A Beary Special Surprise

Guess who we got to "meet" this past weekend, compliments of one of our favorite family-friendly restaurants?

We had talked up our "Special Surprise" nearly all week. No specifics, just "something special."

Plenty of (non-productive) guessing abounded. ;o)

Eating out for dinner was not one of the guesses. And while Chick-fil-A for dinner is definitely fun, when the kids saw the Berenstain Bears, they were really excited! :o) It was neat watching them "interact"--Hannah kept wanting to give Mama Bear a hug. :o) Matthew was just glad to be with us, as usual. :o)

Of course, in the older kids' opinion, the jungle gym and slides made a great evening even better.

Daddy served as Matthew's jungle gym. ;o)

Ah yes.

A balloon.

Life really doesn't get much better than that. :o)

As for me, I am officially glad that I "liked" our local Chick-fil-A on Facebook.

That's how I learned about their special evening.

When Mommies Build Forts

Things are rather imprecise. :o)

(Since saws of any sort aren't really among my current arsenal of tools, we worked with what we had available.)

But we definitely had fun. :o)

Somehow I suspect that this is version 1 of many many future iterations ...

And yes, the dog and his boy have enjoyed a multitude of adventures already this spring.

This Moment ~ Artist in Action

All serious artwork takes place standing up.

Saying yes.

At the end of a long day (some days are longer than others), especially when hubby is working late, Mommy is ready for bedtime. Specifically, the kiddos' bedtime. Mommy's tired. :o)

So considering that I had been aiming for a 7:30 bedtime, and we had yet to do (three) baths at 6:55 and I was still cleaning up from dinner, it was very tempting to say no when Peter ran in to ask me if I'd give him a big push on the swing. But rather than saying no, I told him I needed to finish up the dishes. And then, when I had wiped the last smear of peanut butter from the table, I hefted Monkey, grabbed the camera, and headed out to find Peter.

I am so glad I didn't respond with my first instinct. I wouldn't trade that 15 minutes for the world. We had a blast. Here's just a very small glimpse ...

Saying "yes" can be priceless.

I need to do that more often.

Lunch is on the House

Literally.

This Moment ~ Sharing a Snack

Return to CVS

It's been a looooooonnnnngggg time since I've been to CVS. I was on a roll for a while, then the deals just weren't things that I needed and I'd generated a rather large stockpile, so I got out of the habit of checking the sales. However, earlier this week I happened to check the sales and they looked reasonably promising, but not completely worth the effort. Until ...

I realized this morning that I was completely out of hairspray. Not a single bottle anywhere in the house and no more to be coaxed out of my aerosol can. Okay. Maybe those deals I noticed were slightly more appealing than I thought. And probably worth the effort of making a stop. Since I was going to have to stop somewhere today, it might as well be CVS.

I'm glad I went. :o) By the Lord's grace, I purchased the above products for $5 and I have $2.50 in Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) waiting to be spent in the next month. Since those products would retail for $32.50, I enjoyed 85% savings. :o) Woohoo!!!

SouthernSavers.com really helps with putting together the deals, but I was still pretty overwhelmed by CVS when I first started thinking about shopping there. So, for CVS-newbies, I'm going to outline how I purchased these items. They'll be on sale through this Saturday, so you have a couple days if you're interested in trying your hand at it. :o)

Transaction #1:

Buy

• (1) Irish Spring, $2.99

Use

• (1) -.50/1 Irish Spring body wash

OOP: $2.67
Get Back: $2 ECBs

Transaction #2:

Buy

• (2) Aussie Hairspray, $2.98 ea.
• (1) Purex, $3.99
• (2) Gain detergent, .97

Use

• (1) B1G1 Aussie Styler
• (1) -$1/1 Aussie Styler
• (1) -$3/1 Purex 3-in-1 sheets
• (2) -$1/1 Gain detergent
• -$2 ECBs

OOP: $1.63
Get Back: $2 ECBs

Transaction #3:

Buy

• (1) Crest Clinical Toothpaste, $3.49

Use

• (1) -$1/1 Crest toothpaste
• -$2 ECBs

OOP: $.70
Get Back: $2.50 ECBs

Total Spent: $5
ECBs Remaining: $2.50

Visit SouthernSavers.com's post about this week's ad which outlines exactly what's making these deals work and where to find the coupons. You have till Saturday to give it a go. :o) (And FWIW, the ad for the upcoming week looks reasonably promising as well.)

Happy Couponing!

Interested in anything but ...

my 11 month photo shoot.

:o)

As clearly evidenced by Monday's pictures, my little guy has gotten to be very busy and interested in everything around him. Mommy and the camera were definitely not top on the priority list. (Along with the opinion of "I won't complain, but I'd really rather be napping.")

"Camera? Mommy, I found leaves."

"And sticks."

"Ah yes. The star."

"I'll just hold onto this, thank you." " Nope. A change of position does not incline me to look at the camera. You just gave me more stuff to study."

"Oh. Hannah! I love you, Hannah!

Please tell Mommy I'm really ready for a nap." Post nap.

"Peter!!! You're the BEST big brother ever!!!"

"You're so funny, Peter!"

(Finally!!! Mommy is so glad you think so and that Peter came out to watch Mommy take pictures!)

:::

This is the life.

Bear + blankie + sleep ... what more could you ask for?

Ah yes. Balloons.

Balloons are good, too. :o) It's really hard to believe that our "baby" will be a year old next month! Where has the time gone???

At 11 months, our Monkey

• loves eating ... in large quantities ... and we have yet to find something in the last month that he won't eat.
• loves his brother and sister!
• has a good arm already and is demonstrating some leftie tendancies.
• is crawling
• will take steps when we're holding his hands
• is busy, busy, busy :o)
• is happy, cheerful, and (almost) always ready with a smile. :o)

We love you, Monkey!

You and your smile are an incredible blessing to our family and all those around you. :o)

Celebrating Someone Special

Someone we know celebrates a birthday today. It's someone who ...

always has a creative use for Legos,

or pretty much anything else ... paperbags no exception.

Who takes pleasure in simple things, like balloons

or bubbles, ...

works hard to stay fit and active, ... is skilled with a paintbrush, ...

and helping out where needed, ...

is always glad to run an errand ...

and always has a smile!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa H!

We love you and are looking very forward to seeing you soon!