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!

CVS deals for the new week...

I don't know if y'all's CVS changes over to the new week yet, but ours did and there are a few FREE and MoneyMaker Items this week...

I got some CoverGirl Wetslicks Amazemint Lipgloss that was $5.99 and free after ECB's... There is a $1 off any Covergirl coupon making this a $1 moneymaker! (Limit of 1 per card)

Also Colgate Total Advanced Clean is $2.99 with a $2 ECB and we got $1 off coupons in the last insert which would make it free... There is also the $1.50 printable out there that would make it a $.50 moneymaker! (Limit 2 per card)

Also, if you still have any BOGO CoverGirl Coupons, they have certain lines that are BOGO, so you get 2 foundations for free!

Also, Neutrogena is running a special where you buy 1 Neutrogena product pictured in the circular, you get $3 ECB (Limit 2 per card) So you buy 2 Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara @ $5.99 and use the $3 off 2 Neutrogena coupon from the August All You and use your 2/10 CVS coupon it ends up being $.50 for each! Not too bad of a deal...

Hope this helps someone out! ;)

Happy Anniversary to us! ;)

Yesterday was our 3rd Anniversary, so we decided to take a little trip the weekend before to celebrate, since this will be our 1st Anniversary we've spent together! The 1st anniversary, I was in Germany, and the 2nd, he was in Iraq! :(

We asked his parent's to come watch Eli, and they graciously accepted, so they arrived Friday night around 6 pm and we spent a little bit of time with them, and then we headed out to dinner at Olive Garden, yum, and enjoyed the never ending Pasta Bowl! :) So yummy and a "little" cheaper than the normal meal that we get!

We then embarked on the 1.5 hour drive to Chattanooga, where we had booked a hotel for 2 nights... It was a Country Inn and Suites, and it was very nice and it was so much fun having a sit down living room area and kitchen area, separate from the bedroom... Ryan wanted to go swimming that night, (they have an indoor pool) but unfortunately it was after hours, so we just went to sleep.

We woke up pretty early and headed down for the Fabulous complimentary breakfast they had! They had "make your own" Belgium waffles, and they were to die for! ;) We then went back up and showered and finished getting ready and then headed to the Tennessee Aquarium which was only about 5 miles away... It was so much fun and we spent about 4-5 hours there touching baby sharks, stingrays, sturgeon, etc... It was a lot of fun and very cool since he hadn't been there since he was little, and I don't remember going to an Aquarium like this before.

Here are a few pics from my Camera Phone since I forgot the real camera! :(

That is a real shark! ;)

Ryan was so incredibly creeped out!
My attempt at touching the stingray while taking the picture!
Ryan touching the stingray!They felt so funny!

We also checked out the Imax movie on "Dolphins and Whales" which was 3-D... That was pretty much the only redeeming quality, unless you want to hear how horrible humans are and how we're going to to eventually destroy the planet if we don't save this dolphin or that whale, etc... Very liberal portrayal, but overall was fun...

We went to Cheeburger Cheeburger before we saw the Imax movie and if you havn't been, you should Definitely go! It was so yummy and about average price as far as nice burger joints go...

After the Imax and Aquarium, we headed to Ben and Jerry's for a little Ice Cream, and after we were stuffed, we walked around for a while, then went and signed up for the "Murder Mystery Dinner Show" where they have Italian Buffet and then there are "Characters" in the show, that walk around and interact with all the guests... It was supposed to be a High School Reunion where one of the classmates gets killed and you try to figure it out... There was the Class Nerd, the Prom Queen, the Class clown, the Coach, the English Teacher, the Class President... I think that's all... Anyhow, they walk around talking to you like you were in their class and this is your reunion too... It was a lot of fun and a little different, but a unique experience... It was pretty much a family friendly comedy show, with very little mystery! It would be impossible to figure out who had killed the victim, since it was totally random, but it was definitely more about the comedy! Ryan and I actually got called out to stand up since it was our 3 year Anniversary, and then they told me to sit down and said that "We want to thank Ryan because they were separated for a while because he spent 2.5 years in Iraq!!" Of course the whole crowd starts clapping and Ryan ends up getting a standing ovation!! ;) What does my "shy" hubby do? He starts doing hand guestures like he was shooting Iraqies! I thought I was going to wet my pants it was so cute! ;) I of course am proud of him too, so he can "fake shoot Iraqies" all he wants! Oh, and if you're wondering... The lady got confused... Ryan told her that we were separated for 2.5 years and that he was in Iraq, so she thought he meant he was in Iraq for that long, but still, it was nice that they appreciated it enough to say something! Overall, we had a great time and it was really funny!

We then headed on back to the hotel because Ryan REALLY wanted to swim in the indoor pool and then we watched, "What Women Want"... Overall, a fun day!

We woke up bright and early to eat some more Belgium waffles, Yum! Then we finished getting ready, packed our bags and headed out to the Ocoee River! We were so excited to go White Water Rafting since neither of us had ever been! We got there in plenty of time and after about 30 minutes we were on the stinky bus ready to head to the drop off point! We ended up with 3 other people who were really nice and did what they were supposed to do! I was afraid we were going to be stuck with a bunch of girly girls who would refuse to paddle or something! It was so much fun and we got soaked even before we decided to jump in! :) We definitely are HOOKED and are already planning on going on the Full River trip which is about 4.5 hours long and even more intense! It really wasn't as terrifying as I thought... If you have a good guide, he is going to put you at ease and make sure you understand everything you're doing!

So, if you haven't been before, you definitely have to try it!

I got these from the website... Ryan is the goofy one in the back with his mouth open in most of the pics... :) And I'm in front of him in the green shirt... You can't see me very well because I'm paddling like the instructor said while Ryan and the lady next to him were busy posing for the camera! ;)

We were a little sad when it ended, but happy that we would soon get to see our little boy! Ryan slept for most of the 2.5 hours home, and we were so excited when we got home and saw our Eli! He was soo excited to see us, even though his Grandma Leigh-Leigh and PopPop took very good care of him! He was pretty much attached to my hip for the first 2 hours, but we are definitely back in the swing of things now!

That's about it, hope you enjoy our pics!