Tight...

Not all things are skin tight (like the jeans I just bought-on a mega deal) but our finances have been a little tight lately (with Marty starting up his own practice). I have always been a coupon shopper-not extreme, but definitely shop the sales. I always do my grocery shopping at Walmart...(I know Di, you hate this store but-) they will price match any sale at any gorcery store, so why not get everyones sales AND the things that are on sale at Walmart too! It makes me feel good to save money, esp. on things like food items.

Well the other day I went to Maceys because I had to get a specific food storage item for my MIL and thought I'd use some of their in-store coupons for other things that were a steal of a deal. I went thru the line and showed the checker my coupons in the ad. He told me not to worry about cutting them out and he would run them through for me. Well shopping with 3 kids sometimes is a real bugger. So I wasn't watching, and when I got back home discovered that he didn't give me the coupon price~! The whole reason I even bought the items in the first place! So I had to go back in and have them refund some of the money. Then 2 days later I was in Smiths for some of their 'in-store' coupon prices and SAME THING> they didn't take off the price. I had to go back in AGAIN and get a refund. This is NOT an easy thing to do with kiddos. And it's not a whole lot of money back but it's the principal of it. (One good thing about having to go back into Smiths Customer Service was I noticed that they sell Megaplex tickets for 6.50$!- I always wondered about where to get discounted movie tickets-sweet.)

Anywho...then I was at Goldenwest Credit Union to change something on my account (the checking account from which to pull from to pay our car loan) and they were going to charge me ten dollars to do it.  I asked 'why' the cost?  She said "let me check on that, I'm not sure".  She made a phone call right there in front of me and asked a superior why they charge that fee and if it could be waived.  The superior told her to go ahead and waive the fee.  So luckily I didn't have to pay it...I mean again, ten dollars is not alot, but what was the charge for!  They were just going to stop payment from one bank and start another....who's pocketing the 10 bucks?!  What my conclusion is...people make mistakes-like at the grocery store- you just need to watch as they check you out (cuz it happens alot).  And there are lots of little fees and costs that institutions try to pin on ya (I just saw a clip on the Today Show about this) that aren't really needed or the norm.  So... those of you trying to keep above water in this crazy economical time...be alert!

black island farms- brrrhahahahaaa!

We went to this awesome, fun, expensive place last year too.  And I think my kids will demand to always return.  It IS a bit pricey but I found 50% off tickets online... hooray!  So we enjoyed it all the more.

The "jumpoline" was crazy fun...

Favorite thing for the kids was the slides...even the parents want to keep going!

Charles was SUCH a good baby to hang out for most of the night.! I seriously have an angel baby. 

Look at the pure joy on ALL our faces! Ha , so funny.

We had left over money on our certificates and bought them these 5 dollar plastic swords!! what the?! They surprisingly still work!  The kids are real careful to turn them off when not in use as to save the battery life! So economical.

Hello Kitty keeps jumping out at ya, doesn't she?  Kinda freaky, yet Ruby is obsessed with this outfit...picked it out herself.

I love this spooky time of year.!  The sunsets each night make everything just GLOW and all the bright fall colors of leaves is not comparable to anything else. I crave it, love it, need it.

Countdown

yes i have officially exploded...belly and all (this picture proves it)(way cute pic of my sis though)... I still have 5 weeks left! As time is drawing nearer I am getting a little scared to picture 3 kids! I have all kinds of doubts and fears...AND it's hard to picture going back to the baby stage again....Liam is a very independent little dude for the most part and sleeps like a freakin rock...he's always been a good sleeper. He'll sleep in till nearly nine most mornings and goes down around 8 or 8:30 at night; and he still takes 2 hour naps. What do I do with a newborn!? Sleep is something I need to avoid major awnryness. I really hate maternity clothes- esp. pants; so in a way I'm kind of wishing the baby here to just be comfortable again and wear normal clothes and jeans! The whole tucking in / yanking up thing ain't working anymore for me. I CANNOT complain about the ability to birth and rear children though because I know it's a major blessing that not everyone can experience, so I am done with my rant. Anyways- how can I not be geared up for another one when I get to see a face like this everyday!

p.s. any suggestions on natural childbirth...it would save me a load of money NOT to get an epidural since I am paying outta pocket for the birth. I know it's possible ...but HOW? Am I strong enough!? HA!

I finally got to use my wheat grinder that Diane gave me for Christmas. Thank you, I am so excited to use my "hard red wheat". Yeah for food storage!!It works very fast and the flour was super fine. It's great!

I made these delicious cookies, from a recipe out of the "deceitfully delicious" recipe book. It's a fabulous book, I need to own it. Here's the recipe with the 'secret' ingredient.

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup trans-fat free marg. or light butter
2 large egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained (I food process mine till ground)
2 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
3/4 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup raisins
2 cup flour (I used my whole wheat)
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Cook at 350 for 10 to 12 min.

p.s. you'll be pretty regular with just a couple of these fibrous cookies, I usually get a sick stomach cuz I eat like 4 or 5 out of the oven, nothing beats a warm cookie.