Halloween, Corn Maze & Pumpkins!

I love Halloween....the kids have a blast picking out their costumes, the family corn maze that has become a tradition, and carving pumpkins. Halloween decorations, the Family Fun Festival at the kids' school, and our trick or treating tradition. Ahhh....it just makes me smile!

So how did our October start? With Elli's Pumpkin Patch field trip to Wilson's Banner Ranch. The kids get to pick out a pumpkin, have an apple or pear, a glass of apple cider, and run through the maze. They love it!



Elli's pumpkin-she searched SUPER hard for the perfect one

Playing in the corn



She discovered she likes eating pears!





Our normal corn maze tradition hit a minor mishap when the big windstorms destroyed our corn maze in Lewiston. We had a last minute change in location and drove to Walla Walla for their corn maze. It was a fun change and their corn maze had lots of cool things ours doesn't...like tunnels, squishy ground, and bridges! The kids had a blast and we spent an hour wandering through the maze in the beautiful fall sunshine.

The middle of the maze

The kids were super excited about the tunnels



The middle of the maze...the barn is our destination

 

 

Then comes pumpkin carving day! The kids pick out their picture from the internet and Ray gets to be the artist to carve them. Elli's pumpkins this year were too small to actually carve so we got creative.....

 

 

Nicholas's Boo pumpkin

Sean's scary face



Elli's Snoopy Pumpkin-we found him at Goodwill!

 

Before we knew it, it was the end of the month and Halloween had arrived, we have a tradition of going to our friends house for dinner and then taking the kids throughout the neighborhood for Trick or Treating. Our neighborhood is pretty intense...one neighbor rents an outhouse, this year we had a neighbor with a DJ setup in their driveway, and very rarely do you knock on a door because people just sit in their driveways around firepits. The kids have a great time and it's a lot of fun. The kids get to pick out their costumes at the Goodwill Spooktacular sale and then we usually add onto them to make them more. This year, Elli picked hers out last year and was a Garden Fairy...we added some glitter to her hair and a glow-in-the-dark wand with a couple of flower barretts. The boys...we'll you will see for your self!

 

Our Garden Fairy

The Hulk

Mario

 

 

And now, thankfully we have a whole year to get ready for next year! (And to eat all of the candy!)













October Freebies

We'll not a very exciting month in the freebie world however, I'm already excited about November's Freebies! I also had a bummer of a freebie this month in the Christmas cards from Michael's...I was hoping that it wouldn't include a name on this inside sampler I recived yet....it had some weird randomness going on so, I will have to do some creative revamping to make a pretty "homemade" card with the ones that I recived for free.

So here's this month's picture!

 

25 4x6 picture prints - Walgreens $5.00

4 Christmas Card samples $12.50

Viscine-A eye drops $2.00

Vlasic Relish $0.98 ($0.02 MM)

Dove Conditioner $3.36

Colgate Total toothpaste $3.00

Schick disposable Razors $1.97 ($1.03 MM)

 

Samples by Mail

Snapple 16 K-Cup Lemon Iced Tea (won from a sweepstakes!)

Snapple 4 K-cup Peach Tea sample

Haircare sampler

 

 

That's a savings of $28.81 with a $1.05 moneymaker....not super exciting however, I did make some pretty good deals on groceries and am looking forward to starting with the Christmas/holiday shopping in November. The coupons have already started accumulating for our Spokane shopping weekend!

 

 

****Here's some tips to help you save money for those special treats! My ultimate goal at saving is another trip to Disney World. So far our savings have added up and I'm hoping that we'll be able to make it sometime in 2015.

     -Save your aluminum cans: I know that this sounds silly however, we've been doing this since we first started saving for our first Disney World trip in 2010. We go through A LOT of cans through a one year period. We save them and then on Earth Day we load up the car and take them to the recycling center where you get a little bit more for the aluminum during this time. We usually come home with close to an extra $30.00 and it feels good to help out the environment too!

     -Yearly yard sales: These do take some extra work however, you would be amazed at what you can collect by "recycling" your items in a good sale. Gather a couple of friends and make it extra big! We have a yearly tradition of our sale with some great friends and even our kids look forward to it. The important thing is to price everything...this takes time however, coming from somebody who loves sales, it sucks to pull up at a sale where nothing is marked and everything is just thrown in boxes or stacked on tables in piles. Take some pride, put all of the shoes in one area, give girl/women/boys/mens clothes their own sections, toys their own sections, housewares, etc...you get the idea. This makes it really easy for people to come in and shop. You will be pleastanly surprised at how much you can make in just a few hours. Another tip with yard sales is timing. Be prepared for early birds, they always show up. We've tried closing ours at different times and have discovered that a noon closing time is the best. After this time, your crowd will have dwindled and you don't really have any big sales. If you do have more than just yourself, give each of you a letter or your initials on your items (masking tape works great!) and make sure you have copy paper with columns for each of you. Easy to total up at the end. And don't forget to advertise your big items in your local communities most used paper for sales. Ours is the Moneysaver and we only advertise our bigger items and our name brand clothing. People watch for our sales and we try to word it similar every year so our "groupies" know that this is our sale! When our sale is done, I take any kids clothing of good quality to our local consignment shop and earn a little extra!

     -A spare change jar: We have our Mickey Mouse jar that we throw all of our spare change in. I also add rebates (yep, send in those rebates!), and a percentage of babysitting money that I may earn.

 

 

These may sound time consuming, the yard sale items and aluminum cans do take some spare room however, once you designate spots for these things you will be amazed at how much money you can earn. Good luck & if you have any tips please feel free to leave comments. I am always looking for tips to help save our way to Mickey Mouse!

 



August & September Freebies

Yep, you guessed it, I am again way behind in both my blogs! It seems like there just is not enough time in the day to do it all. The end of August & beginning of September was back to school stuff which totally threw off blogging for the August Freebies and thankfully, I'm not that far behind on the September Freebies. So here you go....two posts in one!

August Freebies

Despite planning a funeral, a 4 year old with mouth surgery, day to day activities, 4-H, getting the classroom ready for school, August turned out to be an okay month for the Freebie activities. Maybe I tried to throw myself into couponing to take my mind off the stress of Dad's death and all of the things that had to be done for his funeral and the insurance stuff on his motorcycle. Or maybe it was I knew that El's surgery was going to costs a small fortune and tried to plan ahead...Whatever the case may be, here is the list of August Freebies!

 

 

Bath & Bodyworks lotion $5.00

Friskies cat food $0.57

Manual pencil sharpener & Composition Book $2.68

BIC Razors $2.96 ($0.04 MM)

Cliff Bar $1.00

3M Medium Clear Hook $0.99

Reach toothbrush twin pack $2.99 ($0.50 MM)

2 BIC mechanical pencils 5 pack $1.00 ($1.00 MM)

Hammermill Copy Paper $6.99

Mentos Gum $0.99

Samples by Mail

Purina dog food

Uberliss haircare products

BioTrue contact solution

 

So, that brings August to a $25.17 freebie month with a moneymaker of $1.54. Not to bad considering all that was going on....So here's onto September!

 

September Freebies

This month started off pretty good with a cute pair of sandals from Famous Footwear! Yes, they are slightly too big (by maybe half a size or so...) however, when you are limited on shoe selection in this valley, and apparently it's even more limited when you wear a size 5 and all of the stores like to carry women's shoes starting at a 6, beggars can't be choosers. So, here is a picture of my cute new sandals that were regularly priced at $60.00 and marked down several times to only $5.00! Pair that with a coupon for $5.00 off a purchase of $5.00 or more and what do you get? Free sandals!

 

And then off course there was the rest of the freebies for the month!

 

Beech Nut Fruities $.94

McCormick Recipe & Seasoning Mix $1.64 ($.36 MM)

Pepsi Max $.99

Bath & Bodyworks Amber Blush eau de toilette $3.00

Planters Nut-rition Energy Mix $.99

Samples by Mail

Kirkland baby wipes, surface wipes & daily facial towlettes

Purina Beneful dog food & treats

Various hair care products

Brew Over Ice Keurig sample pack

 

Not a great month, only $12.56 in freebies and $.36 in moneymakers. October is already looking promising on being a better month and we are only on day 3! Here's hoping that your October is frightfully scary on the bargins!



 





A Wonderful Gift

What a summer we had, and not one that I would wish on anybody. On July 5th my Dad was in a motorcycle accident. He wasn't wearing a helmet which resulted in serious head trama and a LifeFlight ride to the hospital. Dad spent a week in the ICU in a coma and was unresponsive after the first day. He passed away on July 13th. We were blessed that we had a week to say good-bye and to tell him we loved him; not everybody has that gift. During the following weeks, we had the funeral to plan (which was on August 17th), a benefit dinner to help with medical expenses, the bike had to be taken to the repair shop to get to get an estimate of repairs-which also resulted in the side of our car being dented up, an obituary to write, a slide show for the funeral to prepare, and so many other things that just kept building up. In addition to all of this, my Grandfather had a hip replacement, my Step-Mom got an infection in her leg, Elli had to have a minor surgery done on the inside of her lip, and it just get going and I was beginning to think it was never going to stop.

Thankfully, I have some pretty amazing friends both through work and outside of work and I know that without them, their prayers, and their support, I would have been in much worse shape than I was. I have always believed in the power of prayer and have always known that God listens and is their when you  need him....this summer I truly felt the power of prayer and the strength and comfort that came from all of the prayers. The gift of prayer and support from these truly amazing friends was above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined and yet, they still continued to give. They pooled together and gave Ray, me, and the kids, a wonderful (& very much needed) day at Silverwood. It was definately a tear-jerker moment when the kids came running up to me with this beautiful gift box and a card and many "Mom, what is it!" "Mom, open it!" While reading this beautiful card and after opening the gift box, the tears started falling and just wouldn't stop. We enjoyed this wonderful, and very generous gift, over Labor Day weekend.

We started Sunday morning off by getting the kids up and going...planning outfits with shorts that would dry quickly and comfortable sandals (at least for the kids & I, Ray opted for jeans and tennis shoes). The bag of swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen was packed just in case we decided to hit the water park. The jackets were thrown in along with the camera. And the whole time the kids were trying to guess where we were going. The whole way there it was a constant chatter of them trying to guess where we were going with a lot of "I think we're going to Catalog!" (From an Elizabeth who was trying to say Kellogg) and a Nicholas with a lot of "Oh yeah, I know this road, I think we're going to Kellogg." And finally the "If one more kid asks where are we going, they aren't going!" (That would be from the Daddy). The best was when we came upon Silverwood and the boys started getting all excited, "Yeah! Silverwood!" and then the Mom with the "Wouldn't it be so cool if we were going there?" and the look in their eye as they pondered whether Mom was teasing or being for real. The cheers from the backseat as we took the exit and pulled into the parking lot were priceless. So, here are a few pictures of the wonderful gift that we recived from many special people.

The First Day 2013

Oh my, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that Nicholas was starting his first day of playschool and now....now he's a 4th grader, Sean is in the 2nd grade, and Elizabeth is in her second year of preschool. And all three of them have such amazing teachers who are going to challenge them and excite them with new educational opportunities.

We'll start with the oldest...Nicholas. Nicholas has the year of Idaho History, with exciting field trips like St. Gertrude's Monastary in Cottonwood and the big boat trip up river. He is also joining choir this year and is so excited. With a wonderful teacher who loves technology, he will also get the opportunity to have an email address that will be used with Google Chrome to complete homework assignments. A year full of wonderful adventures and exciting opportunities, and I am so proud of him and so excited for him. (And he looks so grown-up!)

 

 

Then, there is the Runt...are Sean who is not a little Runt anymore and is a typical little 7-year old 2nd Grader. This is a big year for him in the Catholic community; the year of First Reconciliation and First Communion. We are so blessed that the teacher he has this year is definately full of God's Love which she shares with each one of her "kids." She makes this experience so special for them and truly loves sharing this moment with the children. He loves school and all of the exciting things he will experience this year; in addition to his First Reconciliation and First Communion, he will get the year of the bug! Every year in the 2nd Grade, Mrs. Edmundson takes her class to the bug museum at the University of Idaho, where the kids have the opportunity to hold some pretty cool bugs and look at thousands of dead bug species. I was fortunate to attend this field trip with Nicholas's class and to experience it first hand....it's really cool!

And that leaves the youngest...The Poop! Or Elizabeth as she is known by at school :-) She is beginning her last year of preschool and her last year with Mom as one of her teachers. I don't know if I'm ready for her to grow into Kindergarten....My baby is no longer a baby; she's a 4 year old with attitude and a love for learning. This year I know she is going to grow leaps and bounds and I'm hoping that she might start sounding out words by the end of the year. (A Mom can dream too.) Right now, we'll just focus on her making her Z's the right way!

 

 

Well, that's the first day of school and the adventures that await Nicholas, Sean, & Elizabeth this year. We are so blessed that All Saints Catholic School will be there to lead their educational journey with the fabulous teachers and staff. Here's to the many blessings and the wonderful kiddos that Ray & I have....



 

 

 



Elizabeth's Tangled Party

This year for the big 4th Birthday, Elizabeth choose to have a Tangled party. This was also the first year where she didn't have the "family party" and went straight for the "friend party." Talk about a fun party to plan for! And a tremendous amount of "Thank Goodness for Pinterest!" I'm one of those type of people who come up with all of these great ideas, find lots of stuff, and then at the last minute it all comes together. Moving it to the backyard was a complete last minute idea....

This was a last minute idea, and I was actually finishing it up when the first guest arrived (granted they were a half hour early but, I still felt kind of like I was running around like a crazy Mom!)

 

 

The cake....Elizabeth picked this one out from a Pintrest picture and then I made my own adjustments to make it more ours. Elizabeth choose the flowers for her cupcakes from Michael's (yep, fake flowers). The roof of the tower was a sugar cone that I frosted, the tower itself is made from mini donuts, the door and the windows are construction paper glued on to the cupcake wrapper, and we completed it with a braid made from yellow yarn. Elizabeth loved it, which always makes all of the time, thought, and creativity to make it all work, totally worth every minute! 

 

 

 

There were hanging lanterns....

 

 

Some Princess crown making....

 

 

 

A handsome Prince...

 

And lots of wonderful friends...

 

 

As you can see from the smiling little girl in the blue shorts with the purple crown, Elizabeth had a wonderful birthday. She loved seeing all of her friends from school, and her cousins Brenna & Mason...And once again, Mommy had the best time planning for this beautiful little girls birthday.



June and July Freebies

Well, now that August is half over, I thought I would share with you the Freebies from June & July....things have been a little bit crazy in the Remacle household for the past month and a half...can you tell? 

June

 

Schick Hydro Silk Razor $5.97

Colgate Toothpaste $1.00

Secret Deoderant $1.00

Folgers Instant Coffee $1.00 ($0.50 MM)

Kotex Sample (not pictured)

Fancy Feast sample

 

Yep, that makes for a very boring total of $8.97 in freebies & a $0.50 moneymaker for the month of June. Between both Nicholas and Sean's baseball games and practices the month of June was pretty exhausting and I wasn't too motivated to coupon shop. However, July was a much better month and I racked up some great freebies!

 

July 

 

Colgate Toothpaste $.99

Lance Xtra Full crackers $2.78

Vlasic Relish $.98 ($.02 MM)

3 Starbucks Refreshers $3.00

2 Bird Eye Ready Reciepes $2.00

Butterball Turkey Bacon $1.00

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy shampoo $4.99

Reach Toothbrush $2.99

Tena Pads $4.97

Always Pantiliners $.94 ($.06 MM)

Gillette Proglide Razor $7.97 ($.03 MM)

Staples Paper Ream $6.99

BIC ballpoint pens (2pack) & BIC White-Out (2pack) $1.00 ($.50 MM)

2 rulers, 2 pack pink erasers $.99

Reach Toothbrush (2pack) $2.99

2 John Freida Frizz-Ease products $3.00

Reach Dental Floss $.97 ($.03 MM)

Cliff Bar (mail sample)

Wildflower seeds (mail sample)

Maxwell House Coffee (mail sample)

 

See, much better! That's a total of $47.04 in savings for the month of July, and a total of $.64 for moneymakers. I was a little bit more motivated in July and needed my coupon matching to take my mind off of other stuff. This was my therapy....

 

Also, wowzers, just got my All You magazine in the mail today & I was pretty excited. One of the coupon blogs that they referred to in one of the articles was Couponing to Disney, a blog about a lady who uses her savings to help fund their yearly trip to Disney World. You can guarantee that I added her to my favorite folders!





Surprise: Kellogg Memorial Day Trip

Ok, so I know that I'm only a few months behind on this post however, when we surprised the kids with this trip, I started it out knowing I wanted to write a blog post on it. Then, life happened and so now you have it!
A few weeks before Memorial Day (yep, the one in May...), Ray and I plotted out a surprise trip for the kids. We had never been and had heard so many wonderful reviews about it. Thus, we made the reservations and when Saturday of Memorial Day hit, we loaded the kids up in the car and said we are leaving town for the night. They begged and pleaded and wanted to know where we were going...our only response was "You'll have to wait and see!" It started off right away with excitement when we hit Kenderick and got stopped for the parade. Apparently, they were having some big festival, complete with a parade. Lucky for us, we got there just as the parade was finishing and found ourselves going through the parade route as soon as they opened the highway. It felt like we were part of the parade! The kids thought it was pretty cool.

 

 

Then it was off to Kellogg! We stopped in St. Maries for a yummy Zip's lunch (I love Zip's) and to use the bathroom...very important with three kids. As we drove into Kellogg, the kids started getting really excited, especially when we showed them the water slides on the outside of the building. Then, we told them we weren't staying there, we were staying at the motel across the street. You can only imagine what our car sounded like after that announcement! Anyway, we pulled into the Silver Mountain Lodge, got checked into our "mini apartment" and headed to the water park for a little play time before church.

The boys were in awe of the body surfing and went straight for that...I think Nicholas lived on that thing the whole time we were there!

 

 

        Seanie trying out bodysurfing!

 



 

 

Nicholas and his first run with bodysurfing!





 

        Elli went for the water structure 

 

 

After a couple of hours playing at the water park it was time to head back to the room for some snacks and cleanup before church. The kids were excited to get back from church to explore around our room, have pizzas, and then invade the firepits that are located around the resort for s'mores. It was a great night and we had the perfect location...right outside our room was the play area and the entrance to the water park, and the pizza place was right around the corner.

 

A little chess and some play time while we were waiting for the pizza 

 

 

Obviously after that, they were pretty wore out!

 

 

The next day was 8 hours of waterpark fun...(not sure what happened to the camera on these ones)

 

And we even had to have a time out...somebody learned that you just can't run to the Lily Pad toddler area without telling Mom & Dad. Wanna talk about a panic attack! Elli was playing on the slides in the water structure, I was standing in the middle of the water structure and the body surfing area watching Nicholas & Elli, Ray and Sean had just left for the lazy river and I turned around to wave to Nicholas, letting him know where I was, when I turned back around to check on Elli, she wasn't there! Phew, we found her happily playing on the slides in the toddler area. Needless to say, there were tears when Mommy took her back to the towels for a time out.

 

After a full day of playing, and ice cream sundaes at McDonalds, it was time to head home....with the promise we would come back someday!