Welcome 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

No, we are not letting them stay up till midnight. We'd pay for it tomorrow. And no, we probably won't stay up till midnight ourselves either. We are having a very grown-up, alcohol-free New Year's Eve. Did I hear someone say, "Boring"? We think it sounds relaxing. Something we don't get to do much of and something I plan to do more of in 2009!

Happy New Year to all our friends and loved ones. We wish you all the best in 2009.

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Lots of love from our home to yours. Merry Christmas to all our friends and family, near and far.

What does Ms. Tycia look like?

Logan has been dying to meet Ms. Tycia, Gavin's new teacher since Ms. Traci left. This probably somehow has something to do with Logan's crush on Ms. Traci. In any case, Jay has been promising to drop Gavin off first at school one day so Logan can finally meet Ms. Tycia and it's been the hot topic around our house for awhile now. This conversation ensued on the evening before the planned Ms. Tycia meet-and-greet:

LOGAN: Daddy's gonna drop me off first tomorrow.
GAVIN: I know.
LOGAN: So I can meet Ms. Tycia.
GAVIN: I know.
LOGAN: What does Ms. Tycia look like?
GAVIN: (after a thoughtful pause) Umm...she looks like happy. She looks like funny.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum

The Giant had his 6 month check-up today.

The Verdict:

clear ears (YAY!)

height -- 97th percentile (29 inches)

weight -- off the charts (23.5 pounds)

The doctor said he's "a healthy boy" (read: doesn't look like he misses many meals). Actually, according to the doctor, Keegan has "thinned out" some since his height is catching up to his weight. Then he mentioned that if Jay and I were fat people, he would begin talking to us about the importance of a healthy diet in children to try to prevent us from having an obese pre-schooler. Yep, he's huge. My right bicep is proof.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. I wanted to get pictures of the whole family together, but Keegan slept the entire time and I didn't have the heart to wake him. Of course, he woke up as soon as we were leaving!
Sleeping through all the fun.

Ugly Duckling

Daddy's boys..well, some of them.

two little cuties

saving $$$, week by week

I can't believe I'm saying this on December 2nd, but I think we have almost ALL of our Christmas shopping done! Thanks to all the pre-Thanksgiving sales coupled with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we are all set to go! The sales at Publix this week were mediocre at best, and with all the Thanksgiving leftovers, we really didn't need much, but check out the CVS purchase! If you're not "CVSing" already, you should be. Here's a link to tell you how to do it:

How to CVS by Jenny at Southern Savers

Weekly Publix Shopping Trip

Total before sales/coupons: $84.06

Total spent out of pocket: $52.20

Total saved: $31.86 or 48%

CVS

Total before sales/coupons: $55.62

Total spent out of pocket: $1.75
Total saved: $53.87 or 96.9%

Best deal: new earbuds for my Zune (FREE)

pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

Too cute not to post...even if it is December.

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Yesterday, the long-awaited, much-anticipated annual package from Gram and Gramps came in the mail. Since we average a new baby each year (2004, 2005, & 2008!), this package usually includes the following items:

1. Jay's birthday present

2. Jay's annual Hess truck (which the kids are not allowed to touch and they never understand why. Neither do I, but apparently the Hess truck is for looking at only.)

3. Chocolate Advent calenders (those are exactly as big of a hit as you can imagine...and then some)

"Can we eat these NOW?"

(10 seconds later) "NOW can we eat these?"

"Is it December? Then why can't we eat these NOW?"

This goes on and on and on until they can actually eat them...then they start asking about tomorrow's piece.

4. New Baby Stocking...a.k.a. FINAL baby stocking!

Mmmm....more food. Thanks, Gram!

Christmas 2008: The year our mantel was complete.

Good thing S-A-N-T-A has 5 letters! 5 letters...5 Allison's. Now we really can't have any more children!

THANKS GRAM!

"I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And gosh-darn-it, people LIKE me!"

Fearless ninja warriors

Halloween was a month ago...I'm such a slacker!!! So, this is what the Allison's were doing while the Petro's were in labor...

We got all ready to go at Nana's house

The boys wanted to be Ninjas this year. Actually, they just wanted to be anything that came with a sword, as in: "Hey Logan, do you want to be a fireman?", "Does it come with a sword?" and "Hey Gavin, do you want to be Spiderman?", "Does it come with a sword?"

These were the safest and best swords I could find. From the Dollar Store of all places.

We practiced "Trick or Treating" at the Presbyterian Church by my mom's house. Baby Keegan was in a great mood and had lots to say. Here he is giving me some lovin'.

The boys went fishing for candy.

And took a break to eat some hot dogs. Everyone knows a ninja needs to eat some food so he has the energy to trick or treat all night long!

Then we went back to our house for the real deal!

And here they are holding their first baby captive by throat!

It was FREEZING, but Gavin was on a mission.

"Just one more piece of candy, Mommy!"

monkey see, monkey do

Gavin had to get blue hair too!

New tooth!

I just realized Keegan has a tooth!!!! Not sure how long it's been there. These are the things you kind of overlook when you have three kids, but I guess that explains all the recent sleepless nights! I certainly didn't overlook those!

green eggs & sausage

He insisted on green eggs. We didn't have ham. And he's such a picky eater, he probably wouldn't have eaten it anyway. So we had green eggs and sausage, of course.

Good family, good food, good times, Part 2

Now that I have the pictures from Dad's camera, I thought I'd post a few more pics of our Thanksgiving...

Feasting on corn on the cob while watching Alvin and the Chipmunks

More "Go Fish"

Even more "Go Fish"

where the heck are we?

But they won't stop to ask for directions...they are true men.

Thankful for Jay

So today is Jay's birthday. And he says I never post anything about him. I guess this is as good of a day as any to start posting about the love of my life, the best Dad I know, and the man I take for granted far too often. Since his birthday falls so close to Thanksgiving, he sometimes gets lost in the chaos of the season, but in our family, we are most thankful for him....our Daddy.

Reasons why I'm so proud of my husband and thankful for his presence in our lives:

1. He keeps me on track with Dave Ramsey's plan (see sidebar link if you don't know who I'm talking about) even when I'm sick of eating beans and rice, living in this crowded house, and keeping myself out of the mall.

2. He loves to play Go Fish with the boys, take them on bike rides, build Legos (which they subsequently break), snuggle up in bed to watch Backyardagans, and the list goes on and on.

3. He willingly changes poopy diapers and always remembers to give Logan his asthma medication (which I almost never remember).

4. He makes my coffee for me in the morning and pours it for me with just the right amount of creamer so I can have my first few sips without having to talk to anyone, change any diapers, or build any choo-choos. He loves me before I've showered, brushed my teeth, or had my coffee (which makes me noticeably nicer).

5. He bought a bike as an early birthday present for himself (but he bought it so early that I still had to go out and buy him another present because he would have forgotten all about it and thought I didn't think to get him a gift on his birthday). He rides it 13+ miles each day and is obsessed with his new-found form of exercise.

5. I could go on, but I'll end with this one....He's about to start a new job, even though he was happy and comfortable where he was before. He's looking out for the future of our family. It's a great opportunity and even though this is something you might not know about him yet and he's too humble to discuss it...this is a REALLY BIG DEAL for his career.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY! This is the 10th birthday we've spent together. Boy, you're getting old! I love you.

Allison Health Tally #3

Allison Health Tally

2 infected ears

1 sinus infection

2nd round of antibiotics

2 healthy boys

Jay was out of town on business last week, and lo and behold, we had another illness in our house. Fortunately, Nana and Papa saved the day and spent the night at our house. Nana split night-time duty with me and even sat in the rocker with Keegan for HOURS on end in the wee small hours of the morning. He was a pathetic little thing...eyes all gooped up, fever, coughing, and crying all the time. After a couple of sleepless nights, waking up with numb hands and a crick in my neck from sleeping sitting up (that's the only way Keegan would sleep without screaming), I finally took him into Urgent Care. Have I mentioned before that my kids only get sick between Friday and Sunday when the pediatrician's office is closed? They know us well at Urgent Care. I think this was the fourth weekend in a row that we had an appointment.

Anyway, Jay was home at this point and headed out to pick up the antibiotics. Sounds simple enough, right? Actually, when all was said and done, it took over two hours. First, the pharmacy was closed (even though it should have still been open for five more minutes) and the prescription had to be faxed over to another pharmacy across town. When he arrived, he found out that pharmacy was out of it, of course. So, off to another pharmacy even farther away from home. Then we realize that the doctor didn't authorize the generic equivalent so our two prescriptions totalled $80. I think not. So, poor Keegan had to stay up even longer (it was late and he was exhausted) and poor Jay had to sit at CVS and wait for a call back from Urgent Care to sort out the situation. $42 and two hours later (we still had to get one of the $40 meds because it didn't come in generic form for infants), Jay finally arrived with the goods. Keegan HATES the meds...which is probably not a strong enough word for it...but after just one dose he was doing remarkably better.

Oh, for all you mom's out there...the $2 medication is numbing drops for his ears. They worked wonders and I was finally able to sleep lying down in my own bed! I will be saving these for next time!

Good family, good food, good times

The food was delicious, the beer was ice cold and plentiful, and everyone had a relaxing time. We tried something a little different this year. Actually, she didn't volunteer, but I delegated the majority of the cooking to Mom after Keegan got sick (again) and I realized my plate was just too full. I had already bought most of the ingredients for the things I had planned on making, so I just took it all over to her house and she kindly did all the work for me! So, the food was cooked and ready to go when they all came over early this afternoon and there wasn't much left to do other than sip on a glass of wine (or two) and enjoy some quality family time. We are thankful for so much this year. This is our first Thanksgiving with Keegan, our first Thanksgiving with my Grandma living in Tallahassee, and our first Thanksgiving with a pregnant Liz! Oh, and of course she's having a girl, since everyone in our family has girl besides me...so we're thankful for that too!

Logan beat Daddy at Go Fish for the umpteenth time. Look at all those matches!

Papa and Keegan hung out. He's such a hip-monkey!

Here I am reading a Santa book to Gavin. When I was done he said, "I'm SO EXCITED!" (about Christmas). Thanks, Mr. Obvious. What's not to like about Christmas cookies, Christmas parties, and Christmas presents!!??!

Liz spent a lot of time "practicing" for Mommy-hood. She's gonna be good at it!

Isn't she lovely?

Happy birthday to our Gram!

And she doesn't look a day over 24!

We love you.

Three little "angels"

I use the term loosely.

Allison Health Tally #2

Allison Health Tally #2

2 common colds

10 healthy ears

0 fevers

5 smiles

We are officially on the mend, just in time for Daddy's birthday, Thanksgiving, and BLACK FRIDAY!

saving $$$, Coddington style

The original source of my frugal ways.

I learned it by watching you.

Inspiration

Inspired by Jenna's post about her peanut butter coupons, I feel compelled to tell the world about my recent Publix savings and internet finds.

Weekly Publix Shopping Trip (11/13/2008)

Total before sales/coupons: $189.56

Total spent out of pocket: $73.86

Total saved: $115.70 or 61%

Best deal: Post Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal $.04 per box(!!!)

Favorite deal: Juicy Juice $.74

With the help of this website, I carefully planned my shopping trip using a combination of manufacturer coupons from the newspaper, store coupons, and internet (printed) coupons. After finding the Southern Saver's website, I swear I will never look at shopping the same way again. My challenge for this week is to beat my percentage saved (61%) from the previous week. Can I do it? My dad will be so proud!

Jenna: Check out what she does with the CVS ads. Do you have CVS where you live? She does a great job with Walgreen's as well.

Pooh: Have we converted you yet?

BTW, I labeled this post under "Frugal Finds" and plan on making this a regular contribution to my blog. I'm so excited to share this with you. Does this make me a dork?

Allison Health Tally

Current Allison Health Tallys

2 cases of strep throat

4 infected ears

2 ruptured ear drums

3 children on antibiotics

2 Urgent Care visits

2 Pediatrician visits

2 exhausted parents

So that explains why I haven't posted in days. At least we have tomorrow off, which will also give our poor nanny a break. She's been watching the kids the whole time and has yet to come down with anything more than a cold. Tomorrow is our anniversary. We'll celebrate by taking the kids to IHOP (something we've been promising them for days but couldn't do because they've been so sick), studying for my licensing exam, and attending a funeral. Far cry from our usual "cruise anniversary", but maybe next year. No, definitely next year! Enjoy your Veteran's Day!

"that face"

Here he is making "that face" again.

What is with "that face"?!?!!?


I guess he gets it from his father.

what is this s%#t?

He's a milk-man. Only likes his Mama's milk.

Baby Keegan had his first taste of solids recently. We started with that tasty rice cereal (pictured here). When that didn't get the reaction I had expected, I followed it up with a delicious banana-rice mixture. Well, he hated bananas even more, if you can imagine. Two weeks later, he still hates his solids, but sweet potatoes and carrots seem to be growing on him. He still refuses to have anything to do with bananas.

when it rains

When it rains, it pours. Ain't that the truth.

• Last Monday (10/27), I turned 25...ummm...I mean, I turned 31. Logan was feeling a little under the weather, so it was a good excuse for me to miss work.
• Tuesday, I missed work again. Darn. I had really wanted to go.
• Wednesday through Friday, I worked, but this nasty little bug continued to rear its ugly head throughout my household.
• Friday afternoon (Halloween and Baby Leah's birthday), Jay twisted his ankle while on a run. He was over a mile away from the house at the time with no cell phone, so he had to hobble back all by his poor little old self. No one in our neighborhood ever stopped to help. Can you believe that? And you wonder why we want to move! That evening, we managed to push our way through Halloween, and still had a great time, I must say.
• Saturday morning, Jay woke up with an ankle the color of a plum. He was unable to put any weight at all on it and slowly limped through the house. I had to work, so he was going to be alone with the kids all afternoon. So, my Mr. Mom decided to go to Urgent Care to get crutches in order to make life a little easier. Although he hadn't complained very much at all, Gavin had a nasty cough and indicated that his left ear was bothering him, so Jay decided to make appointments for both of them. I promised...NO SHOTS, and Gavin actually wanted to go to the doctor, which shows how sick he really was.
• Three hours later, Jay carried Gavin back through the door. He couldn't walk because he had gotten two HUGE shots, making a liar out of Mommy. The diagnosis: double ear infections, strep throat, and TWO ruptured ear drums. Poor guy. And he never complained.
• Sunday and Monday brought continued above average levels of nose blowing, tear wiping, medicines administered, and hugs given as I attempted to nurse this family back to health. Factor that in along with the time change (which can really screw up a baby's internal clock) and teething, and you have one miserable household.
• Fast forward to Tuesday (today...election day), and you still have three children with varying degrees of this ever-lasting bug...including (gasp!) the baby!

Like I said, when it rains...

1st photos

Here she is....the much anticipated, much appreciated, much loved Baby Leah!

(Now you can steal it, Karen!)

rub a dub-dub

THREE BOYS IN THE TUB!

watering the grass

After he was done, he came over to us and said, (with pride) "I painted the wall!"

lil' fire chief

Keegan

Age: 5 1/2 months

Favorite activities: teething, yelling, nursing, "talking", playing with Logan & Gavin, taking baths, playing with his feet

Newest accomplishment: Sitting up unassisted

Areas in need of improvement: sleeping, playing independently, eating solids

Spooky Leah!

Baby Leah is finally here! The good news is that she now has a name, but I'm not sure if I'm spelling it correctly. She was born on Halloween night at 8:04pm. 7 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Stay tuned for pictures...

New 'do

BEFORE

AFTER (note the blue spike in the front for Halloween)

So, I don't think I have a masculine bone in my body.

Therefore, it has been a struggle for me to:

a) figure out how I want the boy's haircuts to look, and

b) verbalize it to their barber.

They've been going to "Mr. Keith" all their lives. Keith was Jay's barber through college and up until he didn't really have any hair left to cut (don't tell him I said this!). As is our tendency as a parent to live vicarious through our children, Jay insisted that I take the kids to Keith, thereby continuing the tradition of cutting the male Allison's hair. While I love Keith, he seems to know how to do one haircut, and only one haircut -- that of a boy/man. Duh. He's a barber. Well, I wanted bigger, better, and cooler cuts for the kids....the kind of cuts you ladies know only a female hair stylist can give. So, after several attempts at shaving their head myself and/or simply not cutting it at all (resulting in either bald or shaggy children), I finally convinced Jay to let me take Logan to Beth. The results, although I'm certainly not biased, are amazing. Doesn't he just look so cute? "Miss Beth" really hit it off with Logan and he can't wait to go back. He thinks she's the coolest since she put the blue gel in his hair!

As a side note, Logan and I had a great day together. I picked him up and took him out to a lunch of his choice (McDonalds). He didn't stop talking the whole time and wanted to sit next to me (so we could touch elbows), rather than across from me. He also ate 2 hamburgers, 1 small fry, and 1 ice cream cone. And I was once again reminded about how much these boys are going to cost me when they get to high school! His new hair cut makes him look so grown up, and the icing on the cake was at the end of the day when he looked at me and said, "That was a really great time, Mama. We should do that more often. You know what "more often" means? That means "more and more and more times"! Yes, Logan. I agree. We SHOULD do that more and more and more.

She's coming!

Baby Girl Petro is on her way...............

BOO!