Show Us Your Life-Money Saving Tips

Kelly from Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show Us Your Life"-Money Saving Tips and I thought I would join in today. I love finding ways to save money. Around January I was introduced to Groupon. It has changed my shopping world. Check out Groupon and see for yourself. (If it doesn't come up as your city when you go to the website, click on "visit more cities" up at the top to see if yours is listed).

Here is how it works. You go to their website and sign up, for free, to receive their daily emails. Every day they send 1 deal of the day. You have until midnight to purchase the deal and then it goes away. It's that simple.

Here are the deals that I have purchased in the last few months.

1. 1 hour massage for $35 (Reg. $70)
2. 1 year pass to Adventure Science Center for entire family $45 (Reg. $90)
3. 1 room in your home painted $85 (Reg $250)
4. 5 Barre Sculpting Classes (This is like a ballet fitness class that I have heard kicks your rear) $22 for all 5 classes (normally $40 per class).

The savings are really incredible. They have something for everyone from restaurants and salons to entertainment and fitness and the list goes on and on. Check them out to see if they are in your city.

If you've used Groupon tell me about it. I'd love to hear what you bought. Happy shopping.

I'm a Minivan Mom

I never thought I would say those words. I remember years ago, even before I had kids, telling Brian that I would never own a minivan. I am now eating those words big time. Last night we said goodbye to our 2003 Toyota Sequoia. It has been a great SUV for us. We bought this car when I was pregnant with Zoe. We were so excited to have a baby and thought the next step was a family car. As our family has grown the Sequoia seemed like it was shrinking. I really wanted a car with more room and bucket seats for the girls.

I really fought the whole minivan thing. I loved driving an SUV and looked at crossover SUV's, but none of them seemed right for our family. Not to mention they are more expensive than a minivan.

I talked to mom's who had minivans and they all said they loved the sliding doors. That was one of the selling features for me. The ease and safety of getting the girls in and out of the car quickly. I researched 3 minivans; the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and the Chrysler Town & Country. After a lot of time spent on the computer comparing all three, I finally decided on..... drum roll please.......

A 2009 Chrysler Town & Country. I joke I had to have it in black to make it look cooler. Here's what I love about it. The T&C was awarded 5 stars on the Crash Test Ratings and is equipped with airbags around the entire vehicle. It also has a back up camera that appears on the front console so you can see what is behind you when you back up. You can't put a price on safety.

Here is what the girls love: The 2 DVD players, their bucket seats swivel to face backwards and it has a table that goes in the back between their seats and the third row.

There is so much more that I love, but will refrain from mentioning all the features. It may not be the most stylish car on the planet, but I just can't get past the comfort and roominess of the minivan. I've let go of my pride for the sake of my family. I will one day probably go back to the SUV, but it will have to wait until the kiddos are in college.

But for now I will roll the windows down, put my shades on, crank of the music and close my eyes and pretend I am 16 again driving my black rabbit convertible along Pacific Coast Hwy. Well, maybe I should keep my eyes open.

If you are a minivan mom I would love to hear what you like best about yours. Leave me a comment and let me know.

Muffins with Mommy

I joined the girls at school this morning for Muffins with Mommy. I look forward to this day all school year. It's always a surprise as to what they have made for me. I wasn't disappointed. I received the cutest bracelet and place mat from Brooklyn. Sydney made me a flower and two pieces of artwork with her hand prints and footprints. I will cherish them forever.

Sydney's card she made me reads, "If I could have just one wish, now wouldn't that be fine, I'd wish that every little kid, had a mom as good as mine. I love you mom!

We had some yummy muffins and apple juice. It is really fun to hang out with the girls in their classrooms and watch them interact with the other kids. It's also fun to sit and talk with the other moms for a change too. Sydney also learned how to sign, "I love my mommy". It was too cute.


I love the pictures of the girls in these photos. Me, not so much. I have bags for days. I had a really bad allergy attack the night before and rubbed my eyes til they were raw. No amount of ice packs the next morning was gonna get rid of them. Thankfully they are gone now.
I am one blessed mama! Thank you my sweet girls for a great morning. I love you both so much!

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 38th birthday. There I said it. That number gets harder and harder to say every year. Why is that? I am thankful to be alive and blessed to be celebrating another birthday so that's how I choose to look at it.

It has been a good day. The best news of the day came this morning when I found out my sister-in-law Kelly, Brian's sister, went into labor with triplets. I am thrilled to share a birthday with my 2 new nephews and my niece and so amazed that she made it to 36 weeks. That was her goal and she did it. Way to go Kelly!

Doesn't she look great? She is all belly I have to say. She made carrying over 17 lbs of baby look easy. I can't imagine.

The babies were born at 12:04 p.m. & 12:05 p.m. today. Walker Nicholas weighed in at 5 lbs, 13 oz, Jane Violet weighed 5 lbs, 4oz and Quentin Sawyer was the biggest at 6 lbs, 1oz. Mommy and babies are doing great. As soon as I get some pictures I will post them. I can't wait to hold them next weekend and I can't wait for Brooklyn and Sydney to see them. We've been praying for these babies for 9 months.

I should tell you that Kelly also has twins who are 7, Spencer and Caroline. I know they will be such a big help to their parents. I am thrilled for you guys and love you all.

Tonight we went to Omikoshi's for my birthday dinner. If you aren't familiar with it, it's like Shoguns where they cook the food right in front of you. I didn't know how the girls would do at such a nice restaurant, but they did great. At first they were afraid of the fire, but then they got used to it. They were in ah over how the guy threw around his knives. Sydney said, "Mommy I can do that when I get bigger". If you practice hard you just might be able to baby girl, but for now I will keep the knives up high and out of reach.

It was such a fun night with my family and I continue to stand amazed at how He has blessed me. I have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful girls that make me laugh and feel so loved every day.

No, I didn't forget about my Tuesday's Tip, so here it is. We used this tonight for my birthday dinner. It's a website called 10best.com and it's awesome. Brian bought a $25 gift certificate for Omikoshi's for $3 (it was originally $10 for a $25 dollar certificate, but if you enter a coupon code you get it for $3). Yep you read it right, just $3. Here is how it works. You find the restaurant you want to go to, pay $3 and then print the certificate and take it to the restaurant. It's that simple. Each restaurant is different, but for the one tonight we had to spend $35 to use it. So basically if you work the menu, you can get out of their for $13 plus tax and tip. We spent a little more at $20, but it was so worth it. All 4 of us had soup and salad, chicken and fried rice and veggies (Brian had top sirloin) and then ice cream for dessert. Now that's a deal. I also have heard that restaurants.com is great as well.

Check it out and see what deals you can find.

Happy 70th Birthday Dad!

Dear Dad,

So glad you made it to 70. It's hard to believe. You don't look a day over 69. :)

Thank you for being such an amazing dad. I am so incredibly blessed. You have worked so hard to provide for our family. Being a parent now myself I know how tiring it is and I can say that I don't know how you did it. How did you work 3 jobs and still be so involved in our lives. Thank you for working hard so that mom could stay home with us girls.

Thank you for always supporting us in anything we ever wanted to do. You coached our soccer teams, came to all of our choir shows and even drove our motor home so we could minister to others. We could not have gone on the road without you.

Most importantly, thank you for raising us to be women of God. Your love and example has helped me be the person I am today. Thank you for forcing family nights on us when we were a kid. I still remember all the times I would try to fall asleep during them and you would tell me to sit up and pay attention. I can think back now and remember those nights and I am so glad we had them. That is one family tradition I want to pass on to my family.

It's so fun for me to watch you with Brooklyn and Sydney. They love you so much. Thank you for taking such good care of them. Thank you for the countless prayers you have prayed on their behalf. Thank you for always being available to watch them at a moment's notice.

Thank you for the wise counsel you always give me whether I have asked for it or not. I will always be your little girl.

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you! Krissy

P.S. Ok so I realized I don't have any pictures with just you and Brooklyn. We will have to remedy that this weekend so I can add it.

Off to the Windy City

Brian and I area headed to Chicago in the morning. I cannot wait. We are going for our anniversary. My parents are so great to watch the girls for us so we can get away. Thank you Auntie RoRo for helping them too.

One of the things I am looking forward to is the shopping. Our first stop is to IKEA. It is one of my favorite stores ever. We are renting a car for the day just so I can do some shopping there. I am also bringing a big suitcase to check so I can bring all my goodies back. They will probably look at me funny at the airport tomorrow when I check this big empty bag. It will be worth it. I have my catalog in hand and I'm ready to go.

We're staying at a famous hotel and I am so excited. It's been in some movies and alot of famous people have stayed there. Can you guess which one it is? We got a killer deal on Priceline and the best thing is that it's in the heart of downtown. Close to all the great shops and restaurants.

I better get packing. Have a great weekend everyone. I know I plan too.

A walk downtown

Today my sister Stacy met us downtown with her two girls Maiya and Samantha. Brooklyn and Sydney had school and their school is right in the heart of downtown so we decided to meet up and take them to all get cupcakes. We each had a coupon for a free cupcake so it was a pretty inexpensive outing.

When I picked up Brooklyn from school today I told her that we were going to meet her cousins to get a cupcake. She said, "Mommy I already had a cupcake at school. I have had way too much sugar today". I started to laugh. I guess she has heard me tell her that too much sugar is not good for you. That it can make you sick. However, by the time we had walked to the cupcake shop she had changed her tune.

The girls loved their cupcakes. After they finished we let them walk around downtown and they got to go to the toy shop. They had so much fun looking at all the toys and dolls. Stacy and I had fun too. We found something that we use to play with when we were kids back in California. Oh the memories. We both loved the pop sound it made and the smell it produced after it was dropped to the ground. Can you guess what it is?

Did you have one? They are so fun. Of course we had to buy one and show the girls how it worked. The older girls could do it, but the younger ones, Sammie and Sydney had a hard time. You have to hold it just right and drop it straight to the ground for it to pop. I love being able to show the girls something that their mama used to play with.

It was a beautiful and warm 83 degrees in the south today. A little too warm for my taste for Spring, but it's better than being cold. The girls love hangin with their cousins and I am so blessed that they all have each other to play with.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's Tip-www.picnik.com

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you might have noticed that my photos have changed. It's all because of this awesome website two of my dear friends told me about. Thank you Lisa Leonard and Chrisse Rousse. I am forever grateful. It's called Picnik and I LOVE it. I've always wanted to "trick out" my photos and make them look better and this site does that. The best thing about it, it's FREE! Yep, completely free. How cool is that?

I've been using it like crazy as you've probably noticed by now. I did upgrade to the premium for $2.08 a month, but to me it's worth it. Let me say you get tons of apps for free so you really don't have to upgrade to premium if you don't want to.

I will give you an example of the cool things you can do with this program.

Here is the original photo of Sydney that I took. I shot it with my Nikon D40.

And here is the edited version of the same photo:

I used 2 apps with this, Boost and Soften. I love how vibrant the colors are in the photo.

My new favorite app is called Gritty. I love it! Here is what it looks like.

Then of course you can add text, borders, make collages and the list goes on and on. Check it out. See what you can come up with and put a link to your blog in my comment section. I'd love to see your photos.

More with the Easter Bunny

I promise this is the last of the Easter photos. I forgot to post my pictures with the Easter bunny. Shame on me.

Sydney could not get enough of the Easter bunny. She went to him every second she could get.
They had a total of 3 egg hunts that they went to. One at school, one at a friend's house and the other at The Factory. I love their little faces in the first pictures. All smiles.