I used to post price matching for the week, which seemed like it took a lot of work but after thinking about it, it really didn't. I have been sick in the past few months, so I haven't done much of it....maybe that's why I quit. However, last week, I got back into the habit and saved nearly $50 price matching. I bought a month's worth of groceries (not including milk or fresh fruit and vegetables) for $250. I have my menu planned out and I'm ready to go. If any of you is interested in seeing my Top 10 Deals of the week or menu ideas, please let me know so I can resume posting them. I love saving a dollar, and I hope you do too!!! I'd also love to learn more about coupon cutting and more ways to save, so feel free to post that too!
Misty
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Top 10 Valentine's Ideas to HAVE FUN With Your Kids
Okay, I'm just like the rest of you and STUCK in the house with this lovely snow and freezing weather. I've been sick as a dog, but most of you who know me, know that I love a good holiday and I love a good party. (I used to own a party planning business). I spent many a day planning parties for others and for myself and my family, so I think my love of holidays and party planning (which I don't get to do anymore), along with being stuck in this house have given me the bug to find some FUN things to do this week with my kids. SO, here are my ideas, use them if you want to!
1) Gather up every children's book you have that has to do with love, hugs, kisses or Valentine's and read every single one of them to your children. Adriane gave us some Golden Books (available at Hobby Lobby) that are about loving your mommy and daddy and one of my personal favorites is "How Do I Love You?" by PK Hallinan. It's awesome.
2) Go to the library and see what Valentine's books you can find! Our library has a little Valentine's display out in the children's section. http://newmanregionallibrary.org/
3) Use construction paper, glitter, old fabric, glue, stickers, whatever you have and make Valentine's for Grandparents, neighbors or residents at a nursing home. Lots of people dont get told that they are loved and this is a great time to remind them!!! We did this a few nights ago and we came up with some beautiful pieces of art :)
4) Download free coloring sheets on the internet. www.coloringbookfun.com and www.coloringpages.net are the sites we use the most. It's free and fun. We've let Molly and Ryan color since they were one. We sat them in their highchairs and let them go to town. Of course, they tried to eat the crayons, but they learned quickly that Mommy didn't like that!
5) Go to the webiste www.familyfun.com. There are mounds of activities for Valentine's Day. Craft ideas, recipes, etc.
6) Make food that is Valentine's themed like heart shaped cookies or pancakes. Put red food coloring in your mashed potatoes. They sell heart shaped, pink and red pasta at many Kitchen stores for about $2-$3 a bag. You could have Valentine's pasta with red sauce or Valentine's mac and cheese! Jello is a really inexpensive treat that's easy to cut with cookie cutters. Your kids will enjoying helping with it too!
7) One of my favorite things to do is cut hearts out of colored paper and string them all over the kids rooms and our living room to celebrate. They're very excited when they wake up to see the room decorated just for them!
8) Print or make your kids a Valentine's coupon book. Some coupon ideas might be "You don't have to make your bed today", "Mommy cleans up the toys today" or "Pick your favorite dinner tonight".
9) Make a heart shaped memory or matching game. Cut red or pink hearts out of construction paper and draw or use stickers to make 2 of every design. Let your kids match them or flip them over to play memory. We did an activity like this with mittens at the SHIP playgroup a few weeks ago and Molly and Ryan really enjoyed it.
10) Go to the library or video store and rent a movie like "Lady and the Tramp". Watching a new movie is always fun!
Most importantly, make Valentine's Day about your family. I love Andy with all my heart and like to have my romantic time with him, but I want to make sure my kids enjoy Valentine's Day just as much as I do and of course, I want them to know that they are LOVED!!! Have fun with your kids this week and the 3 more inches of snow we're supposed to get on Tuesday! If you have other ideas, please, please, please feel free to post them!!! I love to get new ideas!
1) Gather up every children's book you have that has to do with love, hugs, kisses or Valentine's and read every single one of them to your children. Adriane gave us some Golden Books (available at Hobby Lobby) that are about loving your mommy and daddy and one of my personal favorites is "How Do I Love You?" by PK Hallinan. It's awesome.
2) Go to the library and see what Valentine's books you can find! Our library has a little Valentine's display out in the children's section. http://newmanregionallibrary.org/
3) Use construction paper, glitter, old fabric, glue, stickers, whatever you have and make Valentine's for Grandparents, neighbors or residents at a nursing home. Lots of people dont get told that they are loved and this is a great time to remind them!!! We did this a few nights ago and we came up with some beautiful pieces of art :)
4) Download free coloring sheets on the internet. www.coloringbookfun.com and www.coloringpages.net are the sites we use the most. It's free and fun. We've let Molly and Ryan color since they were one. We sat them in their highchairs and let them go to town. Of course, they tried to eat the crayons, but they learned quickly that Mommy didn't like that!
5) Go to the webiste www.familyfun.com. There are mounds of activities for Valentine's Day. Craft ideas, recipes, etc.
6) Make food that is Valentine's themed like heart shaped cookies or pancakes. Put red food coloring in your mashed potatoes. They sell heart shaped, pink and red pasta at many Kitchen stores for about $2-$3 a bag. You could have Valentine's pasta with red sauce or Valentine's mac and cheese! Jello is a really inexpensive treat that's easy to cut with cookie cutters. Your kids will enjoying helping with it too!
7) One of my favorite things to do is cut hearts out of colored paper and string them all over the kids rooms and our living room to celebrate. They're very excited when they wake up to see the room decorated just for them!
8) Print or make your kids a Valentine's coupon book. Some coupon ideas might be "You don't have to make your bed today", "Mommy cleans up the toys today" or "Pick your favorite dinner tonight".
9) Make a heart shaped memory or matching game. Cut red or pink hearts out of construction paper and draw or use stickers to make 2 of every design. Let your kids match them or flip them over to play memory. We did an activity like this with mittens at the SHIP playgroup a few weeks ago and Molly and Ryan really enjoyed it.
10) Go to the library or video store and rent a movie like "Lady and the Tramp". Watching a new movie is always fun!
Most importantly, make Valentine's Day about your family. I love Andy with all my heart and like to have my romantic time with him, but I want to make sure my kids enjoy Valentine's Day just as much as I do and of course, I want them to know that they are LOVED!!! Have fun with your kids this week and the 3 more inches of snow we're supposed to get on Tuesday! If you have other ideas, please, please, please feel free to post them!!! I love to get new ideas!
"Ryan, Babies Don't Have Tongues!"
Yes, you read "Baby Katie" and you might be wondering who she is! Well, Andy and I are expecting our third (and final) baby in May. I am 25 weeks pregnant with Katherine Brooke Appleby, aka "Katie". I have been pretty sick throughout the entire pregnancy. I spent the first 4 1/2 months laying on the couch, vomiting, room spinning and sleeping. I DID NOT enjoy that, and I don't think the rest of the family did either. I was put on medicine to help with the nausea, but they say a pregnant mother knows best and I knew it was not helping. About a month ago, I got off the medicine and haven't vomited since. I knew the medicine was just making it worse, but the doctors didn't think that could be the case.
I am still having periods of dizziness and fainting, so I've started some new vitamins, incuding Iron, which have really helped my energy level.
I can certainly say that I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Katie Brooke. Not just to have our new baby, but to FEEL better!!!
Molly and Ryan are very excited about her arrival. Ryan wants to name her Captian America and Molly just wants to boss her around! We'll see how this all pans out. Ryan's wondering why he can't breast feed Katie and Molly explained to him that only girls could breast feed and she was going to do it!!!
Here's another baby discussion between Molly and Ryan. Ryan walked up to Andy and licked his leg (like a kitten would do). Andy asked Ryan, "Why did you do that?" Ryan said, "Because I'm a baby!" (I guess like a kitten???) Molly looked at Ryan and exclaimed, "RYAN!!! Babies don't have tongues!!!" I guess because babies don't have teeth, she assumed that they didn't have tongues either! She thinks she's an expert on everything, so it's going to be very interesting to see what these two come up with when it's time to start teaching her things.
Nonetheless, we know that children are a gift from God. I was very sick with Molly and Ryan and they were definitely worth every second of sickness! They are my joy and light in life and make me laugh everyday. I can't wait to experience that times 3!!!
I am still having periods of dizziness and fainting, so I've started some new vitamins, incuding Iron, which have really helped my energy level.
I can certainly say that I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Katie Brooke. Not just to have our new baby, but to FEEL better!!!
Molly and Ryan are very excited about her arrival. Ryan wants to name her Captian America and Molly just wants to boss her around! We'll see how this all pans out. Ryan's wondering why he can't breast feed Katie and Molly explained to him that only girls could breast feed and she was going to do it!!!
Here's another baby discussion between Molly and Ryan. Ryan walked up to Andy and licked his leg (like a kitten would do). Andy asked Ryan, "Why did you do that?" Ryan said, "Because I'm a baby!" (I guess like a kitten???) Molly looked at Ryan and exclaimed, "RYAN!!! Babies don't have tongues!!!" I guess because babies don't have teeth, she assumed that they didn't have tongues either! She thinks she's an expert on everything, so it's going to be very interesting to see what these two come up with when it's time to start teaching her things.
Nonetheless, we know that children are a gift from God. I was very sick with Molly and Ryan and they were definitely worth every second of sickness! They are my joy and light in life and make me laugh everyday. I can't wait to experience that times 3!!!
Blog, We Hardly Knew Ye!
I think any of you read this, know that we set up our Blog about the same time we got on Facebook. Between Andy and I, we have about 600 friends on Facebook. As you can imagine, it's much easier to post things everyday to facebook because it goes out to a much wider audience. For example, I can post videos of the kids on Facebook, but I have no idea how to post a video to this blog, or if that's even an option.
However, I know that not everyone enjoys Facebook, so I'm going to TRY to do a better job of posting more things to this blog so you can still see the kids in pictures and hear about what they're doing. Every single day they say something or do something that cracks me up and I think that deserves to be shared with everyone who wants to hear about it!
I hope if you're reading this that you're doing well!!! We love you!
The Appleby's
However, I know that not everyone enjoys Facebook, so I'm going to TRY to do a better job of posting more things to this blog so you can still see the kids in pictures and hear about what they're doing. Every single day they say something or do something that cracks me up and I think that deserves to be shared with everyone who wants to hear about it!
I hope if you're reading this that you're doing well!!! We love you!
The Appleby's
Monday, September 28, 2009
Roger Ebert I am not!!!
So here is my attempt at movie reviewing! It is something I have always wanted to do but just never took the time to do. Now I realize this is by no means a great review, it's just something I did for fun. Hope you enjoy.
JAWS
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is my favorite movie of all time, I have seen it dozens of times and it never grows tired or old. It succeeds on so many levels but is most effective in 2 major areas; the setup and payoff of the shark, and the establishing of the three major characters.
Alfred Hitchcock once said – “the bomb is under the table and it explodes, this is a surprise, the bomb is under the table and it doesn’t explode, this is suspense”. I can imagine this phrase constantly running through Spielberg’s mind while developing the film. Watching the movie again recently I was reminded how little the shark is seen at all. And what an effective strategy this proves to be. Compared to today’s monster movies where the point seems to be to show the monster as often and frequently as possible imagine a movie where the monster isn’t seen at all until the final act. And once the shark does make it’s appearance it has been built up so well that it makes for a genuine moment of fear (modern filmmakers take note!).
The second major victory of the film is the establishing of the three major characters. Quint, Brody, and Hooper seem like real people who venture out to kill the shark and not just three plot devices that allow the filmmaker a good kill or gross out moment. The movie takes it’s time with each character, giving all three of them reason or motivation for wanting the shark dead. It also wisely gives them all 3 different personalities that allow them to voice dramatic information about the shark that establishes it better in our minds. Consider some of the lines spoken by Hooper the oceanographer – “what you’re dealing with here is a perfect eating machine”, and the brilliant scene in which Brody, the outsider to the Island looks through pictures of shark attack victims to educate himself more about sharks, in one simple scene we learn more about the character and we see the results of the shark attacks which again, builds the shark up in our minds. There are many scenes like this throughout the film so well done that by the time the three characters are doing battle with the shark at the end we understand and care about each person and understand their motivations.
Well I love this movie, and I have so much respect for Spielberg as filmmaker. He proves here as he would throughout his entire filmmaking career that all the action and special effects in the world mean nothing without the storytelling and characters. I love the way Jaws takes it’s time getting to the shark and along the way builds real and genuine suspense, and I love the time and attention given to the characters so that they become so much more than just a chance to show the shark eating someone. As a known movie fan I’ve been asked several times over the years what is my favorite movie of all time, that answer always has been, and I suspect always will be Jaws.
JAWS
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is my favorite movie of all time, I have seen it dozens of times and it never grows tired or old. It succeeds on so many levels but is most effective in 2 major areas; the setup and payoff of the shark, and the establishing of the three major characters.
Alfred Hitchcock once said – “the bomb is under the table and it explodes, this is a surprise, the bomb is under the table and it doesn’t explode, this is suspense”. I can imagine this phrase constantly running through Spielberg’s mind while developing the film. Watching the movie again recently I was reminded how little the shark is seen at all. And what an effective strategy this proves to be. Compared to today’s monster movies where the point seems to be to show the monster as often and frequently as possible imagine a movie where the monster isn’t seen at all until the final act. And once the shark does make it’s appearance it has been built up so well that it makes for a genuine moment of fear (modern filmmakers take note!).
The second major victory of the film is the establishing of the three major characters. Quint, Brody, and Hooper seem like real people who venture out to kill the shark and not just three plot devices that allow the filmmaker a good kill or gross out moment. The movie takes it’s time with each character, giving all three of them reason or motivation for wanting the shark dead. It also wisely gives them all 3 different personalities that allow them to voice dramatic information about the shark that establishes it better in our minds. Consider some of the lines spoken by Hooper the oceanographer – “what you’re dealing with here is a perfect eating machine”, and the brilliant scene in which Brody, the outsider to the Island looks through pictures of shark attack victims to educate himself more about sharks, in one simple scene we learn more about the character and we see the results of the shark attacks which again, builds the shark up in our minds. There are many scenes like this throughout the film so well done that by the time the three characters are doing battle with the shark at the end we understand and care about each person and understand their motivations.
Well I love this movie, and I have so much respect for Spielberg as filmmaker. He proves here as he would throughout his entire filmmaking career that all the action and special effects in the world mean nothing without the storytelling and characters. I love the way Jaws takes it’s time getting to the shark and along the way builds real and genuine suspense, and I love the time and attention given to the characters so that they become so much more than just a chance to show the shark eating someone. As a known movie fan I’ve been asked several times over the years what is my favorite movie of all time, that answer always has been, and I suspect always will be Jaws.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ready for the fall...
Is anyone else ready for the fall??? We are! I just thought I'd bring you all up to date on what we've been doing. Molly and Ryan worked very hard on Papaw's garden this summer....and by working hard, I mean eating the strawberries off the vine. They had a great time and grew 2 very big pumpkins. We finally picked them last week and brought them up to our porch to get ready for the fall. We bought a few mums last week and then went to Curtis Orchard this past weekend and got gourds for the porch and apple cider slushies for our bellies! We had a great time. Molly and Ryan rode horses, fed goats and ducks and went down a HUGE slide. They really enjoyed it. We're all excited for Halloween with our costumes ordered. All I can say is that Ryan's costume has built in muscles and Molly's going to be a superhero! Yes, I'm shocked too that Molly's not going to be a princess or something that involves a tutu! In other news, we have spotted several "smoosh-ed" frogs and squirrels when we've been out on walks and Ryan's really enjoying inspecting them all very closely and poking them with sticks. The kids are growing like weeds and having lots of fun!
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