Frankenstein

Here's my little sweetie pie serenading me with his Halloween song while we were carving our pumpkins. He learned it at school and I am not sure if there is supposed to be more than two sentences to it but that is the part he remembers and it is just so cute. Sorry for the lighting, it is sort of dark

Sittin....

Last night I got to hang out with my niece and nephew. I watched them for my sister so she could enjoy some childless time to tighten her head back on. Gosh they are getting so big already! Marcus no longer calls Angel- Janjel and Ryan- Wyan, and Angel no longer calls Marcus- Buckus.

I had to bribe Ryan with candy to let me take this picture. He agreed, but every time I tried to take it, the red eye light would come on and he thought we were done and would run to the candy. Oh well, at least they are both in the picture.

Ryan loves to be around the boys and be rough. He fits right in at our house.

Angel and Marcus thought this was the best tug of war game ever invented. I promise no snakes were harmed during the game.

Boy she has some wild crazy hair doesn't she?

My favorite part of the night was dinner. Angel told me "You make the bestest dinner Becky". Apparantly, spaghetti is the way to her heart. I wish I would have taken more picture AGAIN, but I had a good excuse this time. Six kids is not easy let me tell you.

I Heart Motherhood

I love being a mom. I feel like there is nothing in life that would make me happier than to take care of my children and help them become good, responsible citizens. Motherhood is a special job that not everyone is good at. It isn't something you can learn at school or out of a book. It is something that is part of you. Being a mom takes kindness, patience, love, ambition, and strength. I feel so lucky to have this important job. To be able to share my life with four beautiful boys. I have the honor to play with them, feed them, hug them, learn from them, to share in their victories, and to cry with them during their struggles, to see each one's individual personality and know them like no one else does, to watch them grow and change, to love them.

There is nothing more amazing than the miracle of life. Even after four children, I am still blown away by it. I am sure I would want to have another if it weren't for my medical condition and Mike saying no. Here I am seven months pregnant with James by the way.

Some of my favorite moments are just being at home with my children. Not doing anything special, just snuggling on the bed

Playing tag around the house

Helping with homework

Here I am with some of the gifts I have received from Jason, Nathan, and Marcus. Most of them are homemade, which are my favorite. I love each and every one of them. I know one day they aren't going to make me presents anymore and that makes me sad.

The boys made me these pictures when I was sick and in bed a few weeks ago. They were get well pictures, isn't that so sweet! The top one is Jason's, then Nathan's and Marcus' is on the bottom. I recommend clicking on the picture so you see all the cute little details.

I love you boys and I mean it when I say no matter how big you get you will always be my babies. Thank you for making me so special.

How To Make Millions

It is officially the holiday season and we are all looking for some extra cash right? Well if you know me then you know that I am super, hmmm, what is a nicer word for cheap. Well, I guess I am super frugal. With five boys to feed, it is a must to stretch our dollars and it's a lot of fun too! It's kind of like a mission. Me vs. the store. I want to inspire and challenge all my non coupon clipping friends to save 40% off your grocery bill. It really isn't hard.

First off, you have to have the tools. Here are my ads (they come every Wednesday) and my coupon binder(not very cute but functional). Not pictured is a pen and notepad for your list. Now to do this you have to get a paper every Sunday and clip coupons of anything you might buy. I choose to organize my coupons in a binder but you don't have to. Use whatever is easiest for you.

Some things to remember

Always make a list and try not to stray
Try to go to the store within a couple days of the ads coming out to avoid missing the great deals
Walmart ad matches
Fry's triples coupons up to a dollar
Never go shopping hungry
Try to go shopping without the kids
Never ever pay full price for milk. It's on sale somewhere
You will be surprised at how many times you can get stuff for free with coupons
Most stores don't notice if your coupon is expired

Now you are ready to make your list. Go through the ads and find anything that looks like a good deal on something you need or could make a meal out of. I usually plan my meals around what is on sale. If there is a really good sale on something such as chicken or cereal (see above picture) or anything that you use a lot of in your household then plan on stocking up. Then go through your coupons and see if you have any for the items on sale. Put them with your list so you remember to use them once at the store.

In this case with the cereal, if you buy 6 the price was only $1 a piece. Then I had 2 coupons for Life cereal for 50 cents off. Fry's triples coupons up to a buck so I got $1 off for each coupon. So I got 6 boxes of cereal for $4. Not bad!

Here is my receipt for my last shopping trip. I whited out my payment info since I was recently a victim of identity theft and have learned to be very careful. This was a decent week with 47% off my bill.

Sometimes you just need a few things that are on sale at different stores. When that happens you can always go to Walmart with your ads and they will price match at checkout. Very handy. This does take some time but it will be worth it with all your savings, pretty soon it will just become a routine.

Good luck with your savings and let me know your success stories!

While we are learning about saving I have to tell you about this. If you have never heard of the Walgreens Easysaver you are missing out. Every month Walgreens puts out a new Easysaver flyer (above). In it there is always a few things you can get for free! FREE! It is by rebate but it is so easy and did I tell you it is free?

Just buy the items listed that are free by rebate. Make sure to save that receipt. Then go online to walgreens.com and click on the easysaver claim rebate button. You just enter in the receipt number on your receipt and you can choose to have a check mailed to you or have it put on a giftcard. If you choose a giftcard like I do then you get 10% more! They are paying you to take this stuff! Save the giftcard after you use it and next time you can just have your next rebate put on your old card so you don't have to wait for it to come in the mail. It never takes more than a week or two to get your rebate. Isn't that so awesome?

Every month I just use my giftcard to buy the new stuff and then it goes back onto my giftcard. Thank you mom for introducing me to this. I have gotten some really good stuff. This month is Almay mascara and this really expensive moisturizer.

I expect you all to be on your way to Walgreens right now to get your free stuff!

I expect that in fifty years I will probably have saved myself millions of dollars. Okay maybe that is a stretch.... or is it.

My Friend JB

Yahoo! I finally figured out how to add video to my blog!

I get to hang out with this little guy after work. He is so cute and so much fun! Here is a video of my JB when he was supposed to be taking a nap, but decided he would rather play. Oh, and this isn't his normal bedding the cute stuff is in the wash.

Did I ever tell you this kid hates to sleep? This can't be my child.

We Got Mail!

Yay, we got mail today! Real mail, not the kind with a return envelope!

Thank you for the early birthday wishes Mickey! I think we will make another Too Much Chocolate Cake to honor the occasion. I don't think there is a such thing as too much chocolate.

I am thinking about getting a haircut for my birthday, does anyone have any suggestions on a good haircutting place or maybe a suggestion on a style?

The boys love to get mail too. They were super excited to get the Halloween cards and especially the McDonald's coupons. You must've forgot to put mine in the card, it's okay Marcus said he would share. Don't look at my trash cans in the background. I need to find a better spot for those things.

James had to taste test his before I was allowed to open it. He also got a lullaby CD from his friend Brody today in the mail. He is a popular guy! Man I really need to move those ugly trash cans.

Obviously it passed his inspection. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! Wish you lived 2000 miles closer.

Go Shorties... It's Your Birthday!

In my family, October is a very big birthday month. So happy birthday to Uncle Rick, Uncle Chris, my cousins Dennis and Amanda, Mickey, my little sister Brianna, and of course Jason. Chris and Deedee, thanks for letting us invade your house!

Hey Deedee, Jason wanted me to tell you thank you for letting him try the nut pie! Oh my gosh that was too cute. For everyone that did not understand that joke, Deedee let Jason have a piece of pecan pie which had never had. On the way out the door he thanked her for the yummy nut pie.

Birthday pie is the way to go. It gets you ready for Thanksgiving, and I am ready!

I don't know why I ever put a shirt on this child. It always comes off within an hour. Way to get out of the way so we could watch the game Sharon!

Here is my Aunt Deedee, Uncle Rick, and my mom on the picture couch

And here I am with my sister Sarah and my mom on the picture couch as well. My arms look really giant in this picture don't they?

I wish I would have taken more pictures of everyone, I think I was too busy eating all the good food. I hate it when I do that! I drag this giant camera all over the place and then take five pictures. Sarah, you need to remind me to take pictures next week.

Kids

There are times when kids come up with the funniest things to do. This is one of those examples. I heard a commotion coming from Jason and Marcus' bedroom, so I went to check on them and make sure all our walls were still intact like any mother of four boys would and this is what I saw..

Yep, they were filling the doorway with every blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, and anything else they could get their hands on. Look how high they have that stacked!

Once they were happy with how tall it was or once Marcus could wait no longer, Marcus and Nathan who were on the other side of this fluffy wall would bust through it like the Koolaid Man. How come I never thought of doing this when I was a kid? Sarah, you and I just didn't have very good imaginations. Yes those are the throw pillows from the sofa that they are not supposed to play with. No boys no!

11 Years Ago....

On this day, 11 years ago, at 2:22am, I met my son Jason. He came three weeks early and was 7lbs 1oz. It was a day that changed my life forever. I became a mom. Instead of posting about his birthday party I thought it would be fun to put up pictures of Jason over the years. My baby isn't so little anymore and I can hardly believe it.

Jason has always been a free spirit. He is my thoughtful, sensitive, friendly little boy. He can make friends with anyone and is such a great big brother.


I wish I could go back and have those years again. They are so precious and they grow so fast.

Interesting things about this young man....

He loves to read

He is too competitive

Loves insanely crazy fair rides

He was afraid of the wind when he was little

His nickname was Boo Boo because he used to cry so much

His foot is as big as mine

His handwriting is awful in print and beautiful in cursive

He will still give me a hug and a kiss in front of his friends

He reads Marcus bed time stories as much as I do

Jason I can't believe you are 11 years old today. You will always be my baby no matter how old you get but please don't grow anymore. I love you and happy birthday!

Tooth Fairy

Marcus had a visit from the tooth fairy a couple nights ago. He lost his second tooth when him and Nathan were wrestling around and Nathan knocked his tooth out. It's about time that tooth came out. If you look at the picture the big tooth was already coming in behind it. Don't pay attention to the date this was just yesterday.

Normally, I probably wouldn't post about this since teeth falling out is pretty common around here with three boys at the tooth losing age, but Nathan took a picture of Marcus finding his money under his pillow the next morning that I just love.

Marcus, sleepy but still very excited to have gotten two whole dollars for his teeny tiny tooth.

Chuck E Cheesin....

We hung out at Chuck E Cheese's this weekend. The boys got to take their report cards and got tokens in exchange for their grades. You may not know this about our family but we are professionals when it comes to winning tickets. We know just which games to play to get the most tickets and so do the boys

Mike likes the games as much as the boys. He was the big winner today. He won 450 tickets with only 3 tokens.

Marcus is deathly afraid of the actual Chuck E. Cheese when he makes his appearance. Whenever he sees him dressed up in that mouse costume, you can find Marcus under the table at our booth until the coast is clear.

James and I hung out and were in charge of guarding all the tickets the boys won. He mostly played with his steering wheel and occasionally honked the horn.

Here is about half of the 1450 tickets we won. I know what you are thinking, and no we only had 200 tokens. I told you we are pros!

With 1450 tickets you can buy chinese handcuffs, an eraser, a top, a ball, some stickers, a piece of candy, and some super sweet Elton John glasses.

Money well spent....

My Kitchen has been Invaded!!

Hide the flour!! Stow the spatulas!! Grandma Mickey is here and she is on a mission to take over my kitchen. Or maybe her mission is to fatten us up for winter. Mickey came to town on Tuesday and oven hasn't turned off ever since. At this rate I am going to be a diabetic next Thursday! Here are a few of the delicious treats she has created...

Homemade doughnuts

Brownies (not out of the box)

Caramel apples (close second favorite)

Delicious doughnut holes

Popcorn balls (my personal favorite)

Chocolate cake (Okay I made this one but it was for Mickey's birthday, you have to have cake on your birthday right?)

We love it when Grandma is in town and these guys definitely weren't complaining about all the treats flowing from the oven. They are the official stirrers, dippers, mixers, popcorn ballers, taste testers, and any other type of helper they could be. I am afraid to ask what is on the menu for the weekend. Maybe something with a little less sugar. Hopefully I will still fit into the same pants I am wearing today come Tuesday *fingers crossed*.

James II

Supposedly, this little "baby" is what James was supposed to look like according to makemebabies.com. I know... I gagged a little when I first saw it too. I will thank my lucky stars everyday from now on for my little HANDSOME chubster.

The Weekend....

We are loving the weather right now. FINALLY we can go outside and not melt. We can turn off the air conditioning. We don't have to plan our outdoor trips around how much shade will be at where we are going. This weekend was just too nice to be indoors so we got out and enjoyed it.

The boys had a blast washing the van. They each earned five dollars for doing it, which they all spent on new books. It kept them entertained for a couple of hours. I didn't tell them that we got a carwash the next day to get off all the soap that they left on. Seriously, we couldn't even see out the windshield.

Marcus with his cheesy smile

Nathan working on the windows. They all wanted to squeegee so they had to take turns. Who knew a squeegee was so much fun

Maybe they are contemplating what to do next. Or maybe they are just impressed with the water run off. You can see just how soaked they got.

Later on, we headed up to the park to burn off some endless energy and to enjoy more of the beautiful 75 degree weather.

Mike played some football with Jason and Nathan. He played the quarterback. It turned into quite a competitive game but it was all in fun. I think most things boys do turn into a competition.

Nathan preferred to play barefoot. I think he gets that from me. I love to take off my shoes in the soft grass, it feels like such a luxury in Arizona. We don't have much grass or tall trees round here

Jason going deep for a TD pass.

Marcus taking James for a ride

The seesaw had just enough seats

I tried this thing and almost fell right over the front. Obviously it's not meant for big kids like me. Marcus really liked it though.


Other things we did....

Made a few new recipes
Watched some football
Played board games
Bargain hunted for a cheap, safe, carseat
Watched the boy's soccer games
Went roller skating (I am proud to say I can still do it)

Visited my dad and little sister

Grandma Mickey will be out to visit on Tuesday and we can't wait! I will be taking lots of pictures for the next post, because with Grandma around there is always something fun going on!