Extreme couponing.... maybe

So now that I am a WAHM (see previous post for explanation on this one) we are trying to save a little money by clipping some coupons. I don't know if you have ever seen the show on TLC, but wow those people save some crazy amounts of money, not to mention get things for FREE! Now I won't be building any stock piles or at any given time have 50 mustards on hand, but I will be saving some money and yes getting some things for FREE. Me and the hubs have been doing some research on the deals and today we had a great one! 
So here's what we got at CVS for $8.35:  2 hawain tropic chapsticks, 2 dove deodorant, 1 Pantene Shampoo, 1 Pantene conditioner, 1 24 pack of Deerpark water  (Retail value: about $30)

1st transaction:  two Hawaiian tropic SPF chap sticks       total spent: $6.40
 BUT, you get 10 Extra Care Bucks when you buy any two Hawaiian tropic products. (to use on your next transaction) So we made $3.60 on this transaction.

2nd transaction: case of 24 Deer Park water, 2 Dove deodorant, 1 Pantene Shampoo, 1 Pantene Conditioner Total spent $1.95  How is that possible you ask? here is the breakdown:

Water was on sale for $3.88, deodorant was 2/$5 and we had a coupon $1/1, Pantene was 2/$6.97 and we had a coupon $3/2.  then we applied the $10 ECB from our previous transaction.

AND we got $2 ECB for buying any two Pantene Products. So we walk away spending $8.35 out of pocket and $2 in ECB !

The best thing about this transaction is this is all stuff we need at the moment and will use. So again... no 50 mustards hanging around for no reason. You can coupon, get good deals, and get stuff for FREE with out being EXTREME. :) 

SAHM

This acronym is part of my world these days. "Stay at Home Mom". That's me! Well I guess technically I am a WAHM "Work at Home Mom". I have been home with Joey for 2 weeks now. I left the corporate world and crazy hours to be able to stay home with my little boy. SO FAR... the best decision we ever made. We have had such trouble finding reliable childcare for Joey since the time he was born. With both of us in retail (having to work weekends, weird hours, etc...) it has be very stressful. So when our last sitter told us she couldn't watch him anymore we knew we had to figure out a permanent solution.

Since I have been doing so well with my MaggieBelles business, it made sense for me to stay at home since I would still be bringing in money. Not to mention doing what I love... creating fun things AND seeing my son grow and learn everyday.

Now it's not all fun and games, there are times when it is tough being at home all the time. Kudos to those moms who have several children and have done this there whole lives. I'm still figuring it out with just 1 right now. But I am enjoying seeing Joey everyday. He learns and does something new all the time and now I am the first one who sees it. I don't have to hear a story or see a picture. They are only little once. And we don't get second chances to see them grow up. And hey maybe now I will be able to catch up on blogging...

Joey's First Christmas

I remember last Christmas (2009) I was 32 weeks pregnant. huge... miserable...but also waiting with anticipation for my sweet baby to be here. I remember thinking that this time next year I will have toys everywhere and excitement of my little guy. Well fast forward (way to fast) and Joey's first Christmas has come and gone. And I think Santa left every toy he made this year at my house. :)


For Christmas eve we went to Mom's house. It has been a tradition as long as I can remember that on Christmas eve my mom's side of the family has always gotten together. We used to always go to Grandma's house when was little. We always had good food and then opened presents. I remember being so excited to open presents and get home and wait for Santa. It is one of those feelings of anticipation/excitement you don't get to feel that often. For the past few years it has been at mt mom's house. But this year was different. It was the first Christmas without Grandma being there. She passed away in September, but I am sure she was looking down from above watching her children, grandchildren and great grandchild celebrate this holiday. Christmas will always remind me of Grandma. She loved Christmas. When Joey is older I will tell him stories about all of the Christmas Eve's I can remember. And we will creates new memories and traditions so that he will always be able to remember.

On Christmas day we wnt back to Mom's. Christian's mom and sister came up from Florida for the day. And Joey got more toys. I seriously don't know where I am going to put all of this stuff. :) It seems like time just goes by to fast. Especially now. I sometimes wish I could stop time. Just pause in a moment and treasure it for ever. I guess that is why I take so many pictures. I look back at them all the time and remember his little smiles and faces he would make. He is the most amazing gift I will ever get. Better than any Christmas gift could ever be.

Oh Christmas Tree

The tree is officially up! It took much longer than it ever has before. That would be because of a little guy name Joey who is capable of crawling and getting into ornaments. And when mommy does not let him get them he is very mad. lol. You can try bribing the child with every toy he has, but with there are tubs of sparkly new things good luck with him not wanting to get into it.

After it was done though and I held him next to the tree and the lights sparkled in his eyes he suddenly had the biggest smile on his face. it is one of those moments that will always be frozen in my memory. It is another one of those firsts that you only get to experience once. Of course there will be many more Christmas trees and he will smile bigger each year, but that first look will remain priceless.

So later this week, we will make sure that daddy gets up the lights on the outside of the house and the rest of the ribbons and I will of take pictures of everything. I am so excited about Christmas this year. I can't wait for Joey to get to experience the fun of all things Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2010

Joey's first turkey dinner

Yum. Yum. Yum. Its was great food and fun as always for Thanksgiving. The turkey and gravy and rice and butter beans and mac and cheese and all of the other goodies were so very good. We went to mom and dad's as usual and our friends Jen and George came with us. Their family is in Ohio and they go home for Christmas, so they stay here in Hilton Head for Thanksgiving. Also joining us were long time friends of the family Sherry and George. Yep. We had 2 George's for dinner. :)

It was Joey's first Thanksgiving. Not that he really understands what "thanksgiving" means. I am certainly thankful for him. He was so much fun to watch as he picked up little pieces of turkey and rice. It was his first time eating this type of turkey. He did ok with it. much of ended up on the floor, which Hercules was happy about. He had his 1st Thanks giving shirt and his turkey bib, so if anything he was adorable!


 We got Joey these really cute first Thanksgiving pajamas. We bought these a year ago on clearance for like $2. He wasn't even born yet. We did the math and figured he would be about 9 months old, so we got the 9 months size. It fit... barely. He wore them last night. I love that the feet say little....turkey. so cute! 

So he is at Mimi's house for the weekend, while mommy and daddy deal with the crazy Black Friday shoppers tomorrow. Should be interesting! As least we get a good nights sleep before dealing with all of the crazies. :)

Turning 30

Yep. that's right. I turned 30 years old today. I still find it hard to believe. I mean 30??? me??? I'm not sure why this is somewhat difficult for me. I know 30 is still young, but wow does time just seem to keep moving faster and faster.

Remember when we were younger and all we wanted was for time to go by quickly. We just wanted to be "older".  I guess is just like everything else in life. you understand it more the older you get. I wish I knew and understood things... ok. well. looked at things the way I do now. Our parents were right. We don't know everything when we are a teenager. lol. But maybe some of my knowledge comes from the fact that I am now myself a parent ( of a crawling, soon to be walking, has 4 teeth, 9 month old). I learn something new everyday. He makes me appreciate everyday and every moment.

If you asked me where I thought I would be when I was 30... I would have said married, with kids. So I am married ( to my best friend and my other half) and I have my little Joey. I would say 30 is good so far. I got pancakes for breakfast and had a lazy day watching movies and hanging out with my two favorite boys! :)

6 months ago...

My world was changed by this amazing little person that God blessed me with. At 6:45pm on February 12, 2010... Joseph Alberto Arroyo was born.

It is hard to remember what life was like with out him as a part of our world. it seems as if he has just always been a part of our lives. What did we do with all of that "extra time" we used to have. Anyone who is a mom knows what I'm talking about. I mean, I thought I was busy before, but now I know what busy means. When you become a parent you become a more organized person. You learn to do many things at a time and you somehow survive on little sleep sometimes. You some how form superpowers. I have ninja like reflexes. If something is about to drop I somehow have the senses of spiderman and grab it. Watching Sesame Street becomes interesting and making silly faces to make your child laugh is completely normal.

The wonderful thing about all of this... I love every moment. nothing makes me more happy than to hang out with Joey. He amazes me everyday with how smart he is and new things he learns to do. In 6 months he has learned to hold his head up, rolled over, sit up on his own and is trying to crawl. Tell me when else in our lives to we learn so many things in such a short time. Babies are incredible.

So HAPPY 1/2 YEAR BIRTHDAY to my wonderful little boy! I love you!

How many people can make you feel extraordinary?

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"


I just finished watching the movie "Marley and Me". I had read the book a few years ago and I cried then. So I knew when I watched the movie tonight there would be tears again. As usual the book is always more in depth and John Grogan is an amazing writer. It was probably easy to turn this into a book because as you read you see the people come to life. For him, since it was his life, he was able to tell his story.

Of course the book is about Marley, their dog, but it is also about family... family and how as you go through life, things change and what you may have thought at some point was important, really doesn't compare to what is important now. How no matter how crazy some of your days (and nights) are, you are still there for each other.

As I watched this movie tonight, sitting next to my husband, with my baby falling asleep in my arms and my 3 dogs at the end of the bed. I thought to myself how lucky I am to be loved by all 5 of them. they are my little family. I remember writing in one of my first blog posts about how my family began with my dogs. any dog lover out there knows what I mean. They are your four legged children. And even though sometimes Lexie, Maggie and Annabelle drive me crazy, I love them so much!

At the end of the movie the oldest child was watching videos of when he was little and how Marley was always a part of birthdays, holidays and all of life's events. I said "We have to start taking more video". With Joey nearing the 6 month mark, I think of all of the moments we have already had. I think I do a pretty good job of taking pictures, but I want more video. There is nothing like looking back at his pictures of when he was a newborn and how much he has changed and grown. He is so smart and amazes me more everyday.

So to answer the question at the beginning... My family makes me feel extraordinary! And my family includes my four legged children. :)

In the picture above- Lexie, Maggie and Annabelle instantly fell in love with Joey when we brought him home. (Feb 2010)

Joey's first vacation!

The first year of a baby's life is filled with "firsts". Even though all of these things your baby will probably do a million times, there is something special about capturing those first moments. Joey is 4 1/2 months old now and we have had so many fun firsts. This past weekend we had a bunch of "firsts". Not only did we have our first vacation with a 5 hours drive to Florida to go see Nana, but he also got to experience the beach and the pool for the first time.

We left on Friday morning... days, yes days before this I was doing laundry and packing Joey's things. Being this was the first time we have gone out of town with him, i really wasn't sure how much or even what to take. So I started with the obvious... diapers, wipes, formula, etc. That was easy. you can never have to much of any of that. But when I went to try to figure what clothes to bring... well... I think I went a little overboard. He is going through this phase right now where he is drooling like crazy (I'm pretty sure he is teething) so we go through a bunch of bibs everyday. Sometimes is so much he gets the tops of his shirts wet (which he hates) so we end up changing that to. So I packed a bunch of bibs, a bunch of onesies and some other stuff. needless to say we had more stuff for the kid than for ourselves. lol.

The trip started out well. He had his toys in the back and then took a nap. We stopped in Darien, GA to change and feed him and walked around for a little bit at the outlets there. I wanted to get him out of the car seat. Then we got back on the road. We stopped at the Florida visitors center and got out and stretched again. And of course did the obligitory photo in front of the "Welcome to Florida" sign. We were probably about half way there and he just started crying like he was saying "I'm over being in this car, get me out!" I couldn't blame him... I was tired of being in the car myself. I ended up jumping in the back seat, making him a bottle and feeding him as we were driving. he went back to sleep and was fine until we got there. We got checked in, had dinner and he was so tired I laid him down on the bed and he was out. Little itty bitty guy in the king size bed was too funny.

On Saturday we woke up (at 7am... Joey doesn't understand vacation time yet) and got ready to go to the beach. this meant lots of sunscreen and his new monkey swimsuit from Gymboree. Then we lugged the cooler and our bags and towels down to the beach. I guess all of that walking made him sleepy, because he was passed out by the time we got down there.

Once he woke up, he played in the sand and got to put his feet in the ocean for the first time. He wasn't to sure about the water (it was a little cold).
Then we went up to the pool for a little while. i had bought this great turtle floatie thing for him at Target and was excited to try it out. he was not so excited... After that it was time to go to the room and take a nap... all of us. :)
So we learned a lot of things from this first trip as a family of 3. Well... we learn new things everyday being parents. you figure out what works best and what to never try again. You realize that not everything you read while you were pregnant will happen and that it is possible to do stuff with a little one. the biggest thing you learn is that you have to plan things, yet still be flexible. because what baby needs/wants comes first. We have 3 more days of vacation left... then back to work. Joey starts with his new nanny on Friday and his 4 month checkup is in the morning. So a few more "firsts" will be added to the list. It is hard to believe its almost July. Time does fly... even more reason to really enjoy all of the "firsts". :)

My First Mother's Day

There are many things in your life you get to experience for the first time. Today I celebrated my First Mother's day as a Mom (Not that I haven't been a "mom", because of course I have my furbabies... Lexie, Maggie and Annabelle.) But today meant so much more because now understand what it feels like to have a child on Mother's Day. It makes you respect and appreciate all of the Mom's out there.

We went to Savannah today and had lunch with Mom, Dad and Bren. After that we took Joey to meet his Great Grandma Christine for the first time. Grandma is in a nursing home so it has been difficult to take him before now because he was so little. She was so excited to meet him and he smiled and smiled at her.

                                 Joey and his Great Grandma Christine

The older you get you understand how important family is. Even though Joey is little now, one day he will be able to look back and have all of these wonderful memories that we are creating everyday. Life goes by so fast that sometimes we just have to stop and reflect on what is really important. The little things don't matter and even though there are rough times as long as you have the ones that love you... You can make it through anything.

My favorite boys! You are my world! I love you!

Joey's 1st Easter

Holidays always seemed to mean so much more when we were kids and now that I have a little one of my own it is great to be able to "relive" the excitement of a holiday with him. Now I know that he is only 7 weeks old and he doesn't understand that the Easter Bunny came to see him last night and left a basket full of goodies, but it was still fun for me (the mom) to be excited about the bunny stopping by.

We went to see the Easter Bunny on Thursday at the 
Mall in Hilton Head and got his picture taken. He was very good and not scared of the giant furry bunny holding him (we will see if he is just as good when it comes time to see Santa). I always feel like he is a "big" little guy, not fat, but he is long and already weighs 13 lbs. But when he was in the bunny's arm's he looks so tiny... it was so cute. The photographer  
was great and he will be 
doing the Santa pictures 
to, so we will definitely 
be going back to him 
in December. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Today we went to Savannah to see Mimi and Grandpa. I got him this cute little outfit from Carter's and he had a "baby's 1st Easter" bib. I have found that it is tough to find a big selection for under 6 months, it is mostly sleep/play sets. It was a gorgeous day out and nice to just hang out and relax with the family. We had some yummy food and got to play with Joey's new toys that Mimi got him. She got him this great Tummy time mat. It has a froggy on it (after monkeys and elephants, froggy's are his next favorite thing) .  :)

Awaiting arrival

I had set up this blog a while back to start writing in when our baby boy Joey is born. One: to be able to keep family and friends updated on all of the fun things Joey will be doing as he grows up, but also a place to be able to look back at and remember. Everyone who is a parent says that "time goes by quickly" and "they grow up so fast" so I wanted to be able to look back and remember all those little moments.

But then I realized that really the story doesn't begin with him being born. There are a lot of memories leading up to our family becoming 3 (6 with our dogs, yes they are family).

Our family started small: Christian, Kristen and a dog named Lexie (2005). The first place we lived together was in Columbia, SC (2006).

In January of 2007 our family grew. Christian wanted a dog that was "his". I had Lexie for 5 years, and not that he didn't love her, but she is a min pin and he wanted a "guys dog".

With all intentions of getting only 1 puppy we to an animal rescue place. We found two of the cutest little beagle mixes. They were sisters and the last two left in their litter. We just couldn't seperate them. So a few hours later Maggie and Annabelle came home with us. They were only about 6 weeks old and training 2 dogs a time is alot harder than you think. So now we were a family of 5...

On Valentines Day 2007, Christian proposed to me. It was at sunset at Lake Carolina. it was freezing outside, but could not have been more perfect.



In May 2007, we had the opportunity to move to Hilton Head, SC. So in a few weeks time, we looked at houses and with my Dad's help bought our first house together. We closed on the house in June, but were not able to move most of our stuff down from Columbia until July. So now that we had moved in, wedding plans were well under way. We were married in Savannah, GA at the Mackey House on April 19, 2008.

We always knew that we wanted to have children, but had never really thought about when. I always believe that everything happens for a reason so when the time was right we would know...

We found out we were pregnant on June 18, 2009. I was about 5 weeks then. We only told a few people at the the time. The grandparents were of course extremely excited! On September 22, we found out it was going to be a boy. I had known in my heart that he was a boy since the beginning. I guess what they say about a mother's intuition is right. His name would be Joseph Alberto Arroyo. Joseph is my father's name and Alberto is Christian's father's name. We will call him Joey.

There are definitely ups and downs of pregnancy. Some days are better than others. For the most part I have been lucky to have a pretty normal pregnancy. Until week 31 where I began to have alot of pain and pressure. I have carried Joey very low the entire time and the more he grows the more uncomfortable it is. The doctor cut my hours at work to only 30 a week and told me that I need to try to be off of my feet whenever I can.

I havent worked only 30 hours in over 10 years. So while I know its best for me and the baby, it has been extremely weird and hard for me. At times I feel useless. I am not a person who sits back and watches things happen. I do things! I am very hands on at work and home. To have to be so dependent on others these past few weeks and unitl Joey is born has not been easy. I am lucky to be surrounded by people who love me and have been so helpful.

I am extremely lucky to have Christian as my husband. With out him I would not have been able to make it through these past few weeks or for that matter, my entire pregnancy. He truly is my everything and will be an amazing father.

I am almost 34 weeks pregnant as I write this and taking it one day at a time. There are good days, there are bad days, but everyday is one day closer to when I get to meet my son...