Top 10 reasons to have another boy

10) Easier to wipe.
9) I don't have to buy anymore baby clothes.
8) Boys are expected to get dirty.
7) I almost have enough for a basketball team.
6) Spit up almost matches white church shirts.
5) White church shirts can be bleached.
4) A girl probably wouldn't survive.
3) Boys are the best peanut buttery kissers ever.
2) Now I can have a Superman, a Spiderman, a Batman, and a Helaman :)
1) I get to change my name to 5boystokiss, and that is just scandalis :)

Another Boy?

OK, I guess the word is out, we contacted all the essential people, so now it is blogable. We went and had an ultrasound this morning at 7:30 am. That is a feet in itself. But when we saw the bum view, I new for sure that all my trying to talk myself into having a girl just hadn't worked. It is a boy. Mr. Enoch John Kunzler should arrive the end of January. So maybe tommorow I will write a blog about the top ten reasons to have a boy, so stay tuned.
Just as a side note, I figured out how to explain how the baby got there in the first place
I ate him!

Little Tidbits

Why do little boys take a whole bag of lunch meat and scatter little pieces all of the house; Break eggs all over the kitchen floor; dump out the entire toy box daily; run away from the yard; hide under the table to do naughty things; take a butcher knife to the mattress only to pour maples syrup in the holes later; sit in the fridge; unwind a ball of yarn all over the house-all 3 stories, Say mommy your beautiful- don't be grumpy because I think your beautiful and I handsome.


Long days- To break up the monotony of our long days with out transportation and no one close enough to visit, we try to schedule the day. We get up, eat breakfast, read scriptures- while the boys watch a movie. After the movie is over, we clean the house. Pick up all of the toys, sweep the floor, load the laundry basket, due the dishes and make the beds. Then I let the boys play for about 2 hours while I pay bills, check blogs, check email, look at facebook, etc. Then at about 12- we eat lunch and2 little boys go down for a rest. Depending on how I am feeling I either tackle an odd job or take a nap. However if I take a nap I am useless for the rest of the day. About the time the boys wake up, we go get Seth at the bus stop. When we get home, depending on what I have heard from Seths teacher, we go play outside on our new "park" or we go in the house and the little boys watch a movie, while I put Seth to work. At about 5 we all pitch in and make dinner. Then we read scriptures, do the dishes brush our teeth and the boys all are in bed by 7. The only problem with this schedule is that Tom gets home anywhere from about 8:30- 11 so I am left with about 4.5-7 hours of completely alone time. I do not have enough friends to help me fill those alone hours of the day. I talk with my mom for quite a while depending on the day, and then I have my wonderful sister in law Sheri, my bf Christen and then all of the other people that I try to get to help me pass the days. I realize more and more how much time I have on my hands, when I check all 30 blogs, and no one has reposted.

Then I realize there most be more things I should or could be doing. So What are they? anyone full of ideas?
Where is Christen when I need her?

Seth at school- Seth started school, and he seems to be having a hard time. There are few things working against him. First- When he was just old enough to understand us, we did not want to spank him for naughty things, so we used a method called the 1-2-3 method. This is where you give the child three chances to do what is right. But, this has back fired. Not only do all 3 of our kids wait until 2 to listen to us, but Seths teacher disciplines on one.
Second- he is the only kid in his class who has never been to preschool. I thought this was doing him a service, but he is the only one who dosn't seem to be understanding the rules of a classroom.

Lastly- Caucasians are in the minority at his school. They only make up about 5% of the school. He is dealing with so much, that I never had to. He is the only white boy in his class. So he follows the lead of his friends. One of his friends was scaring these little girls in the hall, and they were giggling at him. So, Seth started doing it, and the little girl said- with all the diva attitude she could muster- I 'onna'kick yo' butt. With the side to side head shake thing and all.

I feel sorry for him. He has only had 3 good days since school started 3 weeks ago, and 2 of those days were with a sub. I just hope everyone learns for real what a sweet little boy they have on their hands.
He gets himself up every morning with an alarm, and then he follows a 2 hour schedule to the T all by himself- where he showers, makes his lunch, eats breakfast, brushes his teeth, gets dressed, cleans his room, and meets me at the door to walk him the five minutes to the bus stop. He is an incredibly responsible little guy. Also, he can read. He loves learning. Yet he just can't seem to catch a break. Certainly we should be able to figure this out!


New callings- Tom and I recieved our new callings yesterday. They asked us if we would come to meeting with the bishop before church. About 10 minutes before the meeting started, we met with the bishop. He said, " Well I am sorry it has taken so long to get you guys a calling (just over 2 months) but, (looking at me) all of the auxillaries asked for you. We really wanted to put Tom in the missionary program, but with how busy you are going to be, we didn't want to over burden your family. Tom is terrific with the missionary program and would have been great, but I am glad that they didn't give him that calling as well, because we already don't see him enough. So the bishop went on to say- Sister Berrigan would like you as her first counselor. I was thinking- Sister Berrigan-not sure if I have met her. Then he said- This will be the education counselor- Ohh the relief society president. And then all the wind rushed out of my lungs. I thought I could handle any calling, but not so sure about this one. The rest of the day was a blur. I didn't even hear what calling they gave Tom. Later in the day I asked him what he was supposed to do as the Sunday School first counselor and he said that wasn't his calling. I heard it like three times, just never processed. He is the Sunday School Sec'y I am happy for this calling. It is a Sunday only calling. That we can handle.
So after we were sustained. I went and met the Relief Society president for the first time, and we made plans for our first meeting. She seems really sweet. Whew! and I was sad that I didn't have enough things to do during the day. Heavenly Father took care of that one!

Grocery Shopping- I went to Costco on Saturday. I bought just about a months worth of food, for the price of what I would normally spend in 2 weeks. I will have to go back for bread, milk and LUNCH MEAT :( but, I shouldn't have to buy anything else for the month, wahoo, love bargain shopping!

Doctors Appointments- When Tom was in school, we had all 3 kids with the benefit of medicaid. At times Tom and I were even covered by medicaid- Tom got some dental work done and I got some hardware put in my ankle and a gallbladder removed. I don't think we were ever grateful enough for it though. Now, we have had work insurance since April. Gabriel had to get staples in his head, Tom had to get new glasses, Seth had to have a check up and get shots, and I got my foot x-rayed for no apparent reason at all.
Total we have paid almost $3,000 for medical bills. And now, I am going to get an ultrasound this week that will be about $700. The frustration is mounting. But, Gabriels head has healed, Toms glasses are not falling apart, my foot grrrr, and We get to find out what we are having and we can pay for it!

The Book of Mormon, OK final tidbit. I remember when I was younger one of my friends told me that I would be suprised when I got to heaven and I was a member of the wrong "true church". At the time I was a little worried that maybe she would be right. I did not have enough experience with feeling the holy ghost. Now, I can say with unwaivering faith. If you read the book of mormon every day, there will be absolutely no doubt in your mind. There is a spirit that resides in reading the Book of Mormon. It is the same spirit of love that you feel when you hold a new baby. I wish I knew how to describe it, but it is there. I felt the same spirit when we all got to stand and sustain the prophet during the solemn assembly. Its the same way I feel when I am being comforted by the Lord during the time of trials. There is nothing empty about reading the Book of Mormon. When the Lord said come unto me and hunger and thirst no more, this must have been the feeling he was describing. If you haven't made the commitment for personal scripture study I challenge you to. If you think you don't have time to read it make the time, it will change your life and perhaps your eternity. Make the time!
Love you all.

All about Coupons!

Well,
After an alarming month of spending in August, Tom and I decided we had to do something. So, we set a budget. $100/ week on household items, including groceries. Then after going to the store yesterday, I added up how much the bare minimums cost us each week. If I only bought bread, milk, butter, cereal, eggs, lunch meat, diapers, paper-towels, and toilet paper each week, I spend $88. That only leaves me $12 for everything else. What do I do? Get creative. I am going to pass this blog onto you, that one of my friends recently wrote. She is the coupon Queen, and she has totally got it figured out. I am still at the beginning stages.





Here is her blog

Walgreens Tutorial

Okay, I've been asked quite often how I get my deals. It takes some time to get the hang of things and couponing--it was a whole new world when I started. It takes some reading and some work, but it has been worth it (though I may be taking a break here shortly). Anyway, I thought I'd help everyone get in on a good deal at Walgreens. So, if you have one nearby, here's the deal-- no newspaper coupons required and Saturday is the last day to do this:

First off I'm going to start with 4 deals: A, B, C, D. Each of these can be done separately at Walgreens. However, if you have a little money to "invest" and combine the deals, you'll come out pretty nicely and I'll show you how that works at the end.

DEAL A:
Purchase:
Crest Pro-Health mouthwash 500 ml. at $4.49
After you pay, you will get a print-out (technical term = catalina) for $4.49 off your next purchase. FREEBIE

Deal B:
Purchase:
1 Dimetapp at $3.99
1 Robitussin at $3.99
1 Dimetapp or Robitussin at $3.99
Total: $11.97
Now use these Internet printable (IP) coupons:
Dimetapp -$2
Robitussin -$1
and your new total is $8.97. After you pay, you will get a catalina for $10 off your next purchase. SLIGHT MONEYMAKER

Deal C:
Purchase:
2 Scrubbing bubbles Action scrubber @ 3.79
Total= 7.58
Now use two IP coupons (using your browsers back button you should be able to print a second one)
2 coupons (-$2.75 off 1) -5.50
and your new total is $2.08. You will get a catalina for $2 off your next purchase, making your total cost $.08.
(Now there are many other ways to do this deal. If you are needing some cleaners, look in the ad. There is an orange box that has other scrubbing bubbles items, shout, windex, fantastik, pledge, and draino in it. Look at it this way-- you buy 7 of those items you get $10 back. This means you are getting $1.42 off of each of those items. All of those $2.49 items are actually costing you just over $1. There are two other scrubbing bubbles items that cost $3.79 that have coupons on the above site-- otherwise, I'm afraid you're out of luck finding any other internet coupons. If you get the Sunday paper and have enough coupons, you can actually make money buying 7 cleaners. I'm assuming many of you don't get the Sunday paper, and even without coupons, it's still a decent deal.)

Deal D:
Is a lesser deal. I'm including it however, because I've been wanting to try these.
Purchase:
Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower cleaner kit @ 19.99
Get back a catalina for $10 off your next purchase.

Now a little FYI:
Some Walgreens will not take internet coupons. Some will, but it depends on your store and your manager. You can not do these deals more than once, for example: If you buy 2 bottles of Crest mouthwash, you will not get 2 coupons for $4.49 off your next purchase. You will only get one per transaction-(or time you pay.) You can, however, do the mouthwash and the scrubbing bubbles, and the medicine together. This is where things can get more complex. I don't want to scare everyone off, and for the sake of keeping things simple, I'll end right there. If you have more questions, I'll answer them. Otherwise, if you're really serious about taking up coupons, I'll direct you to one of my favorite websites, Hot Coupon World.

Now for the big deal. This is more of an investment. I say "investment" because you are going to have to spend more money out of your pocket. I prefer to pay less than $10 each time I go to the drugstore, (Usually more like $1), but this one will have to cost you over $30. If you're willing to foot the bill this time, though, you can use it over and over again for other deals.

1 Crest Pro-Health mouthwash 500 ml. $4.49
1 Dimetapp at $3.99
1 Robitussin at $3.99
1 Dimetapp or Robitussin at $3.99
2 Scrubbing bubbles Action scrubber @ 3.79
1 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower cleaner kit @ 19.99
Your total there is: $44.03
Minus above coupons -8.50
New total = $35.53

Now you need to look for a little book near the ads when you walk in. It's light green and black with a big W in the middle. It's called the easy saver catalog. Now, if you open it up to page 33, they list all the items that are free after rebate (FAR). There are 9 items, but for the above scenario, I'm going to use the Nivea Body wash.

So, you add that to your order, and your total is $40.52.
You give them this coupon for $10 off and pay $30.52 + tax. Then, out rolls all of your catalinas-- $4.49 (Crest) + $10 (Dimetapp) + $2 (scrubbing bubbles action scrubbers) + $10 Shower cleaner. You have $26.49 to use on your next purchases. Also, you go home and submit the rebate for the Nivea and get back $4.99 there. (If you put it on a Walgreens gift card they'll add 10% to that and you'll be set to go next time and have to pay very little out of your pocket.) All of the above should be close to free. (Depends on your tax rate.) Isn't that beautiful!!!

Now, if you're wondering what you're going to spend your catalina's on, just open back up that easy saver catalog and buy the other items that are free after rebate. Next month you'll get your gift card, and go buy the next things that are free after rebate and just keep it rolling.

As for other info, (I hope I haven't scared everyone away yet), there are so many different ways to do this. Try to get your total after coupons as close to $40 as possible. If you have other stuff on your list, try taking out one of the items that I included, but leave the Deals in-tact. All of these deals are written out in the ad, most people just don't understand them, so make sure you get the correct sizes and items. If you're not interested in the scrubbing bubbles automatic shower cleaner, that's the first item to scratch off the list. That one is costing you money (well, to some degree.) If you don't really want it, you are much better off buying the 7 cleaners, or and/or more of the Free After Rebate stuff. See:

1 Crest Pro-Health mouthwash 500 ml. $4.49
1 Dimetapp at $3.99
1 Robitussin at $3.99
1 Dimetapp or Robitussin at $3.99
2 Scrubbing bubbles Action scrubber @ 3.79 ea = $7.58
5 other cleaners @ 2.49 ea = $12.45
1 Nivea body wash $4.99 FAR
1 Excedrin express gels $3.99 FAR
1 Crest Pro-health toothpaste $3.79 FAR
Minus above coupons -8.50
Minus $10 off coupon -10.00
Total = $30.76

Catalinas for off your next purchase= $4.49 (Crest) + $10 (Dimetapp) + $10 (Cleaners) = $24.49
Rebates = $4.99 (Nivea) + $3.99 (Excedrin) + $3.79 (Crest t.p.) = $12.77
You just made over $6!!

Okay, I could go on and on, but I'll stop. If you want to look at the ad before you get to the store, or the easy saver catalog, they are both online at Walgreens.com. Let me know how your shopping trip goes or if you have any questions!

So like I said, she is incredible. The other things I have found are freeflys.com and couponmom.com. Stephanie recommends a site in her post as well.

Good luck as we all learn together!

More about babies and free baby samples