Sometimes I rock. It's just who I am.

Two evenings of this....
...This being neglecting all house work to cut out coupons. I was a coupon clipping machine getting ready for an awesome Saturday of grocery shopping. Sadly, I am not being sarcastic. I LOVE to shop but when you are poor college students (again) the only shopping you do is for food and other necessities. You see as a Bi-Lo employee I got 10% off today. Plus, we double coupons up to 99 cents every day. Plus, turkeys are on sale and we price match, so I got it for 35 cents a pound. Plus, we have awesome sales because it is the weekend before Thanksgiving. Plus, we have double fuel perks this weekend. Plus, you get 10 cents (per gallon of gas keep in mind) on every turkey you buy (and I bought 2). Plus, Tina (my sis) and her family of 6 are coming down (YIIPPPPEEE!) for Thanksgiving and that triples the mouths to feed (they are chipping in on the groceries since our budget for a week of groceries is 50$)! So, I had fun figuring out how to make the mighty dollar stretch the furthest. And STRETCH it did people.


And neglecting all house work lead up to this...
This being what was left of the dishes, all rinsed and ready to be put through the dishwasher after the load that was in there was done...In my defense I did clean out the fridge too...

And all this work lead to this....


I rock. The total for two trips (In order to get the good price on the turkey, you could only buy one with a $35 purchase. We needed 2-one to deep fry and one to cook the old fashion way. I am sorry I don't do turkey gravy from a packet...So, I broke it up) was $317.97. Of which, I only paid $115.27. That is right, I SAVED $206.50. This included a $10 coupon that a sweet lady (that I hugged twice as I held back tears) gave me because she said she wouldn't be able to use it before it expired. :)

Is it wrong for me to want to stop giving credit to Santa?

I'm being serious. Give me your honest opinion. PLEASE! I am so very tempted to stop perpetuating the lie that is Santa Claus. Jake is 9. That's big kid age kind of right?...I had a conversation...Okay a text chat-lets face it people that is all I really have time for lately (what's that you say?..this is my second post of the day? I probably have more time than I think...Yes, you caught me...but this is my sanity people. See the rambling I am doing here? You should be inside my head!!!). I can have a conversation, while making dinner, and helping Jake finish his homework (WHY does it take so long for him to finish his homework?!?!?! That is a whole other post..)! Any way I told Elizabeth, I am seriously worried my child is going to leave on his mission fully believing there is a Santa Claus. He tells me all the time that people tell him Santa isn't real. He thinks they are dead wrong and feels bad for them that they have lost the ability to believe (thanks a lot Polar Express...Really I love the book, but Jake takes it as gospel truth). Jake asks me if he is real and what do I do? I LIE AND SAY YES! Why? Can I please stop lying and tell him the truth? You see Jake is at every single moment of the day pretending one thing or another. His imagination is AMAZING! I have seriously felt bad for other children who come to our house because they don't know how to play anything but the Wii. Again, that is a whole other topic, but do you see where I am going with this? Jake relates to the first line of the John Mayer song "Half of my Heart". It goes like this: "I was born in the arms of imaginary friends...". He told me while we were listening to it in the car one day-"Hey! That's just like me!" Lately, he claims to be part dog...I am starting to think he may actually believe it...I am making him sound like some weirdo, but he really is a cool kid. He is like Dr. Seuss, but if Dr. Seuss didn't like to write...(See what I mean about being in my head...). The point is his imagination is such that it some how makes sense to him, that even though it is impossible to fit all those gifts in his sled, Santa really can do it. OR WAIT A MINUTE!!! Is Jake bringing up things that Santa does that are impossible hoping I will just go a head and tell him it really isn't true?! Is he giving me an out to tell him the truth? I know you are probably thinking he's 9, give him time. But, in this economy and being poor students (again) I would love to take credit for the 3 (maybe 4 gifts) he is going to get this year! I want to shout from the roof tops: THERE IS NO SANTA!!! Sad isn't it? I love Christmas really, but I am sick of Santa. How pitiful am I that I am seriously considering telling him there is no Santa the next time he asks me? We tell him to tell the truth and then flat out lie about a fat guy coming down the chimney with gifts...ugh. I really am not Scrooge, but Santa isn't what Christmas is about any way...I never thought I would be the mom that wanted to crush the dream of Santa, but I would like to crush it like a bug...I guess I wish I could just make Jake little again so Santa was exciting and magical, not...I am just going to say it: annoying...
I think it is time to turn the attention to where it really should be on Christmas. The birth of our Savior, not Santa...

Leaves....

Aaron spent 4 hours blowing leaves yesterday...And then it rained last night, and this is what it looked like this morning...



At least this tree is done dropping it's leaves...

The big daddy of them all hasn't even started yet though...

Look how cute your bushes that Aaron cut back are coming back in Mom!

Don't mention around Aaron that fall is your favorite season. It is his least favorite right now...Jake is thrilled that there will be another chance for him to blow the leaves too!

Last week...

...Was pretty much like other weeks. Work, school, clean, sleep, church, Cub scouts...You know the routine you fall into, that was our week. I of course like to take pictures of very random things and since it seems no on really reads my blog any more any ways, I can post as many as I want!

First of all I am a big fan of "Real Simple" products. Not so much the magazine-I do like it but it has way to many ads in it. I bought this grocery list pad a couple of years ago and it hangs on our fridge. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't...but recently I felt the need to give it a try again-to make errands and shopping "real simple". It is one of those pads were through out the week, when you run out of something, you just go check the box so you won't forget you need it when you are at the store. Well, we were running low on toilet paper so I went to check the little box for it, only to find there wasn't one!!! Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't EVERYONE use toilet paper? Sponges, batteries, and light bulbs made the list, but toilet paper didn't!?! I wrote it in, no big deal, but to me toilet paper is much more of a priority than sponges are...



Although the weather is still not chilly, the house is. Aaron gave Jake a great idea on how to stay warm at night, and here it is:


He said he felt like a new man when he woke up the first night after sleeping in his sleeping bag. And yes that is a beach towel hanging over his window. It keeps the draft off him a little. And yes, the tent is down. Jake decided he wanted to go back to his double bed. Aaron commented we should have kept the tent up because it would have kept him warmer...

I just have to document this awesome game of Othello, in which I totally kicked Jake's butt. I need to document this because, ever since I taught him my tricks to win, he has totally kicked my butt! So, just for the record Jake, you may bet me 99% of the time now but I KICKED YOUR BUTT this time...The last 2 plays I made may not have been legal...You see, he couldn't go anywhere so I just took his game pieces and flipped even more of his over. :) But, before that I still had kicked his butt.
And last, but not least: the Conference Ensign finally showed up in our mail box on Thursday! The first thing I do when I get it is look at all the pictures. I LOVE THE PICTURES!!! Of course I love all the talks too, but the pictures are always so beautiful...I love that we have the subscription that sends 2 copies of the Conference editions-that way I can have one all to myself...I am actually going to read the whole thing this time and I have already started. I always say I am going to but then life happens and I find my copy buried under mail, pictures colored for me by my sweet boy, and that form I was supposed to have sent back to school weeks ago...Please tell me I am not the only one with that kind of pile...


One more thing...actually two more things... #1-I needed some lip gloss, eye liner and eye shadow and the budget for that was non-existent. Target has this AWESOME AND CHEAP line called ELF (eyes, lips, and face) and I got all three of these products for $1 each. The eyeliner even came with a sharpener. I LOVE THEM! Especially the lip gloss and I am picky about my "lip products".

#2-SHHHH! Don't tell Jake...I can't keep it in any longer!!! Jake and I are going to visit my parents on their mission 12/3-12/13. Aaron can't go because of exams and work :(, but my parents found cheap tickets and that is our Christmas gift!!!!! It is kind of a gift for Aaron too because he will be able to sleep in a quiet house and study in silence. :) DON'T TELL JAKE!!! Oh, I forgot no one is really going to see this any way.... :)

It sounds totally different depending on who is reading it....

Jake has to read for forty minutes each night and then do a little reading log to tell about what he read. Right now he is reading "The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg." He was so proud of his answer to the question "Why do you like this book?", and was excited to see what I thought about his answer. I meant to sneak into his backpack that night and write it down in his exact words but I forgot. Part of it went something like this:"...I like this book because Homer gets a lot of action. I dream about action!.." Now to a 9 year old boy that is just a shorter version of adventure, just less letters to have to write. To an adult it could have a totally different meaning...I told him it was really good but we may want to change the wording a little. Then Aaron read it and we both couldn't stop laughing. Jake laughed too. He thought we were laughing because the grammar wasn't correct. We told him that was why and had him change it a little and add adventure instead. He was even more excited with his new answer. We probably should have let him keep it that way and let his teacher have a little laugh too. :)

To Our Favorite Veteran, My Dad, And All Veterans

Thanks Dad, for serving our country. Thank you for raising us to be proud of our country, our freedoms, and our soldiers. Thank you for helping teach Jake that too. We thank every soldier we see.

In 2008, Dad took Jake and Aaron on a Huey ride at an air show. (Mom and I waited on the ground for them.) It's the kind of helicopter that my dad was a gunner on in Vietnam.




This is Dad and Jake at the Veteran's Day Airshow in Monroe last year.

Thank You. We wouldn't be able to live in this free nation if it weren't for Veterans. We wouldn't be able to go to the church of our choice if it weren't for Veterans. We wouldn't be able to say whatever we wanted to say, if it weren't for Veterans. We owe everything to our Veterans. Thank you on this day that honors you. We will try to honor you all every day.

Saturday: Jake declared it one of the best days ever (and the rest of the week)

Why? Because we pretty much did nothing...but hang out all day as a family. That doesn't happen too often lately with the crazy schedules we all have, so we enjoyed it ALOT!

Here are a few things that made it so fun:

-We rented Kirby's Epic Yarn (our every once in a while treat that only costs $3 for 24 hours), an AWESOME new game for the Wii. It is rated "E" for everyone and it is adorable. It is kind of like Mario Brothers, where you go across the screen jumping over and dodging all sorts of things, except you are these cute little guys made out of yarn and you turn into cars, dolphins, tanks, etc.. Everything is made out of yarn or different kind of fabrics (adorable), and you earn beads that you can then go use to buy stuff at the store to decorate your own room. RENT IT! You will love it. It is great for boys or girls and it is seriously ADORABLE! We played it A LONG TIME...That is why we only do this occasionally, so we won't go crossed eyed from staring at the TV so long.

-We laughed hysterically at each others push ups! (Jake likes to stick his butt up in the air and just lower down his lower half and my version includes falling on my face.) Aaron trained us and it was a great work out and pretty funny. So, funny that I almost peed my pants one time I was laughing so hard!..Okay, so maybe I had to run to the bathroom REALLY quickly because I did pee just a little...I know that is too much information but that is just how hard we are laughing and in 20 years when we look back at this I don't want Aaron and Jake saying I lied! :)

-We were talking about how it is getting cold out and Jake mentioned his head gets cold at night. Aaron told him to "Put a tuke on"-that is what he calls a winter hat. Jake's response was: "What's a tukon?" I am really not sure why but we laughed (hysterically-it was just one of those days), and said it a million more times laughing like it was the first time he said it. You had to be there...

There are a lot more things that made it fun and we actually did accomplish we few things around the house, but mostly we just spent time together. I love Saturdays that are lazy days.

Other things that happened this week:

-We sold the truck! Yippee!!!

-Jake got a wart on his thumb frozen. He was soooo worried was going to hurt because Della (cousin) told him that she cried for a couple of hours when she had hers frozen off. I tried to remind him that Della had several and one was on her foot which is more painful, but he was still concerned. I bribed him by telling him I would take him to get not 1, but 2 Junior Frosty's (the 2 put together equal a medium-if that. The juniors are the perfect little treat that is delicious and you don't have to feel guilty because it can't be that many calories. Thanks Nana and Papa for the coupons for Halloween!!!! Jake loves this tradition! ) after. Turns out it was a piece of cake and only hurt a little.

-I had a meeting on Thursday night for Primary. It was so great! The Stake leaders did a great job and we sang the new song that goes along with the theme for Primary next year: "I know the Scriptures are True". It is going to be so awesome and the song is going to be a tear jerker when the children sing it. Every year there is one song that just gets me. That you can just hear the children's little testimonies put into words and this is going to be it I can tell already. I love Primary. :)

-Jake had Tuesday off and luckily Aaron doesn't have school that day because I had no idea (until last Friday) that they didn't have school on election day! They had fun hanging out together.

-I really can't remember anything else other than the normal stuff that went on...Oh yeah! Jake is staying after school on Mondays to go to the library and learn how to do pod casts. He has two up on the school website right now. If you want to hear them you can go to: wces.ucps.k12.nc.us and look under Media Center. Once it pulls up look under Media Programs and click on Media Resources. Then you will click on Podcast Parade where it says: November News Mrs. Plyler's classroom. One of them is Jake and his friend Ben. The other one is just Jake. He loves it! He also gets to go into the library on Monday mornings and be a monitor. He wears a badge around his neck and has to tell people to be quiet. :)

-I am going to post some funny reenactments of dumb things people do when they are checking out at the U-Scan. I took pictures of another cashier when we were slow one day (the last couple week days of the month are kind of slow), and laughed at how funny (and dumb) the things that people do are, but how SO many people do it. I think they are intimidated by the machine or something...That is the nice version of what I think about people that use the U-Scan. :)

I miss Emily when....

...I am making Jake's lunch for school. Emily knew when I was making Jake's sandwich. She could be in the other room with Jake, but she knew when it was time to come and get her treat. Jake doesn't like the crust on his sandwich and I happen to have this handy Pampered Chef sandwich "cut-and-seal" (works great on keeping the J in your PB & J) that makes de-crusting an even easier job. Emily was the recipient of the unwanted crust. So, every morning when I am making Jake's lunch (even the mornings I am not making him a sandwich...), I smile and enjoy the memory of my sweet Emer's (one of her many nicknames) wagging her tail, licking her lips, and sitting patiently waiting for her crust. It seems crazy to just throw it a way...

Halloween Weekend

A 34 year tradition died this Halloween. We didn't even carve a pumpkin this year. Who doesn't carve a pumpkin at Halloween?!?! I am assuming I carved one every year of my life-Mom you can confirm this one for me. Technically it would be a 33 year tradition because this would be my 34th...) We decorated some cupcakes to make up for it. We just ran out of time and on Friday when we thought we would buy one, there were none to buy...

The festivities started Friday night with Trunk-or-Treat at Church. I brought my camera but didn't really use it...I of course managed to snap one picture of Jake. The adults were supposed to come as bugs, so 30 minutes before I pinned some dots to my red jacket and made antennae out of beaded Christmas ornaments. Aaron put on his Spyder brand Jacket and called it good.


Jake at Trunk-or-Treat
Jake traded candy with another kiddo to get these Twizzlers for me. :)
Yes, Aaron meant for his eyes to be closed. Jake is pointing to where it says "Spyder" on his jacket.


Saturday we went to Morgan's birthday Party, which was a costume party. Jake was the big kid there that entertained the little ones. He is crazy. He got to decorate a pumpkin so that kind of kept the pumpkin tradition alive right? This is a picture of us on our way to the party. Costumes were mandatory so I went as a Bi-lo cashier, with my SC hat on(they won this weekend!)...After the party he went to his buddy Corey's house to hang out and then went trick or treating. (Corey's neighborhood decided to do it Saturday night.)

This picture kind of cracks me up. Jake's smile is so funny!
On Sunday we decorated our pumpkin cupcakes while watching the "The Great Pumpkin", and Jake wisely decided not to trick or treat. He already had 2 nights worth of candy any way so it worked out perfectly. We turned off the outside lights and not one person rang the door bell! (We handed out all the candy at Trunk-or-Treat and I wasn't going to buy any more) This is the cupcake that Jake had all decorated and then some how dropped because he couldn't take his eyes off the Charlie Brown special...

The first few were fun but then it just became time consuming so we just dumped the sprinkles (or jimmies depending on what part of the country you are from), on.