Elizabeth's favorite things

Elizabeth is in a phase of loving Minnie Mouse.  She has some very specific items around the living room that she must have everyday or that she plays with everyday.  I think we have done a good job on setting up a few "restrictions" (like no toys at the dinner table, no toys when going to the potty).  Otherwise, I think we would have Minnie Mouse around us all the time.

Here are some of her favorite Minnie Mouse items:

 The Easter Bunny brought her this backpack for our summer travels.  She loves it so much, she wears it all afternoon when she gets home from Mrs. Vicki's house.  I was worried she wouldn't want to wear it in the airport, but I think those worries have been put aside forever.  :)

Elizabeth has several plush Minnie Mouse dolls, but only one that sings and laughs.  My mom gave her this Minnie Mouse at Thanksgiving.  Her other plush Minnie Mouse dolls are much smaller (maybe four inches tall) and so she loves having the big Minnie Mouse to carry around.  

Some of Elizabeth's other favorite things are below:

 She loves her Mega Blocks that we gave her for Christmas.  I hear at least once a day, "Mommy, play blocks.  Daddy, play blocks." She loves to play with blocks by herself or with either one of us.  She really loves when we build high towers and then she knocks them down.

Elizabeth is also in love with her sunglasses.  These are not the exact sunglasses (her's do not have Disney Princesses on them).  But her's are pink and have sparkles. 

Well those are some of Elizabeth's favorite things.  What are your kids favorite things?  Or, what were your favorite toys as a kid?

Blueberry Yogurt

This past weekend, Elizabeth enjoyed some of the free blueberry yogurt I got her during super doubles.  She enjoyed it so much, she licked the bowl clean.  I tried to get some pictures of her looking at me, but every time I did, she would try to grab my phone with her hands that were covered in blueberry yogurt.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as Elizabeth enjoyed the blueberry yogurt!

Show Us Your Biggest Design Challenge- Basement

Today at Kelly's Korner I am linking up to her blog about your biggest design challenge.  We have lived in our house for a little over three years and for the last two years our basement has been a "playroom".  I use this term very loosely because 1) Elizabeth rarely plays in it and 2) we mostly use it to store her toys and rotate them out.

However, with the new baby coming, our upstairs home office/ guest bedroom is being turned into a nursery.  Which means our basement/ playroom needs to become a home office/ playroom.

This room is a challenge because of it's shape.  One wall is the laundry room/ furnace doors, one wall is a sliding glass door and window, and one wall has the fireplace taking up part of it.

Please help me come up with some design ideas for our future home office/ playroom.

This is what is looks like today:

 When you walk into the room, this is what you see.

 If you turn left when you walk into the room, this is what you see.

 A view from the other side of the room

 The "wall" of doors.

View from the wall of doors/ entrance

So, here are some pictures I found online of home offices/ play rooms that I kinda like:

 I like the wall units that are built in for the desks

I also like the idea of just making it an office since Elizabeth doesn't really play down there.

Here are some pictures I found that I like:

 

Okay, so I guess I am really into the wall unit idea and that would leave more room for kid stuff.

Please help!  I am open to any and all suggestions.

Thank you!

Thirsty Thursday

Tonight Ben is enjoying our Thirsty Thursday tradition by himself.  He is enjoying his cocktail with our pasta dinner. 

This evening's cocktail is a traditional beverage: Ginger Ale and Irish Whiskey

Here is a step-by-step to make your own Ginger Ale and Irish Whiskey:

 Get some ice (Ben prefers these large ice cubs for cocktails)

 Two cubs in a tall glass

 Irish whiskey

 Ginger Ale

 2 shots of Irish Whiskey

 Top off with Ginger Ale

Enjoy!

Cheers!!!

Harris Teeter Super Doubles!

I hit up Harris Teeter for the super doubles specials that started today. 

My goal was to make it out of the store for less than $5.  I did some advance planning, checked out the coupon policy, and made a list before I headed over to the store today.

I picked up some new products for Ben and Elizabeth, and then one of Elizabeth's favorite snacks- fruit squeezies.
 

 These are all the items I got today at Harris Teeter

 About my purchases:

Elizabeth  loves the fruit squeezies.  They were on sale 2/$5.00.  I had $1 off coupons for each box, that doubled to $2.00 off each box.  That made each box 50 cents.

Ben has never tried to Oscar Meyer protein snacks.  They were regular price of $1.99.  I had $1 off coupons that doubled to $2.00 off each one, making them completely free.

Elizabeth loves any kind of yogurt.  The yogurts were regular price of $1.79 each.  I had $1 off coupons that double to $2.00 off each one, making them completely free.

The Colgate mouthwash was on sale for $5.00.  I had a $2 off coupon that doubled to $4 off.  Additionally, the store had a $2 off e-coupon.  So I was actually paid $1 to buy the Colgate mouthwash.  Since the store doesn't pay people to shop, the $1 came off my total. 

The Hormel Compleats meal was kinda the same deal as the mouth wash.  It was regular price of $2.59.  I had a $1 off coupon that doubled to $2 off.  Additionally, the store had a $1 off e-coupon.  So I was actually paid 41 cents to buy the Hormel Compleats meal.

That "$1.41 extra is what helped lower my total since the squeezie boxes were 50 cents each.

I had coupons for everything, but I think those are the interesting match-ups, and you can understand a little bit about how I shopped the deals.

 

These are the items I got completely free today today.

So, here is a list of everything I got today:

(1) 1 Liter of Colgate Mouthwash

(1) bottle of Vidal Sassoon Styling Mousse

(1) bottle Vidal Sassoon Conditioner

(1) bottle L'oreal Conditioner

(2) Old Spice Deodarants

(1) bottle of Suave body lotion

(4) boxes of Dole Strawberry Apple squeezies

(4) packages of Oscar Meyer Protein snacks

(3) cups of blueberry Greek yogurt

(1) Hormel Compleats meal

(1) loaf of La Brea fresh baked bread

Total before coupons: $67.17

Total spent:  $3.95 (after tax)  

                      $2. 58 (before tax)

Percentage saved: 94%

Happy Shopping!

Nature Walk

After work today, Elizabeth and I went on a nature walk around the neighborhood.  I purposely didn't take her to the playground so we could mix it up a bit.  I wanted to enjoy the flowers and warm weather.  After our nature walk, we played with bubbles and chalk on the driveway (but I forgot to take pictures of that).

 Say cheese!

 Running up and down the sidewalk

 Inspecting some plants

 Inspecting some bark

 Sunglasses over the eyes

 Sunglasses over the face

We hope you are enjoying the spring weather as much as we are!

Easter Sunday

Our Easter Sunday started early (Elizabeth woke up at 6am).  After a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and playing in her room, we took Elizabeth downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny had done.

 Elizabeth got lots of goodies from the Easter Bunny

 Ben also got some goodies from the Easter Bunny

 I also got a few things from the Easter Bunny

View from the stairs

 Elizabeth checking out what the Easter Bunny left for her

 Then it was time to find some eggs!

 She wanted to open each egg before finding the next egg

 She wanted to wear her new backpack from the Easter Bunny

We went to Church at 9:05am and enjoyed a wonderful Easter service  After Church we came back home and got ready to host Easter lunch for us and Jessica, Noah, and Scot.  We had such a wonderful morning and our afternoon with friends and family was a great Easter day.

 Our table for Easter lunch

 Ben getting some food ready for our Easter lunch

(and the cards from family)

The Easter Bunny also came for Jessica, Noah, and Scot

Once everyone got here for lunch, I totally forgot to take pictures of the rest of the day.  We had a great lunch of ham, green bean casserole, salad, honey glazed carrots, pasta salad, crescent rolls, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

We hope you had a great Easter Sunday as well.

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!