News of the Weird

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Christmas on Cloverdale Court, Part II

The other "big" event from Christmas 2007 was the Nintendo Wii system that Jeff's parents graciously gave us as our family gift this year. It's a hit!! And thankfully, I had bought it in September (are you surprised?) so I wasn't racing around trying to find one in the weeks before Christmas.

Jeff got the Wii hooked up and each of the younger kids got a game to play, so Christmas night was filled with jumping, swinging, bowling, and lots of sweating too! That thing provides quite a workout! No question about it--"Wii love the Wii!" Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Christmas on Cloverdale Court, Part I

We had a great Christmas!! My sister, Becky, and her husband and three kids were here with us for Christmas day and then we all headed to Pennsylvania on Wednesday to celebrate with my family. I will post some highlights and pictures from the holidays over the next few days. But tonight I had to share the BIG moment of Christmas 2007!

Brooke has officially been removed from "dork status" (her term) since Jeff and I caved and got her a cell phone for Christmas (pic below). She has been begging for a phone for at least three years, and we put it off as long as we could but finally decided this was the year! Since we knew this would probably be the most important moment of her life so far (in HER eyes anyway!), we wanted to do it up big. After all, we got the phone in October so we've had plenty of time to plot and plan!

We began to put our plan into action in late November when we gave Brooke a cell phone ornament for Christmas (pic below). We give the kids an ornament each year, and we told Brooke that we knew she wanted a phone for Christmas, so we got her one (picture below). Needless to say, she was not amused.


A few weeks ago Brooke and I had a conversation about her dire "need" for a cell phone. I kept up the ruse, telling her that she didn't need a phone, it was expensive, etc. and we would much rather give her something that would benefit her, like a book, for example. Again, she was not impressed.

But I decided to go with the book theme. So.........Jeff dug through his boxes of books and found the **perfect** tome for our purposes. It was a book by author Kevin Leman entitled, Smart Girls Don't and Guys Don't Either. This blog is family-friendly, so I'll let you figure out what the book is about (ahem). But suffice it to say, it's a topic that all fifteen-year old girls and guys could stand to hear about these days!! So.........Jeff spent precious time on Christmas eve carving a perfect phone-sized "crater" in the middle of another book he didn't want, and we just used the Leman book cover. (pic below) We wrapped it up, set Jeff's phone with Brooke's number, and saved that package for last.


As we finished opening presents on Christmas morning, it was obvious that Brooke was disappointed. She was hoping for that phone! Our plan was working perfectly!! As she opened the box and looked very perplexed about the book, Jeff called her phone. The "book" started ringing, and you can see her reaction in the pictures below!! It was great!!!


She has spent many hours playing with that thing, talking to friends, and downloading music since Christmas day. We are just so relieved that she's not a "dork" any more. Heaven forbid! How did all of us "dorks" ever survive without cell phones?????

More Christmas tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas to All!

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year!!!!

Quote of the Day...

This after- noon I was making Christmas cookies and having my yearly wrestling match with my cookie press. (If anyone has one that actually works without requiring herculean effort, I would love to know about it!) The cookies were not turning out the way I had hoped, and as I was bemoaning their shape, I commented "Well, they won't look beautiful but they'll taste good."

Sawyer, who was taking his cookie decorating duties very seriously, looked up and said "It doesn't matter mom because YOU are beautiful." I love that kid!

Thursday Thirteen

Today, I had the un- fortunate need to go to the mall five days before Christmas. I had to pick up a few last minute things, which shall remain nameless, for also nameless children and cousins. The only thing good about my trip to the mall was that it provided amazingly entertaining "blog fodder". Very blogworthy indeed. So, without further adieu, I present thirteen things I learned at the mall today.

1. My cat is smarter than the man who works at the Verizon kiosk. On the other hand, the man who works in Radio Shack is VERY helpful and he got my business.
2. Having to walk from the furtherest parking spot in the parking lot isn't the end of the world after all.
3. Apparently, every boy within a 10-square mile area of said mall wears size 10 blue khaki pants.
4. Stores are stingy with those nice big shopping bags this time of year.
5. Surprisingly, no one has Gutter Guard on their Christmas list this year. That kiosk was eerily quiet.
6. Many men were taking advantage of the Macy's jewelry sale. Better late than never, I guess.
7. Bleary-eyed men wandering around Victoria's Secret are comical. I thought they were supposed to be shopping for their wives not themselves!
8. Be sure to get those security tags removed from all purchases. Those buzzers are LOUD!
9. Even though I inadvertently set off those buzzers in no less than six stores, not one salesperson so much as gave me a second glance.
10. One should never expect a salesclerk to actually know about the inventory/stock in his or her place of employment. That's just asking too much.
11. It is also asking too much to have more than one cash register working in any given store at any given time.
12. It is GREAT fun to joyously respond "Merry Christmas" to all the "Happy Holiday" greetings.
13. The prices of the "toys" on the kids' lists have risen in direct proportion to their heights and weights.

My new skill.....

Tonight, after ten years of spending who knows how many hundreds, nay thousands, of dollars on the boys' haircuts, I took the plunge. Armed with borrowed clippers and an online tutorial, I sat my trembling victims in front of a video, and I cut their hair! While I'm sure I won't be passing my cosmetology license exams any time soon, I think it went pretty well. Not to mention, I saved myself $30. Merry Christmas to me!

Before

After

An admission......

I've been loathe to admit it so far this year, but today there is cause for celebration!!!! We are Dolphins fans in our house, and today, after 13 very long and disappointing weeks, the Miami Dolphins WON!!!!!!!! They really won. It was an overtime heart-stopper, but at the end of the game, they had more points than the other guys! My husband is soo happy. Tomorrow he will be wearing his Dolphins jersey proudly and giving the kids a homework-free night to celebrate! (One of his students just called to congratulate him!)

And the victory is even sweeter because they beat the hometown team--the RAVENS!

Ahhh-the joy of victory after knowing the agony of defeat for too many weeks.

Sydney's Cheerleading #2

Video #2

Sydney's Cheerleading Debut

Today was Sydney's first cheerleading experience! She did a GREAT job!! Enjoy!!

For all my girlfriends........

I know you don't just read my blog for the knee- slapping humor and occasional inspiring post. I like to think that I provide some sort of "service" for all my faithful readers. Or, at least I intend to feel that way after this post.

Plan to travel this year? Have issues with public restrooms? Potty training a small child and need to know every available potty within an hour of your home? If so, this website will be of great interest to you. Be sure to check it out before you leave home (or you can access it from your cell phone). And, if you leave home just to find clean bathrooms, well now THAT'S a whole 'nother issue, girlfriend.

A Must Try!

I happened to catch Paula Deen on Ellen today, and I WILL be trying this recipe. After all, it includes two of my favorite food groups: Velveeta and chocolate. What's not to like??

Chocolate Cheese Fudge

1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts, pecans, walnuts
2 (16-ounce) boxes confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Spray lightly the bottom of a 9 by 2-inch square pan with a nonstick spray.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the cheese and butter together, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and nuts.

In a large bowl sift together the sugar and cocoa. Pour the cheese mixture into the sugar and cocoa mixture and stir until completely mixed. The candy will be very stiff.

Using your hands, remove candy from bowl and press evenly and firmly into pan. Because of the amount of butter in this recipe, pat the top of the candy with a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Place pan in refrigerator until candy is firm.

To serve candy, cut into squares.

Quote of the Day...

Yesterday, Payton and Jeff were having their almost daily discussion about where Payton will go to college. (This usually depends upon which sport is in season, which team is doing well in that sport, and where the star player of that sport went to college.) The "discussion" is pretty much an endless list of questions from Payton about what he should be when he grows up, what the college's mascot is, what their team colors are, you know, important things that all life-changing decisions should be based upon.

Anyway, Sawyer was evidently listening intently while seeming to be engrossed in his Gameboy. With a large sigh, he said very matter of factly:

I don't care where I go college. All I know is that when I grow up, I want to be an adult!

Great Finds: CVS Savings

I know this won't interest most of you but I got such a great deal today, I had to share!

For a few months, I have been reading this blog. Besides posting great deals and other tips, Crystal has convinced me that I need to take advantage of the deals at CVS, so I decided this would be the week. Actually, I started saving last week by having two new prescriptions filled at CVS and getting a $25 CVS gift card for each new prescription (found a coupon online).

To give you a little background, finding and getting the deals at CVS is a bit of a "game" and can be very confusing at first. But, once you get the hang of it, you may never have to pay for toiletry and household items again! If you check out the blog I mentioned above, go to the right sidebar and check out Crystal's post entitled CVS 101. She gives a great overview on how everything works and how to get started. Study it carefully!

Anyway, today I made a quick stop at CVS. Above is a picture of the things I got. Below is a detailed list:

4, 100-ounce Tide on sale for 4.99 each
1, 4-roll Charmin on sale for 2.49
3 Reach toothbrushes at 2.99 each
1 double pack G.U.M. toothbrushes for 3.99
2 Garnier Fructis shampoo at 4.49 each

Now for the good part!! For all the above, I paid a grand total of $6.86 cents out of pocket!! Yes, you read that right--$6.86!!!!!!!!! (I didn't use the gift cards. I'm saving them.)

I will try to explain a bit. First, it's important to know that you need to have a CVS Extracare card. You can sign up for these online or in the store. Each week, CVS has various items on sale that you can earn Extra Care Bucks (ECB) for by using your Extracare card. ECBs are CVS' version of cold, hard cash! They print out at the end of your receipt and can be used just like cash toward future purchases (Don't inadvertently throw them away!) Today, when I checked out, I had $12.50 in ECBs from previous purchases. I also had two CVS coupons that I printed off the computer for $2 off a $10 purchase and $4 off a $15 purchase. (Most CVS' will allow you to "stack" these coupons.) I also had manufacturer's coupons that I had collected and/or printed off the internet. So............

I had 2 $1 coupons for the Tide Free. (I normally wouldn't buy the "Free" but it was all I could find coupons for and as long as it's Tide, I don't care!) I would have had 2 more coupons but I forgot them! Even so, it was still a great deal. (Regular price on these is $7.99 each!)

I bought 4 Tides and 1 Charmin so that I could earn back $5 in ECBs. (The deal was to buy $20 worth of certain Proctor & Gamble products and get $5 in ECBs.)

I also had 2 $1 coupons for the Garnier shampoos. These were a great deal! The regular price is $4.49 each. I had $1 off coupons AND I could earn $4 in ECBs for each shampoo I bought. So, with my coupon, in the end, THEY were paying ME $.49 each to take these!!! However, when I got to the register, my $8 worth of ECBs didn't print out. I mentioned it the clerk, and he realized that this sale had ended on Sunday but they had forgotten to remove the signs! Thankfully, they still gave me the $8 credit. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought them.

The toothbrushes weren't on sale but I had manufacturer's coupons, and I got $1 ECB back for each purchase. We always need toothbrushes (I could use one a week!) and these were a good deal, so I got them.

By the time I used my previous ECBs and all my coupons, I got all the above for $6.86 out of my pocket. AND, I have $8 in ECBs to use toward future purchases!!!!!!

I know this probably seems very confusing and if you aren't interested in saving money or doing a little work to save some money, this won't interest you at all. But, if you are willing to put a little time and effort in, this CVS "game" can really pay off--in more ways than one!

* This is a great site for printable coupons.
** There are limits on some products such as "two per card". Watch for those so you don't end up paying more than you anticipated! I am going to sign Jeff up for a card so that I can get deals on his card too!
*** All ECB deals are figured on the price before any other coupons. So, the fact that I had coupons for the Tide didn't detract from my $20 needed to get the $5 ECBs.

For Grandma VeStrand

To most of you this won't be funny. But I know Grandma will appreciate it.

A little background: When Payton was 2-3 years old, he drank orange juice like it was going out of style. He loved it! However, he hated the pulp. I always bought the juice without pulp, but Grandma and Grandpa VeStrand enjoy some pulp in their OJ. So, when we visited New York, Grandma or I would painstakingly strain her juice through a paper towel so all the pulp would be removed. (The things we do for our kids!) This may not seem very funny; however, Payton was very adamant that his orange juice could have no "poop" in it and we wanted to keep him happy with no "poop" in his juice, so we strained it.

Fast forward about seven years. Last night, I was pouring Sawyer a glass of orange juice. As I was handing him the cup, he said "Mom, this doesn't have any 'porp' in it, does it? Because Grandma's juice had 'porp' in it, and I don't like 'porp.'"

Evidently, pulp is a hard concept for my boys to grasp! We love you (and your OJ!) Grandma!

The Reason for the Season