Target deals

I went to Target to return a shirt and then walked around and discovered that some toys were marked 75% off. I like to have a few things on hand in case of birthday parties so I picked up a Cars carwash for $3, some sand toys for a $1 and change, some Knight figures (probably for Mason's stocking) and a few other things.

Walgreen deals!

Today only you can get $5 off $20 purchase at Walgreens. I like to get my photos printed there and you can also get 25 prints with the purchase of 25 prints. So I am going to use that towards my $20. The code at checkout is fatcamera. Had to share my deal.

Things that bring me joy - Ravinia

We went to Ravinia tonight and it was lovely. Ravinia is an outdoor concert park in Chicago. We went to the Chicago Symphony performance. I met Darren and our friends Jacque and Al on the train. 3 other couples drove down. Tonight was a gorgeous summer night. I leaned over to Darren and whispered (because I didn't want us to get shhhh-ed (yes they have people that come around and do that)) something that I always wanted to do when I "grew up". If you have a chance to go definitely go. It is romantic and relaxing and not too expensive.

Recplex lake Friday

If anyone is interested we are going to the recplex lake andrea in the am around 10. See you there!!

Ayden and her buddies

Here is Ayden and her little friends, Allie and Addy. I guess she can only have friends with "a" names. They are sitting on the front step and having a snack.

You look skinny in that outfit?!

Okay this is what my husband said on his way out the door. My outfit is navy blue shorts and a plain cream tshirt, no makeup and my hair not even brushed. It's funny what guys notice and when. He didn't mention anything when we went to a wedding Saturday and I actually had my hair done, makeup on and a new dress. It's the only comment he has made in the 7 months that I have been doing weight watchers (beside the comment after a month of WW when he said "Your butt doesn't look as big"(I know that he truly meant that as a compliment)).

Hey, I will take today's compliment and try to wear this outfit more often.

Looking at the ads

I just found this interesting today when I was looking through the ads. At Petco they have bottled water for dogs!!! I'm a dog lover but come on...dogs also love to drink out of toilets!! There are children in the world that don't get the priviledge of clean water and in the United States we have dog water. Crazy, huh?

Eli and Mason

Eli and Mason are one year apart and they are best buds. They have the exact body shape. They are what we like to call "solid". We don't say "husky" because Rylee told Mason that husky means fat. I thought this picture was funny so I had to post it.

Vacation Bible School

We are having a great week at VBS. There are 310+ kids. I have 3/4 graders and they are awesome! I had to take a video of how amazing it is to be there. It still doesn't capture it. Oh yeah and it's really loud!

Daddy changes Ayden's diaper

Gotta share this story!! We all went to church tonight and then I went by myself to the grocery store. Darren stopped by the library on his way home and I guess Ayden pooped. He didn't have any diapers in the car so he thought of a solution?!?

He took her in the bathroom at the library took her diaper off and threw it away and stuffed paper towels in her pants until he got home (10 mins away). Who needs diapers?

Only a guy would have that solution!!!

Pizza Hut Deal

I saw that Pizza Hut, I am not sure if it's everywhere or not, has a great deal for the summer. The one by us has a big sign out front that kids eat free buffet lunch for the summer. I don't know if there is a limit of kids per adult but I do know that it is monday - friday. Last year, they didn't include drinks with that. Now how many points per slice of pizza?!

School supply shopping

Where are you getting deals?

I got 2 pk elmers gluesticks from Kmart today for 5/$1
and notebooks for $.09.

Things that bring me Joy- bedtime

I really enjoy the silence that my kids bedtime brings. I love that Darren and I get time to watch movies or a tv show together. I love that no says "Poopy" and laughs during that time or someone doesn't scream "that's not fair" (a big one at my house this summer). Honestly, I like that my house is full of activity during the day (another way of saying it's loud). But quietness is good.

Do you want to start a blog?

If I can do it so can you!! It's literally pushing a few buttons. Start at www.blogger.com and it tells you exactly what to do. I just wanted to encourage you to jump in and do it!!

Rylee turns 8

Today Rylee is 8. It's so hard to believe. She is growing up fast.

New 100 Calorie packs

Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs - Misty Salty Chocolate covered pretzels. Love these and had to share. It satisfies both the crunchy and sweet cravings. I got them at Woodmans.

Rylee- She now has bling

Rylee wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. I always thought that I would let her do it whenever she decided she wanted to. Well she decided to. Her friend Katie told her that her friend got it done at Claire's and it didn't hurt when she got it done there. Well, that is where we went last night and she did it. She looked like she wanted to cry but she didn't. In fact she said it didn't even hurt. She chose rubies her birthstone.

Day at the lake with Emma and Eli

We are having a great time with Emma and Eli. Everyone is getting along really well and there has been no drama. We had a picnic at Lake Michigan yesterday. All 6 kids did great. Two people asked me if I ran a daycare!!

BTW--Can some one tell me how to put a slideshow on here instead of posting so many pictures?

pick n save double coupons for the week.

These are the bargains I am gonna get tomorrow at pick and save...spend $25 (so easy to do especially if you buy meat that is on sale)..get 5 coupons doubled

2 bottles hershey syrup 10/$10 coupon $1 off 2 doubled -$2 so 2 bottles free

4 cans iams dog food 5/$4 =3.20 coupon $1 off 4 doubled -$2 so $1.20 for 4 cans

2 boxes minute maid juice bars 2/$4 = $4 coupon .75 off 2 doubled -$1.50= $2.50 for 2 boxes

6 yoplait yogurts $3.00 $1 off 6 doubled -$2= $1 for 6 yogurts

What are you getting?


BTW--didn't go until late tonight and I just got yogurt, dog food, and hershey's. There was a great deal on purex fabric softener-clearance for 2.48 and I had a $1 coupon.

5 kids and a grocery store

Look at how happy these people are shopping...I would like to say this was us last night.

So my niece, Emma and my nephew, Eli are here from Indy this week. Tonight Mason and Rylee wanted to watch American Gladiators with Darren and then set up an obstacle course. I needed to go to the store for milk and bread. Darren's "great" idea was to take all the kids and let them pick out a gladiator snack. So needless to stay it wasn't a quick trip with 5 kids, including two boys that were playing swords. The whole thing lead to a major meltdown by Mason, Ayden crying and $130 worth of groceries and me with a major headache and also wondering why I didn't go by myself.

Rylee's funny song

In the car tonight, going to pick up Emma and Eli we were singing songs to Ayden to keep her occupied. Rylee was singing, "I'm in the Lord's Army". Remember that one. So she is singing, "I may never march in the infantry, ride in the calorie, shoot the artiliary." I didn't have the heart to correct her.

Trisha's Movie Review - Things we Lost in the Fire

I got this one from the library because it had Halle Barry and thought it should be good because she is an academy award winner, right? Wrong? I was trying to decide how many diet cokes to give it out of 5 and I think I decided 2. Halle Barry way over acted and I didn't really care about any of the characters. It is kinda sad that someone (I don't want to ruin it for you) gets shot while doing a good deed. If you feel like watching a movie and reading a magazine at the same time (that's what I did) pick this one up. What can I say it was free from the library?

Things that bring me Joy - skinny cows

So most of you know that I am on weight watchers. I have some things that have helped me on this journey. One of them is the products from Skinny Cow. Their ice cream products are low points and taste really yum (not diet). I have recently had the "Skinny Dippers". They are two points and they have vanilla dipped in chocolate and caramel ice cream dipped in chocolate. I have to go eat one now that I have talked about it. Yum!

Pampered chef Recipe - Chicken, avocado and Grapefruit Salad

This is the recipe from my pampered chef party last night. Hope you enjoy!!

Chicken
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp Citrus and Basil Rub
1 tsp olive oil

Dressing and salad
1 large ruby red grapefruit
1 Tbsp orange mamalade
4 tbsp olive oil
1/4 salt and pepper
4-6 radishes
1 firm ripe avocado
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup sliced red onion

Cashews
2 Tbsp sweet caramel sprinkle (I used cinnamon)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup cashews

For cashews, combine everything but cashews in a saute pan. Stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Add cashews and cook, stirring constantly, 5-7 minutes or until evenly brown and syrup turns a brown color. Spread cashews in a single layer on parchment paper. sprinkle with additional caramal sprinkle. Cool completely.

For Chicken, combine ingredients. Grill chicken.

For dressing, zest grapefruit until you have 1 tsp of zest. Cut grapefruit in half and section and put sections in a separate bowl. Juice the grapefruit halves to measure 1/4 c juice. Combine zest, juice, marmalade, oil, salt and black pepper and whisk.

For salad, slice radishes. Peel and dice avocado. Slice chicken crosswise into strips. Place spinach in a bowl and add radishes, avocado, chicken, grapefruit sections and onion. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Garnish with cashews.

Lost-

I finally watched the season finale of "Lost" last night. (I love my DVR) I wanted to watch the ones I had taped all in a row so I didn't have to watch the previews at the end of the show and wait a week. I could just watch them back to back. It was pretty exciting. I even watched the reruns where they wrote on the bottom info in case you missed any. I love that show.

Please be impressed with me--2 French films in a month- movie review for Paris JeTaime

Ok. Really it should be "Don't be impressed with me..." I wasn't gonna say it but it took Darren and I 3 nights to watch this because we kept falling asleep. Not because it wasn't good but because we had to read it and we started watching it at 10 at night. This had 18 short stories that were themed around Paris and love. The were all very different. If you are in the mood to read a movie check this one out.

Recipe- Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil

I came across this going through papers and I wanted to get it on here so I won't lose the paper.

Not really the season for soup but this is so good. We had it at the women's ministry retreat in the spring.

29 oz can diced tomatoes
Small jar Paul Neumanns Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Sauce
2T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 crushed garlic clove
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tomato paste
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, or 1 T dried
1 8 oz pkg conchiglie pasta (tiny shells) optional
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft, abt 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauce to taste and cook for another 10 minutes. Add stock, tomato paste, sugar and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove form heat and add the basil leaves. Allow to cool slightly before processing the mixture, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan and reheat gently.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the pasta according to pkg directions. Drain pasta and add to soup. Heat through. Can add small amount of cream or splot of sour cream.

Another summer tv show...

I am enjoying another summer reality show, The Next Food Network Star. I love seeing the contestants getting booted off and rooting for who I like. Do you watch it? Who is your favorite?

Rylee and Ayden-At the Parade

This is my first attempt to put a video on here. (inspired by my cousin, Holly) Here is Ayden and Rylee at the Kenosha 4th of July Parade (actually 6th of July??). Ayden was surprisingly in to it. We almost didn't go but I am glad we did!

Fourth of July

Here is a pictures from our Fourth of July. This is from the parade. Our weekend was full of fun. Grandma and Grandpa Kochie were here along with Aunt Paula. We spent a lot of time at The Kochersperger's and we did things like cookout, make smores and play in the yard. It was a great weekend.

Kenosha Wisdom

Well, in the Kenosha news on Tuesday, July 1st there was an interesting comment that I had to post here. It was part of the Sound Off section.

"We had a yard sale and no one came out because the roads were closed, the weather was threatening and the gas was high. I said don't worry, next year when Obama get in all the roads in the country will be clear, gas will be $2 per gallon and there will be no tornadoes."

Is this how Kenoshans feel?

Baby Borrowers

Have you watched this show yet? Summer TV is really sparse but I turned this on last week and I was hooked. What they do is give teenage couples a baby for a few days and see how they do. The parents watch from a tv across the street. Some of the couples take on the roll in stride and others just look like bratty, selfish teenagers. I missed the very end where they graded the kids but I did see that they are bringing on toddlers for the next show!! Too funny. Check it out!

http://www.nbc.com/The_Baby_Borrowers/

Let me know if you have seen it.

Bargains for my fellow couponers

Have you discovered pick n save double coupons on wed? You need to spend $25 and then you can get 5 coupons up to $1 doubled.

I shop the ad that comes in the mail and find what is on sale and then find coupons to correspond to it. For example, lloyd's barbque (premade barbaque-it's pretty good) was on sale for 3.99. I had a $1 off and that was double so I got them at 1.99 per container. Pretty good, huh? The other thing I got was bertolli (spelling?) premium pasta sauce was on sale for 1.25. I had a $1 coupon which doubled so I made .75. Crazy fun, huh?

Try it out!