Coupons, Zumba, and a cute little light!

So, I haven't blogged lately....for a few reasons. 1. I've been super busy just keeping our heads above the water as we go about our daily lives, 2. I haven't felt I had a whole lot to say or had the energy to type it, 3. I have been chasing a VERY active and mobile 13 month old, and 4. I have a new addiction to couponing that consumes more of my limited time than it should!!

But, I have the motivation tonight so while Lottie is enjoying a nice long bath I will sit in the bathroom floor and write! First topic- COUPONS!! I'm obsessed! I have dabbled in coupons over the past 2 years in attempt to save our family money but recently I started keeping up with some coupon websites and learning the ins and outs of it all! I have been printing coupons and tracking my savings! SO MUCH FUN! Honestly, just clipping and then organizing, and planning is like a hobby and a really nice outlet for some quiet "mommy" time! If that alone isn't enough, it is even better when you see the $ amounts drop at the register! Today for instance, I spent $19 at Target on 12 items (including formula for a baby gift) and saved $22! I even got 5 items for free and 2 items for only 2 cents!!! Anyhow, I hope to post a blog about all I'm learning but heads up--if you talk to me I'll probably tell you all about the deals I'm finding!

On to another topic... ZUMBA! I've only been once but this might be obsession #2 for 2011! Three of my fun girlfriends and I went to Zumba at the local skating rink last night! It was so fun! It was only $5 at the door and there were probably close to 100 ladies there! The music was loud and the class was a blast! I of course have terrible dance skills and laughed my way through the class as I made up my own moves but it was great! I am so so sore today though! Apparently there were LOTS of muscles in my body that hadn't moved like that in awhile! Anyhow, fun fun night out with the girls and I'm really hoping to make this a weekly event!

And finally, my last topic... our sweet baby girl is growing up so fast! She is at such a fun stage where she is getting "smart" and teachable. Lately we have been doing a lot of baby signs and learning to follow some simple directions. But, by far, my most favorite new skill is that she holds her tiny little pointer finger up and moves it along when we sing "This Little Light of Mine!" It is ADORABLE!!!! I'm hoping to capture it on video soon so I can share!

Anyhow, that is the fun update that I had the urge to share! Hopefully I won't go as long without blogging again!

Not sure how this happens....

I'm not sure how she manages it but we have recently found Lottie like this.....


when we wake her up in the mornings! Her PJ's are still zipped and buttoned!!! WHO KNOWS but at least it starts our mornings off with a laugh!

Project 52: January Dates

Well, month 1 of Project 52: Date Night has been a huge success! Micah and I have really enjoyed having time together apart from chores and parenting duties!

Our first date was a nice relaxing night on the couch! After we put Lottie down we piled on the couch and just talked...we talked through our goals for the year and just spent time catching up on life....
Date #2 was really fun....we stayed up till 1 am watching the Auburn Tigers win the National Championship!! And then, in celebration, we rolled a tree in our front yard!!!

For Date #3 we were able to have a nice night out thanks to the Isham family!!! The Isham's kept Lottie for us while we went to the new Japanese Restaurant in town to try out their sushi bar! I am new to the sushi world and very picky when it comes to my rolls but this was delicious! We had the Friends roll (my favorite), California rolls, and the spicy Dragon rolls (Micah's pick). We practiced our chopsticks skills--Micah is excellent and I am HORRIBLE--but it was fun!
After dinner we went to the coffee shop in downtown Wake Forest to just hang out and chat for a while! It was nice to just slow down and sip some coffee after a long day! So, fun fun date night--plus I had coupons for both stops which made it even better!!!

Date # 3 was a nice treat! Our scheduled date was to watch a movie at home on Tuesday night, but sweet Lottie got sick (ear infection) and needed special attention so plans had to change. We had decided to reschedule our movie date to Saturday afternoon but my sweet sister in law surprised us with a nice night out! She called and volunteered to keep Lottie for us on Friday night so that we could go to the drive in movie! There is a cute "outdoor theater" about 20 minutes from here and we have always wanted to go! We watched True Grit which was pretty good (I'm a tough movie critic) and had a fun night out!!! Because this date was a surprise it was super special! Plus Lottie had a blast hanging with aunt Bekah!
So, Project 52: Date Night is going really well! It has actually been easier than I imagined to find time and make spending time together a priority. I could still find excuses but we are finding ourselves looking forward to each date!

We will see what fun dates February brings!!!! I'm excited about my Birthday date and our Valentines dates!!!

Birthday Party

I finally have time to update you all on Lottie's birthday party! We had such a special time with our family and close friends! I described the weekend to being very similar to our wedding--we had everyone we loved all together at the same time! Only this time a sweet little 1 year old was the focus of everyone's attention and joy!

The birthday girl had a great day with her "purple baby" in hand---she carries this baby around EVERYWHERE!


The table!!! I am so thankful for my AMAZING mom who worked so hard on making Lottie's birthday everything I every dreamed of! Not only did she host the party at her house, make cupcakes, dip, and help decorate....but she also made Lottie's cake!!!!!


And Lottie loved it of course!!! She was unsure of her first "sweets" experience at first and never got too dirty but she enjoyed the polka dot icing!!!


The birthday girl was spoiled of course...with lots of presents!!!

And, she was able to spend time with lots of special people including daddy's best friends...


All of her friends.....

And ALL of her grandparents!!!!

What a special special day for our family and for our sweet birthday girl!! I know she will never remember this day but I am thankful for photographs that she can look through and know that she is loved by so many people!! Happy birthday baby girl!! Mommy and Daddy love you SO MUCH!!

1 YEAR OLD!!

It is me Lottie again and today is MY BIRTHDAY!!! I'm ONE today and I am so excited!! I will have a big party in a little while and Mommy tells me it will be so fun!! I'm sure she will post about it soon!! Let me tell you about my one year old life!!

• I wear size 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes (my squeaker shoes are my favorite)
• I LOVE to eat (as always) and my favorite foods are green beans, peas, and any kind of fruit!
• Mommy still nurses me at night to help me sleep but she says that today will be my last time-I'm a big girl now.
• I tried cow's milk for the first time yesterday and I think I like it but I'm not sure yet!
• Mommy said that I get to try cake today! I have never had sweets so I'm excited!

• I had a really fun Christmas! I got lots of new toys and I LOVE to play!!
• I love baby dolls! I got 3 for Christmas and I carry them with me all the time! I rock them and kiss them! Mommy says this is the cutest thing she has ever seen!
• I am starting to play pretend now! I like to pretend that the tv remote is a phone--I hold it to my ear and say "hedo."
  
• I have lots of words now! I say: Momma, Daddy, Cat, Ted, Nana, More, Dog, and more!
  
• I also have other words that mommy can't figure out yet! I like to talk and squeal!
• I am one tickelish little girl! If you tickel my feet or tummy I will giggle until I cry!
  
• I like to clap my hands! I clap when I am happy and excited, when I do something good, and when mommy sings "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!"

• Mommy says I don't obey very well. She says no and I know that I should stop but sometimes it is hard. Sometimes I listen, sometimes it hurts my feelings and I cry, and sometimes I laugh at mommy when she tells me now....she says that she has her hands full!
• I love my cat! I chase Shadow around the house all the time saying "cat, cat, cat"...he runs from me!

• I love my mommy so much! I cry when she leaves me sometimes-even if she just walks out of the room! I just always want to be with her!
  
• I have started to whine sometimes when I want something but mommy says that for the most part I am a very good girl! I am happy almost all the time and sure like to play with my family!
  
• My mommy and daddy love me so much and say that this has been the most joyful year of their entire lives because of me!!!

Back At It!

Well, Micah and I are youth ministers again!! After an almost 3 year break from our beloved teenagers at Concord, we are back at work with another group of fun energetic 7th-12th graders at New Covenant Fellowship! We love teenagers and the fun stage of life that they are in! We love the energy that they bring and we are thankful for the opportunity to share in their lives! We have only met with them a few times so far but now that the holidays are over we are planning some fun activities to get the ball rolling and build these fun relationships!!!

Most of our girls with Lottie! She is going to have so much fun with them! They love her already!

All we do is WIN WIN WIN!!!!!

WAR EAGLE and congrats to the National Champions!!!! We are thankful to be apart of the Auburn FAMILY! Our game watching experience wasn't quite what we hoped it would be but that didn't stop Auburn from the victory!!

We don't have cable at our house and we were supposed to watch the game with our good friends Holly and Andy Broyles....but this not so wonderful winter wonderland kept us home.

upset about not getting to watch the game with friends

Luckily, my husband is a technology dork and we were able to watch the game through our internet connection using a ROKU. The picture was definitely not high definition but we were able to watch the game and for that we were thankful!!

Here are some pictures to recap the night!!!

Ready for kick off!

Learning to use a shaker!

Watching on the edge of our seats....

Teaching her baby doll about Auburn!

Smiles smiles smiles!!!! LOTS OF SMILES!!!

Since Micah and I couldn't be at Toomer's Corner to celebrate we rolled a tree in our front yard!!! And Lottie celebrated the victory with sweet sweet dreams!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!!