What's been happening with Easton in May

Easton has been a busy guy this month... he's made a few trips to Danville and had several guests at our house. We've driven many miles and spent tons of time with our friends and family. He's such a sweet little guy and has the most laid-back demeanor. He's getting quite a personality and loves to "talk" - he thinks he is grown :-) Also, Easton turned 4 months this month on the 19th! He's growing up so fast!!! Below are some photos of Easton in May - enjoy :-)

All dressed up for a party at Martha's house

Hanging out with Memaw @ Uncle Jake's birthday party

Talking to Daddy on the phone

Uncle Bryce came for a visit ... and fed Easton for the 1st time!

Uncle Jake's 30th Birthday ... SURPRISE party! :-)

On Sunday May 16th, Ashley planned a surprise party for Jacob's 30th birthday. Jake had been at the beach all weekend playing golf, so when he arrived at my parents' house we all surprised him with a golf-themed party! He was shocked and obviously surprised because he showed up in his swimming trunks :-) Check out Jacob & Easton at the event:




And here is a video of Jacob arriving at the party:

Weekend family visit & my 1st Mother's Day!

My Mom, Dad, Grandma Francis & aunt Lois came down to visit Easton & me this past weekend. They arrived on Friday evening (after a long drive, and getting stuck in Raleigh traffic). Everyone was tired so we relaxed for a bit then headed to bed. On Saturday, my Dad's friends Ken & Teresa stopped by for a quick visit, then my Dad went with Kenny to help him with his boats. The ladies and Easton headed out to do some sightseeing and a little shopping. I showed them the base, the commissary & the beach. On Saturday evening we all hung out and watched several Golden Girls episodes (and tried to teach my Grandma the lyrics to the theme song).... it was a lot of fun!

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to do some shopping at CVS (see my previous post). Sunday was also Mother's Day - and a special one for me since it's my 1st Mother's Day! My parents gave me a wonderful album from Easton :-) .... it was full of pictures and stories that began with my early pregnancy and ended with present day. It was so thoughtful and I will cherish it always! Jason sent me a nice new Victoria Secret robe and matching slippers. The only thing that would have made the day better was if Jason could have been here in person. We miss him so much, especially on special days like today.

My family also helped me do a few projects around the house before heading home. The time passed too quickly, but it was great to have visitors for the weekend.

Here are some pictures of Easton's weekend fun w/ the family - enjoy!

Easton hanging out with his Pappy - LOVE his expression!

Check out those cute flip-flops (baseball themed, of course!)

Sporting his Yankees outfit from our friends Dean & Jami

Awe, he's such a cute boy...

Next, here we are together on my 1st Mother's Day!

Getting some kisses from Mama

All smiles...check out those chunky legs! :-)

More smooches ... gotta give them to him while he's still young & doesn't think I'm "yucky"!

Easton says, "Happy 1st Mother's Day, Mama!"

And here's a super cute video of Easton performing one of my favorite Zac Brown songs :-)

Our CVS bargain 5/9/10

We started off Mother's Day by grabbing some bargains .... my Mom, Dad, Grandma Francis & aunt Lois were down for a visit, and I got the ladies to go with me to CVS this morning. Mama, Lois and I each did the following transaction:

2 - Right Guard Total Defense $2.99 each, total $4.98
2 - Crest Pro-health Toothpaste $3.50 each, total $7
1 - Kotex U Liners $4.99

We each used the following coupons:
$3 off 2 Right Guard Total Defense (printed from coupons.com)
$1 off Kotex U (CVS coupon, printed from CVS website)
$1 off Kotex U (Manufacturer coupon, printed from Kotex website)
2 - 75cents off Crest, cut out of P&G coupon insert in 5/2 newspaper
Also, Lois & I got the $3 off a $15 purchase from the "CVS magic coupon machine" :-)

Received back the following Extra Care Bucks (ECB):
$2 for each Right Guard, totaled $4ECB
$3.50 for each Crest, totaled $7ECB
$4.99 ECB for Kotex U

Total before coupons = $16.97
minus $3 off $15 = $13.97
Owed after coupons = $7.47

Paid $7.47 plus tax, but received $15.99 in Extra Care Bucks ... so this was approx. an $8 Money Maker :-)

These deals are good through Saturday May 15th, so head to your CVS to take advantage :-)

Harris Teeter triples - my best deal yet!

For those that have a Harris Teeter nearby, they are doing their triple coupon event today through May 4th. They'll triple any coupon up to .99 - the best coupons I have are for .75, so tripled they are worth $2.25. That equals some awesome savings.... check out below:

I got:
3 - VIVA Big Paper Towel Rolls
2 - Mahatma Rice Seasoning
2 - Morton Season-All Season Salt
10 - Ortega Fajita Seasoning
1 - Franks Hot Sauce
1 - Frenchs Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
2 - Glade air freshener
4 - Phili mini cream cheese
1 - Birds Eye Veggies

Total retail cost of my order was approx. $47. After VIC savings and triple coupons, I paid....... drum roll ........ 85 cents!!!! Mama if you are reading - you should be happy, a lot of this trip was stuff you wanted :-)

Bonus, I got one of those coupon printouts for $1 off my next order. For those that aren't aware, the printouts are called "catalinas" and they are given out at most national grocery chains. So when you consider the $1 catalina, I actually made 15 cents! What a great shopping trip!

I also stopped at Walgreens (which is conveniently located next door to Harris Teeter). I came away with 12 Hallmark greeting cards and 2 containers of shaving cream for $3.24.


Walgreens is a challenge in the beginning, but I am starting to get the hang of it. The key is to build up a stash of Walgreens "Register Rewards" and use them each week for your purchases. I cannot take all of the credit for these savings - I read TONS of blogs and forums to learn about how to save at Walgreens. If you have a Walgreens near you and want to learn more about how I get these super cheap deals, just let me know! :-)

Our trip home April 20 through April 26

Easton and I made a trip to VA last week to visit family & friends. On Wednesday, we took Easton's 3 month photos with my friend Chrystal (who also did my hair earlier that day - she is multi-talented!) :-) Here's a link to see Easton's photos - there are only a few there right now because Chrystal is still working on editing them, so check back soon. He is such a cute little man, don't you think? (I am possibly a bit biased) ....

http://chrystalsimpson.smugmug.com/Other/Easton-Three-Months/11991053_hjpiK#850167468_yQczU

On Thursday, we spent some time with Easton's GAB ("Great Aunt Bettie") .... we had lunch, shopped at the Nestle Company Store and then hung out at Bettie's house. Below are some photos that Bettie captured during our visit:

On Friday, I met my friend Mandy for a late lunch at San Marcos. Mandy & I were both in town visiting family at the same time, and since we both had boys a few weeks apart (she had Chase a few weeks before Easton arrived) we wanted to get them together. They mostly slept in their carriers while we ate and caught up, so no pictures to show of them together yet. But Mandy and her family are heading down my way for a beach trip in August, so we'll definitely get a lot of photos of Easton & Chase together then.

Throughout the week, my Mom & I did TONS of bargain shopping at Food Lion, CVS and Walgreens. As you know, I am really getting into coupons so my Mom and I found some awesome deals. Our best trip was at Walgreens - here are the details:

2 - Cottonelle TP 12 pk
2 - Cottonelle Wipes
1 - Huggies Wipes
5 - Kotex Tampons/Pads
4 - Nature's Bounty Vitamins
1 - ScotchBrite Sponges
1 - Nursing Pads
1 - Print Cartridge Refill

Retail price of these items was approx $108
We paid $4.42!!!!

Needless to say, I came back with a trunk full of purchases! Enough about shopping, let's get back to Easton :-)

Easton hit a milestone during our trip .... he ate rice cereal for the first time! I know some people may think it's a bit early for that since he's 3 months old - but keep in mind, he's a HUGE kid! He was not satisfied with just breast milk and was wanting to eat every 2 hours (which was wearing me down!) so we mixed some rice cereal with breast milk and he loved it! Check him out - he's actually a pretty neat eater for a first-timer!

Easton looks like "Mom, what are you about to give me?" :-)

The first bite!

I think he likes it!

Not too messy, huh?

Easton's Uncle Jake was in town for the weekend and spend a lot of time hanging out with Easton. Here are a couple of pics of them together ....

Easton likes to sit w/ Uncle Jake

Uncle Jake reading Easton a story

Easton is so fortunate to have so many people that love him and want to spend time with him. We look forward to our next trip home! Let's end things with some adorable photos of Easton's second time eating rice cereal - but this time, he's falling asleep while eating! Enjoy :-)

One of my best deals yet! (Harris Teeter)

I am in disbelief over the great deals I got today @ Harris Teeter - check out the pic below:



I purchased the following:

6 Jumbo Huggies retail $10.99 - $5 VIC - $3 coupon = $2.99 each (x6) = $17.94
2 Jumbo Pampers retail $10.99 - $5 VIC - $2 coupon = $3.99 each (x2) = $7.98
Scotch Brite Cooktop starter kit $5.99 - $1 VIC - $1 coupon = $3.99
Scotch Brite Cooktop refills $1.99 - .99 VIC - $1 coupon = FREE!
A1 Marinade retail $3.29 - $2.30 eVIC = 99 cents
Airwick Aqua Mist $3.29 - .79 VIC - $1.50 eVIC - $1 coupon = FREE!

Retail Cost = $118.40
I paid = $30.90!!!! That is a 74% savings!!!

For those that shop at Harris Teeter, have you signed up for their eVIC program? If not, do so ASAP ... they send weekly deals to your email based on your shopping preferences. If you couple a coupon with the eVIC special you can sometimes get the item for free as I did with the air freshener above. What a great day of shopping :-)