I Heart Publix

I made my mid-week Publix run on 2/25/10. I was pretty impressed with what I got this trip! Here is a picture and breakdown of my spoils:

Two family sized boxes of Golden Grahams
Two Right Guard deoderants
Three cans of Hunt's tomato sauce
Two cans of Planters peanuts
One box of Fiber One bars
Two blocks of Kraft cheese
One Pam Grill spray
One McCormick garlic powder
One 16 count Solo plastic cups
One large bag of Mahatma rice
Guess how much? I was really proud of this one.... $10.71! I love coupons! For those of you who want to know where and how I know about all these great deals, check out a few of my favorite sites:
http://www.time2saveworkshops.com/ - This is my go-to favorite
http://www.iheartpublix.com/ - another great site... but not as well laid out as Time2Save
http://www.southernsavers.com/ - a great site... full of all kinds of freebies/ cheapies

My Wish for You...William Scott Parish turns 15 months old today!

Our little Scotty P is now 15 months old. Where did the time go? I know it will keep going faster and faster, but some days I wish time would just stand still. He has grown into such a little boy. It seems only yesterday I held him in my arms for the very first time. What a gift from God. Those of you who know our story understand and sympathize with what we have gone through to have our healthy and happy little boy. And here he is now... climbing on everything and running as fast as can be.

I want so much for my beautiful son. I want him to grow up feeling loved and secure. I want him to have faith in God and be kind to others. I want him to be non-judgemental and willing to help his fellow man. I want him to not only be book-smart, but also smart about the way of the world, without getting caught up in it. I wish for him to be blessed with what makes him happy. I hope that one day he will find his soul mate and be blessed with children of his own. I hope he lives a long, healthy, and full life.

So here is to you, Scotty P! Today celebrates your life and the life that you have left to live. I cherish my days with you and will promise to do my best to always keep you safe and secure.

Our Trip to the Biltmore

First of all, if you have never been to the Biltmore--go! It is an amazing experience. And it is possible to do in a weekend if you live close enough. I believe it took us about 6 hours to get there. This was our first long weekend trip leaving Scotty at home. He was around 7-8 months old and stayed with my mom. It was nice for us to take a little trip but not be too far away. We went in the summer and the weather was fabulous... not too hot and full sunshine!
Our first night we stayed at the Grove Park Inn, which was a gift from my step-father GR. His parents had stayed there on their honeymoon. This is such a beautiful place. We arrived there later in the day and quickly got checked into our room. The room was very well appointed, complete with nice robes in the closet and the most comfortable bed EVER! We explored the grounds some (it was dark) and then went to one of the fine dining restaurants. What a wonderful experience!

The next morning we had the best breakfast buffet EVER at the Grove Park Inn. I wish I had a picture showing all the wonderful delicacies that were laid out for everyone. Once our bellies were full we set out to explore the gorgeous grounds of the Inn before our first day at The Biltmore. The Inn opened in 1913 and has hosted such guests as: George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George H. W. Bush, just to name a few. The grounds are very well maintained, lush, and inviting.

Once we had walked off our breakfast, we decided to head to our main destination... George Vanderbilt's Biltmore. This beautiful estate is still in the family to this day. And thankfully, they have opened their doors to us all. The doors first opened in 1895, after six years of construction. The home itself covers four acres of floor space. There is an indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, servants quarters, and gymnasium in addition to all the living space. Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside. The land surrounding the home was originally 125,000 acres (now only 8,000). The whole expanse of land was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same man who designed Central Park in New York. When the estate was new, the land around it was very barren and not much use for anything. However, Olmsted had such a grand plan that what we see now was planned by him over one hundred years ago. Now, the estate features lush forests, and carefully planned out gardens. (I am going to mention here that I love photography...especially of pretty scenes or details of flowers, etc. So you will be seeing a lot of pictures that show this).

This was our first view of the beautiful home. How marvelous! Like a hidden jewel tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina. As we traveled down a walkway from the parking area, we began to see such pretty details as a statue of a little angel. She seems to be in her own little corner of the world. What a treasure!

We decided to just tour the grounds the first day (of course there was no way we would see it all)...There are so many different trails, all leading to a new special section filled with beauty.

We LOVED looking at all the plants and trees. One of the first plants that caught our eye was a trumpet creeper. If you know what they normally look like, you will be amazed at this one. It must be original to the home, dating back over a century perhaps. The base was bigger than any I had ever seen!

The conservatory is nestled close to several planned gardens. The roses were in full bloom, as were a variety of other beautiful and colorful flowers.

We ended up eating lunch at the Stable Cafe. Turns out, the cafe was the old stable! Go figure! :) But it really was beautiful and they had delicious food.

The next day we came back and toured the home, some more of the grounds, and the winery. What a lovely mini-vacation. And included a lesson in American History as well. I hope you enjoyed the small recap of our trip, as well as my photo journal.

Rock on! Journey! For baby!!

I have discovered something that I think is pretty cool! I don't know how many of you parents out there listen to the same lullabyes over and over, night after night while putting the kiddos to sleep. Now, don't get me wrong... I love all music. So, those classic standbys are, and always will be that... classic. BUT, there is something extra exciting out there! There is a series from Rockabye Baby that takes classic rock bands and turns their music into lullabye fare. This is great for the parents too! I have the Journey and the Coldplay CD. I even enjoy taking the CD's in the car for little Scotty P to listen to... I end up singing along in my head. There are so many bands to choose from... Queen, Metallica, The Cure, AC/DC, The Eagles, Aerosmith.... The first time I heard of this I laughed out loud... But think about it... sheer genius!! Something that the parents and kids can all enjoy!
I encourage everyone to check it out.... you can go to their website and listen to samples HERE!

To my mom:

I had lunch with my dear mother today.  How can I express the deep bond of love that we share?  We always laugh when we hear people talk about the "teenage years" and how that was so terrible between some mothers and daughters.  We never had that.  My mom has always been open and honest with me and I have always been the same.  I feel as if I can tell my mom anything.  And I often do.  We all have different relationships with people in our lives.  We have our husbands, friends, co-workers, etc.  But I don't believe there is any relationship like the one with your mom.  I know not everyone has a close relationship with their mom.  But this is my post!  :)  Each relationship is different.  I love my husband beyond measure.  But there are things that I share with my mom that he probably doesn't know about (not intentionally of course... I have nothing to hide!).  But mom has been there with me forever.  And I am so grateful to have such a generous, gentle soul to have raised me and guided me on my path in life.  I don't believe that I would have turned out the same without her influence.  She is a godly woman.  However, her godliness is not loud and opposing; rather a gentle example of how a spiritual life should be lived.  And she has fun doing it!  She always brings a smile to my face and a song to my heart.  So here is to you, mom!  Thanks for sharing your life and love with me!

Monday Musings

Well, it's Monday. And it is dreary outside. What more can be said? Work today has been pretty slow. But I did go grocery shopping on my lunch break. Here is the picture of my spoils!



I got:
2 - 60 fl oz All detergent
2 - 60 fl oz Wisk detergent
2 - Hunt's Pudding Snack Packs
2 - Dole bags of salad
3 - cherry chapstick
1 - package of Healthy One's turkey sandwich meat
2 - pouches of Starkist Tuna
2 - large Reach Dental Floss

Only $14.55 including tax! I was so proud of this one! I love saving money!

The weekend and loss of memory

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous... high 60's and sun! I worked until 6pm on Friday and then worked on Saturday from 9-12. After work, we went out and .... hmmm.... honestly, I can't remember... This is either from getting old, or from having a 14 month old. Or both. I know Saturday night Den didn't feel well so he went to bed early. I stayed up until 11pm (gasp!). Sunday morning I slept until 12:30...this is something that hasn't happened in years. I feel bad that most of the day was wasted. We ended up eating lunch at Ruby Tuesday... it was the worst experience ever. Service was terribly slow and the food wasn't very good. But nothing was going to get me down! The weather was beautiful and I was out and about with my family. Later that night, once we put little Scotty P to bed, we watched the last episode of Fringe until April! Will I be able to make it? I hope so!

Scotty P's First Birthday Party

Scott's first birthday was November 26, 2009. We had a celebration at our house on November 22. Just family and close friends. The weather was perfect and we were able to put tables outside and grill. Here are some of the highlights of the festive day and a short video of Scott completely leveling the cake! We are so blessed to have him in our lives!

Awwwwww.. Scotty is eating....

My brother (Karl) and Dennis and I always laugh about people being so ga-ga over babies (and who wouldn't be... they are awfully cute). But it is so funny to hear people do the Awwwww thing. Awwwww... look he is sleeping. Awwwwww.... look he is playing. Awwww look.... he is breathing. Funny stuff. Well, this is my Awwwwww... look, Scotty is eating moment.

This was the first time that Scotty actually fed himself with a spoon the whole time. Too cute. At the beginning, he seems a little confused as he tells me that he is indeed NOT feeding himself. Hopefully he will not be confused his whole life! However, this is a breakthrough and a constant struggle. He is learning his independence and does not like us to feed him anymore. This can be really hard with such things as peas and carrots. They slide off the spoon as soon as he moves it. This causes hair pulling tension from mommy and daddy as we try to wrestle with his independence vs. him not eating! Pray for us all. And thank God for Goldfish. He can pick those up and feed himself and then we are all happy! This video was taken Monday, February 15, 2010. Enjoy!

In the words of The Fifth Dimension....

..... Last Night I Didn't Get to Sleep At All.... no... noooooo...

But seriously, I maybe got a few hours. I don't know what happened but I kept coughing, then tossing and turning, then I could hear Scotty coughing... it just wasn't working for me! But I digress...

My friend Tanya has inspired me to start my blog again. At the same time, I have no idea of what I will write and then I also have so much to say! The first few blogs here will be playing catch-up from the last year or two. I promise to post many pictures and make the blog as enjoyable as possible.

I believe my last post was in September of 2009. Since then, Scotty P has grown soooo much. He is now running everywhere and babbling incessantly. He is keeping Dennis and me on our toes! I am still with the same job and LOVE it. What a blessing to be able to go to work every day with people you love and a job you love to do. Now that I am sitting here typing, I am realizing my life seems kinda simple and boring! But it's what I have been given and I love it. Dennis and I went to the Biltmore for a mini-vacation last year and my mom kept Scotty P. We had a great time and are looking forward to visiting Savannah and Charleston this spring.

One of my new loves is couponing. I don't know if anyone out there does it, but you totally should! It does take some time but is so worth the money you save! My most recent Publix run is shown here:


On this trip I bought:
3 (28oz) cans of Hunts tomatos
4 cans of Progresso soup
2 jars of Classico pasta sauce
1 box of Mueller's pasta
1 container of Crisco EVOO
1 large (214 count) bag of Huggies baby wipes
2 small (80 count each) bags of Publix baby wipes
1 Johnson's and Johnson's baby bath wash
1 bag Fresh Express salad
1 (4pack) of Yoplait Delights yogurt
Guess how much?? Can you guess?? Is the suspense killing you?? :) Ok, I got all that for $21.63 including tax. Not bad at all! Now granted, I believe this is how much groceries should cost anyway, before coupons... but unfortunately with a family of three, I feel like I need to take another mortgage out on the house just to feed us monthly!! And we all LOVE to eat!
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Donations?