School's Out and I'm Back - Hopefully

Well, now that school is officially out for the Christmas break, I hope to get back on top of things with the ole blog and let you know what's been happing/is happening in the Looper house.

Right now we're trying to adjust to having Mommy home all the time and not going to Nana's every day. It's been a difficult transition (both for Mommy and for Abby).

We're also preparing for Jake's first birthday, which is exactly one week from today. It's hard to imagine that this time last year I was in a panic because I realized that he was going to come into the world early. Now he's healthy (except for a runny nose and nasty cough) and pulling up and thinking about walking.

All in all, it's proving to be a hectic Christmas season, but I promise to try to make it back here often and update as much as I can.

Merry Christmas, all!

Two Deals!

Here are two deals that you folks with little ones (or with houses to clean) might find helpful.

The first is from Zulily. They have ADORABLE princess costumes like the one below for only $11.99. If you use ebates, you can get 3.5% on your purchase, and if you don't already have an ebates account, you can get $5 just for signing up. I've already gotten back about $20 from using the site. On Zulily, you can also use code SNAPZU10 to get 10% off of $30. They also have a GREAT elephant costume for 12-24 months.



The other deal is on Groupon.com. Under Atlanta, you can get $20 at soap.com for $10. I did this deal last week and got some laundry detergent that you can't buy in the store as well as dryer sheets. It was shipped straight to my door. I love, love, love this deal! Go to the site, sign up, find Atlanta and get in on the deal! You can also go through ebates and get 6% cash back.

Let me know if you snag any of these.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, Anyone?

Today was the weekly trip to Publix. My sweet mother-in-law came and watched Abby and Jake while I went to Easley.

The picture above was my haul. Want to guess how much I paid? The lady in line in front of me had about the same number of items in her cart (I know; it all depends on what you are getting), but she paid $143.00.

My total - $37.49.

I had $25.55 in coupons and saved $39.91 with store savings for a total of $65.46 (a savings of 64%).

You'll also notice these:

Those are crab cakes! Yay! We also eat a ton of cream cheese so there are 5 packages of those. I paid a whopping quarter each for the cream cheese.

I also had Hebrew National franks on my list; they were B1G1, but I didn't have a coupon. God is faithful because when I asked for the coupon books before I started shopping the top on had a coupon for $1/2.

I just love finding deals and steals.

Have you had any good shopping lately?

Frustrating!

This morning was a little frustrating to say the least. It wasn't this way because of the obvious reasons but because I'm a tightwad and wasting money irritates me.

I left my house on time (well, on time for me, pushing it for the rest of humanity), and when I was a ways down the road, Jason called to tell me that he didn't have car seats for the kiddos because we had taken them out this weekend to go the Clemson game. That was fine. I knew I'd have to cancel my 8 o'clock class, but that's not a big deal. I can catch them up in class; trust me, I've done it before.

I turned around, got the car seats from my sister-in-law's house, went home and cuddled my babies for a few minutes. This was a highlight because they were both still in bed when I left, so I didn't mind that at all!

Got back in my car and booked it down the road to school. I knew I'd have a few extra minutes. This time I really was early, so I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee. That's the practical thing to do when you're early isn't it?

I noticed that the cashier was outside smoking and talking on the phone when I pulled in, but she somehow managed to get my order when I came through the drive-thru. When I got to the window, she was diligently preparing my drink (still on the phone mind you), and I, being the optimist that I am, assumed she had washed her hands before she started working on the latte. Never assume. Bad plan.

The other two boys who work there also came in from their smoke breaks. I know because I saw them flick the butts of their cigarettes into the trash, open the door, come in and start fixing coffee for the guy behind me. No handwashing for these boys either. YUCK!

The girl handed me my drink, took my money (all still on the phone) and I drove off. Now, I know it's rude for ME to be on the phone while I'm dealing with a cashier, but I've never had the cashier be on the phone, and I know it wasn't work-related because she kept saying the word custody, and last time I checked, DD wasn't in a custody battle with anyone.

When I got to school, I took a big swig of my coffee only to find it laced with the taste of cigarettes and smoke. UGH! There went $2.80 down the drain - literally, I put it down the drain.

I sent an email to DD corporate. I hate to waste money. Someone please tell me how to be gracious in this situation because I'm struggling!

Pantry! Yay!

My precious husband worked diligently for two weekends to fix this fantastic pantry for me!

You may remember from my post about our kitchen remake that we moved the fridge from one side of the room to the other, leaving a hole where the fridge was. Said hole is now filled to capacity with my stockpile.

AND, I have to add - just because it's how I am - that I bought 48 jars of Stage 2 Beechnut baby food for $5.28. That's .11 per jar for those of you who stink at math like I do.

I've Decided

With regards to my previous post about Pastor Jones and the Dove World Outreach church that I will begin to fervently pray for torrents of rain on Saturday - all day, from dawn to dusk, so much rain that they couldn't even strike a match if they wanted to.

I figure, if God can pour down fire from heaven for Elijah, He can stop a little book burning in South Florida.

What do you think?

Meal Swap

I wanted to share with you a little more about the meal swap that I'm a part of. Our youth minister's wife is a work-at-home mom, and she, like the rest of us who are mommies, struggled with feeding her family healthy, well-balanced meals during the week. If you're anything like I am, I used to forego a home-cooked meal because it just took too much time! It wasn't just the time I spent preparing the meal that was frustrating, it was the time I invested thinking up interesting things for my family to eat. I do enjoy cooking, but given the option, on days when I have to teach until 1:30, I'm going to opt to eat somewhere where someone other than me fixes the food and washes all the dishes used in the preparation.

This is where the meal swap comes in. Amanda mentioned back in April to me and two other friends that she read in a book about having several families come together and cook meals for one another. I thought it was a great idea (as did the other ladies), but our husbands were skeptical and some of the children (and husbands) are very picky eaters, so we weren't sure how it would all work. Well, we sat down together, recipe cards in hand, and figured out the first month's meals. I printed the calendar, posted it on my fridge, and there was no going back.

I quickly learned that one boy doesn't like corn; there's a husband who won't eat vegetables of any kind unless they are well-hidden or potatoes. I caught on that my roast is a hit, which is nice because it's the easiest thing to fix, and that cooking for 4 families really isn't that different from cooking for one.

Once I had meals delivered every night, I knew that this was the way to go. My friends bring the food practically to my door every night, and sometimes I have to throw it into the oven to heat it, but that's way better than standing over a stove for an hour cooking something.

Also, with all the couponing I've been doing, I can feed all 5 families for about $20. We only do main dishes; the sides are up to the individual families, but I can open a can - how about you? I buy meat when it is on sale and keep it in the freezer until I need it.

This really is an awesome idea. Have any of you ever been involved in anything like this?

I don't usually post things like this.

And, I really don't, but those of you who are news junkies like me realize that there is something brewing in our country that needs to be addressed.

Maybe you've heard of pastor Terry Jones and his church Dove World Outreach Center. They are planning to burn the Koran this Saturday, September 11. He posits that the Koran is of the devil and blasphemous, and I agree with that completely, but the question that must be addressed is if this is the best way to make a statement against a group of people who we disagree with.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:22 that we should become all things to all men so that we may win some. I often tell my classes that alienation and degrading speech are not effective tools in argument. I can't help but think that this is what Pastor Jones is doing - degrading, tearing down.

Even the head commander David Petraeus says that this church's actions could be very detrimental to our work in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

You won't hear me ask this often, but will you go here and write a polite, thoughtful email to Pastor Jones asking him to reconsider his protest for Saturday? They may not listen, but at least we will have tried.

The Last Year

I admit it. I've been distracted, overwhelmed, pulled in a million directions. Jason and I had a lazy weekend last weekend, and it was nice because as we talked, we realized that for the next month and a half, we have something important to do EVERY WEEKEND. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. We started school; my PartyLite business is going well; I'm trying to be most diligent in clipping organizing, and using my coupons. Sometimes it's too much. I'm being chased by time, and I think it might catch me.

I'm not saying this to complain. This life is a wonderful one. The babies are healthy and growing. We're surrounded by friends who love us, and God is faithful as always.


I had a birthday in the middle of August, and I always like to sit down (usually closer to my birthday than this) and reflect on what God has done in the year. Isn't it sad that today is the first day I've had to do such reflecting.

Here are a few things:

I had a beautiful baby boy December 23. While 34 weeks is a little early to come, God took care of him and me and he's ALL BOY! I'll do a separate post about that. Who knew that boys really could be that different from girls this early in life!

My sweet baby turned 3 in July. Where has all the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home, and now she's sassy and smart and just a joy (most of the time; let's not forget she is still THREE!).

I went on load reduction at school which means that I only have to teach 4 classes every semester, which may not seem like much, but it gives me more time here, at home, where I desperately long to be.

I taught the most difficult group of students I have ever taught, AND SURVIVED! (Let me add, Jason survived too. It was questionable there for a while.)

I celebrated 5 years of marriage to a handsome, caring man.

We added two new folks to the meal swap I mentioned in an earlier post, which now means that I only have to cook one night during the week and the other four I get great food from wonderful friends. It's a WIN!

All in all, it's been a wonderful year. Please forgive me if the posts aren't as frequent as they have been in the past. I'm a little busy, but I'll be here occasionally.

Two Trips to Share

Okay, friends, I have two shopping trips to share with you - one from last week and one from today. If you're really fast on reading this blog, you can still make it to Walgreens and score these sweet deals. The Friends and Family Discount (15%) expires today, but the rest of the deal will continue for the rest of the week.

Last week I went to BiLo and Publix and scored all this food! Yay! I have to say too that God works in amazing ways some times.
I've not shared this here, but for the past few months several ladies in my church and I have been swapping meals. It is AWESOME! Please feel free to steal the idea. I cook one night a week for all four families (mine included) and then the other three nights of the week, I get a hot meal from one of my friends. We recently lost our fourth and are looking to replace her. Sad day.

Anyway, we get together once a month to plan the month's meals, which makes it really easy to pick up the things that I need when they are really cheap. Since we took the month of August off, I was behind in my preparation, and I needed salsa and chips, which I must note weren't on sale anywhere last week. I simply told myself I would wait until this week and hopefully they would be one sale somewhere. (Does this show you how much of a tightwad I am). When I got home and was putting away my things, guess what I found, a HUGE bag of chips a friend had given us and a large jar of salsa. God truly is faithful!

Back to my savings, this was my trip to Publix and BiLo. I spent $53.44 at Publix and $11.50 at BiLo. I saved $64.44 at Publix and $19.35 at BiLo. That's a savings of 56% and look at all the stuff I got!

Now, this was today:

I bought 3 packs of Pampers, one large bag of Pampers wipes, a box of Pampers wipes, a box of Huggies wipes, a candy bar for filler, two boxes of Special K, and 6 Sobe Life Waters (these I got at CVS and paid .05 for all six, less than a penny for each one). I spent $26.18, used my 15% Friends and Family Discount at Walgreens, used 3 B1G1 coupons for the Sobe at CVS, saved $31.90 or 55%. That's pretty sweet shopping if you ask me.

Oh, I should probably stop showing you all the candy I buy. That might explain why I can't lose weight, huh? ;-)

You can head to the Walgreens Facebook page and print the 15% coupon. It expires today, so you better hurry!

Why I do it...

I do sometimes get some flack for my obsession with couponing and deal hunting, but I've had two very satisfying experiences this weekend that affirm to me why I do what I do in the savings department.

This backpack is packed to overflowing with things I picked up at Staples. Our church works with DSS and fills backpacks for foster kids. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing that those of us who have been exceptionally blessed can bless someone else. It was also a teaching moment when I took Abby with me to the store to get the things and then filled the bag and said, "Baby, there are little boys and girls who don't have a backpack, and we're going to give one little boy or girl this one so that they'll have one." She looked up at me with those big eyes that said, "You're kidding, no backpack, crazy!" There's no time like now to learn to think outside ourselves.


And for all of you who mocked me about the Stayfree pads I picked up several weeks ago, God knew why I needed them. I put all this stuff in a bag and gave it to a lady at our church who really needed it. There's not enough money in the world to buy the feeling of humility I felt when she told me thank you. Were I buying this stuff at full retail, I NEVER would have given it away, nor would I have a stockpile of it the other room, but since God has blessed, I can bless.

And let's not forget that I also do it for these two sweet babies who call me Mommy and for the fella that calls me Honey. Proverbs 31 says that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies and that "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value" and that "she sees that her trading is profitable" and her children "arise and call her blessed." (v 10, 18, 28). That is my goal and why I do what I do.

How I do it

I was asked on my previous post where I get my coupons from, so I thought maybe I would share how I get the deals I get. Some of you already know this stuff, so feel free to tune me out, but before I share the technical stuff, I wanted to let you know about another awesome shopping trip, this time to Publix.

I've always thought that Publix was too far from my house to shop at, and I've bought into the thinking that Publix, like CVS, is just too expense; I mean, their generic stuff looks gourmet to me, but I'm wrong. Take note, because I don't admit to being wrong often. I much prefer to be right, but this time, I've made a mistake. Publix is only about 15 minutes down the road from me, and for the awesome savings that they offer, they're not too far away.

So here's what I got:

That's 2 half gallons of Smart Balance milk, 2 Soft Scrub Scrubby Pads, 2 big boxes of Chex, and 2 bags of Chock-ful-o-nuts coffee.
I paid $11.47, saved $15.47 and used $8.50 in coupons.
The Secret Clinical was a sample of deodorant that I got in the mail today. Yesterday I got a sample of Purina dog food.

So here are a few things that I do when couponing:

First, I have store cards for my 3 favorite stores, CVS, Ingles and Bi-Lo. Publix and Walgreens do not require store cards, so that's really nice.

I use two websites to help me find the best deals: Southern Savers and Hip2Save. Southern Savers lists mainly grocery store deals and occasionally great internet deals, and Hip2Save posts mainly freebies and internet/store deals. They serve two different functions for me.

I always buy TWO Sunday papers just for the inserts. Now, I do love to catch up on the news, but I buy the Sunday paper only for the coupons, no other reason, coupons only. I pull the inserts out (sometimes I stand in line and look through the papers quickly to make sure that they actually have the inserts in them) and put the date on them in marker - big marks on the front of the insert. That way when Southern Savers references the insert, I know which one I'm looking at.

I keep my inserts in a pocket folder divided into SmartSource, Red Plum, PGBrandSaver, internet coupons, and other coupons, and before I go to the store, I go through the inserts and match the coupons with the things that I want to buy. Never, ever, ever go to the store without a list. You will spend way more money than you intended to and you won't get great deals. Keep in mind that not all inserts have the same coupons, so Southern Savers may have a coupon listed in an insert that doesn't actually show up in yours.

I know that some people clip all their coupons and put them in binders in baseball card holders, but I have two small children who constantly cry for my attention, so I don't do that. Sometimes my mom will call me and let me know of a deal, and I'll take advantage of that. I also know the products that usually have coupons on them, so if I see one on clearance, I may come home and try to find a coupon to match it with. That's the extent of that.

I also love refunding. If I see that I can submit a refund for something, I do! I've gotten $39 in rebates just in the past two weeks. Y'all, that's $40 in money that I can deposit into my checking or savings account for things that I would have bought anyway. ChaChing!

One last note, whenever I go into CVS, I go directly to the magic coupon machine (in Pickens it's right inside the door, a big red machine) and scan my EC card to see what coupons shoot out. Usually there are some good ones for things that if they're not on sale already, they will be in the next few weeks. Sometimes you even get lucky with money off a purchase. Remember, these are store coupons and can be used with a manufacter's coupon in most stores.

I've saved a lot of money doing these kinds of deals, and let me warn you, it's addictive.

Feel free to post questions/comments below.

What a Deal!

You've got to take advantage of this deal if you have a baby or if you brush your teeth!

My mom called me and told me that Walgreens has Pampers wipes on sale for $2.49 and that there is a $2 off coupon in the July 6 Proctor and Gamble BrandSaver.

I had seen the deal on Southern Savers, but I hadn't thought much about it because I don't really shop at Walgreens all that much. I couldn't, however, pass up $.49 wipes. I mean, I wipe a lot of bottoms in my house.

I was worried that when I got to the store that they would all be gone, but the Walgreens in Pickens had a nice stock. I also grabbed Colgate toothpaste for $3.49 with a $1 coupon and $3.50 in RegisterRewards.

Here's what I got:

The Snickers are just filler so that I could use the RegisterRewards.

I paid $7.80, saved $16.01 and still have $3.50 in RR.

You seriously need to go to Walgreens and cash in on this. Wipes are a great baby gift!

The Checkups!

Yesterday was the big day - Abby had her 3 year checkup and Jake his 6 month. Now I know that Jake is almost 7 months now, but I wanted their checkups together, so I did what I had to do. Being the brilliant parent that I am, I of course scheduled said checkups right in the middle of naptime and with a doctor that I don't particularly like, but you know me, ever thoughtful!

I could have choked on my lunch when the nurse came around the corner holding a clear cup asking if Abby could give a specimen. I mean, sure, we just learned to peepee in the potty, peeing in a cup should be no problem at all. Luckily, she took one look at Abby and said, "she probably won't go in a cup, huh?" I replied, "uh, no."

Abby did, however, stand on the scale like a big girl and even let the nurse take her height measurement. She's 28lbs (6th percentile, woohoo) and 35 3/4 inches tall (28th percentile). She going to be tall and lean - yeah right! ;-)
One thing we couldn't get out of her was her blood pressure. Even though she's very practiced at taking our bp with the little cuff out of her doctor's bag (thanks, Lena) she wouldn't let the nurse near her with the real thing.

She also struggled against the gown that she had to wear. We convinced her to put it on with the promise of a prize and the observation that her gown matched Jake's diaper. Go figure. Three year olds.

The doctor asked if Abby was talking, and I swear if Jake had been able to say words, he probably would have said, "She never stops talking." I didn't know there were any three year olds who didn't talk, but I guess it happens. Abby and the doctor then had a great chat about colors and body parts. All the while, Abby clung to my neck like it was a life raft.

When it was Jake's turn, he weighed a whopping 13lbs even (1st percentile) and was 25 3/4 inches long (13th percentile). I don't know why my babies are longer than they are fat, but that's okay.

The one concern with Jake was his persistent hives. About 3 weeks ago he broke out with unexplained hives all over his body. They come and go, but the doctor said that now we get to go to a pediatric allergist to see if we can figure out what's going on. Fun days, huh? That means sticks and blood work.

Overall, it was a good checkup. They gave Jake a bazzillion (and that's not an exaggeration at all) shots. I had promised Abby NO SHOTS when we went, and they said that she could get two boosters if I wanted to. Now what parent WANTS their child to get shots? I asked if we could put it off since I promised, and I guess we'll do the boosters when we get her flu shot. I'm already dreading it.

And that's the update.

A Quick Rant

Now this picture may not look like anything to you, but it's a washing machine full of wet, unwashed clothes. I went to my laundry room this morning to finish washing Jake's diapers when I noticed that the covers were exceptionally wet. I just assumed because of the way that I have to wash his diapers that the spin cycle hadn't worked very well. Mistake!

What actually happened was our washing machine decided to go to the big laundromat in the sky.

Silly me, since I thought it was just the spin cycle, put another load in the machine to wash and then noticed that it sounded a little sick, opened the washer to find that the agitator wasn't working. Luckily, the water would still drain out the machine, so I wasn't left with a drum full of water and dirty clothes. That would have been fantastic.

While I was trying to figure out what I was going to do until we could get the clothes washed, I walked in to get Jake when I found him lying in a puddle.


This is our first overnight mishap. It would happen when I don't have a washing machine. No, Jake hasn't been raptured; I shot the picture after I stripped him and ran him to his room to be cleaned up.


And this, my bloggerville friends, is my third cup of coffee. It's definitely been a full-pot kind of day already.

Grocery Shopping for $50

I went to Bi-Lo and CVS last night to get the things we'll need for the week. I did pretty well.

I spent $42.88, saved $59.76, have a $10 rebate to submit and still have 5ECB.

You'll notice that I put that I shopped for $50 because I still have to buy 2 gallons of milk at Walgreens which will be about $6, so that will put me at $50. I've got some meat in the freezer that I'm cooking for dinner this week.

Overall, I think that's a pretty good haul!

One Up; One Down

Most of you have realized by now that I'm becoming fairly obsessed with finding good deals, and one of the best things I've discovered (come on, humor me here) is that companies will send you samples of their products FOR FREE! It's been fun to go out to the mailbox and find little packages with samples of things in them. It's also nice to try out products before you sink a fortune into them.

That being said, I tried two new things today, and one of them was fantastic, the other left something lacking.


The first was Garnier Nutriste Triple Protection shampoo and conditioner. The conditioner was thin and the shampoo too heavy. When I dried my hair it left them a strange texture. Now that my hair's been dry a while, the texture is back to normal, but initially it was coarse and hard to brush. **And just as a side note, opening those pesky packages while your fingers are wet is super duper frustrating. I think I may need to ask forgiveness for my anger.**

Now, the second Biore's Skin Preservation Dual Fusion mosturizer with SPF 30. I normally HATE any kind of lotion that has SPF because it smells and is thick and ultimately burns my fair skin, but THIS was FANTASTIC! It was light and smelled nice and I almost can't tell that it's on. It also did the job of mostrurizing my skin. The package wasn't the easiest to open, but at least my hands were dry.

So to sum it up, Biore = two thumbs up and Garnier = one thumb up and one thumb down.

What products have you tried that you love or hate?

Jakesaurous!

I think it's time to give the Jakester some love on the ole blog.

Abby had her birthday last weekend, as I'm sure you've noticed in the previous post, so sweet Jake has missed out on a lot of blog time.

He's growing, growing and he really wants to be a big boy and sit up and crawl and such, but he's just not.


Yesterday his first tooth popped through on the bottom. There's another trying to come in right beside it. I found it while he was chewing on my hand. Those suckers are sharp!

He's also learned to roll over and he loves to coo and chew on the cool teethers we bought him.

We lugged out the exersaucer this weekend, and that's a huge hit too! I think it's because he can sit up and see everything and it makes him feel like a big kid.

He naps in the morning and the afternoon and he's not a fan of rice cereal or solid foods, but we're working on it.

His six month checkup is next week, so I'll give you stats then.

Christmas Shopping in July!

Last year I was a little obsessive about getting my Christmas shopping and wrapping done early because I was certain (and right I might add) that Jake would be born right at Christmastime. This year I don't have a good excuse for my obsession except that we're watching our pennies and dollars and I'm trying to make every dollar stretch as far as it will.

That being said, I use one website in particular to help alert me to great internet buys. I probably shouldn't even tell you my source because you'll probably start using it too and all the great clearance items will be snatched away even faster, but I'm too generous not to share, so here it is - Hip2Save.

The author, Colin, is my age, the mother of 3 young children, and she shares awesome deals with her readers.

I'll tell you, I've already bought Christmas presents/birthday presents (depending on when I need to use them) for Abby and Jake, my nephews, my sister-in-law and my sister. I can't tell you what I got my sister-in-law or my sister because they occasionally look at this site, and I'd hate to ruin the surprise, but for my nephews I got a sweet deal on t-shirts at American Eagle (each shirt was $5 and there was free shipping) and for the Abster and Jakester, I got a few things at Disney.com and some cute, cute leggings for Abby in the fall.

All in all, I've spent about $50 for these presents. Not to bad if you think about it, AND there's some shopping over with and I didn't even have to drag my two monster...I mean angels...out with me to do it!

Yay for Christmas in July. You won't hear that much, so you better enjoy it now!

The Weekly Trip to CVS

This was a really great week of shopping at CVS because I was able to get some things that I really need - to answer the unasked question, no, we didn't NEED all the candy, but it does make great bribes for potty training, so I pick them up when I can.

I did need laundry detergent, toilet paper and most importantly makeup, so the trip was a success.

I spent $18.46 and saved $57.66. I still have 4ECB for next week, so I'd call that good shopping.

Oh, I should probably note here (since I got a few comments about it) I plan to donate about half of the Stayfree pads that I got a few weeks ago to a local women's shelter. They're not all for me! ;-)

How did you do this week.

Three!

At 1:14 a.m. on July 3, 2007, everything changed. Abby Elizabeth Looper came screaming into the world 6 weeks early at 2lbs 15oz. She was whisked away to the NICU where she stayed for 10 days, but she stole her mommy and daddy's hearts the first time they looked into her sweet, blue eyes, and now she's THREE!

What a difference 3 years makes.


I love you, baby girl.

Jason's Week Off

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we had quite the week last week while Jason was on vacation. I'll dedicate this post to Abby since she was the one with the biggest experience, but you'll also see another post with sweet Jake.

First, we went to the dentist where Abby got her teeth "tickled" and "glitter" put on them for her birthday this weekend. I must say she was great. She wouldn't let us finish applying the flouride at the end, but I was just impressed she got them cleaned and let the dentist actually look in her mouth. I guess everything's better when you're sitting on Daddy's lap.


Next we went to the zoo.

Here's a picture of our zoo trip right after Abby turned 1:

And here's one from this trip:


I look back at these and can't believe how much she's changed in two years. I was thinking yesterday that I no longer parent a toddler. Now she's a preschooler.

Let me mention here that it was HOT at the zoo that day. Of course, it seems that it's been HOT around here for the past month!

On Wednesday we made a stop at Clemson to eat lunch with Aunt Heidi and of course to see the stadium. We convinced Abby to have her picture made with the tiger statue. I don't know that she's actually convinced.

Lastly, we got Abby's hair cut. She's had it cut before, but this was the first time she actually got any significant length cut off, and it looks pretty good. It's kind of funny because this was more traumatic than the dentist! You'll notice, she's on Jason's lap again - see what I mean - better.




There is one final accomplishment that I should probably mention. I think we're finally POTTY TRAINED! This didn't happen last week; it actually has been ongoing for the past month, but Abby seems to have gotten it, and that's a relief. She's still in diapers at night and naptime, and occasionally when we're on a long car ride or if we're going to be, I don't know, say, at the ZOO where the bathrooms are disgusting, but other than that she understands the concept.

So that's our stay-cation. It was a fun one.

Shopping for FREE!

As I said earlier, I had to make a return trip to CVS because they were out of what I was looking for. Well, here it is, my super duper, great deal from CVS.

I paid $10 and some change for this, got back 5ECB and submitted a $5 rebate for the Windex and Pledge. Now, I admit I'm not great at math, but it looks like to me that this stuff is ultimately FREE. Awesome!

Jason keeps asking if I'm going to rent a booth at the jockey lot to sell some of this stuff that I'm getting because that's the first thing I noticed when we were there last week - much of the stuff, retail-wise, that people were hocking was the stuff that I get for free at CVS. Isn't that funny!

I Get It Honest

When I was a little girl, my mom had a "refunding room". This was a hot, windowless room off of our garage that smelled of must and old paper. She kept old diaper boxes full of receipts, UPCs, and labels in there. She also subscribed to a magazine called "Refunding Makes Cents", and would regularly soak the labels off of orange juice bottles so that she could send them in for refunds.

Well, I have to admit, my name is Alicia, and I'm addicted to refunding and couponing. I thought when I was little that my mom was kind of weird for doing all these things, but in the past six months, I've found that I too cut the UPCs off of items and mail them in for refunds. To be honest, the refunds these days are a bit sweeter than they were when my mom was doing it, and it's kind of a high to walk out of a store knowing that you saved more than you spent.

Here's a picture of how I did today. CVS - my favorite store!- was out of a few things that I wanted, so I've got to go back, but I did okay.



This stuff is from both Walgreens and CVS. I spent $40.61, saved $53.16, still have 2ECB to spend when I go back, and the Aveeno stuff will be sent in for a $10 rebate. That shakes out to $28.61 for this stuff. I also bought 4 Sunday papers and 1 20oz coke. Not too bad, huh?

Oh, and as a side note, for those of you who steal the inserts out of the Sunday paper without buying it, you're breaking the 9th commandment. I'm just saying. That really irritates me. 3 of the 4 papers didn't have the RedPlum insert, which is the one I needed. UGH!

Okay, how do you save?

That Paula Deen

We've had a busy two days around the Looper house. Jason's on vacation this week, and since we didn't go anywhere for a formal vacation, we've been finding "adventures" to go on locally. I'll post pictures later, but so far we've been to the Greenville Zoo, the flea market/sale barn (whatever you'd like to call it), to Clemson to visit Aunt Heidi and we're going to informally celebrate birthdays with some of our very best friends tonight. To put this into perspective, I laid down with Jake on our bed last night around 8:30 just to calm him down and get him to go to sleep and Jason woke me up at midnight to tell me to go to bed. It's just too hot to be running around like this, but Abby's had a blast, so it's all good.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to tell you about a fantastic lemonade recipe I stumbled upon. I kind of altered it, but that's what cooking is, right, a great big experiment in the kitchen?

I don't go to the flea market often, mainly because it's hot and dusty and smoky, and well you get the point, but we went this morning because it had been years since Jason or I had been. Jason said that you could have driven him out there this morning and told him he'd been transported to 1989, and he wouldn't have known the difference, and I would agree. People were still hocking junk, food, chickens, rabbits, dogs, Atari's, you get the picture.

BUT, they do sell amazing produce at the flea market, and that's where I got suckered in. We bought lemons, key limes, peppers, squash and zucchini. Tomorrow night we're feasting on roasted veggies and maybe pork chops (or chicken, whatever is on sale).

Once I got the lemons home, I had to make lemonade; that's what you do with lemons, right? Unless you're Kelly on The Real Housewives of New York then you might make lemons out of lemonade, but I digress.

I found a recipe by Paula Deen, cut it in half and added a few key limes, and let me say, it was wonderful.

Here it is. Let me know if you like it as much as we do.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup lemon juice (I used 5 lemons and 2 key limes - be sure to strain it)
1/2 gallon water (I mixed water and ice cubes to cool it down quicker)

Direction: Dissolve sugar in hot water in a half gallon pitcher. Add lemon juice. Stir until mixed. Add cold water and ice. Serve. (Yields 1/2 gallon)

Super yummy!

Father's Day Weekend and Twins?

Ahhhh...has that title intrigued you?

No, we're not having twins (or any other baby right now), but we did make a trip to Hagood Mill on Saturday with a friend of ours and his two kids. Ed's little boy was born at the beginning of March (you'll remember Jake was born the end of December), and we had them both in the double stroller. We had no less than 4 people come up to us saying how sweet our twins were. I guess the real problem was that Ed's wife was working, so I was the only mom there.



Now, look at this picture and tell me that these two boys look like twins. I know they're about the same side, but Jonathan is part Navajo, and Jake is as lily-white as they come (a trait he got from me).



Abby's BEST FRIEND EVER (at that moment) Nathanael was there. They gorged on funnel cake and pig petting.

On Father's Day we had the whole family over for lunch because Jake was dedicated. I'm waiting on pictures from that because my camera didn't do a good job getting pictures.


Here's Jason's family


And this is my family.


Finally, Abby wrote her first word on my dad's Father's Day card, and it couldn't have been more appropriate.

A few pictures

Now I'm a realist, and I realize that most of you don't read this blog to hear about my spiritual breakthroughs and listen to my ramblings. Instead, many of you use this as a way of keeping up with the two precious children who live in my house.

That's why for the rest of this blog, I'm not going to say anything; instead, I'm going to post some pictures of the angels and let you enjoy them.