a free Amazon Prime membership for a certain period of time. This gets you free shipping benefits on certain items. This also allows you to participate in the Subscribe and Save feature.

Then I clipped the Pampers coupon, which was added to my Amazon account and was taken off when I checked out.

I browsed through the Pampers deals to find the size that I wanted that was on sale. There are different options, but the one that I found was on sale for $17.99 for a 68 count. Then I clicked the Subscribe and Save option at the right side, which brought my price down to $12.59.

With the Subscribe and Save feature, you are basically telling them that you want them to ship you the same product on a regular schedule like a magazine subscription. Don't worry, as soon as your product ships, you can cancel the subscription, and you won't get any future charges.

Then I followed the prompts through to the checkout, and they took my $1.50 coupon off which brought my total to $11.76, tax included. Shipping is free with Subscribe and Save, so that gives me a unit cost of $0.17.

Pretty good deal for premium diapers, I'd say.

Note: Don't forget to cancel your subscription, though.

Keep your eye out for other good diaper deals. The other day, I got a big box of Pampers Swaddlers Size 1-2 for $0.10/ diaper!