My thoughts about Black Thursday/Friday...

Joel said I had to start this by saying Target does not endorse or support the thoughts and opinions of this post.

Ok.

As a wife of a Target employee I am not opposed to them being open on Thanksgiving day. Its retail. In the end they are about the $$$. I don't complain that grocery stores, movie theaters, gas stations or restuarants are open on this day. And if we are honest, a lot of people don't complain about those either. We like to fill up our tank on Thanksgiving morning on our way to our destination instead of having to think about it the night before. We like be able to eat out when there is nothing else to do. Or go to the movies. We like that grocery stores are open when we realize we forgot to get one main ingredient for our big meal.

So why should it be different for Target? My only concern is that they are open over night. Why not just open during the day? I know its because customers love the rush and feel of getting a good deal in the middle of the night. But I worry about employees that are not use to working overnight, driving home the next morning feeling tired and worn out. That just doesn't seem safe. I also know that ALL Targets ask for volunteers to work those shifts first. And they always have more than they need. Why? Because they offer incentive. They make it worth it. So if you don't want to work that shift, then don't volunteer. Let some one else who doesn't mind take that shift. I am tired of complaints about it because of a few people who think its not right. Get over it. Its retail. Its money for the company. I am thankful that Target has taken into count that some people were working both Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. Now they are offering that each employee get one of those days off.

They care about family. I know this. Joel had to work those awful shifts in the past. But our family time together was never compromised on any holiday. Target has been good to us and we know that Joel's hard work and his hours could be a lot worse some where else.

So when I see articles like this I get frustrated because people shouldn't be surprised that they are trying to keep up with the competition. GO TARGET!!!!

We Have a Vacation Destination

We have been going back and forth. Talking about the perks of each place. Asking Nathan what he wants to do. Looking at dates when we would want to go. Looking at prices and the cost of everything else besides tickets. And I think we have finally decided on where we are going and when.

Drum roll please...

Sept. 2013 (Wow I feel so old just typing that) we are headed to Disneyland for a 2-3 day adventure there!!!!!!!!!

We were talking about Legoland, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, etc. And we decided we really, really, REALLY want to see Cars Land. Now when I say we are going more than one day, what I mean is that as a family we will go one day. Then Nathan and I will go by ourselves another day. Joel can only handle so much vacation stuff. I on the other hand would go to Disneyland every day if I could!!! I miss living 10 minutes away and having an annual pass. My college roommates and I use to take a "study break" and go for just a couple of rides! FANTASTIC! I miss that. :) We may even stay a night or two in one of the hotels if we can swing it. That's my actual dream vacation. To stay right at the park, in one of their hotel suites, and go to the park every day and being able to head back to the hotel to rest and maybe (if we are lucky) watch the fireworks show from our room! :) But we are very happy to stay with my mom (10 minutes away) and let her cook for us (FREE!) and watch the boys for us (FOR FREE) so we can have some date time too (maybe at Disneyland too). So its no longer the Zehring Vacation Fund. Its Disneyland 2013 Fund!!!!! Stay tuned for a new deposit. Its looking good! :)

The Long Awaited Vacation Fund Update

I don't have pictures of everything because its been a long time!!! And most of these contributions are from the online surveys that I take part in.

Aug. 8th was the last time I brought up the Zehring Vacation Fund. And since then I have cashed out quite a bit of surveys. Since Aug. 8 and before Sept. 25th I cashed out $30 in survey points. $20 from one site and $5 from two other sites. As you can see from the picture below I have logged everything.

Then on 9/25 I cashed out another $10 from a survey site.

On 9/27 I received a $5 Lowes gift card from another survey site. I would have done cash but we needed to get a new ceiling fan and a Lowes gift card was less points than the cash gift card so I just took the money from our budget and traded it. We also used out $11.77 in change and took it to a Coinstar machine to get a Lowes gift card. There is no charge for getting a gift card. So again I just traded.

On 10/2 I cashed out $35 from another survey site. Just FYI, I am a part of about 5 or 6 survey sites. And I spend a little time each day, usually after the kids' bed time, and complete some surveys.  On this day as well, I cashed out all of my Huggies Rewards points to get a Christmas gift for Zachary. So I figure that was about $10 that I will take out of our Christmas budget and move to our Vacation Fund.

On 10/18 I cashed out $15 from a survey site and then at Fry's Grocery Store I recieved $20 in Catalina coupons for my next trip. So I will take $20 from our grocery budget and trade.

Then today, at Target I received 2 $5 gift cards for buying All detergent and Snuggle. With coupons and my discount there I save almost 50%. And we are now well stocked up on that stuff.

Also a while back Joel and I each received $25 Target Gift Cards for doing an online health assessment for our insurance through Target. We also received a $10 gift card from Kohls and I used it to buy Joel a work shirt. So again we switched it out.

And that is the update on our fund. I told ya it would be worth the wait! Right?!

So let's add it up...

$30 from before 9/25
$10 from 9/25
$5 plus $11.77 change on 9/27
$35 on 10/2
$10 from Christmas fund
$15 and $20 Catalina coupons from 10/18
$10 Target GC from 10/19
$60 from health assessments and Kohls
 Total: $ 206.77

Grand Total so far saved: $228.55

NOT TOO SHABBY!!!!!!

Ahhh! I am behind!

I know I'm behind on my posts for our vacation fund but this past month has been crazy. Work picked up so I am subbing more than I was a month ago. And I have taken on more responsibilities with our children's ministry at church. Along with that we had a birthday in the house! Nathan turned 4 this past week and we have been celebrating that. Plus, my car has been in and out of the shop. I will get to my update. There is some good stuff going on. Please have some patience with me. I can't wait to share all the good stuff that is coming. So to tide you over, here is a sweet photo of our family from the day at the farm!

Life Update...

It has been a month since Nathan has started preschool. And he LOVES it. Every time we pick him up he tells us everything they did. We are now starting to see improvement too. We couldn't get Nathan to use scissors for the life of us. His first booklet with scissors from school had every page taped back together because he couldn't figure out how to cut around the outside of the page. This last week, no taped pages! And Ms. Anne usually has something to tell us about Nathan's day. Whether she is blown away that he knows the name of every shape plus how many angles each shape has, or its that he staged a sit in with a pouty face and arms crossed because he wanted to play with toys instead of doing group time.

Nathan is still in swim classes and loving it. He can swim underwater to the edge if we give him a push. He is getting better about floating on his back. This is the biggest challenge because he doesn't like getting water in his ears.

Zachary is a walking machine now. Every Tuesday and Thursday if I am working Joel drops Nathan off at school and head to the park with Zachary. The sheer delight in Z's voice shows every time. He can climb stairs and loves the slide. Joel is constantly keeping the boys entertained and wearing them out at the same time!

Zachary is starting to say some words too. We have heard cracker, car, and more. Fun Fun Fun!!!!

Joel is training for two more weeks then its off to the new store. Can't wait until his first paycheck with the new raise in it! I want to stop subbing but this year its crucial. We are hoping this is my last year!!!!

There is our update.

Zehring Vacation Fund

From my last post I mentioned that we didn't have a set plan. And we still don't. I thought we would go to Disneyland next year because of this awesome Cars Land video I saw. But then found out that my husbands parents might be able to get time shares in San Diego next year and go with us. So Sea World is back on the table. Both are great. But the cost will be different because of where we will stay. If we go to Disneyland we stay with my mom and eat there (FREE!). If we go to Sea World and can't get a time share for all of us we will pay for a hotel plus pay for food for a week. That's about $1000 more than if we went to Disneyland. So we are still trying to decide where and when we will go next year for our vacation.

Ok, now onto my first deposit. Its not much but a start. Target had some amazing deals a couple of weeks ago. I got $15 worth of gift cards for buying things like, mouthwash, cereal, nutrigrain bars, etc. All things we eat and need. And with our spare change I added up $6.78.

Total so far: $21.78 into our fund!!!!

Christmas Fund Done, What's Next?

Since I have reached my goal for our Christmas fund in 6 months time. I thought I would try for something more challenging in the next 12 months. We have added more money to our fund (sort of) but its spent already so I will start over from here. We did sell our lawn mower, our Ikea couches, and recycled some things and earned some Target gift cards. But most of that went towards our baby's first birthday party. That's why I say that from here on out its 0 again and we are going to try and earn everything for a vacation  next August or September after school starts so we can miss the crowds but still have good weather for the beach. California is usually our go to vacation destination. I miss that place. Maybe some day we will live there again. Disneyland or Sea World will be our go to attraction. Still not sure yet.

So right now my fund is $0. And my goal is anywhere between $1000 and $2000 depending on where we go and what we do. I do have some points already accumulated from survey sites but I haven't cashed out yet, so those will be added in. Stay tuned... Zehring Family Vacation Fund is starting right now!

Bargain Brag!

I thought I would post this because I haven't had a good savings like this in a long time! But today I bought all of this and paid $17 total. I also received a coupon for $2 off my next purchase so it was like paying $15 for all of this. I also noticed that at home store prices were a little higher than at other places of the same store so it would have been a better savings by a couple bucks if I went to the Fry's somewhere else but this one was on my way to other stores so I sacrificed it. I saved $44.51. That's a 75% savings!!!

So here is the run down....

• 3 3 packs of bar soap
• 3 gallons of milk
• 4 boxes of fruit snacks
• 2 boxes of cereal snack bars
• 2 bags of chips
• 2 bottles of hand soap
• 6 peaches
• 2 bottles of salad dressing
• 2 boxes of storage bags

I thought this was awesome!!!!

Zachary is 1!!!!!

I am writing this about 2 1/2 hours before I actually meet my baby boy a year ago because I want this posted at the time he came face to face with me. Like Nathan, I will give a list of all that he has accomplished his first year of life! Wow, he is one. I find it hard and little sad because this may be our last. I don't know if I can push out an bigger baby and mine just keep getting bigger! :)

 

At 12:25 on the 2nd of July I met Zachary David Zehring. All 9lb. 4oz of him. I loved him the moment we knew we were going to have another baby. Then I met our son at 18 weeks of pregnancy. I fell more in love with him. Then we had a name and he became this little guy that had a personality. He never moved or kicked unless forced. He was calm and cool and collected. And that was just in the womb.

I realized I never told my birth story so here it is in celebration of his first year!

I made it to July 1st. I always thought I would be due around June 23rd. That lined up with all my dates. Because of a miscarriage two months before, I had ultrasound, after ultrasound to monitor this baby. He was measuring small so my due date was pushed to July 7th, then the10th at first. I told my doctor that meant I had a positive pregnancy test before I was pregnant. But no one listened. Well, every ultrasound up to 18 weeks was he was measuring small and so they pushed my due date to July 14th and stayed there.

Well, for a few weeks before the 1st I was dialating and making progress. I went from nothing to 3 cm in one week and every week after that I dialated one more cm. My doctor kept saying I wouldn't make it to July. I felt that too. She even wanted me to change my July 1st appointment to June 29th but Joel's schedule didn't allow that, so we just thought either he comes or I go to my appointment. Well I ended up at the appointment. My doc was shocked. It was the longest most uncomfortable appointment ever. I was 5cm dialated (that's half way) with nothing happening. Except my blood pressure was through the roof! And it wasn't coming down. We knew it was anxiety to get things started the whole time but it was also a huge reason I was admitted that day. Also, Zachary's hand was on his head. If I was to give birth that day without him moving his hand a C-section would have happened. I really didn't want that. Thankfully, he moved. I was induced that day. I was nervous about it because I heard horror stories. For me, it was the best thing. My contractions weren't painful at all.

Then at this exact time one year ago I was signing papers to get my epidural because he was coming soon. Not being in hard labor and getting an epidural is painful. But I knew what hard labor was like and I didn't want to experience it again.  I wanted to have the most relaxing labor and delivery possible. And I believe I achieved that. Yes, you heard me right. :) Joel and I spent most of the comparing my contractions, calling parents to check on Nathan, Joel rubbing my feet, drinking water, watching TV, talking with the nurses, and Joel getting some shut eye since it looked like it was going to be an all nighter.

Around midnight I was at 10cm. They broke my water and my doc was ready to meet this guy! I was too! 3 big pushes and Zachary was here!. And the first thing out of my docs mouth was, "Donna, you were right, he is a big one!" THANKS!!!! So two weeks early by doc's estimate (1 week late by mine) we had our 2nd born! It never gets old.

Now a year later and he is becoming this amazing little person.
This past year he has accomplished all this.

• rolling over both ways
• crawling
• standing
• pulling up
• cruising along all the furniture
• signing a few things
• calling me Mama and Joel dada
• waving
• clicking his tongue
• drinking from a sippy cup
• sharing
• banging things together
• recognizing all of us if we ask where each person is
• exploring
• self feeding
• using his pinchers to eat
• getting 9 teeth
• sleeping through the night
• taking awesome naps
• giving wet kisses
• understanding but no always obeying "No"
• learning to annoy big brother by getting into all his toys
• loving up on all of us
• and seriously being the happiest baby ever!!!!
• and so much more!!!

Happy Birthday little brother Z! We love you so much. Praise God for giving us this tremendous gift!

Christmas Fund Update 2012

Ok so I am now on the tail end of my Christmas Fund. I actually have reached my goal but I haven't cashed out a couple of survey sites that have a total of $25 in them. Yes, this is all after I actually cashed out last month. I get that many surveys.

So without those let's add what I have so far. Two $5 giftcards from Target and $7.93 in spare change.

Lets add. That comes to $17.93

Adding that to my fund come to the total of: $581.79 (so with my $25 I haven't cashed out I HAVE REACHED MY GOAL!!!)

I will let you know when I end up in November how we use the extra funds. Thanks for following along. And stay tuned to Couponing to Christmas!

Christmas Fund 2012 Update

So this past week was a decent week. Its slowly coming but I think I will reach my goal by September. So here is the run down of this week's fund. We are working on our backyard. Doing all the things we can do before the big projects take place once I start getting a paycheck again. We had this really ugly shade cover thingy that hung over our patio. It was able to roll out and create this shade. Which would be nice if it was pretty but it was SO GROSS. I realized a long time ago that it wasn't painted behind it the same color as the rest of the house but I was tired of looking at it and the non painted color looks way better than THIS THING. So I asked Joel to take it down and recycle the metal. We got $9 for it. Then I got $15 worth of Target gift cards for buying multiple items at the same time. And I had $4.33 in change.

 

So here is the run down of what I have so far.

Cash: $9
Gift Cards: $15
Change: $4.33

Total: $28.33 this week

Grand Total: $563.86 (Goal is $600)

I AM ALMOST THERE!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

Finally Enjoying Summer

As a substitute teacher I get to enjoy picking my schedule and how much I work during the year. But it also means that come June 1st I am a FULL TIME STAY AT HOME MOM! My dream is to be able to do this all year round. But as for now I work part time. Hopefully in a couple of years I will be able to be a SAHM. So the first few weeks of summer break were rough. It started on Mother's Day/Birthday weekend. We at first thought it was food poisoning but then I noticed how many people were affected at the same time we were and we realized that Joel, Nathan and Zachary (I was the carrier) had the NORO virus. Its a nasty stomach flu virus. Nathan had it the worst. I have never experienced something so heart wrenching than my 3 year old up all night every 20 minutes sick to his stomach. Once we thought they were over the worst of it I worked a few more days. Then we spent a weekend in Scottsdale. Then Joel's parents got it. That's how we knew it wasn't food poisoning.

I was able to finish out the school year, then the first week of break Nathan came down with a fever of about 102 for a few days. It also meant he had to cancel his very first swim lesson.

Glow sticks in the bath. Just a way to have fun at home.

Then the following week on his first day of swim lessons he woke up with blood shot eyes. He wasn't complaining about them or rubbing them so we just assumed that he was extra tired or the wind dried them out. He went to swim class and had a blast. But the next morning his eyes were not better. I called the doctor's office to see if I needed to worry and they said to come in ASAP. Nathan had viral pink eye in both eyes. Nothing we can do but wait it out and wash everything. We were told it could last up to two weeks. Thankfully, it only lasted about 5 days total.

Nathan's first swim class! His Superman arms!

We are now ALL HEALTHY! Praise God. Summer is in full swing. We are shopping, going to play places, having friends and families over and swimming! I love it! Nathan has 6 more weeks of swim classes then he starts preschool. We will see how he is after the 6 weeks to see if he will continue with swim classes or not.

Zachary is pulling himself up and taking steps to standing on his own. He can push things around on his feet but not very well yet. He just likes crawling and he can crawl fast enough that walking to keep up with big brother doesn't matter. :) I can't believe he will be 1 in just a few weeks!

 We have been spending a lot of time at Lowes. We are finally working on fixing up our backyard. Its going to take a few months but we are getting there! I can't wait to show it off!

SUMMER IF FINALLY HERE AND LOVING IT!

Christmas Fund 2012

Well, the past couple of weeks have been slow since I am building up my points again on my surveys and we have had a couple of different illnesses hit our family. But I still managed to get a few things in this time around. We had to go to the zoo to renew our pass and on our way we turned in our meager bag of cans (we don't drink a lot soda). I also got a Target Gift Card for buying two boxes of Up and Up diapers (super awesome deal with coupons too)

So let's recap.

$3.00 for recycling cans
$2.51 in spare change
$5.00 Target gift card
Total: $10.51

Grand total for the year: $535.53 (Goal is $600)

Christmas Fund 2012 Update (half way point)

So I cashed out all my points on my survey sites. I was able to get things that we needed and gifts that I will save for Christmas. Some things I will have to transfer cash from our budget to our fund to make it all even but its still a really good amount that I have saved up. Remember I started Jan. 1, 2012. I cashed out at the end of December last year to be able to start form scratch to see what I can save. So here is the run down of what I have so far.

I cashed out for:

• a Costco membership (we canceled ours 2 years ago) $55 value
• I redeemed other points for a Pixar DVD for Nathan - $25 value
• I have a $20 check coming the mail
• $25 Lowes gift card and a $10 Chilis gift card
• $25 PayPal
• $10 PayPal
• $5 Target gift card from Target

 Each Bullet Point is what I cashed out at each of  my survey sites (except for the Target Gift card)

 Total: $175

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grand Total so far saved: $525.09 (Goal is $600)

I only need $74.91 to reach my goal. And I am hoping to make that with spare change, recycling cans, a few more things to sell on craigslist, and gift cards. Woo HOO!

PS. If you are interested in any of these sites please let me know. I get credit for recommended them to sites. Thanks.

Christmas Fund 2012

This week was such a good week I couldn't wait to post until after I cashed out my online survey points. So here is a quick update on our Christmas Fund 2012.

I sold Nathan's train table. We are constantly building trains on the floor and the table was just taking up space. So I posted it on craigslist and BAM, it sold in a couple of days. I also posted a year's worth of baby clothes and that sold the same week. Then I received a rebate in the form of a debit gift card.

So now the total:
Train table: $25
Baby clothes: $60
Rebate: $15
Spare change: $2.04

Total: $102.04

Grand Total since Jan. 1, 2012: $350.09 (goal is $600) Over half way there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Never Ending List

Being a home owner has its perks.

Building equity
Having a detached living area from others
More room
Freedom to paint and decorate as you like
A yard
More storage
A garage


But with these perks comes so much responsibility. There is no such thing as a landlord to come and fix whatever is broken.

So we have started a home list. Things that we need to save up for and get or purchase in the near future. And I thought I would share it with you. Also the list includes just things that we need to check off our to do list.

Finish the backyard

• gravel
• block wall on the back and right side
• add trees
• add a garden
• plants
• flowers
• garden lights
• walkway
• extend the porch cover 
• cut down tree on the side of our house
• get a new gate
• patio furniture However we do need new cushions for our chairs
• finish border around the grass

Outside Projects

• Finish landscaping the front yard. Or revamp it entirely.
• paint the house
• get a new roof for the front of the house

Rest of the to-do list

• Twin mattress for Nathan
• Bed Frame for Nathan (we are borrowing one until the one we want goes on sale)
• drip system timer Just found out today that we cut through our front yard drip system when we replaced some pipes so this is done. :)
• light bulbs for outside garden lights in our front yard
• cut down our front yard tree that's half dead
• get new breaks in Donna's car
• couches and new living room furniture
• new car seats
• a new microwave hanging above our stove
• a border around our kitchen window
• plate holder decor for the wall in the kitchen
• nightstand in our room
• TV for our room
• wood flooring
• new floor boards
• new door frames around some doors
• get popcorn removed from ceiling
• fix ceiling in  master bedroom from leak
• back splash tiles in kitchen
• take stuff to the dump
• move gravel from back yard to fill in gaps in the front yard
• get a new toaster oven
• paint master bathroom
• redo guest bathroom
• new ceiling light/fan for kitchen
• dining room light
• new windows and sliding door
• new front door and screen
• new inside doors
• paint inside the garage
• get evap cooler and AC serviced
• decor for above the TV
• more shelving for garage
• new keyboard
• wiper blades
• windshield wiper fluid
• get fluid sprayer fixed
• get blinker handle fixed
• plantation shutters???
• get new door handles and locks
• get new curtains/blinds for sliding door
• get new flooring in master closet 
• finish painting boys room
• get new curtains for boys room

 As you can see we have a long never ending list (because I keep adding to it) of things to do. Plus, the kitchen, even though we have put a lot of hard labor into, may just get gutted and redone as well. Lots to do and lots of money to save to get it done. Thankfully we are making a plan and timeline in hopes of getting most of it done in the next couple of years. Its always fun to cross something off!

Couponing to Christmas 2012

Well its another update on my Christmas budget. My next post about this will have my cash out on all my survey sites. But I don't know what I want to cash my points out on so I decided not to do it this post. Its about my half way point to when I start my Christmas shopping. I can't believe it. I love to Christmas shop during the Christmas season. I refuse to be one of those people that shop year round. If I buy gifts and toys on clearance during the year, I will give those as birthday gifts. I just LOVE the Christmas season. And that includes shopping when its super crowded and busy!

Ok, so here is the update from the last 3 weeks or so.

I received an Ebates check, 2 Target gift cards and a ton of spare change.

So let's do the run down.

Ebates check: $13.88
Target gift cards: $15.00
Spare change: $6.61

Total: $35.49

Grand Total Since Jan.1, 2012:  $248.05 (41% of my goal) my goal is $600.00

Now I bet you are wondering what I am going to do with all that spare change. I could roll them. I don't mind and take them to the bank. But the easier way is to take them to a Coin Star machine. But I don't cash out for money. I get a gift card to one of the many stores they have. Because they don't take a percentage out of you total when you do that. Then if its to a store I shop at I just replace the total from my regular budget. I usually get the Lowes gift card because I love home improvement stuff!!!! Thanks for reading. Next post will be my cash out rewards and total!

Christmas Fund Update

So its been another month or so since I have update what I have to add to my fund. Its been a good month. It first started with us selling our bassinet. Let's face it, I give birth to huge babies and have no need for a bassinet. So we got $30 for it and I added that to our fund. Then I got a $10 Red Robin gift card by cashing in my Pampers diapers points. I also had a $5 gift card for buying something at Target. Then as a HUGE surprise Joel and I both received $25 Target gift cards for completing our health survey thing for our discount on our heath insurance through Target. So that's another $50 to our fund! And then the spare change just kept building up. It came to $8.13.  And you are thinking that I buy everything at Target for Christmas. Well I tend to but I would rather use my Target debit to receive an extra 5% discount along with my employee discount. So what I did was take all those gift cards and traded cash for them and used the gift cards to buy diapers  (which got me another gift card but for another post).

So let's add this all up.

 spare change: $8.13
Gift cards: $65.00
Bassinet: $30.00

Total: $103.13 added to my fund.

Total fund to date: $212.56 (35% of my goal) My goal is $600!!!!

Christmas Fund 2012

So its been almost 2 months since I have last posted about my New Year's Resolution. And so far, I think its going pretty well. I haven't cashed in any points yet since my last post on my online surveys so there is nothing there yet to report but its been building up and that's nice. I am excited for the big huge deposit into my fund towards the end of the year because of those sites.

So for now here is what I have to deposit into my fund.
11.66 in spare change
15.00 in Target Gift cards for buying diapers and other goods in bulk
25.00 Mastercard gift card for taking my car in to the dealer to have an update on something that was recalled.

Total : $51.66
Goal: $600
Total earned from Jan. 1, 2012: $109.43 (that's 18% of my goal)

Zehring Vacation 2012!!!

We finally got to go on a vacation for longer than a couple of days. We had the money, the vacation time and we were so ready. California is usually our destination because we both have family there and let's face it Disneyland is there! Along with that our plan was to see a whole bunch of friends.

 

We got to my brother's house right on time and had two of the easiest travelers ever! Zachary slept, Nathan watched TV and Joel kept of a good constant chatter since I was driving. We stayed with my brother the first night because we were headed to a baby shower in the same area the following day. Plus my brother's daughter and Nathan would love to play together. My brother, Fred, made dinner which turned out to be their pig Buttercup. Yes, you read right. My brother raises animals to eat and names them.

Saturday, was pouring! My sister stopped by to say hi and see the kids. Which is always a fun time. And then we were headed to a baby shower in the pouring rain. Love seeing my friend Kelly pregnant and enjoying her time. It was a family shower but her husband was super sick so the men ended up watching the kids while the women watched Kelly open gifts and chat.

After the shower we headed to stay with my mom for the remaining of our stay. She cooked and cleaned for us which was so nice. And food is always better when you don't have to make it. Sunday was church at my old stomping ground and catching up with lots of people I haven't seen in years. And bingo with my mom that night. Mixed in with a lot of Pete's Place (my favorite hamburger place). We were suppose to spend the afternoon with friends but they were super sick.

Monday was our anniversary. We went to the Santa Ana Zoo, aka the Monkey Zoo, and hung out all morning. Picked up more Pete's Place (Nathan's suggestion) and then had nap time and hanging out until that evening. My mom hung out with the boys as Joel and I went to my favorite Mongolian BBQ Place for dinner for our anniversary and then to IKEA which was cut short because we raced over to my friend Robin's place to hang out for a little bit (which turned out to be a little longer than planned and we all paid for it the next day).

Tuesday was the day we were all waiting for. DISNEYLAND!!! Nathan's big gift for being potty trained. It was the best day. we took our time, let Nathan lead on what rides to go on and we got free parking and an awesome parking spot!!! We were chosen Guest of the Day!

 

Wednesday was suppose to be a day of hanging out with friends but everyone was still sick and we didn't want to catch it so we just hung out at my mom's.

 

Thursday was visiting Joel's grandmothers. We had to do lunch with one because she is the busiest 97 year old ever! So she took us to McDonalds and let Nathan run around and play while we chatted. Then we headed over Joel's other grandmother and had dinner with her and we were surprised that she invited Joel's aunt and uncle and cousins over to join us. It was a great way to end our trip. Except for the fact that Nathan got a fever and was in bed the whole time.

Friday was a slow trip home. Big regret there. We stopped and saw my friend Kelly. Went to the Dino Museum (lame) and lunch, then we drove home. 11 hours after we left. So glad to be home and so thankful for the trip!!!!

Deposit into Christmas Fund

So its been a month and a half since I have started my New Year's resolution to save all the money I spend on Christmas by using online surveys, rebates, gift cards, spare change, etc. I wanted to see if I can stick to a goal and fulfill it. Plus, it would be nice to have all the money earned without having to dig into our monthly budget. So though I am still collecting points on all my survey sites, I have cashed in one site so far.

So here is the break down so far.

Online survey: $20
Ebates: $8.55
Spare Change: $5.19
Gift cards either left over or from buying in bulk: $24.03

Deposit: 57.77
Goal; $600
Left to earn: $542.23

This means I have almost 10% of my goal reached!!! And I haven't even counted the points I have earned and I didn't cash in yet. Woo Hoo!

Trying new recipes

For Christmas I got a cook book called the $5 Dinner Mom or something like that. And every meal that she has a recipe for also has the amount it cost (all under $5) to feed a family of 4. So lately I have been trying out some of her recipes. Well I have done two so far. And here are my reviews.

The first one was Bacon Wrapped BBQ Apple Chicken.

Sounds amazing right? Well, I think it could be. The sauce didn't penetrate the chicken enough so there was no flavor inside the chicken. If I make it again I will slice the chicken in half to make thinner pieces. And I think instead of putting the bacon in the crock pot I will fry it and add it later. The bacon got soggy and lost all flavor. Now Joel liked it but he tends to like bland food anyways. I wasn't thrilled with the taste.

My next one was Italian Meatball Subs

Turned out really good! Joel was thrilled! Its a favorite of his. It was my first time every making or eating a meatball sub. I was happy with the out come and so was Joel. So its a keeper for sure!

Can't wait to share more with you!