I'm so cool

I was reading in a magazine at the OB the other day about this lady who had kids and then felt bored by the lack of intellect surrounding her.  She said something about how all the women could talk about was playdates and coupons.  Hmm, what else is there?  We're not big into playdates yet, but I do love to coupon (yes, coupon can be used as a verb.)

This morning was almost disastrous.  I've been planning for several days for this week's RiteAid deals.  It's always risky because they often sell out of the best deals, which start on Sundays, and I can't go until Mondays.  I got there, parked, and then realized I'd forgotten my coupon wallet.  Ugh!  I don't know how I forgot it, it's always on my "to bring" list:  purse, keys, chapstick, coupons.  So we drove home (Isaiah crying of course) and I ran inside and my coupon wallet wasn't inside either.  Then the devestating realization came:  I had put it on the roof of my car while I buckled up Zay.  This may not seem like a big deal, but honestly for me I'd much rather lose my purse than my coupon wallet--credit cards and ID can be replaced, but coupons can't.  I sat in the car mourning my loss when I noticed tucked up against the front door was my coupon wallet!  Some very good samaritan had returned it!  And so quickly, too, if I hurried RiteAid would still have my deals!  It's pathetic reflecting on what an emotional roller coaster this had been for me!

So, my deals:  I got 5 jumbo packs of Huggies (usually $44.95 for 5 packs) for $19.95, which works out to 14 cents per diaper--much less than even Target or Costco generics.  Yippee!  Plus I saved 56% and 56 is my all-time favorite number...I also got 3 bottles of Listerine (normally $15 for 3) for $4.17 (72% savings), 2 Tone body washes (normally $10) for $4 plus RiteAid will be mailing me a rebate for $4, which essentially makes them free.  And lastly, 2 packs of Pilot Frixion pens, which RiteAid generously paid me a penny to take off their hands.  And that, my friends, is what I do for fun.  Later today I will be picking up 3 more Listerine at another RiteAid (mine was out of some of the kinds I had coupons for) which will cost me $3 total.  Sadly I can hardly wait...Oh, but I forgot to metion--I paid for today's purchase with a rebate check I got from previous RiteAid purchases.  And I still have $8 in +UP rewards, which means my $3 Listerine purchase later today will actually be free and still leave me with $5 to spend at RiteAid.  Basically today I'm getting $91 of stuff for $28.  Yes, this is fun for me.  With RiteAid's (somewhat complicated) rebate and coupon programs I haven't spent out of pocket at RiteAid since May.  Don't worry, I realize this is boring and promise to hold off as long as I can before writing another blog post about couponing!

PS--if you want to be cool like me, I get a lot of my coupon plans from http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com/

Another day at the beach

This is the face Zay makes when you ask him to smile.  A bit scrunchy, but cute in its own way.  Jerel's aunts come to the Oregon coast every summer. They grew up in Eugene so they come and bring along some of their kids and grandkids. We usually meet them for dinner here in town while they're on their way out, but this time we decided to go spend the day with them at the coast. Isaiah had fun playing with Jerel's cousin's kid Mason (not to be confused with my nephew Mason), eating lots of sand, and getting dirtier than dad likes him to.

The older kids were down in the water surfing and playing and Zay kept looking down there so I decided it was time for his first dip in the ocean. Jerel rolled his eyes and had his "this isn't going to go well" look but I never let that deter me. Zay had fun being down by the water, up until the water actually touched his toes (it was really cold). It startled him so he sat down, so then his whole bottom half was cold and wet and he screamed. Miraculously he survived the ordeal with no permanent damage!

Just wait til dad gets home...

Isaiah hasn't been eating much lately. It's not that we're worried about him wasting away or anything, it's just that it's different from his normal behavior. So yesterday at lunch when he wouldn't eat I thought maybe it was because he'd prefer to feed himself. I think most babies his age like to feed themselves but Zay has always been fine with us feeding him. Anyway, I decided to give it a try. This is what he looked like after about 5 minutes with his gerber mac & cheese.

After about 20 minutes he had consumed a total of about 4 noodles. He spent most of the time putting the pasta into the tub, then dumping it out of the tub all over his tray  and himself. Then he would fill up the tub, put it up to his mouth, and tip his head back to let it slide all over his face.  Jerel likes to pretty much wash Zay's whole body after each bite of food so luckily he came home late and I had already thrown Zay into the tub to clean him up and get him closer to dad's level of clean!