Free 8x10 photos today only

In case anyone is interested, you can get 2 free 8x10 photos (per email address and account) on walgreens.com. The two codes to enter (you will have to do two separate transactions) is FREEGIFT and FREEGIFT2. The codes are only good for today! Now I just got 4 free 8x10 pictures! WAHOO!

Collin's stocking

Hey guys, this is how my mommy found me after my power nap the other night :)

Where is Collin? This is Collin's new stocking that his Auntie Shanna made for him. She is SOOOOO nice and it is so big...Santa will need to get lots of things to fill it. Seriously, the picture does NOT do this stocking justice....it is SO gorgeous.... and eventually mommy and daddy may get ones to match.

Here is Collin next to his stocking....it seriously is as big as him. Notice the cute turtle shoes, thanks to Auntie Kari.

I just wanted to post this picture.... he was SO dead asleep one night..... he did not even MOVE!

More good deals

I’m not sure anyone cares about this, but I am so happy I’m getting such good deals. I’m totally discovering there is MONEY out there to be made with a little effort and time by watching for coupons and sales and being aware. Just sharing for my own tracking purposes, but if anyone cares to get in the deal, that is good too.

Okay, got another steal of a deal on some cool things at Walgreens….I am still learning this process though, so I did just realize I could have saved even more money, but oh well. I’m getting better and better. Here is the most recent steal…. Actually, PAYMENT to shop.

2 Oil of Olay facial cleansers $7.49 each (used a $5/2 coupon and a $1.00 manufacturers coupon and going to get $15.00 rebate on olay.com) MONEY MAKER $6.00---PLUS I get to try 2 GREAT new products and fancy facial cleansers!
Skippy peanut butter on sale 2/$3 and used .35 coupon
Progresso Soups used $.99 cent coupon in Walgreens ad, plus 50 cents off 2 coupon

So overall, here are my savings….

Original costs of everything before savings and coupons $20.88

Total cost with coupons and rebates $3.35 cents MADE! So, I basically got all this stuff for free and saved over $23.00! WAHOO!

Steal of a deal

I just HAD to post a blog about my great deal at Walgreens last week. I have really, really been wanting to get a deal of a steal in my efforts to be more frugal and this was my first one…. I won’t tell you all the prices of everything, but this involved using in-store Walgreens coupons, and RR money….plus, since I used it on my Walgreens gift card (from last month), I paid no out of pocket really, but I got all of this for a grand total of $7.23. I really wanted to take a picture of all that I got, but alas, half of it went with my mom before I got the chance.

4 Arm and Hammer liquid laundry detergents
11 boxes of Jello
4 toothbrushes
2 sets of Christmas gift tags
2 cans of Chicken soup Campbells
12 rolls of scotch tape to wrap presents
3 snow globes

Plus a few miscellaneous candy items. HOORAY FOR COUPONING!

Some days

I wish this could be me :) swinging away....asleep, all warm and cozy!

4 months

This is how I feel after my mom tries to take too many cute pictures of me at 4 months old...

This is me before I got upset....don't I look like a supermodel? My mommy hardly has any pictures of me just in diapers... this is only the second one in my whole long 4 month life existence!

Here are my stats....

13.1 pounds (5-10th percentile)

25.5. inches long (75th percentile)

So, just like when I was born, I'm still long and skinny, even though my mommy doesn't think so.

Highlights over the last week or so...

• I LOVE to talk and see myself in the mirror. I must think I'm pretty cute.
• I LOVE to "spin"...that is, I haven't quite figured out how to roll over yet (I'm SO close but that darn other arm stops me) but I can spin completely around in a circle in less than an hour.... and most recently, I completely turned around in my bed, head was on the right side and in the morning, when mommy came to get me, I was on the left side of the bed. Mommy had to ask daddy if they had put me the other way last night....silly them! I move and wiggle now!
• I have had some of my first true laughing fits, which make mommy and daddy just smile
• I get to start wearing my "polar bear" suit, see previous posts
• I am finally in size 2 diapers
• I DO NOT like to just sit on your lap...you have to walk around with me and interact. I get bored easily now :) unless I am super tired, then I will snuggle up on your shoulder for some loves.
• I still like to read books at night, but I like to watch mommy reading the books more than looking at the books.
• I love to talk to you....sorry if my language doesn't make sense
• I love to smile, but it's very hard to capture on camera.... I like the GQ serious pose (see pic above) much more than smiley pictures. Sorry everyone.
• And I LOVE TO WIGGLE! On my changing table, I really love to wiggle, without my clothes on.
• I also reach for things, including pulling a chunk of our from my mommy's hair :) Sorry mommy.

True Friend

Does anyone have someone that is an angel in his/her life? I do.... this angel "friend" of mine... I can't say enough about this angel.
1. This angel has gone ABOVE and beyond in my life.... when I had Collin, not only did she offer to help me, she literally bought a month's worth of groceries since I told her I was scared to take him to the store with me when he was so little, and I hate going to the store.
1.5. When I was pregnant with Collin, had him, and ever since, she has assured me, her phone is literally right next to her at night (and even though she has a year and a half year old girl) she told me I could call her at ANYTIME day or night and she could talk, be there, come to my house, whatever. I know lots of people offer to do that, but I know she is someone that really would be...literally at my beck and call if need be.
2. She has continously called me (at least once or twice a week) or emailed me about me not being able to stay at home as a stay-at-home mommy, just to let her know that she prays for me.... and I know other people are doing this, but she calls to let me know she is...
3. She just emailed me the other day, to say she was going to Costco and if I needed anything.... I told her I didn't think so, then she asked what size of diapers Collin was in....I didn't think much about it until I got a voicemail that she dropped off some stuff for me from Costco....258 Huggies diapers... 258!!!! Plus some other things that she just knew we would like.
4. I called her back and she then told me she was going to go to the "store" for me...I told her she did NOT have to do that (she made it quite clear she was going to anyways and I was NOT going to pay for the things) and made me give her a list of what foods we wanted.... so I told her 4 or 5 things..... she then asked if we ate fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. So....about two hours later, here comes my angel, with MORE than enough food for us for a month, plus a zillion diaper wipes, treats for Collin, the largest thing of toilet paper rolls I have seen, fruit and vegetables, and stuff my husband put away that I haven't even seen yet.Our fridge is overflowing now...seriously.... this friend is an ANGEL.... she is truly the nicest person I have ever met outside my grandma, and THAT, my friends, is saying SOMETHING.
In thinking of the spirit of Christ at this season, I know my friend may not think she is, but she TRULY embodies the spirit of Christ to me.... she is truly a friend that I know I can count on. I hope if she reads this post she knows that I don't mean to embarrass her or make her feel bad, but just to honor that I can call her my friend.
I LOVE YOU ANGEL FRIEND!

Suits and Polar Bears

How do I look in my new Sunday suit? I slobbered my vest soaked and my shirt too, but the pants were safe :) And here is my new look as a polar bear. Instead of getting me all geared up in the blanket and car seat, daddy carried me in my "new look" just in his arms and I stayed warm and cozy.

Saturday afternoons

Okay, I just posted about Collin, but had to do it again. I have a whole new appreciation for Saturday afternoons since I have had to go back to work.... they are a true TREASURE for me...Collin and I for an hour or so this afternoon just played and played. I heard a full out belly laugh and got him to try and smile for a camera picture. The Wal-mart Santa was taking pictures for free, but of course Collin just started his wide-eyed solemn stare, totally looking off to the side no where near the camera, so these pictures just made me smile. Picture Santa next to him :)

And Ryan told me earlier this week, Collin held his head up so good for tummy time....so I made him do it twice today, since the first time he just laid there...but here he is working so hard with his muscles to lift up...I'm right in front of him, pushing him on...

Yeah...he looks like he will be a future breaststroke Olympic champion, eh? I was so, so happy I got to see him do it though :) Saturday afternoons are the BEST!

Collin's new hat and Johnny Jumper

Okay, so Grandma Johnson and Auntie Kari (style queen) sent Collin this hat recently. It is SO cute! The only thing is, he REFUSES to keep smiling for the camera so I can send a smiley Collin for the camera....I swear he knows I'm taking his picture and so he just gives his serious stare, not the smiles he gives a lot...so sorry Grandma and Kari....you get the serious look AGAIN!
Another thing we finally did this week is get out the Johnny Jumper. It's on loan from Auntie Kari, who used it TONS with cousin Sadee, (she jumped on it NON STOP!), so I have been so anxious to get Collin in to see what he thinks....

"Um, mom,what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Oh, you mean I'm supposed to jump up and down in this thing" (after much vocal persuasion from me, Collin you can jump in this all by yourself)

"Sorry, mom, I'm just going to sit here for now."

I guess we'll have to try out Johnny Jumper again later....

Shopping e-bay

So, recently, I had my first successful shopping experience on e-bay. Being a wheeler of a dealer, I wanted to find a Christmas gift for cheaper than on sale in stores....so, after several weeks of being "outbid" finally.... we had 16 minutes and our bid was still the highest...
Then some serious last minute bidders came into play, and Ryan had to studiously watch to make sure we won it....

Yeah! We won! Seriously, it was the coolest feeling (I know, I'm strange), but we saved at least $10 by going to e-bay, and it didn't require going to a store! WAHOO! Bring on the e-bay!

Another good quote

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses." -Alphonse Karr-

Double coupons Kmart

I just wanted to report the savings I got from my first experience at doing double coupons at Kmart this week. I normally never shop at Kmart really, but this week I just had to. I have read about several people that do this in their parts of the country, but they don’t normally do it around these parts, at least the stores I go to, so I was SO excited to try it out….and even though when I got to Kmart, I forgot my coupons, it only took 15 minutes to run back to my house and get them, and it was worth it. Here are some of my deals…. (note, most of this is just a reference for me in price costs as a record, so no need to read). If anyone reading this blog feels like this isn't a great deal, don't tell me and let me live in my joys of couponing :)

Colgate Toothpaste 4oz normally 3.29, $1 off coupon doubled, $1.29
Colgate Toothpaste 4 oz (different kind), normally 3.29, $1.50 doubled, $.29
Glide Floss, normally 3.79, $1.00 coupon doubled, $1.79
Lady Mitchum deodarant 3.99, $.75 coupon doubled, $2.75
Scrubbing shower cleanser, on sale 2 for $7.00, $2.00 coupon doubled, 2 for $3.00
Scrubbing bubbles foam cleanser, normally $3.49, $1.00 coupon doubled, $1.49
Huggies diapers size 2, normally $10.99, $1.00 coupon, $8.99
Pledge dust spray, normally $3.50, $2.00 coupon, FREE
Glade plug in, COUPON FOR FREE
Betty Crocker Sugar cookie mix, on sale 10 for $10 (even though the price said 2 for $3, it rang up as $100), .40 cent coupon doubled, 20 cents!

So…..total cost before coupons, $41.84
After coupons $22.21….Almost 50 percent savings! I feel SO cool! Plus, I was able to get some fun things that I normally never get for VERY cheap, or even free. I wish more stores doubled coupons more often. My only regret was that the Kmart I went to didn’t have a lot of the products I wanted to use coupons on!

Great quote

A friend of mine just send this quote to me in an email....and I had to share....it was a great quote!

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have!

Lovely ladies and O'Berry boys

It's no secret that Collin loves looking at cute girls, or lovely ladies. Some of his favorites in Colorado were his two cousins Grace and Miriam. Grace lost her second front tooth while we were there, right in front of Collin and I...and sang his new favorite song....I have a tiny turtle, his name is Tiny Tim..... The younger Walker girls and Collin....they sure loved playing with him! And he loved looking at them!

Miriam also got to sing to Collin which he LOVED....cameras can't picture the joy on his face when she started singing to him and touching his face.

He seriously LOVED it...then again, what boy (of any age) doesn't love a cute girl singing to him with a face massage? Thanks Miriam!

Collin also got to meet the "other" O'Berry cousin, Corin.... this picture made me laugh so hard. Trying to get both of them to look good, at the same time,for the camera, was too funny. Corin is HILARIOUS!

It was a WONDERFUL first Thanksgiving for Collin and I loved it as well. Thanks everyone for helping us have a great holiday!

A Colorado Thanksgiving

We traveled to Colorado to visit Grandpa O'Berry along with all the aunties and uncles on the O'Berry side. Here is a picture of a couple of pies that Auntie Shanna made (they were AMAZING tasting and AMAZING looking, plus she made 10) and we ate pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the day after Thanksgiving.
Banana caramel cream

My fave---macadamia key lime

I really wanted a four generation picture of the O'Berry boys. Ryan's Grandpa O'Berry turns 90 years old next year...he is very funny.

The two closest cousins on the O'Berry side...once again Kyle the smiley, Collin the serious. They are about 4 months apart, Kyle is now long and skinny :)

Collin's first Thanksgiving outfit, included his ADORABLE skater brown shoes from Auntie Anita. He lasted in this until he had a blowout :)

Before Thanksgiving

Okay, so I'm a bit behind in my postings, due to a trip last week, and back at work. My dad came into town and had a layover in the SLC airport for a couple of hours so "Collin" rescued him... Collin sure loved playing with his grandpa!
I just liked this cute red outfit.

Since we forgot his cute bib from Grandma Johnson, and yes, his eyes are closed, but hey, he is still thankful!

Thankful for dentistry

So…. I have never really been grateful for dentists until today.

This afternoon I visited my dentist for the first time ever….for actual pain. Saturday night I developed (while on a date movie night at home with my husband and a pumpkin pie shake and even up past my bedtime of 10pm) some SERIOUS pain in my lower right side of my mouth. Yes, I know I’m a wimp for pain, but this was some serious pain, and I was on a date! I didn’t shed tears, but only because I was very brave. I took some Advil and tried to sleep.

Sunday morning bright and early my mouth felt better…. But not for long. Anytime I ate anything, the pain returned with a VENGEANCE. I managed to handle Stake Conference (Elder Hinckley said some wonderful things), but other than that, I couldn’t really eat my great Sunday dinner (bistro chicken anyone?) and I can’t even explain, but my mouth was just in pain. My husband kept telling me to call my dentist at home since it was an emergency, but I was trying to tough it out, and figured maybe it was just a one day thing. I read up on the Internet and tried to self-diagnose myself....yeah right, most things I had 1-2 symptoms but not others.

Monday morning….Collin slept through the night WAHOO and then I went to the gym at 5 like I regularly do (and lost 3 pounds due to not really eating Sunday), but in the middle of the workout….PAIN. So I came home, heated up a rice baby (bag with rice in it) and put it on my mouth and called my dentist at 8am….and went to work.

115pm Monday afternoon, my dentist gives me the blow. I won’t bore you with all my dentistry talk here, but needless to say a PINPRICK of nerve had been exposed 6 YEARS ago and that was causing my pain. (Alma 37:6 comes to mind, in a NOT great way) My dentist started putting numbing medicine on and WHOA….here I am starting the root canal/crown process. YUCK! But, for also the first time at my dentist, the laughing gas….worked. I relaxed to a whole new level while my pulpy roots were drilled out…. And got a free chocolate cookie out of it. The good news is insurance pays 60 percent of my crown instead of 50 percent, and I get three more visits to the dentist in December (Merry Christmas to me) and I’m looking forward to three more chocolate cookies :)

The Big Game

You can tell who we are rooting for today.
GO COUGARS!

Being frugal

Random post here. I'd like to consider myself a frugal person....but lately I have been feeling inspired and encouraged to look for more ways to save time/money or anything else that helps make living "in the world" easier....so I'm asking for your ideas. By no means feel pressure to contribute, but if you have any amazing things you do to save money or be frugal (no matter how crazy) pass along here!

Cousins

I had to steal and post this picture from Auntie Shanna. This is 3 month Collin with his 7 month cousin Kyle. It is SUCH a classic picture of their personalities.... Kyle the ever-smiler and Collin the ever-serious-in-public face.... I do have to say eventually Grandma Norberg and Auntie Phyllis got to see Collin's smiles after everyone else left. Figures.... he likes to be the center of attention I guess!

Collin comparison

I have been wanting to do a comparison shot of Collin for awhile. The top picture is of him at 3 weeks old. The lower one is him at 14 weeks old....even though he is much bigger, (and I tried to duplicate the pose), he still doesn't look THAT much bigger...I should have taken off his jeans. His 3 week chicken legs are DEFINITELY not as chickeny now :)

I just took this picture of Collin tonight. Lately, he just wants to talk and talk and talk....he was in the swing for a half hour just talking away in his language....it was so fun!

A good Sunday

A good Sunday, no great, is when your husband tells you, "I'm making dinner"....

And makes one of the new meals you have been wanting to try out... And this is the result....three cheese chicken penne pasta bake.... it seriously tasted like it came from Macaroni Grill....but WAY better and cheaper. Thanks sweetie!

Strange People Sightings

There are some VERY strange people in the world….

This week, I was at an event at a movie theater that was being held in conjunction with the Twilight movie. Yes, I have read the books, but no, I’m not a HUGE fan like everyone else I know. But, that’s not what this post is about.

My job sometimes presents opportunities for me to meet people “I would never ever get in contact with” normally…and yesterday proved that to be true. There were several very interesting people like this at the event, but there were two highlights. My coworker and I had forgotten about it in the evening, but then I told him I HAD to do a post about it.

1. Iraq/Iran man. This was a gentleman that looked like he could be 20 years old, but told us he was 39. He had also recently retired from the navy. He also told us this amazing skit that he had in his head for SNL someday, that included locking people up and other weird things that I seem to have blocked from my mind at the moment, but it was disturbing. Plus, the thing I remember most about him is that he was one of those people that just keep talking and talking and don’t really realize that maybe people don’t really care/want/need to hear what you have to say. These people just like to hear themselves talk….but they aren’t funny/they are weird/creepy. It's like they throw up words to anyone who will listen and don't have tact (for lack of better word) to know when to stop....and they say WEIRD things! Anyways, I’m sure he is a very nice person, but just strange.

2. More disturbingly, gentleman number two. Gun manbag man. As my coworker and I were sitting at a table, a gentleman came in through the outside doors across the way with a lady friend, and came over to the events host we were with and asked him if he worked here. So, the events host went over and talked to him across the way, but here was basically the conversation.
“I just noticed that sign that says no weapons allowed. I have a weapon.”

Events host says something that we couldn’t hear.
As gun manbag man and lady friend were walking away, my coworker said he heard gun manbag man say he had a concealed weapons permit….etc….yeah, right I thought.
A few minutes later we saw gunmanbag man walking out the door with the manbag (that now we knew had A GUN PROBABLY! In it) and came bag in without the man bag.

Anyways, how weird you say? Weird…. I know no one probably cares about this story, but still strange. Another strange thing is manbags, but that may be for another post.

Collin is 3 months old

Collin turned 3 months old a few days ago...I can't BELIEVE it. In my scientific measuring system, he weighs 13 pounds (25th percentile) and is 23.5 inches long (10th percentile) at least according to a Web site online. The picture below was taken after the 3 blowout hour (see previous post)...
Here Collin is at 3 months old. I tried so hard to get him to smile, but alas....no...and this outfit was SO cute on him, but the colors didn't turn out so great on my camera. Happy 3 month birthday Collin!

One Hour

Who knew that a little cute baby boy named Collin could not only eat his "milkshake" dinner (what I call nursing lately), have three blowouts (that included three outfit changes) and a bath in the same hour, all with totally complete happy smiles? Then again, most of you probably know that already :) if you have had children already...
I just like to think I'm just getting more multi-tasked as a mom, and apparently like mother like son!

Deep freezer heaven

Can I just saw how much I love our new deep freezer? I have wanted one for the longest time and we recently were able to get one. Here are the reasons I love it.

1. I was able to store all of Collin's breast milk I have pumped so far and stuffed into our little freezer in our fridge and it automatically went from being able to be stored from 3-4 months to 6 months! WAHOO! All 125 plus bags went into the deep freezer and we have so much space now in our fridge freezer, it is heaven.

2. I am FINALLY able to buy "bulk" things when they go on sale that require freezer storage. I just went and bought three packs of chicken on SUPER SALE and got to put them out in the freezer. I can't wait until I can do this with hamburger!

3. I just feel like we have finally become a "true family" now that we have more than one food storage facility.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my joys of the deep freezer people. It is GREAT! Makes me want to go out and buy only freezer food, and when those ice creams go on sale for $1 at Smiths, I'm TOTALLY stocking up now!

Perfect baby Halloween book

This book is the BEST Halloween book ever.... at least for little babies. Collin seriously LOVES this book and cooed at it (like he wanted to talk to it, it was so cute) all the time during October. I may have to keep reading it even into November and December. I did get a couple more of Felicia Bond (illustrator) books from the library, but I think Collin likes this one best.

Halloween!

So, ever since Collin was born, I have been trying to find a "family theme" idea for us to do...which is somewhat challenging with an itty bitty baby boop. So....my sister found a cute idea on Martha Stewart of a spiderweb and baby....so here is our much simplified version.

Collin conked out about an hour into the trick or treaters coming to our house, so this was one of the few pictures where he was awake.
This is a hilarious picture of him in the bouncer with all his legs.

Spider laughing

Mommy and baby spider. My "web" only lasted about an hour as well, then it started coming off in a bad way.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! We sure did!