Clearance!!!

I love clearance shopping! Love it! I spent $28 at Kohls yesterday and saved over $100. I went in looking for a bday present for Luis and noticed that kids had TONS of clearance. I decided to look for clothes for Jackson for the fall because he starts kindergarten!!! Fun! I loved the shirts... can you tell I like stripes, they just look so grown up! I paid $4 per shirt, except for the sweater. That was $6. And they are really good quality. Thick fabric. I am so happy about that! I shouldn't have to buy him any shirts for school! I also go a pair of jeans at target for $5 (they are this unusual rust color... but they are cute on him) and a pair of blue jeans at walmart for $6... This is the best season to shop! Everything is marked down! He is already too big for his size 5 shirts, so I bought him size 7. He will be 6 years old in November and I would love for him to wear them for 2 winters. He tried on the sweater and it is so adorable! Fits just fine!

And this is what happens to Jackson's pants. Almost all of his pants have holes. He loves to roll around and slide on the ground so his pants and socks get so torn up. It drives me crazy! Can you see the big vertical tear in his pants? There are 2 layers and the outside layer is completely ruined. I think he probably was sliding on the carpet and got caught in one of the little nails in the metal carpet strip. That's the only thing I can think of.

Pictures of Grandma!

Years ago Aubry gave me this really cool photo book that collapses to look like a present. It is so cute. I haven't opened it in probably a year! I did today and found pictures of Grandma!!! What a fun surprise! I forgot about them! Thanks Aubry for making this for me!

Jacob Funny

We have the blu-ray/dvd combo of WALL-E... which my boys LOVE! I usually put in the blu-ray so they are used to that intro. Well today I put in the dvd and it has a different intro/previews/home screen... They were very upset because it was different and they were worried the movie would be different. I explained that this is the dvd and the other is the blu-ray. Jacob said "No, this is the pink-ray!" Love the way their minds work!

vday update

I tried to fit so much in that last post that I forgot to say what Luis did for me for Valentine's day. He surprised me with flowers and chocolates and Twizzlers! I thought it was funny that Aubry also got Twizzlers. Luis sure does understand my sweet tooth!

New stuff

I know it's late, but happy Valentine's day. Luis was gone so I had a fun day with the boys. I got them little valentine cards and some conversation hearts. They really liked that and they ate the whole tube that day! We also got cards in the mail from G and G Gibson. Perfect timing. It had one dollar for each of the boys and they were thrilled. They were begging me to take them to the store so they could buy some candy. We went the next day and Jax picked out some heart lollipops and Jake picked some Hershey's treasures... that's chocolate! They both got a whole bag since everything was discounted the day after. Lucky ducks! (And Mommy got a box of chocolates :) Luis got home on Friday night so we celebrated Vday then. I made him snickerdoodles, which he has been craving. It was my first attempt at making this cookie ever and I think they turned out great! I was tempted to dye them pink like Kaylee but I didn't! And in the morning I let Luis watch cartoons in bed with the boys while I made a surprise Vday breakfast... again, a first attempt. Strawberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast!!! It was so good! Jake loved it and Jax even ate it, with some coaxing... I got the recipe from Annie's Eats. It's a keeper. Jackson got new bed sheets. Jake cut his finger and got blood all over Jackson's sheets and they were pretty old, so I thought it might be time they become the backup sheets. I had a $10 off of $10 coupon at JC Penney so we found a set of microfiber sheets for $12. So we ended up paying $2 and some change :) Jackson chose the color. It's hard to see but it is a pale green. He really likes them. It's always fun to get new things! Silvia gave me the quilt kit she has had for years at Christmas and I just finished it. It is a baby quilt size. I found a VERY big error in the pattern, which caused some frustrations, but oh well. They also didn't send the exact fabric from the picture so it turned out not to match very well. Anyway, this is the finished quilt. It was fun to try applique for the first time. And how handsome are these boys!?!?!? I love combed over hair! Also... I have to say how proud I am of Luis. He is so passionate about education... For example... here are his degrees/certifications... not counting the Masters of Human Resources he is working on or his Masters certificate in contracting for his current employer... Versus... My one degree :) I love my educated man!

Jackson Funny

Jax just turned to me and said, "Ice cream is my favorite meal!" Sounded too funny not to share!

Family Pics in Charlotte

When we were in Charlotte for Christmas we took family pictures... it had been a while since we were all together. It was a fun experience but unfortunately it is hard to get all of us to be photogenic in the same shot :) There are some really cute pics though. Liz used her awesome camera and before we left she put them all on our computer. So here are some of those pics. Jacob having a breakdown... and we were just beginning!

Luis and Alan's flirty picture... one of my favorites!

Luis looks like a psycho! And Jax put his glasses like that on purpose!!!

Luis being worshipped :)

Losing weight!

I am so proud of Luis! He has been working so hard at losing weight. He is doing a weight loss competition at work! He is so close to winning... it is a 10 week challenge and I think it's been going on for 4 weeks so far. We bought a bike trainer and he rides his trainer in our room almost every day, sometimes 2x a day. He watches episodes of Lost while he rides. He and his dad got into that show over Christmas. He has been dieting too. He is doing really well. We have been having soup 3 or 4 nights a week. We've been eating a lot of southwest chicken too and fruit and veggies and yogurt. Very low carb. He gets one cheat day because we read that it actually aids weight loss and keeps good thyroid function or something like that. It seems to be working! I was surprised last week when Luis came to me and said he wanted a bowflex. We had one when we lived in CA but didn't use it very much. He found a guy in Belleville that wanted to make a trade. So... I couldn't believe this... Luis traded a watch and his tablet for the bowflex! I said I didn't care because it's his stuff... if he wants to trade he can. But I was shocked that he traded a WATCH! That man loves watches... like his children! I was actually very proud of him. He is so motivated to get in great shape, so of course I am supportive of the bowflex. We go to the Y together on Saturday and use the ellipticals. So, once warmer weather comes he can start using his bowflex in the garage, where he has a nice little gym set up! Just got word of today's weigh in! He has lost a total of 11.2 lbs!!! Go Luis!