Summertime, Reading, and Couponing, oh my!

Wow! Has it really been so long since I last blogged? I guess so. Well, we've been pretty busy this summer. Cameron is still going to preschool- I didn't want to take him out for the summer and screw him up and make him have to readjust in September. Jenny is still being potty trained. She is extremely stubborn and my biggest challenge right now. Eric is still very cute and is still not walking yet. However, I am confident that he will start soon. He can stand without assistance- he just doesn't want to try to move his legs. I've been putting off making his 18 month doctor's appointment because I want him to start walking so the doctor won't give me a hard time about it. On a positive note...Eric started nursery two weeks ago! He's doing great too. It seems like yesterday he was a tiny infant sleeping in my arms. How time flies.

So this week has been very challenging for me. Cameron was off from preschool this week because they were closed for vacation. It was so hot Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The kids were bored. I was cranky. Eric had a mysterious rash on his legs and diaper area. Scott has been working like a wild man. Jennifer has been difficult. Yesterday, the humidity went down so the kids spent the afternoon outside which both they and I enjoyed tremendously. Today it's raining, so outside will probably be out of the question. Wednesday I went to www.coloringcastle.com and printed out a whole bunch of summertime coloring pages (one for Cameron and one for Jenny). I had them color each page and then we took some colored construction paper and made a book. Cameron hasn't quite finished his book yet since he is very careful when coloring. Jenny's book is titled, "Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?" after the song. I'm rather proud of myself for coming up with the idea since I'm not that creative and although my dad says I'm artistic, I don't think I am. Anyway, the activity kept them quiet while Eric took his nap (the kids had woken him up on the two previous days). Maybe one of these days, we will finished the playroom downstairs that was damaged during the monsoon in April. That way I can ship the kids down there when Eric needs to sleep- or when I need some sanity.

I've been reading a lot this week too. I just don't read as much as I used to and I miss it so much. I miss the escape it creates and the attachment to the characters that I usually build. So last night I finally finished the fourth and last installment of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It was really good- one of those books you can't put down. Scott had gotten it for me for my birthday back in January, but I kept putting off reading it. NO MORE! I shall expand my mind. I have a whole stack of books just waiting to be read. So I'll go through them today and decide in which order I will read them. There is also a book by the author of the Traveling Pants series that I am considering purchasing. I have a coupon for Borders plus some money on my Borders Rewards card. Which brings me to my next topic...

Couponing! It's such a high. If you haven't already, visit www.thegrocerygame.com. It's amazing. I went to Stop and Shop and Shoprite Wednesday evening and bought bags and bags of groceries (some for food storage and some for regular use) for only $60! Thirty bucks at each store. I didn't really realize how much I had gotten until I got home and started unloading. I'm amazed. And I can't wait to do it again next week. I've been doing this for a little over a month now. Some weeks are better than others ofcourse, but I'm really amazed at how much you can save by finding the lowest price. It might take more planning and more shopping trips to different stores, but to me it's totally worth it. And it makes my hubby happy knowing how much money we're saving. Try it.

That's it for now. I shall try to blog more frequently in the future.