Molars are AWFUL!

This is Tony watching Sesame Street after Hyland's tablets* took the edge off his molar pain. He finally had one cut through his gums and the other three are close. He's had a rough 48 hours for this last round...he's been working on these suckers for at least 4 months!
*Yes, Hyland's tablets were recalled in October. No, they are not yet available. KFuj was nice enough to give us a leftover bottle of Kyle's, since he's fine with other methods of pain relief. I've been saving this last allotment for the dreaded molars when even Tylenol wasn't helping poor Tony last night. Since the tablets have kicked in while I was writing this post, he's up and playing happily instead of clinging to me.

First Bike Trailer Ride

Striker took the boys on their first ride in the trailer while I ran to Target to get Femme Fatale (and yes, that'll be a whole separate post). I failed to get a picture of them, but Striker took this picture as he was taking them out (and after he removed their helmets). Yes, Alex fell asleep. Yes, that is his tummy sticking out of his shirt...I thought that he might still fit in one of the larger 18 month shirts...yeah, he'll just stick with 24 month shirts from now on. Sorry kid! Better pictures next time.

Full of Hot Air

We received a letter in the mail today from the State Government (on official letterhead with the Governor's name and everything) that is offering Striker and I: a check for $500, a comparable loaner car, pick up and return delivery to work or home, and a washed and vacuumed car with a full tank of fuel in exchange for letting them borrow our three and a half year old car for 1-3 weeks, put 100or so miles on it, and conduct testing related to air pollution.

Thoughts:

1) Isn't the State severely in debt, over budget, and in need of cutting unnecessary programs?

2) Assuming that it was somehow necessary to do our own testing in our own state, couldn't we use the fleet of vehicles owned by government employees?

3) I wonder what the total cost to the state is for testing just ONE vehicle and how many vehicles they test EACH YEAR. Yes, when I was looking this up online to confirm that it wasn't some sort of scam, I found that this program had been in place for at least 2 years. 

4) What do they actually DO with this information?

5) We are so going to do this!...I hope that I can convince Striker to go along with this...Yes! He's in  as long as I document the process on the blog as I did with the 2010 Census.

It should be noted that the postcard that I get to return indicating our interest is also postage paid. However I can fax, email, or submit our information online. Woo hoo!!! Maybe I'll do all four forms to ensure they know that we are interested...

I intentionally left out searchable terms for now as I don't want to hurt our chances of being selected.

Stay tuned...

Crazy Sleeper Alex

Alex for the most part has always been a "better" sleeper than Tony (sleeps longer, doesn't wake up as often, etc). In addition to regularly falling asleep in his high chair, car seat, or sitting up, he is a roller and mover when he has the room to do so. We find him wedged into the corner of his crib every morning, uncovered, after he rolls and wiggles his way as far as he can. This morning when I went to pick up Mr Early Bird Tony, Alex had his arm around Tigger snuggling while he slept. I wish I had been able to take a picture without a flash that would have certainly woke him up, so instead, here's his latest "asleep in the high chair" picture.

Green Thumb Update

Why yes, I think that is some green sprouting!!!! Now if I can just get the rest of my seeds planted, we might be eating fresh veggies in addition to our fresh herbs and strawberries. (I'm pretty sure the sprouts are in the herb container as I planted it before the strawberries in the other one. I can't even begin to guess which herbs are sprouting first. I'm just impressed SOMETHING sprouted.)

Personal Best: Ralphs Trip

Skippy 2 for $3
Jennie-O B1G1 Free
Cereal $1.18/box after sale and coupon
Blue Moon $11.88/12 bottles
Tri-tip $4.99/lb = $11.88
Haribo Gummi Bears $1 each
Strawberries $1/lb
Mangos $1 each
Green onions 2/$1
Pistachios $1.99 after sale and coupon
Pirate's Booty (not pictured due to 2 little guys stealing the loot) $3.99/10 oz bag

Buy 10, Save $5:
Annie's Organic Mac&Cheese $0.49/box after savings
Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Free after savings and coupons
Country Crock $1.50
Simply Orange 2 for $7
Ritz $2.49
Wheat Thins $2.49

Random things I needed:
Eggs $1.99
Bread $2.99
Bananas $2.21
Tortillas (settled for white flour because wheat were RIDICULOUSLY expensive) $1.99

Spent: $83.77 for 48 items
Saved $105.33 (but Ralphs is super high priced without sales/coupons imo)

If you take out the 2 $12 items that's $60 for 46 items ($1.30 per item)

I aim to beat this...soon!

Brothers

I love this black & white, because I know what they were doing. They were digging into a bag of Veggie Straws which are right up there on their list of favorite snacks with Goldfish and Yogurt Melts. Plus, how long are their lashes?!

Family Pictures 1/28/11

We took family pictures at the end of January (keeping up our every 2 month sessions) and I'm finally getting around to posting them. Thanks again "Big" Tony! BTW, when two people in your family share names with your photographer and his wife...it can get kind of confusing.

I love that we took these just a few weeks before they started walking on their own, back when they stayed in relatively the same spot you put them. This also proved that Striker and I are not as strong as we thought...we were supposed to be tossing Alex into the air while lying on our backs...yeah...notice we're just holding him...though we both argue that it was too difficult to toss him and catch him without being able to move. His big head makes him a little top heavy and we didn't want to drop him.

Just Alex

Just Tony

My Favorite Deal & Coupon Sites

I've been requested to share my coupon "secrets"...so here you go:

There are a few deal blogs that I follow...you can subscribe to their RSS feeds, or add them to your Google Reader, or "Like" them on Facebook...if you're just getting started, or not a mom, I'd start with just the first 2-3:
Hip2Save
Southern Cali Saver
A Coupon Chick
Money Saving Mom
Cheap Mama Chick

I watched and waited the deal sites to get a year's subscription to the Sunday LA Times (just for all of the ads and coupons) for $10. Wait for it...it'll likely come around again. In the meantime, just print your coupons.

Printable Coupon Sites:
www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
coupons.target.com (can be stacked with manufacturers!)

I'd also recommend visiting the websites or Facebook pages for your favorite/expensive items to see if you can find any coupons before making your purchase.

You can be a dork like me and create a coupon binder which I have sheet protectors for each store or category of coupons...organization is key to help you stack them and maximize your savings.

Lastly, Groupon is my friend...check it out, sign up, and wait for deals on places or activities you want to try.

Sleeping Tony/Happy Birthday Mr KFuj!

Today we went to a surprise party for Mr KFuj's 30th birthday which is next month. (Yes, the best way to surprise someone is to do it a month early.) Tony slept for over an hour and a half and missed his chance to say "Surprise!" Not that he would have...he can't say it, and he'd probably have cried since cheering crowds scare him. I can only hope he outgrows that as fast as he did his fear of the ice maker.

Fell Asleep Sitting Up

It's those super comfy blue couches!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

My favorite is the one at the top of the head through his hair ;)

NOT J.A.K. Bauer

While most of my shots were on the target (and some very good ones), I did hit the ceiling three times(Striker only saw it twice) and I hit the "death blow" to a piece of wood in the rafter causing it to fall to the floor. The best part is that the girl next to me thought she did it. :)

Other highlights/things to note:
-Lil Dahl and I liked the .38 Special (we called it the sissy gun).
-Shades also brought two .40 Smith & Wessons which we weren't fans of, but the boys liked them. I did shoot pretty well with them though.
-There was an IDIOT shooting a 357 Magnum that scared the crap out of the 3 newbies and of course he was right next to us.

It was fun and I'd totally do it again. I might even load my own bullets next time.

Thanks Shades/Shrek and Lil Dahl!

Lunch Date

Our plans for today were cancelled this morning, so I ran an errand that took us to The Shoppes around lunchtime. I decided we'd share a salad from Chipotle and enjoy Pinkberry while watching the splash pad. I'm fairly certain that our eating on Chipotle's patio was the first time just the 3 of us ate out together - yay us!

The boys enjoyed watching the water, but were too chicken to get wet, though I'm sure that will change soon enough. Instead they explored the shade by Victoria's Secret...or maybe they were looking for supermodels? It should be noted that Alex is moving quick now...I can't wait until Tony starts moving just as quickly in the opposite direction and my real fun begins.

Alex has decided this week that he likes bananas, blueberries, peas and carrots after all. Tony has decided that he pretty much just likes carbs and cheese. It's like they switched eating habits. Though Tony still refuses to eat anything he can't feed himself. Guess they're just trying to keep me on my toes.

15 Month Stats

Alex:
28.5 lbs
31"
8 teeth

Tony:
25 lbs
30.5"
Still just 8 teeth...and really, the molars just need to break through already so the drool and pain and suffering can stop

12 Month Stats

Alex & Tony's First Kings Game

It was also Bailey(the mascot)'s birthday and Shades' first hockey game. Alex and Tony ate or napped through the entire game. The rest of us ate (some more than others). The Kings lost to the Canucks, but there is an awesome shot of one of the Sedin twins making a pouty face that will likely haunt him the rest of his career.

Dinner at Wood Ranch

My mom locked my aunt's purse in her trunk so she couldn't pay. Striker won the battle of who paid the check by giving our server his card with his drink order (yes, we have to do this before we order our meals now). The Canadian (specifically referring to my cousin's husband) had the best "zing" as a result. Shades/Shrek heard "The Acapulco Story". Alex fell asleep on the table while eating mac n cheese. Tony broke a plate on the floor. Our server was terrible. The busboy/sweeper guy was awesome. The food was tasty!

Birthday Fat Fest

Baked potato
Churro
Cookie
Mickey pretzel
Chocolate covered strawberries
Chocolate covered bananas
Cheddar fries
Toucan

I do not want to begin estimating the number of calories consumed. I will be attending Kiss My Abs at 5:30 AM as retribution.

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30 is Awesome!

My aunt is 20 years older than me (technically 19.5) and I distinctly remember when I was 10 and she turned 30 and thinking "wow, 30 is OLD". And now here I am at 30 and it's totally NOT old...but 50? Wow, that's OLD! ;)

No main event planned for my birthday, but I've somehow managed to stretch the celebrating out over 2 weeks or so. 

Today: Disneyland with my mom and Alex and Tony, dinner with Will tonight. 

My crazy Canadian relatives are in town this weekend with lots of eating and shopping on the agenda with a Kings vs Canucks game to attend on Saturday afternoon...Go Kings Go!

Next weekend Lil Dahl and Shades/Shrek are taking me to a shooting range and then we're having dinner with all of the local family. 

I've successfully managed to not cook dinner all week and eat out at Mimi's Cafe, The Cheesecake Factory and Panda Express ;)

There will be consignment sale shopping and more eating thrown in as I see friends over the next few weeks.

I will also be more likely to remember this birthday than last year's...I actually had to read the post because it was all a sleep deprived blur.