Mondays are for Memories on a Friday... [End of the year edition!]

Hello blog world! I have missed you, but I've also been having a blast with family and friends. This has been one of the busiest Christmas seasons of my life. Shoot, it's been the busiest years of my life, but it's also been one of the best! As me and mine wrap up this wonderful year and welcome in a new one, it's always refreshing to reflect on the good and the bad that made our year, "our year."

I rang in 2010 as lame as ever, asleep on the couch, hubby by my side, an 18 month old snoozin' in his crib, and a baby girl growing in my belly! (I have to be honest, I don't think I have successfully made it to mid-night since Landon was born. That will change this year, I've got a date with this hot guy!) It's amazing looking back and to think we had no idea what a year we would have! 

We put our house on the market in 2009, got an offer and were scheduled to close in April 2010, so we knew we had better find a new place before baby #2 entered the world. We found that place in early January and moved in at the end of the month. Let's just say I never want to move again! (We probably will in a year or two though, we need more space. Hopefully, it will be the last move until the kids are grown!) Our new house is great. All on one level which with a toddler and another on the way was a much better situation for us. It's also in a great neighborhood on a golf course so it's fun for Landon and Daddy to go searching for balls at night. I also love that it's walking distance to 3 parks and a library and much more central to where we "do" life. There really are so many reasons why I like this house better and the more houses we've lived in the more I know what I want and don't want in our dream house.

In February, friends of ours put on a fabulous baby shower for us! We are so blessed to have to many who love us and our children! In addition to getting a wardrobe for little Miss Chandler, about half of the people including me also caught the terrible stomach bug going around. 1 day later I ended up at Winnie Palmer in labor barley 32 weeks pregnant. Praise God they were able to stop the labor, but I was put on bed rest for the next 5 weeks (when our little peanut arrived). Those 5 weeks were crazy, but also a time when God showed me so much about letting others help and just how blessed we are to have such an amazing family, selfless friends, and a body of believers who fed us for weeks!  

April 1st, 2010 Chandler Rae Sanders came into our world. She was 6lbs, 12 ounces, and 20 inches of beautiful baby girl! Apirl 4th was her first Easter and on April 5th I turned "the big" 26. The very next day Landon was admitted to Arnold Palmer Hospital with severe strider caused by croup. He stayed over night with Daddy at his side. It was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. My baby boy needed me, but now so did my baby girl and since I was nursing her and she was only 6 days old, I had to stay with her. We couldn't bring her into a hospital around sick children. My mom did watch her for a couple hours so I could visit my sweet boy, but it seriously broke my heart leaving him there! It's a good thing my man is super Dad! He took good care of Landon and they were home the next day. That could be a contender for one of the craziest weeks of my life! 

The summer was great! After a few months of go with the flow, we finally began to get adjusted to having to having 2 kids!! The summer also brought lots of swim days, play dates, Disney days, and trips to the park (when it wasn't too hot out). Landon turned 2 in July which still seems so crazy to me and that same week Matt took the youth group to Alabama for 5 days. Amazingly, I survived without him (thank you Lizzy for staying with us)!! 

The fall brought in lots of firsts for Chandler. First Halloween (and all the first that brings on [trip to the pumpkin patch, the farm, and Sea World's Spooktackular]) and her first Thanksgiving. Beyond all of the firsts that the calendar brings she started eating real food, using a sippy cup, and sitting up like a big girl! As for Landon this is the first year where he really enjoyed carving pumpkins and eating the seeds, doing lots of holiday crafts, and of course eating all of the yummy treats too!

In November, Matt and I celebrated 5 years of wedded bliss. I am so thankful and proud to call him my husband and so blessed that God gave him to me! Matt, thank you for loving me even when it's not easy!! You make our lives so much fun! Landon and Chandler are so lucky to have such an amazing daddy! Here's to the next 50!

December has probably been one of my favorite months of the year! Landon was so into Christmas this year. He helped me decorate the tree and the house and he totally gets that Christmas is about Jesus and not just presents. He sang happy birthday to him and loved reading The Christmas Story over and over again. He's also excited that his middle name is Joseph just like Jesus' daddy! December has also been a big month for Chandler. She's got some teeth now and she's mobile too! I have never taken the Christmas tree down before January 1... until this year!!  The girl would've taken that thing down if we let her. Landon and Chandler are really starting to play together too. Chandler thinks he is pretty darn funny and while Landon sometimes has a difficult time sharing toys he still gives lots of kisses to his "sissy." He also loves to rub her back and pat her head. More than ever I feel like a family of 4. Chandler doesn't seem like such a baby anymore and it feels like we're really starting to get the hang of this 2 kids thing!

Today is December 31st, the last day of 2010! 

What a year it has been, but I can't wait for the adventure that is waiting for us in 2011! 

Cheers 2010, it's been real! 

*What's really funny is I actually started writing this on Tuesday, but I haven't had time to finish because we've been busy deciding if we were going to MOVE again or not. An opportunity came up for us to move into a house with a yard and a 3rd bedroom, but after much thought and prayer we decided to stay where we are since we already love where we live. We also decided that this year we're going to focus on each other and our kids and that moving would only STRESS us out! The whole thing has motivated us though to start getting rid of anything we don't use or wear anymore so that moving in the future will be easy. I love it when life throws you curve balls! 

My Response to TLC's Extreme Couponers Special

Two nights ago TLC had an hour special which featured 4 people who are what they called "Extreme Couponers." It followed each of them to the store and interviewed them about how they do it and why they do it. While yes, I do agree that these 4 individuals take the "couponing thing" to an extreme level, and may spend a bit too much time preparing for their shopping, finding all the deals, and stocking their homes full of groceries/toiletries/baby paraphernalia, etc., but I don't think that they are the crazy ones! In my opinion, you'd have to be crazy not to coupon to some extent!

It's not hard or time consuming and you can save hundreds of dollars a month, so why wouldn't you? And it's not "junk" like a lot of people use as an excuse not to coupon! Click here for advice on how to do it!

After watching the show, it put a little spark back into my coupon passion and today I saved some big bucks! Last night I spent about 45 minutes making my list and getting my coupons orginized. This morning, we spent about 30 minutes in the grocery store as a family. We got in, got out, and saved over $200 dollars!!!!!

Here is a picture of our purchase today...

Just incase you can't see it all, here are just a few of the items in the picture...
3 (yes I said 3!!) large boxes of diapers... retail value (RV) is $59.97 - (Out of pocket price (OPP) was $34.97)
12 bottles (32oz) of Similac Sensitive formula & one large powered formula...  RV is $89.63 (OPP was 0.00)
2 tubs and 3 packs of wipe refills... RV is $12.97 (OPP was 0.00)
28 jars of organic baby food...  RV is $27.72 (OPP was $9.87)
4 bottles of Coke... RV is $7.48 (OPP was $3.74)
1 tub of protein powder RV is $12.99 (OPP was $7.79)

I won't continue listing every product, but as you can see, we saved A LOT today!!! We did spend about $130 but we also buy organic meats, milk, eggs, and produce all of which we bought in today's purchase (I totally forgot to put the milk in the picture).

Since Chandler was born (around the time I was introduced to the coupon world), I have not paid for any wipes what so ever and I never will again! As far as formula goes, I nursed her up until last month when I hurt my back so we've been fortunate enough to not have to purchase formula. However, since she has been on it, we have paid for absolutely no formula and won't be paying for it the next 3 months either (then she'll be on milk woohoo!).

Coupon-ing is not hard and in this economy everyone is always looking to save here and there! And I'm here to tell you, "YOU CAN DO THIS!" If you have kids there are so many ways for you to save! I wish I had known about all the savings the first 2 years of Landon's life! Looking back now I feel like I flushed thousands down the drain!

Check out my Adventures in Coupon-ing tab to get started and please feel free to contact me with questions!

Mondays are for Memories

Last week (on December 4th) Chandler got her first tooth and if that wasn't enough to say, "hey, mom, I'm growing up," she also started scoot crawling the very next day! She's squealing mama, dada, and baba all the time (which see started at 7 months) and is sitting up like a pro! It's crazy to me that she's already 8 & 1/2 months old, but what's even crazier to me is that her brother is almost 2 & 1/2!! I can't remember what Landon was like at Chandler's age. It all became a blur once he started walking. And so... this Monday I'm trying my best to remember my boy as a baby! 

Landon came into our world on July 9, 2008. While my pregnancy was easy, my labor and delivery was  PAINFUL, and I mean PAINFUL! Landon was a great baby from the start. He was always such a happy boy and never really cried unless he was hungry or over-tired. Fortunately for me, he was a great sleeper. Landon slept through the night at only 3 months old and fell into a nap schedule by 6 months! Now, don't get me wrong there were lots of "drive around because I can't get this child to sleep" naps, but for the most part he was a great sleeper (especially when you compare his first 8 months to his sister's)!  Beyond learning the basics of mommyhood from Landon, I learned so much from my little boy about what was truly important in life. He was such a cuddly baby and he clung to his mommy and daddy! Landon was my little eater too! By 4 months he was on a bottle and eating baby food 3 times a day. Personality wise not much has changed. He's always been a people person. He loved (and still does love) to entertain! Behavior wise, Landon was (and still is) my good little boy. He's got a conscious about him and has always wanted to make sure no one is mad at him. For the most part a simple warning was all it would take for him to make the right choice and this is still true today!

I'm terrible when it comes to memory books. My wedding book, pregnancy books, and both my kids baby books are incomplete, but looking back at his baby book full of sticky notes I was able to gather some of these important dates from his first 2 years.

2 weeks old - July 23 - Rolled over - In his Pack-n-play in the Living room with Mommy
4 weeks old - First real smiles at Mommy and Daddy
6 weeks - Giggles with Mommy and Daddy
6 months (almost 7) - February 1 & 2 - First Tooth (bottom right) & Second Tooth (bottom left)
6 months (almost 7) - February 8, 2009 - Baby Dedication - At Journey Christian Church
7 months - February 17 - Crawled backwards about 10 feet with Mommy and Great Grandma at Home
7 months (almost 8) - March 7 - Sat up all by himself - At home with Mommy and Daddy
8 months - March 11 - Said Mama and Papa in the car with Mommy and Mimi
8 months - March 16 -  Began Army Crawling with Mommy at home (3/17 he showed Daddy)
8 months - April 1 - Both top teeth came in (2 years later his sister would be born)
9 months - April 18 - Landon's first kiss (Avalon)
9 months - April 20 - Landon said Dada
13 months - August 14 - First Haircut - At The Harmony Barber Shop at Walt Disney World
14 months (almost 15) - Landon started walking

By this point I was already 2 month pregnant with Chandler and the morning sickness had kicked in. Unfortunately. I really stopped keeping track of specific dates but I can tell you that he moved into a big boy bed around 18 months, he started talking up a storm around 20 months, and he became a big boy at 21 months when his baby sister was born and we realized just how big our boy was!

As for Chandler Rae I have some specific dates, but hardly any exacts. I know she started eating baby food around 5 months, was sitting up by 7 months, was saying Mama, Dada, and Baba by 7 & 1/2 months. I'm going to make an effort to try and write some more of this stuff down! We've got one of those "first year calendar" that I started doing, but now I can't find it, of course.

Here are some pictures of my sweet boy Landon in his first year of life!

And here's my big boy now! 

Mondays are for Memories

Today I will hopefully remember what it is like to have a clean room. I hope to remember what it feels like to have all of the clean clothes that have been scattered all over our room for weeks put away!

So peace out peeps. I'm on a mission to remember what that feels like!

Happy Monday! And happy cleaning to anyone on the mission with me. :)

Confession Session

I always say I'm going to keep up with my confessions, but I'm bad!

Thought I'd throw in a quick one just for fun today.

Yesterday, we went to an indoor gym that we attend twice a month. Landon loves it and it wears him out! I'm always one to talk to other moms. I just can't help it. It's who I am. I talk to everyone. Just ask Matt, he'll tell you it's true. I get it from my dad. Anyway, I asked this other mom who had both her children with her how far apart they were. (I like to compare with Landon and Chandler to see how it will be for me in a few months or so.) She told me they were 24 months apart. I was like "oh, that's great. Mine are 20 months, it's so fun right? Sometimes crazy, but fun." She said, "Yeah, it is. The difference between my son and older daughter is only 18 months though." I had to think for a second. That means she's had a baby... then 18 months later had another baby and then 24 months later had another baby. Her mom, who was with her, informed me she was ready for another one too. All that could come out of my mouth was, "Wow, you're crazy!" I felt pretty bad about saying that though. If she's like me, she counts her blessings daily and considers her children part of those blessings and all I had after she told me she had 3 was, "You're crazy!" I saw her a couple more times and just smiled, but I could not get rid of the guilty feelings for basically telling her she was nuts. After the open gym was over I ran into her one last time picking up her daughter from the VPK they have there. I told her I thought she was awesome and that I was sorry for calling her crazy. She was so polite and said, "It's okay, I get it a lot and sometimes I do feel a little crazy!"

Sometimes thinking before we speak is a good idea!! This was just one more reminder for me to attempt to do it! We should all consider it, don't you think?