Summer Cut

Even though summer is halfway over, Camryn got a summer haircut today! She just needed something a little shorter and cooler to get her through the rest of the hot months. Don't worry - we'll probably grow it out again until next summer! But, I think her new haircut is pretty adorable!

Before:

After:

Travelin'

Last week was busy! Camryn and I went to Pinehurst to visit my dad for a few days at the beginning of the week. It was nice spending time with him, doing a little shopping, and eating at the great local places there. We got home late Wednesday afternoon, did a couple loads of laundry, and then packed our bags again to head out to Anderson for a few days. As always, we had fun in Anderson - hit up a few favorite restaurants, relived "the good ol' days" at the Hammetts' pool, and went on a group date with Jim & Stacy, Allen & Kelli, and Jeff & Sarah Ellen. The best babysitter of all time, Emily, kept our kids safe and sound at home while we had a kid-free night at a place Jim & Stacy introduced us to called Four Seasons (in Belton, SC, all of places!) Chicken gumbo, a great steak, and free dessert for first-timers ... it doesn't get much better than that! And, although I say it over and over, it always goes without saying that we always have a great time, always enjoy catching up, always eat too much, and always are sad to say goodbye!

We stuffed the fellas in the back of the van on the way to Four Seasons - good thing they're comfortable with each other!

The three lovely ladies

These two are inseparable!

Pretty picture of SE!

Sarah Ellen & Kelli laughing about the kids. This picture makes me wonder exactly how closely Emily was watching those kids ... Camryn looks a little tipsy!

And the rest are just fun shots from hanging out the rest of the night!

During all of our running around, Camryn also developed a cough. We swung by the pediatrician's office on the way to Anderson and got the verdict that it was just a bronchial irritation. So, back to the breathing treatments we go ... I think we are just destined to do those things for the rest of eternity, unfortunately. She seems to be doing a little better, but we can never go longer than 6 months without some sort of cough!

We were so tired when we got home Saturday but still had one more fun stop to make on Sunday evening! Yesterday was my father-in-law's birthday. We headed down to Columbia for the evening to celebrate at Red Robin (where there was, of course, the special birthday song from the Red Robin crew!) and visit for a little while with Jason's family.

We so enjoy living close and having Sunday nights free so we can be a part of family stuff like this! On the schedule for this week - REST!

Are You Ready For This?

Here are the details of my CVS trip today. I started with $20 ECBs and $1 ECB I had leftover from deals the previous week. This week, CVS had a Febreze deal - earn $5 ECB for every $10 worth of Febreze products you bought. On top of that, this week's coupon insert had great Febreze coupons! So, I got:

4 Febreze Noticeables at $6.50 = $26.00
3 Febreze Air Effects at $3.00 = $9.00
3 Febreze Fabric Refresher at $5.00 = $15.00
Total: $50.00

Used $5 off $25 coupon (from the CVS coupon kiosk in the store)
Used 4 $4.00 off Noticeables coupon
Used 3 FREE Air Effects coupon (when you bought Fabric Refresher)
Used $20 ECB from last week

Total: $0
Out of pocket expense: $2.00 (the tax)
That transaction earned me another $25.00 in ECB.

There were some other things I wanted to buy that could earn some ECB's, so I used my newly earned $25 ECB's to get:

3 CVS brand tape at $1.49 = $4.47
2 Dove hairspray which was BOGO at $4.79
2 Cover Girl Foundations at $8.49 = $16.98
1 CVS contact solution at $8.49

Used another $5 off $25 purchase (from CVS coupon kiosk)
Used 2 $1 off Dove hair care coupons
Used a $2 off 2 Cover Girl products coupon
Used $1 ECB from previous week
Used $25 ECB from Febreze deal

Total ... they owed me $0.27 before tax!
Out of pocket expense: $0.03!
And, I only paid $0.02 because I had two pennies and the cashier wouldn't let me break a $5 over one penny!

Overall totals:
My out of pocket expense: $2.02
After sales, CVS card savings, coupons, and ECB's, my total savings today - are you ready for this? $103.09

WOW!

And, the best part ... I still have $4.47 ECBs and $5 ECBs from the tape and Cover Girl purchases for the next time I shop.

I think that was a great way to go out! I am putting myself on a self-imposed 3 week coupon hiatus. I am starting to feel a little burned out, and I need to take a break. For the past 4 months, I have chased coupon deals so much that I just need to take some time off. Some weeks I have chased deals at up to 6 stores, so it can definitely feel like another job at times. I have our meals planned all the way up through July 31 (it does help that we will be traveling for two weeks during that time!), so I don't have an immediate need to shop for any food other than milk each week. I think this is a great time to take a little break so I can come back refreshed and ready to hunt for deals once again! I think when I start back, I will be cutting back to 3 stores, tops. I can't chase every deal every time. I've told myself I'm not even going to look at the ads or coupon site deals during these next 3 weeks, but we'll see how that goes. I already found out there are ECB deals on Oil of Olay and the type of razor Jason uses starting next Sunday at CVS, so I may have to get back into the game just long enough to make a trip for those two things! See ... I can't stay away too long!

Camryn's Secret Recipe

If you're looking for a great go-to meal for a Thursday night, Camryn has a delicious, completely original recipe for Chocolate Soup. It's a top secret recipe, but we're all friends here, so I'll share. Take a handful of french fries, add a few potato chips, and add exactly two chocolate brownies. Mix well and put in the oven to warm - the amount of time you leave it in the oven just depends on your mood that day. Today we put it in the oven and counted to 40, and it was just perfect. She's tried variations - one day she added green peas, another day she put in some yellow cake mix, but we tend to like the original recipe best! Enjoy!

Because I Know You're All Dying To See More Pictures Of My Sweet Nephew . . .

Last night we had supper with Justin, Lindsay, and Keller. We had a fun time hanging out with them, and of course, I'm always happy when I get to hold the baby! Here are some new pictures of that sweet little boy!