Oregon Vaughns

Pictures posted.  Read the post or jump the the pictures at the bottom to be amazed!

Wow.  I am in shock.  Angela took me “couponing” today.  I don’t even know where to start.

She generally shops at Wal-Mart because they will price match prices from any other store and they will apply coupons.  Between couponing and price matching, the deals are truly unbelievable.

Throughout this week, she had me print a few coupons from some websites, particularly:  www.thekrazycouponlady.com

Today, we bought the Sunday Oregonian newspaper and clipped coupons for all sorts of things.

Now, the thing I learned, is some coupons you clip and use anyway.  Not only can you get items that are 100% free, you can get items that actually make you money.  For example, today I bought 2 cans of bug spray…  Not because I needed bug spray, but because buying the bug spray took about 50-75 cents off the rest of my purchase (or Wal-Mart would have just given me the cash back had I had not purchased anything else).  Crazy, huh?

Here come the photos.  Everything was purchased at Wal-Mart except for 4 bags of lettuce (spinach, coleslaw, lettuce mix, etc).  Those were from Safeway.  They were absolutely free.  0 dollars, nothing, no bill.

The craziest part was that this did not take very much time and was really not much of a hassle.  Granted, Angela is organized and had some coupons from before already organized, so that took some of the extra time out of the mix.

Here is a picture of everything I got for free.  As I said, not only were they free, I probably made $2-$3 on the stuff in the coming pictures (and just applied it toward the rest of the purchase):

ALL OF THAT STUFF ABOVE WAS FREE OR MADE ME MONEY: Cheerios, bug spray, tampons, panty liners, 4 bags of lettuce, 4 containers of pasta, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, ramen yakisoba noodles.

Okay… Now the stuff that I paid for:  This was all about $15:  Pretzel chips, two things of Tillamook Cheese, razors for him and her, 2 containers of iced tea, 4 Dole smoothie shakers, and Purex laundry detergent.

So, in total… I walked out of the store with all of this stuff for 15 bucks.  I am still in shock.

And honestly?  We probably could’ve done “better” as far as price goes.

Nuts???  I think so.  I think I’m hooked.

A friend of mine (Angela) is really into couponing   She is slowly becoming an expert.  She is going to teach me how to “coupon” on a Sunday shopping trip.  In the mean time, she has me thinking about bargains.  So, today (Saturday), Lily and I went out garage sale-ing to get baby clothoes for Little Brother.  I realized that I was super over and too-much prepared for Lily’s birth as far as gear and clothing.  But, I have almost no new clothing or gear for Little Brother (who does not yet have a name).  We have a few things from gifts and from Nama and Nana, but not a whole lot.

So, today was a garage sale day.

We spent about $25 total at a few different garage sales and I am totally happy with all that we got!

• About 25 pieces of baby boy clothes (ranging from size 3 months – 18 months): Onsies, outfits, pants, sweatshirts, etc..  All of it was in like-new condition and “name brand” (not that that really matters to me): Carters, Old Navy, Osh-Kosh, etc…  A great deal.
• 3 VHS movies for Lily:  Snow White, Mulan, 101 Dalmations
• DVD:  Music and Lyrics
• 6-8 books for Lily:  Princess books, I Spy books, Arthur, Bernstein Bears
• A Magna-Doodle
• An Ariel Barbie
• A nightgown with all of the Disney Princesses (which was for say at Shopko for $18) — got it for $1.  It is well-used, but Lily doesn’t care.

There are my bargains for the day.  Baby boy doesn’t need any more clothing for now, just diapers and a name!

Today was a good day.  We checked out Lily’s preschool for next year:  Mudpies and Lullabies.  She will be starting 3 days a week, 3 hours a day in a 4-5 year old “kindergarten readiness” class.  This will start next fall!  Very excited her for her to start “school” and she is excited too.

After work, Andy, Lily, Keillor and I went to walk the river trail (about 3+ miles) — not a super fast walk with a 32 week pregnant woman and Andy carrying Lily in a kelty-back carrier (she is about 57 pounds).

Then, off to buy a small fire pit for our back yard, which Andy is now setting up.  Tonight:  hot dogs, chips & salsa, and s’mores.  A bit of a Mother’s Day present to get the backyard set up for summer fires (we already have a really nice grill, so we are now set with a grill and a little fire pit).  The weather is beautiful, finally it seems like it is spring time around here.

Tomorrow I will go to the doctor for a check-up.  I go in every two weeks now and the appointments last about 10 minutes each — they check all of my important numbers and then listen to the babies heart beat.  Nothing too exciting, but it is nice to at least know all is going and growing well.

So there it is.  Two blog posts in one week.  I told you I would try to keep up on this more.

I need to try to get back in blogging:  a great way to keep all family / friends around the country updated, and just a great way to journal / documents what’s happening in life.

So, here is a brief re-cap, with pictures at the end.  It may be kind of scatter brained, but just trying to get things written:

Lily has been asking many, many questions about everything lately.  Tonight was all about the Earth and the sun.  It started with asking why the sun goes away at night.  So, I explained that the Earth turns, and when it turns around, we can’t see the sun.  She was satisfied with this answer.  Here are a few of her particular questions:

“Does the sun drink water?”

“Is there more than one Earth?”

“Is the Earth flat?”

“Why isn’t the Earth flat?”

“Who doesn’t live on the Earth?”

and there were many more…

She is growing up so fast.  This week, we are going to check out a preschool for her (to start next year).  She has never gone to school yet, but has attended a handful of classes through the parks and rec department (gymnastics, soccer, swimming, to name a few).

We have inherited Keillor (my family dog) for a spell while my parents are in the process of trying to move.  Step 1)  Sell their house in Corvallis.  Step 2)  Move to their Bend house.  Having Keillor has been good, combined with the nice weather, because it has encouraged me to get out for more walks.  Lily walks / rides her bike while we take Keillor down to the river to play/swim, or just for a walk around the block.  It has been good for all of us to get out more after this long winter.

I am in my 32nd week and realized I don’t really have any pregnancy pictures.  This pregnancy has really been just as easy as the last (only longer — so it seems).  So far?  No swollen feet and no scream-yourself-awake leg cramps.  Though I have had a few leg cramps at night, they are nothing compared to when I was pregnant with Lily.  Andy snapped a few pics on our walk the other day, they aren’t great, but I will post them when I am done rambling.  About 2 more months of teaching school left for me, then it is time for summer and time to prepare for baby boy.  Also, we toured the birthing center at the hospital this last weekend.  I was not impressed.  Don’t get me wrong, it is probably better than 99% of the birthing centers out there, it is just that the Corvallis birthing center at Good Sam is amazing.  This is the only thing I have to compare it with, so it left me feeling “ehhh.”  I am sure it will be fine when the times comes, my surroundings probably won’t be a concern.

Auntie Chelsea just came to visit.  Allegiant Air just started offering flights from Oakland to Redmond and she got a round trip for around $70 (fees and all).  It was great to spend the long weekend with her.  Lily adores her.  The whole week before her arrival, Lily was waking up every morning at 5am to see if it was the day that Auntie Chelsea was coming.  5am does not go over so well in our house.

Lily is still obsessed with Sleeping Beauty.  She likes all of the scary parts.  She constantly wants to ask people what their favorite part is and what their favorite scary part is.

Andy and I are slowly but surely trying to eat out and every restaurant in Bend   For having been here less than 2 years, I think we have done fairly well!  There are not many places left that we haven’t tried.

We have a few baby names in mind, but I have been afraid to commit and haven’t quite felt like we have found “the name.”  So, I will leave you in waiting…

In an effort to be a better mom, I am trying to make Lily some friends.  Since she doesn’t go to school, it is hard for her to make consistent friends.  In the last week, I have asked 2 parents for phone numbers so we can arrange play dates.  Tomorrow, she has a play date at the park with her friend Skylar (who we met last week).  Not only do I get numbers, I follow through and make the call

Not sure what I am leaving out in this long jumble of thoughts and happenings???

Hooked on “Game of Thrones” TV series (Andy has / is reading the books, I am not).  We just finished Season 1.  We don’t have HBO, so have to wait to get Season 2… Yikes.

I will begin updating this more (I promise) so my thoughts won’t be so random.  Here are a few photos for now:

Andy bought a 50 cent mustache out of a vending machine at Safeway to keep us all entertained:

Photos from yesterday’s walk:

Happy Easter and Lily’s 1/2 birthday, making her 3 and a half today.  Time sure does fly.

Most of you may know, but Lily is in Connecticut visiting Shauna and Winter.  On Friday, I took a day off of work and Andy, Lily and I ventured off to Portland.  We took Lily to the Children’s Museum for a few hours of play (she has been once before).  Her favorite activity there is the grocery shopping area.  She also enjoys playing with clay.  After the museum, we met up with my mom for an early dinner and an early bedtime.  Lily and Nama had to fly out of PDX on Saturday morning at 6:30am (which meant waking up at 4:30am to catch a 5 o’clock shuttle).

Lily was so excited and restless in the hotel that it was hard to get her to sleep.  At one point, she was laying quietly, but broke the silence to tell me the following:

“Mom, when my baby brother gets older, I want to marry him.”

When I informed her that this would not be the case, she seemed a little distraught and asked me where she was going to find a husband.  Funny girl, so worried about this at three years old

4:30am came and Lily was UP and EXCITED.  As far as I know, the shuttle and plane ride with Nama were successful.  Shauna and Winter took the train to the airport so that they could meet up with them immediately.  Then, Lily, Nama, Shauna and Winter rode the train back to New Haven together to begin a week of fun!  Lily and Winter will get to celebrate Easter together (today) and Winter’s 2nd birthday (April 11).

Meanwhile, in Oregon…  Andy and I spent Saturday morning at OMSI (Andy had never been and I had not been in years).  It was a lot of fun:  We particular enjoyed the pregnancy exhibit, the brain-teaser puzzles in the lobby, and learning about the Lyre Bird!  Watch the full video below to see some of the “tricks” of this amazing bird!

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YouTube Direkt- Lyre Bird

After OMSI, we met up with Melissa (who was on her way to Corvallis).  She and Alan graciously let us spend the night at their super cute downtown apartment in Portland while they were away.  Saturday night was a poker tournament (neither Andy nor I cashed, though we came close).  And then Sunday was the drive back to Bend, which is where we are now.

Lily will be in Connecticut until next Sunday — approximately 9 days away from Lily (this will be the longest yet for both Andy and I).  We will survive although we miss her much.

On my 28th week of pregnancy.  Moving along.  No news to report.  We think we are settled on a name.

Lily talks. A lot. Non stop. Not surprising if you know her parents

Tonight’s questions for mom included:

“How do we talk?”

“Why do we have boogers?”

“How do we blink?”

Funny girl.

Side note: One more work day for me and then Spring Break. As well, I have informed my school that I am not returning next year. I am super happy about this decision: primarily to stay home with my kids but there are many, many other reasons as well.

I have not been blogging much lately because I feel like there is not much interesting to say.  Still pregnant, still working, still have a three year old.  Nothing’s changed

Shauna and Winter arrived a few days ago and will be staying for the week — just for a visit.  Lily and Winter love to play together, although both suffer from a little healthy jealousy at times   This means that Nama and Papa are in town for the week too.

Bend cannot make up its mind weather-wise: snow, sun, hail, sun, wind, wind, snow, sun, wind…  We at least see the sun almost everyday, which is nice (and have very little rain).

Our 12-week poker series is going well.  Andy is in 1st place and I am tied for 3rd (in the whole points-series).  There are 4 weeks left.  Gotta be in the top 20 to make the money.  We need a few more good nights to seal solid positions.  (The tournament takes place every Sunday).

Here are some pictures from today.  Lily is 3 and 5 months, Winter is 23 months (she turns two in April)!

Happy Leap Day.

Lily said yesterday:

“Mom, I was thinking and thinking and in my dream I thought we should name you rnew baby Owen like the boy in my swim class who can swim by himself.”

Super cute, but Owen is not a name on our list, sorry Lily.

Today, she said:

“Owen is my best friend because he talks to me lots during swimming class.  He can hold my hand if he wants.”

Oh great.

And to brag about her problem solving skills (and people-caring skills)… Today, while ordering sandwiches at Togos *yum*, I watched her move a chair away from the table she had chosen.  She placed the chair at another table.  When I came over and asked what happened to the chair, she said “We don’t need 4 chairs, we just need 3 chairs.  Now, someone else can use that chair.”

What-a-girl.

22 weeks pregnant, and according to my “pregnancy app” the baby should weigh about 1 pound.  I feel lots of movement!

It has been a while since I have blogged, but here are some quick updates:

• Lily burnt her hand pretty badly by slipping and catching herself on the glass fireplace a few days ago.  Big hand blister with a little blister on each finger.  Over an hour of screaming and crying in pain before falling asleep due to exhaustion.  It is almost healed now, thank goodness.
• Lily is doing great at going to the Kid’s Club (the play room at the gym, so Andy and I can work out)
• I am 16.5 weeks pregnant (due July 6th).  We will find out the sex of our next child on February 7th and we are trying to think of some fun way to reveal it to ourselves and others
• Lily has a Disneyland OBSESSION.  We told her we would take her when she was 5.  So, she spends the majority of every day talking about how she will go to Disneyland when she is 5.  She lists all of the characters that she wants to see, etc…
• Lily also has a Mary Poppins obsession.  That has been the movie of choice for a month.  When she realized that Burt and Mary Poppins live at Disneyland too, her world was complete.
• The other day Lily told me she “was the sad girl in the whole world.”  (because she missed her dad)
• I am almost half-way through this school year.
• Crazy snow / rain / sunshine here in Bend.  Can’t make up its mind.
• Lily will be going with my mom (for a week) to Connecticut to see Shauna and Winter this April for Winter’s 2nd birthday.  Lily is very excited, but tells me that she will miss me.  And, we will miss her terribly, but will probably enjoy a little rest as I become even more pregnant.

Pictures coming soon.

Lily gets so excited about doing math (since Mom teaches math to kids at school). She gets very giddy and a little crazy. But, she is doing well.

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YouTube Direkt- Lily and Math1

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YouTube Direkt- Lily and Math2