Hosanna! Palm Sunday

Happy Palm Sunday!

"The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!" - Matthew 21:9

Annabeth walked "by my own self" for the first

time during the Palm Processional today at church.

Frugal Friday 84

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- I colored my hair at home for around $3 after coupons!

- We took a giant bag to Goodwill. I am nesting in full force and lots of things are leaving our house!

- A coworker gave Mark a boat motor for free. He took it down to my parents last weekend to use at the lake.

- Dad shared a giftcard with us. We are looking forward to purchasing some hobby items for free. Thank you!

- Sunday night, after we all got home from Evansville, Mark made a quick trip to the grocery for fresh items. He also picked up nighttime diapers for Annabeth but forgot to use the coupon I sent. Annabeth and I returned the diapers on Monday (we were going to the store anyway to purchase a birthday gift) and bought another pack using the coupon. Usually I am not quite so concerned but this was a high dollar coupon that expires before we will need to purchase another pack.

- Mark worked two nights at a part time job.

- Annabeth and I drove to visit my best friend. We used to go out to lunch and shopping but now that we have three kids under three and under and one on the way we've settled into play dates at each other's houses. Rose made lunch and us girls brought dessert from home.

Big Sister Annabeth and her cookie bars. 

- I found the cutest little church outfit for Owen at Kohl's on the clearance rack. Saved: $34.20 (90% Savings!)

- I sold a formal outfit of Annabeth's on a Facebook Garage Sale page. Money from sales like this go to her dance/gymnastics fees. Made: $30

- Some of our cereal boxes came with codes for Outnumber Hunger. We were able to enter a code and donate 5 meals to Gleaner's Food Bank of Indiana.

We had a good week and are more than ready for warm, sunny weather to be here to stay!

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"

Generational Maternity Shirts

While I was expecting Annabeth in 2011, my Mama surprised me on a trip home with a photo session in shirts that both she and her mother wore while expecting. It was such a special experience and they are some of my favorite pictures.

25 Weeks with Annabeth.

Modeling one of Momaw's maternity shirts.

She wore this while expecting my Uncle Lance and my Mama. 

 25 Weeks with Annabeth.

Modeling one of Mama's maternity shirts.

She wore this while expecting me and LucyAnne.

We went home this weekend for Mama's birthday and we got the shirts out again. I was excited to have both Momaw and Mama there so they could be in our pictures.

29 Weeks with Owen. 

Modeling Momaw's shirt with four generations of lovely ladies. 

Momaw shared that she purchased this shirt to wear to a New Year's Eve Party.

29 Weeks with Owen.

Modeling Mama's shirt.

She was a elementary school teacher in the 80's. Can you tell?

I am so thankful that they saved these shirts and that I've had the opportunity to model them with each of my kids. The memory keeper is happy! :) 

Frugal Friday 83

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely this week:

- I ordered a Mother's Day gift for Mark's mom this week because it was 50% off! Saved: $15

- My Momaw (my Mama's Mama) gave Annabeth a subscription to High Five - a magazine from the Highlights series for Christmas. This is a great gift because Annabeth loves to get mail and to read it each month. She especially enjoys the mazes and puzzles.

Reading her latest issue of High Five 

- Friday night our washer stopped mid-cycle and began beeping. This was the third time in a year that we've had a draining issue but thankfully a repairman who came last time taught us how to fix it ourselves. Mark drained and took apart the washer. He found a ripped off shirt sleeve clogging the drain. Washer is fixed (for FREE!) but we are one shirt sleeve down in Annabeth's closet.

- About a month ago we put in our new fridge with water filter. I can FINALLY drink our own water and we do not have to buy gallons of water at the store. Our tap water gives me horrible stomach aches so we have been buying water since we lived at our old house. We will save $10-$15 a month by not having to buy water at the store!

- I hit a 9 month milestone with Pampers Rewards and earned another reward. I ordered 300 additional pampers rewards. Soon I will have enough for another free photo book! While I don't enjoy buying diapers, I hope to print Owen's pregnancy journal for free using Pampers Rewards.

- We have had an issue with our plastic spatulas and spoons melting as we cook. We are not sure if it is due to age or just wear and tear but Mark decided to get some new bamboo ones this week. We used a coupon and got 6 new utensils for just $.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

- Getting ready for church became a fashion show Sunday morning as Annabeth has outgrown MORE of her clothing. I entered some items for the spring sale and organized others into the winter sale tote.

- We enjoyed the warm weather this weekend by taking trike rides, taking walks, and having our first dinner of the year outside.

- Monday I washed and put up 9 month - 3T clothing for Owen given to us by our friends the Sherry Family. I have been feeling the need to "nest" a bit but we have not brought his dresser up from my parents yet. Beginning his "Grow Into" tote made my brain feel more organized.

- Our friends the Jones family gave us a tote of 24 month clothes for Owen. I washed and organized them on Wednesday. Thank you so much!

- My Mama messaged and said a friend from work was in need of some 3T girl clothing. I had just taken a big box to our neighbors but I found what we had left and will take it to them. We also had Annabeth choose one book and one toy to share with this little girl. She chose a ladybug book and a suitcase. We were proud of her generosity to give something big instead of a little, dinky toy.

We had a good week of school and Annabeth even wrote a musical about our Bible story. It featured a song: "Lazarus died and Jesus got him out of his death cave" An instant classic!

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference" 

Big Sister Love

Mark and I were taking our 28 Week Picture today, a few days late, and Annabeth ran in to kiss Owen.

I love this picture so much. She loves to snuggle him and to kiss him. I never dreamed how much the three of us could come to love another person. Thank you Lord for Owen Merit.

Frugal Friday 82

Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- We opted to stay at home for our Babymoon since I have not been feeling well enough to travel or do too much. We enjoyed browsing, without buying, antique stores. We also ate Penn Station subs and Dairy Queen sundaes since they are not Anna-Safe and we do not usually get to eat them.

- Saturday evening we discussed going to a movie but there really was not one that we wanted to see so we stayed home and rented one OnDemand. Saved $15+ from going to the movie theater.

- We did our grocery shopping for the week. One of the items we purchased came with a "Save $2 on your next order" coupon. I checked those items out first and then Mark used $4 in those coupons on our big order. We saved nearly $30 on our grocery bill overall!

- We spent Sunday afternoon, as it was sunny and nearly 50 degrees, out at a empty church parking lot nearby. Annabeth had a lot of fun riding her new trike and eating snacks.

 Trike Woman! She would ride all day if we let her. 

- After my friend Sarah pinned this Frozen Hot Chocolate we HAD to try it! We used ingredients we had on hand, which means we used half the chocolate chips and fat free milk, but we ended up with a healthier version of a really, really yummy treat!

- I trimmed Annabeth's hair at home and saved the cost of a salon cut.

- We purchased Owen's baby book and a baby shower gift at Babies R Us. Some of the items on the registry were Buy One, Get One 40% off so we purchased two items with that deal. Then I added a $10 off coupon as well. Saved: $15

- Mark worked two nights at his part time jobs. He also worked late teaching a class one evening.

We LOVE that by Wednesday we had 60 degree, sunny weather. Thank you Lord!

Happy Savings to All!

"Buy Used and Save the Difference"

Etsy Find: Owen's Baby Blanket

I have been following, via Facebook, the Gardner Quad Squad and in January the family posted pictures of their four girls in the sweetest baby blankets, stamped with each girl's name. I fell in love! I was so excited when Ashley posted that a Utah based Etsy shop had sent the blankets as a gift for the girls but also had them for sale in their Etsy store.

February 9 we found out that Owen was coming and the first thing I ordered online (that night!) was a personalized, hand-stamped blanket from Kat and Stiina on Etsy. Here is a link to the blanket that I ordered. They have so many beautiful products so here is a link to their Etsy Shop Home.

I knew that Mark's mom would crochet a blanket for Owen, my friend Sarah had already started knitting a blanket, and that my mama had already started on a baby quilt but I really wanted a nice, lightweight summer blanket for our June Bug. As soon as I saw these on the Gardner's page I knew I wanted one for Owen!

Working with Kat and Stiina was a quick and easy process. I ordered the blanket on February 9 and it arrived at our house on March 2. I love that all of their items are handmade in the U.S.A.

I feel bad sharing a picture of his blanket before Owen gets to see it but I love it and want to share!!

We are just 13 weeks out from our due date and we are so excited to wrap Owen in his new blanket in June!!

*Unless otherwise noted I have purchased "Etsy Finds" items with my own money and do not have a personal relationship with the shop or seller. I also have not been compensated for my review or recommendation*