Earth Day

Somehow I missed the memo stating that Earth Day became a real holiday. I realized this when Savanah woke up Wednesday morning insisting on wearing a green shirt and then again when we met a friend on the walk home from school as Savanah greeted her by saying, "Happy Earth Day." Vanessa was also quite excited about "Erf Day" even though I know she has no clue what it is all about.

I, personally think Earth Day is a good thing. No, I am not a tree hugger that values plant life over human life and yes, I still love grilled burgers. I do believe we should take care of our planet. Reduce. Recycle. Reuse. There is nothing wrong with that.

Recently my sister sent us some reusable bags from Texas. Not only do they have our favorite Longhorn symbol but, they are from our favorite grocery store down there.

Here is my take on the paper vs. plastic grocery bag debate. Paper bags are difficult to carry and I always have a gazillion plastic bags on hand because I remember to take them to the store to be recycled about twice a year. The solution really is reusable bags. The problem with reusable bags is that I have to remember to take them in to the store and I have to guess how many I will need. Having said that, I love these bags. They make it a lot easier to carry groceries. I can just sling them over my shoulder (as long as there's no bread or eggs in there). They are huge! They fit way more stuff in there. I use them over and over for more than just groceries. I would highly recommend these bags not just because I'm an Earth Day lovin' environmentalist but, because they make my grocery shopping easier and anything that makes my life easier is a good thing.

P.S. If any of you desire the burnt orange Longhorn version of these bags, just let me know. I have connections in Austin.

The Money Store

My mom recently gave the kids some money. The boys each received $5 and the girls received $2. You would think they had just won the lottery with all the excitement around here. The first place they wanted to go........the dollar store. Vanessa calls it the money store. (Wouldn't that be a nice thought, to buy money in a store instead of spending it? ).

We walked up and down every isle before they decided which had what they were looking for. They spent forever on the toy isle.What did they spend their prize money on? Ethan bought a light-up-squishy-ball thing which he eventually gave to Aaron on his birthday. Esteban and AJ both bought police gear and now they have a major shootout in the living room on a daily basis.Savanah bought a Cinderella bride figurine. (I love her pose as she shows off her purchase.)

The best part of all is, now I know my kids are easily pleased. I need to enjoy it while I can because the day will soon be here that they aren't as excited about the toy isle at the money store.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

I met up recently with my sister-in-laws for a day of shopping at IKEA. I love that store! It was my first IKEA experience and I decided that it will just have to become a regular thing on my "to do" list. My mom had given me money for Christmas that I diligently saved for this particular day. Those of you who know my spending habits, know that it was painstaking for me not to spend the money beforehand. In the end, it was so worth the wait. I bought tons of great things and still had $9 left over! Hooray!!!

My favorite purchase of the day was a queen sized comforter for the duvet on our bed for $5. Now, you know why I am still doing the happy dance even to this day.

Here are all the girls in an elevator the size of our study. Honestly, I've never seen a bigger elevator in my life.
Here is a picture of Brenda "test driving" a new mattress. There is no better way to know if the mattress is good or not. She just jumped in and snuggled up for a little nap.We all had a blast! We finished up after having lunch nearby. I haven't had that much fun shopping for a while. Thanks girls! We'll have to do it again!

Way Too Funny/True

A friend recently sent me a link to an ebay auction. I was intrigued and found the most hilarious/true post I have ever read. I couldn't pass it by and want to share.

Those of us who grocery shop with kids know exactly what she is talking about. Happy reading.

Shop-Till-You-Drop

My mom has always been shopper and this trait was passed on to her daughters. Last Saturday, we all met in Salt Lake for some time together. We ate lunch outside of a little Mexican restaurant in order to build up our stamina.Then we headed to Park City with everybody else in the state to do some school shopping. In spite of the crowds we enjoyed teaching Holly to shop. (We start young in this family.)

It was nice girls-day-out. I always enjoy time with my mom and sisters. We were sad our sister-in-laws were busy because they make it even more fun. My mom taught us the more the merrier when it comes to shopping.

January Clearance!

This is the best time of year for shopping!

Our family still needs more winter clothes. Outfitting a family of seven for the winter has not been a small task. Finally! There are some sale prices on warm clothes. I hate paying full price for anything.

There are also case-lot sales this time of year. This is a Utah thing. Twice a year, in January and August, the grocery stores have amazing prices on food, especially if you buy it by the case. Since there are lots of big Mormon families working on building their food storage, it works nicely. This is the first year we are here for the sales, and we actually have a fully shelved storage room to put it all in. I think we have gone a bit crazy so, if any of you have some great recipes for tuna fish, let me know. We have a case of it we have to eat.

I also have to mention the white sales. I went to a department store last week. They had almost everything on clearance 70-90% off. Being in a new home just makes if worse. I can think of 110 things that I "need". Well, no matter how great the price is, there is always that dreaded final total. It all adds up in surprisingly fast. The only thing worse than the final balance is explaining the shopping spree to Aaron. You see, it's all about presentation. I would pull something out of the bag and say," I bought this for _________ normally it is ______". Aaron fell for this at first, than after I've pulled out the twentieth thing he asked, "So, what's the bottom line." We then had a lengthy discussion on our finances. After some compromising, we decided I only needed to return three things. The next day, the customer service agent at the store asked me if there was anything wrong with the merchandise. I said, "No, we just had the 'just-because-it's-on-clearance-doesn't-mean-you-need-it' discussion." She replied, "Oh I get that all the time too. I also get the 'just-because-you-work-there-doesn't-mean-you-have-to-spend-your-paycheck-there' lecture."

I feel her pain.