Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Rob's side of the family.  We left the day before Thanksgiving and headed to Dallas.  We stayed with Aunt Gail and Uncle Jack, and Emma had a great time playing with her cousins!  We had so much fun that we didn't take very many photos, but we did take a few.  Emma helped Grand-dad open his birthday present, which was VERY late...his birthday was in September, so we have had his gift for quite a while!  Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful...I have been working all week to get my weight off :)

We had an unpleasant surprise when we woke up Friday morning, my car had been broken into.  They smashed the window (oh what fun), and they stole Emma's tv/dvd player for the car, Emma's Clifford movie, my gym bag-which included my heartrate monitor, my Ipod, my workout gloves, and ALL of my weight lifting workouts.  I was bummed to say the least!  I guess I have some things to add to my Christmas/Birthday list this year!  It took us ALL day to get the window repaired, so I missed wedding dress shopping with my sister :(  All in all, we have had better days, but things could have been worse too!

Friday night, we headed to Palestine to see my side of the family.  I got to see Lindsey's wedding dress, which is BEAUTIFUL!  We took The Chiles Family Christmas Card Photo, although I haven't posted it here...you'll just have to wait and see!  It was also Mama C's birthday.  So, we had a nice dinner and TWO birthday desserts.  Emma gave Mama C. her birthday present a day early...she just couldn't wait!

Our little monkey!

Emma's best friend, Ray-Ray, gave Emma this monkey towel for her birthday, and she LOVES it! It was quite suiting, especially since her bathroom is jungle animals and I always call her "monkey."

Lindsey and Dillon are ENGAGED!!!

My sister, Lindsey got engaged Saturday night!  We are so excited!!!  Her ring is beautiful, and I can't wait to see it...we will get to see the newly engaged couple too, of course over Thanksgiving!  Congratulations to you both and welcome to the family Dill!

Emma, the princess!

Emma has been into dressing up lately...she had on her pink crown today :)

Decorating the house for Christmas!

Rob and I started our house decorations early this year.  With Thanksgiving so late and being out of town, we wanted to go ahead and get everything done.  Emma was SO impressed with the decor...she especially loves having two reindeer of her very own in the front yard.  Rob did a great job, and he even added icicles to the roof line...I was impressed!  I will post a photo of the outside totally done soon, but for now, here are a few...

Welcome to our playroom!

Emma is quite good at playing now...she just loves her toys and is obviously very good at making messes!! Isn't this what being a kid is all about?

I guess that the wisemen were going for a ride on the animal train...
Playing dress up...

Paint, Paint, Paint!

Well, I decided to paint the kitchen, which was actually no big deal at all. Although, after it was done, I decided to paint the back wall of the mud room. I didn't like that, so then I proceeded to paint the entire mud room. Afterthat, I thought that the computer nook could use some paint, so I painted it. Then, I painted an additional portion of the wall in the kitchen. I thought I was done (really), but took a look around and wanted to paint underneath the bar. So, you guessed it....I painted that too! I am so glad that I am done and am very pleased with the results. I did most of it by myself when Emma was napping and/or sleeping. Rob has been out of town, so I had a few nights to myself to paint away. Although, to his credit, he did help me out with some of the rolling :)

My trip to Walgreens and CVS....saving $$$$$$!!!!

What I bought at Walgreens....

Cereal-4 for $10...had 4 $1 off coupons

Pumpkin-Used Walgreens coupon for .99 each....printed another coupon off of the web for buy 1 get one free

Batteries-Used Walgreens coupon for .99 each (regularly 3.99 each)

Contact Solution-on sale for 8.49...had mfg. coupon for 3.50 off

He accidently gave me an additonal $3 off...long story!!

So, I owed 11.24, used a walgreens giftcard (that was FREE) for 1.65, bringing my bottom line to $9.59. I also got an additional $2 to use towards my next purchase.

What I bought at CVS...

So for the above photo....I spent ZERO dollars!!! How fun is this???

Colgate Toothpaste-buy 1 get 1 free...I had 2 mfg. coupons for .75 and .50

Crest Toothpaste-on sale for 3.49...I had $1 off and got 3.49 to use on my next visit

Glade Air Freshener-on sale for .99...I had buy 1 get one free

Froot Loops-on sale for 2 for $4...I had $1 off coupon

Then, I had $5 off in ECB (extra care bucks) from a previous purchase

At the end of the transaction, I owed a whopping 92 cents. I paid for this with a CVS gift card...this was free also!! I also have 3.49 to go towards my next trip!

All in all, at both stores, I spent $9.59, and got 5.49 to use next time. So, I really spent a whole $4!!! This is amazing, and I am definitely addicted!! We have wasted SO much money!!

If you want to "play," you can start by going to www.iheartwags.com and www.i heartcvs.com

Both of the websites should guide you through the path of saving money. I have been doing this for a few weeks now, I am in complete amazement at how all of this works! Both stores print a monthly ad, which you will need to pick up at the store. Then, I just use the weekly ad that comes in the Sunday paper. Those two things, combined with my normal coupons, and of course checking the above websites help me out along the way. Confused??? It will start to make more sense soon!

I was also told that you can also register on both of the store's websites with your email address, and they will send you additional coupons...like $5 off a $25 purchase. I am headed there next! Good Luck saving money!

Emma plays dress up!

Emma was playing dress up the other night, and she let me get a couple of pics. I thought she was pretty cute with her head band. Guess who's in the purse?? None other than her Tigg!!

Election Night...Make your own pizza night for us!

I figured Election Night would definitely be a night in for us. So, I picked up the stuff for Emma to make her own pizza. She made her own cookies later that night too. Rob was at work for the pizza making, but made it home in time for the cookies....very convenient! Even though we were devastated with the election results, we still had fun hanging out as a family!