Why buy it, when you can get if for free?

I did a little shopping today at Harris Teeter.

I had coupons for everything that I picked up, so everything was FREE!!!

We picked up:

Five (5) boxes of Horizon Organic Mac and Cheese

Five (5) Revlon designer nail files

One (1) box of Snickers Ice Cream Bars

Total before coupons: $24.81

Total after coupons: 29 cents (the tax)

The details:

The mac and cheese is on sale for $1.00

I had coupons for 55 cents off one, which doubled to $1.10 off each box

The nail files are on sale for 99 cents

I had coupons for $1.00 off one Revlon nail product, making each one free

The ice cream was on sale for $2.35

I had a $1.00 off coupon and Harris Teeter had a $1.50 off e-coupon

Making a 15 cents profit for the ice cream

I got all the coupons from coupons.com and the newspaper

Big girl bed

We have been planning for a while to put Elizabeth into a "big girl bed" and move her furniture into the babies' room.  We had been going back and forth with what exactly to do.  Do we:

A) Buy her a toddler bed (her crib would not convert, which is another story)
B) Buy her a single bed
C) Put her into the full-size bed we already own

We decided the easiest and least expensive option would be to buy Elizabeth a full-size bed and chest of drawers.  We already had a full-size bed but we wanted her to have matching furniture.  I found some furniture I liked at babies r us (online) and then looked to see if Amazon offered it.  We were in luck because Amazon would ship it to our house for FREE!!!  Woo hoo!!!

So, baby girl #2 is getting Elizabeth's crib, changing table, and chest of drawers and Elizabeth has received some "big girl furniture".

In order to prepare Elizabeth for the big change of going from a crib to a full-size bed, we talked to her for a week straight about her "big girl bed".  Ben had a great idea of taking her shopping so she could pick out her new comforter/ sheets/ pillows, etc.  Well, this turned out to be a super, fantastic idea!  We talked to Elizabeth about her bed and asked her want kind of new blanket she wanted for her bed.  She told us all week she wanted horses. 

(Now, neither of us have any idea where this horse obsession has come from, but she said the same thing everyday for a week)

So... Saturday morning, Elizabeth and I went shopping while Ben built her bed and chest of drawers.  She immediately saw a horse pillow in target that has matching bedding and we were off and running on the horse theme.

She slept great Saturday and Sunday nights, and even napped on Sunday.  Today she did not nap and played in her room.  Overall, I think the change has gone well.  She stays in the bed (most of the time) and tells us she loves her horse bed.

Below are some before and after pictures.  We have not hung anything back up on the walls yet, I am still trying to decide where I want things to go.

Little girl room...

 

 View from her door way.

 Crib

 View from the window

Another view from the window

View from closet

 

 

 

Big girl room...

 New bed and we moved her book case 

 New bed

 "play corner" 

We are going to bring up some more toys and her toy box

 New chest of drawers

 View from closet

The "horse bed"

Our big girl loves it!

Once we are done with all the details, I will post some updated photos

What I've been watching

Spring TV season is coming to a close and we have been enjoying the season finales of some of our favorite shows.

I really like all of the Marvel movies for the Avengers/ Captain America/ Iron Man, etc.  And since I enjoy those movies, Ben and I decided to try out Agents of SHIELD at the beginning of the season.  It took a few episodes, but it got really good (especially the end of the season).  The show ties into the movies and I have really enjoyed this new show.  I am looking forward to the premier next season, as the season finale was really, really good.

CASTLE is another good show on ABC.  We have watched this show since the beginning and have really gotten into it.  The season finale was great and I cannot wait to see what happens next season.  I hope Castle and Beckett get to have their great love story, but who knows what the upcoming season holds...

NCIS is probably our favorite show.  It is on CBS and has been the number one show for I think 4 or 5 years in a row.  I really, really miss Ziva.  Ellie is okay, but her eyebrows are too dark for her really blonde hair and I am having a hard time getting over that fact ignoring it.  I really liked the intro to NCIS: New Orleans and will be watching that in the fall.

* Side note about NCIS*
Ben tells me that Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, and Cote de Pablo have the highest Q Ratings in the business.

We have been binge watching How I met your Mother on Netflix.  We are on season 7.  We had to turn off all technology during the last few weeks of the show this year because it ended and we didn't want to know what happened.  I am excited to find out (we are probably the only people in America that don't know what happened).  This show has been great to watch and the writers do a fantastic job of carrying over jokes and little nuances.  The writers on this show are great!  I cannot state that enough.


MOVIES...

We saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier today.  It was really good!  I had been putting off seeing it because I don't think Scarlett Johansson is a very good actor and I didn't want her to ruin the movie.  Well, I was wrong- this movie was great and she did a decent job in it.

Other movies I might want to see this summer-

I am also looking for summer TV recommendations.  We need to catch up with the new Burn Notice episodes on Netflix and I am hoping that Pretty Little Liars is coming back for a summer run.  Anyone have any good suggestions for summer shows?

Inspiration Wednesday

I have been inspired by a few different people today.

1st: Mrs. Vicki (she keeps Elizabeth during the day)

When I picked Elizabeth up today, she had pigtail braids!

How cute!!!

 

 Every time I tried to take a picture, she kept turning around

 I have not tried braiding her hair yet, so I loved seeing her hair in braids.

So now, I am inspired to try to braid her hair and try more new things with her hair.

Isn't she adorable?!?!!

2nd: Summer is almost here

Harris Teeter is having a great deal on ice cream products this week.

I picked up 80 popsicles and 12 Klondike bars for $5.00

So, I got inspired by the deals to stock up for summer and now we are ready!

3: My coworker, Sasha

 I had a dinner planned for tonight, but then I had lunch with my coworker, Sasha.

She brought in baked spaghetti which inspired me to make spaghetti for dinner tonight.

It was really yummy!  Thanks Sasha for the dinner inspiration!

This little girl loved her spaghetti!

Random thoughts

Happy Monday everyone!  I have had some random thoughts this afternoon and a few experiences that got me wondering if anyone else has had the same thoughts or experiences. 

I had to get gas today. 

Anytime I get gas, I start thinking about all the other people that have touched the gas pump.

Same thing with light switches and elevator buttons.

I start thinking about all the germs and how I don't want to get sick.

As soon as I am done pumping gas, I have to use hand sanitizer.  

Does anyone else feel this way about things that other people touch all the time?

 

 After I got gas, I vacuumed out my car and then got a car wash.

I had placed my keys on top of my car when I was vacuuming and completely forgot about them.

I went through the car wash, drove home, and found my keys on top of my car.

I borrowed some rice from my fabulous neighbor, Jhena, to help dry out my three electronic keys.

I have heard this will absorb the water.  We shall see.

Has anyone ever tried this for electronic keys or phone batteries?

 Elizabeth and I played outside this afternoon for a few hours.

She asked to drink out of my cup and then continued to do so all afternoon.

What you can't see is all the water that is going down the front of her shirt.

 I thought this was a cute picture of my nugget.

 We grilled hamburgers and sausage for dinner tonight.

There is nothing better than a relaxing dinner on the deck with my family.

Thank you Ben for a wonderful dinner!

I had a gel manicure for the wedding.

This is my first manicure and this picture is from today, a week since I got the manicure.

The gel manicure is awesome!!!

Nothing is cracked, peeled, or chipped.  

I highly recommend the gel manicure.

Has anyone else ever had one?

Hope you have a great start to your week!

Weekend Recap - Babies, Weddings, and a Great View

After our doctor appointments on Thursday, we headed to Pennsylvania for a weekend of celebrating.  When we arrived at Ben's parents' house on Thursday afternoon, we had a wonderful surprise waiting for us- a pink brownie cake to celebrate our baby girl!

Sally Anne (Ben's mom) surprised us with the delicious cake!  We were so happy to enjoy a piece of cake and talk about all the things sisters can do together (and all the clothes we can use again!)

Elizabeth and I really enjoyed our pieces of cake!

Friday morning we headed into Pittsburgh for Adam and Brigette's wedding.  

We had the rehearsal on Friday evening followed by the rehearsal dinner.  

(I forgot to take pictures of the rehearsal, but I did snag this one of the Church)

The Church is gorgeous!

Saturday afternoon, we watch Adam and Brigette get married!!!  The service was so wonderful and Brigette looked beautiful!  Elizabeth and I sat with Ben's parents and his Aunt Barb.  Ben was the Best Man and I know he was so happy to stand up for his brother.

Elizabeth was great during the service, she sat next to me the whole time and didn't make a peep.

I was happy to get a few photos after the service with the Bride and Groom.

 Brigette, Adam, Me, and Ben

Matt, Claire, Brigette, Adam, Me, and Ben

(Matt is Brigette's brother and Claire is his wife)

In western Pennsylvania, there is a tradition of having a cookie table at the reception.  All the women in the family make cookies for the reception.  Everyone tends to have their specialty and so you end up with a large variety of cookies.  I have to say, I didn't get many pictures at the reception (I was too busy dancing with Elizabeth), but I did go out of my way to get pictures of the cookie table.

There are over 200 dozen cookies here!

The beautiful cake!  It was really, really good.

 Elizabeth, Me, and Andy enjoying the reception

 Me and Brigette

 Adam and Ben

Those are all the pictures we took during the wedding/reception.  I kept grabbing their photographer for photos with family and friends, so I can hardly wait to see the proofs in a few weeks.

This morning after breakfast, Ben opened up the windows in our hotel room and took these pictures of downtown Pittsburgh.  We had a fantastic view of the Cathedral of Learning (which Elizabeth calls her castle).

Congratulations Adam and Brigette!  We are so happy for you guys.

We had a wonderful weekend and hope you did too!