Some of my faves...

About two years or so ago, a friend of mine shared a blog post with all of her favorite things. I thought it was such a fun idea so I decided to do the same. I meant to do this about two years ago when I read her post, but I just got lazy and never did it.

Sooo, here are a few of my favorite things.

Best movie series of all time. Period.

 Favorite tv show of all time. Cary got me the box set for Christmas one year and I've lost count of how many times I've watched the series in it's entirety, including commentary.

 I have a secret love affair with this place. It seems to be worse when I'm pregnant. I crave/craved tacos constantly with both Chloe and Connor, but it has always been a favorite of mine. Three of my favorite memories are tied to this place.  First, my mom and I would make several weekend trips up to my grandparent's farm in Missouri during the summer. We would always stop at this one Taco Bell that was right off I-55 in Arkansas. We always had to leave on Fridays when my mom got off work, so we would drive about half way and stop to eat. Secondly, in high school, my best friend and I would make late night Taco Bell runs all the time and then come home and watch movies. My third and most favorite memory is my first date with Cary. Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite musicians. There was a concert in Nashville that was featuring several Christian artists that we both liked, but especially Andrew Peterson. The concert was a total surprise for me. I had to work until 4pm the day of the concert and we had to drive from Jackson to Nashville, which was about a two hour drive. All I was told was that I needed to get home, get showered and be ready to leave at 5pm sharp! When Cary came to pick me up, he had Taco Bell waiting in the car for us to eat on the way! I loved it and it turned out to be an amazing night!

Couponing. I love couponing. Especially when I can get results like this. Groceries are expensive these days so anytime I can get a good deal, I go for it!

I love huskies. I've always wanted one. Maybe one day...

Fried green tomatoes. Need I say more?

I would eat sushi almost everyday if we could afford it. I never had sushi until I met Cary. I always thought it meant raw fish, but it actually refers to the rice. We have learned how to make it at home, which is much cheaper and a lot of fun.

I anticipate the arrival of this every fall!! It's one of those drinks that people either love or hate. There is no in between. I LOVE IT!!

I love puzzles. The more pieces and the more difficult it is, the better! Cary got this one for me for Mother's Day this year.

I've been a Chapstick lover for years. The peppermint was always my favorite. I got this as a free sample in the mail and I like it much better than Chapstick.

This amazing looking dessert is Black Tie Mousse Cake from Olive Garden. This is another one of those, I would eat it everyday if I could kind of things. Cheesecake of any kind is a winner in my book. This cake is dark chocolaty, cheesecakey, creamy mousse goodness!

In my opinion, these are the best cars ever! You can run them into the ground, fix them up and run them into the ground again! We are now on our second Honda and I still love them!

If it were not for fireplaces and snow, I would hate winter. To me, there is no reason for it to be 19 degrees outside unless there is fluffy, soft, frozen water all over the ground! Plus, what goes better with a snowy day than a nice cozy fire to snuggle up in front of?

 This, of course, is my favorite little boy, but I also love hammocks. This one even has a pad to cover it and a pillow to lay on. It is SO comfortable. This is where I relax when Cary is grilling, or where I read a book on a cool fall day.

As I mentioned earlier, I love Andrew Peterson's music. I could listen to this CD at least once everyday. I know every word of every song. No matter what kind of day I have had, even really good days, this CD will always relax me and help me put life into perspective.

I'm not much of a reader and I never have been. It's just been in the last year or two that I have gotten a new appreciation for it. Mostly for two reasons: 1. Cary is a reader. 2. I want my kids to be readers too. I figure one of the best ways for that to happen, other than to read to them on a regular basis, is for them to see the two of us reading on a regular basis. I read this book in high school for a book review and I fell in love with it! I bought a copy in college and I read it periodically.

 Another favorite book of mine. A friend of my brother's gave it to me as a gift when I graduated high school. It was not until my second or third year of college that I finally decided to read it and I was hooked! This is the only book, from which a movie was made, that I can say, "I read the book first." I really enjoy the movie and have it on DVD, but the book is SO much better!!

This is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. Without will power, I would probably consume at least two of these a day.

A few recent photos

Babies, babies, everywhere!

Almost a week ago, my new niece, Alice was born! This is my brother, Justin and his wife, Sophie's new baby girl. She was born Saturday, August 11 at 12:30am. She was 8lbs. 3oz. and 22 inches long. She definitely got my brother's long legs! 

In addition to this new addition, Cary's little brother, Kurt and his wife Amanda are expecting next March! Chloe will be here in about three weeks as well. Oh my that's a lot of babies!!

He's finally ready.

 After a few months of encouragement and anxiousness, Connor is finally ready to start potty training!! We've been asking/encouraging him for a while now about using the potty. We got him a potty book that makes the sound of the toilet flushing and a kid laughing and since he loves CARS, Cary got him a CARS seat that sits on top of existing toilet seat. He was really excited when we showed it to him and wants to read his potty book almost every night before bed. About a week and a half ago, he finally asked to sit on the potty before bed. We waited....nothing happened. We repeated this every night for the next week or so. FINALLY, a couple of nights ago CONNOR PEED IN THE POTTY!!! He has only done it a couple more times so we are still in the very beginnings of this. We are still working on pooping. He always poops right after I put him down for nap, so I then have to change him or he will not go to sleep. We think he has figured out how to hold it until after we put him, so that we will come in and change him, thus prolonging his nap. Clever little booger. So we decided to try putting him on the potty before nap time as well to encourage to poop in the potty instead of in his diaper. We were hoping to have him potty trained before Chloe arrived, but at least we have a good start. Cary will be off the entire month of September after we have her, so he is going to work more intensely with Connor. Since he will be home all day, he will be able to take him to the potty more often during the day so that he will learn to tell us when he feels the need to go. Please pray for us as continue in the new adventure. 

Stock up shopping trip

It's been a long time since I have blogged about one of my shopping trips to Harris Teeter. At the beginning of this year, I decided to do less of that and blog more about our family happenings. As stated in my previous post, it's been a crazy year and blogging was put on the back burner all together. I still plan to do less shopping trip blogs, maybe just once a month, and more family blogs. 

This past week was Super Doubles week at Harris Teeter. It turned out to be one of the best for us at this time. With Chloe on the way,via c-section, I've been needing to stock up on several things to get us through September since I will be recovering from my c-section and won't be able to do much for about four weeks. My mom is coming to help, but with a very energetic three year old, a newborn, and me to take care of, I didn't want her to have to worry with a lot of shopping. Other than some weekly basics, milk, bread, eggs, etc, she won't have to and can spend more time with us. 

Over the course of seven days, I made 12 trips to Harris Teeter and one to Kroger, they are having a Mega Event this week that included pasta and I needed to restock. It was a tiring week, but in the end it was totally worth it! And yes, my entire kitchen table is covered, minus the fridge and frozen items. So here goes!

Total before savings $691.02

Total spent $181.57

Total saved $509.45

Percent saved 74%

-2 bags Doritos

-12 boxes pasta

-4 boxes Lucky Charms

-2 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios

-4 boxes Lipton tea

-6 boxes Kleenex

-4 boxes Kashi granola bars (free)

-2 boxes Nutrigrain bars

-11 Zoneperfect protein bars

-4 boxes Ziploc bags

-4 (2pk.) Gerber baby food (I'm going to make all of Chloe's baby food, like I did for Connor, but I got all four of these packs for $0.44, total, not each.

-1 jar Earth's Best baby food (free)

-8 pouches Bumble Bee tuna (free)

-4 jars Smucker's simply fruit

-4 bottles Softsoap hand soap

-3 bottles Listerine mouth wash

-1 pack Stayfree pads (free)

-1 pack Always pads (free)

-6 packs Poise liners

-1 bag Simple facial wipes

-2 bottles KY jelly

-6 Speed Stick deoderants

-2 Old Spice deoderants

-4 bottles All detergent

-2 bottles Method dish soap

-1 tub Pampers wipes

-3 bottles Johnson's baby wash

-1 bottle Johnson's baby lotion

-1 bottle Johnson's baby powder

-1 bottle Suave kids shampoo/conditioner

Not pictured items

-5 packs Nestle Toll House cookies

-5 cartons Smart Balance milk

-4 cartons Organic Valley chocolate milk

-2 bottles Tropicana orange juice

-1 pack Sorrento string cheese

-9 containers Dannon Oikos greek yogurt

-2 Red Baron pizzas

-1 box Snickers ice cream bars

-4 Lean Cuisine meals

-1 tub Smart Balance butter

-2 pouches Gerber organic purees (free)

-4 pouches Plum Organics purees

-3 bottles Bailey's creamer

-4 packs Al Fresco chicken breakfast sausage (free)

-2 bags Krunchers chips

There was a really good sale on diapers this week and combined with coupons it made for some really good deals. We all know how expensive diapers can be and with a baby coming, I took full advantage of this sale. The numbers above are everything together. Here is the break down just in diapers.

Total before savings $203.88

Total spent $35.82

Total saved $168.06

Percent saved 82%

-5 packs Huggies Little Snugglers 

-7 packs Huggies Pure and Natural

-6 packs Huggies Pull Ups

This will probably be my last trip for a few months, but far more exciting things are coming!!

Playing catch up-a quick overview of the last seven months.

I didn't realize until today that my last post was December of last year. It's been somewhat of a crazy year.

January-we found out that we were expecting baby Mullen number two!

February and March-They were pretty low key for us. I was really sick during both months. 

April- my "all day" sickness finally subsided. We got to spend Easter weekend with my mom and step-dad, and got to see some really close friends and have dinner with them. It was a wonderful weekend.

May-We found out that we were having a girl!!

June- We celebrated Connor's third birthday.

July- Cary and Connor were in an accident on their way to church. I didn't feel well that morning so I stayed home. Good thing too! They were rear ended right in front of our church. Thankfully, God protected everyone. Cary and Connor were both fine and so was the girl that hit them. Our car ended up being totaled, but as always, God provided and we received enough money from the insurance company after our loan was paid off for a nice down payment on another car. We decided to upgrade a little with Chloe on the way and got a Honda CRV. I wish I had taken a picture of our Accord after the accident, but I forgot. Here is our new one. I LOVE the color!!

August-So far this month has been pretty quiet, but excitement is brewing. My brother's wife is due with their second child any day now. Cary's brother's wife is also expecting and is due next March. Cary's Starbucks is relocating across the street from where his current store is located. 

As you can see, we have had quite an eventful year with still more to come!