Deals

Everyone who knows me, knows I love a great deal. My sister in law, Aly, thinks that I am like the deal guru. The fact is I am just cheap and only look at good deals and therefore always find them. Let me tell you about the good deals I've found this week.

First of all, my mom called late Sunday night (ok, 10pm, but I was getting into bed) to tell me that Land's End was having a bathing suit clearance. I am NOT a big online shopping fan, but for a great deal, I'm ok with it. Tuesday morning I hopped online and checked it out. They had some awesome deals. I ended up ordering this suit for less than $20 including shipping.
Later that afternoon, my mom called to offer to buy me a swimsuit from this same clearance sale. Well, I had already bought one, but she got me one anyway. Thanks Mom! So fun. So now I am also going to have this suit (also $20 but not including shipping).
I hope they both fit and look cute! Mom ended up buying a bathing suit for all the sisters. She's so fun like that. Now we will all have cute, new swim suits for our Olson Girls' Reunion this summer! Woohoo!

Ok, moving on. Yesterday my sister in law, Aly (who I mentioned before just got engaged), and my FIL, Jim drove all day from Oregon to our house. They got here at dinnertime and we ate a delicious dinner together. They were here for less than 24 hours just to hit a couple bridal shops in search of the perfect wedding dress. When we realized that Allyses Bridal in Provo was open until 9pm we hopped in the car to get a jump start on the search. It was so much fun to help Aly wedding dress shop. She described what she liked to the consultants and they started pulling out dresses for her to try on.

Dress #1 was beautiful. It had a full skirt with a tulle overlay. The tulle overlay had little sparkles sewn on it. The top had kind of a v waist of lace and beading, then a faux v neck, so the actual neckline was more square. It didn't have a train and had a simple zipper back. It looked amazing. Aly really liked it.

Dress #2 was also very pretty. No tulle skirt, but really pretty satin with beading and still a full skirt. Aly didn't love it as much. It was really heavy and cost $800. We all still liked the first dress the best.

Dress #3 was the one Aly saw on the mannequin on our way in that she loved. It was beaded and had scalloped edges on the neckline, sleeves, and hem. It had a tulle overlay, big train, etc. Aly tried it on and loved the lace up back, but the scalloped lace edges itched and the dress weighed a ton.

After looking at the 2 other dresses the consultants had pulled out for her, she put back on the first dress and we decided it was the one. It really is gorgeous. I can't post pictures because what if her fiance looks at my blog! Anyway, the reason this is on my deal list is because the amazing, perfect dress that we all loved only cost $395! Woohoo! We decided to also buy the poofy slip, so they went to go get one from their storage room, but then couldn't find it. Since we had already paid for it they said they would ship it for free. We then decided to also special order the veil she wanted in white and they said they would ship that with the slip for free. Then she also got a %25 discount on the veil and it ended up only being $95. Although these are all big numbers, it was a fantastic wedding dress shopping success.

Instead of having to take the kids and all go wedding dress shopping this morning, we got to have a slow morning and Papa and Aunt Aly got some playtime with the boys. Then we went and picked up Ian and all went out to a nice lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Another great deal, by the way. Kids eat there for $2.39! I will have to remember that. After lunch Jim and Aly hit the road again and are now on their way to Rexburg to empty Aly's storage unit and bid farewell to BYU-I for good. (The pics are from the last 24 hours)
Final deal of the week (so far) . . . I saw in the Big Lots ad yesterday afternoon that they had a twin Aerobed on sale for $39. This is a sweet deal. My mom is somewhat obsessed with Aerobeds. She has had one for a few years now and just recently converted my dad and made him get one too. She always brings hers when she comes to stay with me. They are really cool and convenient. I saw the ad, but couldn't bring myself to buy it because we already have an air mattress. Last night Jim slept on our air mattress and this morning when I came out to the den with Weston, Jim was about six inches sunk into the bed. Apparently it has a leak. So on my way home from Sweet Tomatoes I swung into Big Lots and bought an Aerobed for $39! I am pretty excited about it.

Wow. Well if you made it through this post, you are a dedicated friend or family member. Sorry I ramble so much, but I do get quite excited about a good deal. I am hoping to get some clothes-for-me shopping in later this week too, so I may have to do a Deals Part II post in a few days. Here's hoping!

Springtime

It must be Spring! I don't say that because the weather is warming up. It snowed Wednesday and Thursday this week, with more snow expected tomorrow. It must be Spring though because that is when Ian's grandparents stop in on their way back to Seattle from their snowbird trip in AZ. Also, it must be Spring because Denny, my MIL, came to our house because she was off school for Spring Break. With all this springiness you would think we would have had much nicer Spring weather for all the out-of-towners, but alas. We still had a very fun visit.

Denny got here on Tuesday (Davin's birthday), then Wednesday afternoon Grandma and Papa Squire made their way to our house. Weston was very excited for all these grandparents (and the gifts they brought). Both the boys were napping when the Squire's got to our house, so when Dav woke up he was a little overwhelmed. Luckily a new ball distracted him from his crabiness.
That evening we grilled steaks and had a nice dinner together, then stayed up late visiting and playing cards.

Despite the snow on the ground and freezing cold wind, we ventured to the dinosaur museum on Thursday. It was a really great trip. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Weston is more into playing in the erosion table now, so we spent a good 20 minutes there this time.
Even Davin got in on the action a little bit. Since someone had to hold him though he didn't last as long as Weston, so here he is taking a snack break with me.
The whole group minus Denny. I promise we were posed in front of a dinosaur. You just can't really see it.
By Thursday evening we were pretty bushed. We ate leftovers for dinner then played some more before G&G Squire were on their way back up the road towards home. Both the boys really enjoyed playing blocks with anyone who was willing to build things with them. We really appreciate the Squire's taking the time to stop and play and visit with us each year. It's always so fun to see them.
We loved our time with Grandma Denny too. Davin was pretty clingy to me the whole time, but Weston adores his grandma and loved having her read to him, play blocks with him, and help him do all his other little activities. Thursday evening Denny and I went and got pedicures. It was so fun to do something relaxing and girly. :)

On Friday we went to David's Bridal in the morning to check out a couple wedding dresses for Aly (Ian's sister who is engaged), then we grabbed a quick bite of lunch and went up to the Planetarium. We met up with my friend, Liz, and her kids to watch "The Secret of the Cardboard Rocket" movie and explore a bit. I had some very tired boys on my hands by the time we were done, but they both sat still and watched the whole movie. Later yesterday afternoon we took Grandma Denny to the airport. So sad to see her go. But wait! She called about half an hour before her flight was scheduled to leave with wonderful news . . . she had volunteered to be bumped and would be staying with us one more night! She got a great flight voucher and Ian and I got to go on a date. I would say it worked out pretty well.

Ian and I browsed Borders, rented a movie, got take out Pei Wei and Chick Fil A shakes, then spent the evening chilling/eating/movie watching at Verite. Meanwhile Weston got spoiled by Grandma for one more night. Denny flew out early this morning. THANK YOU for all the fun/groceries/outings while you were here, Den!

So, while we continue to wait for the Spring weather to arrive, just know that Spring was here at our house this week.

A Special Occasion

Today my baby turned 1. I am kind of sad. It just went by so fast. Faster than it did with Weston. All of a sudden Davin looks like a little boy and not so much like a baby. My life has been so blessed by having Davin be a part of it. He has changed my perspective on motherhood, in a mostly good way. He is sweet and loving. He has a killer laugh and is such a little peanut. He is a wiggle worm, but a cute one.

He had his one year well visit at the doctor's office this morning. Mean mommy made him get 3 shots on his big day. He won't remember though. This is his cute smile pre-shots.
In case anyone is interested his stats are:
Height: 28 1/4 inches; 10%
Weight: 17 lbs. 8 oz.; negative % (they didn't tell me how negative, but lets just say he hadn't gained an ounce since his 9 month visit . . . blah)
Head: holding strong in the 50%

He was an angel for the visit and only cried for about 3 minutes after his shots. We were all excited to leave and go to the airport to pick up Grandma Denny! She is in town during her spring break until Friday. We spent the rest of the day playing and cooking.

Davin was actually fairly skilled at present opening, but didn't have much of a chance to show off his talents because Weston was quite anxious to help.
One of his gifts from us was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We had to read it right then. Both the boys love it.
Davin was really pretty excited about his new toys and books. He got that Mickey Mouse lovey, a shape sorting, spinning hippo toy (that Weston picked out), and that other fun train book. He also got lots of clothes, but he wasn't nearly as stoked about those, but Mommy was!
We sang Happy Birthday and Davin eyed the candle warily. He eventually reached out to try and touch it.
Weston ended up assisted with the birthday wish blowing out of the candle.
Happy Birthday my little one!!!

Go Cougs!

It has been a busy week. I stayed home for much of it, but it was still somehow busy. The highlight of my week was when my new vacuum arrived on Thursday afternoon. I was desperate to try it out, so I turned on a movie for the kids and assembled it myself. Go me! Then I enlisted Weston's "help" to tidy the house and spent the next 20 minutes savoring the sounds of little crumb particles being sucked up by a powerful beast. Needless to say I LOVE my new toy. :) It is much quieter, much more powerful, significantly heavier, and way more awesome than my old vacuum. In case you are interested it is the Eureka Boss Smartvac. Seriously my carpets looked A-mazing after the maiden voyage of this bad boy.
On Friday the boys and I went to Target where I ONLY bought 2 birthday toys for Davin. I was very proud of myself for making it out of the store without spending money on anything else. Again, go me. Yesterday afternoon we went and picked up Ian at work and drove down to Provo for a fun night out at the BYU. I dressed both the kids in their BYU outfits and had to take a picture before their hair got all messed up and their outfits peed on. My cute future Cougs.
We dropped of Davin at my Aunt Pam's house for the evening, but took Weston along for the night. He was very patient as we dropped off our wedding rings to be cleaned at the jeweler where we bought them. Then we had dinner at our favorite place, Burger Supreme. Yummy stuff.
After going back to the jewelers to pick up our rings we went to the Marriott Center to watch the women's gymnastic meet against Utah. Weston had no idea what gymnastics even was, but I explained it was girls doing flips. He was suitably impressed, I think. One of our main goals in taking Weston to the gymnastics meet was to get some up close and personal time with Cosmo (since gymnastics is a significantly less crowded event than the sold out basketball game we took Weston to last time). Cosmo mostly hung around low in the stands, so Ian took Weston down to see him. It was by far the best part of Weston's week. He told me all about how he gave Cosmo a double high five and said HI and that Dad took a picture. I watched the whole thing from our higher up spot in the stands. Weston loved it.
Weston's stamina kind of ran out at that point, so we only lasted another 15 minutes or so after seeing Cosmo, but that's ok. We saw most of the meet.
I had told Weston that we would probably go get a fun treat after the meet, so that gave him his second wind. We went to the Creamery, but after taking one glance at the line that wound and then went out the door we decided to see if one of our other treat haunts was still in business. Success! Smart Cookie was still there and still as delicious as ever. Bonus they now sold multiple flavors of ice cream, so Weston got his green (mint chip) ice cream cone and Ian and I got their fabulous ice cream cookie sandwich. It really was lots of fun to be out and about with just Weston. He was in need of some parental attention after a few days of me holding Dav all day long. We went back to Aunt Pam's to pick up Davin and ended up visiting for a little bit while Weston played with toys. What a trooper . . . Weston lasted until 10pm! It was kind of a late night, but we had a blast. Can't wait for our jaunt to Provo next month for a baseball game!

Scary Stuff

Yesterday was a weird day. Davin was still pretty lethargic and sick, so we stayed home all day. In the morning Ian IMed me that something was going on at work and he thought that there were going to be layoffs. I immediately started panicking. Luckily Ian still has a job, but at his small company 8 people were laid off, including some of our close friends. It breaks my heart. I am praying that things will work out for everyone.

That jolt of panic yesterday also had a different effect on me . . . instant humility and gratitude. You all know I've been kind of living in my own little pity party world these last few weeks. The possibility of losing our job, and not being at all prepared for that scenario, brought my life back into a sharp focus on the most important things in it.

I am hoping that I can get my act together and remember the importance of trying to be more self sufficient and start thinking past the next paycheck. I also am thankful that I am now seeing life in a broader sense than my little mommy world. My life is blessed.

In case you were wondering, Davin slept LOTS better last night and was only up once. He woke up this morning happy and fever free. He's not 100% yet, still coughing and congested, but clearly feeling much better. We even ventured to story time at the library this morning. Weston was pretty desperate to get out of the house.

Finally, CONGRATS to my sister in law, Aly! She got engaged last night! So exciting. We are looking forward to being there for her special day.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Another year has come and gone. I am now 26. I have very little to say about this birthday except that I must remember next year to NOT get excited about my birthday. It wasn't the worst day, but it wasn't great either, and to be honest I was hoping for great. Obviously having high expectations never ends well.

Yesterday I took Davin to get a big boy haircut. His hair was just getting too long and scraggly for me. He was pretty good for the haircut. He cried for the last few minutes and we both ended up with hair all over us. I think he looks adorable. This is the last smile I can remember on his face though.
Today he looked like this. All day. He was SO not feeling good. He ran a temperature even with Tylenol. He took minuscule naps and just generally fussed all day. I did reap the snuggling benefits of having a sick baby, but that also meant I really couldn't do anything. He seriously was laying like this dozing off every few minutes for about half an hour this afternoon. I really just feel so bad for him.
When I opened my birthday presents tonight Weston was desperate to "help" (do it for me). I asked him to bring me my last present, the big one and instead he just started ripping into it. Stinker. Oh well. Davin was momentarily distracted from sickie sadness by ripping wrapping paper too.
We were all in green at one point in the day. Weston randomly changed his shirt. Anyway, if anyone needs a sugar fix I have almost an entire chocolate peanut butter cake, a quarter of a lemon vanilla cake, and a wedding style cupcake sitting on my stove. Come on over for the party! If you're wondering why this post is being written at 11:30pm, that would be because I "treated" myself to a nap. I'm such an idiot. Now I can't sleep. Not to mention Ian is snoring loudly in our bedroom and Davin is not peacefully sleeping either. I think I will go try to lull myself to sleep with some reading or word puzzles. Tomorrow will be just another day.

Partyin' it Up!

Last night we went out with friends for my 26th birthday (which is not actually until St. Patrick's Day). It was such a blast. We started the night with dinner at Cafe Rio, then headed to the bowling alley. There was about an hour wait for a lane, so we filled the time wasting money on arcade games. I played skeeball. :) It makes me happy.

Ian and Justin played a couple intense games of air hockey. Ian was the champ.
Justin and Tara's hoop rivalry. Justin won, but only by 2 baskets. Go Tara!
I was kind of naughty and got a tattoo for my birthday! Hot stuff at 26. ;)
(It was actually purchased for me with our combined arcade game tickets, and, no mother, I didn't wear it to church today)
Let the bowling begin! We all did pretty well. This was my victory dance after a strike. The guys all finished within 6 points of each other (110, 113, 116). The girls had more of a spread. We all had a good time.
Me and my honey (oh and creeper face Justin).
My completely awesome girlfriends. I am so lucky these girls like me.
After our first game of bowling, Tara and Justin headed out to go pick up their kids, but Wynn and Dawnie stayed and bowled another game with us. We all actually improved our scores. There's something I just love about bowling. I am so glad that we got to have such a fun night. Thanks y'all!