Another reason I love my new house. I have always wanted my children to be able to play with neighborhood kids. Unfortunately it wasn't safe in our old neighborhood. They never even got to ride their bikes where we use to live. Here they are living it up. They ride their bikes,go to friends houses,play basketball (we have a cement drive way, I was excited about that,I love basketball),and the newest thing building forts. We have woods behind our house. Doesn't this look like fun?

I love this outfit!

Fishing Fun!

We had a great day today. I took the boys fishing. They had the day off from school. It was a little over cast. Just a gorgeous day to fish. We stopped at the produce stand on the way to the lake and bought cane poles and bait. We also bought chocolate milk, bananas and cinnamon buns to eat. You know the breakfast of champions:) They didn't catch any fish but had a lot of fun trying. As you can see I am really enjoying my new camera.

We spent the day watching movies and being lazy. John has been sick for the last couple of days. I just started feeling not so great. Hopefully it won't last to long. We watched Martian Child and No Reservations. I liked both of them.

Here is a picture of my new camera. It is one of those real thin ones. It is a pretty pink color.

Happy Valentines Day!

John got me a new camera for Valentine's Day! As you can see I still need practice with the camera. Darla, here is my front flower bed.

Michael and his learner's permit

I got the image part of blogger to work! I am a proud mama.

We have been very busy. John finished our water treatment system (minus the softener) this weekend. His dad was so sweet to come over and help. I am very happy that our water won't be yellow and smelly any more. I hated trying to clean the yellow lines in our toilets. What a pain. Michael got his learner's permit on Friday. We are so proud of him. He really didn't want to get it. We had to push him to get it. Once he passed he told me that maybe one day he will get a motorcycle license. I asked him if he wanted me to die of a heart attack. He gained a lot of confidence. He went from not wanting to drive to wanting a motorcycle license. I wanted to add a picture of Michael and his permit but for some reason the image adding button is not working. Is anyone else having a problem with it?

I woke up this morning not feeling so well. I hope it is just allergies. Fortunately I don't have any where I have to go tomorrow so I can just take it easy. I have cleaning jobs on Thursday and Friday. I was up at 5:00 like always. I had to go to a Zero Tolerance class from nine to noon. It is one of the requirements for caregivers. It was an easy class without a test so I was glad since I wasn't feeling to well. When I got home I slept until John got home. When he came home we ran out to pick up a new end table I found at a thrift store. My other end table was a real pain to clean and I really didn't like the style. I love the wood pattern on the top of this one.

In the post under this one I put some of my favorite sites. If you would like I could list exactly each week how I got the deals. Every weekend I go to CVS and get free stuff. I have a one time invest of about $15.00 and I have been able to reuse that money over and over again with their extra care bucks program. To learn more about this visit Crystal's site she has a section called cvs 101 on her side bar.Here is the link: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ Please let me know by leaving a comment if you want me to post how I got the deals.

I LOVE COUPONS!!!!

Some of the free samples I have gotten. We used alot already.

Free stuff I got today at CVS using my coupons.

Some free stuff I got. I got tired of pulling it out of the cabinet! There is tons more. I just wanted brag a little.

If you know me at all you know I like to use coupons. So I thought I would share with you some of my favorite sites. The first list is blogs people have. They post good deals, freebies,ect.


http://www.imommies.com/ This is one of my favorites.


http://blog.handmadebycole.com/


http://atime4everythingblog.blogspot.com/


http://bargainshopperlady.com/


http://bethriftylikeus.blogspot.com/


http://dealseekingdiva.blogspot.com/


http://dearestjessica.blogspot.com/


http://frugalfinds.blogspot.com/


http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/


http://homeschoolingfour.blogspot.com/


http://www.mommygetspaid.com/


http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ This one is great for learning how to get good deals at cvs and walgreens.


http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/ This one lists a lot of freebies and samples.


http://www.momadvice.com/blog/index.htm


http://mygoodcents.net/


http://www.simplythrifty.com/


http://supermomonline.blogspot.com/


http://thriftyfloridamama.blogspot.com/


http://www.thriftyfun.com/


http://tipsandtreasures.blogspot.com/


http://wisdoms-way.blogspot.com/


http://centsibleshopper.blogspot.com/


This is a site where you can find what coupons match whats on sale at the store:


http://couponmom.com/ It also has a coupon data base to look up where to find the coupons for the things you want to buy. It takes a little bit to learn how to navigate the site but it is worth the effort. You do have to sign up but it is free.





This is a site that is like a chat board for good deals:http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php also have to sign up for but it is free


If you don't understand how to get these sites to work leave a comment and I will help you.


Things I have gotten for free:


movie tickets for John and I (we saw Juno before it came out)


tons of CVS stuff


free house plant from Lowes


free items from Sears


free pie from Burger King


free razors


tons of free samples


free makeup


dog treats

tons of FREE groceries (like 21 jars of Tostitos cheese dip,23 bottles of gatoraid, $60.00 worth of Juicy Juice) Yes I did say FREE!


and much much more.

John had to work today. He came home very tired. He did alot of digging today. Not fun at all. The boys and I worked on his shed. I am very happy with what we got accomplished. John and I soaked in the hot tub tonight while watching a episode of Friends. We wish you were here Ben and Gina soaking with us:) I think we will stay home from church tomorrow so John can get some rest. All in all it was a pretty good day.

a few pictures

I promised a few pictures. I know I got one of the floor twice. Sorry about that. I am tired. I am pleased with how the bedroom turned out. When we started there was a concrete floor, a hole in the ceiling and a big track on the ceiling for lifting a person who is in a wheel chair. We have a very nice bathroom off of the bedroom and on one wall John has a keyboard and his guitars hanging up. I will have to show a picture of that. I ment to click that one but hit the floor one twice. Well, thats it for now. Off to bed goodnight.

Fun date with my sweetheart!

Just a quick note. John and I went out on a date tonight when the boys were at youth group. We watched the movie 27 Dresses. It was pretty cute. We ate at Sobiks. John took me to Kirklands to look around and Bed Bath and Beyond. We had a wondefull time! I think we will go out more often on dates.