I heart Aldi's...

YEARS ago (before the 'joys' of shopping with kids) when Jake and I bought our first house in OKC we lived very close to this grocery store called Aldi's...I had heard it was super cheap so I thought I would give it a try one shopping trip...it didn't go so well...no one had explained to me how it all worked.  I walked up to the store and tried to pull a cart out, but I couldn't because they were chained together! WHAT!? how the heck was i going to get a cart!  Finally someone walked up with a cart, let me have theirs and explained to me about how you needed a quarter to get a cart but as soon as your done, if you hook the cart back up then you get the quarter back....ooooooooo K...whatever. So I continued on with the shopping trip.  I was very confused, I wondered why the there was NO one there, why the aisles were so wide, and why the store was so simple that there was only 3 aisles to the whole store!? (did i mention this was before having kids...since then I have learned how AMAZING those facts are about Aldi's is).  I had a huge list of all sort of items, food, toiletries, cleaning products, etc ..and sure I found most of them there(all 'off' brands I had never heard of)...but I was frustrated by the fact that I still had to run to walmart across the street afterward for the items that were not available at Aldi's...and kinda had decided that the trip was a waste and that I would not be coming back...and that was even before I got to check out and realized that they ONLY took cash (that was before our 'cash only' days...and they actually now DO take debit cards) AND that I had to BUY my own bags! (that was also pre environmental days when the only people bringing their own shopping bags were the crazy hippies;) Lets just say I didn't go back to do my shopping there...and in turn became a Target-obsessed grocery shopper, and have been buying my 'archer farms' brand food (and an occasional cute tank top or shoes) for years.  Well, a few months ago Jake and I decided that it was time to re-work our budget and the two places we agreed needed cut back was grocery and eating out.  I had never been a couponer (although I am getting into it now!!) so my only thought was to try out Aldis again...I remembered all the 'rules' so I was prepared and ready!!  The first thing I noticed was the double seats in the shopping carts!!!  You can not find those anywhere! I also noticed that my fairly large shopping trip was done in a matter of minutes and hardly any stress (which is a normal thing shopping in a LARGE super market with a 1 and 3 year old).  I was super impressed that the milk was hormone free and they had a number of select certified organic products!  The produce selection was AMAZING (although no organic) and although everything is 'off brand' we have found everything (but their yogurt...we were NOT fans)  is very comparable!  Even after such a great experience ..I still had to run to target for a few things (I just cant bring myself to step away from our Target organic meats, yo-baby yogurt, etc)...so i really wanted to know if I actually was saving any money and if it was worth going to 2 places.....SOOOOO for everyone's convenience (and of course for my reference) I made up a pretend grocery list (with normal things we buy) and went up and down the aisles of both stores and wrote down all the prices! I was so pleased to see that I WAS saving money at Aldis!  So, with no further adeu...

Item                               Aldi's/Target(all target 'off brand' items)
wheat thins                    1.29/2.54
veggie straws                 1.69/2.99
graham crackers            1.49/2.99
4-pack orange cups       1.59/1.84
cinnamon crunch          1.99/2.99
gallon of milk               2.39/2.69
dozen eggs                    1.39/1.69
24-pack water bottles   2.29/2.99
carton of strawberries    1.79/2.59
bananas                        .44 a lb/.52 a lb
bag of red potatoes        2.99/4.49
carton of red grapes     2.79(0.99per lb)/4.99
box of eggos                1.29/2.99
popcorn(6 bags)          1.49/2.99
sugar                           2.29/2.69
brown sugar                1.39/1.49
baking soda                .49/.69
baking powder           .99/1.59
cream cheese(8oz block) .99/1.99
butter                           1.99(on sale)/2.49
bag of baby carrots      1.19/1.79
iceburg lettuce              .99/1.24
loaf of wheat bread     1.39/1.99
laughing cow babybell 2.99/3.49
'    ' spreadable cheese  2.49/3.59
frozen peas (16oz)      .99/1.14
ice cream                    2.69/3.29
apple juice                 1.49/2.44

Total bill difference    47.27/69.20
(without taxes)

officially 'that family'...

So this summer we were taking 2 VERY long road trips in May one was 7 hours and one was 16 hours!  It got us thinking about the fact that because we want 3 kiddos we knew soooome day will will have to jump on the 'mini van' wagon so why not go ahead and get one before our road trips (other wise we would have to rent a van because Heather would be travailing with us and Heather affectionately called our car the 'clown car'....yeah it was REALLY small).  So in March we put our car on craigs list, months went by and we had NO interest!  So jakes dad rented a car for all of us and we moved on with our trips.  We got home and jake kept it on craigs list on and off, but since no one ever called on it, i completely forgot we were even 'trying' to sell it!  Then the night before labor day a lady emailed jake wanting to see it!!  Jake spent 3 hours the next morning cleaning it up for her while i scowered the internet for vans...but she NEVER showed!!  Then just a few days later another man called and came to see it...he loved it...but didn't offer us a very good price so we turned him down (we weren't even REALLY trying to sell the car anyway;)  then that night another family came to see it!!  SO weird right!! 6 months on and off craigs list with no interest then 3 people in one week!!  Anyway, they loved it and made us a great offer so jake met him at his bank the next day (yesterday) and BOOM my car was sold!! Well thankfully I have always kept a 'cars' savings account through ING and had been saving for this 'someday' van for quite a while (that's obviously savings that is on top off the money we would get from our payed off car)... so of course my late afternoon was searching all over auto trader and Craigs list...i found 3 i seemed to like, 2 at one place in south Dallas and one RIGHT down the road at David McDavid Honda (a HUGE dealership here in the area). So around 4:30 yesterday afternoon we head down, though Dallas traffic to see these 2 vans that were in our price range that were AWFUL!! grr i was pretty discouraged and by this point it was getting late.  But we go see the one at the dealership and it was AMAZING!!!  we probably played the 'game' all wrong...even piper during the test drive was saying "Mommy my like it! can we take it home!?".  So after the test drive and the back and forth game to get the 'right price', and the explaining to about 8 people 'no, we do not want to finance, thank you' (ugggg i HATE it!) and one LARGE personal check later...we are officially a mini van family!!!

i told jake...now all we have to do is fill it up;)

remember when i was a workin' girl??

my senior year of college jake and i invested in a 'starter' camera...i really wanted to learn enough to be able to take good photos when we started having babies:)  that year for my birthday my mom payed for me to take a photography class at a local school and i FELL IN LOVE!!  i started BEGGING people to let me take photos of their kids and families just so i could get more and more practice...then all of a sudden people wanted to PAY ME to take their photos...what?!?  it was all kinda taking off ahead of me...i wasn't ready for that...i was just having fun...BUT we were also trying to get out of debt at the time so i though what an amazing opportunity that has seemed to just fall in my lap to help us get out of debt faster!!!  so i went to photo seminars, i went to a small business class in our city, bought some nicer equipment and traveled 4 hours a way to have a photography business bootcamp with a photographer i really admired.  Jake and i then set up a super cute website and i was set!!!  I started getting quite a few shoots a month and even some weddings! I was still working full time on top of taking photos, but i kinda thought this might be the perfect part time career once we have babies!  Well about a year into my business, jake and i come home from a doing a wedding in Texas(where i felt 'off' the whole weekend) and i found out i was pregnant!!  Totally exciting!....but i immediately start getting sick!  So sick that i would come home every evening from work lay down on the couch and not move until bed! Good thing that wedding was for a very good friend because it took me about 2 months to get her wedding edited and out to her!  I had to start turning down jobs because i was so sick...and i finally decided to 'take a break' from jobs and focus on growing this baby so i did my last wedding 7 months before piper was born, with full intentions to get back into it:)   weeeeellll i didnt:(  i got busy with babies....babies that i love so very much!  anyway all that to say...a few months ago Jared(our lead pastor) asked me to do some family photos for a church mailer and for Frisco Fields Church website!!!! i was so nervous!!! but i think they turned out ok!!

THEN....a few weeks ago a couple in our church who needed new headshots for their business asked ME to do them!!!  i assured them that i was totally out of practice and they could completely throw them out if they didn't like them!  well i guess they did because they are up on their website!  www.freshstartfrisco.com 

speaking of proud.....

LOVE YOU SISSY!!! click on the highlighted link to read her awesome break up letter.... ;)

Happy Birthday Papa Shu!....well yesterday ;)

we have started a great tradition of doing Christmas with my dad (papa shu) on his birthday(the 21st)....it is so wonderful because i get to see my dad on his birthday, we get a fun early Christmas, and it allows us to be able to have time to see everyone during Christmas! we had such a good time (dispite dad having a bit of a tummy bug:(....we had a great lunch, then took dad to cuppies & joe for a birthday cupcake then back home for presents!!! Piper got some great gifts, her favorite is the Aquadoodle!! she loves it! and i love it too because she can learn to "color" without mess!!

and my favorite gift was dave ramseys new board game "act your wage"! it.is.awesome. who ever gets out of debt first wins!!! dad wasent gone 5 minutes before we started playing it....i won of course ;)

LOVE YOU DADDY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

hand-me-down's from friends=

one happy momma!!!!....

wanting to do EVERYTHING all by herself....not so much ;)

home-made laundry soap...

thats right...you heard me...home-made laundry soap....we totally did it!...
this is what you need...
-Ivory bar soap
-Arm&hammer washing soda
-Borax
-essential oils (optional)
-bucket with air tight lid (lots of options at Lowes)

the goods...

1.grate one bar of ivory soap...

2.add soap to sauce pan...

3.add 6 cups of water, heat until soap melts...

1/2 cup of Borax

1/2 cup of washing soda

4.add borex and washing soda...let it dissolve...

5.Pour 4 cups of hot water into the bucket...
6.Add soap mixture to the bucket and stir...
7.Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups more water to the bucket...
8.Stir
9 add essential oils (optional)...we used lavender and tea tree oil...

10.Let soap sit for 24 hours before using it...it turn to a gel.

you only have to use 1/2 cup per load....this cost an average of $.71 for 2 gallons (64 loads)....thats right you heard me.... $.71!! boo-yah!

one mans trash...is another mans tresure...

we had a garage full of stuff that needed to GO....so we convinced our neighbors to join in and we had a garage sale this last weekend...it was really fun! jake and i both got a little sun...and thankfully piper took her longest nap ever! 2.5 hours!!!we dont have baby monitors (you really dont need them in a 1200sq ft house)...so we went old school and i just opened the window so i could hear when she woke up :) but when she was awake she LOVED talked to all the people and wanted to play with all the little ones that stopped by...ohhh yeah it was also nice to make a little cash :)

truck coma...

Jake drives a 1971 GMC truck...so its very old, rumble-y and bounce-y...so as you can imagine it doesn't take long for little lady to fall asleep when we ride in daddies truck :) it has been so beautiful lately that we have been switching the car seat over and cruising with the windows down for hours! I LOVE SPRING!!

woooo-hoooo!

we are tv stars!!! :) thanks to my friend Chellie for such a fun experience!!

Watch the clip *here*

watch it!!....

piper and i will be on channel 4 tomorrow night for the 6pm news segment...we will be during the "saving a buck" part....you better watch it!!! ;)

DO IT!!!

down the street...

to nan-nan's house we go!....


since we dont have cable....anytime my in-laws go on a trip we are always the first to offer to house/dog sit...we call it a "cable vacation":) we watch TLC, Food Network, and MTV till our hearts content! anyway so that is our spring break plans (ohh yeah with my 26th birthday mixed in too ;)....we will be home everyday (they live about 3 mintues away) to do weekly things like laundry and such...but i was just dying to use this super cute vintage suitcase i got for $2 at a garage sale like 4 years ago :) so we packed a few of pipers favorite things to take to nan's house ;)

i strive for family organazation....

and saving money!!! Since July when my job title changed to mommy/home economist i have tried to find as many ways possible to organize the running of our house hold and to save money. Our motto is..."Jake makes the money and Christy saves it" :) One of those things we did was subscribe to e-mealz for 3 months. E-mealz has truly saved us tons of money and more then anything it has actually organized our meal system...its amazing. But to add to that (and i totally stole this idea from my friend lauren...who stole it from her cousin liz:)...i put together a list of all our staple items that we need at the store frequently...i walked around target and walked from room to room in our home to make sure i listed everything :) i then laminated the list and we have it on our fridge...so anytime we run out of an item...want an item...or need an item...we just take our dry erase marker and check the box...so when its time to do our shopping everything is all ready to go and organized so i don't forget things or spend too much on impulse purchases;) pretty cool huh?!


I know its probablly totally old school and everyone reading this has some application on their iphone to accomplish the exact same thing...but a)i dont have and iphone:) and b)i am old school!

pipers diapers...

been doing diaper laundry today...just thought i needed to show the fruits of my labor :)....

ohhh this is also the fruit of my labor ;)

I am thankful for....

1.my best friend and love...jacob
2.my heart outside of my body...piper
3.the grace and forgiveness of my savior
4.two paid for working cars
5.pipers nap time
6.e-mealz
7.my super cute and cozy home
8.my parents happiness
9.dave ramsey
10.the dr.sears book series
11.pipers smile
13.piper and i's playgroup (aka...adult conversation)
14.moby wraps and slings
15.redbox
16.cloth diapers, breast milk, hand me down clothes...and everything else that makes having a baby cost practically nothing!
17.my sweet doggy...annabelle
18.midwives
19.modern family, afv, the office, the middle, big bang theory...
20.the fact that i have wonderful in-laws (and sister-in-law!!)
21.james taylor
22.jacobs job
23.white noise application on jakes iphone (it has saved us from a lot of screaming car rides)
24.the fact that i can easily stay at home with piper.
25.blogger...having so much of piper life documented is so amazing!
and much more then i could ever list....i am very blessed...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!!!

wipes recipe

we have officially used up all our disposable wipes from our shower and gifts...which has forced me to start using our cloth wipes :) which has turned out to be much much easier then I ever thought! We are using the kissaluvs organic wipes and are loving them so far! We have been only using water for the past week...but i know that Pipers little bum needs more for cleaning...so a friend of mine gave me a recipe we are going to try. If you have a different one that you love...please share!

2 TBSP Baby Wash (choose a natural wash!)
2 TBSP Olive Oil , tea tree oil, or baby oil
2 Cups water Mix well in a spray bottle or your wipes box. Spritz on wipe before using if in spray bottle. Swish solution around over wipes if using a wipes box.

cloth,cloth and more CLOTH!!! :)

our diaper stash.... :)

Kansas City trip...

seeing as we went to Kansas City, one of the first things we had to hit up was a local BBQ joint...pretty tasty!!!

of course we had to hit up jake and i's two favorite stores of all time....jake bought a super cute hat....i did really good and made it out of there with only the satisfaction that they did not take my money ;)


my travel reading material...Thanks Ali!!

super cute vintage/antique store we found while exploring Kansas City...

heather told me one time that green was the opposite color of purple(and vise versa) so here lately with all the planting we have been doing i have joked that i have a "purple thumb", instead of a "green thumb" since i still have SO SO much to learn....weeellll...i thought i made that phrase up....apparently i didnt!!!! We found this book in the store...

the GPS failed us...

...we got lost on the way to kemper arena to see dave ramsey


...but we found it and see im not the only crazy dave fan :) this is the line to get in, and it actually curved around behind this even longer!! we tried to take a few of him during the seminar, but our little point and shoot just wasent cutting it...if only we had the 30D with us....ohhh well.

jake took this as we were waiting for the elevator at our hotel...hey now there is proof that baby seaton went on this fun trip with us :) cant wait to meet you little one!!

woot woot! these billboards were all over town!