The Tooth Fairy came this week!

If you look close you will see that Jon is missing a tooth and there are a few more wiggly ones on their way out! The tooth fairy came and brought Jon $2! You are getting bigger Jon!

Our First Class Scout

After 21 months as a scout, Jacob got his First Class rank as well as 7 merit badges (the First Aid badge is not pictured)! He has to wait for 4 months and do a 6 hour service project and then he will have his Star and then on to Life. July 22, 2010 is the date he has set to have his Eagle completed! You can do it Jacob! Keep up the great work!

The Baby Teeth are "awake and wiggling"

Jon has been so funny with his comments about his loose tooth. He is amazed that on the way to church his tooth wasn't loose and on the way home it was. One of his comments was, "All my baby teeth woke up and are wiggling!" He is nervous to pull it out so we'll have to see how long it takes and we'll keep you posted when the big day arrives. In the mean time, you'll Jon and his baby teeth wiggling away!

Lego Architecture 101

Every Sunday I try to get some extra fun 1 on 1 time with each of the children. Today Jon wanted to play cards but since they are Jacob's cards and Jacob is at Priesthood Preview giving a talk and we couldn't ask for permission we opted for another activity. Bummed Jon finally said, "Ok, Mom how about the BIG Legos?". Here are a few pics of our creation.

We're having a sleepover! No boys allowed!

Clarissa is getting all ready for her party this week! She is getting her ears pierced, a pedicure, some new cute PJs, and plenty of snacks! She decided on Hawaiian Haystacks and grilled pineapple with ice cream for dessert. In the morning we are having muffins and fruit with yummy dip! She is still deciding on activities - flower pots, movies, Wii girl games, tie dying, makeovers, make cookies....how is a girl to decide! Got any great ideas? Leave a comment!

Pay it Forward!

Pay it Forward

I found this on my friend's blog (Thanks Jennifer) Hope it'll be fun!!

The rules:
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (that in and of itself will be a real treat since I rarely get crafty any longer).

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item (no pressure there!). This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward. Or just lurk the blogs of the people who respond to mine- then you'll be ready to add yourself in the mix.

Lemon Water and Tissue Issues...

It all started Tuesday night with a runny nose and watery eyes. Wednesday morning followed with a sore throat and more of the same from Tuesday. Thursday it all settled in and I had no voice. Friday I FORGOT an appointment, put the wrong product in an order for a client, forgot to call another and was DIZZY! Friday night I drugged myself up good to attend conference I had paid for. Saturday I did the same thing and came how with a very RAW nose. This morning I drank a TON of fresh juice lemon water to cut the congestion and tried to get a few things done for the day - plan the week, help Jon with a talk, get Jacob's scout stuff in order for his board of review today, etc. I was thinking I was doing pretty well getting things amidst all the piles of tissues and the watery eyes and then I got a call from the YW President at 12:10. I answered in my stuffy nose voice and she wondered if I was coming to our meeting. I responded with "What meeting?". She politely said we have our PI meeting right now and I guess we'll do it without you. Seriously - I HAD FORGOTTEN ANOTHER THING! I looked at my calendar and there it was in BOLD! PI 12 PM. I decided right then that I was staying home to rest. How embarrassing to be so forgetful this week! Very humbling indeed!

CA Deals this week Rayley's and Walgreens

This Sunday there was a Rayley's coupon for $20 of a purchase of $100 or more. Here is how we worked it in our family -

Suave shampoo	0.88	*	Coupons:$1.75
Suave conditioner	0.88	*
Suave shampoo	0.88	*
Santitas chips	0.99	*
Santitas chips	0.99	*
Wheat thins	1.88	*	1.00
Wheat thins	1.88	*
Cheese 2 lbs	4.99	*
Cheese 2 lbs	4.99	*
Cheese 2 lbs	4.99	*
Cheese 2 lbs	4.99	*
ground beef patties	6.99	*
Birds eye veggie meal	5.99	*	2.00
Bertoli Past meal	5.99	*	1.25
Bertoli Past meal	5.99	*	1.25
Bertoli Past meal	5.99	*	1.25
Mac & Cheese - 2	1.18
Smart Water - 10	10
Sugar 5 lbs	5.99	*	0.35
Broccoli 2 lbs	2
Aspargus - 2 lbs	4
Salad 2 bag romain	4
M&Ms 1 bag	2.59	*	1
Woolite	6.99	*	1
Lysol cleaner	2.59	*	0.50
Spray and Wash	1.99*		0.50

All items on "sale". All * items had one or more coupons used w/ sale price.

Purchase Value over $100 - total cost after coupons - $68.77

Meals for the week at our house:
1. Cheese & Veggie Pizzas (homemade dough)
2. Beef and Broccoli w/ rice
3. "Birds eye" meal w/ an extra pack of veggies to stretch it!
4. Taco Salad (w/ chips on sale and homemade chili from food storage)
5. Bertoli Pasta meal w/ salad
6. Grilled Hamburgers & grilled aspargus
7. Mac & Cheese with "Octopus" shaped Dogs and raw veggies

At the end of the week we are still able to add items to our "storage": cheese, 2 Bertoli pasta meals, M&Ms for Easter, 10 lbs of sugar, shampoo/conditioner, cleaning supplies. Crackers & chips to add to lunches.

Clarissa also found a coupon for gum that she paired with the Walgreen's add! Total cost for Stride 14 pk - $0.12 Wahoo! We love coupons at our house!

Happy Birthday Clarissa!

Wahoo! Clarissa hit DOUBLE Digits today! She had breakfast in bed, got beautiful flowers and went on a special date to a concert with Dad! Happy Birthday Sweet Clarissa!

I just "Guest Posted" for a Blog...

Guest Post: More on Couponing - Items from Save Mart this week!

This week you can find some pretty good deals at Save Mart! They have Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt on sale for 10/$5. Pair that with the coupon from your Sunday inserts and you'll get them for only $0.40 each. Onions are only $0.33 per pound. There is a $3 off coupon from General Mills when you buy any 6 "participating" items - see the add for more details: http://savemart.gsnrecipes.com/Shop/WeeklyAd.aspx There are many other things that might be useful for your family but those are a couple that were useful for ours!

When you spend $10 or more you can also buy:
Chicken of the Sea tuna for only $0.58 (2 can limit)
Apple Juice (2 bottle, 64 oz) $0.99 each
3 Count Romain Hearts $1.29 each (2 bag limit)
8 oz Hormel Natural Lunch Meat $1.99 (2 pkg limit)

Usually we spend more than $20 on groceries in a week. So what I do is split my shopping list in half in my cart and into two separate orders when I check out allowing me to get 4 of everything listed above instead of just two. If it is something I don't need or want to stock then I have to discipline myself and not get it. This week I will get 4 tuna. 4 apple juice, 2 lettuce, and 2 lunch meat. Just be sure to have two copies of the ad to do this so that you have the extra coupons needed.

Happy Shopping! - Sarah, www.twitter.com/missvibrant

Clarissa's Perfect Carrot Cake

Doesn't this look just simply mouth watering? Clarissa made it all by herself (asking a few questions of course along the way)! She made two cakes to take to the YW Girl's Camp Silent Dessert Auction Fundraiser last night and also a dozen muffins for us to eat for breakfast this week. The recipe is wheat free and "low sugar" so of course I had to have some. I ate SIX muffins before we even left for the auction and another when we got home and then two more for breakfast this morning! Yikes - no wonder my skirt was a little tight this morning! I had this piece of cake for "dinner" - gotta get those veggies in you know!

Great job on your cooking skills Clarissa! She even made the cream cheese frosting - yum!

Zits, Death Crawls, and the Hundred Acre Wood

Jon has been keeping us all rolling on the floor LOL because of the funny things he says. Here are a few of his latest:

"I have a zit! That means I must be growing up big."

"Today at church I learned about Joseph Smith and he went to the Hundred Acre Wood to pray and he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus."

"Look at my guns".

He has been really working to get big muscles! You can find him doing "death crawls" in the back yard just like they do in "Facing the Giants". Or you may find him doing curls with my 10 lb weights. You can also find him doing push-ups and jumping jacks! I wish I had half of his energy! He is amazing!

This is picture is of him as "musician rapper". He dresses up a LOT!

Thanks for making us all smile Jon!

This guy is home-schooled!

February 20th was Jacob's last day of public school. The last two weeks have been a bit overwhelming and challenging at times but all in all he is VERY happy to not be in public school any longer. Jacob's pre-testing for homeschooling came back and he is testing at a 9th grade level in Math and close to 9th grade in Language arts and world history. He is excited to be in a home-school band Mondays and Wednesdays. Jacob is playing the trumpet in the intermediate band and will start playing in the beginning band with the clarinet really soon. He is already learning some of it on his own from Clarissa who plays in the band at her school. His goal by the end of 8th grade is to be playing (at some level) the trumpet, clarinet, drums and acoustic guitar. I am excited that he has gotten so much done with his scouting since he has been home the last two weeks. In his spare time from studies he is learning all he can about Click Bank, affiliate marketing and other online marketing strategies. Go Jake go!

Signs of Spring!

Everywhere I turn there are signs of spring and I am so excited. Here are a few pictures of one of the plants that is already blooming in my garden. I still have so much to do to become a "master gardener" but one baby step at a time and we'll have some good produce in no time!