Gymnastics

Or, "nastics" as Avery likes to call it. Avery has been going every Thursday for a month now and really loves it. Today I snapped a few photos of what she's been up to. Her coordination really surprises me sometimes! She can do a summersault all by herself and a backwards roll with a little bit of help. She can walk forwards and sideways all by herself on the low beam and loves walking on the high beam and jumping into the "cheese". The classes are really helping her with listening and following directions. Each week she gets better at doing what her teacher tells her to do and waiting her turn. Her favorite reward is getting her stamps at the end of class! Here are some shots from today:

Welcome to Frugal February!

Hey everyone, I know we've been lacking in the posting lately, but things have been crazy! Luckily, it's all good craziness. I'm now nearly 27 weeks and Paul is doing great! Looks like we're all on track for a May 13th due date. Nate has been busy at work and also putting some feelers out for potential jobs after his clerkship ends in August. Avery is growing like a weed and talking up a storm. She started gymnastics a few weeks ago and really loves it.

Now, as you may have noticed by this blog's title, our family is celebrating Frugal February. After December and January we feel like we need to get our spending back in control. Over the course of the month, I'll be posting about the biggest ways our family saves money. Today we'll start with the biggest...

-Using Coupons-

I know what you're thinking, how can using a coupon for 55 cents off soup really save money. Let me tell you, if you spend an extra half hour a week, you can save a ton. For example. Today I saved $41.27 and only ended up spending a little under $22. And if you're thinking I just bought junk, think again. Here's a rundown of what I bought today:

(2) half gallons of Horizon organic milk

(5) Quaker express breakfasts

(5) Stoneyfield Farms greek yogurts

(1) Reach dental floss

(2) Dove body wash

(1) Shave Gel

(2) Jumbo packs Huggies Pull-ups

(1) large V8 Splash

Here are the things to remember to use coupons the most effective:

1. You can't be brand loyal.

2. You have to know what things typically cost so that you know when you're getting a good deal.

3. Stock up on non-perishable items when you find a sweet deal.

And the most important: only buy things you would normally buy! Don't buy something just because you have a coupon, that's defeating the purpose!

Now, if you don't get a Sunday paper with all of the ads in it, fear not. Everything is on the internet these days! Aside from checking your local grocery store's circular ad, there are a ton of online places to look. These are some of my favorite:

hip2save.com

moneysavingmom.com

bigfatpiggybank.com

Each store has their own coupon policy. For example, Target/Walgreens/CVS all allow you to use both a manufacturers coupon in conjunction with their store coupon, which allows for even bigger savings. Check out your store's policy on doubling up and accepting competitor's coupons.

This all may sound tedious at first, but I promise, once you get the hang of it, it'll seem more and more like a game. And believe me, when you're saving an average of 55% off of all your receipts, it's worth it.

Congrats if you've made it this far. I know I was a bit long-winded. I'd love to hear about the ways your family saves money! Leave a comment and share the knowledge!!

Back in the USA

Our family spent a wonderful week in Grand Cayman celebrating Christmas. Rather than fill this post up with words, though, I'll just show you...

For those of you that made it this far, I thought I'd share my favorite part of the whole trip. We opened the sealed ultrasound that let us know we're having a BOY!!!

Right on Track

Today we went in for our "big" 20 week ultrasound. After lots of measuring, it looks like our little one is baking quite nicely and everything looks perfect. We feel very blessed and hugely relieved. We did not find out the sex for those that are wondering.

We are headed to the Cayman Islands for Christmas with both my parents, Nate's parents and my sister & her boyfriend. We are looking forward to laying on the beach and doing a whole lot of nothing. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

Caitlin + John = Married

This past weekend Nate and I headed down to southern California to attend the wedding of our friends Caitlin and John. Caitlin and I are sorority sisters and Nate and I were so excited to celebrate with them. We headed down a night early to catch up with our good friends John and Lauren. It's always good to see them, even though it doesn't happen nearly enough.

On Friday we headed down to the Langham in Pasadena, which is an absolutely gorgeous hotel. We relaxing in our beautiful room until it was time to head to the wedding, which was in true Caitlin fashion - elegant, extravagant, and every little detail thought out. The food was great, the band was amazing and the company was awesome. Not to mention, Nate is always looking for an excuse to break out his tux.

The short weekend went entirely too fast, but we were eager to get home to our little one. Here are some pictures courtesy of Lauren.

New website

Hi all, I just thought I'd pop in and let you all know that my new website is up. Check it out at www.brittanyrulisphoto.com! I'd love to hear what you all think!

Avery meets Mickey