Target Tuesday

Ok, so this is a total cop-out - but my cold is still raging strong, so this is all the energy I have for today!  I told you last week I was wanting to do more coupon-ing.  Well, the problem I have had in the past is the "stock-up" principle -- I am no good at it.  Well this week was snack food week at Super Target and I decided to try and take advantage!  The thing I love about Target is they have sales, take manufacturer coupons AND Target coupons for the same item, allowing you to double up your savings!  So here was my haul this week (minus three non-coupon items that we just needed):

2 boxes Chex cereal

2 boxes Quaker Chewy granola bars

3 boxes Nature Valley granola bars

1 bag Nature Valley nut clusters

1 box Market Pantry fruit snacks

1 box Archer Farms Pesto crackers

1 small jar Skippy Natural peanut butter

1 small bag Chex mix

1 4-pack Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches

1 tube Sensodyne Isoactive foaming toothpaste

1 bottle Tylenol quik releasing tablets

1 bag Peppridge Farm Brussels cookies

3 bags M&M/Twix Fun size candies

2 mini-loaves Artesian bread

Total = 21 items

With tax I paid $29.69, making each item $1.41!

The only item I would not have normally purchased was the bag of cookies, which is why I only used one of my four coupons at this time.  I should mention as well that the Tylenol retails for $4 and the toothpaste (which is a kind my dentist has urged me to buy repeatedly to no avail) is $6!

While this is not the best deal I have ever heard of, it made me feel progress in my coupon shopping to have so many items that I know we will use (especially during snack-time for the girls) cost so little!  I am hoping to have even better results on a grocery run and Walgreens trip this week, so we will see!

**For any of you who eat granola bars - the Nature Valley deal was awesome this week!  You buy three boxes of granola bars (on sale for $2.50 from $2.99) and get the nut clusters for free!!!  So, I used $0.75/2, $0.40/1 for the bars AND a $1/1 for the nut clusters bring my total for the four items to $1.50 each.  A smoking deal on what is usually a pretty pricey snack!  (Nevermind that the crunchy honey kind are my all-time favorite!)

Pumpkin Time

My parents decided to come down spur-of-the-moment this weekend, and we were thrilled to have them visit! Friday we spent the day at Tolmachoff Farms pumpkin patch and the girls had a blast like always!

The animals were a big hit - 

As were these contraptions:

What ARE those things?!?

Then we hit the pumpkin patch!  Lauren took Grandma Linda on a looooong walk all the way around.

Then she had to come make silly faces on top of my camera to get the girls to both look at me!  Success!!!  Thanks, Mom!

We didn't have as much luck with the family picture.  Lauren was carrying on like the sun was burning her eyes out and Paige was squirming and trying to run off.  But hey, we made a memory!!!

After that production we opted for the short corn-maze. =)

Grandpa Randy made sure to teach Lauren the joy of jumping out to scare people who are walking too far behind you.  *snerk*

Then the all-time favorite, the corn bin!  We always have to drag them away kicking and screaming.

The only downside to this location, there is no lunch on site.  So we picked out some pumpkins to purchase and skedaddled to the car in search of some food!

Another wonderful day of family fun accomplished!

Thanks for coming out, Mom and Dad!  It was great to get to see you!!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. It appears that we are all in the beginning stages of a cold. Hitting the Airborne & Zicam hard for the next couple days!!!

2. Because of this, my head is very foggy - so I might have strange statements or fragmented sentences. Not that that would be anything new!

3. I have been busy editing pictures from shoots lately and haven't taken pictures of the girls in ages! I plan to remedy this tomorrow, even if they are pictures of runny noses!

4. I had a wonderful time at Women of Faith last weekend!!! If you ever have a chance to go, I totally recommend it! I laughed, I cried, it changed me. I have many books on my to-read list now... time to hit the library! PLUS, I had the best-ever chocolate croissant at the Wyndham breakfast buffet. Mmmmmm!!!

5. This cooler weather makes me HAPPY! I love being able to be outside with the girls, roll the windows down in the car, and can not wait to see next month's electric bill! ;o)

6. Paige is finally TRYING to talk. She wants to say everything we say, and it is quite amusing to hear her try!

7. I am making an attempt to be a coupon-er. While I love the idea that with a little effort I can get many things much cheaper - it greatly interferes with my love of Trader Joe's, since they don't accept coupons. UGH.

8. I need to find a list of all the things Lauren should be able to do by the time she reaches kindergarten. I am starting to have a fear that she won't be prepared in 10 months!!! I am just really not a home-schooler, I have the hardest time trying to teach her things - especially since Paige was old enough to want my attention.

9. My tomato plant is officially dead. Surprised?

10. For those of you who have been following my quest for Lauren's Ariel costume... it STILL has not arrived. I am two shakes from losing my mind about it! What if it doesn't come? I will never be able to find "tail-Ariel" in time for Halloween! And then we will have a massive melt-down on our hands. Here's hoping I don't have to pull out the creative guns on October 30th, they are awfully dusty.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Sorry that I haven't been blogging lately. I been going through a phase where I just don't feel like I have anything to say! But I am coming out of that now, so look out!

2. I have a black thumb. While I would love to have plants all over my house, I just can't seem to keep them alive. This summer I managed to keep a basil plant for several months, so when I saw tomato plants at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago I decided to give it a try. And low and behold:



And we even ATE them! ;o)

3. I could never grow enough tomatoes to sustain the amount we eat in this house. We all LOVE these bright red jewels!

4. Kids just love to pick things off plants - it amazes me how entertaining it can be!



5. Paige takes off her clothes on her own now. All.The.Time. So the above picture is how she looks most days, though she does manage to leave clothes on in public -- so far.

6. I got my hair done on Saturday, and I feel like it matches Paige's hairdo all too well. Much shorter than I was hoping for! When a hairdresser says, "We can get rid of the last of those layers by just going a little shorter," ask for a number. How much exactly? Because nearly three inches is not a "little shorter" to me. Not even close.

7. I am, however, still blond. Which is rare because usually in the fall I start leaning toward darker, richer colors. Maybe I am not this year because it is still over a hundred degrees out. Not very fall-ish, if you ask me!

8. I always thought blond ended in an -e, but Blogger's spell check tells me no -e. Weird.

9. No big news on the baby front. I will not start hiding anything now, we are far beyond that point! Believe me when I say that when we know, you'll know.

10. I went back and forth a lot with combining my blogs - but I have finally reached a decision that I am going to it. Thank you all for your input! *snerk* I got very little input. My confusion was all my own doing, but I read a blog a few days ago that made up my mind. I am going to give it a shot. I am planning to do an announcement on here soon... and that will be when you need to change your feeds. I won't promise a date because I am no good at keeping those promises! Thanks for loving me anyway!!!

Happy Tuesday all!

Shriner Circus

On Saturday we took the girls to their first circus! It was a smaller circus, and that made it all the more fun because we were able to be very close to the stages and it wasn't too overwhelming for the girls!

Lauren started the day with her first ever pony ride!

Then Paige hitched a ride as well. ;o)

Checking out the elephant ride...

Paige was mesmerized!

Then we grabbed a cotton candy snack and found some seats. Lauren has long forgotten the days of refusing to believe cotton candy is for eating!

Paige has never had such a problem!

One of the acts - too bad I didn't get a shot of him on the outside of the ring!

The huge black bears were amazing!

The girls were pretty wiped out afterwards - check out Lauren's sleepy eyes while snuggling with Daddy!

All in all, another fabulous Beeler Family Saturday!

Ballet, take two!

Well, we made it to ballet class just fine today! *whew*

Waiting to go in...

Do my eyes decieve me?!? Is this a picture where BOTH of my children are looking AT.THE.CAMERA?!? I actually did a little happy dance when I took this one. I am sure the other moms did not think that was strange at all.

There are six other girls in Lauren's class - one turns five tomorrow, but the rest are recently four. They are so cute and sweet to each other and you can tell they just had a blast! Please forgive the pictures and the bad reflections of parents observing, I did the best I could from our outdoor viewing area. Yes, out-door... in September... in Phoenix. Ugh. Being the only parent there with a camera, I tried my best not to obstruct anyone's view or make them think I was annoying any more than they already did.

Stretching out - Lauren is just to the left of the instructor.

Lauren practicing her pliet. She was actually really into this - I was pleasantly suprised!

They ran around the room doing different moves before landing on the dots.

Lauren practicing to be a butterfly while waiting her turn -

Listening intently to the instructor - what a bunch of cuties!

As she raced out of the classroom, Lauren shouted, "That was SOOOO fun!!!"

I think that means we might have a little dancer on our hands. ;o)

"First" Ballet Class - or not...

This face says it all...

Mommy messed up - big time. When registering my child online for the dance class, I failed to notice that though I went to the website of the community center we wanted, it still gives you a list of all the classes available in the city of Phoenix. So, I had signed up for a ballet/tap class in south Phoenix. Whoops. Oh well, I am sure it won't be the last time! We got it all worked out and she is going to her first ballet class (no tap in this one) tomorrow instead. She was still a little bummed that she got all dressed up to hang out in the lobby for 30 minutes while I talked with the ladies working the desk, but it was nothing a little dinner at Chik-fil-A couldn't fix!

Oh yeah, with ice-cream for dessert. Yes, life was good again! Plus, she was the star of the play-area because all the kids asked her about her outfit and this one boy kept telling her how pretty it was. She was all smiles for the rest of the night!

Paige was quite the happy camper as well -

That girl loves her some sugar! =)

Hopefully I will have some "real" first ballet class photos tomorrow! Goodnight!