Our first little peek at Baby Stroud take 2! :)

We had our first ultrasound today, and it was very exciting getting to see and hear the heartbeat! Our little baby is measuring a little ahead of what I had predicted, so it's exciting that he/she is growing big and strong! ;) I'm not sure if I'll take the new due date, but they are saying he/she will be due May 9th instead of May 11th... It was so neat for Ryan to get to be there this time, and he really seemed to enjoy it!

The heartbeat was going away at over 160 beats per minute, so according to the old wives tale, it should be a girl! ;) Eli's was always at or around 140, so maybe it's true! ;)

Anywho, here is our first picture of our little bean!

Eli's newest trick... :)

Well, I was minding my own business getting some "essential" things done on the computer when I noticed I didn't hear Eli anymore, which is NEVER a good sign... So, I walked into the living room calling him, and what did I find, but Eli perched on the loveseat playing with my cell phone! Notice that my cell phone was IN my purse ON TOP of the loveseat, so somehow the crazy kid managed to climb onto the loveseat and get in my purse, so I pulled him down and took my cell phone away... That is about the time Ryan came in the living room, so I told him what had happened and went about my business on the computer and Ryan started watching him...

A minute or two later, Ryan tells me to get the camera, so I grab it and this is what I find... We weren't sure if he'd do it again, but he was more than willing to oblige us, so here you go... He even showed us he can do it different ways too!

He still can't manage to get on the "big" sofa, but I'm sure our days are numbered there as well! :)



Oh, and sorry the bye-bye got cut off... Stupid computer!

Eli's Announcement

Eli has a special message just for you!

Some serious catching up to do...

Wow... I have so much to catch up on... I'm gonna just make this a catch all Eli post, so get ready...

I got this chair on Clearance at CVS for like $2 since Ryan is coaching soccer now, so I needed a chair since most of the places don't have stands... Eli could not handle NOT playing on it, and these 2 pics just cracked me up...

As you can see he had a little issue with falling between the crack! ;)

Here is another incident from our accident-prone baby! I was taking a shower with the bathroom door closed, and Ryan had opened the door to our bedroom to let him go out into the hall... Well, in his excitment to come find Mommy, he ran, tripped and fell headfirst into the door frame! It was a very loud crack followed by Ryan screaming something to the affect of, "Oh no, Oh no! It's okay buddy" Followed by blood curdling screams! I'm in the shower and can hear all this and start to panic... It was not fun! A nice knot popped right up, but after some ice packs it went down and he is no worse for the wear!

Here he is attempting to eat with a fork for the first time... (Just so you... He didn't accomplish much!) Oh, and all the junk on his head is my sad attempt at a bandage! ;)

This just cracked me up... I was working on the computer and turned around to see he had climbed into our makeshift toy chest!

As you can see, he is quite proud of himself!

This is what Eli's room looks like after he plays in there BY HIMSELF! :) He figured out he can open his dresser drawers and pull his clothes out, so that's fun! :)

After Mommy got a hold of it! ;)

I got this puppy costume last year after Halloween, and I was going through some junk and found it, so I had him try it on... Isn't he too cute! ;)

And this one is from NC... Eli and I went to hang out with Sam and Heather and Sam wanted to take a nap, so we (Heather and I) told him he could only take a nap if Eli took a nap with him! We were shocked when he actually got him to sleep! Heather and I thought it was just too cute, so she snapped this with her I-phone! ;)

Yay for deals! ;)

I really had a GREAT deal day today, so I thought I would share! Didn't get around to any grocery shopping today, just some Drugstore deals! ;)

Here's how I did at CVS...
And I could have done a lot better, but I was lazy and just did 1 transaction per card!(Also this was 2 different transactions on Ryan and my cards, so some of these are a limit of one, so remember that you can't do this all together!) 1 - Swim vest 90% summer clearance - $1.99
5 - RightGuard Extreme Deoderant - $2.99 each
2 - Revlon Nail Polish - $3.99 each
2 - Herbal Essence Conditioner - $2.49 each
2 - Loreal Anti-Aging cleanser - $5.99 each
1 - Renuzit Tri-scents - $7.99
2 - Ambi cleansers - $1.99 each
1 - ChexMix - $1.99 (Supposed to be $1.00!) :(


Used...
5 - RightGuard $1 coupons
2 - $2 off Revlon CRT's
2- $2 off Herbal Essences Shampoo
2 - $2 off Loreal Coupons
1- $4 off Renuzit coupon


1- $1 off ChexMix coupon
2 - 2/10 CVS coupon
2 - $8.00 ECB
1 - $12.00 ECB
1 - $5.00 ECB



Total Cash OOP $4.33 (I messed up on the Ambi and didn't use the right card, so I actually got a refund of $4.30 negating my OOP to just $.03! And then used ECB's to purchase it on the correct card!)


Total ECB's before deals$49.90


Total After deals $55.88! (Plus I get to keep all the stuff!)

Profit of $5.95!

I just LOVE CVS!!

Now on to Walgreens!

I am normally not a Walgreen's shopper, but these deals were just too good to pass up! ;)


They have a deal where you buy 3 Robitussin or Dimetapp and you get $10 Register Rewards (a coupon) that prints out after your receipt... Well, they had them on sale for $3.99 and Robitussin has a $3 coupon out there making them $.99 each, so $2.97 for 3 and you get a $10 RR after purchase meaning they pay you $7 to take them out of the store! Dimetapp wasn't quite as good since it was only a $2 off coupon, but still a $4 money maker!

Plus they have Crest Mouthwash where you pay $4.49 and they give you a $4.50 RR, plus I have a $.75 coupon making it a $.75 moneymaker!

So, here you go...

6- Robitussin - $3.99 each
3 - Dimetapp - $3.99 each
3 - Crest ProHealth Mouthwash- $4.49 each
1 - Visine Eye Drops - $4.49
1 - Excedrin Gel Caps 20 count - $3.99
2 - Glade Scented Oil Warmer - $4.74 each
1 - Glade Scented Gel Warmer - $3.49

Used...
6 - Robitussin $3 off coupons
3 - Dimetapp $2 off coupons
3 - Crest $.75 off coupons
1- Visine $3 off coupon
1 - Easy Saver $2 off Visine
2 - Free Peelie Warmer coupons $4.74 each
1 - Free Peelie Warmer coupon - $3.49

Paid OOP or with Gift Card from previous rebate purchases - $30.69

Got $43.50 in RR!

Plus I'll get $3.99 + 10% ($4.39) in a Rebate for the Excedrin

Making it a profit of $17.20!! Plus I got all the stuff!


I turned around and bought these diapers and wipes since we're running a little low...


1 - Pampers 5 pack wipes - $8.49
4 - Walgreen's brand size 4 Jumbo diapers - $5.99 each
1 - Sticker Book - $.50 (It wouldn't take a coupon, so I added this hoping it would get my total up!)

Can't find my receipt, but I used $30 in RR and paid $5.45 in cash!


And I still have $13.50 in RR's! ;)

So between both stores today I got All of the stuff pictured for FREE with a $17.70 overage!!! And this is all LEGAL!! ;) Plus I plan to take pretty much everything but the diapers and wipes to the discount store and hopefully will get even more to add to the profit margin! I am seriously Addicted to couponing!! ;)

Our little weekend...

Here are a few pics from our weekend in NC... We were up there for me to shoot the Chapin/Martinez wedding, and got a little family time in the meantime... :)

Here are a few completely random shots from the wedding...

Heather needed a mirror, so I obliged... :)

This cracked me up... The Bride helping do hair!

One of Erick's shots...

Sisterly love... :)

Some of the Groomsman...

Peek-a-boo
Kissy time
And then just some random family pics...

Eli loved eating his pizza rolls!
Poor Wade was subjected to Eli's poking!Something was very entertaining over there!

Mini-Chris and Mini-Ryan unite! ;)

Again, poor Wade!

They are so cute!

Little Jacob who isn't so little anymore!

This was completely random... We put that hat on him and it was so cute, that I threw a sheet up and started snapping away... :)

I love how serious he looks...

Eli was jealous, so he had to jump in and get a shot! ;)

Haylee too wanted in on the action!

So, that was our weekend... I have SOOO much to do to try to catch up on all my photo editing... Hopefully I'll be getting more pics finished really soon!

Deals, Deals, Deals! :)

I LOVE shopping day and this was NOT always the case! ;) We were definitely hurting on our basic grocery needs since Eli and I had been gone for almost a week, so, off to CVS, Rite-Aid, Kroger, and the Commissary!

I did pretty well at CVS even with the mean lady there... :)


Here are my transactions...
2- Cristophe Shampoo and Conditioner @ $7.99
2 - $5 off Peelie Coupons
1 - $2/10 CVS Coupon
OOP - $4.30
Got $5 in ECB's back
Profit of $.70!

5 - BC Headache Powder's @ $1.29
1 - Ambi Lotion @ $7.99
1 - Arnicare Pain Relief @ $9.49
1 - $2/10 CVS Coupon
1 - $3 Ambi Coupon
1 - $2 Arnicare Coupon
Used $5.99 and $5 ECB
OOP - $6.82
Got $17.45 in ECB's back
Paid $.36!

6 - CoverGirl Lipgloss BOGO
3 - BOGO CoverGirl Coupons
2 - KitKat (not pictured)
1 - $2/10 CVS Coupon
OOP - $1.32

I should have split the second order into 2 orders and used another $2/10 and I would have done even better, but oh well! ;)

All that for $.98 after ECB's and there was still another $15 in ECB's that I didn't use or roll today! I LOVE CVS!!! :) I may even go back later tonight once the mean lady is gone! ;)

Then I headed over to Rite Aid to snatch up some of their Free after Rebate Items and came away with this...

4 - The Bic Markers @ $.33
1 - Loreal Revitalift @ $14.99 (Not pictured)
1 - Pantene Conditioner @ $4.99
1 - Crest Toothpaste @ $2.49
2 - $1/2 Bic coupons
1 - $3 Loreal Coupon
1 - $2 Pantene Coupon
1 - $.75 Crest Coupon
OOP - $17.95
Rebate of $ $18.74
(I forgot to use the $1/1 Pantene In Store Coupon, but I still made a profit of $.79, but it should have been $1.79!!) ;)

I headed to Kroger to get the Free Toilet Paper...

3 - Cottenelle Toilet Paper @ .99
3 - Kleenex Tissue @ $.88
3 - $.50 Cottenelle Coupons that doubled to $.99
1 - $.50/3 that only doubled to $.88 :( (Didn't notice it till I was leaving...)
OOP - $2.21 :(

Then headed to the Commissary for the "real" shopping!

Okay... Here we go...
I got a bunch of fruit and veggies totaling $8.85
3 - 3 lb bags of individually packaged boneless Chicken breast @ $2.50 a package!
1 - Tyson Whole Chicken $2.42
1 - 2 lb boneless skinless $2.54
2 - 1 lb boneless chicken for $1.08 each
3 - Hillshire Farm Lunchmeat for $1.84 each (Supposed to be $1.45 each!) :(
4 - Nature Valley Bars for Ryan $1.52 each
1 - 12 dozen eggs $1.41
1 - Daisy Sour Cream $.94
3 - Eggo Waffles @ $1.43 each
1 - Gallon of Milk $3.49
1 - 1 lb of Ground Turkey $1.94
3 - Sunsilk Hair Products @ $.17 each
1 - Edge Shave Gel $.97
60 - Koolaid packets @ $.15 each (This is what enabled some of the Free items)
3 - Sara Lee Soft and Smooth Bread - FREE
5 - Oscar Meyer Big HotDogs - FREE
5 - Kraft Fat Free Singles - FREE
3 - Nabisco Wheat Thins - FREE
3 - Crystal Light Lemonade - FREE
2 - Glade PlugIn warmers - Profit of $.66 each!
4 - Kraft Salad Dressing - FREE

Total before Coupons $152.71
Savings of $90.01
OOP - $62.70!

So all in all, a good day! Did I say I love getting a good deal! ;)

Image Tag

I saw this on my friend, Mandi's page, so I stole it! ;)

It's a survey; but you type your answer into google search images and pick a picture from the first three pages to put up.

This is What I found:

My First name: Bette Anne

It pulled up like a bunch of pictures from myspace and my blog, so here you go... :)

My middle name: Anne
I love Anne Geddes!

My last name: Stroud

Apparantly there is a town called Stroud in the UK somewhere! ;)

My Age: 27

I haven't even seen this movie, but I thought the photo was cute!

Favorite Vacation spot: Paris, France
I love this place!

My college Major: Associate of Church Secretarial Studies
This made me smile because it had NOTHING to do with being a secretary!

Where I grew up: Shelby, NC
Enough said!

Where I live now: Huntsville, AL
There is a reason it's called "Rocket City"!

Past pet: Cocker Spaniel (Little Bit) He was a sweet puppy!

A friends nickname: Bubby (We called Eli this for a while!)
I couldn't believe other people used it too! :)

My first job: File Clerk

This is what I did after about 3 months!

My favorite color: Blue

I just thought this was pretty!

What i'm doing right now: filling out this survey

You can steal this too if you want!